Hitman with a Badass System
chapter-732-30041322

Diamond valley was the crown jewel of Itholan before the Thusians conquered the Island. This small valley was named after its famous diamond mine. The name influenced the architects to build most of the buildings in the shape of a diamond. The city itself was bordered by a forest to the North, a large, frozen lake to the South, luscious grass fields to the East, and graceful mountains to the West. The people of diamond valley mainly lived off working in the diamond mine and crafting jewels using the diamonds they produced.

The city's tropical climate and higher living standards made many prefer to live in the diamond valley. Most of the veteran soldiers and retired merchants chose diamond valley to live their last years because of its beauty and serene atmosphere. Diamond Valley's landscape was pleasing to the eyes; luscious fields, dramatic mountain views, and jade green fields were just a sliver of brilliance it has to offer, which was the reason the foreigners adored the city like none other.

Using the diamond mines, the city prospered. It wouldn't be an understatement to say that Diamond valley filled the treasury more than the other duchies combined, thanks to the diamond mine. Even the master craftsmen in the Awor continent preferred to work with the diamonds mined in the diamond valley because of their quality. Not a single mine existed in the world that could produce diamonds as quality as the diamond valley diamonds. However, only a few knew the secret of the mine. The Cosmic stream affected the diamonds in the mine, yet no one knew this, not even the previous kings of Itholan. Over the years, the cosmic stream slowly ran into the ground, blending with the natural diamond vein in the diamond valley. Hence, Diamond Valley had the best diamond mine.

The importance of the Diamond valley was the reason why Terrance felt reluctant to take troops away from the duchy. Granted, the Golden Port was valuable, but the Diamond valley was more important to the Thusian than the Golden Port. Victoria knew they couldn't afford to lose Diamond valley no matter why. Hence, she put herself on the line to convince Oswald to send an Immortal to deal with Ghost. Of course, Victoria had no intention of marrying Oswald's son. After Ghost's death, she would just order Booth to assassinate Oswald's son and make it look like someone else had done it.

Unfortunately for her, Michael also knew the importance of the place. Thus, Michael picked it as his next target instead of attacking the duchy of Valeria. To be honest, Michael didn't expect Victoria to send a HAlf Immortal this soon. Luckily, Michael always had a plan for almost everything. Initially, Michale wanted to draw the troops away from Diamond valley to the Golden Port and then attack the valley in full force. To build his army and a stronghold in the Southern continent, he needed millions of coins or even billions. Obviously, he wouldn't be able to make money out of his restaurants and majestic stores after revealing his identity.

Looting the mines clean and then selling the diamonds would take care of the financial side for some time. Unfortunately, according to the system, absorbing the cosmic energy from the stream would result in the destruction of the diamond vein in the valley. As a result, the mines might explode into pieces. Otherwise, Michael would have taken the Diamond valley first and found a way to keep the mine to himself.

The shield hit the lake below Michael. The water sizzled when the shield fell into it. It took a few minutes for the shield to cool down and return to its metallic black. In the sky, Michael's hand looked crooked. Gritting his teeth, Michael twisted his arm with a sickening crunching sound. The bone returned to its normal state as the APD healed the broken arm in a few seconds.

The elf stopped attacking Michael for a few moments. Michael extended his arm toward the lake. A rune on the shield dimly glowed as the shield shot out of the water and flew straight back to Michael's hands. Michael clenched his fist as the shield disappeared into his gauntlet.

"The sky is getting darker," said Michael, looking at the stormy clouds gathering above them.

"Choosing not to join the council was a mistake, pal," said the elf.

"Nah," Michael shook his head.

"Choosing to kill me was a mistake," said Michael. Tiny golden bolts of lightning crackled around Michael's fist. They sounded like buzzing bees. Soon, the crackling bolts covered his whole body. He looked like the god of lightning instead of the god of darkness. Unfortunately for the elf, he chose to attack Michael at night time when Michael would be at his strongest. If the night was not enough, the storm made the place darker. As a result, Michael was way out of the elf's league. However, the elf had no clue how strong Michael was.

"Whatever. The sooner I kill you, the sooner I can leave this god-forsaken place,"

This time, the elf did not use the energy beam. Instead, he raised his arm in the sky as a trident materialized in his hand. As soon as the silver trident appeared in his hand, several lightning bolts struck the trident from the sky. Soon, the trident sparkled with electric energy.

