Chapter 140: Physical Confrontation

"Give up! Before my Lord’s glory, your mere tricks are nothing!"

"You’re wasting your time! Accept your defeat!"

"Give up! Give up! Give up!"

In a devastated part of the forest with countless craters and fragmented trees, only two sounds could be heard.

The arrogant voice of a young man taunting his opponent with a dismissive attitude.

And the constant collisions between two towering figures—one golden and sacred, the other azure and indifferent.

Dozens of feet behind each figure stood a young man, seemingly controlling the two opponents like summons.

Aurelius completely ignored his opponent’s taunts. He wouldn’t fall for such petty tricks.

While controlling the Divine Phantom and making it clash with the sacred figure, his mind worked to analyze the situation.

He watched the fluctuating auras of the two silhouettes while also keeping track of his own Spirit consumption.

In the end, he reached a conclusion:

If things continued this way, he would be the one to emerge victorious in this battle.

The treasure’s energy would run out before his own Spirit did. Once it did, the golden phantom would disperse, and the Thief would remain unprotected.

This realization should have been a cause for celebration.

Yet Aurelius did not feel any relief.

He had already witnessed the Thief’s many methods.

Although victory now seemed certain, he couldn’t be sure that his opponent didn’t have any other trump cards.

’It’s unlikely that he has any other attacking methods besides the Divine Phantom. Otherwise, he would have used them when he was surrounded by the monsters.’

’There would be no reason to fool them and trick them to leave.’

’As for his means of escape...’

It was very likely that he had some!

The opponent was a Thief, after all. A Class’s name directly described the Awakener’s nature.

How could a thief not have other ways to escape?

Even if they weren’t as powerful as the green light from before, it would still be troublesome if his other trump cards possessed even half its power.

Countless possibilities and outcomes flashed through Aurelius’ mind.

In the end, he made a surprising decision.

Manipulating the azure Divine Phantom, he made it clash with the sacred silhouette while slowly moving it away.

He did not make it too obvious.

With every collision, the phantoms moved only a couple of feet to the side.

Individually, such a small movement made little difference.

Yet several seconds and dozens of collisions later, the two phantoms had unknowingly moved far away from the two young men.

The Thief did not realize anything at first.

It was only when he raised his head and found that he could see Aurelius face to face that his expression changed. He seemed to realize that something was wrong.

Unfortunately, it was already too late by then.

Once again, Aurelius sprang into action.

This time, he did not use Ocean’s Wrath and the Divine Phantom.

Instead, he attacked personally.

He planted his foot against the ground, launching himself toward his opponent.

With his enhanced Agility, his movements were almost instantaneous.

One moment, the two were separated by dozens of feet. The next, only a few inches remained between them.

Aurelius did not employ any of his skills.

He unsheathed the sword at his waist and swung it forward, aiming directly at the Thief’s abdomen.

The sword’s silver edge reflected the brilliance of the sun above, making it look particularly threatening. Though not a Relic, it had been built with extraordinary materials.

As long as it landed, the opponent would stand no chance.

However, the Thief was not a weakling.

Although he had been caught off guard, the high Agility unique to Thieves allowed him to react quickly.

Two daggers materialized, one in each hand. He raised them to form an ’X’ in front of him, right along the trajectory of the sword.

Clang!

Metal collided.

At first, the Thief was filled with disdain.

Even though Aurelius was quick, he had never considered him a real opponent. Through his own abilities, he had already confirmed that Aurelius belonged to a spellcasting Class.

Did someone like that really want to compete with him in physical strength? He was overestimating himself!

"Ridiculous!" the Thief spat in contempt.

Yet the moment their weapons touched each other, his disdain was replaced with shock. Astonishment flashed across his face.

The man felt an overwhelming strength rush through his daggers and slam into his body. The force was enough to make him take several steps back, leaving behind several deep footsteps.

Although he quickly regained his balance, this was far from enough.

Aurelius struck again!

The same weapon, the same posture, the same attack.

The silver sword whistled through the air like an arrow, threatening to cut the Thief in two.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The two young men collided dozens of times.

Neither used any skills or abilities.

Aurelius had to constantly consume his Spirit to maintain Ocean’s Wrath. Engaging in combat was already difficult and was only possible because of his high Intelligence.

The Thief, on the other hand, had already exhausted his Mana during the earlier chase. Now, he could only rely on his physical strength.

Under normal circumstances, this would not have been a disadvantage, considering that his opponent had the same limitation.

Thieves were not weak. Their speed and agility made them surprisingly powerful in close-quarters combat.

Yet the Thief did not meet an ordinary opponent. What he was facing was a freak!

After several upgrades across many Classes, along with the recent transformation of the Mutated Demigod’s Physique, Aurelius could no longer be judged by common sense.

Even a Warrior of the same Level would be physically weaker than him, much less a Thief!

The result?

Only a few seconds after their confrontation began...

Click. Click. Click.

Bang!

Under the Thief’s incredulous gaze, his treasured daggers suddenly shattered into countless fragments.

"Impossible!" he tried to speak, but his words were cut off abruptly.

A silver light rapidly approached him until it completely engulfed his vision.

A moment later, a deafening cry rang out.