Chapter 608: Iron Fist Beatdown

Lei En quickly weighed the options and decided to go on the offensive himself.

Axi Na, in her strongest Giant form, had defense and resistance that were too great; the four Mirror Images could barely harm her, so she thought to retreat the distance in perfect sync, preparing to interfere with spells from different directions.

The two Rending Sky Swords also suddenly rose, flying toward Lei En's side.

For a moment, the area around Axi Na quieted, granting her a rare chance to catch her breath. Yet she dared not relax at all; her gaze stayed fixed on the Rending Sky Sword, locking onto Lei En above her head.

She saw the two swords collide and fuse into a five‑meter giant sword.

The hilt fell into Lei En's hand, and the blade length simultaneously shrank to just over two meters, roughly matching his height in his berserk state; it looked incongruous, but the Rending Sky Sword was extremely light and thin, almost weightless in his grip.

He casually tested the sword, giving it a light swing that traced an almost invisible greenish aura.

The sword's aura flashed, shifting from green to black.

A hair‑thin fissure appeared for an instant, then instantly healed.

Axi Na and the Storm Giants saw the fissure, their pupils contracting; Lei En had actually sliced through the void, and the power and sharpness of the blade made the giants' hair stand on end.

If this sword struck a body, it would be impossible to block.

Even a Titan Giant with extremely strong defense would likely be unable to endure it.

Axi Na did not wait to die; as soon as she raised her hand to cast a Storm Whip at Lei En, a Mirror Image's Space-Time Shock interrupted her, jolting her mind and causing a throbbing pain in her head.

The other Mirror Images' spells also descended.

Light Burst Technique, Thunderclap Technique, Rainbow Light Ray… these spells could not inflict real damage on her, but the constant interference prevented her from concentrating, making defense impossible. Most aggravating was that the Mirror Images were invisible; each time she locked onto them by magical fluctuations, they would have shifted positions in the blink of an eye.

Axi Na did not understand what Lei En was doing.

Aside from instant‑cast spells, she could not release any spells that required casting time; the instant spells were too weak to be of any use.

Fortunately, she did not rely solely on spells in battle; her strength and defense were formidable, allowing her to fight in close combat.

If she were a Wizard or a pure caster, her body would be frail and her casting constantly interrupted; before Lei En there would be only a dead end.

"This monster!"

"No wonder it's called the number one under the Holy Soul…"

Axi Na gritted her teeth against spell backlash, letting the Mirror Images' spells strike her, holding firm; she raised the large round shield with a gap to meet the descending Lei En, pushing with both hands at full strength, timing it to unleash a fierce shield strike in an attempt to fling Lei En away.

Whoosh!

Lei En's Wind‑Thunder Wings behind him vibrated, transforming into a massive bolt of lightning that struck down.

His stature was only about one‑tenth of Axi Na's at this moment, relatively small, yet his presence was no less imposing; in the blink of an eye he surged to Axi Na's head.

Boom!

The great round shield slapped the air, generating a white shockwave.

At the instant the two were about to make contact, Lei En's Electric Flash Teleport abruptly changed direction, slipping by a hair's breadth around the shield's edge; the Rending Sky Sword surged straight toward Axi Na's front, its tip less than half a meter from her chest.

Axi Na seemed to have anticipated it, striking upward with the shield using only a third of her strength.

The round shield fell, spinning rapidly as it slammed toward Lei En.

With a bang, the shield struck the blue‑iron floor forged by the Titan Giant, scattering countless sparks; the entire arena trembled, and she drove her right foot down hard, unleashing another Thunder Stomp.

Rumble…

A tsunami of lightning roared out, leaving no blind spot.

Just after evading the shield's strike with a flash, Lei En appeared behind Axi Na; a barrage of raging lightning struck him, half of its force being absorbed by his blood‑colored cloak, the remaining half blocked by his rainbow light cloak, finally hitting his skin and forming a rainbow‑like dragon scale, causing no damage at all.

The Storm Giants saw this scene and widened their eyes.

They had all witnessed Axi Na's Thunder Stomp; it was on par with the Eight‑Ring Spell, and even those of her race attuned to lightning could not endure it—only a Titan Giant could withstand it.

"His resistance!"

Some Storm Giants shouted in disbelief.

Lei En had foreseen this; while the Storm Giants screamed, he had already swung the Rending Sky Sword toward Axi Na's back.

Axi Na reacted instantly, turning into an Electric Flash Teleport and sprinting forward without looking back.

