Chapter 24: I Haven't Even Used My Ultimate Move, How Did You Fall Already?
Confirming that his condition had mostly recovered, Joshua said nothing. He immediately gripped his greatsword with both hands and charged straight ahead. The silver blade, carrying a fierce wind pressure capable of tearing human flesh, howled savagely as it arced toward Mozer's neck.
But Mozer was, after all, a Gold-rank warrior. Even with his left hand severed, he didn't hesitate for a moment. Calming his breath and steadying his mind, he raised his broadsword to block, attempting to parry the strike.
But how could that be possible? Even if Joshua's left hand couldn't exert much strength, he was still using both hands. Mozer, wielding his sword with only one hand, was inherently disadvantaged in this regard.
Light flashed. In the next instant, a shockwave swept across the entire street. Loose bricks and stones were blown away; windows and unlatched wooden doors clattered and banged. The violent force exploded at the point where the two swords clashed, releasing an unending stream of impacts and blasts that swept away all the dust and gravel in the vicinity.
Battle Qi, as the manifestation of the most fundamental power within a living being, is the external image of life force and the most exclusive energy in all of nature. Crimson and gray-blue Battle Qi intermingled and overlapped, then transformed into pure force exerted upon the users on both sides.
"Ha!" With a furious roar, Joshua erupted once more. A dark red shimmer flickered beneath the surface of his skin, then converged on his arms. The warrior profession was, after all, a passionate one where strength came from shouting. After this bellow, his power surged further, adding the final straw to the stalemate of clashing strength between the two.
The blade of the greatsword pressed inch by inch toward Mozer. The steel-forged cross broadsword, which had been enchanted with some unknown magic, slowly began to develop cracks—growing larger and larger—until, with a crisp snap, the broadsword shattered, breaking into two pieces. The heavy silver greatsword bore down with irresistible force, as if it would cleave the silver-haired man in two in the next moment.
But as a Gold-rank warrior, how could Mozer be so feeble? Although he had suffered the severe loss of his hand due to carelessness at the start, he had since been treating his opponent with the utmost seriousness, as if facing the strongest enemy!
**[Glory Force · Wind Form]**
The power of Gold—erupted here!
Gray-blue Battle Qi rose from his body, shining with glory like a blue flame. Mozer controlled his breathing rhythm, using a breathing technique as an aid, mobilizing all the power within his body, driving it with his soul, condensing it, manipulating it, and then releasing it!
Amidst the blazing light, countless strange runes rose into the air. The shattered broadsword should have been knocked away, but an inexplicable force solidified it, reforming the broken blade into a solid entity, re-condensing, strengthening, and solidifying it. Finally, accompanied by a roaring sound like a spark landing on fuel as flames spread rapidly, a massive, blurry air blade—seemingly composed entirely of air and over twenty meters long—replaced the original broadsword, blocking Joshua's slash.
This giant blade was entirely composed of elemental force, vibrating constantly, pulverizing everything. Just like the light fist Mozer had unleashed earlier, it could easily tear through steel and snap weapons!
The two immense forces collided with a thunderous impact, blasting the street where they stood into a massive crater. Countless supersonic, violent air currents swept dirt, rocks, and sand into the sky, raising a dust storm. Several wooden houses, after a creaking groan of unbearable strain, collapsed into rubble.
At this moment, the situation turned into a stalemate. But Mozer was inwardly astonished, exclaiming in disbelief.
His elemental blade, transformed from **[Wind Form]** , was inherently capable of destroying most mundane weapons. Even enchanted weapons would suffer some damage. But seeing that the silver greatsword in his opponent's hand was still firmly pressing down on his own blade without any sign of damage—could it be that this seemingly ordinary weapon was actually an exceptional or even Legendary-grade artifact?!
Damn it! Even his Wilson family, which had forged weapons for generations, didn't have many Legendary artifacts! And none of them were in his hands!
Even after using his trump card ultimate technique, he hadn't managed to turn the tide, nor had he forced out his opponent's Glory Force. Mozer sensed that the situation was unfavorable. The scales of victory in this battle were gradually tipping toward his enemy. However, a contest of pure strength and Battle Qi was a relatively good situation for him, as he was missing his left hand and couldn't use most of his techniques.
But how could his enemy let him off easy?
**[Ultimate Essence · Enrage]**
Facing his opponent's outburst, Joshua didn't use his Glory Force. He silently activated the third skill he had used today.
The ultimate technique of the strongest warrior of the jungle, the Bear Warrior Ursa—**Enrage**!
