Chapter 455
That’s insane!
That was the only comment anyone could grasp. In a single exchange, everyone finally understood why people whispered Leander’s title, “Iron Sovereign,” with awe.
His ranking at fifth on the International Combat Units suddenly felt like a massive understatement. Someone with power like this had every right to aim straight for the throne. Even Khaedor’s long-held supremacy looked shaky.
Khaedor’s expression hardened. Every tendon in his body snapped with tense power. “Jeff, looks like I need to deal with you personally p>
His massive bat-like wings flared open behind him, stretching wide enough to blot out half the sky.
“Batwing Tempest p>
He roared the phrase like a battle cry. The wings beat once, and the sky ripped open. A storm exploded outward, ripping entire trees from the mountain as if they weighed nothing. A tidal surge of wind tore toward Leander like the world was being unmade.
Leander stepped onto empty air as if standing on solid ground. His arm swung through the void.
Wind bucked.
A cyclone erupted into existence behind him.
Gasps erupted across the cliffside.
The two storms collided overhead. The force rattled every boulder on the ridge. Even the Transcendent elites watching retreated quickly, unwilling to risk getting pulled in by the insane pressure.
A thunderous crack burst across the valley.
Boom! As Leander and Khaedor clashed, a mound of shattered rubble nearby burst outward. Nicholas emerged from the debris-blood-streaked, unhinged, and burning with fury.
“Jeff p>
He stomped down. The ground within a hundred feet split like shattered glass. Air began swirling around him, growing thicker and heavier with every breath he took. “Tiger-Demon Body, Demon Rise p>
His body grew larger, veins bulging like ropes. Muscles rippled and tensed beneath his skin, resembling living armor. His aura erupted with a violent shockwave. His fingers shaped into glowing tiger claws.
The true commander of Bloodthorn Mercenaries finally appeared.
“That’s his real form?” Seth’s voice cracked. His gaze jumped from Nicholas’ monstrous transformation to Khaedor’s sky-wide bat wings. His knees felt weak.
Faces around him drained pale. Few had ever seen Khaedor unleash his full Blood Clan power. Seeing both him and Nicholas in peak form in the same battle was enough to chill the bones.
“Blood Clan transformation… Another body-forging arts?” Leander narrowed his eyes. None of this surprised him. Khaedor sat at the pinnacle of the Infernal Crown Transcendent Realm. Nicholas had the ability to match Fergus, the Son of Judgment.
Once both released their hidden techniques, their combat power spiked dramatically.
Khaedor fought Leander head-on without losing ground. Nicholas seized that moment, soared upward, and unleashed a punch from over a hundred feet away. The force hit the ground before he did, shredding stone into dust.
Leander’s expression didn’t flinch. He brought his right fist back and launched it forward, meeting the blow at its strongest point.
A horrifying screech of air tore outward. Nicholas’ power slammed in from every direction, concentrated into a single brutal point.
The instant Leander touched it, he slid back three paces.
Shock rippled through the onlookers. They had never seen Leander forced backward.
Nicholas pressed the advantage. His roar cracked across the valley. A streak of shadow whipped sideways-the shape of Khaedor diving in. His wing-blade carved toward Leander’s neck like a guillotine.
Leander raised his arm.
Clang! A sharp metallic ring echoed as the blade-hand hit his forearm. A crushing pressure threw him off balance. His feet scraped across the air as he steadied himself.
Nicholas and Khaedor moved flawlessly together. Nicholas hammered relentlessly from the front while Khaedor sliced with lethal precision at the flank. Every blow got more vicious than the last.
“You two cowards… really? Two-on-one p>
Seth, Keith and Kenneth exploded with outrage.
“Khaedor! You’re supposed to be the top of the International Combat Units! Two-on- one? Don’t you feel ashamed?” Seth shouted.
Khaedor’s only response was a cold snort. Born of the Blood Clan and human blood, he was feared worldwide, but he had no regard for pride or honor. His only concern was the win-clean, simple, and direct.
He knew exactly how dangerous Leander was. A solo fight would drag out and drain too much strength. Fighting alongside Nicholas made things far easier. He could conserve energy for the upcoming relic fight.
High above, Leander kept being pushed back. Step by step, blow after blow-no chance to counter.
Keith and Kenneth tensed, ready to leap in-until a blazing wall of fire burst across their path.
“You two insects want to interrupt this? Know your limits p>
Halia’s icy stare froze them in place.
