Courting Death

"Whoosh, whoosh..."

Amid the cheers of the Tsunami Legion soldiers, two figures flew down from the sky and landed in the very center of the training ground.

"Oh!"

"Commander Bolton will win!"

"Go!"

Locke and Bolton's entrance instantly ignited the atmosphere of the training ground.

This was a battle between Saint-level Experts.

Perhaps ninety-nine percent of the people in this world had only heard of Saint-level Experts and had never seen one.

And of those who had seen a Saint-level Expert, probably only ten percent had been fortunate enough to witness a battle between them.

Even these Tsunami Legion soldiers were watching a battle between Saint-level Experts for the first time.

"Come, Locke!"

Bolton pulled the spear from his back and spun it in his hand, its tip pointed directly at Locke.

"I'll show you the gap between us."

As soon as he finished speaking, powerful battle qi erupted from Bolton's body. The purple battle qi gave him a tremendous boost.

Boom!

Bolton's feet stamped a small crater into the ground as his body transformed into a streak of purple light, charging toward Locke at incredible speed.

The speed Bolton displayed now was considerably greater than when he had first met Locke.

Locke had expected this.

Bolton was, after all, a warrior. Before he had grown accustomed to aerial combat as a Saint-level Expert, the strength he could wield was not his true strength.

Now that he had solid ground beneath his feet, both Bolton's strength and speed had improved enormously.

Facing Bolton's attack, Locke used the same old tactic.

"Phantom Clone!"

Five figures flew out of Locke's body. One shot into the sky, while the other four fled in four different directions.

Boom!

Bolton's spear tore apart the figure Locke had left standing in place. Then, without slowing in the slightest, Bolton thrust his spear toward one of Locke's figures.

"Your little trick has already been seen through!"

"Take this!"

"Thunderfall!"

Boom!

The battle qi around Bolton turned into purple lightning, sealing off Locke's surroundings. Then countless bolts of lightning shot from Bolton's spear, crashing down like a waterfall toward Locke's clone.

"Oh?"

Sensing the power of the lightning, Locke was somewhat surprised.

Sure enough, how could anyone who had cultivated to the Saint level be simple?

From those bolts of lightning, Locke sensed the aura of a Profound Mystery.

Clearly, Bolton was also an expert who had comprehended a lightning-element Profound Mystery.

However...

If Bolton thought this would be enough to defeat him, he was being far too naive.

Within the thunderstorm, Locke's figure was struck by countless bolts of lightning and instantly shattered.

"How is that possible?"

Seeing this, how could Bolton not realize that the target he had attacked was still only a fake clone?

But how could that be?

He had remained in the state of Unity of Heaven and Man the entire time, and his Mental Strength had locked onto Locke's true body.

How could I still have mistaken it under those circumstances?

Could this guy's Mental Strength really be that much stronger than mine?

Smack!

At some unknown point, Locke had appeared behind Bolton and placed a hand on Bolton's shoulder.

His sword was pressed against Bolton's throat.

"You've lost, Commander Bolton."

Feeling the sharp edge at his throat, Bolton's face alternated between pale and red.

He had never imagined that the method he had spent two hours devising to counter Phantom Clone, along with his plan to defeat Locke and establish his authority within the Tsunami Legion, would be shattered so completely.

After this battle, it was easy to imagine that his authority would suffer a severe blow following his defeat.

Meanwhile, that fellow who loved using underhanded tricks would rise by stepping on Bolton's authority and become the most respected person in the Tsunami Legion.

"How did you do it?"

"Then why don't you ask how I could possibly fail to do it?"

Locke knew what Bolton truly wanted to ask.

But he had no intention of explaining it to him.

Since Bolton had dared to challenge him again, Locke naturally knew that Bolton must have obtained some trump card capable of dealing with him.

However, Locke also knew that if he did not completely crush Bolton's spirit, this fellow would certainly become a constant nuisance in the future.

Thus, after entering the training ground and sensing Bolton enter the state of Unity of Heaven and Man, Locke understood where Bolton's confidence came from.

Unfortunately, when it came to Mental Strength, Locke, as a Saint-level mage, surpassed Bolton by more than an entire dimension.

Sure enough, Locke merely left a trace of Mental Strength on one of the Phantom Clones, then fully concealed the rest of his Mental Strength. Bolton immediately fell for it.

If every Saint-level Expert on the Vakanda Plane was as much of a brute as Bolton, Locke could practically shout, "I can take on ten!"

Locke's words made Bolton's face flush crimson with rage.

Yet he could not say anything in response.

He had lost to Locke twice in a row, yet he still did not understand how he had lost.

That meant there was an enormous gap between his strength and Locke's!

Perhaps Locke had merely been playing around, while I was the only one taking it seriously.

Someone like him actually came from the common folk?

"Ha!"

In a fit of humiliation and rage, dazzling lightning burst from Bolton's entire body. Caught off guard, Locke was directly blasted back by the lightning.

Moreover, the lightning continued to rampage through Locke's body, damaging him from within.

"Pfft..."

Locke spat out a mouthful of blood, and a cold glint flashed through his eyes.

If the Rank 9 battle qi within his body had not blocked it slightly, and if his body had not been tempered by battle qi to the level of a Rank 7 Warrior, that strike just now might have killed him.

If a mage was struck by a warrior of the same rank, death was almost certain.

Locke's consciousness instantly fused with the laws, entering the state of Unity of Heaven and Man. He used the Illusionary Fog Profound Mystery to expel the lightning-element Profound Mystery from his body, preventing his injuries from worsening.

Then, after drawing upon the power of the laws to cast an enhanced Water Therapy spell on himself and slowly heal his wounds, Locke looked toward Bolton.

Locke would never show mercy to anyone who wanted to kill him.

"Heavenly Dance Treasure Wheel—Five Senses Deprivation!"

Locke slowly spoke the name of his technique.

In an instant, Locke's immense Mental Strength invaded Bolton's sea of consciousness and stripped Bolton of his five senses.