Chapter 268: A Trophy

Hundreds of massive shells, each several meters across, rained down on Michael.

Though he was now a Grandmaster, stopping a moving object with Psychokinesis still burned through his spiritual energy too quickly.

So he adapted.

Rather than stopping them outright, he gently pushed them aside, diverting their trajectory and causing them to miss him and collide with the numerous alien shuttles that had begun to encircle him.

Of course, it was by no means easy. To achieve such a feat, he had to simultaneously calculate the trajectories of hundreds of projectiles, account for where he planned to move, and keep the calculations perfect as more and more shells were fired each moment.

All on top of facing the Overlord alone…

Nevertheless, he didn’t falter.

Like a mirage, he flew through outer space, the fired projectiles missing him by a hair’s breadth and erupting in violent bursts of energy as they collided with nearby shuttles.

BOOM!

He was being surrounded from every angle. With no ally to support him this time, his mind raced, but his eyes stayed locked on the biggest threat.

“I admit, you’re doing better than I expected!” The Overlord bellowed, never giving him a moment’s rest.

Michael scoffed.

“Your praise means nothing.”

Once again, the two clashed. Michael still found the mecha’s movements restrictive. He was the one pushed backward.

“Let’s see how long you can keep your calm!” The alien laughed.

Wordlessly, Michael threw a glance at a side monitor.

[Calculating structural integrity… 60%]

Neither his body nor his soul was giving in, but the mecha was slowly falling apart from the damage it was accumulating.

’I don’t have the advantage in open space. The best move is to crash onto the enemy battleship and fight on foot. That way, I won’t be hindered when the mecha shuts down, and the directions from which I can be attacked will be reduced.’ Michael calculated.

Changing course, he headed toward the source of the fired shells.

“Did you go insane, human? HAHAHA!” Overjoyed, the alien didn’t hesitate to follow him.

[Calculating structural integrity… 46%]

Paving a path through the alien shuttles that surrounded him like a swarm, cracks spread across the mecha’s exterior. The damage was visibly taking its toll, slowing it down.

“Hold on a little longer!” Michael muttered as the explosions around him intensified.

“It’s time to stop playing around!” With a roar, the Overlord used its Psychokinesis ability to redirect an asteroid towards him.

Knowing the asteroid would send him crashing into the enemy ship if it connected, Michael didn’t dodge.

The mecha creaked under the strain, and veins bulged beneath Michael’s skin as he was sent crashing toward the ship.

[Calculating structural integrity… 22%]

Sadly, upon impact, the mecha barely clung to its form, falling apart under the force.

After giving Ruby a cautious glance to ensure she was unharmed, he exited through the hatch and closed it behind him.

His lungs strained from the lack of oxygen, and his movements would be severely restricted. Still, with the spiritual energy stored in his body, he would be able to keep going.

[Dash activated!]

[Blink activated!]

Using every movement technique in his arsenal, he dodged the shuttles’ strikes. Having landed on the ship’s roof, aliens began emerging, aiming to ensnare him. While they were no immediate threat, their numbers allowed them to surround him like ants, gradually wearing down a fearsome giant.

Unwilling to miss the action, the Overlord crashed onto the ship’s surface seconds later, pouncing on him with murderous intent.

Wielding Devil’s Tongue in one hand and Heaven’s Judgment in the other, he met the onslaught, unfazed.

Slash!

“Amusing!” Taken aback by the large gash opening on its chest, the Overlord stepped back, eyes narrowing at Michael’s sword.

“So, in the end, you are just talk!” Michael taunted, his voice calm as the circle tightened around him. “Too weak to fight for yourself, you send your subordinates to die in your place!”

“You…” The Overlord’s eyebrow twitched in irritation.

“HUMAN!”

Being insulted on top of its own battleship was the greatest humiliation the Overlord had ever experienced.

“I WILL SKIN YOU ALIVE!”

Enraged, the alien leader slaughtered anything in its path as it charged at him.

BOOM!

Unable to withstand the intensity of their clash, part of the battleship tore open, and Michael, his shattered mecha, and the Overlord fell inside.

While their fight dragged on, Michael’s crew successfully halted their respective Overlords.

As the human troops decimated the weakened fleet, their focus shifted to the final three ships still battling Michael’s squad.

“Help them!”

Considering the human casualties were minimized thanks to them, they didn’t hesitate to charge in their support.

Both the left and right fronts were attacked from two sides simultaneously.

The few Lords in humanity’s ranks focused on the Overlords, relieving the pressure on the squad as they killed them.

However, none of them felt relieved. Their eyes turned toward the central front, where Michael was somewhere still fighting.

With his mecha severely damaged, Bryce saw the life indicator go out, making him fear the worst.

Michael was in danger!

While they rushed to his aid, Michael found himself locked in a fierce duel with the Overlord.

“How is a lowly human doing this?!” The Overlord barked in a frenzy.

Though the creature was heavily wounded, so was Michael. Numerous wounds covered his body. While they fueled his Warlock technique, it was clear he was nearing his limit.

Had it been a fair fight, Michael would have triumphed over the Overlord without question. But the alien’s minions had worn him down too much, his fate was sealed.

“This is what you get for being alone!” The Overlord proclaimed, about to deliver the finishing blow.

However, instead of despair, a faint smile tugged at Michael’s bloodied face.

“No, this time, I am not alone.”

In that instant, a graceful silhouette flanked the creature, moving faster than a mortal’s eye could follow.

The Overlord’s eyes widened in disbelief as it glanced backward. There stood Ruby, her nails hardened, tougher than steel, tearing through its torso.

She had absorbed enough spiritual energy to reach the Master realm!

“YOU!”

She was still far from being able to take on an Overlord, but from the start, she hadn’t been aiming for the final blow.

Just as the alien realized its grave mistake of turning around, a threatening edge crept in from the corner of its vision, a blade beheading it a second later.

As Devil’s Tongue carved a beautiful arc in the air, the head of the Overlord fell lifelessly to the side with a decisive thud.

Pant… Pant… Pant…

Exhausted, Michael’s chest heaved erratically, desperately gasping for air that wasn’t there. His face was deathly pale, his eyes unfocused, and his limbs trembled from the overwhelming strain.

Though he didn’t want to admit it, this fight had taken everything he had… and more.

“Michael!”

Before his knees could buckle, Ruby reached him, catching him just in time. An expression of concern flashed across her face.

“We did it!” She exclaimed, her tongue sliding past his features in a desperate attempt to heal his injuries.

Nodding faintly, Michael grasped the Overlord’s head and made his way back out through the hole he had fallen through, stepping onto the ship’s roof.

Even though the alien leader was dead, its minions still remained. By showing them its severed head, Michael planned to crush their morale even further.

However, as he emerged, his eyes narrowed in surprise.

Rather than the alien shuttles he’d anticipated, the human warship had drawn dangerously close, and the alien battleships were reduced to little more than rubble.

“…”

Tense silence stretched as suddenly the attention of every soldier was solely on Michael.

He glanced down at the Overlord’s head, still clenched in his grasp…

Then, without hesitation, he raised it high, presenting the trophy he had claimed from his slaughtered prey.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep