A half-machine privileged acolyte with superior agility and strength.

Despite Emery's 180 points of battle power, his unusual-looking opponent still had the clear advantage over him.

Jinkan, who was watching the battle from the audience seats, looked at Emery with disdain. In fact, she inwardly scoffed when she saw Emery chose to fight head-on instead of moving out of Atlas' trajectory.

It was only natural that he did not stand a chance.

After all, Atlas III was the result of peak human ingenuity in combining great talent with the most advanced technology available.

The man was transplanted with High quality Metals comparable to tier 4 artifacts crafted by famous artisans. As if that wasn't enough, he was also equipped with top-of-the-line sensor, advanced processor, powerful energy source, and other devices that pushed the living acolyte past the peak of its potential.

Bam! Bam!

Atlas swung his feet forward and then threw a seemingly endless barrage of punches, forcing Emery to pull the sword towards him. Afterwards, the half-machine acolyte jumped back a few steps.

"Take out your weapon," Emery said.

Atlas, however, did not take out anything. Instead, he only stretched his metallic limbs and switched to a different fighting stance.

Looking at Emery with eyes that reflected no emotion, the man said, "My whole body is a weapon."

This act might look like a provocation to some, but Emery knew the half-machine acolyte was serious. From their previous clashes, it was clear his body was not made out of anything ordinary.

Understanding his opponent's superiority in battle power, Emery swiftly transitioned to continue the fight by using spells.

[Blink] for mobility, [Granite Skin] for defense, [Shadow Root] for blocking, [Shadow Mist] for evasion; the four spells were cast by Emery simultaneously or consecutively depending on the situation as he attacked Atlas.

Multiple spells went through his veins, working together with his sword art in creating an opening for Emery to counter his opponent's advance.

Swish!

To Emery's surprise, the half-machine acolyte did not even bother to dodge. Instead, he used his metal limbs to block the tier 4 sword heading for his stomach.

Clank!!

What surprised Emery even more was how his arm was strong enough to block the sword. He didn't even see a scratch mark on it; it was as if Emery was hitting something made of the same material as his weapon.

Unwilling to give up, Emery quickly took out his second sword and used his [Weeping Phantom] battle art to restart his assault. His figure flickered as he shot towards Atlas with his swords brandished.

In response, Atlas unleashed a similarly swift movement as he utilized every part of his body from top to bottom as a means of attack.

The two began clashing relentlessly.

Clank! Clank! Clank!

As the battle went on, the shock in Emery gradually grew as he observed his opponent. Not only could the half-machine acolyte perfectly follow his advanced battle art, the other party was even able to find an opening to counter.

Then all of a sudden, Atlas pointed his open palm at Emery.

"Incinerate!"

Following that, a flash of light came out from his palm. Seeing that, Emery's hunch told him that it was a great danger, and so he quickly stepped aside following his instincts. There were many times where his hunch saved his life, and Emery wouldn't be a fool to ignore them at times like these.

Buzzzz

At that instant, a high-tier fire spell came out. Even after dodging a foot away, Emery still felt a searing pain from the remnants of the flames that managed to touch his skin.

Atlas had no intention of letting him escape. He instantly dashed forward to give chase. His figure reappeared a meter away from Emery, and he immediately lifted his feet and sent a kick at the latter.

The moment Atlas swung his leg, an explosion suddenly appeared on the back of its leg, giving the acolyte a significant boost to his kick.

This time, Emery could not dodge.

Bam!

He managed to put his arm in front of him and block it at the last moment, albeit barely. But the initial impact of the kick still made him groan in pain.

Crack!

Emery was thrown a dozen feet with his [Granite Skin] completely destroyed and his arm broken. Surprise was apparent on his face as he looked at his damaged arm.

It was an arm of a superior body, yet it was easily broken by the kick. If Emery had not upgraded his body, Atlas might have already crushed his arm like a tomato.

"You're not getting away," The half-machine acolyte coldly said while aiming his palm at Emery again.

This time, an instantaneous lightning blast came out of his palm. Even though Emery had started to move the moment he saw Atlas' hand move, he was still hit by the blast. It swiftly engulfed him, electrocuted and burned his inner body.

Fortunately, the bolt of lightning quickly dissipated. Emery stood back up, as Atlas slowly closed in on him.

This rank 30 acolyte was certainly not a joke. Superior physical power and instant casting of spells as powerful as tier 5; no wonder this man was able to reach such rank.

However, Emery did not feel an ounce of fear. On the contrary, the pain and the thrill once again made his blood boil and the energy inside him churning.

His mouth involuntarily curved into a smile.

"This is what I need!"

Emery touched his broken arm with his other hand that was glowed green with [Nature's Blessing]. Within seconds, his broken bone was fixed and returned to its original state as if it had never been broken.

With two swords brandished, Emery once again charged in.

Swish! Clank!

Swish! Clank!

Emery initiated a relentless onslaught of sword slashes; he could not accept that the half-machine acolyte's metallic limbs were stronger than his sword. If ten swings were not enough, a hundred swings should be able to do the job.

He constantly dodged and attacked with his blades, while Atlas used different techniques to perfectly counter his assault. Whenever Atlas blasted his instant spells, Emery blinked away just in time.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

Once every three slashes, Emery would get hit by Atlas' punch or kick. However, even after a hundred hits, Atlas' body remained basically unscathed, while Emery had bled enough to dye the arena red with his blood.

Emery would have stopped if it were not for his high regeneration and stamina, but because he had them, he continued his attacks and even became more wild.

More! Faster! Stronger!

His nature core constantly supplied his body with healing energy, while his dark core boosted his [Blink], making it faster and faster.

Thump! Thump!

The more pain and wounds he received, the more Emery could feel his blood forcing its way through the layer of his spirit core.

But something was blocking it.

BAM!

It had been two hundred hits, yet the half-machine acolyte remained standing strong. The latter still maintained the indifferent expression on his face as he continued to counter and neutralize the attacks Emery threw at him.

Emery gritted his teeth, but he still had a hint of his previous smile.

'There's no going back now.'

Eventually, he decided to give it his all and use [Heroic Strike] continuously with both swords.

Clank! Clank! Clank!

Crack!

After all those clashes, surprisingly it was his tier 3 sword given by his master that broke first.

Thanks to that, Emery came into an abrupt stop. He stood there in disbelief, as he watched his sword break in front of his very eyes yet he could not even leave a visible scratch on the other party.

Sensing danger once again, Emery quickly snapped out of his reverie and let go of the broken sword to hold his tier 4 with both hands.

Upon seeing the half-machine acolyte charging at him once again, Emery swiftly dodged away and retreated a few steps back. At the same time, he channeled all of his dark power into one powerful blast.

"Now!"

When the perfect moment finally came, Emery used [Blink] to appear right next to the man and swung his best battle art move.

[Shadow Edge]

With how close the distance between them was, there was no way Atlas could dodge. And as expected, he did not.

Instead, the half-machine acolyte put both of his palms together, blasting both lightning energy and fire energy instantaneously to receive Emery's gift.

Kaboooooomm!

A massive explosion occurred in the arena, and the strong gust of winds generated resulted in Emery being thrown back a few feet receive the blow by the explosion

As he stabilized his body midair and landed on the ground, Emery could not believe it.

Just like that, his best attack not just been stopped but also lost in the battle of strength.

Both in physical and spells Emery was inferior to the half machine acolyte.

Written by Avans, Published exclusively by W.e.b.n.o.v..e.l,