Chapter 602: Chapter 602: Challenge

Those entwining sand tentacles sensed Balza's outbreak and did not resist directly, instead instantly softening and dispersing, transforming into countless streams of sand sliding away with Balza's struggling force, only to reconvene immediately, making them extremely troublesome. Though the Yellow Sand Fortress was damaged at its front, it simultaneously extended more sand streams, constructing temporary flowing sand shields in front of Duke, buying him precious charging time. The charging time seemed prolonged, yet all of this happened in the blink of an eye. Just as Balza's outburst scattered some of the sand, Duke's charging was already complete. The Blazing Sun Judgment seemed to transform into a miniature sun core, the sword body becoming so incandescent that it was blinding, its core with an awe-inspiring golden glow resembling the awakening dragon's pupil, targeted at the fatal old wound crack at Balza's back. The surrounding air was distorted and ionized by this extreme light and heat, emitting a low hum. Every sound seemed to be devoured by that sword-tip erupting torrent of blazing white, as solid as the Celestial God's Spear. This beam was no longer a simple energy beam; it contained an absolute will of purification and destructive power. At its core was that dignified and profound gold, scorching traces even on the virtual arena space as it passed. The speed of the beam surpassed thought, precise as destiny itself, piercing through the crack under Balza's shoulder blade the instant it broke free from most bindings, yet before it had time to completely turn around or gather its strongest defense. The moment the beam hit the crack, Balza's heavy lava armor met its nemesis like snow, beginning to melt and vaporize at a visible speed from the opening. The abyssal flames within the armor and flesh, before this supreme pure Power of Light, evaporated instantly like mist under the blazing sun. Balza let out a wail of utter despair, filled with pain, unwillingness, and a deep-seated fear of this holy power. Its massive body was hit by the terrifying kinetic energy within the light column, staggering forward, trying to resist using the hellfire within. But it was all in vain. The power of the Light Judgment, through the perfect breach of the old wound crack, surged into its body like the fiercest termites, destroying and purifying its energy structure from within. Its body radiated piercing gold and white light from the inside out, as if turning into a lantern about to shatter. Finally, in a silent yet soul-shaking energy immolation, the enormous body of the Flame Demon Commander Balza completely disintegrated, turning into countless ashes flickering with the last flames, and even the ashes were purified into nothing by the remaining Holy Flame, as if it had never existed. In the arena, only the slowly dissipating trail of the blazing white beam remained, and the fresh scent lingering in the air, akin to the sky after a storm, starkly contrasting the hellish searing sulfur smell from before. A grand, cold voice echoed: "First challenger, Flame Demon Commander Balza, defeated."