How much more desperate must those ancient beings feel, having been trapped at the same bottleneck for centuries?
Even if it weren't always a prehension treasure and was simply a consistent Epic Grade item, Michael was sure that alone would be enough to cause a bloodbath. After all, one could never have enough Epic Grade items.
Michael tightened his grip around the incense. The purple glow reflected in his eyes as he pushed his speed higher.
Unfortunately, only ten minutes later, Michael could already see the figures chasing him with his own eyes.
Knowing he couldn't run aimlessly, lest more peak Rank Four awakeners join the pursuit out of curiosity or knowledge of what he carried, he had circled back near his previous locations more than once. He was fairly sure the awakeners he had passed by were long accustomed to it by now.
However, though he hadn't given much thought to who exactly was chasing him, he was genuinely shocked when he finally made out their appearances.
"Fuck!"
Was that a four-winged angel?
And was that a sword cultivator?
As for the third figure, why was his presence literally burning the space around him as he moved through the void?
Setting aside the third figure, Michael was no stranger to angels or cultivators. One belonged to a top race that could be ranked in the top ten of the universe, and the other belonged to a civilization that could also be ranked in the top ten thanks to the mysteries of their profession.
He just didn't know if the woman was merely a cultivator in appearance with a different class, but the angel was definitely real.
Michael could also tell they were angry.
Even across such an enormous distance, the fluctuations in their auras were being increasingly obvious. Michael's own expression darkened.
"…As if I'm enjoying this."
He couldn't help feeling irritated. He understood their frustration. From their perspective, they had spent a significant amount of time chasing someone who refused to fight, constantly slipping through the void before they could catch him.
Every time they thought they had cornered him, he disappeared. Every time they shortened the distance, he folded space and escaped again.
Anyone would bee annoyed after being led around in circles for so long. Michael understood that perfectly.
But the same applied to him.
Did they honestly think he wanted this? He had been forced into the Fourth Layer the moment he entered the Origin Battlefield.
He had barely had time to look at his surroundings before a treasure literally landed in his hands.
Then, before he could even examine it properly, hundreds of Rank Four awakeners had started chasing him.
Michael clicked his tongue.
"If you're irritated…then what about me?"
He hadn't provoked them. He hadn't robbed them. He hadn't attacked them first.
The Origin Battlefield itself had practically thrown the treasure into his hands. Yet somehow, he was the one forced to spend the last ten minutes fleeing across mountains, valleys, rivers, and forests.
Even worse, he couldn't even hide the damned thing. Every second the purple light continued shining was another second broadcasting his exact location to everyone nearby.
Michael glanced down at the Heavenly Enlightenment Incense.
"Ahhh, since it's e to this, let's go all out!"
Knowing that he could now make them out with his own eyes, even if only as blurs as everyone flickered in and out of the void with each teleportation, meant they would catch up before long.
Rather than wait until that moment and be left with little time to prepare, it was better to make a stand now while he still had room to set things up.
Without hesitation, Michael activated one of the engravings.
Ash-gray lines spread across his skin before countless black ashes poured from the engraving like smoke escaping from a volcano. The ashes gathered rapidly behind him.
Within moments, they condensed into the figure of a rugged middle-aged man. His weathered face remained expressionless, before his body suddenly began expanding.
The transformation lasted only a heartbeat. A colossal drake over three hundred meters in length now occupied the sky behind Michael.
Its wings stretched so wide they cast a shadow across the plains below, while cold green eyes stared toward the four approaching figures.
The undead High Drake. Michael's strongest undead.
The drake slowly drew in a breath. Its chest expanded.
"ROOOOAAAAARRRRRRRRR!!!!"
The roar exploded from its throat. The air itself shattered. Visible rings of pressed atmosphere expanded outward at terrifying speed. Trees thousands of meters below were forcefully uprooted and sent flying in every direction.
Clouds stretching across the horizon were instantly blown apart. The sound wave continued expanding. Every Rank Four awakener within hundreds of miles subconsciously looked toward the source.
Michael wasn't done yet.
Over the past three months, it wasn't only his body, soul, and undead that had grown stronger. His understanding of the Law of Echoed Existence had also deepened tremendously.
Back when he had first stepped into Rank Three, he had only begun scratching the surface of what his law truly represented.
Now he had finally managed to derive his own Law Skill from it.
Michael's eyes became strangely ethereal. The drake behind him let out another low growl, as if responding to his will.
Michael slowly raised one hand.
"Law Skill…"
"…Echoed Bestowal."
The instant the words left his mouth, a terrifying aura erupted from the High Drake's body.
The Law of Echoed Existence recognized everything connected to him as part of a single echo.
Every creature whose existence had bee intertwined with his was, to the law, no longer an entirely separate individual. They were echoes within the same existence.
Echoed Bestowal embodied that concept. Rather than copying traits only for himself, it allowed any creature connected to Michael to temporarily receive the traits of another creature connected to him.
It was, in essence, an extension of the sharing ability his law had always possessed.
Before ascending to Rank Three, Michael himself had only been capable of copying a single trait at any given time.
After reaching Rank Three, that limit had increased to two. Now, thanks to Echoed Bestowal, a creature connected to Michael could also be bestowed two traits from two other connected creatures simultaneously.
The recipient did not have to be Michael himself. As long as both parties were connected to him, the transfer could occur. The possibilities that emerged from this ability were nearly endless.
Naturally, the stronger the trait and the greater the difference between the two creatures involved, the more energy the Law Skill consumed.
Even for Michael, using it recklessly with powerful creatures over prolonged battles would quickly bee impossible.
But right now, he had no intention of conserving energy.
His eyes remained fixed upon the four terrifying figures approaching from the distance.
A faint smile slowly appeared on his face as he confirmed the two traits he would bestow upon the High Drake.
The first was from Beginning. The second was from Spartan.
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