One-on-One Duel

Across the hill, Taros and Mokli both sensed each other's presence.

"Four Median Gods, nine Lesser Gods."

Taros's expression turned grave; he sensed that two of the four Median Gods were exceptionally powerful, far beyond ordinary Median Gods.

Even with his immense self-confidence, Taros felt a lack of certainty in his heart.

"Two Median Gods, five Lesser Gods. That green one is a bit troublesome," Mokli assessed the situation on the opposite side, feeling no difficulty and certain of victory.

"You lot over there, come on over," Mokli transmitted his voice directly to the seven from the Yulan Continent.

This guy is incredibly arrogant! Olivier thought upon receiving the transmission.

Taros, Catherine, and Olivier remained calm upon receiving the message, having already discovered the enemy, but Dylin and the other three Lesser Gods were quite startled.

Taros had just stopped, and they hadn't expected to receive a transmission immediately. They understood that it was Taros who had discovered the enemy and signaled them to halt, but they hadn't anticipated the opponent would initiate contact so directly.

"The enemy has four Median Gods and nine Lesser Gods. Their strength far exceeds ours. Once a battle breaks out, you will all be in great danger. Whether you want to come over or not, choose for yourselves," Taros transmitted via divine sense.

"Olivier, Lord Beirut, you possess the strength of a Median God. With their four Median Gods, if I am pinned down by one, you and Catherine would have to face three. There is almost no chance of victory. Given your talent, you have no need for a Godspark. I suggest you stay behind."

Taros transmitted this specifically to Olivier.

He meant well; with Olivier's talent, there was no need to take such a risk.

"Taros, thank you for your concern, but since I have come this far, I intend to go over and see. It doesn't necessarily mean a fight will break out," Victoria transmitted.

Taros frowned but said nothing more.

The others pondered for a moment and, like Olivier, decided they would go as well.

The two sides stood facing each other.

On the Yulan Continent side, the green, eerie-looking Taros took the lead, followed closely by the serene, natural-looking High Priest and the lethargic Olivier, with Dylin and the others trailing behind.

On the Graveyard of the Gods side, the purple-skinned, sturdy Mokli led, with the fierce Salsback, Gubas, and Subaru following, backed by the nine Lesser Gods.

"Let me introduce myself. My name is Mokli. My mission is to do everything in my power to stop you from proceeding to the next level. As long as you don't go to the next level, everything will be fine," Mokli spoke first.

"I am Taros. If you can defeat me, then not going to the next level is also an option," Taros did not yield in the slightest.

He was a Divine Beast who had already fused two Laws, and he was extremely confident in his own strength.

"Good, then let us have a battle. It has been a long time since I last fought," Mokli's eyes gleamed with intense fighting spirit.

"Listen well, all of you—do not let them take the opportunity to slip past," Mokli commanded the others.

The battle between Taros and Mokli was on the verge of erupting.

Taros's divine artifact was a long whip, while Mokli's was a massive hammer.

Taros's whip coiled like a giant serpent; simultaneously, the three-to-four-meter whip expanded to thirty or forty meters in length, thicker than an arm, possessing the might of a primordial beast capable of swallowing the heavens and the earth.

Dozens of lightning bolts suddenly erupted from Mokli's hammer, each as thick as a thumb. These bolts danced in the air like swimming dragons, emitting a crackling sound as they surged toward Taros's serpent-like whip.

Boom!

Crash!

A violent explosion rang out. Taros retreated ten steps, while Mokli retreated only one.

In their first exchange, Mokli held the slight upper hand.

After the clash, Taros stared at Mokli, his heart churning with shock.

He had thought that by fusing two Laws, his strength was already formidable, but judging by this exchange, it was clear that his opponent had also fully fused two Laws and possessed a deeper comprehension of the Laws than he did.

According to Beirut, in countless planes, it was rare for a Median God to fuse two Laws; many High Gods could not even achieve such a feat. He hadn't expected to encounter one here, though considering the monstrous nature of the beings within the Graveyard of the Gods, it wasn't entirely surprising.

Although Taros had fused two Laws, he had only fully comprehended four profound mysteries of the Water Element; the fifth was still lacking, and the sixth had only just been initiated.

In terms of comprehension, Taros was slightly inferior to Mokli, though the gap in strength was limited.

The initial clash had been merely a probe; neither had used their full strength, employing only seventy to eighty percent of their power.

Like Taros, Mokli was also somewhat surprised.

The opponent was also a Median God who had fused two Laws, and he understood that there wouldn't be much difference in their strength.

"Taros, I didn't expect you to also be a Median God who has fused two Laws. This is the first time I have fought someone of your caliber. Let us have a satisfying battle; regardless of who wins or loses, I will not make things difficult for you," Mokli said.

"Likewise, I will not kill you either," Taros replied.

Both were Median Gods who had fused two Laws; even if one were defeated, if they chose to flee, the other could not stop them, making it extremely difficult to kill one another.

However, Taros was a Divine Beast with an innate divine ability, which changed the equation—killing the opponent was still a possibility.

"Good!"

Both were elites among Median Gods, and heroes often cherish one another.

As geniuses, they naturally understood the difficulty of fusing Laws and rarely held others in high regard.

The reason Taros treated Dylin, Catherine, and the others so well was because they had all grown up together on the Yulan Continent. If it were anyone else, like Mokli's attitude toward a divine beast like Salsback, he wouldn't have been nearly as cordial.

One of them manipulated water elements to manifest a vast ocean, within which giant sea serpents swam, churning up massive waves that threatened to overturn the earth.

Pfft! Pfft!

The other commanded a world of thunder; within this realm, countless lightning dragons danced wildly, and he himself was coiled in lightning, appearing like a god of thunder descended upon the world.

Crackle! Crackle!

Before they had even exchanged a blow, the momentum of both sides was already enough to turn the world upside down.

This was no longer the playful sparring from before; they were serious now. The onlookers could feel the world-destroying power contained within, and even several Midgods wore expressions of shock.

"Is this your true strength?" the divine beast Salsback muttered to himself.

He recalled how Mokli had defeated him and had originally assumed the man had barely scraped a victory, believing that with his own innate gifts as a divine beast, he would eventually surpass him.

Divine beasts were all prideful creatures.

Boom! Boom!

Crash! Bang!

The world of water collided with the world of thunder, both sides manipulating countless energies to clash against one another, while Taros's long whip and Mokli's great hammer struck each other countless times.

The energy leaking from the fray was enough to easily destroy Lowgods like Cesar who had only recently achieved godhood.

"A Midgod who has fused profound mysteries of the same law is indeed powerful, but at this level, I could easily kill either one of them."

Olivier compared the scene to his own strength.