Then—

BOOM!

It exploded forward, its colossal stone legs kicking off the ground with a force that cracked the battlefield beneath it.

Straight for Kagami.

“Fuck—!”

Kagami’s eyes widened as he instinctively braced himself.

The golem’s fist shot forward, tearing through the air like a battering ram.

Kagami twisted his body—barely slipping past the first strike. But before he could recover—

SWOOSH!!

A second fist followed immediately, the attack chained together with the precision of a master martial artist.

He couldn’t dodge this one.

BAM!!

The impact crashed against Kagami’s forearm as he barely managed to block, his entire body slamming backward across the battlefield.

Dust and debris shot up from the force of the blow, and a sharp, numbing pain rattled through his bones.

Janica and Lucas’s grips tightened around their weapons as they dashed forward once more, determined to press the attack.

This had been the pattern since the fight began.

No matter what they did—no matter how many attacks they landed—the golem always ignored them.

It would deflect, evade, or counterattack just enough to break their momentum, but its true focus never wavered from Kagami.

At first, this had given Lucas and Janica an advantage.

They had openings to attack, space to strategize—but now, it was clear as day:

Kagami was the only one truly fighting here.

And at this rate, if nothing changed—he wouldn’t last.

But that wasn’t what unnerved them the most.

No—

It was the fact that the Heavenly Golem wasn’t even going all out.

Despite its flawless martial technique, its attacks—though devastating—felt restrained.

It wasn’t killing Kagami outright.

It wasn’t fighting to destroy them.

It was teaching them.

Like a master guiding its students through a lesson, the golem’s movements carried a deliberate, almost methodical precision.

It read their attacks, calculated their responses, adjusted accordingly.

As if it were training them.

But that realization only made their frustration grow.

“Tch—this bastard…!” Lucas muttered under his breath, his grip tightening on his sword.

Janica’s expression twisted into a scowl.

Being trained—by a machine?

By a mindless, soulless monster?

It was a damn insult.

With the Heavenly Golem’s aggro locked onto Kagami, Janica and Lucas knew that landing a decisive blow wasn’t impossible—as long as they had the time to charge up enough energy for a powerful, wave-like aura attack.

But the moment they even began to gather energy—

—the kneeling thousands of golems stirred.

Their stone bodies rumbled, shifting ever so slightly, as if waiting for the signal to intervene.

It became painfully clear—this battle wasn’t just a fight.

It was a test.

The Heavenly Golem wasn’t allowing them to rely on large-scale energy attacks.

It wasn’t letting them exploit their strongest powers or mana-based abilities.

It was forcing them into a purely martial battle—one where skill, speed, and technique were the only things that mattered.

Fist to fist. Blade to blade.

A battle of raw combat mastery.

Lucas’s fingers tightened around his sword.

If he could just resonate fully with the Holy Sword in his grasp—

One attack.

That was all he needed.

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A single fully charged strike would be enough to melt through the stone-metal body of the golem standing before them. He was sure of it.

Even now, from the attacks he had managed to land—the deflections, the parries, the impacts—

He could tell.

This thing couldn’t take a direct hit from him at full power.

But the problem wasn’t his strength.

It was time.

Would he be able to charge his energy fast enough—

—before the surrounding golems moved to stop him?

Would he get a clean opening to strike?

Or would this battlefield remain under the golem’s absolute control—forcing them into a fight where power alone wasn’t enough?

Lucas gritted his teeth.

For the first time in a long while, Lucas felt truly troubled in a fight.

He had always fought alone.

Going all out had never been an issue—when it was just him, there were no restraints, no hesitations.

It was freeing.

Yet now, in a group battle, he felt constrained.

For the first time in a while, something as simple as cutting down an enemy felt like an impossible task.

He knew he could do it.

He had the power.

He had the skill.

But he wasn’t able to do so—not yet.

Too many variables.

Too many things to account for.

The golems surrounding them—waiting to intervene.

The power needed to break through the enemy’s defenses—without losing control.

The precise adjustments to his speed—to strike at the right moment.

The need to hold back just enough so that his energy didn’t go haywire and injure his own allies.

The risk of his sword siphoning too much power if he let it loose.

And most importantly—ensuring that when he finally swung, the hit would land.

His mind was racing.

Calculating.

Every movement. Every possibility. Every outcome.

SWIIISHH!!

He slashed.

SWOOSHHH!!