"You're not the only one with the aid of lightning," said the elf.

"You have no idea who I am," Michael smiled. When Michael retrieved the golden spear from his space ring, a glimmer of surprise emerged in the elf's eyes. He didn't expect Michael to possess an Immortal killing weapon. But the elf did not back off. Instead, he raised the spear as the bolts of lightning dancing around his trident formed an electric shield around his body.

Michael and the elf dashed toward each other with their own immortal killing weapons in their hands. The two of them clashed in the mid-sky, ignoring the people on the ground. Thanks to Xanali's effort, most of the citizens evacuated the place. The people of Diamond valley were truly lucky that Xanali expected Ghost's attack on the valley. Otherwise, she would have only evacuated the Golden Port and left the people of Diamond valley alone. Nonetheless, some chose not to leave the duchy, and they paid the price with their lives. The elf swung his trident with deadly precision and technique. Michael blocked the trident with his black shield. He then retaliated with a kick. The lightning shield around the elf crackled, blocking Michael's feet from touching the elf. However, the sheer force of his kick pushed the elf back a few meters behind. The elf was surprised by Michael's strength. Although the elf hadn't fought a fellow Half Immortal in centuries, he was able to tell Michael was stronger than a level 2 Half Immortal.

Michael quickly cast the lightning dash to move forward to close the gap between them. He stabbed the elf through the lightning shield. He almost penetrated the shield. The elf quickly managed to swat the spear away with his trident and pointed the trident at Michael. Several bolts of icy blue lightning bolts shot out from the trident. Instinctively, Michael clenched his fist, retrieving the black shield. The bolts of lightning bounced away but not before sending Michael flying several meters back.

Before Michael could regain his balance, the elf raised his trident toward the sky. The clouds rumbled above him. Countless lightning struck across the sky. The people screamed in utter terror, looking at the sky littered with bolts of lightning. They all gathered at the tip of the trident. He turned the trident, pointing it at Michael. A single dense bolt of lightning shot out from the trident.

"Silenes," Michael cast the spell. Everything around him slowed down. In his eyes, the lightning bolt traveled in slow motion. He swayed his body to the side, easily moving away from the lightning bolt's path without breaking a sweat. The spell lasted for a few seconds before everything returned to normal. It took a few moments for the elf to realize Michael had evaded the bolt of lightning at the last moment. His speed stunned the elf. Suddenly, the mountain in the distance exploded. Michael may have dodged the lightning bolt but didn't stop it. As a result, it soared through the sky until it hit the distant mountain in the diamond valley.

Michael looked over his shoulder. A huge chunk of the mountain crumbled down. The smoke created by the destruction almost blanketed everything in a mile radius. Massive boulders rolled out from the mountain, crushing everything in their path. The poor trees and buildings stood no chant. Those boulders flatten them like a road roller.

"Talk about collateral damage," Michael chuckled. The elf was furious. He used one of his most powerful spells, yet he couldn't even inflict a small wound on Ghost. It frustrated the elf. As pouring fuel into a burning fire, Michael's nonchalant tone and words made him even more furious. Michael cracked his neck and knuckles.

For some reason, the elf felt a strange fear in his heart. He looked closer at Ghost. To his surprise, his eyes completely turned pitch black. Suddenly, he felt a force restricting him, as though an invisible hand had grabbed him. The elf noticed the sky around him growing darker and darker. The elf tried to shake the invisible force away. But before he could even move an inch, Michael appeared before him. He punched through the electric shield around the elf. The shield flickered, forming several cracks. The elf felt a sharp pain in his gut. He looked down to see Ghost's fist on his chest. In a blink of an eye, his fancy robes caught flames. But the flames didn't burn in red. Instead, they were burned by black flames.

"Arggh," the elf growled in pain. Every fiber in his body ached. Blood trickled down from the corners of his mouth. Michael didn't give the elf any time to retaliate. Instead, he slowly pushed the spear through the hole in the shield he created using the dark flames.

"I told you," Michael looked the elf in the eyes,

"You have no idea what I am," Michael whispered, pushing the spear slowly into the elf's chest.