A Space-Time Shock dropped in time, its disorienting effect interrupting her casting, leaving her to open less than half a meter of distance—ultimately inescapable.

Lei En drove his sword down with force.

The green aura flashed.

Axi Na hurriedly turned, the spear shaft alone striking Lei En, but it hit empty air.

Lei En flashed again and retreated.

The Storm Giants at the arena's edge saw Axi Na's armor, as fragile as paper, sliced with a clean cut, exposing her sturdy, smooth back; a faint red mark appeared on her skin, and after a brief pause, a gush of fresh blood splattered, staining her back crimson.

This sword cut deep enough to expose bone; even a Titan Giant's defense could not stop it.

"Um…"

Axi Na inhaled deeply; the Legendary Element Titan Divine Power granted a ten‑level self‑healing effect, rapidly mending the wound and halting the bleeding, but it consumed a great deal of stamina.

Lei En swung his sword again, pressing forward.

She raised her shield to counter.

The interference from the four Mirror Images' spells returned, scattering Axi Na's mind, causing a momentary lapse; her movements unintentionally slowed by half a beat. In her maximized Giant form, her speed and actions were already sluggish, and the interference instantly exposed a huge vulnerability.

Seizing the chance, Lei En slashed her leg.

The Rending Sky Sword, over two meters long, nearly sliced through a Titan Giant's leg bone; healing such a wound drained too much stamina, causing his speed to drop again.

Lei En's speed was so swift that even his eyes struggled to track him.

He always struck and withdrew in a single blow, never lingering, using his speed advantage to carve multiple sword wounds on the Titan Giant.

Every second, another sword scar appeared on Axi Na.

After a dozen seconds, the towering Titan Giant's body was riddled with wounds, nearly a bloodied husk. Healing the injuries drained Axi Na's stamina enormously; her breathing grew labored, her mind unfocused, and her speed continued to decline.

The watching giants all shook their heads; at this rate, Axi Na could not hold out for a minute.

Axi Na was well aware of that.

When Lei En left another sword scar on his arm, ignoring the blood‑soaked limb, he swiftly shrank his body, dropping in an instant to about 1.8 meters.

This is her smallest form, also the fastest and most agile, with the least stamina spent on healing; the sword scar on her body fully healed in half a breath.

But her defense and strength are also the weakest.

If struck by Lei En's sword, one could be cut in two.

Lei En flashed forward, merging with the azure great sword as a greenish blade thrust straight at the chest. In her smallest form, A Xina finally reacted, crouching and holding the round shield before her, meeting Lei En with a thunder charge.

She timed it exquisitely, choosing the instant when Lei En was about to pierce her and had no room to redirect.

The two silhouettes collided head‑on.

Bang!

Countless bolts of lightning erupted at the point where shield and sword met, a blinding sphere of light exploded, blasting both of them away.

A Xina let out a low hum.

Her shield was pierced by the Rending Sky Sword, leaving a deep blood‑filled wound in her chest just a few inches from the heart. Having exhausted too much stamina earlier, she couldn't unleash her full strength; even with the thunder charge's burst, she remained at a disadvantage.

The shield struck Lei En, rebounding instantly and dealing secondary damage.

"His body is so hard!"

That was A Xina's greatest impression.

While being tossed backward, she saw Lei En retreat only dozens of meters before halting, his feet slamming the ground, the wind‑and‑thunder wings on his back vibrating, and with a roar he surged forward.

"So fast!"

A Xina's pupils narrowed.

At the same size, Lei En's strength was clearly greater than hers, and his speed higher; she had only felt such pressure from two or three Titan Giants over a thousand years old. This terrifying power and defense—could it even have a hint of a Wizard?

As her thoughts turned, A Xina discarded the broken broken spear and round shield, pulling out a two‑handed sword.

Her body swelled dramatically and grew heavy, forcing her to the ground.

She unleashed a thunderous stomp; lightning and a shockwave briefly checked Lei En's advance, then she instantly shrank back to human form, her speed spiking as she swung her sword toward Lei En.

Level 7 Reverse Slash!

A beam over ten meters long burst from the sword, like tangible sword qi, slashing from top to bottom toward Lei En's crown.

A Reverse Slash powered by legendary strength could cleave a giant dragon in two.

Yet Lei En remained unmoved.

He outright ignored the blade, letting it strike his head, pressing forward, while the Rending Sky Sword in his hand thrust straight at A Xina.

A clang of gold and iron rang out.

The Reverse Slash's blade seemed to have cut the hardest thing in the world.

