'Tiara of Aeges' futharks has been completely exhausted...I can't rely on it again to save my head.' Duchess Alina frowned.

All futharks in artifacts were fueled with elemental energy and if it was exhausted, the futharks would turn dim and inactive.

While lower-quality artifacts could easily have their futharks replaced, legendary artifacts' furtharks must not be discarded.

In other words, the only way for Tiara of Aegens to become active again is if their elemental energies were fueled back up...Only Dwarves were capable of doing so!

'I need to change my approach.'

To avoid falling into the same situation, Duchess Alina decided to go all out!historical

The first thing she did was completely detach herself from the blood river.

'There you are.' Felix swiftly spotted her like a radar and ordered his troops to go intercept her.

Duchess Alina heard the approaching footsteps and still, she didn't bother to create another blood monster...She beamed a couple of potions and began drinking them calmly.

Potion experts in the audience immediately recognized them.

"Spartan's Surge, Elixir of Titans, "Dragon's Fury Tonic, and Warrior's Brew. She is planning to go physical."

Queen Allura shared with her peers, knowing that all of those potions were used to power up the physical properties of the user temporarily!

Shatter...Shatter...

After Duchess Alina finished drinking them, she threw the bottles to the side and wiped her lips with a frigid stare...Then, she uttered, "Semi-Transformation."

The moment the words left her mouth, two bat-like featherless black wings burst from her back, hurling blood and flesh everywhere!

Then, her bottom half got ripped apart in a gruesome manner, and fell down to the blood river, leaving Duchess Alina to hover in her place.

Her fangs got much longer and covered her bottom lip while her nails become sharper and longer as well!

Last but not least, her eyes became fully blood red!

Most of the viewers weren't capable of looking at her anymore as she had transformed from a gorgeous Queen into a monstrous nightmare that visits children in their dreams!

"Well, sh*t."

The moment the troops arrived in front of Duchess Alina, Felix couldn't help but curse out loud after noticing Duchess Alina's transformation and the thrown unique bottles at the side!

As a walking potions Wikipedia, Felix instantly recognized the effect of those potions merely from their shattered glass!

This made him discern that Duchess Alina had taken this to the next level!

"Felix, I know that you can hear me." Duchess Alina suddenly spoke while eyeing the crystalized golems in front of her.

Not waiting for a reply, Duchess Alina flapped her wings slowly and stated coldly, "I am coming for you."

Before the viewers could react to her bold announcement, Duchess Alina disappeared instantly from her place!!

The shocked viewers attempted to see her location, but the automatic camera on Duchess Alina kept feeding them merely a moving chaotic flow!

"She is moving too fast to get captured by the camera!" Elnora exclaimed what was on everyone's mind.

Rumble Rumble!!...

She was going too fast even Felix knew that his troops and imprisonment tactic were utterly useless before her!

So, his first decision was to lock the paths in the maze's center, knowing that a single second lost would end up in Duchess Alina reaching him!

'Cowardly bastard!'

When Duchess Alina heard the noise of the walls near the center, she figured out Felix's counter-tactic instantly.

'Faster! Faster!'

So, she kept pushing herself to the limit, weaving through the maze's path at unprecedented and honestly impossible-to-control speed in such a complex environment!

However, Duchess Alina made it look easy because of her semi-transformation providing her with extreme mobility and core control.

In less than two seconds and after hitting more than ten dead-ends in her way, Duchess Alina finally arrived at one of the four paths leading straight to the center!

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!!

Unfortunately, she was still a tad bit slow as all of the paths were locked shut the moment she faced Felix's direction!

"BASTARD!" Duchess Alina cursed furiously after she arrived at the newly erected crystalized wall.

Literally, only a hundred meters or so separated her from Felix, yet she could do nothing but stare daggers at him with her blood vision.

"You can't hide forever, you coward!"

"I don't need to hide forever...I just need to keep hiding until your potions' effects end." Felix remarked calmly, knowing that she couldn't hear him.

When the viewers heard him, they couldn't help but feel bad for Duchess Alina.

"She is really fighting a shameless snake." Emperor Lokhil shook his head in disapproval, not too pleased with Felix's fighting style.

"Good thing you can't fight for sh*t." Elder Dragon sneered at his remark, "You would have been eaten alive in your first fight."

Elder Dragon might hate Felix's guts, but he hated such idiotic statements from non-fighters even more.

Emperor Lokhil got slightly embarrassed but he kept his mouth shut, knowing that Elder Dragon wasn't one to be argued with.

As expected, the true fighters applauded Felix's actions, knowing that those power-up potions had nasty aftereffects.

In their eyes, he would be absolutely retarded to fight Duchess Alina at her strongest when he could fight at her weakest!

Thud Thud Thud!!

Whether Duchess Alina figured out Felix's plan or not, she began bashing the wall in front of her, hoping to destroy it.

With her current strength, she actually managed to crack the surface slightly!

Alas, that was as far as she could get.

Felix merely kept watching her vent her frustration and anger at the wall through the eyes of a rat far behind her.

'A chance...' Felix's eyes gleamed for a split second after he realized that Duchess Alina was currently unstable and had most of her guard lowered.

After all, the smartest decision was to wait it out until she lose her power up.

Duchess Alina was bound to believe that Felix would be aiming at her when she suffered from the aftermath not now.

This was good and all, but Felix thought a step ahead!

'She will most definitely hide again until the potions' aftermath settled down. I wouldn't be able to do anything to her then. When she recovers, we will be at a stalemate again.' Felix narrowed his eyes, 'There won't be another chance like this to assassinate her directly and end this battle once and for all!'

Felix already knew that it was a big risk to make a direct attack on Duchess Alina. But at this point? He understood that the battle was never going to end if he kept using merely his troops.

As for bombing the entire maze with a nuclear-like condensed Argadite gemstone? He knew that Duchess Alina had prepared an exit strategy and wouldn't hesitate to use it to save herself.

This in turn would restart the fight back to the original point and serve no purpose.

Felix knew that he couldn't maintain his wisps of consciousness and the maze forever since they consume mental energy...It wasn't easy to recover it.

'Now or never.'

With a single deep breath, Felix entered the zone and began strategizing on how to increase his ambush chances.

'I can only take power-up potions that don't affect my bloodstream too obviously.' Felix beamed merely three potions and used his mental energy to lift and bring them near his mouth.

He understood that if he lifted them personally, Duchess Alina would associate the motion with drinking potion and alarm her.

After he took them, Felix felt his overall strength, speed, and reaction speed gets enhanced noticeably. Though, he knew that it wouldn't be as good as Duchess Alina's.

Unfortunately, all the best potions he concocted had an obvious reaction in his bloodstream.

'Just as a countermeasure, let's take this as well.' Felix beamed another potion with crimson liquified content and gulped it down in one go.

If those actions weren't obvious to the viewers that Felix was planning something, the moment he beamed his crescent battleaxe, everyone realized that Felix was going for the kill!

Soon, Felix coated the axe's blade with potent True Poison, turning it completely purple. Then, he locked on Duchess Alina's back and cast a teleportation spell on himself.

Whoosh!

A medium gray shimmering hex manifested above Felix while he was still in a mediation position!

'Don't tell me, he is trying to assassinate her like that...'

Before the viewers could even finish their thought, Felix disappeared out of sight after a flash of light!

When he appeared, he was seen hovering in his meditation position while swinging his poisonous crescent axe with everything he got at the center of Duchess Alina's head!!!

"DIEEEE!!" He shouted furiously, letting out all of his pent-up anger and guilt from the war with that last swing!