Souta had previously covered several parts of the battlefield with his webs. The explosion just now shredded these webs, revealing the area where the soldiers were fighting.
Alice looked up at the bright explosion and frowned. "Souta..."
She turned her head and glanced at Eztein, asking, "How is Eilish?"
"She hasn't finished breaking through yet," Eztein answered.
"We need to protect her. The battle is intensifying; we should gather together," Alice said.
Eztein nodded in agreement.
Both of them cast their eyes toward Eilish, who was in the midst of breaking her third shackle.
"What about Franklin?" Alice then asked.
"He? He's still fighting on the other side... I'll bring him over once Eilish completes her breakthrough," Eztein answered.
Whoosh!
Vashno, who was in the distance, stared at the massive explosion in the sky.
"So this is Souta's true power... It's nothing compared to what he showed before. If this explosion occurred on Planet Plunyx... Plunyx would have shattered completely," he muttered, staring at the powerful figures battling in the sky. Compared to them, there was still a vast gap before he could attain such power. He couldn't fathom how strong the gods were in this world.
Vashno was essentially a god on Planet Plunyx, but after arriving here, he realized that he wasn't even among the top combatants in the entire world. He was weak compared to the experts who were fighting in the sky.
"I will reach that level soon," he muttered, determination gleaming in his eyes.
...
"Fendal!"
Magred shouted his comrade's name. He tightened his fist and was about to charge when another person arrived.
The newcomer was holding a long baton and swung it down in an overbearing manner.
Magred frowned and threw a punch.
"Go away, monkey!"
His fist collided with the baton, creating extreme sparks. However, he had more power in his punch than the newcomer.
In just a second, Magred blasted his opponent several hundred meters away. He was still in his strongest state, with his [Element Drive] and other skills active, making it impossible for ordinary experts to push him back.
"Hey, I'm not just a monkey... I'm a Spiritual Monkey."
The person who had arrived was, in fact, a monster named Li Guan from Primate Island in the Heavenly Court region. He was a powerful fourth-stage monster, a Spiritual Monkey.
"I'm your opponent this time, and I will defeat you..."
The path he was following was the path of Sun Wukong, the Great Sage Heaven's Equal. Li Guan aimed to defeat all his opponents, just as Sun Wukong had done before.
...
Thick smoke covered a significant portion of the sky, and the energy around it was still violently fluctuating, causing sparks in the air.
Two figures emerged from the smoke and crashed onto the ground.
Bang!
The ground shook, and immense energy slowly spread out.
One of them was Fendal, while the other was Souta.
Huff... Huff...
Fendal breathed heavily, and a streak of blood flowed from his mouth. He stared at the massive figure covered in black armor.
He was now certain.
He couldn't defeat the Blood Lightning Monster alone. He needed help from his comrades if he wanted to kill this monster.
But...
Considering the situation, it seemed highly improbable. His five comrades were entangled with experts from the large factions.
They were used... They were manipulated by those people from the Army of Gluttony.
Fendal gritted his teeth in anger as he realized this. They should have acted sooner, but they were blinded by the bait, which was the Blood Lightning Monster. They just couldn't ignore their target.
'No, I can't give up now. The target is right in front of me. I still have a chance. My odds of winning are only forty percent, while the Blood Lightning Monster has sixty percent from what I can see. I have to wait, and he will make a mistake.'
Fendal calmed himself. He had originally thought it was the other way around, with him having a sixty percent chance of winning, and the Blood Lightning Monster only having forty percent.
Fendal stood upright and tightly gripped the halberd in his hand.
On the other hand, Souta walked forward, approaching Fendal with steady steps. Each of his steps caused the ground to shake slightly. His sword emitted a strange, ominous aura, as if there was a phantom within it.
The [Possession] skill was activated right at the moment of the clash, yet he failed to kill Fendal. Fendal proved to be a remarkably strong and tough opponent.
Souta's left arm had already regenerated. It was the only wound that had healed. His other wound was important as it provided him with a power boost.
His elemental powers completely enveloped the entire area, pushing the other soldiers away from him. There was nothing they could do; they were only A-rank, S-rank, and One Shackle Realm experts.
"Still, I didn't think that I would use [Element Drive] this early... Well, I can use it for a long time, so it doesn't matter."
With that said, Souta tried to hide the fact that he was close to reaching the Fusion Stage. But it was in vain now, as everyone felt the immense fluctuations of his energy.
'If I had reached the Fusion Stage before coming here, I could've killed this guy in just five minutes, a maximum of ten minutes if he still had aces up his sleeve,' Souta thought inwardly. He also utilized the equipment skills of two of his dark-grade artifacts, [Vajra Sword Saya] and [Solid Hunter State Boots].
Thud!
Souta stood in front of Fendal, and their energies clashed fiercely in the air.
The soldiers retreated far away from the two. Shen Yao and the other top experts watched Souta and Fendal, the two experts on the verge of an all-out battle. The consequences of such a battle would be tremendous if left unchecked.
The ten experts on the side of the Army of Gluttony also watched with interest in their eyes. There were seventeen of them, but the angels and other experts had disrupted them, leading to a battle breaking out.
Suddenly, a figure emerged from their shadows. The figure only showed half of his body, yet he already exuded a very dangerous aura.
"Is it ready?" one of the ten experts asked.
"Yeah, it will begin in a minute," the figure replied before vanishing back into the shadows.
A man with short black hair and a mask covering his face stepped forward.
He glanced at everyone, and his lips slowly parted, "Man-Eating Tamer, Anti-Mage, Black Blader, Poisonous Vine, Red Mist, Thousand Earth, Boulder Jack, Spatial Whisperer, and Nine Yin, prepare yourselves. We will enter in just a minute. We are the main force of this mission. Of course, our comrades must follow us, or else we will be surrounded by our enemies. Our strength hasn't reached the stage where we are invincible, so we must proceed with utmost caution."
The nine experts didn't say anything. They listened and, at the same time, watched the ongoing battle.
The man continued, "The Fifth Circle and some Six Circle Officers has arrived. They will keep these people busy while we complete our mission. Of course, the others could join the fray too since it will be more chaotic in the next minute. The ten of us should focus on our mission."
After delivering those words, the man fell silent once again, his eyes locked on the battle. Regardless of the plans of the Five Master Clans and the large factions, they were destined to fail today.
Souta and Fendal stood facing each other.
"I'll kill you in five minutes," Souta said coldly.
"Don't get cocky just because your elemental power is stronger than mine!" Fendal roared as he swung the halberd in his hand. Souta also swung his weapon.
Boom!!
The collision of their weapons shook the entire area. Dust and rocks shot into the air as sparks flew around.
In the next second, two lights collided thousands of times, creating a vast spectacle on the land. It was both beautiful and terrifying.
Souta and Fendal moved at high speed, their clash sending hundreds of shockwaves throughout the area. Their skills wreaked havoc on the geographical formation of the land. Most of the soldiers had already retreated to a safe distance.
Fendal moved swiftly from side to side as he pushed himself to the limit. His opponent was strong, even stronger than the intel they had gathered. His halberd was flashing with a brilliant flame, successfully blocking most of Souta's attacks.
Fendal was now in a passive defensive stance, waiting for an opportunity to end this battle swiftly. However, finding such an opportunity proved to be challenging.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Souta attacked him from various angles, employing his skills and traits simultaneously. Various webs, blood, and shadows were in motion, attempting to break Fendal's guard.
Fendal wore a sullen expression. If this continued, it was only a matter of time before he would be defeated. He was determined not to let that happen.
