Laws of Lightning Elements

Matthews watched Fiona perform Taiji with such grace that it seemed as though she had studied it before.

"Too bad you don't have an affinity for the Water Element. Otherwise, this set of moves would suit you perfectly!"

"Oh, these are martial arts?"

Matthews nodded, then said to her, "Go pack your things. We're heading back from the Magic Beast Mountain Range."

Matthews and the others had just finished packing and set out from the Magic Beast Mountain Range. On the third day, people from the Church of Light arrived at the valley where they had stayed.

By the time they reached the outskirts of the Magic Beast Mountain Range, they had lost track of Matthews.

After his last fight with the Light Angel, Matthews had lost his electromagnetic flying gear. He had now reached Level Nine and had begun condensing his Battle Qi in preparation for advancing to the Saint Realm.

The electromagnetism he had studied could be used as magic in this world. Here, it manifested as the Electromagnetic Profundity.

But the two worlds were different, after all. Electromagnetism was a field of study based on electric atoms.

Electromagnetic induction was a phenomenon that occurred when electrons moved through a circuit;

Permanent magnets were a phenomenon caused by the fixed spin of subatomic particles within electrons.

But the concept of electrons did not exist in this world. Here, lightning was an elemental substance, just like other kinds of matter. All the elements were forms of energy.

In his previous world, some people had claimed that quarks were the fundamental building blocks of atoms, while others said quarks were actually bundles of energy. But those were things beyond the reach of a student at a second-rate school like him.

Given what he knew, if he wanted to comprehend the Electromagnetic Profundity, he first had to comprehend the Lightning Element Profound Truth. Only then could he use the movement of the Lightning Element to comprehend the Electromagnetic Profundity.

So, these past few days, Matthews had been teaching Fiona some basic martial arts and how to meditate. Most of his time, though, he spent cultivating Battle Qi and sensing the Lightning Element, carefully observing the flickering points of light clustered around his body.

After deciding to spend some time cultivating in the Magic Beast Mountain Range, Matthews and the others settled by the lake where they had killed the Level Nine Magical Beast Black Snake. That day, Asolun took Fiona to gather some fruit and vegetables nearby, while Matthews sat by the lake, watching the sky threaten rain. He was waiting for a storm so he could comprehend the Laws of Lightning Elements.

The people from the Church of Light had been following their trail. At last, they located Matthews and the others again.

"Hmm!"

Matthews gave a wary grunt. The Blood-Eyed Mane Lion Pal, who was lying beside him, asked, "Master, what's wrong?"

"Eight people are closing in. They mean trouble."

The Blood-Eyed Mane Lion rose to his feet. Using the soul connection from his Equality Contract with Asolun, Matthews told him, "Don't come back to the lake with Fiona yet. We have enemies approaching."

As soon as Matthews finished speaking, two men dressed as members of the Church of Light's Holy Knights arrived with six angels and surrounded him.

Paya glanced at Matthews, who was standing ready by the lake. She didn't see the other serpent-like magical beast or the ordinary girl mentioned in the intelligence report. "One girl and one serpent-like magical beast are missing."

Otto replied dismissively, "They don't matter."

Matthews and Pal were now cornered by the lake. The only way out was across the water, so he told the Blood-Eyed Mane Lion, "We'll break through in that direction. Don't get bogged down in a fight."

Matthews had fought angels before and knew how troublesome they were. There were six this time, and he knew they could form an Angel Battle Formation.

Their formation let them share the damage from enemy attacks while combining the offensive power of all six angels. One angel had risked his body falling apart to injure Matthews, whose Battle Qi had only been at the early stages of Level Nine. With six angels, the danger was even greater.

"Bang—"

Matthews swung the Death Scythe and sent Otto flying. Otto, a Level Nine warrior, managed to hold Matthews off for a moment, but Matthews's full-force blow left him coughing up blood. After the attack, however, Matthews was beset by the six angels.

"Boom—"

Matthews swung the Death Scythe with all the fury he could muster, unleashing his strongest move since comprehending the momentum of heaven and earth. The Angel Battle Formation wavered under the devastating blow, but the angels held their ground!

"This is bad. I'd hoped to kill one with a full-force strike so they couldn't form the Angel Battle Formation."

The injured Otto and Paya had also engaged the Blood-Eyed Mane Lion Pal. Otto was hurt, but Paya was fine, so there was no chance of relying on Pal to break through the Angel Battle Formation from the outside anytime soon!

"Clang—"

Another angel brought down his greatsword, but Matthews blocked it with his scythe. What a pity—at Level Nine, he couldn't unleash the power of a Sovereign Artifact. Otherwise, wouldn't a Level Nine angel like this be cut down with a single stroke?

That exchange had made the strength of their formation clear to Matthews. It was roughly equal to the full-force attack of the angel from a month ago—an attack at the early Saint Realm. Without the sharpness of his Sovereign Artifact, Matthews couldn't have held them off without comprehending the Laws.

"Boom—"

Thunder roared across the sky as Matthews exchanged another blow with the angels.

"I can't keep this up. Looks like I'll have to try that move!"

After trading blows, Matthews sent lightning crackling across the scythe. He raised it, and a bolt made of the Lightning Element shot toward the sky. The angels in the Angel Battle Formation had no idea what was happening.

"Boom—"

Another flash of lightning and rumble of thunder split the sky. Matthews's scythe connected with the lightning overhead. Through the bolt, he clearly sensed the Lightning Element surging with life. Having already comprehended the momentum of heaven and earth, he now glimpsed a trace of the Laws of Lightning Elements within the lightning.

Electricity flickered around him. Using the bolt of lightning and his newly grasped understanding of the Laws of Lightning Elements, Matthews brought his scythe down with all his strength on one of the angels!

After that single strike, Matthews had killed two Level Nine angels. Just like that, he broke through the Angel Battle Formation surrounding him.

Without the Angel Battle Formation, the early-stage Level Nine angels were much easier to deal with. They were nothing like Lyriel, a peak Level Nine angel, who could push herself to the Saint Realm at the risk of her body falling apart. As long as Matthews watched out for the self-destruct trick he'd seen last time, he would be fine.

Before long, Matthews had killed the remaining four angels. He then helped the Blood-Eyed Mane Lion kill the two Level Nine warriors from the Holy Knights.