Bam!
Souta was slammed to the ground causing a huge crater on it. His black armor was shredded and huge gaping wounds could be seen on his body.
"Ugh! That shit hurts! As expected, SSS-rank is really strong for [Blood Armor]."
Souta stood up and some of his wounds have closed. He left some of the wounds on his body so that he could receive boost from his [Draw Blood II] traits.
Although the [Blood Armor: Great Black Orc] specialized in raw strength it still had greater defense than his [Blood Armor: Jade Spider]. Yet, this man broke through his defenses easily.
If he didn't train with Alexander, he guess that he wouldn't be able to keep up with this man.
Souta took a deep breath and stared at his opponents. He gathered the lingering souls in the area.
"What?! You... You know soul arts?!" The man showed a surprised look. He stared at Souta with wide eyes.
Souta was stunned when he heard the man's words. H-He could feel it. The souls?! How?!
The man smiled and said, "I didn't expect it. Your threat level has increased once again. Soul arts, eh? Thoroughly a magnificent skill."
Souta didn't answer. He just kept his expression as he continued to gather the nearby soul while concentrating on his elemental powers.
'Saya, do you know the reason why he knew about me gathering souls?' Souta asked in his mind.
'I don't have any idea. Only experts who break all the shackles would be able to perceive souls. It's impossible unless he knew soul arts.' Saya answered.
'Maybe, he really knows soul arts.' Souta said.
Ohm!
The darkness in the area disappeared and it focused only on Souta's body. His aura continued to grow stronger as he carefully examined the surroundings and his opponents.
"You must be wondering how I know you're using soul arts, right?" The man continued, "It's simple I'm sensitive to souls. I couldn't see the souls but I could feel them. I guess that is where my talent lies but there are no soul arts so I decided to abandon it. But since I could feel the souls in the surrounding, I tried to experiment with something at the beginning."
"What do you mean?" Souta knitted his brows tightly.
"Once you become aware of souls, your power will affect them. With a little bit of trial and error, you will be able to erase a soul from this universe and prevent them from entering the cycle of reincarnation. Like this!" The man suddenly stretched out his hand and grabbed the nearest soul around him. He concentrated his energy on his palm and crushed the soul into nothingness.
Then, he grabbed another soul but this time his hand simply passed through the body of the soul.
"It all comes down to your intent. People who couldn't feel souls aren't conscious of the soul in the world so they are unable to interact with each other. But once you become conscious of them, you can bring them harm. I tried harming the souls of living beings but it seems impossible since the physical body is like a shell that is protecting the soul. So I concluded that it is impossible unless I have a soul art."
"Do you really have a time to give me a lesson?" Souta smiled and asked.
"Why not? You're the first person that I met that have the same talent as me. It's once in a lifetime opportunity for me." The man answered with a smile. "I've decided, I'll let you live and capture you. I'll make you mine."
"No, thank you," Souta replied before he swing the vajra sword. The man didn't even know that Souta's ability to perceive soul only came from a universal artifact.
Lord Dramus, Night Queen, and Earth Master quickly stepped forward and blocked his attack. Then, they rushed ahead with their weapons gleaming with intense energy reaction.
Souta stepped back and changed his armor once again. Webs spread out like a net, trying to capture the three.
"Let me deal with it." Night Queen jumped ahead with a pair of daggers in her hands. She repeatedly swung her dagger to repel the webs while Lord Dramus and Earth Master dashed to the side to attack Souta.
Souta changed his form again and used [Blood Armor: Great Black Orc]. In terms of close combat, this was better than Jade Spider. He stepped in and swiped his vajra sword that turned into a giant mace to Earth Master. Then, he raised his foot and kicked Lord Dramus in the stomach.
Bang! Bang!
The two were blown away, crashing on the ground hundreds of meters away.
Huh? Souta found that a huge cut appeared on his arm. In that split second, Lord Dramus and Earth Master managed to attack him and sliced the thick armor on his body.
