Although Dutan wasn't among the top-notch Sovereigns, his Grade-10 Space and Grade-9 Time Innate Talents allowed him to move unhindered in open space, and not even fully manifested Domains that were exclusive to the Sovereigns could contain him.
Ghora had a troubled look on his face while facing the slippery Sentinel Sovereign. His goal was to drag the battle as long as possible so that the monsters they deployed within the respective Worlds could do their part.
But he didn't expect the Sentinel Order to send the infamous Blind Sovereign, who ran amok in the last century's Galactic Siege.
Despite being the youngest Sovereign, Dutan wasn't even afraid to face any of the older and stronger Sovereigns.
After all, if push came to shove, he could flee at will and confining him would be beyond the reach of any other Sovereign unless the ones he faced were either the Fiend Overlord or the Sentinel Overlord.
Facing such an opponent, Ghora contemplated bringing forth his trump card but hesitated as that would give away the gravity of the situation and force Dutan to call for reinforcements.
After all, to the Sentinel Order, it appeared as a usual skirmish the Fiend Race ruffles up whenever someone who wasn't from their race emerges as an Omega-Chosen.
On the other side, Dutan was stuck in a pinch as well. Calling for another Sovereign would solve the dilemma, but that wasn't feasible at the moment, at least not without a price.
Fiend Race has intervened in the Trial Programs for the past million years despite the treaty they agreed on billions of years ago.
As per the agreement consented by both sides, a Galactic Siege every 100 years would decide the fate of the newly emerged Galactic Clusters.
But the emergence of a Fiend with a Unique Innate Talent to peer into the future had allowed them to specially target the Trial Programs that had an Omega Chosen in it, something that was privy only to the Sentinel Overlord, who has the highest grade System access.
Since then, the Sentinel Order deployed a fraction of its forces to safeguard the Trial Programs, especially those with an Omega Chosen in it.
Whenever an Omega Chosen appears, the Fiend Race intensifies their hostile activity at the territory border to keep the Sentinels occupied.
That way, the forces the Sentinel Order could afford to send to protect the Trial Programs were vastly limited; any reinforcements to the Trial Program would risk losing their territory guarded by one of the Sentinel Sovereigns.
That strategy allowed the Fiend Race to succeed in eliminating a handful of Omega Chosen over the past million years.
It was Dutan's turn to guard the ongoing Trial Program, and he wasn't having it easy.
With the time constraints he had to rescue the Alpha Chosen, the battle was stretching for too long.
The face-off should have been concluded early, but that didn't seem to be the case, with Ghora somehow still holding up.
Only the Fiend General himself knew how he was able to last so long under Dutan's onslaught.
It had everything to do with the Essence Crystal present in his body.
No Fiend at Tier-7 or above roams around with an Essence Crystal on them, especially when it was a battle with the Sentinel Order.
But Ghora dared to bring it to a battlefield despite knowing that falling there would result in irreversible and permanent death.
With Ghora not actively making use of his Essence Crystal to beef up his regenerative prowess, even his opponent, Blind Sentinel, wasn't aware of the fact that his opponent was carrying his own Achilles heel.
Ghora made sure not to make any alterations to his defensive prowess as that would be easier to notice.
Instead, he covertly healed the internal injuries Dutan had inflicted over the course of their clash.
Ghora wouldn't have had the gall to pull off such a feat if it were up to him.
He could only reluctantly do so under the absolute orders of the Fiend Overlord.
Moreover, he wasn't even given any intel on why he had to go on a borderline suicide mission.
Still, he was smart enough to see through the situation that even an irreversible death of a Fiend Sovereign could cover up the losses.
Either the ongoing Trial Program produces a really outstanding Omega Chosen such as Dutan or the emergence of a Holy Child.
Just the thought alone had sent shivers down his spine whenever he thought of it. Ghora believed if that were the case, sending him alone wouldn't even do justice to the graveness of the situation.
Likewise, the Sentinel Order wouldn't have sent just one Sovereign if they were to possess any knowledge of that.
Then it wouldn't just be a fight between two Sovereigns but a full-on war between the two strongest factions in the Universe.
If Ghora were to expose the Essence Crystal on him, the situation would escalate out of his hands.
But if he was left with no choice, he could only do so at the last moment possible, only after dragging it out as long as possible.
Ghora could only wish for the Fiend Monsters to do their part, especially since it was his life hanging by the tread.
Discord Link for 'Earth's Alpha Prime' :
I added an image on how Dutan would look in the chapter comments. Do give it a look.
If you have any suggestions for this chapter, I am all ears. I will make any reasonable corrections based on your feedback.