As Duncan walked towards the group of cultivators led by the trio, murmurs began to appear in the distance among the audience.
They thought that with the arrival of the three great talents from first-rate sects, there might be some change in the situation. But, looking at it now, it was clear that the demon didn't care about the arrival of those three geniuses at all.
While many in the crowd wanted to see the demon brought low and even fervently hoped that the demon had underestimated the trio, they all knew clearly that underestimation on this level of fight was incredibly rare.
Only novices underestimated their opponents and got their asses beat. None of the people present on the battlefield were novices. Especially, the demon who was acting domineeringly. The bloodlust emanating from the demon was enough to tell them that.
With a heavy heart, they watched the demon approach the righteous cultivators.
Seeing Duncan walking towards them with no fear, the trio exchanged a look and nodded at each other. Lu Tianxin stepped out first as if intending to test out Duncan. Wu Dongmin also followed him as if he was going to assist him if needed.
Jiang Chen, on the other hand, didn't immediately step out. He turned and looked towards the cultivator who was right behind him. That man was like Jiang Chen's shadow. He looked at Jiang Chen and nodded solemnly.
They all knew the real purpose of this battle. This had nothing to do with righteousness. But, this particular demonic cultivator's death meant increased resources from the sect to the trio. Naturally, as Jiang Chen's loyal follower, the man also knew that.
However, appearances need to be kept.
Thus, the trio would try to test the demonic cultivator first while the rest retreated. If they can't handle it, then the man must lead the followers and other cultivators to interfere in a crucial moment and provide an opportunity for the trio to change the tables.
As elite disciples of first-rate sects, they had their own trump card. Not just them, even the ones who battled Duncan before this had their own trump cards. However, the situation on the battlefield turned suddenly causing them unable to take them out. Following that, Duncan never gave the rest any chance to unleash their trump cards either. He had been relentless in his pursuit.
Jiang Chen and the other two had watched this from the sidelines. They knew that trying to find an opportunity to use their trump cards would be hard while battling Duncan. Duncan was like a force of nature who never relented once he started going. Trying to keep up with his tempo alone was hard enough for them.
That's where the man and the others came into the picture. By attacking Duncan at an opportune moment and providing them enough time to unleash their trump card, they would be able to deal with Duncan's relentlessness easily.
The man and the other cultivators was the backup plan that the trio relied on. Duncan was unaware of this subtle bit of strategy that had been formed with mere eye contact. However, he was always on the lookout for changes. The current act of the trio stepping forward to test him made him a little wary.
But, it was just that.
Duncan had his own arrogance. He wouldn't back down because of things deviating from his expectations slightly. He looked at the approaching Lu Tianxin and Wu Dongmin and quirked his eyebrows.
"Have you two thought about this?" Duncan asked mockingly.
"Cut the crap! We will show you that this world doesn't tolerate demons like you," Lu Tianxin shouted righteously and attacked Duncan without any preamble.
Duncan wasn't surprised by the sudden attack. In fact, he never trusted the trio. If you asked him, Duncan would say that these three were akin to vipers lying in ambush amidst the grass in the Grasslands.
With a derisive snort, Duncan threw a punch as well.
BANG!
A loud sound echoed and the resultant force from the clash spread everywhere. Duncan withstood the force with his body and smiled at the swordsman. On the other hand, Lu Tianxin had to take a few steps back to negate the impact.
Just as Duncan wanted to needle the swordsman a bit, he felt another attack coming from a different direction. Using the previous clash as the cover, the saber wielder of the trio had shifted his position and attacked him from a blindspot.
Duncan unhurriedly turned around and threw another punch at the saber wielder.
BANG!
The two attacks once again canceled each other. Duncan smirked at the saber wielder who was trying to steady himself. Just as Duncan wanted to attack him again, he felt a sense of danger emanating from the ground.
Duncan immediately sprang away from the location. The next moment a maw of dog formed of sand closed itself at the place where he had been standing. Duncan's eyes narrowed a little and he looked into the distance at the attacker.
