Of all the Forces in the world, Time Force was the one that Leonel ran into the most rarely. In fact, he had never even truly battled one himself.
Old Hutch's grandson was defeated by James, while that mysterious participant of the Gathering of Kingdoms was defeated by Aina. Leonel himself couldn't remember ever facing such a person.
What he was wondering now was if this was an Ability Index or a Lineage Factor. If it was the latter, he would have to change his approach because there would certainly be more than one of them. And it became clear a moment later that it was the former.
A beam of light came from the Oryx Emperor's forehead and appeared before Leonel in the blink of an eye.
It was entirely undodgeable, even for Leonel, who was far above the standards of this world. It was clear that it was relying on Time Force.
Although there should have been a lag between when the technique was activated and when it landed on Leonel, it was instead like it had happened instantly.
Leonel immediately felt himself slow immediately. Even his Absolute Domain couldn't seem to block it. Time Force seemed to be beyond his ability to assimilate and strip away from an opponent.
The Oryx Emperor charged toward him, and it suddenly felt to Leonel like he had returned to the Valiant Heart Zone and was facing Normand the Speedster once again.
The difference in their speed was so great that it felt like in the next second, he would be split in two.
But much like he had when he faced off against Normand, Leonel used the exact same trick.
Just as the Oryx Emperor raised a foot to continue his stride, a rock subtly appeared right in the path of his foot.
He didn't even notice it.
Controlling Earth Force was almost impossible under normal circumstances. Controlling Earth Force in the midst of all of this Anarchic Force was definitely impossible.
Even with all his battle experience, the Oryx Emperor never expected for such a thing to happen.
He stumbled, but quickly regained his balance. Unfortunately, by then, Leonel's Scarlet Star Force erupted.
His Destruction Sovereignty thrummed to life, and the Time Force acting on him was shredded apart.
Since his identity had already been exposed... shouldn't he show the world his true strength?
It didn't matter what Force it was. With how powerful his Destruction Sovereignty was now, this level of Time Force wasn't able to latch onto him for long at all.
At the same time, Leonel's spear had thrust out once again.
The Oryx Emperor hurried to block again, another beam of light coming at Leonel's attack to slow it down. But the aura of a Destruction Sovereign shrouded everything Leonel did, making his block slow.
Leonel's spear tore through the Oryx Emperor's shoulder, and the great sword that had moved to block came a moment later. Unfortunately for the Oryx Emperor, his own attempt at a block caused Leonel's spear to rip into, up and out of his shoulder.
The old Oryx growled, his armor shining and the wound that appeared on him quickly closing.
Leonel watched this indifferently, not feeling much. Had he been using his Spear Force, that wound would have never closed.
In that case, since the Oryx Emperor didn't want to give up, he would apply his Destruction Sovereignty to his blade as well.
The old Oryx leapt to his feet quickly and began to counter, but Leonel's spear thrust out thrice in quick succession.
By the time the third landed, the Oryx hadn't even countered even once and his armor suddenly crumbled to ash.
"You are not my father's match."
The Oryx looked into Leonel's eyes in confusion, not understanding what he was talking about. But when the spear thrust through him, all he felt was the scent of death.
He would truly die... just like that.
Leonel pressed a palm against the Oryx Emperor's forehead and forced him to kneel.
The old Oryx felt its body crumbling from the inside out. The power of Destruction Sovereignty was even more potent in an Incomplete World where the world's laws had no ability to stabilize what was happening.
This also made the chains around Leonel suddenly tighten as the Regulator grew agitated. Clearly, it was scared that he might destroy the entire world.
But Leonel now had a deeper understanding of the Regulator now than he ever had before.
It worked on instinct and a strict set of laws... but it was also somewhat like a child. It had emotions, or rather thoughts, that could be misconstrued as emotions, and it could be... coaxed.
The Dream World and the Regulator both exist in the Second Dimension, and by using his access to the Dream World as a medium to communicate with the Regulator, Leonel could actually calm its agitation and reassure it.
Of course, if he truly crossed the Regulator's bottom line, it wouldn't hesitate to destroy him. This was why, while the Regulator could be said to have something that was adjacent to emotions, it still wasn't quite like this.
However, Leonel was beginning to learn how to weaken the suppression he faced, and by extension, he was gaining more and more access to his true strength.
He even had a feeling that methods the others used to deal with the Regulator and break its rules worked similarly to this. This should explain how the Four Great Families had been able to descend as Ninth Dimensional existences.
If it was truly related to Dream Force as well, it might also explain why the Barbarians didn't have methods that were as good... especially if the Four Great Families were remnants experiments of the God Beasts of Creation.
If things continued like this, Leonel might be able to regain all of his strength.
By then, he would really have a chance to ensure his victory.
A BOOM! echoed through the Ancient Battlefield.
Seems they can't wait any longer.