He pierced.

CLANG!!

His blade met resistance—the golem’s defense shifting mid-motion.

Lucas’s instincts sharpened. He wasn’t just fighting—he was analyzing in real time.

Right now, they needed a plan.

They needed to remove the variables holding him back.

-THUMP!

His heartbeat quickened.

Yes, the situation was difficult.

Yes, this was frustrating.

But—

Damn, this was fun.

A smile tugged at the corner of his lips, sharp and eager.

His blood surged with excitement.

Lucas exhaled sharply, his senses sharpening as his mana sense expanded outward like an invisible pulse.

Every movement. Every presence. Every breath of magical energy in his surroundings—he felt it all.

’1,312…’

That was the total number of enemies.

Including the towering golem in front of them, he roughly counted over 1,300 golems lurking in the battlefield, waiting.

Watching.

A small flicker of light flashed in Lucas’s golden eyes as the radiant aura around his sword subtly intensified.

Yet the moment his energy fluctuated even slightly…

The golems shifted.

It was only for an instant, but their bodies twitched ever so slightly, reacting to his presence.

Even Janica—who had been relentlessly weaving through the Heavenly Golem’s attacks—instinctively altered her movements, as if sensing the unseen shift in power.

Lucas gritted his teeth.

Once again—his options were limited.

Using a devastating technique like [Sunstrike] was out of the question.

The moment he unleashed something of that scale, the horde of golems surrounding them would no longer stay idle.

Right now, the worst variables preventing him from going all out were none other than Kagami and Janica.

But—he needed them.

Kagami was the distraction.

As long as he kept taking the brunt of the damage, the Heavenly Golem’s focus wouldn’t waver.

That window of distraction was what Lucas needed to land a decisive strike.

And Janica—

Janica was an instinctive fighter.

She fought not just with skill, but with a natural, intuitive understanding of the battlefield.

The moment Lucas gathered energy into his sword, he was certain—

She would sense it.

She would understand.

And she would act accordingly.

Most likely, she would immediately move to intercept the golems surrounding them, ensuring that nothing interfered with his attack.

Lucas’s grip tightened around his sword.

The plan formed on his head was risky.

But—

It was needed right now.

“Janica—!”

Lucas called her name, his voice steady but urgent.

Across the battlefield, Janica’s feet barely touched the fractured remains of a fallen pillar—a brief moment of stillness after being violently knocked back by the Heavenly Golem.

Yet despite the impact, she didn’t falter.

Her sharp green eyes locked onto Lucas, their gazes colliding for less than half a second.

That was all it took.

She didn’t need words—she read his silent lips with ease.

’Distract them.’

Janica’s aura surged.

A vibrant green flare erupted around her, flickering like a raging wildfire.

Her red hair billowed in the sudden surge of wind, and her emerald irises burned with intensity, reflecting the raw energy coursing through her veins.

The battlefield shifted.

The golems rattled.

Even the Heavenly Golem—a being that had so far barely acknowledged her—paused, glancing in her direction before inevitably turning its focus back toward Kagami.

But that brief hesitation was enough.

In the next instant, the kneeling golems—thousands of them—began to rise.

A dull rumble echoed through the ruins as each of them stood at once, their bodies igniting with auras of their own, instinctively responding to the overwhelming presence that Janica now exuded.

It was a terrifying sight.

Yet—it was exactly what Lucas had counted on.

Now.

His heartbeat pounded.

Wild. Cold. Calculating.

With the enemy’s attention diverted, Lucas moved.

He didn’t waste time expanding his aura outward, didn’t try to crush the battlefield with his overwhelming presence.

Instead—

He forced it inward.

His mana, instead of radiating out like a blazing storm, was compressed.

Condensed.

It surged through his veins, fortifying his body from within—turning his muscles into steel, his reflexes into something beyond human.

Pain flared.

The sheer intensity of his own energy threatened to burst out of his body, clawing against his skin like a beast in a cage.

There was a reason why swordmasters regulated their mana.

Most of them channeled it into their **weapons, their armor, their artifacts—**because to directly enhance the body with raw energy like this was far too destructive.

But—Lucas didn’t care.

BOOOM!!!

The earth shattered beneath him.

Like a bullet leaving the chamber—

Lucas shot forward.

Kagami saw it coming.

“Shit!”

Even before Lucas moved, he could feel the storm of energy gathering.

He had no time to think—only react.