It was Jiang Chen who made the last attack. Compared to Lu Tianxin and Wu Dongmin, Jiang Chen's attack was more sinister and silent. He didn't proclaim his intent to attack Duncan. He used the distraction provided by the other two to try and trap Duncan with a spell.
Duncan immediately realized that Jiang Chen was the one who was more dangerous of the trio. It was not because his attacks had more power. It was because of how versatile he could be.
Cultivators like Jiang Chen are called spell cultivators. They are gifted in manipulating the five elements into attacking and defending as per the need. They can switch things on the fly and are very versatile in a fight.
Normally, taking on such a person would not be difficult for Duncan. He could escape the spells and close the distance within a short time and dispose of him. However, there were two other cultivators who were also acting in concert with such a treacherous foe. They would surely not allow him to close the distance between the two.
Even though the trio had only formed the team recently, they all knew each other's strengths and weaknesses like the back of their hands. So, when they fought together, they seamlessly compensated for each other's weaknesses. This made the trio a very formidable team.
Seeing Duncan escape his attack, Jiang Chen wasn't deterred. He made another set of symbols and motioned his hands. The next moment, the maw reformed and chased after Duncan.
Duncan narrowed his eyes and threw a punch at the approaching maw. The maw was blasted into smithereens. However, the other two had recovered by then and started attacking him without much of a pause in their actions.
While telling this might take a long time, things happened on the battlefield very quickly.
This caused Duncan to try and fend off the two in a hurried manner. Meanwhile, Jiang Chen kept harassing Duncan with more earth constructs. Duncan was quickly forced to become passive, causing the trio to breathe a slight sigh of relief.
Duncan didn't like being passive at all. He wanted to blast all three attacks and take the initiative once more. So, when the next attack came, Duncan tanked the attack from the swordsman and took a shot at the spell cultivator.
Jiang Chen was forced to evade causing a lag to appear on the seamless teamwork the trio had exuded so far. As for the attack from Lu Tianxin, Duncan's body now bore a small wound near his hip causing blood to leak slightly.
But, Duncan wasn't in the mood to care about it. He had tanked an attack not to send Jiang Chen running. He wanted to take back the initiative. So, the next moment, Duncan threw two punches at the saber wielder and tried to close the distance between him and the swordsman.
Most swordsmen dedicated their life to sword cultivation. They rarely cared about other aspects of cultivation like agility, speed, and several others. This caused them to be weak when it came to close combat. Duncan tried to use that to his advantage.
Seeing Duncan advancing towards him, Lu Tianxin decisively retreated leaving Wu Dongmin alone to fend off Duncan until Jiang Chen joined the fight again. The back-and-forth dance between the four continued for some time.
And as time passed, Duncan's body began to accumulate small injuries here and there. While Duncan wasn't as passive as he was in the beginning, he wasn't able to take active control of the battlefield like he wanted to. The trio worked together impeccably and used the strategy of draining Duncan's energy.
Duncan also knew their strategy very well. He may have a strong body and be able to use physical energy, but he wasn't a body cultivator. That meant his endurance level couldn't stand up to their levels as well. Duncan was also clearly aware of the shortcomings of using physical energy to battle for a prolonged time.
Thus, when the next gap presented itself after a couple of back-and-forths, Duncan took decisive action and kicked things up to the next level. With a loud shout, Duncan changed his attack and delivered the second act of <Primal Bull Fist>.
The attack flew directly towards Jiang Chen who had been a pain the ass of Duncan throughout the battle. Seeing a more ferocious attack coming towards him, Jiang Chen hastily tried to evade.
However, the delivery time of the second act of <Primal Bull Fist> was shorter than the first act. Primal Bull Piercing The Heavens was sharper and faster than the first act of <Primal Bull Fist>.
As a result, Jiang Chen was sent flying into the distance under Duncan's attack.
