Origin Level 1, Race Sovereign.
This was the peak for the transcendents of the Sia Continent, devastating power that few had personally witnessed in the present era. Those who dared to become the enemies of these transcendental beings had mostly been reduced to ashes.
Any situation where an Origin Level 1 transcendent made a move was almost guaranteed to go down in history.
Most people lived their lives without ever meeting an Origin Level 1 transcendent, but here was one standing before Roel, reminding him of the terrifying strength a Human Sovereign wielded.
When the thunderbolts enveloped the surrounding with their blinding radiance, Roel found himself losing all five of his senses, almost as if someone had rattled his brain hard. Mana instantaneously converged around him, rendering him immobile.
He had once experienced such overwhelming power from Magician King Priestley Maxwell back in the Witness State, but unlike before, he wasn’t a low-level transcendent who could be easily trampled on. He had overcome tribulations to uncover his core and advance to greater heights.
Roel resisted the immense pressure crushing down on him and furiously channeled his mana to summon his contracted ancient gods.
The white-haired Witch Queen swiftly appeared beside him, manifesting a black vortex and destroying everything that was pulled into its midst. A split moment later, the pale yellow mana of the Primordial Earth Goddess surged out from his body, enhancing his defense prowess while calming the brewing sandstorm.
This clash transpired in a split moment, such that no one else from either side was able to react to it.
In spite of the defensive measures Roel had put up, Layton’s blue thunderbolt tore through the black vortex and dissipated the pale yellow mana wrapped around his body to strike him squarely in the abdomen. The sheer force of the thunderbolt sent him flying into the jungle, where dozens of trees fell in the wake of his retreating figure.
The Emperor of Calamity witnessed this sight, and goosebumps swiftly covered its body. Obeying its instincts, it didn’t hesitate to turn tail and escape back into the jungle. By this point, the other demonic beasts had also realized that danger was upon them, but unfortunately, they were too weak to resist the powerful pressure holding them in place.
While Roel was flying helplessly across the air, he seemed to hear Alicia’s shouting, but not a word registered to him amidst the thunderous crackles and the ringing in his ear. It took several seconds, after flying across the plain and a thousand meters into the jungle, that he finally regained control of his body.
Sparks of blue thunderbolts continued to crackle as a charred smell filled the air.
This common sense-defying strike plunged the battlefield into an eerie silence. Both the Sezes’ elite troops and the Ascart soldiers found themselves speechless before the tremendous power displayed by Layton Seze, such that none of them dared to move carelessly.
Are we going to die here?
Such was the thought that filled the minds of the Ascart soldiers. They looked in the direction where Roel had fallen, desperately praying for a miracle. However, their rational minds were telling them that it was all hopeless.
After all, Roel was only at Origin Level 3 no matter how talented he was.
In this moment of suffocating despair, a puff of smoke suddenly rose from the jungle. Where the blue thunderbolt had fizzed to sparks, a black-haired young man rose from the rubble.
“Cough!”
Blood spilled out of his mouth, and the hems of his clothes were slightly charred. Yet, other than these, he was miraculously fine. His eyes glowed brightly under the flames of the torched jungle as his mana began to flare once more, igniting the drive in the hearts of Ascart soldiers too.
“He’s still alive!”
“How is that possible?”
The soldiers who discovered that Roel was still alive were either excited or shocked.
Even Duke Brookley thought that it was unbelievable how he was still alive after taking an attack from an Origin Level 1 transcendent. For that very reason, a glimmer of hope lit up in the hearts of the Ascart soldiers.
Relief flooded Alicia’s heart when she saw Roel standing up from the rubble, and she nearly cried out of sheer joy. Her body started to glow beneath the moonlight as she stepped forward with the intent to heal Roel, but her spell abruptly stalled to a halt.
The terrifying pressure crushing down on the Ascarts’ had returned.
Despite his lofty reputation as the hero of humankind, Layton Seze had no intention of going easy on Roel at all just because the latter was from a younger generation. Just the sheer intensity of his presence made the sky feel dimmer.
Interestingly, Layton Seze didn’t rush to make an attack this time around. It was the same for Roel in the jungle too.
