Chapter 1793: Leap in One Level (Part 1)

No matter how dangerous Sano’s attack was, it was nothing compared to Adam’s Path, especially its dark version.

Sano did not yet possess this power, even though she knew of it. She had never encountered anything like it before.

Perhaps if it had been a simple attack or an ability infused with Dark Energy, Sano might have been able to dodge or survive it, but not Adam’s path.

When he used Dark Energy for his path, he destroyed everything in his path, be it an energy blade, the stone slabs, or Sano herself. The speed and accuracy weren’t as fast as with the white path, but the destructive power was many times greater.

Xyrea’s armor shuddered, rushing to activate and save Sano, who had overestimated her capabilities.

However, it quickly became clear to everyone that Xyrea’s armor wouldn’t be enough. Sure, Xyrea’s armor was sturdy enough to withstand Adam’s attack, but the recoil Sano would face would be too strong for her body.

That is precisely why Gladius had to intervene in their fight.

Tap.

Gladius touched Adam’s needle, stopping it with his hand.

All the power from Adam’s path surged forward in a dissipating wave, since his path had not reached its target.

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

The entire arena shook as streams of darkness crashed into the stone blocks one after another, sweeping past Sano, who stood frozen in fear.

She was certain that her previous attack would put Adam in a critically dangerous situation, but everything turned out quite differently.

Like Natta, she often found herself in life-threatening situations, whether dealing with monsters or humans.

However, deep down, she knew that everything was always under her control. She knew that in the worst-case scenario, she would have to make some sacrifices, but she always had a path to victory.

That is, until this moment.

Sano’s eyes were wide open, frozen in horror at the realization of what had just happened.

If Gladius hadn’t stopped Adam, it would have been the end for her. She would have actually died, since she had no defense against the Dark Energy.

But Sano wasn’t the only one shocked.

"Wow, that’s something else." Gladius released Adam’s needle, raising his arm.

His eyes fell on his hand, on the deep cut left on his palm and the blood trickling down his fingers toward his wrist.

Aiden’s eyes narrowed as Xyrea frowned.

Sano, Natta, Adam, and Silvana hadn’t realized it yet, but what Adam had done was no ordinary feat. On the contrary, it shouldn’t have happened at all.

He, a K4-Phantom who hadn’t yet reached the barrier, had managed to wound Gladius.

Sure, Adam had used one of his strongest attacks to do it, and it was only a cut on Gladius’s hand.

The point wasn’t how much damage Adam had inflicted on Gladius, but that he had managed to wound someone at such a high level of power.

This made Aiden, Gladius, and Xyrea think about similar things:

’What would have happened if it had been someone else instead of Gladius?’

’What if some Baron or a new Lord who hadn’t yet fully mastered their powers were to face Adam right now?’

The answer was obvious.

"Not bad, not bad at all." Aiden nodded slightly, studying the aftermath of the battle.

’Hmm, it’s not often you come across a K4-Phantom who can wound Lesser Lord-level monsters. Although, considering it’s Adam, that was to be expected.’

Adam, in turn, cast a sharp glance at Sano and took a step back. His needle shattered into fragments as it returned to his inner space.

"As I understand it, that concludes my battle? I won, right?"

Aiden nodded.

"There’s no doubt about it. I didn’t expect you to decide to play your trump card so soon. Sano and Natta underestimated you."

"W-What?" Sano spun around with an indignant expression, her voice trembling. "We used everything we had against him! We fought with all our might!"

Natta gulped as she pressed her hand to her chest.

"I agree. We could have launched dozens of attacks and still not even scratch Adam. That doesn’t usually happen..." Natta’s gaze darkened. "I just didn’t see a way to win."

Aiden shook his head, silencing the two of them.

"That wasn’t your main mistake. You decided that Adam wouldn’t try to kill you. That he would fight fairly and try to put up a worthy fight. You wanted to use that to hurt him, humiliate him, and, as a result, enjoy it. But it turned out not to be that simple, did it?"

His gaze fell on Sano. His question was directed at her.

Sano glanced to the side, at her severed left arm and then at her sword. Her sword was still in its monstrous form, but only a small fraction of its original power remained. She had expended most of her energy on her final swing.

"He would have killed you."

Aiden’s cold voice echoed through the hall.

"Ah...?" Sano and Natta looked up.

"If you had faced this young man in a real fight, the same one who was collecting scrap metal in the slums just two years ago, you wouldn’t have made it home. The Dead Lands isn’t a duel to the death. It’s a battlefield where the strongest survive."

Sano’s lips trembled as she struggled to find the right words.

"B-But! If you know how to kill and can do it, doesn’t that mean you’re the strongest?"

Aiden leaned on his hand with a bored look.

"To some extent, yes, but in that case, why didn’t you do it?"

Sano and Natta’s faces froze in shame.

"Without a doubt, you know how to kill better than Adam, but what went wrong then?"

Aiden’s eyes grew darker.

"It’s very simple, because you lost, because you turned out to be weaker. If Gladius had to intervene, it means that at the moment of the final attack, the gap between you had grown to more than a few stages."

Crunch.

Suddenly, there was a crunch, it was Gladius cracking his knuckles.

"You know, I think we should change the plan."

"Hmm?" Aiden raised an eyebrow.

Step.

Before Aiden or anyone else could react, Gladius stepped forward as his fist slammed into Adam’s face.