I Can Devour Monsters' SSS Talents

Rodrick looked at Lian, those words echoed clearly in his mind, but he did not get angry or react to his obvious provocation.

Instead, a very small smile appeared on his tired face.

”Then there is no need to say anything more.”

The Crown was still in his left hand and then he closed his right hand.

Crack!

The joints of his fingers made a sound.

And young Vorhelm looked at him, as far as he knew, this boy’s original class was also Warrior and like him, he used his fists to fight.

But he did not know what his class had evolved into after his First Evolution, or what it had changed into.

Mana began to flow through both of their bodies and it was as if they were waiting to see who would make the first move.

Boom!

And at that moment Rodrick disappeared, the speed of his first step was so high that the several-dozen-meter distance between them was cut in half in an instant.

[Tyrant’s Advance]

Mana had moved down from his spine and flowed through his legs, hips and joints, every step he took forward kept part of the momentum from the previous step and added it to the next movement.

First step.

Crack!

Second step.

Boom!

Third step and Lian’s smile disappeared, Predator’s Instincts warned him before the fist arrived.

Mountain Anchor.

World-Devourer Bastion became one with the ground in an instant and he raised both forearms and ....the fist arrived.

BOOOOOOM!

The sound of the impact spread across the entire peak like the explosion of a cannon, a wave of air passed through the platform and pieces of stone were thrown into the air across dozens of meters.

Young Vorhelm’s feet sank into the stone.

Ten centimeters.

Twenty.

And even with Mountain Anchor, his body was pulled back several centimeters across the ground and his eyes went down for a moment.

A deep mark had formed under the heels of his armor.

Rodrick pulled his fist back.

”Were you expecting less?” he asked calmly.

Lian raised his head again and his smile returned.

”No, I was hoping you would at least have this much hidden.” Lightning slowly appeared between his fingers.

[Thunder Calamity]

Krrrraaaack!

Blue and purple lightning wrapped around the right forearm of his armor and his fist went directly toward Rodrick’s face.

He kept his left hand, which held the Crown, back and blocked the attack with his right forearm.

Clack!

The lightning exploded but at that moment, something strange happened, a large part of the force of the attack instead of pushing Rodrick’s body back, went into his arm and shoulder.

A golden line ran from his forearm to his chest for a fraction of a second.

[King’s Reprisal]

Lian’s eyes narrowed slightly and his enemy threw another punch, but this time the attack did not only have his own strength, part of the same force he had taken from Lian’s punch was also behind it.

Boom!

Young Vorhelm raised his hand and the attack landed on the front plate of his armor and his body moved half a step back but Rodrick gave him no time.

Elbow.

Knee.

Fist.

Three attacks came toward him almost without a gap.

His class had changed into Tyrant Sovereign after his evolution and it had also changed his entire body structure, a special class for a ruthless fighter like him.

Tyrant Body had made mana constantly strengthen the bones in his hands, elbows, shoulders, hips and knees.

Every part of his body was a weapon and unlike most warriors who lost a lot of power without a weapon, he became more dangerous at this close range.

Of course, his main power did not come from his four-star class, but from his S-Rank talent.

Lian deflected the first elbow and the second knee hit the side of his armor.

The third punch came toward him and at the same moment Predator’s Instincts warned him again.

But this time it was more than an ordinary punch, dense mana had been compressed right behind Rodrick’s knuckles.

[Crushing Decree]

Young Vorhelm raised his forearm.

Clack!

The first impact happened and Mountain Frame spread the force throughout the World-Devourer Bastion.

For a moment Lian thought it was over ... but he was very wrong.

BOOOOM!

A second explosion happened from the same point and the compressed mana that had entered the armor plate at the moment of impact exploded with a slight delay.

His body was thrown several meters back and his feet dragged across the stone.

Crack!

A thin crack appeared on the chest plate of the armor.

[Structural damage detected.]

[Structural Memory activated.]

Silver lines lit up between the armor plates and the crack slowly began to repair itself but what the armor could not completely remove was the force that had passed through it.

The taste of iron and blood spread inside his mouth, he ran his tongue over his injured lip.

”Good.” Then he laughed.

Rodrick raised an eyebrow.

”Do you say that every time you get hit? Has your brain gone crazy, Lian? Does two years of being a loser affect your brain this much...oh, of course, you will always remain a loser.”

