Insight

Though his armor was dented, there was no fear in his eyes—only resolve.

"Isn't it just a few hundred Middle Gods? As long as I'm here, every setback is nothing but passing clouds."

"Boom, boom~"

Earth God Power surged in ochre waves. Nick pulled himself together; this time, he had truly misjudged the situation.

It had originally been an investigation mission.

How had it turned into a battle that could destroy Camel Village?

For now, victory or defeat was still uncertain.

"What do we do?"

Within the space formed by Mist Shadow Heavy, Achilles and Vester had already lost their ability to fight. Everything now rested on Nick.

"Boss~!"

The Seventh Brother who had arrogantly mocked Hermes earlier was nowhere to be seen.

"Boss, save us~!"

Afraid that Nick might flee, Achilles sent an uneasy mental transmission.

If Nick had wanted to run, he would have done so long ago.

Would he have waited until now?

"Rumble~!"

The Gravity Space that had previously been crushed reappeared. Nick pushed the god power in his body to its limit.

"Bang, bang, bang~!"

The Heart of God Power shook violently, desperately squeezing out every last trace of god power within him.

He gathered his god power.

Preparing to face Hermes's even fiercer assault.

Gradually.

Mist began to spread.

"I can't see!"

Wisps of mist emerged. Previously, they had been too scattered to draw Nick and the others' attention.

Now, only the three strongest bandits of Camel Village remained, and Hermes immediately shrank the range of Mist Shadow Heavy.

"Die~!"

Ignoring the newly restored Gravity Space technique, Hermes did not pause. His fist shadows grew denser, every punch containing the power of Destruction.

His fist shadows interwove through the air into a massive net, enveloping both Achilles and Vester.

"Bang, bang, bang~!"

Every punch was like a war drum mallet, smashing viciously into Achilles and Vester.

And into Nick's heart as well.

Hermes's fist shadows were not merely attacks, but an art.

An art that combined violence and aesthetics.

Every turn, every punch, was filled with power and beauty.

"Bang, bang, bang~!"

Vester was the first to give out, exploding directly into a cloud of blood mist.

"One left~!"

Achilles, who had endured the same barrage of fist shadows yet held on until now, was terrified out of his wits.

"Boss, Boss, save me~!"

His Spiritual Sense was cut off, but Achilles could still cry out.

"Bang, bang~!"

His body was sent flying, only to be dragged back by the reverse gravity and hurled toward fists covered in golden light.

Like a speedball that was constantly flung away and snapped back.

Hermes's Golden Fist Shadows bloomed like fireworks, illuminating hundreds of meters, yet utterly destroying Nick's will to fight.

Because he realized!

No matter how hard he tried, he could not get close to Hermes. He could only watch helplessly until Achilles, too, was beaten into a cloud of blood mist.

"Your turn~!"

Having killed all the bandits.

Hermes finally turned his full attention to Nick.

In battle, he had discovered this fellow's extraordinary nature. He had likely fused two Mysteries of the Great Earth Law as well.

"Bang~!"

Their fists collided head-on. The Golden Fist Shadow dispersed, while Nick's fist formed from Earth God Power dissipated at the same time.

"Boom boom boom~!"

Another head-on clash.

After repeatedly trading blows head-on, Hermes's fighting spirit was ignited as well.

More importantly, he wanted to know where his own limits lay.

"Ha ha ha, good~!"

Seeing that Hermes was no longer dodging, Nick was instantly overjoyed. He could tell that his comprehension of the Great Earth Law was inferior to his opponent's.

Even when using Gravity Space, he was nowhere near as fast as the other man.

The destruction of Camel Village, the brothers he had spent endless years with dying before his eyes—naturally, that did not feel good.

But at this moment, Nick did not want to think about any of that.

A fight to the death, a battle where both sides had forgotten themselves and were evenly matched—what a rare opportunity that was.

It had been bought with the lives of several hundred brothers!

"There seems to be something different contained within this fellow's fists."

Nick, who had comprehended every Mystery of the Great Earth Law, could naturally see the Mysteries of Power within Hermes's fists.

But this was different.

"Boom boom~!"

The golden fist shadows clashed against the earth-yellow fist shadows. Hermes was only a Middle God; in terms of divine power and God-level Domain, he was at a disadvantage.

Yet the Golden Mountain True Body granted him nearly a hundredfold amplification in strength, while his material defense was absurdly powerful.

Thus, even without wearing High-grade Divine Artifact armor, his divine body after merging with his true body was surpassed only by a Material Defense Sovereign Artifact in terms of material defense.

And now, he was fighting someone who cultivated the Great Earth Law as well. What an extraordinarily rare opportunity.

Nick and Hermes both treasured this chance. Even though they were evenly matched, neither called for the battle to stop.

If Vester and Achilles were still around, Nick would still have had reservations. But now, every last trace of luck was gone.

The only thing he wanted was to smash Hermes's head apart with his fists.

One day passed, Two days passed...

The battle continued.

Never before had either of them encountered such an evenly matched opponent, making both sides reluctant to let go.

"Earth Element—the Earth Element that exists everywhere. What affinity does it have with power?"

He had comprehended the Mysteries of Power when becoming a god. Afterward, Hermes had fused power and Gravity Space, breaking through to become a Middle God.

Logically speaking, Earth Element, the easiest Mystery to comprehend, should have long since been mastered.

But that was not the case.

The time Hermes had existed since gaining consciousness was not particularly long.

He had entered the door of Earth Element and had even comprehended a small portion of it. But because he knew that the earlier one understood Mystery Fusion, the better, Hermes had not devoted much effort to Earth Element.

He usually treated it as a link connecting the various Mysteries of the Great Earth Law.

There was no need to comprehend it completely.

A portion of Earth Element serving as a link was enough.

Unless, like now!

He had found the point of compatibility between Earth Element and the Mysteries of Power.

"Ha ha~!"

"Wonderful, wonderful!"

Even though he had only grasped a trace of the compatibility between the two Mysteries, Hermes's fist shadows immediately changed.

The Mysteries of Power were like a heavy-duty engine within the Great Earth Law. Before, it had merely been idling. Understanding the point of compatibility between Earth Element and the Mysteries of Power did not bring any fundamental improvement, but it immediately supplied abundant power to his combat technique.

Hermes's punching speed skyrocketed. His strength had not changed, but that did not mean his fighting style had not changed.

"Why have his fists become so fast?"

Nick was stunned.

Previously, he had been able to block Hermes's fists because he could catch the trajectory of every Golden Fist Shadow.

Then, he could counter ultimate move with ultimate move.

Fist against fist.

Though neither could do anything to the other, they both understood that they were indeed fighting on the same level.

But now, things were different.

Hermes's Golden Fist Shadows, fast to the extreme, had become a dazzling blur.

Nick could not see them clearly, and naturally could not catch them.

At the very least, he could not catch them all.

"Bang bang bang~!"

A skyful of fist shadows descended, most of them smashing into Nick's body. Very few were intercepted by his fists.

"Bang~!"

One punch slammed into Nick's faceplate.

His body spun as he was sent flying several hundred meters.

Fortunately, Nick wore full armor that covered his face. Otherwise, that single blow would definitely have caused considerable damage.

"I'm done fighting~!" Nick roared.