The battle between Ulric and Thunderblade spilled across the empty streets of Tempest.
Boom!
An explosion rocked the area as the blue-robed man was sent crashing into the ground. His body carved a deep furrow, micro-fractures racing across the earth as he skidded violently.
When the dust and rubble finally settled, Thunderblade rose to his feet. His blue robe was torn in multiple places, battered and stained. Bruises covered his face.
Yet even through all of it, the sparkling glint of excitent in his eyes remained undeniable. He shook his head, clearing his blurry vision, and watched the black-robed youth walk forward slowly.
An indifferent expression rested on Ulric’s face. Not a single scratch marked his body.
Thunderblade’s lips twitched slightly.
What nonsense about the youth being an S-rank talent? Unlike most residents of Tempest, he had visited multiple cities and seen plenty of S-rank talents before. Sure, they had been prodigious, but nothing close to this level of monstrosity.
The thought made him wonder... could they have been wrong? Was his talent beyond S-rank? It would answer a few burning questions in the back of his mind. But it didn’t matter now.
Watching Ulric approach, Thunderblade breathed heavily and spat, a twisted smile carving across his lips.
"It’s a pity. Even with all this monstrous strength and talent... your fate is death!"
Ulric’s brows arched slightly. The man’s strength had been impressive, but it was still far from enough to damage his body. He had been contemplating ending the fight. Still, he was curious how the figure intended to make good on that claim.
Chuckling softly, Thunderblade countered with a question of his own.
"You know, I wasn’t always called Thunderblade." He growled, then spat. "I earned it!" His chuckle grew louder. "You want to know how?"
The more he spoke, the more Ulric’s brows furrowed in confusion. But he noticed sothing else.
The clouds were reforming in the sky. Thunder rumbled violently as lightning flashed across them.
Then, suddenly, the sound of thunder vanished leaving only the silent flashes of lightning.
Where did it go? Ulric mused, lifting his gaze.
He didn’t have to wonder long.
A sonic blast of thunder, amplified nearly a thousand tis, shot toward his head like a blade. A sound attack?
Ulric groaned as piercing pain flooded his skull. The force drove him to his knees, his ears ringing violently.
He lost all sense of hearing for a few seconds. But soon, his Asura Demonic Physique kicked in.
Though it wasn’t an explicit innate skill, he had discovered that with every upgrade to his physique, his regeneration rate increased dramatically.
This ti was no different. His ruptured eardrums recovered within monts. He slowly rose to his feet, waving a hand to summon a protective film of darkness against any follow-up attack.
Regaining full clarity, a crazed smile stretched across Ulric’s face.
"Interesting," he muttered, nodding slightly.
The chanics of the skill played through his mind. The stronger one beca, the more sensitive their senses grew, making the attack far more lethal against powerful opponents.
"Very interesting."
The smile slowly faded from his face as he added, "But it won’t work on again."
He wasn’t especially angry. Instead, an appreciative light hovered in his eyes.
He had been so focused on raw physical strength and talent power that he had overlooked these finer aspects. He wouldn’t make the sa mistake again.
"Huh?" Thunderblade’s pupils constricted violently. He gulped audibly as the confident smirk on his face slowly faded.
His trump card hadn’t even drawn blood from the youth.
Preposterous by all standards!
By calculating the strength Ulric had been using so far and pouring in everything he had, Thunderblade had deduced that the Thunder Blade Strike should have obliterated the youth’s head.
Yet here he stood, completely unhard.
The only way this was possible was if the youth had been holding back the entire ti... or was bluffing.
Weighing the options, he chose to believe the latter to preserve his sanity.
"If you have any other grand moves, now would be the ti," Ulric’s voice echoed, cutting through Thunderblade’s spiraling thoughts.
Watching the man raise his hand to deploy the thunder strike once more, Ulric sighed. He didn’t wait this ti. He shadow-teleported behind Thunderblade.
A blade coalesced in the air before him as he slashed down in one clean motion, slicing through the man’s arm.
A mont of silence passed. Then the severed arm dropped to the ground with a wet thud. Blood gushed wildly as Thunderblade groaned in utter agony.
"I told you that wouldn’t work on again," Ulric muttered, his voice echoing from behind like the devil incarnate.
Switching back to his primary lightning attacks, Thunderblade launched multiple blades at Ulric while trying a different tactic.
Ulric’s eyes lit up in acknowledgnt. Most people in his situation would already be trembling in terror. Yet this man continued fighting valiantly, even with one arm missing.
Not once did he show a shred of fear.
But even so, his strength was slowly waning with every exchange as he lost more and more blood.
Until Ulric knocked him to the ground. Rising above him, he rained punches down on his face.
At the tenth strike, Ulric’s eyes narrowed slightly. Sothing was off.
Tapping fully into his spiritual field, he replayed the past few seconds in his mind.
A slow chuckle ripped from his throat.
"Hahaha... you cunning bastard! You’re using as fuel for your advancent, aren’t you?"
He had finally pieced it together. Every ti he landed a punch, he could feel the energy oozing from Thunderblade fluctuating slightly. He hadn’t understood it before, but now it was clear.
Hearing his words, the light in Thunderblade’s eyes was snuffed out. The youth was already clearly toying with him.
With this realization, all his hopes ca crashing down. Ulric was going to end the battle before he could gain the final flash of insight.
The thought didn’t make him sad. Instead, a bloody smile stretched across his lips. Blood gurgled in his throat as he chuckled.
"It was a glorious battle." One befitting his death. He sighed, rembering Elira’s words, then shook his head. It had been inevitable. He had simply been clutching at faint straws of hope.
"End ," he sputtered.
Ulric raised his hand, ready to comply then froze midway as an unhinged smile spread across his face. Discarding all other thoughts, he continued punching Thunderblade repeatedly.
Feeling the energy waves from the man fluctuating more and more.
"W-what are you doing?" Thunderblade muttered between punches, his face growing swollen. Couldn’t he end him in a single blow?
Chuckling softly, Ulric smiled. "Can’t you see... I’m helping you ascend."
"Huh? Why?" Thunderblade muttered, genuinely confused.
Licking his lips, Ulric smiled manically. "My desire for battle has yet to be sated."
He burst into another fit of laughter before launching multiple blows to the man’s face, not giving him a chance to ask more questions.
Feeling multiple bones break across his face, confusion intertwined with rage on Thunderblade’s expression. As he choked on his own blood, Ulric continued the brutal barrage.
For a mont, Thunderblade blanked out. In that split second, the insights he had gathered over his long life flashed before him.
He was pulled back to reality as another punch tore into his face, the pain anchoring him.
When his eyes opened weakly, he gazed at the youth’s swirling crimson gaze. In that instant, everything clicked. The insights ca crashing down, smashing through the bottleneck that had held him back for decades.
Seeing the advancent begin, Ulric stopped. Another fit of maniacal laughter ripped from his throat.
Even peak D-rank strength could only entertain him for so long. He craved the adrenaline that ca from true life-and-death battles!
Battles that would fuel his own advancent.
One such as he was about to experience in the next few monts.
To others, he might have seed like a crazy bastard. But he had already embraced that side.
After all, what was life without blood-boiling battles on the edge?
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