The moment Lucas exploded forward, Kagami braced himself, expanding his own aura as wide as possible.

His remaining mana surged, wrapping around his body in a protective layer.

He jumped.

With everything he had left, he launched himself away from the direct path of impact, preparing to withstand the inevitable shockwave.

The Heavenly Golem flinched.

For the first time since the fight began—

It reacted.

A towering, unshakable force… had leaned back.

Even it seemed surprised by the sheer density of energy closing in from behind.

But it was too late.

Lucas’ blade was already there.

Inches away.

He didn’t hold back anymore.

The once constrained energy inside him—

Burst free.

’Eat it all!’

His command thundered inside his mind, resonating with the Holy Sword.

The blade gleamed—no, blazed.

A brilliant golden light erupted from its core, but in the next instant, it condensed.

It turned pure white.

Then—

Colors.

Countless colors.

Like a rainbow fracturing through divine radiance, the energy bled from the blade’s edge, forming vibrant auric trails that twisted and curled through the air.

The sword hummed.

The power was ready.

[Sunstrike]

His strongest attack.

An attack that ignored all defenses.

A direct, overwhelming annihilation.

Lucas felt his heart hammering.

Heat surged up, crackling through his bones, threatening to scorch him from the inside out.

But he ignored it.

This ends now.

SWIIIISSSHHH!!!!

His body burned, leaving a crescent trail of light in his wake as his slash moved forward.

And then—

Contact.

Lucas felt his blade connect.

He felt his attack land.

But in that moment—

His breath caught.

’Finally…’

His instincts screamed.

Because just as his sword dug into the Heavenly Golem—

It smiled.

Why… was it smiling?

BOOOOOMMMM!!!!!

His attack detonated.

A blinding pillar of white light surged forward, consuming everything in its path.

The air itself ignited.

The very ground beneath them liquefied, turning into molten slag from the sheer heat.

The force of the strike didn’t just cut through the golem—

It erased everything in front of him.

The ground everything in frot of him either burned or melted even the natural amna in the sorrudings seemed to melt around him right now….

And yet—

A lingering sense of unease clawed at Lucas’ mind.

Something was wrong.

This wasn’t over.

-Tick!

-Tock!

A sharp, slicing sound echoed across the battlefield—unnatural, metallic, and grating against the very air itself.

Lucas’ breath hitched.

A dense energy suddenly coalesced in front of him, swirling with unnatural precision.

His golden eyes widened in alarm as he focused on the center of the devastation he had just wrought.

The core.

The Heavenly Golem’s core.

Completely untouched.

Not a single crack. Not a single mark.

Instead—

A shifting vortex of power had formed around it, twisting and writhing, reshaping itself as if responding to his attack

Then—

The sound of grinding gears.

A mechanical voice resonated through the battlefield—cold, emotionless, absolute.

[Heavenly Golem: Second Phase… Initiating.]

[Appropriate Adaptation: Calculated.]

[Adjustments: Recalculated.]

[Extra Skills: Finalized.]

Lucas felt his fingers tighten around his sword. A bead of sweat rolled down his temple as the air around them shifted.

Then—

[Skill: Second Coming – Activated.]

[Mastery Over All Martial Skills – Applied.]

[Adaptation: Successful.]

The tension in the air turned suffocating.

The golem wasn’t just recovering—

It was evolving.

[Obstacle Recognized.]

[Primary Difficulty: Divinity.]

[Applying Optimal Countermeasure.]

[Best Counter Selection: Finalized.]

[Demonic Energy Shall Now Be Applied.]

A wave of power burst outward.

It was a deep, oppressive black.

Dark, twisted, all-consuming.

Lucas instinctively staggered back, his senses screaming warnings he couldn’t fully process.

Kagami, despite his body being charred and burned from the aftermath of Lucas’ own attack, clenched his fists as his muscles tensed.

From afar, Janica froze, her breathing uneven as she watched in disbelief.

The once gleaming silver golem—

Turned pitch black.

Its metallic frame darkened, devoured by the ominous energy pouring into it.

The holy radiance it once held—

Now corrupted.

Its once grey eyes—

Now glowed red.

It didn’t just look different—

It felt different.

The very atmosphere trembled under the presence of its new power, the air thickening with an unholy resonance.

Lucas clenched his jaw.

He didn’t know why—

But every instinct in his body screamed at him.

He had to destroy it.

Now.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep