Chapter 407: Five Seconds Left… Can Luke Survive?!

Although individuals possessing exceptional talents or blessings could sometimes surpass those restrictions, even they eventually encountered limits that couldn't be ignored.

Yet Luke was continuously pushing beyond those boundaries, displaying physical strength that should have been impossible for a being at his current life level.

Before Zephyrielle could understand how he was accomplishing this, another shout erupted from within the protective dome.

"COME!"

Luke roared toward the descending lightning, showing no hesitation as he prepared to confront Valtharion's power for the second time.

After all, he had already survived its wrath once before, and he intended to survive again today, firmly believing that a day would eventually arrive when their positions would be reversed, with him becoming the one attacking while Valtharion would be forced to endure his power.

RUMMBLLLLEEEE!

"HAHHHH!"

The next moment, the golden lightning finally collided with the first defensive layer.

"Heavenly Fortress"

The reinforced cosmic dome shattered almost immediately, unable to withstand the overwhelming force of the A-Rank tribulation, but when the lightning reached the second barrier, "Severance Shield", its momentum was abruptly disrupted.

The Physical Severance contained within the shield cut into the descending attack, stripping away a considerable portion of its force before the barrier itself was destroyed.

Immediately afterward, the lightning encountered the third defensive layer, another "Severance Shield", although this one possessed Energy Severance instead of its physical counterpart.

As the golden bolt struck its surface, the Severance Authority activated against the lightning's energy, cutting away approximately one-tenth of its remaining power while the other nine-tenths continued descending.

Both Severance Shields were destroyed during the collision, but their combined effects had successfully weakened the tribulation before it could reach Luke's other defenses.

"Ugh!"

Luke felt the backlash from their destruction, yet he refused to retreat, especially since the ten-second duration of Absolute Strength had already begun counting down.

Only eight seconds remained, but during that time, his enhanced physical attributes and energy output had also increased the amount of energy produced by his two Cosmic Hearts, allowing the defensive barriers he had already created to become stronger.

That additional supply was one of the reasons his Severance Shields had managed to cut away a portion of the A-Rank lightning instead of being destroyed without accomplishing anything.

Although the golden bolt had become somewhat dimmer, it continued descending and soon collided with the fourth layer.

"Celestial Gravity Shield"

This time, the defensive Art displayed the unique properties created by combining Cosmic Lock with Cosmic Construct.

Rather than pulling the lightning in a single direction, the gravitational field surrounding the barrier began dragging its energy outward from multiple directions simultaneously, subjecting the descending bolt to opposing forces.

Under that intense gravitational pressure, portions of the lightning's outer energy layer were stripped away, separating into smaller golden sparks that scattered toward the surrounding terrain.

BOOOM!

Even those fragments contained power comparable to Peak B-Rank attacks, causing violent explosions as they struck the ground and destroyed the nearby trees and hills, leaving only Luke's protected position standing amid the devastation.

"Is this real!"

Emberlyn instinctively covered her mouth, finding it difficult to believe that Luke had already managed to weaken an A-Rank tribulation to such an extent.

However, after watching his defenses operate one after another, she finally began understanding his approach.

Luke wasn't attempting to withstand the entire tribulation through raw physical strength, since he wasn't an A-Rank being himself, but was instead using different defensive methods to gradually reduce the attack's power before it reached his body.

"He knows what he is doing."

Rhaenyra muttered those words, feeling somewhat impressed by the preparations Luke had made.

Initially, she had expected him to rely primarily on absolute physical strength, especially since that was how she herself would prepare for such an attack.

Even Emberlyn had assumed something similar after witnessing Luke's battles against the Orcs, where he had repeatedly used powerful techniques to overwhelm his opponents.

However, the current situation was different, since every defensive Art surrounding Luke was already powerful enough to resist attacks approaching Peak B-Rank, yet each appeared comparatively weak against the A-Rank lightning descending from Valtharion.

Of course, watching him wield so many extraordinary abilities made it easy to forget one important detail about his actual cultivation.

"A D Rank."

Zephyrielle quietly muttered those words, reminding herself that the being currently resisting an A-Rank tribulation was still only D-Rank.

Meanwhile, the golden lightning continued descending and finally reached the next defensive position, where Luke had deliberately arranged two barriers to work together.

The first was "Sealed Celestial Citadel", whose purpose was to suppress the lightning's energy and remaining momentum through Sevaroth's Suppression Authority, while the second was "Closure Barrier", which had been placed beneath it to continuously repair any damage sustained by the stronger defense.

Luke had specifically chosen this arrangement because he believed that "Sealed Celestial Citadel", being a three-component Forged Art, would be capable of resisting the lightning for at least a few moments, allowing the Closure Barrier to repair its damaged structure during the collision.

And now, it was finally time to discover whether his plan would work.

KRRRRAAAAAK!!!

The golden lightning struck the Sealed Celestial Citadel, causing another violent clash of energies that sent an intense shockwave spreading across tens of kilometers, uprooting trees and destroying more of the surrounding terrain.

Even the few beasts that had been hiding underground became terrified by the tremendous force of the collision.

However, unlike the previous defenses, this barrier didn't immediately shatter upon impact.

Instead, the cosmic enclosure held its position against the lightning, while the Suppression Authority continued interfering with the attack's energy and the Closure Barrier repaired the damage forming across its structure.

For the first time since the tribulation began, Luke's defense was genuinely resisting the descending lightning rather than merely weakening it before being destroyed.

And this unexpected resistance seemed to anger Valtharion's golden eye.

However, even if Valtharion was displeased, it couldn't arbitrarily increase the strength of the tribulation, since the laws of the universe recognized ascension as a right belonging to every being.

Only the universe itself possessed the authority to interfere with that right, meaning that even Valtharion, despite being one of the worlds governed by those laws, was obligated to follow the established rules and administer the required test.

"Ugggh!"

Meanwhile, Luke was struggling to maintain his defenses, as the continuous clash was consuming an extraordinary amount of energy from his two Cosmic Hearts.

The Sealed Celestial Citadel required constant reinforcement to withstand the lightning, while the Closure Barrier was simultaneously consuming additional power to repair the damage appearing across the cosmic enclosure.

Despite the energy being continuously supplied, Luke could feel the strain increasing throughout his body.

He also noticed that five seconds had already passed since he activated Absolute Strength, leaving only half of its duration remaining.

Unfortunately, just as he was hoping the two barriers would endure for a little longer, an unpleasant sound suddenly reached his ears.

CRACK!

At first, the sound was faint, almost disappearing beneath the continuous collision of lightning and cosmic energy, but it soon became louder, forcing Luke to examine the condition of his defensive Arts.

What he discovered immediately made his expression change.

The "Closure Barrier", despite not directly withstanding the lightning's impact, had developed cracks across its entire structure and was already approaching its breaking point.

"Damn it!"

Luke cursed upon realizing that he had made another mistake during his preparations.

He had assumed that a defensive Art created from two components would be capable of supporting a stronger three-component Forged Art, without properly considering the difference between the forces they could endure.

It was practically the same as placing a wooden pillar beneath a thick iron roof while a gigantic hammer continuously struck it from above, since even if the roof remained intact, the weaker support would eventually collapse beneath the accumulated pressure.

And the result was exactly what Luke had feared.

SHATTER!