At this moment, Night Queen was freed from the webs.
"Take this!"
She swiftly arrived above Souta and stabbed her daggers downwards, aiming at his neck.
Souta felt a stinging sensation from above so he moved sideways but didn't completely dodge the daggers. It pierced his left shoulder but it gives him an opportunity.
"Not enough!"
He grabbed her wrist and threw her on the ground. Then, he swung the giant mace in his hand firing [Crimson Moon].
Boom!!
Souta ignored them as he kicked the air. In just a second, he arrived in front of the man. The man faced him with a calm look on his face.
"It will be better if we join forces. Don't you think it's a good idea?" The man said.
"Yeah, It's a good idea unfortunately you're in my way from completing my quest!" Souta laughed madly. He held the giant mace with both of his hands and heavily swing it.
The man didn't fall back. Instead, he raised his fist and threw a punch.
Bang!!
The collision caused a powerful shockwave. Souta and the man were blown hundreds of meters away from each other.
Huh? The man looked stunned. He stared at his fist and saw that he was bleeding. He didn't hold back at all yet Souta's attack managed to push him away and even cause him to bleed. This feat was impossible for a normal fourth stage monster.
"Ehe, it's bad to underestimate your opponent." Souta laughed after seeing the stunned look of the man. Suddenly, three figures shot from below and arrived beside him. They were Night Queen, Lord Dramus, and Earth Master.
He saw that their wounds were mostly healed. And their energy was also stronger than before.
"Don't ever think about keeping up with me." Souta activated the Blessing of the God of Hunt and [Serial Killing Step], an equipment skill of [Solid Hunter State Boots].
The man narrowed his eyes and said, "Go away!"
Souta's speed had risen sharply. He was incredibly fast and before the three experts could react, Souta gave slashed them several times.
Swoosh!
Ugh! Night Queen, Lord Dramus, and Earth Master received several sword wounds on their bodies. Blood gushed out like a fountain before it turned into sharp spears that hurled at them.
Bang! Bang!
Souta spun around as his body expanded along with his armor. His energy level grew higher once again breaking the limit.
[Monster Orb Release]!!
Souta was about to attack the three when the man appeared in front of him. The man raised both of his fists and launched a series of powerful punches at Souta's body.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Souta was slammed into the ground causing a huge earthquake. He stood up quickly and faced the man without fear.
"Governor Ray, is he the greatest threat you are talking about?" Souta asked while moving his body side to side to avoid the man's punches.
He spun and kicked but the man simply blocked his attack. Then, he swung the weapon in his hand but the man vanished in front of him.
Swoosh!
The man appeared behind him and launched a swift lethal strike that cracked his armor.
"Governor Ray, who is that?" The man asked as he jumped in the air and raised both of his hands above his head.
"Oh, I thought you know every threat in Hall Plains but it seems that you are lacking something... Haha, Governor Ray is strong." Souta laughed as he opened his mouth widely. He charged and fired [Bestrou] in an instant.
The man fired a huge ball of energy in Souta's direction.
"Well, I'm gonna thank you for your appearance here in Hall Plains. Without you, we will not be able to complete our goal."
Boom!!
The two attacks collided causing a huge explosion that shook the entire kingdom. The aftershocks swept out everything in the area around them. It was a devastating sight to see many people get caught up in the shockwaves and perished without knowing how they died.
Souta stand back as he narrowed his eyes. He didn't know what this man was talking about.
'Without me, they will not be able to complete their goal?'
He looked down at his body and thought that he could still keep up. But he was at a disadvantage even with the combined might of [Monster Orb Release], [Blood Armor], Blessing of the God of Hunt, and the equipment skills of [Solid Hunter State Boots].
Huff...
Souta took a deep breath as the [Burning Ring Seal] flew out of his finger and spun on top of him. Then, he raised his weapon and his aura grew stronger once again as he activated [Possession].
"I'll take it on another level..."
