Chapter 496: The Might of a Single Axe

After speaking, Damenevsky took a deep breath.

His heart began to pound, strong and powerful, filled with a reckless passion.

The blood throughout his body began to quicken, accelerating relentlessly as a special energy within it was awakened.

A crimson light burst from his body, blazing like a scorching inferno.

Damenevsky was enveloped in the crimson flames, his gaze growing increasingly sharp. Everyone could feel the anger in his eyes—a Frenzy, a violent rage that threatened to burn the world to ashes.

This was the true source of the Hero Race’s power!

Bloodline Power!

All his wounds healed at a speed visible to the naked eye. The torn flesh quickly withered and flaked away as the gashes sealed. New flesh sprouted from the holes the Lance had pierced in his chest and ribs, twisting and growing until he was fully restored.

Even his severed arm grew back, good as new.

He raised the War Axe high with one hand. From his grip, one by one, Runes suffused with an ancient and mysterious aura began to glow, spreading up to the axe head.

HISSSS!

A thick white steam billowed up.

Not even the extreme cold could extinguish the scorching heat radiating from Damenevsky; the ice and snow instantly turned into steam.

The frozen ground thawed in an instant. Ice melted into water that soaked into the earth, turning the hard ground wet and muddy.

But as the temperature continued to climb, the water that had just soaked into the ground instantly evaporated. The earth was baked until it gave off white smoke, and the surrounding air began to shimmer and distort.

As the moisture evaporated, the ground dried out, and a web of cracks spread across its surface.

Like a Demon emerging from magma, Damenevsky took a step forward.

SZZZ—

A deep, smoking footprint was seared into the ground.

Bebuta’s body trembled, his blood and muscles quaking uncontrollably. It was a primal warning from the depths of his soul.

Certain death!

Flee!

Flee or die!

All his senses screamed the same message.

The Human before him was no longer someone he could fight.

They weren’t even in the same league anymore.

In his current state, the other man would crush him like an insect.

This was the greatest crisis he had ever faced!

In his entire life, from birth until this very moment, Bebuta had never experienced such a dire crisis.

He had never personally faced such a terrifying Warrior.

‘Is he really a Human?’

The question resurfaced in Bebuta’s mind.

‘Could a Human really be this strong—strong enough to make even a Void Lord like me tremble?’

‘Unbelievable.’

Even though every organ, every sense in his body screamed at him to flee, his pride refused to allow it.

For a powerful Warrior, fleeing the battlefield was the ultimate humiliation!

He would not suffer such a disgrace.

Fight!

“For the glory of the Void!”

Facing Damenevsky’s full power, Bebuta felt as if a mountain were crushing him. Just remaining on his feet took every ounce of his strength. He struggled to open his mouth, fighting against the oppressive pressure, and unleashed a desperate roar.

His battered carapace opened once more. With a beat of his transparent wings, Void Energy erupted like a jet, propelling him toward Damenevsky.

A smile touched Damenevsky’s lips—a smile that was wild, excited, and full of respect for his enemy.

“You are a worthy opponent!”

As he spoke, he swung his axe with one hand.

The uniquely shaped War Axe, all its Runes now blazing with light, descended from the heavens.

Flames surged to the heavens! A blood-red gash tore through the air, connecting sky and earth!

BOOM!

CRACK… CRACK… CRACK…

At the last possible moment, Bebuta raised his Lance with two arms to meet the War Axe, while simultaneously crossing and swinging his Dual Swords with his other pair.

The Power of Extreme Cold erupted from the Dual Swords, forming two ice-blue Qi Blades that shot toward Damenevsky.

But it was no use. The Qi Blades had barely left his swords before they evaporated into nothingness.

The blood-red gash from the War Axe passed through the Lance without resistance and continued its downward path.

Bebuta froze, one pair of hands still raising the Lance, the other pair holding the Dual Swords, locked in a swinging posture.

The gash faded, leaving countless cracks in the Void that chimed with the sound of shattering space.

「Three seconds later.」

A line appeared on Bebuta’s body. Blue blood sprayed out from the deep wound that had just split him in two.

Damenevsky lowered his axe and let out a long breath. The crimson flames around him instantly vanished, and he returned to his normal Human state.

Staring quietly at Bebuta’s fallen body, he offered sincere praise. “That was a truly exhilarating battle.”

「Undead Fortress.」

In the Great Tomb, Li Ziyu, who had been enjoying the show, was completely floored.

‘What was that?’

‘What the hell did I just see?’

‘Was that scene for real?’

‘This isn’t some damn Magic World, this is a full-blown Mystical World! And the Gao Wu kind, at that!’

Li Ziyu had originally assessed Damenevsky’s combat power. He’d felt that while his opponent was certainly strong, he still had a chance of overwhelming him if he deployed all his Undead.

But after that one axe strike, he realized how naive he’d been.

So naive he felt like a complete idiot.

‘What kind of Undead could possibly block a strike like that?’

He had seen it clearly. The strike had split the Void itself. After the blood-red gash vanished, a “tree” had clearly appeared in the Void!