The distance between Inala and Gudora continued to decrease. There was a decently large pile of rubble three hundred metres away from Inala.
Gudora rushed to it and gasped for air. This was the perfect distance for him to attack. At the 2-Life Stage, the maximum range for his Spirit Weapon was six hundred metres while the optimal range was four hundred metres.
Three hundred metres was well within his optimal range. Moreover, it was beyond Inala's Spirit Weapon range. After all, the maximum range for someone at the Body Stage was only one hundred eighty metres.
"Phew," Gudora calmed himself and condensed a cylindrical container with a tapered edge, almost resembling a bullet in shape. He used most of his Prana to fill it to the brim with crystal mist, infusing the power of a specific Skill in it, 'This will be strong enough to take him out through a sneak attack.'
By now, he had been appearing out of the piles of rubbles in fixed intervals, getting Inala used to the rhythm. And this time too, he planned to rush out at the same rhythm.
His son hadn't returned yet, but Gudora knew that his son was wise enough to make plans on his own and sneak attack Inala. Their stealthy actions were why even he had yet to notice their arrival.
'One shot is enough to kill him. His defences are weak.' Gudora thought and peeked out slightly, 'He isn't protected by those Zingers like the last time we fought. My attack speed is fast enough that it'll hit him before he can recall those Zingers from his surroundings, if he planted any there.'
What Gudora didn't know was the fact that he was wrong about two things. The first was about his son.
Since Inala had Hanya's skull, he knew the location of the cave with the Parute Trees. Hence, the Empyrean Zinger King drilled a way through in its miniature form and had been hiding behind a Parute Tree, ready with a bunch of Life Bombs given to it by Inala.
Hence, Gudora's youngest son died from the resulting sneak attack, something he never expected.
When one was absolutely confident in a place's privacy, they naturally let go of their guard. Sneak attacks worked the best exactly then.
Only the royalty knew the location of the cave with the Parute Trees, with the entrance leading to it opening only to them, as they were crystal doors—created using Haddlyok—acting as their Spirit Weapons. Therefore, Gudora's youngest son never assumed a third party could be here.
That was why he was killed in the ambush.
Secondly, when Gudora hid behind the pile of rubble three hundred metres from Inala, the latter escaped.
The bone pillar was hollow inside, sporting two channels. Right as Gudora hid behind the pile of rubble, two holes appeared on the top of the bone pillar.
From the front hole came out a realistic-looking puppet of Inala, piloted by two miniature Empyrean Zingers. The first worked in controlling the puppet body while the second controlled the Sumatra Zingers.
"Gudora! Do you know who the forty thousand survivors of Ellora City consider their saviour?" The second hole opened underneath Inala right after his shout. His body fell through the channel and appeared underground. Both the holes at the top closed as Inala used the Mystic Bone Art to fill up the insides of the tower, making it solid.
"Damn, this is deep." He muttered after landing on a protruding platform. It was only wide enough for him to stand upon. Right below the bone pillar was a massive pit, cylindrical in shape, spanning a diameter of twenty metres and reaching a depth of a hundred metres.
The walls were created using Prana Bombs, five centimetres thick. There was an entrance leading into a tunnel at the end of the platform where he stood. Inala walked into the tunnel and used Mystic Bone Art to transform the platform into a door that closed the tunnel entrance.
He then vomited out soil to fill up the tunnel as he ran deeper through it, soon jumping into a collapsed shelter. He used the tunnel dug there to make his way out of Ellora City.
In the meantime, Gudora rushed out of the pile of rubble in rhythm, evading the Prana Bombs that came his way. While he rushed out, he kept note of the cylinder left behind at his hiding spot.
He ran in a direction clockwise to puppet Inala, controlling his Spirt Weapon that flew counter-clockwise. Prana Bombs continued to target him since he didn't hide quickly and seemed intent on closing the distance even further.
"It's futile, Gudora. You're too exhausted to fight me." The puppet Inala continued to speak in his voice and attacked Gudora, "Why don't you surrender and…ack!"
Puppet Inala's words were cut short when the crystal cylinder slammed into him from behind. It shattered upon contact as the crystal mist covered puppet Inala. Suddenly, crystal spikes formed out of it and pierced through his body, causing blood to spurt out, "You…damn!"
"Huff…hahh!" Gudora gasped as he emitted Prana radially, detecting Inala's presence. His skin prickled at the stomach, allowing him to keep watch over the target. Slowly, the prickling sensation weakened. It was due to the target body losing Prana from blood loss.
Gudora waited patiently as he stood at a distance two hundred metres away from the bone pillar, observing blood drip out from Inala's body. He then climbed up on a nearby pile of rubble and scaled up the remaining height using a crystal pillar.
Standing at a height of twenty-two metres, he was able to clearly see Inala's body, also keeping watch through his detection means, muttering after a while, "If not for the pressing situation, I would have loved to make your life a living hell."
He confirmed the target's death. Only after the latter stopped bleeding did he approach the bone pillar, exercising utmost caution. There was no more blood in the body to bleed. Gudora even calculated the amount based on his observation, ensuring there was no way Inala played a trick.
He climbed the bone pillar and stared at Inala's corpse, snorting in response, "This fucker is dead."
But just in case, he crushed the head, watching brain matter spill in response. Carrying the corpse, he jumped down, intending to extract whatever value remained in it next.
Unfortunately for him, the moment his feet touched the ground, the floor caved in, causing him to fall. "Shit! He set up a trap!"
Gudora used the last of his Prana to condense a stick that elongated to the pit's width, allowing him to dangle from it. He stared up and observed that he had fallen close to a depth of forty metres from the surface, "Vicious bastard!"
Since he had expended all Prana, all he felt was a minor headache for a moment when the faint tinge of Prana remaining in his body was sucked out. After that, he was normal, looking around as he realised he had been trapped.
The walls of the pit were flat and he had used the last of his strength to create the crystal rod that was slowly sliding over the edges due to his weight. Every minute, he was sliding a couple metres deeper into the pit.
Without Prana, he had no means of escaping the pit. But, he didn't lose hope, staring at the corpse he held, 'My son will return soon.'
"Help!" Gudora's voice resounded from the pit.
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