Indestructible

Someone at S-rank made their move.

A spear fell from above at a vicious angle, aimed straight for Sam's crown.

The wind tore apart with a howl.

Boom!

Sam stomped off the ground, shifting his whole body three meters sideways. The spear slammed into the dirt, sending mud flying, cratering the earth half a meter deep.

With force like that? Let's see an S-rank superhuman try to take that hit.

The spear was still quivering when a figure dropped down from the sky right behind it. The landing was quiet, but the pressure radiating off him was overwhelming.

The man pulled the spear out one-handed, gave it a flick, and in the next instant he was already charging forward.

Fast.

Too fast.

Sam was a shooter. Close combat was his ticking time bomb. He could only retreat, raising both palms toward his attacker.

Two laser beams fired out.

The columns were each as thick as a forearm, which was already Sam's max-power output. The temperature had to be over a thousand degrees—could slice through ordinary metals like soft tofu.

But the man on the other side pulled a matte gray steel plate out of nowhere with his left hand and held it up in front of himself.

Tungsten steel.

A material with a melting point over two thousand degrees, specifically designed to counter thermal-type superhumans.

It was heavy as hell, and most people couldn't even lift it, but the man held it one-handed while his stride didn't slow in the slightest.

The lasers slammed into the tungsten steel shield, the surface turning red-hot and scorching, but it didn't break through.

Sam gritted his teeth and cranked up the output. The lasers' circumference thickened.

No use.

The man pushed forward against the beam, shield up, closing the distance from ten meters to five.

Then the tungsten plate went flying out of his hands!

Not discarded—thrown like a projectile.

Sam sidestepped the plate, and in the split second his line of sight was blocked, the spear was already there.

The tip aimed straight at his throat.

Three meters apart, one thrust, fast and brutal.

The Korean tradition did include long spears, but those belonged to infantry phalanxes.

Sam ran backward, soles practically sliding over the ground.

He wasn't slow—he had a speed buff on himself—but the man on his tail was unreal, keeping pace, the spear tip permanently suspended three inches from Sam's throat.

If he slowed down by even a fraction, his throat would be punctured.

The dirt swelled beneath his feet like a booster track, shoving Sam further away.

Then a muffled rumble came from below. Dozens of claws—sharp earth spikes—burst out of the ground, boxing in the spear-wielder from every direction.

This was Eric's assist.

The spikes were packed tight, trapping the man with no room even to turn around.

"HAH!"

A short, sharp battle cry.

The spear swept in an arc.

Every earth spike snapped clean at the root.

Fragments of stone and mud sprayed everywhere. The man walked out of the chaos, not a single notch on his spear shaft.

That's S-rank for you. This level of shutdown was nowhere near enough to contain him.

Meanwhile, on the other side.

Ivy wasn't faring much better.

Loaded up with buffs, she was facing two people at once.

"I know you, Ivy," Smiling Face said. He wore that trademark grin of his, "the one who borrows power from the Father of Gods."

He tilted his head. "Although, I'm kind of curious — does the Father of Gods even exist?"

Beside him stood Han Junhao, hands already glowing, ready to strike.

Ivy flicked her gaze between the two of them, her lips pressing into a flat line.

"Since you're so curious, let me send you to see him in person."

Smiling Face was about to say something else, but Ivy had already spoken.

"Father of Gods! Grant me the thunder!"

The sky changed color. The ring of falling snow abruptly turned still and empty.

A massive bolt of lightning tore down from the clouds, striking directly onto Ivy.

Electric arcs coiled around her body. Her short hair started growing out rapidly, and her ordinary blonde was consuming a blinding shimmering gold.

Like pulling a shiny rare card.

Her whole body floated up off the ground, lightning spiraling around her.

Smiling Face's smile was still on his lips, but his fists were clenched. You could tell he wasn't as confident as he seemed.

S-rank against S-rank—he had no path but forward.

"In that case..." Smiling Face took a deep breath, hands spreading wide, "then I grant you fear."

His voice had shifted, carrying a certain penetrating weight.

"Fear of everything."

His power was emotional manipulation.

As long as a person feels emotion at all, they were within his range.

The invisible force radiated outward, enveloping Ivy.

Her body went rigid for a moment.

Fear rose from the bottom of her heart like ice water flooding her chest. She was afraid. Afraid of these two people in front of her, afraid they would kill her, afraid she would die right here.

Her hands were shaking.

But her mind was still clear.

"Father of Gods!"

She gritted out word by word, "Grant me an unafraid heart."

The instant she finished speaking, the chill inside her vanished as if wiped clean by a cloth.

Smiling Face's expression finally cracked.

Ask for something, and it's given. Call for something, and it appears.

This wasn't just divine decree — this was straight-up speak-and-it-shall-be.

Ivy looked down at Smiling Face on the ground, raising her right hand. A bolt of lightning coalesced within her palm.

Han Junhao stepped in front of Smiling Face, crossed his arms, and aimed his palms skyward.

"Blast! Morning Star!"

A white explosion beam shot upward, heading straight for Ivy.

The two forces collided midair.

Lightning and explosive light tangled together, a shockwave blasting outward, ripping a whole layer of turf off the ground.

BOOM!

"Wow, it's all heating up over there. What a fight."

Lin Mo walked with his hands in his pockets, strolling like he was touring a park.

East Leaf walked along beside him, equally relaxed. Neither of them looked like they were on a battlefield.

They had already stepped into the zone themselves, but the two groups of four hadn't encountered each other on this side, right? So what's the rush?

"You think we're slackin' off?" Lin Mo asked.

East Leaf thought about it for a moment. "Yeah, probably."

"Well then, let's keep slacking off."

The words just barely left his mouth when a blue shield zipped into view up ahead.

It was William, not a Smurf.

He had an energy shield wrapped around him, sprinting desperately in their direction. Two figures were chasing him from behind—clearly from the Super Youth Corps.

William spotted Lin Mo and East Leaf calmly blocking his path, and shouted: "Scumbags! Move it!"

Lin Mo raised a brow. "A soft target, huh? Fine, let me have some fun with this one."

William ignored him, raised his gun, and fired.

The bullet left the chamber straight for Lin Mo's face.

But a split second later, Lin Mo pinched his two fingers together and caught the projectile mid-air.

Easy. Like pinching a peanut.

William didn't give much thought to Lin Mo still being alive after the hit—his shield was tough enough to hold, and he just needed to stall these people anyway.

So he simply kept barreling towards Lin Mo.

Lin Mo tossed the bullet contemptuously to the ground, studying the charging William in his blue barrier.

"The pinnacle of martial arts fells all in a blink, for speed alone towers above every defense."

William didn't understand Chinese, but he didn't care. Crashed the shield in. That's all she wrote.

Lin Mo opened his mouth again.

"Unyielding to anything."

He raised a single finger and pressed it gently against the blue barrier.

CRACK.

A sound like glass shattering.

A web of fractures split out from the point of contact on William's shield, spreading across the whole surface at visible speed.

And then.

BOOM!