Chapter 435 Chapter436-Deadly Battle
"I envy you, you know. If I were in danger, would Howard come to find me no matter what?"
Vivia hugged Jelia tighter once more, keeping these final words buried deep in her heart.
Taking a deep breath, Vivia lifted Jelia and charged towards the room's opposite window.
The sound of footsteps approaching from the corridor outside left no time for hesitation.
Although she was not a certified magus, being a mana adaptor had granted her body a certain degree of enhancement.
Even carrying someone, the height from the third floor was manageable for her.
Just as Vivia leapt out the window, four or five fully armed warriors burst into the room.
The leader scanned the room quickly, his gaze lingering on the gaping window for a few seconds.
His expression darkened, "The woman jumped out the window, after her!"
No sooner had he spoken than he was on the move, jumping out of the window himself.
...
After swinging his hammer into the air and rushing into the corridor, Greg quickly organized his thoughts.
Soma's appearance at this moment was surely no coincidence.
Moreover, his target likely wasn't just Greg; Vivia and Jelia were probably included as well.
This realization made Greg regret his impulsiveness.
He shouldn't have charged out; his priority should have been ensuring Vivia and Jelia's safety.
But there was no turning back now; Soma wouldn't allow him to re-enter the room.
His only option was to lead Soma away, giving Vivia and Jelia a chance to escape.
Without further hesitation, Greg's figure reactivated with force the moment it touched the corridor floor.
With his Crusher leading the way, the hammer head tore through the thin wooden walls like paper.
Greg charged into the room shared by Vivia and Antalya, and without pausing, he sprinted and leaped out the window.
He could hear Soma's footsteps closely behind him.
Soma followed without any hesitation, causing Greg some unease, but this was all he could do under the circumstances.
From this point on, he had no choice but to stop worrying about Vivia and Jelia's safety.
Mana gathered in his legs, Greg leaped across rooftops, covering distances of over twenty meters with each move.
He harbored no illusions of shaking Soma off, aware his condition was far worse than during their last encounter.
His only hope was to lead Soma far enough away or to hold out until the support from the trio who had left earlier arrived.
At least, that didn't sound too difficult in theory.
The wind howled by his ears as Greg moved, stealing glances back at Soma who maintained a casual distance of about thirty meters.
This distance was too short for Greg to escape from Soma's watchful eye, yet too far for Soma to launch an attack.
Was he to keep running like this?
Greg questioned himself.
If it were a matter of rational decision-making, the answer would obviously be yes.
Exploiting Soma's current complacency to buy time, delaying confrontation as much as possible until Antalya and the others realized what was happening would spell victory.
Yet, a different voice whispered in the depths of Greg's mind, not belonging to rationality.
It whispered in Greg's ear, pointing out the man behind him, the very person he had fantasized about killing every day.
How long had he prepared for this day? How many days had he rehearsed?
This was an opportunity, a chance for a final stand.
Now, it was just the two of them.
These conflicting thoughts made Greg irritable.
He knew neither option was correct, yet he had to make a choice.
"Greg!" Soma's voice suddenly came from behind.
"Do you know why I'm not the least bit nervous?"
"Because! Tonight, it's your end! Whether it's those three women or that boy who self-destructed! Not a single one will survive! All of you will die! Just like seven years ago!" Soma laughed wildly, causing Greg's speed to slow.
He turned around in mid-air, stopping on the rooftop, his Crusher in hand slightly lowered, the head of the hammer swinging.
He didn't know where he was, but he knew that his decision had been made.
Here, only one of them could survive!
"Finally stopped, huh? You're still the same as before, easily provoked."
Soma stopped about ten meters away from Greg.
At this distance, both Greg and Soma were confident they could launch or block a full attack from the other.
"It's different now. From the day you struck seven years ago, everything changed."
Greg slightly lifted his head, his gaze locked on Soma, mana surging within him like a tidal wave.
Truth be told, his chances of winning weren't high, and the situation was very grim, but he had no other choice.
