Chapter 983

"That’s all?"

Thalos spoke callously, turning his head to stare at Pluck, who stood trembling before him.

The vice leader had just delivered his most powerful punch, yet all it had accomplished was moving the gargoyle’s head a few inches to the side.

Now, his ultimate attack was being shrugged off with a chilling, cold question.

... That’s all?

’What does he mean? My strike barely fazed him?’

"... You couldn’t even draw blood. What a pity."

Before Pluck could even blink, his neck was seized by the gargoyle’s heavy, stone hands.

In the very next heartbeat, he kissed the ground as debris and dust flooded into his mouth and nose.

His eyes widened in an inexplicable agony.

He almost coughed up blood when he was roughly yanked back up and then cast aside like a mere piece of old, unused attire.

The wind bit against the man’s face and body like a vengeful wrath.

That was the sheer magnitude of Thalos’ throw.

As the gargoyle’s foot hovered just above the earth to complete a single step, he vanished.

It wasn’t just speed; it was silence.

It felt as though reality itself had erased him from existence in that singular instant.

The next second, Pluck’s pupils dilated to incredible lengths as the gargoyle towered above him once more.

WAM—! BOOOM—!

An undiluted shockwave, carrying the concentrated force of a hundred tornadoes, ripped outward, scattering nearby men in all directions.

A crater twenty meters wide, deep, and long yawned open from the point of impact where Pluck’s body met the earth.

Crimson droplets immediately burst from the vice leader’s mouth.

The sound of the slam was so deafening that the battlefield fell quiet for a moment, with every eye drifting toward the source of the devastation.

The ground was so shattered that it felt as though a mountain had crashed into that exact spot.

A blanket of dust veiled the area for a few seconds before settling to reveal a gargoyle towering above the wreckage, blood dripping from his crimson-embedded gauntlets.

Taking a few steps back, Thalos looked down.

Pluck could be seen in the center of the pit.

He was alive—barely.

He coughed continuously, his face smashed into the dirt as if it were glued to the earth itself.

Broken teeth lay clattered on the ground like discarded dice.

From the distance where he stood, a wide grin split Grey’s face at this sight.

But the next second, Pluck could be seen slowly rising from the floor.

It was a slow, painful, and torturous process.

He grimaced in deep agony as he finally staggered to his feet.

Blood pooled beneath him, and his face looked mangled, like a cosmetic surgery gone horribly wrong.

"Kuk..."

Blood sprayed from his mouth as he glared at Thalos with vengeful eyes.

Devan, still atop his mount, wore a frown so deep that a vein began to throb prominently on his head.

His strongest subordinate among the three was in such a terrible condition.

Anyone would be furious.

Thalos inclined his head to the side.

"I admire your grit, human. But you should know when to concede. Not every battle should be fought when one knows he lacks the necessary strength."

"..."

Throwing his head to the side, Pluck spat angrily before Ki flooded his whole body in violent waves.

Every ounce of his energy was released from his Dantian, saturating his veins and internals with incredible power.

His clothes ripped away while his skin began to turn a different shade of... pink?

Thalos’ brows knit as he shifted his weight subtly.

With a deafening bang, the gargoyle exploded forward with his hand outstretched.

His greatsword immediately whistled through the air with deadly speed as he closed the distance between him and the vice leader faster than the speed of light itself.

Pluck was unable to react at all.

He couldn’t even twitch a finger before the gargoyle reached him.

With one final, massive swing of his sword, Pluck’s head came off, his neck spewing blood like a geyser.

"I don’t have time for nonsense," Thalos spat coldly as he turned his gaze toward Devan.

Turning around calmly, he met the wide frown on the leader’s face.

Devan’s hands tightened at his sides as he watched Thalos begin his steady stride toward him.

In the background, Pluck’s headless body swayed for a few seconds before hitting the ground with a heavy thud.

The strongest vice leader of the Behemoth Clan was gone.

___

In another area, Fenrir was locked in a deadly exchange with the second vice leader—Oscroch.

An enormous lightning pillar was screaming toward Oscroch, who remained on the ground, staring at the descending doom with dilated pupils.

With all the Ki he could muster, the vice leader quickly zipped to the side, sliding on his back across the dirt.

BANG—! BOOOM—!

The pillar crashed into the earth with destructive force, scattering dust and debris into the atmosphere.

A deep crater tore open in the soil.

Within a second, Oscroch had recovered, darting forward with blistering velocity.

But lightning speed and true Lightning speed were two different things.

Fenrir zipped to the side just in time as Oscroch’s Ki blade tore through the air, cleaving the space in two with a thunderous bang.

Pressing his toes into the ground, lightning ran up and down Fenrir’s frame with total intensity.

Then, with a literal explosive bang that cracked the sound barrier and shattered the spot where he stood, the mage dashed forward.

Oscroch was not left behind. Ki sword in hand, he clashed with Fenrir.

Lightning sword against Ki sword.

The duo danced across the battlefield with overwhelming speed.

Each clash of their blades sent bangs and ringing sounds rolling through the air, shaking the very foundations of the field.

The soil beneath their feet cracked and tore open as sparks of lightning were thrown in every direction.

Oscroch gritted his teeth, pouring all his remaining Ki into the relentless attacks.

Fenrir’s eyes were constantly moving, scanning for any marginal opening he could exploit.

Finally, one presented itself as Oscroch went for a direct thrust of his Ki sword, aiming to take the mage’s head.

This move left the warrior vulnerable for a fleeting moment.

The mage immediately utilized this opportunity by twisting his body; however, the sword struck his shoulder instead, ripping through and delivering a jagged hole in that spot.

Fenrir’s own lightning sword flashed forward with the speed of light to counter.

But a smile appeared on Oscroch’s face as a massive Ki sword descended from the sky and crashed onto Fenrir’s lightning blade, dispelling sparks through the air.

Pressing his second hand onto the weapon currently lodged in the mage’s shoulder, Oscroch dragged the edge upward.

Fenrir let out a scream of white-hot pain as a portion of his arm was torn away by the brutal maneuver. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

Crimson sprayed into the air as the mage staggered backward, clutching the gruesome wound.