Chapter 1641 - 1641: I’ll Send You to Meet Him

Ethan clutched his chest as he retreated to Abyron's side.

The strength of a peak Tier 47 had exceeded his expectations.

He'd thought that last blow would finish the man for good. Instead, the scarred man had still managed to counterattack.

"Boss, are you all right?" Abyron asked worriedly.

"I'm fine." Ethan shook his head, never taking his eyes off the scarred man.

The man's skull had nearly been split apart, and Ethan's poleaxe was still embedded in his head.

Yet he remained standing, his bloodred eyes locked on Ethan.

The scarred man slowly raised his greatsword. Energy began gathering along the blade.

"I... will kill you..."

The growl that crawled from his throat sounded like it came straight from hell.

Abyron immediately stepped in front of Ethan, staring at the scarred man with grim resolve.

Ethan pulled out a Stage SSS crystal core and tossed it into his mouth. Then light flashed in his eyes.

The scarred man's terrifying attack was about to erupt when the energy around his greatsword suddenly vanished.

"...?"

He stared blankly at the weapon. When he tried to gather energy again, he discovered that he could no longer control his mental energy.

Ethan teleported in front of him, grabbed the poleaxe, and ripped it free.

Shnk!

Blood sprayed everywhere.

"Aaagh!"

An agonized scream tore from the scarred man's mouth. His body convulsed several times before he finally collapsed, unwilling to accept his death.

"Whew..."

Ethan dropped onto the ground.

"Damn. Peak Tier 47 and regular Tier 47 aren't even on the same level."

"Peak Tier 47 is different," Abyron said quietly. "The gap at that point is much larger."

"Stage SSS is the limit for most people. Plenty of them spend thousands of years stuck at peak Tier 47, and when they can't break through, they find other ways to strengthen themselves."

"That man was probably stuck there for several thousand years. That's why every aspect of his strength was so far beyond an ordinary Tier 47."

"Someone who just reached peak Tier 47 wouldn't be nearly as powerful."

He looked at Ethan in amazement.

"But Boss, you're incredible. Killing a peak Tier 47 at Tier 44 should've been impossible!"

"I still ended up covered in injuries," Ethan said helplessly.

"You killed a peak Tier 47 while you're only Tier 44. Getting hurt seems pretty reasonable."

"I used to kill enemies above my Tier without taking a scratch. I was careless this time. I didn't expect that bastard to be so hard to kill."

"..."

"Let's rest and recover our mental energy. There are still plenty of Varkesh waiting for us outside."

"Right."

Ethan sat down and began recovering.

Abyron returned to Dahlia's body. He stared at her with a complicated expression, his thoughts impossible to read.

New Atlas...

Not long after Ethan left, Henry and Sean completed their advancements and emerged from seclusion.

As expected, both had reached Stage SSS.

The moment they came out, they sensed something was wrong.

They quickly found Miles.

He was watching the tablet with a grim expression. When he saw them, he forced a faint smile.

"You two finished your advancements too."

"What happened?" Henry asked. "Is something wrong?"

"Yeah."

Miles nodded and quickly explained the situation.

"All that happened while we were in seclusion?" Both men were shocked.

"What's the situation now? Is there anywhere we can help?"

Miles shook his head.

"You may have reached Stage SSS, but ordinary Stage SSS fighters won't be much help in the current situation. Not unless you have a survival ability as powerful as Chris's."

"Still, your abilities aren't weak. Wait here for now. I'll send you out if I see an opening where you can help."

"All right."

"Where's Ethan?" Henry asked.

"The Captain went to help Abyron. That front was in the worst shape. We've already lost someone there," Miles said grimly.

"What?! Abyron died?!" Sean and Henry exclaimed.

"No. Dahlia died saving him."

"..."

"She was actually serious about him?!" Sean's eyes widened.

Ever since Dahlia arrived in New Atlas, she had constantly followed Abyron around and flirted with him. They'd all assumed she was hopelessly infatuated—the kind of woman who went weak in the knees over a handsome face.

None of them had ever thought she would actually give her life for him.

"She really died to save Abyron?"

"Yeah. I didn't expect it either." Miles shook his head.

He had misjudged her too.

"Is her body still intact?" Henry suddenly asked.

Miles didn't know why that mattered, but he answered anyway.

"The Captain arrived right after she died. Abyron was holding her, so yes, her body should still be intact."

"Good."

Miles gave Henry a puzzled look, then suddenly realized what he meant.

"Henry, don't tell me you can..."

"Yeah." Henry smiled and nodded.

"That's great!" Delight spread across Miles's face.

"What are you two talking about?" Sean scratched his head.

"You'll find out later. Right now, we need to see whether the Captain can handle that peak Tier 47."

"Ethan has always been careful. If he weren't confident, he wouldn't have pulled the enemy into the Deadlock Dimension."

"True."

Back on the battlefield...

The Varkesh stared at the distorted space in front of them, frowning.

"Why hasn't the Patriarch come out yet? You don't think something happened to him, do you?"

"What could possibly happen to the Patriarch? He's probably trying to force information about the other humans out of them. I bet he's still torturing the two of them."

"That makes sense. Let's keep waiting."

The Varkesh settled in and continued to wait.

Nearly twenty more minutes passed. Just as their patience began to run out, spatial fluctuations finally rippled through the distortion.

Two figures appeared in front of them.

"...?"

"!"

The Varkesh stared at them in confusion.

"Where's our Patriarch?"

"You want to know?" Ethan gave them a cold smile. "I'll send you to meet him."

He immediately dragged two Tier 47 Varkesh into the Deadlock Dimension.

Before either of them could understand what had happened, Ethan activated Absolute Stasis.

Then he unleashed a full-power Annihilation Strike, bringing his poleaxe down on one of their heads.

Thud!

The Tier 47 fighter's head burst like a watermelon.

Instant kill.