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Although it appeared to be just an ordinary wave of moonlight, it gave Maricus an extremely dangerous feeling.

He rolled to the side, dodging Zicomo's attack.

The moonlight wave struck the pillar behind Maricus, who turned to look.

He discovered that the pillar had broken off at the base.

If it weren't for the layer of ice covering the surface, freezing the pillar together at the break point...

The pillars may have already collapsed by now.

Maricus's face beneath his hood was serious; he hadn't expected Zicomo to be so strong.

Zicomo looked at Maricus with a broad smile.

He asked, "So? Are you going to use the power of destined death?"

Because of the theft of the Predestined Death on the night of the conspiracy, the remorseful Maricus retrieved the Predestined Death and buried it inside his body.

This is essentially a sealing mechanism to ensure that the destined death will not be stolen again.

Maricus said, "It's not time yet..."

Before he finished speaking, he suddenly lifted his hand that was pressing on the ground, and five claw-marked light blades flew rapidly along the ground towards Zicomo.

Zicomo leaped into the air and dodged the attack.

However, Maricus's attack was not over yet.

With his other hand, he grabbed a boulder from the ground and hurled it at Zicomo, who was still airborne.

As the boulder drew closer, Zicomo adjusted his posture in mid-air and placed one foot on top of it.

Using the boulder's strength, Zicomo leaped behind Maricus.

Without turning around, Maricus slammed his hand, which had been raised high to unleash the claw attack, back down to the ground.

The next moment, the spot where Maricus stood exploded with rubble, and countless claw marks and light blades spread outwards from him.

Zicomo, who had been about to use the Darkmoon Greatsword to cut down Maricus, now had to withdraw his attack and move away from Maricus's vicinity.

Maric grabbed a handful of pebbles, turned around, and with the amplification of his strength, the pebbles shot towards Zicomo at a speed invisible to the naked eye.

Zicomo gripped the Darkmoon Greatsword with both hands and plunged it into the ground.

A blue barrier rose in front of him, shielding Zicomo from Maricus's attack.

Seeing this, Maricus continued to attack with his beast claw light blades and rocks.

Zicomo was getting annoyed by Maricus's relentless attacks.

He scoffed, "Is this never going to end?"

Zicomo freed one hand, took out the Death Staff, and unleashed a 'Comet Yazle' at Maricus.

The deep blue torrent, like a comet, surged forward, breaking through the light blades and rocks of Maricus, and crashing straight into Maricus.

Caught off guard, Maricus was completely engulfed by the comet's torrent.

The enormous impact pushed it to the edge of the hall, nearly sending it flying into the sky.

Maricus scrambled to his feet, his already tattered robe now resembling a ragged beggar's outfit.

It's more accurate to say that even the beggar's clothes are better than those of Marykas.

At least their clothes only had some holes.

Maricus's robes were so worn that they were no longer recognizable as clothes; they looked more like tattered rags hanging on his body.

Maricus looked at the back of his left hand.

After his robe was torn, a round amulet made of rock was revealed on the back of his hand, with a trace of blood in the center.

This is precisely the seal that Maricius used to bury his destined death within himself.

Maricus murmured, "...'Death,' become my sword once more!"

After saying that, he inserted the dagger he had been holding in his right hand into the amulet.

The crimson-black power, tinged with a hint of gold, climbed up Maricus's body along the daggers in his left and right hands.

Maricus's tattered robes vanished completely under this force.

Instead, he wore a dashing suit of black and gold armor.

Even the dagger in Maricus's hand had completely changed its appearance.

Maricus pulled it out, and the dagger transformed into a greatsword made of black stone.

The sword was surrounded by red and black energy, and also shimmered with golden light.

This is the legendary destined death.

There is also a noticeable chip or nick in the hilt of the sword.

Zicomo even suspected that the Death Rune fragments on the 'Blasphemy Claw' in his hand were knocked off from there.

After completing his transformation, Maricus roared to the sky.

To be honest, with that cool armor, he actually looks quite respectable.

"So, your so-called 'not the right time' is just you waiting for your clothes to rot?"

Zicomo retorted, "Besides, isn't the Fated Death the Queen of Night's Eyes hers? How did it become your weapon?"

Maricus remained silent. He leaped up, his black sword shrouded in the power of death, and lunged at Zicomo.

Zicomo became wary and used Apparition to teleport directly to a distance from Maricus.

As soon as Maricus landed, he plunged the black sword into the ground, and most of the hall floor turned into rubble under the power of death.

Zicomo looked at the scene before him and silently complained to himself.

Sure enough, even after breaking free from his destined death, Maricus still couldn't shake his habit of playing with stones.

Even before the predetermined death is revealed, it's the same; either you're breaking stones or throwing stones at people.

Seeing that his first strike missed, Maricus turned around and slashed with his sword again.

Dozens or even hundreds of red and black sword beams transformed into a tornado, sweeping towards Zikomo.

Zicomo remained unfazed and used Apparition again to leave the spot.

Chapter 287 The Death Force, Perfect for Group Battles, and the Importance of Finishing Off the Enemy

As the bells of the summoning bells rang, one soul after another appeared before Zicomo.

A 'tear-shaped replica' that looks exactly like Zicomo.

Oreg, the Knight of Lost Home, and Oga, the Knight of the Red Lion, both clad in knight's armor.

Soldiers from various border regions, armed with a variety of weapons.

There are even many subhuman and non-human species.

For example, there are short, vicious soldiers with the ability to bleed, who can unleash crimson, rotting wild dogs, and groups of demi-human soldiers with different roles.

These souls, standing before Zicomo, despite their vastly different physiques and appearances, exuded a sense of order and harmony.

Even Maricus on the opposite side felt a sense of oppression.

With a wave of his hand, Zicomo sent the undead army and the spirit troops in front of him swarming forward.

To Maricus, the undead army was nothing more than a bunch of slightly troublesome ants.

Holding the reins of his destiny, he could casually wield his black sword to reap a vast number of undead.

However, the 'bursting spirit fire' explosions generated after these undead died caused considerable trouble for Maricus.

The ethereal fire, imbued with the power of death, clung to Maricus, relentlessly eroding his life through his wounds.

This forced Maricus to divert some of his attention to dealing with these death forces.

Rather than saying that Maricus possessed and controlled the Fated Death, it would be more accurate to say that he simply snatched it from the Queen of the Night-Eyed.

Maricus's use of Predestined Death was limited to its application as a weapon.

At most, it's just a bit more flexible.

Maricus was able to devour the Dead Root because he had buried his destined death within himself.

By utilizing the predetermined death, one can absorb the power of the root of death.

The destiny of death has now been transferred to the black sword in Maricus's hands.

If Maricus were to devour the Dead Root again, he would likely be transformed into a Deathborn by the Dead Root.

Therefore, Maricus did not truly master the power of preordained death.

At least it failed to transform it into its own source of power.

That is why Maricus was corrupted by the deathly power of Zikomo.

Furthermore, one needs to use the black sword in their hand to extract the power of death from their body.

At the same time, Zicomo's elite Soul Force also arrived before Maricus.