Sorcerer… Cyborg???

Chapter 197: Thunderstorm

Whilst the Emperor was bombarded with a series of slashes from Tam, a subtle shift came over the battlefield.

A stiff breeze began to blow through Aznur, and the silver light from the moon and stars above was slowly blotted out by the clouds that rapidly formed above.

Rain drops started to fall, washing away the blood that had pooled on the streets of Aznur, the whirlwind of fire surrounding the Emperor was doused and revealed the man within.

The Emperor's aura was dull, a pale yellow rather than the blindingly bright white that it usually was, he was covered in wounds now, without even an inch of his armor left intact.

The wings at his back flapped weakly, and his helmet was half destroyed, revealing his pale face, and a slash carved into the side of his scalp, blood dripping down, mixing with the rain that fell all across the battlefield.

"Have you no honor!" A yell echoed across the battlefield, as Nevus drew closer, and took in the sight of his Emperor, covered in wounds, burnt and lacerated, weakly hanging in the air, facing off against two Advanced Rank fighters.

Tam sighed, and turned to face the source of the sound, he ignored the Emperor, knowing that he had been reduced to such a state, that if he continued to fight, he would lose his life due to the enormous number of wounds all over his body.

Nevus, surrounded in his turquoise aura, flew rapidly toward his Emperor, propelled by a strong gust of wind, placing himself between the Emperor and the invaders, pointing his spear toward Tam.

The pressure in the air plummeted, and the air itself began to crackle with energy, the clouds over Aznur grew denser and denser, the sky turning completely dark, without even the slightest glint of light from the sky.

The battlefield below was now only lit by the spells that flew through the air, and the fires that had been lit by a stray spell.

"Your Imperial Majesty, please return to the palace, and have your wounds seen to. Regis and I shall take care of this." Nevus voice was calm, but his helm concealed the enraged expression on his face, as his usually calm and collected face turned red, and his lips drew back in a grimace.

"Thank you, Nevus, I knew you two would return soon." The Emperor said weakly, slowly flying away toward the shining white palace below.

Anteris and Tam ignored him, their attention fixed on the individual who had just appeared, both of them had heard of the Storm Generals of the Empire, and both of them knew that each of them was a force to be reckoned with,

"Let me take on this one Anteris, I'm sure the other won't be far behind." Tam had already discussed the possibility of facing the Storm Generals with Anteris, and he knew that Anteris' would fare better off against Regis, who would be unable to douse his flames. 

"You sure have a high opinion of yourselves." Nevus sneered, and the clouds above began to swirl, and flashes of lightning appeared in the clouds, momentarily lighting the entire battlefield.

Nevus swung his spear down, and there was a deafening crack, and two enormous bolts of lightning snaked down from the clouds above, striking down toward Tam and Anteris.

The pair of them focused their auras upwards, and the lightning bolts slammed into them.

Thunder boomed, and Tam shrugged off the attack, while Anteris had underestimated the bolt of lightning, the residual sparks dancing across his armor.

Nevus' power derived from the fact that his attacks weren't limited by his own power, rather he used his unique mana to manipulate the weather itself, wielding the force of nature itself against his enemies.

"To think that a weakling such as yourself would have the audacity to lay a hand on our Emperor." Nevus spat at Anteris, swinging his spear toward him, sending another bolt of lightning arcing down from the clouds above.

But Tam wasn't about to let attack Anteris unchallenged, as he swung his spear, Tam sword came slicing toward him, sending his bolt off target, harmlessly striking one of the many towers of the Imperial Palace.

"Forget about him, I was the one who gave your Emperor a good thrashing, and I enjoyed every moment of it." Tam snarled at Nevus, he had picked up on Nevus' sensitivity regarding the Emperor, and wanted to throw him off.

Nevus, his head now completely blank from fury, swung his spear recklessly toward Tam, sending bolt after bolt of Lighting toward him.

But Tam had anticipated this, and dove down toward the towers of the Imperial Palace, taking a looping flight path around the towers.

Bolt after bolt of lightning missed Tam, striking the higher towers, as Tam flew low, almost skimming the roof of the Palace itself, before flying up toward Nevus, stabbing out toward him.

But Nevus was ready for him, and a gust of wind propelled him forward, as he stabbed out with his spear, meeting Tam's blue aura covered blow with a turquoise one of his own.

The pair of them were evenly matched, sending out attack after attack, Tam using his speed to his utmost advantage, while Nevus manipulated the wind around him to try and hamper Tam and to accelerate his own attacks.

While Tam and Nevus were locked in combat, Anteris flew toward the purple glow in the distance, he wanted to get as far from the thunderstorm hanging over Aznur as possible, staying the rain would only weaken his attacks.

The air around Regis began to crackle with energy as he saw Anteris approaching, blue and red sparks flew around him, and began to wrap around his enormous broadsword.

The sparks grew more and more numerous, before forming a twisting spiral of flame, with bolts of lightning crackling within. 

Anteris prepared for impact, readying his own attack, flames surrounding his halberd and his aura growing brighter and brighter.