Chapter 431 - 382: The Confrontation of Body Techniques and Stats

His voice faded.

The battle began in an instant!

Atlas lowered his stance slightly. The moment he pushed off with his right leg, the ground beneath his feet shattered!

Ultimate power brought with it ultimate speed!

He moved so fast he broke the sound barrier, tearing a vapor cone through the curtain of rain. The Warhammer in his hand reached Reinhardt’s face in what seemed like a single instant.

He brought it crashing down violently toward his face!

The Secret Treasure armament radiated intense fluctuations of Witchcraft Energy. Mixed within was a subtle, unspeakable evil Mighty Power, its intensity approaching that of a Five-star Earth Military Rank!

In that instant, Atlas held nothing back. From his very first move, he was already in his most powerful state!

In the narrow plaza, only the deadening drone of the rain filled the air.

Reinhardt didn’t retreat a single step. He drew his Black War Axe, right hand gripping the haft, left hand bracing the body of the axe, and met Atlas’s frontal assault head-on.

For a second, the two were like bulls locked in a contest of strength. But to Atlas’s utter horror, he discovered that even with the support of his Extraordinary Armament, he—who had always won through sheer brute force—couldn’t overpower the flesh-and-blood Reinhardt in a contest of pure strength?!

Atlas’s eyes flew wide in fury. ’This is impossible—!’

’He’s just flesh and blood...’

"AHHH—!"

Though it was their first true exchange, Atlas let out an agonized roar, like a cornered, desperate beast.

Several nozzles extended from his back and limbs. Propelled by jets of superheated gas, the Warhammer whistled through the air as he swung it. Each blow was immensely powerful, aimed to smash into Reinhardt’s vital points!

Aside from those two monstrously powerful Fear Knights, few could ever hope to overpower Reinhardt in a frontal assault based on Body Techniques alone.

After blocking three powerful blows from the Warhammer, Reinhardt knew a purely defensive strategy was pointless.

As Atlas brought the Warhammer down toward his head for the fourth time, Reinhardt suddenly released the haft of his War Axe. He threw his body backward, dodging the fatal blow.

At the same time, the Micro-Aikacia Nozzles stabilized his upper body as he launched himself into the air. Propelled by the streams of high-temperature Energy, his legs became a battering ram, slamming viciously into Atlas’s chest!

Had any other Imperial Knight taken that blow head-on, they would have met the same fate as Sipia—if not died instantly!

A collapsed chest, every rib shattered!

The immense impact nearly forced his heart and lungs out through his throat.

The sheer weight of the Power Armor, the explosive burst from the Aikacia Nozzle, and the formidable Physique of a Domain Level Imperial Knight.

Combined, these three factors made the simple, unadorned blow as violent as a steel train running over his chest at full speed!

But Atlas only let out a muffled grunt. He was sent flying backward, but before he hit the ground, he adjusted his posture in mid-air and landed smoothly.

On his chest, the bone-like extraordinary metal writhed, filling the dent and cracks until it was restored completely.

Atlas himself was completely unharmed.

Perhaps only now could Reinhardt truly understand the psychological pressure his enemies must have felt when facing the defenses of his Morphic Armor.

To land a blow with all one’s might, only to inflict a mere scratch on the enemy’s Extraordinary Armament.

Of course, that simple Sacrificial Flying Kick was just one of Reinhardt’s most basic attacks, far from an all-out effort.

In other words, Atlas wasn’t worthy of him using his Combat Techniques or Domain Power.

However, Atlas glanced down at the mark on his chest and grinned, full of confidence. With the condescending air of one of the Upper Ranks, he sneered at Reinhardt, "Yes, that’s it! Use all your power against me! Let me savor the joy of battle, Vengeful Angel—!"

In his mind, for Reinhardt to avoid his onslaught, he’d had to launch a desperate counterattack. While it wasn’t his full power, it must have still taken a great deal of strength.

But if this was all he had...

For him, killing Reinhardt was just a matter of time!

As long as his armament’s Energy didn’t run out, no matter what Reinhardt did, it was impossible to harm him in the slightest!

At this thought—the thought that he was finally about to fulfill his long-held obsession—

A mad, excited laugh spread across Atlas’s face.

Even though he wielded an Extraordinary Armament comparable to a Domain Level Powerhouse, in Lord Enok’s eyes, he was nothing more than a weapon—not a person, not an individual with dignity.

By constantly provoking Reinhardt and attempting to kill him...

...what Atlas sought, in the end, was merely simple acknowledgment.

Because regardless of his current status, his upbringing in a laboratory—witnessing one test subject after another die in agony on the operating table—had long since twisted and shattered his psyche.

Even after becoming the Chief of the Gods, he still craved the approval and recognition of others.

In a way, Atlas’s experience was surprisingly similar to that of a certain someone who enjoys mother’s milk and frequently wears a red cape.

As for Silencer Enok, the Shadow Temple that spearheaded the project, and even Grand Lord Kles, they didn’t want a disposable weapon of war to have its own thoughts and ambitions.

The curtain of rain beat against Reinhardt’s Full Coverage Helmet.

He stared at Atlas, who stood facing him from a distance. If his opponent wasn’t lying, then this Extraordinary Armament, developed using data from the Morphic Armor, must require a powerful energy core to function.

Even Reinhardt, with the enhancement of the Steel of the Heart and a Physique far superior to others, couldn’t maintain the complete form of the Morphic Armor for long. That was why he only used the Combat Skill·Split Armor in battle.

To put it vividly, the complete form of the Morphic Armor was like a twelve-cylinder supercar engine; once activated, his stamina drained at least ten times faster than it did when maintaining the Blood Fury Technology.

In other words, there had been a price for Atlas’s Extraordinary Armament to withstand his kick.

Moreover, this guy was a human-shaped armament made from a transformed Mortal. He didn’t possess any Extraordinary Power of his own.

’If that’s the case,’ Reinhardt thought, ’the strategy to deal with him is clear.’

’Either I can be like Flayer Du Ma and use overwhelming force to shatter his energy core’s capacity in a single punch, or I can use the "dull knife" approach—wear down the Extraordinary Armament’s energy supply with continuous, low-intensity attacks.’

’Considering the battle in Cyrenaica won’t be over quickly...’

’And frankly, Atlas isn’t worthy of me using my Domain Power to obliterate him in a single blow.’

So, Reinhardt chose the second option.