It wasn't rational, but humans aren't entirely rational beings.
Sometimes, there's just a need to go mad.
Tightening his grip on the Crusher in his right hand, Greg took the first step, surrendering his body to the instincts of battle.
Without further narrative or meaningless banter, Greg initiated the attack.
Greg's abilities primarily focus on sculpting and enhancement, with the latter being most frequently utilized in actual combat, rarely even employing sculpting.
His already formidable physical strength, amplified by mana, surpasses that of mainland magus of the same level.
Under Greg's control, not an ounce of this immense strength goes to waste, all of it channeled into acceleration.
His not-so-tall figure exudes a tremendous aura at this moment.
Though the charge is silent, the oppressive force it brings is palpable to anyone standing in its way!
As Greg launches his charge, Soma responds in kind, meeting charge with charge.
The Crusher, a heavy weapon, and Soma's Ripper, are equally formidable.
As a blade, the Ripper doesn't receive as much of a speed boost as the Crusher, but speed is the lifeblood of a blade wielder.
Faster speed means easier evasion and also means more ferocious attacks!
The ten-meter gap is closed in an instant under their simultaneous charges.
The very next moment after they start, their weapons are already clashing in front of them.
Greg's Crusher doesn't aim for Soma's head; to control Soma's attack, Greg opts for the more difficult to dodge and defend ribcage.
Knowing his opportunities are limited, he focuses more on the initiative each attack brings.
Conversely, Soma's Ripper aims straight for Greg's head from the get-go!
He wants to see Greg's brains burst in turmoil!
The exchange of offense and defense concludes in a blur, with only the sharp clash of metal bursting through the air audible to bystanders.
Like an alarm, the screech tears through the night, awakening everyone around.
No one knows what's happened, but the shriek continues to resonate.
Greg and Soma continued their duel, while chaos spread through the district like a plague.
Crowds formed, only to disperse under the drive of fear and the push of disorder, with people beginning to flee using the most ancient means of survival, further expanding the chaos.
Eventually, flames appeared.
It was unclear whether someone had knocked over a lamp, or if, emboldened by malice, someone had seized the opportunity to loot amidst the turmoil.
But now, no one had the luxury to care about these matters, whether it was Greg or Soma, or the ordinary people scattering in panic like birds and beasts.
These were all secondary.
Life was the fundamental of all; without it, nothing else mattered.
Regardless of revenge or rage, the moment the fight commenced, everything done was merely for survival.
The distance between the two combatants grew, the battle area expanded, and the fire began to spread.
Screams, wails, and groans mixed with the fluctuating cries of the crowd, morphing into an indistinguishable cacophony.
For Soma or Greg, at this moment, only the other existed in their vision.
The Crusher and the Ripper, two weapons of the same origin yet divergent paths, like their names, were destined not to coexist.
"Soma!"
Greg roared as he charged down from the rooftop, his Crusher raised above his head to strike down!
His mere height of 1.3 meters erupted with a towering aura at that moment, with fierce winds howling around him as if he were a cannonball being fired, Greg smashed down fiercely towards Soma on the ground.
Soma's gaze remained as cold as ever, the gray-blue of his eyes seemingly unchangeable by any force.
With his left hand bracing the Ripper, he narrowly deflected the strike, his Ripper tilting upwards, its tip spinning towards Greg's chest.
Sparks flew in an instant, the chill blade mingling with them, as if dancing amidst fireworks.
The cold light of the blade reflected in Greg's pupils, behind the small point of light was the cold embrace of death.
Suspended in mid-air, Greg had no room to dodge, and it seemed Soma was certain of his hit.
Yet, Greg showed no sign of panic.
Even without leverage to evade, it didn't mean Greg couldn't emerge unscathed.
Suddenly, he extended his previously empty left hand, the glow of mana flickering in his palm.
To block his attack, Soma had used both hands, leaving no room for defense.
Greg's lips parted, and Soma read the silent message.
"Die!"
The light of mana exploded!
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