Swoosh!
Flame Wings unfurled behind him and he disappeared from the place, appearing several meters away.
Boom!
Right then, the place he was standing at exploded. Amidst the dust and shattered mana fluctuations, Max caught the glimpse of a dark-green, tentacle-like vine before it disappeared into the ground.
He then looked at Isolde, who was still standing in her place, trembling in rage but now there was a surprised look in her eyes.
"You are really a good actor." He said, his voice rife with mockery. While she was genuinely angry at being slapped, it wasnât to the point of losing her mind like she showed. She only did that so he would underestimate her and she would be able to take him off guard and attack from beneath the ground.
Unfortunately for her, Max had his Bloodline Sense, which had only gotten stronger after his breakthrough to the Five Star realm, and could read her emotions. So, her plan failed.
While Isolde was surprised that he managed to see through her plan, Max was also a little surprised and grew more serious because not only was she stronger than he expected, she was also very cunningâhe knew such people were the most difficult to deal with.
Die!
Boom!
Isolde shouted and rushed toward him. Her speed was so fast that she broke the sound barrier and instantly appeared before him, her hand, covered in small green vines, slamming toward his head.
The vines didnât look anything out of ordinary but they gave Max a faint sense of danger.
Given his current physique, he was confident even if he took this attack head-on, he wouldnât be killed or even seriously injured. He, however, had no plan to do that.
Therefore, he raised his hand and thrust his palm towards her hand.
Isoldeâs gaze flickered with a hint of confusion when she saw he was meeting her attack with a simple palm attack. However, she didnât feel any derision for him or felt complacent, instead, she became even more serious and activated another spell.
Her palm flashed and a grey-white light covered the vines, enforcing them.
After she was done, she focused on Max, waiting to see how he would react. However, Max kept the same expression on his face and continued with his seemingly simple palm attack which only made Isolde more solemn and caused her to up her guard even more.
She knew Max wasnât here to die, so he was certainly planning something.
All these thoughts flashed in her mind in a fraction of second and the next instant right before their palms met, her pupils constricted because Maxâs palm was suddenly covered in dark crimson flames. She also noticed there were extremely small flickers of white lightning within the flames.
Sizzle~!
As their palms met, the flames surged forward and sought to incinerate the vines but gray-white light appeared on the vines and resisted them while they tried to pierce his hand. However, before they could overcome his physical defenses, the flames extinguished the gray-white light and burned the vines.
Isolde circulated her mana, about to reinforce her hand so she wouldnât take much damage but before she could...
BOOM!
Max pushed his palm forward and slammed it into her hand, causing the air around them to explode and sent Isolde flying.
"Hm?" Maxâs eyes flickered with pleasant surprise. But he didnât get distracted and pressed his advantage by rushing after her using the Phoenixâs Wings.
Boom!
As the wings flapped behind him, the air exploded, propelling him forward at breakneck speed.
Isoldeâs eyes narrowed seeing him close the distance between them rapidly. She began circulating her mana to activate her movement technique, but suddenly had a premonition which made her activate her defensive spell instead.
BANG!
Her pupils constricted into pinholes and heart palpitated as she watched her wooden shieldâthat could easily block a High Stage Five Star mageâs full powered attack and give even Peak Five Star mages a tough time overcoming itâshatter into pieces.
âOh?â Max raised his brows, âShe got good battle instincts.â He praised her in his heart.
Isolde stared at him, or to be exact, at his wings where she could sense law fluctuations, her eyes wide in disbelief, "Thunder Law?! How is this possible?!"
"Itâs just initial law comprehension. Do you really have to be so shocked?" Max casually asked while looking down at himself, noticing the tears in his robes and small marks on his skin.
âIâll have to spend some to get used to my current strength.â He mused.
Right when he activated the Phoenixâs Wings, he felt he could go even faster if he added some Thunder Mana into the wings and covered them with his Thunder Law.
Therefore... he did just that and his speed increased several foldsâhe became so fast that despite his powerful physique and natural mana protection, the wind resistance pricked his skin and tore his robes.
"You...!" Hearing his casual tone and seeing his nonchalant expression, Isolde felt stifled even though she knew he was doing it deliberately to provoke her.
The reason she was ranked third on the Silver Rankings was because she had yet to comprehend a Law unlike the two ranked above her.
This was also the cause of her frustration. She was a Monarchâs daughter and was supposed to be superior to everyone. But she wasnât... There were two above her.
And now... a third had appeared.
She could still understand the two had managed to comprehend the Law before her because they were really talented and had good backgrounds, not much worse than hers.
But...
What about Max?
Why was he able to achieve the same?
After her confrontation with Rima, she had her people do a background check on her and found out Rima and her companion, who was none other than Max, had come from now completely destroyed desolate wasteland.
Even if he was some kingdomâs prince, he surely hadnât received the same resources and guidance that she had while growing up nor should he be more talented than her for no reason than other that she was the daughter of a Monarch and Peak Emperor.
"Die! You need to die!" She let out an animalistic growl filled with intense jealousy and murderous intent.
The mana exuding out of her turned more and more dark green and the same was true for her hair and her aura that became almost solid.
Whizz! Whizz!
The space around her started vibrating and seemed to contort and expand.
...
Swoosh! Swoosh!
Outside the arena, as soon as Isoldeâs transformation began, Sanya and Valerie shot to their feet, their expressions ugly.
"This is unacceptable!" Valerie shouted and took out her badge, wanting to deactivate the formations and stop the battle, but right then a faint voice that sent shivers down everyoneâsâwho heard itâspine sounded.
"Pipe down, Young Lady."