The Origin Attribute of the Seze House was ‘Berserk’, but they didn’t have a hereditary bloodline to go along with it. Brookley was fortunate to be born with a bloodline that allowed him to manipulate fluid, but it didn’t suit the Berserk Origin Attribute well since it was more inclined toward defense and maneuverability.
In comparison, Layton’s thunderbolt bloodline had a highly offensive nature that went well with the Berserk Origin Attribute. There were many people who thought that he was a spellcaster due to the incredible prowess of his thunderbolts, but historical records stated that he was more of a knight transcendent.
In other words, the earlier thunderbolts weren’t Layton’s specialty.
That was why Roel was refraining from making any long-ranged attacks, knowing that they would only be revealing openings for Layton to exploit. Thus, he wiped off the blood trailing from the corner of his lips and patiently waited for the enemy to make his move.
Layton swiftly understood Roel’s intention, so after a moment of thought, he finally took a step forward.
Along with this single step, his mana began to surge and his body started to undergo a major transformation. Within several seconds, his body expanded to the point where his muscles were bulging within his clothes, threatening to rip. Thunderbolts coiled around his body, lighting up the entire Sezes’ base camp.
On the other hand, the Ascarts’ were put through a great deal of agony. The pressure Layton was exerting increased in intensity along with Layton’s transformation. Lightning bolted down ceaselessly on the area within his sphere of control, felling tree after tree.
All it took was for Layton to channel his mana to induce such a calamity. Clearly, the old man’s strength was off the charts. Even Roel’s face had started to turn grim.
And this was only just the start.
Layton raised his foot and took the second step forward.
A massive, blurred silhouette manifested behind Layton.
A Human Sovereign was an existence comparable to a god. Just as how mortals would tremble in Grandar’s presence, those who stood before the blurred silhouette conjured by Layton would experience a dreading feeling of fear and subconsciously lower their heads.
Meanwhile, in the jungle, crimson lightning and flames crackled as a massive skeleton giant manifested around Roel amidst a fog. With the powerful aura of an ancient god, Roel was able to significantly neutralize the pressure that Layton was exerting on the Ascart soldiers.
In terms of aura, this man appears to be even stronger than Priestley. He doesn’t feel like an old man. If anything, it seems like he’s in his prime, Roel thought.
Roel couldn’t understand how Layton was in such a good condition despite having lived for centuries, but this meant that Time Devourer was unlikely to be too effective on him. The realization of that brought a frown to his face.
Sensing his worry, Peytra further reinforced his defense while Artasia began setting up obstacles in the surroundings. Roel stared intently at Layton, awaiting his next move.
To his astonishment, despite the thorough defense he had put up, Layton’s silhouette abruptly vanished, replaced by the afterimage of a punch that was nearly right in front of him.
“!”
With his third step, Layton rapidly closed the distance between him and Roel to unleash a punch wrapped in devastating thunderbolts. It was so fast that it looked as if he had teleported across space. Roel was unable to react to this superhuman maneuver at all.
Is this the pinnacle of physical force?
It was almost like a cannonball crashing through layers of glass panels.
The gravitational field was unable to slow Layton at all. The sheer shockwave of the fist crumbled the boulders floating around Roel and blasted away multiple layers of frost aura.
Despite the overwhelming momentum of Layton’s fist, Roel was hardly worried at all, for he knew that this attack wouldn’t be able to overcome his companions’ defenses.
He had chosen to entrust his life to his companion, and Grandar responded to his trust with his full might. Right as Layton’s seemingly unstoppable punch was about to land, another blazing fist made out of white bones appeared in its path.
If Layton’s fist was packed with fervor and aggression, Grandar’s fist was much more subtle, reminiscent of someone who had buried his history and past glories. It was a fist devoid of an edge, but the sheer weight behind it was enough to make Layton hesitate despite his absolute superiority in terms of Origin Level.
Boom!
The collision of the two fists produced an intense burst of light that divided the world into two colors, blue and crimson. The two forces furiously rammed at each other, eventually culminating in a deafening explosion.
The two intermixed mana gushed upward as if a spear was piercing through the sky, dissipating the clouds and revealing a sky full of stars. Beneath the starlight, after the intense clash and shook the entire plains, Roel and Layton finally parted from each other, their bodies concealed by thick layers of dust and smoke.