I Aggressively Stack Steel of the Heart in the Knight Order

Chapter 207: Chapter 172: Eternal Annihilation, Nico’s Peak Form

BOOM—!

The two figures shot out like runaway steel warships, flying a hundred meters in the span of a single breath!

Nico’s body, modified through Alchemy, was like a giant steel rake being ground into the floor by Reinhardt!

Hundreds of display cases toppled.

A deep trench was gouged into the ground, sending torrents of rubble and debris flying to either side.

A colossal Golden Saint Statue’s legs were snapped clean off as it came whistling down to smash into the floor.

Even the thick walls of the Tomb Treasure Vault were pierced by the immense force!

Even though Nico’s bones were completely fused with a Spiritual Artisan Level Secret Treasure, giving him the terrifying strength to go head-to-head with an Earth Knight, the skin and muscle on his back had already been torn to a bloody pulp.

His Wizard Robe, with a durability rivaling Power Armor, was in tattered ruins.

Even his modified War Witch Skeleton Structure, which shimmered with a dark golden luster, was exposed to the air.

If this were the Warlord Nico in his prime—a mighty being capable of contending with a Six-star Military Rank Earth Knight—a Two-star Military Rank Earth Knight like Reinhardt wouldn’t even be qualified to fight him.

But preserving the Ancient Black Box, a terrifying object comparable to a Void Divine Artifact, had consumed far too much of Nico’s Wizard’s Power.

Worse, suppressed by this Wizard’s Divine Artifact, the seeping Saint’s Blood was corroding his flesh with every passing moment. His Mighty Power was only at a third of its peak strength.

And as time wore on, his power would only grow weaker under the Ancient Black Box’s corrosion.

This blood, from the Wizard Saints of a bygone era, contained the most terrifying thing in the Cosmos: ’Eternal Annihilation.’

This was a power of the Cosmos’s ultimate laws, something even the Four Gods spoke of with deep apprehension.

It was also the power that had once killed Wizard Saints who wielded Demigod Power.

Forget him—even if a Venerable Great Demon embedded this thing in its flesh, whether for a thousand years or ten thousand, there would come a day when the Venerable Great Demon’s very existence would be utterly erased by the power of ’Eternal Annihilation’.

Nico had been confident that even with his power suppressed by ’Eternal Annihilation’, he could still kill Reinhardt with ease.

As a powerful Wizard who had dominated the Ash Soil Star Zone for three hundred years, he had more than enough capital and strength to look down on Reinhardt.

But in this moment, he regretted it.

When their momentum finally ceased amidst the vast wreckage, the fury in Nico’s eyes had vanished, replaced by an absolute, chilling calm.

He realized that if he continued to keep the Ancient Black Box embedded in his flesh, he would sooner or later die at Reinhardt’s hands.

As the chain connecting the Black War Axe to Reinhardt’s wrist rattled, the Sleeve Sword affixed to his other hand viciously stabbed down toward Nico’s heart.

Nico snorted coldly, as if the injuries from a subsonic impact were completely beneath his notice.

His right hand plunged into the wound where the Ancient Black Box was stitched. With a sickening squelch of flesh, he violently yanked out the Wizard’s Divine Artifact inside, while his left hand firmly caught the blade of the Sleeve Sword just as it was about to pierce his heart.

Then.

An utterly terrifying burst of Wizard’s Power erupted from Nico!

Explosive energy surged and roared through his flesh and bone, manifesting as a titanic storm in Reinhardt’s Knight Perception!

He could even see the dark golden light spilling from the War Witch Skeleton Structure through Nico’s skin and flesh.

Reinhardt’s brow furrowed, his expression growing grave.

He knew this Master Level Tier Two Wizard serving Grand Lord Kles was extremely strong, but this level of power, this immense pressure it brought to bear...

It reminded him of someone.

The champion of the Imperial Arena, one of the Ten Dragon Guard: Heinrich.

Meanwhile, Nico simply lay on the ground, his expression impassive as he gazed at the Imperial Knight who had forced him to use his full strength, offering his praise without reservation.

"An Emperor’s Vengeful Angel. You are worthy of the title."

The instant the words left his lips.

Nico, whose speed had seemed merely average in Reinhardt’s eyes, moved like a phantom. His body and limbs, seemingly unbound by gravity or the laws of physics, vanished from beneath him in an instant.

When he reappeared, he was right in front of Reinhardt.

His gaze was cruel, his voice cold.

"Where are you looking?"

In that moment, every hair on Reinhardt’s body stood on end. His eyes caught only an afterimage before a terrifying blow struck his chest, piercing the protection of his Morphic Armor and plunging straight into his thoracic cavity!

Despite having the Physique of an Earth Knight Level warrior, Reinhardt felt his heart and lungs being violently squeezed by a giant hand, and the ribs inside his chest screamed with the sound of tearing under the unbearable strain!

BANG—!

After the sharp, powerful impact, Reinhardt’s body flew backward uncontrollably, gushing torrents of blood from his mouth and nose as he slammed into the corridor wall, becoming deeply embedded within it.

But it wasn’t over.

Even before he hit the wall, Nico was already there waiting for him.

He turned his head to look back into the Tomb Treasure Vault through the breach in the wall, his gaze falling upon the members of the Vengeance Angel Squad like a predator eyeing its prey. His voice was cold and merciless.

"For the Imperial Administrative Region to send a Divine Chosen Knight like you into Kemola... aren’t they afraid you’ll die here?"

Nico, in his prime.

His strength was far beyond what a Two-star Military Rank Earth Knight like Reinhardt could possibly contend with.

For an Earth Knight’s Military Rank, any Earth Knight with sufficient time and resources could advance step by step to the Four-star Military Rank by developing their Earth Ring.

In fact, it wasn’t uncommon for a Four-star Military Rank Earth Knight to possess a number of Earth Rings far exceeding their power level; with enough resources, some Four-star Earth Knights even had seven or eight.

But this was also a watershed moment in an Earth Knight’s strength.

To take the next step up from a Four-star Military Rank and reach Five-star was no longer something that could be achieved by simply developing more Earth Rings.

To become a Five-star Military Rank Earth Knight, one had to develop a Domain Level advanced form based on one of their Earth Rings. This required not only immense talent but also a bit of luck.

The same was true for a Master Level Tier Two Wizard.

Although Wizards of this Level were classified in a power bracket equivalent to a Six-star Military Rank Earth Knight, the vast majority of Master Level Tier Twos only possessed the strength of a Four-star Earth Military Rank.

Take Florant, for example.

His power could be said to have reached the Peak of Four-Star Earth Military Rank. He possessed an immense number of Wizard’s Secret Treasures, and an ordinary Master Level Tier Two would be no match for him.

But the Warlord Nico was different.

The power and speed he was demonstrating at this moment had already transcended the physical laws of the Real Cosmos.

In other words.

Under the influence of his War Witch Skeleton Structure, he had already mastered a form of Extraordinary Power on a Domain-like level.