A Xina's two‑handed sword also struck Lei En, leaving a shallow scar on his forehead that ran down his nasal bridge, across his mouth, chin, then to his neck and chest; his mithril light armor split in two, the sword mark extending to his abdomen before fading.

The storm giants all inhaled a cold gasp together.

Lei En met A Xina's full‑force sword with his body and sustained only this minor wound; his defense is even tougher than a Titan Giant's!

Elder Suo Lim's eyes flickered slightly as he shook his head, saying, "A body of steel! And above level four…"

A Xina was also startled.

In her stunned moment, Lei En's Rending Sky Sword drove into her chest, piercing her body, with the azure blade tip emerging from her back.

Puff!

A Xina spat out a mouthful of blood.

Such a wound is not fatal to a Titan Giant; she instinctively tried to distance herself from Lei En, but Lei En immediately released the Rending Sky Sword, his hands suddenly expanding into a glowing metallic sheen, becoming a pair of massive hard Indestructible Iron Fists.

His left hand seized A Xina's armor collar, and his right hand delivered a heavy punch, hammering her onto the ground.

Then he rode up.

The Indestructible Iron Fists rained down like raindrops—bang, bang, bang…

Each of Lei En's punches triggered a devastating critical, the unyielding fists instantly unleashing five times their force, mercilessly hammering A Xina's head.

Titan divine power grants twelve‑level strength, twelve‑level toughness, ten‑level regeneration, and a giant's battle body; A Xina also has electrified skin that generates a counter‑current when struck, but it's of little use against Lei En. Even though she shielded her head and face with both arms, two or three punches still broke through.

Meanwhile, four hidden Mirror Images took turns unleashing Space‑Time Shock.

A Xina fell into sensory disarray.

Her mind went blank, even forgetting to enlarge her form to push Lei En away.

As Lei En's iron fists struck, the arena floor trembled repeatedly; after three blows, A Xina's consciousness was already hazy. Steel Will can guard against mental attacks, but it is powerless against such forceful vibrations; after a dozen punches, A Xina completely lost the power to resist.

Lei En then withdrew.

He climbed up from A Xina's body, smiling, and extended his hand, laughing, "I win."

The Titan Giant's will is indeed tenacious; when Lei En halted, A Xina's spirit recovered, the swelling on her pig‑snout‑like face receded quickly, yet her gaze grew complicated, frozen as she stared at Lei En's outstretched hand.

She never imagined in her dreams that a human could defeat her in such a humiliating way.

The Titan Giant, battling in strength and defense, actually lost.

Nevertheless, A Xina quickly steadied her emotions; a loss is a loss, and she will keep training, confident her talent will eventually catch up to Lei En and reclaim her own victory. She silently vowed, her face still bearing a confident smile, grasping Lei En's hand as he lifted her.

"Thank you."

A Xina nodded, regretfully saying, "I can't go out with you to see the world this time; let me train a few more years."

Lei En gave a noncommittal smile.

"Exactly one minute," Elder Suo Lim said. "A Xina, you have passed the assessment."

"Huh?"

A Xina's face was full of astonishment; Lei En had pinned her to the ground and battered her, leaving her dizzy and with no recollection of the time.

She thought it hadn't been a minute, yet it was exactly one minute!

She looked at Lei En with dawning realization; it was clearly no coincidence, but Lei En deliberately kept it to one minute, allowing her to pass the test without seeming to go easy. In fact, timing it so precisely shows Lei En wasn't giving his all.

The giants present all saw this, but none pointed it out.

Suolim also did not pursue it.

He announced: "Axina, you may leave the Storm Sanctuary and go to the outside world."

"Great!" Axina cheered, suddenly rising from the depths of despair to the peak, overjoyed beyond words, like a young maiden just granted permission to leave home, filled with endless longing, even the pain on her body feeling worthwhile.

However, she is ultimately a steady‑tempered person; she quickly composed herself and thanked Lei En and the Titan Elder.

Suolim felt greatly relieved.

The storm giants who were watching the battle were reluctant, especially Axina's admirers, each drooping with dejection, their faces full of loss and bitterness.

Suolim's voice echoed in Lei En's mind:

"Lei En, please stay as a guest in the Storm Sanctuary for half a day, giving Axina and her family and friends time to say goodbye; I also have a few words for you—please come to the Forge Sanctuary later."

"Very well, Elder." Lei En nodded to show he understood.

I'll make up the three missing chapters in the coming days; rest early today, because only when alive can you have DPS...

The monthly votes have reached 2000, thank you all!

(End of chapter)