Chapter 625: Illusionary Gaze II
CH625 Illusionary Gaze II
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"I told you..." Alex said, rolling his shoulders as he looked towards Dalton. "Don’t underestimate me."
"There is no enemy more dangerous than one who has nothing to lose. So go all out—and show me exactly where I stand."
He lowered himself into an attacking stance, the war axe resting at his side—this time adopting a far more orthodox posture suited to the weapon.
"I’ll be coming at you even harder now. Don’t hold back!" he declared.
In that instant, OmniRune unleashed a barrage of support spells across his body.
[Featherflight]! [Featherfall]! [Body Strengthening Magic]! [Silver Body]! [Bear Strength]! [Buff: Strength Up]! [Buff: Agility Up]! [Buff: Defence Up]! [Buff: Endurance Up]! [Buff: Speed Up]!
Each spell had been meticulously curated and tailored to suit Alex’s physical parameters with absolute precision.
OmniRune even incorporated enhanced versions of Mordor’s [Iron Body] and [Bull Power] buffs into the sequence.
Gripping the long-shafted war axe, Alex immediately felt its weight diminish significantly. His body felt lighter, more responsive—moving with an ease that bordered on instinct.
All-Weapon Intent.
The effect of Alex’s All-Weapon Intent was deceptively simple—it transformed any weapon he wielded into an extension of his own body.
And just like his arms, he no longer needed to consciously think about how to move them—they simply obeyed his will.
In that moment, for reasons he could not quite explain, Alex was reminded of a battle he had once witnessed...
A battle in which a single man had stood like an unyielding dark bulwark, completely redefining Alex’s understanding of what strength and pure martial prowess could look like.
An inexplicable urge surged within him—to recreate that same overwhelming style of combat.
Alex lifted his gaze towards Dalton, a grin spreading across his face as he burst forward.
His body shot ahead in an instant, his speed catching Dalton off guard.
Reacting swiftly, Dalton thrust his greatsword forward, aiming to intercept and cut off any potential angle of attack based on Alex’s current trajectory.
’Yes, you are fast, but...’ Dalton thought inwardly.
As Alex moved to strike, Dalton’s greatsword moved with sudden fluidity—like a striking serpent—sliding into position and locking firmly between the axe head and its shaft.
’If your weapon is locked... what can you possibly do now?’ Dalton declared inwardly.
Even as the thought crossed his mind, Dalton did not hesitate. The moment his sword changed direction—locking down and deflecting Alex’s weapon—his body followed through seamlessly.
Carrying the momentum of the swing, he pivoted into a spinning backfist aimed directly at Alex’s unguarded face.
Alex remained unperturbed.
He allowed the greatsword’s parry to drag the shaft from his initial grip, smoothly adjusting his hold along the length of the weapon.
The axe became momentarily unbalanced, its head tilting downwards towards the ground.
Using that shift to his advantage, Alex planted the shaft like a pole, vaulting his body upward in a fluid motion—evading the incoming backfist while simultaneously delivering a sharp counter-kick towards Dalton’s face just before descending.
The instant his feet touched the ground, he pivoted sharply on his heels and hips, turning the motion into a powerful slash aimed at Dalton’s midsection.
Fortunately, Dalton was a veteran of countless battlefields.
Although Alex’s movements exceeded his expectations, he was still able to read the flow of the attack. Even as he stepped back from the kick, he brought his greatsword back into position, guarding his torso just in time.
The clash rang out as Dalton successfully blocked the strike—though the force behind it drove him back several steps.
Alex pressed forward immediately, seeking to maintain the pressure.
However, brief as it was, the opening had given Dalton enough time to stabilise himself.
He planted his foot firmly and surged forward to meet Alex head-on.
In the very next instant, the two men collided in a relentless exchange of blows.
Strikes met strikes—each attack answered by blocks, parries, and swift counterattacks.
The tempo of the battle escalated rapidly, becoming so tight and unforgiving that even the slightest mistake from either side could prove decisive.
To an untrained observer, it would have seemed less like a friendly competitive duel, and more like a fight to the death between bitter enemies.
Surprisingly, Eleanore and Udara watched the clash with calm composure, neither showing any overt signs of concern.
Instead, it was the BattleBane members whose expressions changed noticeably.
At first, they had assumed the duel would end in an easy victory for their captain.
Yet reality proved otherwise.
The opponent before them was matching their captain almost blow for blow.
As they continued to watch, the BattleBanes felt their blood begin to boil.
Victory or defeat, this opponent had earned their respect. In fact, many among them now felt an urge to step into the arena themselves and go toe-to-toe with him.
Alex and Dalton drove each other back and forth across the arena. The ground beneath their feet had begun to crack under the relentless barrage of strikes exchanged between them.
The battle gradually settled into a tense push-and-pull rhythm, neither side able to gain a decisive advantage.
Until—
Something changed.
Illusionary Gaze.
In that instant, Dalton perceived an opening. Acting purely on instinct, he seized it without hesitation.
His greatsword shot forward in a decisive thrust, aimed to skewer Alex and bring the duel to an end.
But the opening he saw... was nothing more than a carefully woven illusion.
The blade pierced through the air, stopping mere inches from Alex’s body.
A negligible distance—
Yet, at this level of combat, it was the difference between victory and defeat.
Dalton was no fool. Alex knew better than to present an obvious illusion upon the first unveiling of his ability. That subtle, two-inch discrepancy was the largest margin he could exploit without raising suspicion.
And yet... it was precisely the margin he needed.
With the axe shaft tucked beneath his arms, Alex drove its end into the ground, using it as a pivot.
In a single fluid motion, he leveraged himself into a horizontal lift—his body rising off the ground as he launched a close-range, double-legged drop kick into Dalton’s midsection.
But that was not all.
[Dragon Kumite: Blast]!
At the moment of impact, a concentrated jet of mana erupted from the soles of Alex’s feet, amplifying the force of the strike.
Dalton was blasted backwards, his body folding in on itself like a shrimp before slamming heavily into the ground.
Alex had no intention of repeating the same mistake by allowing his opponent a moment to recover.
The instant he landed, he rebounded off his footing like a coiled spring, launching himself forward into a spinning leap.
His body rotated horizontally, bringing the war axe crashing down in a vicious arc towards Dalton.
Clang!
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