Truth hit them hard-they couldn’t even survive the shockwaves from this battle.
Up in the air, Leander retreated dozens of paces. On his fiftieth step, he abruptly locked his footing on the void behind him.
Boom! A concussion, like an explosion, ripped outward.
Leander raised his right hand, blue energy swirling around his knuckles. He struck forward, but this time, he didn’t budge an inch.
On the other hand, Nicholas flew backward like a missile shot from a cannon. He scraped a long, glowing trail through the air before crashing to a stop far away. “What… What is this?” Nicholas stared at his own fist, horrified.
A moment ago, Leander looked overwhelmed. Now, the same punch felt like colliding with a sleeping ancient beast.
Leander had been holding back earlier.
Khaedor’s pupils constricted as blood-red light flickered across his wings. The edges honed to resemble legendary blades crafted by gods. Each flap tore through the air like ripping fabric.
He dove.
A scarlet flash sliced toward Leander’s throat. The bat-like wings streaked in front of Leander-yet he shot out a palm and caught the wing mid-rush.
Sparks burst.
The crowd froze. Even Khaedor’s mind blanked for a beat.
Those wings were terrifying-among the sharpest weapons on earth. They could cut through steel, tear through armored plates like paper, and even splita tank in two. With enough speed, he might be able to cut a fighter jet from the sky.
Yet, Leander caught those wings barehanded and didn’t show the slightest sign of
injury.
Khaedor’s gaze shot up and met Leander’s cold eyes.
His heart stuttered.
“Top of the International Combat Units… and that’s all you’ve got?” Leander’s grip
tightened. Five deep dents dug into the supposedly unbreakable wing.
“Argh!” Khaedor’s scream tore
through the sky. His bat wings weren’t merely limbs-they were bonded to his blood and soul after years of rigorous training. Seeing them crumple and decay under Leander’s touch caused pain to surge through every nerve.
Snapping back to his senses, blood flared across his palm and hardened into a crimson blade. He thrust it straight for Leander’s chest.
The blow hit with the ring of colliding metal. Leander’s clothes split, but his skin didn’t even dent.
Khaedor’s thoughts fractured. What physique is this? A god-level being?
Impossible p>
Leander’s expression darkened to ice. A sliver of primal fear stabbed into Khaedor’s
chest.
Leander shifted position, with one arm raised and the other lowered.
The wing tore.
Blood mist sprayed across the sky. Khaedor shrieked as half his treasured wing
ripped free like torn paper.
Gasps rippled across the mountains. No one could breathe.
Earlier, Leander had looked pressured. Now Nicholas was blown away in one
punch, and Khaedor’s wing lay ruined in Leander’s grip.
Bam. Leander didn’t pause. His fist drew tight and punched straight through
Khaedor’s chest. The terror frozen on Khaedor’s face didn’t even have time to fade.
A jet of flame burst from the gaping
wound. It spread in a violent rush,
racing across his entire body. In the blink of an eye, Khaedor turned into a roaring fireball suspended in
midair. Mis tortured cred in?
tore
through the valley, and everyone watching sucked in a sharp breath.
The strike carried the savage annihilation of Dragonfire—Leander’s first fist
technique outside of his Trinity Strike Technique.
Infernal Dragonfire Fist.
Flames burst from Khaedor’s open wound, soaring into the sky. In midair, the flames
morphed into a fierce fire dragon that swooped down, attacking and consuming
Khaedor in one savage move.
The sky burned crimson.
Nicholas and the surrounding powerhouses recoiled, their faces pale with disbelief.
Khaedor-the unrivaled number one of the International Combat Units-gone? Just
like that?
Sethr, Keith, and Kenneth froze, breath catching in their throats.
They believed Leander could win… but after a brutal fight, not with one overwhelming strike. No one expected such a clean, merciless ending.
This was the God of Madness, Khaedor-yet he died in seconds.
Nicholas faltered, fear gripping his spine-only to realize Leander was standing next
to him. “Your master’s dead. Good dog, go join him p>
Before Nicholas could react, Leander’s fingers clamped his skull.
Pressure built.
Nicholas’ iron-like skull cracked like brittle pottery. The sound of shattering bone
swept through the valley, turning stomachs.
The mighty commander of the Bloodthorn Mercenaries collapsed moments later, head crushed beyond recognition.
Two kills-two top-five rankers. Leander’s expression didn’t flicker. His gaze slid
over the horrified elites as his voice rolled cold across the peaks. “Who else wants
to try p>