Chapter 978

Thalos was faced with a mountain-breaking punch from Pluck, but the gargoyle remained completely unfazed.

All he did was offer a smile—an unsettling, jagged expression that shouldn’t have been on the face of anyone staring down such incredible danger.

Then, a blur.

Pluck had just blinked, and in the next heartbeat, Thalos was no longer there.

The vice leader’s fist smashed into empty air, the sound barrier shattering immediately under the forceful momentum of the punch.

A localized blast of kinetic energy crashed into the earth, ripping a ten-meter-long trench through the dirt.

Rotating his body in time, Pluck braced for an immediate counter, but none came.

Instead, Thalos had focused his attention elsewhere, effortlessly dismantling the other men foolish enough to lunge at him.

The blatant disrespect was starting to get to Pluck.

Ki wrapped around his feet as he proceeded to bolt toward the gargoyle with rapid velocity.

Within seconds, he was behind the stone warrior, whose back was turned toward him.

His fist sliced through the air with maximum speed.

Without even looking behind him, Thalos calmly lifted a hand over his shoulder, absorbing the impact of Pluck’s Ki-infused punch without moving so much as an inch.

Turning around sharply, a loud crack echoed as the gargoyle’s leg sliced through the air with lightning speed.

It smashed into Pluck’s midsection with the concentrated force of a speeding train.

The vice leader’s eyes widened in agonizing pain.

His hand lost its grip as his body was sent ricocheting across the battlefield with humiliating force.

His frame ripped jagged chasms into the earth, and his insides felt as though they had been struck by a falling boulder. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

The pain was unlike anything he had ever endured.

His only saving grace was that he had been coating his internal organs with Ki at the exact moment the kick landed; otherwise, his midsection would have likely imploded.

Slamming his hand into the ground, he dragged himself to a forceful, grinding halt.

The soil bent and groaned beneath his desperate grasp.

Before he could even fully steady himself, Thalos was already before him, launching a crushing descending kick aimed at shattering whatever remained of his resolve.

Pluck didn’t waste time.

Instinct kicked in as Ki flooded his limbs.

He darted to the side at the perfect moment, because half a second later, Thalos’ heel ripped through the earth like a hot knife through butter.

A massive chunk of debris was kicked into the air, and the whole battlefield experienced something akin to a localized earthquake that rattled the very foundations of the area.

A twenty-meter-long trench immediately yawned open from where Thalos’ heel had connected.

Pluck’s heart was pounding frantically against his chest the moment he rose.

He had been so close to death.

Recalling the incident at the coliseum, his eyes narrowed as the pieces fell into place.

’Yeah. I almost forgot. This same gargoyle went toe-to-toe with Orion before and after he transformed. Though it was unable to do much against a beastly Orion, it was still able to smash that man around like a ragdoll when he was in his human form.’

"Cough..."

Looking at the ground, he could see a dark crimson splatter.

Placing his hand to his mouth, he saw droplets of blood on his palm.

His eyes widened in shock.

’The blow from earlier? It did that much damage?!’

Lifting his head, he saw Thalos was already moving blistering fast, heading straight for him.

’... Damn it all! How could I forget? Orion was a stage nine warrior, yet he was tossed around by this gargoyle before being forced to transform. I’m only a stage eight warrior. I stand no chance!’

Thalos appeared before Pluck within a second, his fist rocketing forward like a missile of pure destruction and vengeance.

Pluck was left with no other option; he swirled every ounce of his available Ki into his hands and managed to deflect the blow to the side by the narrowest of margins.

His teeth clenched in a sudden surge of determination.

’... But does that mean I will run away again?’

He flash-stepped directly into the gargoyle’s personal space.

The distance between them, which had been roughly four feet, was closed in a heartbeat.

"Hell no!"

Swinging his arm like a heavy baseball bat, the vice leader bashed his fist into Thalos’ head with all his might.

BOOOM—!

The air resounded as the punch connected squarely with Thalos’ head, flinging the gargoyle’s face to the side with a jarring impact.

***

Oscroch and Fenrir dashed at one another with all the speed they could muster, their forms becoming mere streaks against the backdrop of the chaotic battlefield.

Fenrir was still faster—possessing a lethal edge.

A longsword made entirely out of Ki materialized in the warrior’s hands, which he proceeded to haul at the mage before him with all his might.

The blade ripped a jagged trench through the ground before lifting into the air toward Fenrir, who calmly deflected the blow with a shimmering lightning sword.

Shifting his feet slightly, Fenrir sent strikes of lightning running through the earth toward the warrior, who quickly vaulted through the air lest he become trapped.

He had witnessed the potency of these surges before and wasn’t about to fall victim to them now.

Fenrir smirked.

A chilling, sinister smile played on his lips as his hands quickly slipped into his robe, pulling out a specialized parchment.

Igniting it with a surge of mana, he hurled the scroll through the air.

"Ignitus!"

A roaring funnel of flames burst out, speeding toward Oscroch, whose eyes lit up in horror for a fleeting second.

His warrior instincts kicked in almost immediately as a pair of Ki swords, gleaming with intense energy, appeared in his grip.

Without hesitation, he swung them forward with all his strength.

He ripped through the funnel of flames like a pair of scissors through fabric, the heat singeing the air around him.

But then, right there in front of him was Fenrir, holding a sizzling ball of lightning in his palms.

Jabbing his hands forward, the mage launched the unexpected attack toward Oscroch, who slammed his teeth together in grim anticipation.

Crossing his hands in front of him just in time, the ball of lightning crashed into his forearms with the concentrated force of a bullet train.

White-hot, electrifying pain ravaged through his very being as his body was hurled out of the air and slammed into the earth with a loud, resounding crash.

That wasn’t all.

Fenrir pointed his hand toward the heavens, and soon, a thick lightning pillar could be seen peeking out of the darkened clouds.

In no time, the mage’s finger dropped downward, and the pillar rushed toward Oscroch, who lay trapped in the crater formed by the impact of his descent.