Uhtred reacted instantly. He hoisted his obsidian battle-axe and braced his feet to meet the incoming strike head-on. He pushed a measured surge of cosmic essence from his core into his arms to reinforce his defense, deliberately limiting the output to about twenty percent of his total cycle. He wanted to gauge the raw physical power of a Level 13 opponent in their very first exchange.

It was a calculation he regretted the exact millisecond their weapons clashed.

The moment the heavy club smashed into the star-metal battle-axe, a violent, foreign vibration rocked through Uhtred’s arms. The sudden shockwave completely disoriented the flow of cosmic essence moving through his veins. His internal circulation scattered instantly, and his grip on the battle-axe nearly slipped entirely as the kinetic force flung his entire body backward.

His boots plowed through the dirt, skidding across the ground for several feet before he could finally halt his momentum. He forced his legs to remain steady, refusing to let himself crash to the ground. A look of utter shock filled his eyes as he looked up, only to see the Neanderthal already bearing down on him again, his massive club whistling through the air in a downward swing.

What the hell did he just do? Uhtred thought frantically.

He forced himself to move, snapping his axe upward to block the second blow. This time, he did not hold back, pumping a massive fifty percent of his core’s cosmic essence cycle directly into his upper body.

The weapons collided with a deafening crack. And yet again, the exact same disorienting effect rippled across the point of contact.

Uhtred felt his internal energy pathways violently tremble, and his body was hurled backward for several steps. This time, however, he stabilized himself much faster. The moment his back foot anchored into the ground, he did not wait for a third attack. He exploded forward, launching a counter-charge against the relentless assailant.

He’s somehow using his own cosmic essence to disrupt my internal flow, Uhtred analyzed, his mind racing as he brought his weapon down.

Some sort of cosmic essence technique? Uhtred gritted his teeth, refusing to give the Neanderthal the time or space to load up another full-powered swing.

Moving with hyper-accelerated speed, Uhtred drove his battle-axe down early, meeting the club before it could even reach the halfway point of its arc, cutting off its kinetic leverage.

The weapons clashed with a dull thud. The disruptive energy rippled outward again, but because the Neanderthal had not built up enough power, Uhtred only shifted back two steps. The disorienting flow failed to scatter his internal cosmic essence cycle this time.

It didn’t work, Uhtred noted instantly, catching the briefest flicker of frustration as the Neanderthal’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Recognizing that his technique had been countered, the massive warrior leaped backward, putting several paces of distance between them to reassess his opponent.

Uhtred took a long, deep breath, thoroughly grateful for the short reprieve. His mind worked at lightning speed, trying to break down the exact mechanism of the disruption technique.

Vibrations? Uhtred thought, feeling the lingering numbness in his palms. No, that is not it. If it were a simple physical vibration technique, the kinetic force would have traveled past my arms and rippled deeper into my internal organs. It wouldn’t just stop after traveling for a short distance.

And Uhtred was exactly right. If it were truly a vibration technique, the Neanderthal would not even need the club to utilize it. He could have easily extended a bare hand during their close exchanges to strike Uhtred’s vital points, causing internal damage. Yet, he had relied strictly on weapon contact.

It is not a vibration technique, and it is not sound magic either, Uhtred deduced, eliminating the variables to find a solution. It had only been a few clashes, but he was already sick of passively defending. He needed to seize the offensive and dominate the momentum of the fight as quickly as possible.

"Let’s see how you handle this," Uhtred muttered under his breath.

He urged a burst of cosmic essence into his feet, sending energy coursing through them at a terrifying scale as he suddenly dashed forward, launching a direct, high-speed charge straight at the Neantherthal, who was still catching his breath.

"A blind charge," the Neanderthal muttered in a mocking tone. "The elders claimed your variant was the smartest... but I fail to see what makes you so exceptional." 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

With a ferocious roar, the ancient warrior charged forward to meet him, swinging his club downward with a blistering, heavy acceleration.

Uhtred spread his perception, still moving with his charge, but primed to adapt his star-metal battle-axe to deflect the incoming attack... but mid-stride, his eyes widened as he noticed the path of the Neanderthal’s swing...

The club was not heading for his weapon or his upper body at all, it had simply been a feint. Instead, the Neanderthal was striking straight at the ground.

With a thundering crash, the heavy weapon smashed into the earth. The exact millisecond of impact, a violent wave of localized shock surged through the soil and traveled straight up into the soles of Uhtred’s boots.

Before he could even attempt to leap away, a sharp, jagged spike of solid stone erupted from the ground, piercing clean through his right foot and nailing him brutally to the floor.

"Fuck!" Uhtred roared, absolute agony flaring through his nervous system as he stared down at the bloody stone spike protruding from his boot.

He forced his entire body to a dead halt, grinding his teeth to keep from moving so that the rough edges of the jagged rock would not rip a larger hole through his foot.

He carefully hoisted his leg upward, wrenching his foot free from the stone spike as the deep, gaping wound poured crimson blood into the dirt.

Earth magic! Uhtred realized in a flash of panic.

His head snapped up, but it was already too late. The Neanderthal’s massive club was already taking up his entire field of view, mere inches away from his face...