His blood boiled like magma. The primal force of life was converted by fury. The power, on the verge of bursting, expanded and swelled within his body, filling every space. In an instant, the crimson Battle Qi erupted with a might far surpassing before. In that fleeting moment, the silver greatsword seemed to be tempered by raging fire, emitting a luster like red crystal.
Under this head-on clash of pure force, the elemental blade, which was originally more inclined toward technique, began to shatter inch by inch, just like its predecessor, the cross broadsword, gradually disintegrating back into its base elements!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Retreat, retreat, retreat again! Each step left a deep crater, each step brought a mouthful of blood. Mozer was completely unable to withstand this power. As Joshua silently struck again and again, he could only grit his teeth and endure.
Finally, when the elemental blade formed by Wind Form completely vanished, scattering into countless blue light particles floating in the air, a glimmer of light flashed in Mozer's eyes.
Now!
Earlier, he had relied on **[Glory Force]** to launch a counterattack. Although it failed, it wasn't without gain. Now, while Joshua's strength had greatly increased due to his secret technique, his reaction speed had noticeably decreased. Coupled with the elemental blade shattering and dispersing, and the clashing forces, this powerful enemy's control had a momentary gap. This was the opportunity!
Stepping forward, his body turned into a gale. Mozer abandoned all defense, converting all his power into speed. In an immeasurable instant, he broke the sound barrier with his human body, causing the air to explode with a boom, and closed in to Joshua's close range, beyond the reach of his greatsword's blade. Then, he raised his remaining right hand, aimed at the heart, and punched!
Under the oppressive force of this fierce punch, capable of tearing metal and stone, the skin on Joshua's chest was instantly torn open, exposing muscles and blood vessels. But before the blood could even spurt out, the heavy punch had already arrived!
Victory!
In this exchange lasting a hundredth of a second, Mozer could only use his thousand-tempered Gold-rank body to unleash this instinctive, all-out punch meant to reverse the outcome. Although he didn't have time to think much, at this point, with his enemy still not reacting, the outcome was basically decided!
Joshua Radcliffe was indeed a powerful enemy, to have pushed me this far...
A left hand appeared in front of Mozer's fist, firmly grasping it.
Thought stopped. Breath ceased. The silver-haired Gold-rank warrior stared in shock as his fist shattered this left hand's wrist almost completely, sending flesh and blood flying. Bone fragments even embedded themselves deep into the chest muscles. The immense force twisted the elbow joint entirely, driving the entire hand into the chest cavity, erupting in a spray of blood.
But that was all! This heavy punch, which should have shattered the enemy's heart, crushed his chest cavity, and mangled his spine and other internal organs, had only broken a left hand and a few ribs. For a Gold-rank warrior, this was merely a light injury that could heal after a few days of rest!
"Got you."
A voice devoid of any emotion, yet more terrifying than any words, sounded from above Mozer's head. Kicking him away, Joshua reversed his grip, holding the greatsword upside down, and said coldly, "Die."
He thrust down heavily. The greatsword, capable of cutting through steel, effortlessly cleaved the silver-haired Gold-rank warrior in two at the waist. Blood spurted like a fountain under the powerful bodily functions of the Gold-rank warrior, but the silver-haired warrior had no strength left to speak.
...Defeated? I, I still...
Then his breath ceased.
Amidst his unwilling questions, this battle, which had lasted less than two minutes, ended.
"Not weak, I suppose."
Raising his left hand, which was now shattered beyond recognition, Joshua frowned. He was still in the **[Enrage]** state, with eighty percent of his pain sensation blocked. The injury on his hand felt about the same as being hit by a hammer—not very painful. "That last-ditch counterattack before death had some real force behind it."
From the very beginning, Joshua had never planned to kill this Wilson family Gold-rank warrior without injury—it was too troublesome and would cause too much damage to the city. If two warriors of this level fought at full power, carelessly throwing out skill after skill, the city center would be destroyed within ten minutes. Even with the protection of priests and other scattered experts in the city, massive civilian casualties and countless displaced people would be unavoidable. Especially Mozer's Wind Form, which was ineffective against the Divine Mechanism that Ying had transformed into, but could cut down ordinary buildings with a single swing.
If he added his own **[Glory Force]** and other more powerful skills, and they really fought to that point...
Tsk, it was too horrible to imagine. That was precisely why Joshua wanted to kill this source of chaos as quickly as possible, at the fastest speed.
And so, this Gold-rank warrior, who had been cut in two, was cleanly killed by Joshua before he could even display his full strength.