”Do you know how long it has been since someone was able to make me take them seriously?” He was not lying either.

”Your brain really has gone crazy.” Rodrick simply thought his words were the result of madness.

Both moved again.

[Time Remaining: 07:51.]

Their attacks exploded across the peak one after another.

Neither Rodrick was willing to move back nor Lian.

Every time the first one moved with Tyrant’s Advance, his steps became stronger and his next punch gained more power.

The second one no longer needed True Sequence after the third time to understand the basic structure.

Rodrick had to keep moving forward to reach the highest possible power, so the problem was simple, he could not let his steps be completed.

He came forward again.

First step.

Boom!

Second step—

”So you have to keep moving forward to perform this move, right?” young Vorhelm whispered.

”Do you have a problem with that?” Rodrick kept his fists raised.

”No, this makes it even better, because you are entering the range I want.”

Lian put his foot on the ground.

Frost Dominion.

Cold spread under both of their feet like an invisible wave and the stone surface of the peak was covered with smooth and clear ice in the blink of an eye.

Rodrick did not care and took his second step.

But at that moment the ice under his foot changed shape and suddenly its surface became tilted by several degrees, less than what an ordinary person would even notice.

But for someone who had placed all the weight, momentum and balance of his body into one chain of movement, it was enough to ruin all his calculations.

His foot slipped a few centimeters and the chain of his advance was broken, his eyes changed for a moment.

And young Vorhelm had already moved.

[Thunder Step]

Krrrack!

He entered his defense in an instant and Thunder Calamity gathered around his left fist.

Boom!

His fist hit Rodrick’s side and the protective mana around his body exploded, he was thrown several meters to the right and stopped himself on the ground with the sole of his foot.

”Now you understand? This stupid skill of yours does not work against me, I can control the environment however I want.”

Rodrick looked at the ice under his feet and then raised his head again, there was no anger on his face.

”I understand, then I just need to break everything like a tyrant.” And he moved again.

Lian waited but this time, with every step he took, a short wave of mana entered the ground from the sole of his foot.

Crack!

The ice broke just before his foot touched it.

First step.

Crack!

Second step.

Crack!

Third step.

Tyrant’s Advance was completed again.

”You learn fast.” Young Vorhelm clapped for him in approval, but he also expected this bastard to find a way to counter it.

That was what a battle was like, during it both sides used different strategies, ways to counter those strategies were discovered and they were forced to find new strategies again.

As long as both sides were more or less equal, this was how the situation was, Rodrick had at least 6000 stat points and defeating him was not going to be easy for him either.

”If tricking me once is enough to defeat me, then I don’t deserve this Crown.” And at the same time the fist came.

Lian dodged and the pressure wave passed beside his face and shattered a large rock several meters behind him.

At that moment he understood, this man was not only strong, he was also adaptable, so the same trick could not be used on him twice.

Good, he enjoyed opponents who forced him to think more, although sometimes they could also become annoying...

A few more exchanges happened, Crushing Decree came toward Lian’s face again.

This time he did not defend, in fact he deliberately waited and the distance became smaller.

One meter.

Half a meter.

Rodrick’s fist almost reached his face guard and young Vorhelm’s body suddenly turned black.

Not only the armor but his own body as well and in an instant his human form collapsed and turned into a mass of hot ash.

Fsh!

Rodrick’s fist passed through the ash and his eyes opened wider.

”What—”

The ash gathered several meters behind him, feet ...torso....arms and Lian formed again.

[Ash Step]

This was a skill he had obtained from the Cindari in the Special Area, he had not had a good chance to use it ... at least until now and the only problem with this skill was that its maximum potential was Common Rank.

Lightning gathered in front of his right fist.

The young Ashen started turning around to block the fist ... but it was too late!

BOOOOM!

The fist covered with Thunder Calamity hit directly into the back of his shoulder, his body left the ground and hit the stone several meters ahead before rolling across the icy surface.

Rodrick put one hand on the ground and stood up, spat a few drops of blood onto the ground and part of the armor on the back of his shoulder was burned.

A little blood ran from the corner of his lips and he wiped it away with the back of his hand.

His eyes became colder than before, and there he understood that just as he still had many things he had not shown, his enemy was also hiding many trump cards...

This battle was not going to be as easy as either side had thought.