Chapter 108: Sleeping God
Right after Hahho said that, noticing Priam’s quick glance toward him, Grand Elder Ladomi nodded and spoke loudly:
"With so many people here today and so many eyes watching, we will naturally be your most reliable witnesses. If either of you has the misfortune of suffering serious injuries, the opponent will not be blamed; otherwise, that person would be a despicable one who does not keep their word."
Everyone in the hall immediately agreed. After all, there was no one who believed Priam could injure Hahho, even if he were at 100%, much less as weakened as he was.
Clearly, Priam’s vital energy seemed heavily worn down, and the Ether in his body was almost nonexistent to the senses of the most powerful.
Hahho spoke calmly, "Great. In that case, let’s begin. I’m looking forward to seeing your great abilities."
Priam showed a faint smile and did not answer. His breathing became calm, and he focused his gaze.
His Anima activated completely.
At the same time, inside his Nexus Seed, a Power Rune began to move.
This Power Rune was only something created with the beast crystals from the mountain. When he was only a Mage Acolyte, these Power Runes that gave him a momentary explosive increase were very efficient and frightening. But now that he had become a Mage Disciple, the increase in power was infinitely smaller.
In other words, even going all out like before, Priam could not expect much. Whenever he broke through a Rank, he would have to find better materials and energies in order to create stronger Power Runes.
That being the case, facing this genius among geniuses, who was several levels above him in power, right now would be complete suicide. But...
He had a secret weapon.
*Buzz*
A buzzing sound echoed through the hall, and everyone at the tables widened their eyes in shock.
Suddenly, Priam’s entire body pulsed, and an almost beast-like aura, filled with oppressive energy, radiated from him.
It was practically the same as before. Priam temporarily gained great explosive and beastly power.
His muscles and strength became much more frightening, and even without Ether, his blows could shake the beliefs of any Mage from the Mortal Plane.
On the other hand, Hahho was calm and relaxed; he wore a smile and did not show the slightest nervousness... But inside, all that existed in him was extreme rage.
For him to act that way, naturally, he had a reason. That was because Priam gave him a clear sense of crisis.
Of course, this feeling definitely did not come from thinking Priam could defeat him. Rather, it was because Priam was clearly at the elementary level, and yet had still been capable of easily defeating the two greatest geniuses of the alliance.
Hahho had never seen or heard of someone with this kind of strength at the elementary level of a Rank. This stage, equivalent to level zero, was known as a period of instability, when the Mage was still solidifying the new power of the Rank.
The big shots in the hall had not thought much about this, or simply did not know. But when Hahho was at the elementary level, even he himself could not fight against people several levels above him, even if they were the humblest ones.
After stabilizing everything and reaching the first level, then everything would be easy, and he could massacre them. But at the elementary level? That was impossible.
All of this meant that, if he and Priam were at the same level, then, essentially, even he would not be a match for Priam.
Hahho had always been publicly recognized as number one, and among the younger generation, there had never been anyone he admired. But before this humanoid from a slave clan, he could not help feeling a sense of inferiority.
That feeling made him extremely uncomfortable. This kind of person definitely should not have appeared, and needed to be eliminated as soon as possible. Now, this would be his chance to destroy him completely.
Although this Priam was as strong as he was violent, he was even more stupid! He had dug his own grave! He himself had given Hahho a blank check to cripple him forever, without anyone being able to blame him. With that, Hahho had not the slightest concern left after destroying him.
Thinking of that, the smile at the corners of Hahho’s mouth became even more sinister.
Hahho’s posture clearly showed that he wanted Priam to attack first.
Priam did not waste time; with a few steps, his right arm swung horizontally toward Hahho’s chest without any special movement, using only powerful beastly energy.
A look of contempt appeared in Hahho’s eyes; his left hand was behind his back while he casually swung his right hand.
*CRACK!*
The two fists collided with a thunderous sound.
Hahho remained motionless, not moving even a single centimeter. His body did not show the slightest sign of instability. However, Priam’s body retreated several meters, almost falling to the floor.
His right arm also trembled slightly. Suddenly, Priam revealed an expression of shock and exclaimed, "Worthy of being the Young Master!"
The people in the hall nodded, with a faint laugh.
That was obvious, wasn’t it? Only now did he realize the hole he had thrown himself into? The more powerful people all thought almost the same thing.
But at that instant, Flaris felt her heart race.
That was because... she knew her cousin better than anyone. Contrary to what everyone thought, Priam was being ironic, and seemed to be preparing a shocking move.
Hahho chuckled. "That Magic Art of yours is quite strange... but it’s also incomparably heavy. No wonder you managed to defeat Fyovu. But... if I said I used only twenty percent of my strength earlier... would you believe me?"
"Haha, the Young Master really knows how to joke." Priam laughed. Judging by his behavior, it was as if he fully believed Hahho’s words.
Taking a step back, Priam raised his right hand again and said, "For this next move, the Young Master needs to be careful. If you don’t defend properly, you might suffer serious injuries."
Upon hearing those words, the corner of Hahho’s mouth twitched violently, and he could not hold back.
His laughter echoed once again, now much louder.
It was true that the strength Priam had shown had surprised him again and again; but this time, his excessive confidence and ignorance were simply many times greater than his actual strength.
"Thank you for the warning, but you may attack as you wish. I will receive every blow. Even if my strength is insufficient and I get hurt, with so many people as witnesses, the blame certainly won’t fall on you," Hahho said, still laughing.
He was clearly encouraging Priam, giving him confidence, so that with a single move, he could end everything at once.
Priam took a deep breath. His gaze became serious as a vortex of beastly power quickly gathered above his hand.
It was clear that he was concentrating all his strength in his right hand.
"Okay, receive my blow!"
Priam shouted as he ran forward, then threw a powerful and fierce punch toward Hahho’s chest.
Everyone in the hall felt that this punch contained all his energy.
Its imposing strength, and the shockwave of energy that accompanied it, were at least twice as strong as the strength of an ordinary user at his level... but he was already almost out of Ether after fighting repeatedly. Noticing this, everyone was certainly even more shocked.
Barak and Fyovu, who were awake and watching everything, swallowed hard. If Priam had used this level of power against them before... they would have simply lost in a second. He had definitely been holding back and playing with them earlier.
Being able to use this kind of strength was already enough to shock anyone. But against Hahho, it did not represent the slightest threat.
Feeling the power approaching, Hahho’s eyes shone with a cold and indifferent smile.
’This is the moment!’ he thought excitedly.
Without any special movement, he simply threw a punch forward; but this time, he directly used eighty percent of his strength.
If twenty percent of his strength had been enough to almost knock Priam down before, then eighty percent would be more than enough to break all his bones into several pieces. Even his internal organs, under such a heavy attack, would be displaced to a great extent.
After that, he would hardly survive. And even if he did, he would be crippled for several months, missing the recruitment window for the Divine Plane sects.
’Idiot... Die!’
Hahho laughed coldly inside. His gaze became sinister; it was as if he could already see the scene of Priam gravely injured.
But, at the instant their fists were about to collide...
...a cunning look crossed Priam’s eyes.
At that moment, all the energy contained in his Power Rune changed, reversing completely.
[Rumbling Heavens]
[Use?] [Yes / No]
’Yes.’
At that instant, Priam’s eyes changed, emitting a golden light.
It was as if a sleeping god had suddenly opened his terrifying and violent eyes.
In a fraction of a second, all the energy in his body, from head to toe, began to move frantically toward his right fist; as the energy moved, it also expanded wildly to a shocking level.
Priam’s right arm instantly swelled, his veins bulged like snakes, and his skin began to tear in several places because of the absurd pressure. Blood flowed, but at the same time, an extremely destructive aura exploded around his fist.
Hahho’s smiling expression froze.
A feeling of extreme danger appeared in his heart without any warning.