"GAAAAHHHHH!!" Adam's bloodshot eyes widened and he puked a mouthful of blood.

Jeffrey's spear had pierced through the left side of his stomach. If it wasn't for him forcefully leaning to the other side at the last moment, the consequences would have been very dire.

The shadows of the ten Magi had come alive and restrained him so tightly that it was difficult to even move an inch. But despite that, Adam was able to forcefully avoid Jeffrey's lethal attack through physical strength alone.

However, that did not make things easier for him. If anything, it bought him just a few more minutes.

Although the Magi, including Kevin, at the periphery of the battlefield were rendered immobile due to the restraining runic formation, and Grayson was out of the game because his mana had run out, Jeffrey was still in fighting shape!

Adam slowly regained his vision, but everything in it was still blurry. The attack by Grayson had left a deep cut straight across his face, starting from above his left eyebrow, going across the nose bridge, and finally ending at his right cheek.

The attack was so deep that the skull was visible underneath the blood and flesh!

If Adam had been a moment too late, he would have been cleanly decapitated. Thinking back to that moment, his eyes flashed with lingering fear and he couldn't help but curse at his oversight.

At the precipice of death, the youth's mind seemed to be wandering quite a lot. But he was instantly brought back to the present when Jeffrey viciously twisted the spear embedded in his stomach.

"AAAHHHH!!!" Adam screamed at the top of his lungs as his body writhed in pain and agony.

Seeing his state, Jeffrey broke into a maniacal laughter. "Hahahaha! Where's all that arrogance gone? Where's all that bravado? Why don't you dance some more, you filthy peasant!"

The youth continued to twist the spear while insulting Adam. The latter screamed incessantly, but soon his voice turned hoarse and he stopped, growing numb with each passing second.

He lowered his head and couldn't help but think about what led him to this moment.

Was it truly as Jeffrey said?

Was it really because of his arrogance?

Or was it because he lacked strength?

At death's doorstep, Adam didn't feel fear or anger. Instead, he felt lost.

Suddenly, he recalled something he had seen in the last memory he had absorbed. At the time, he had discarded it away because it didn't make any sense to him. But now, strangely enough, he was beginning to understand it a little.

The Way is hard to define, it is transcendent, it is beyond mortal comprehension, yet it is present in all things.

It is the Way of the farmer. It is the Way of the scholar. It is the Way of the emperor.

The natural order of all things, the cosmic principles of the universe. This is the Way.

It is the Way of the mortal. It is the Way of the warrior. It is the Way of the Magus.

To live in a state of harmony with the world and the mana found within it. This is the Way.

Adam felt that he was at the cusp of understanding something very profound. He felt that he was very close to comprehending the secret, but at the same time, he felt he was far from it.

The more he tried to understand it, the more convoluted it became.

His eyes suddenly gained clarity as if he had just woken up from a long sleep. He looked around and saw that he was still being restrained by the shadows of the ten Magi that had surrounded him.

Jeffrey, who had stabbed his spear in his stomach, was continuing to blather away while Kevin screamed at him to quickly get it over with.

Realizing the situation he was in, Adam understood that he was incapable of using any spells. Moreover, he didn't have much time left. There was only one thing he could do now.

The Astral Tyrant Manual!

Adam knew all ten magic combat techniques of the Hand of Doom, however, the vast majority of them required him to have a certain level of physical strength, sturdiness, and mana.

Only a handful of techniques could be used in the early ranks, while most could only be used in the later Magus ranks.

However!

In his current situation, Adam didn't need to perfectly carry out the technique that had strict requirements. All he needed, to do was implement the embryonic form of that technique and he was sure that he would free himself from the restraining runic formation.

The moment he thought of this, he immediately implemented it.

With great difficulty, he brought his hands together, positioning them on top of one another and the palms facing each other.

Seeing this, Jeffrey sneered, "Struggle as much as you like. In the end, you will die by my hands. I'll make sure to give you a slow and painful death."

Jeffrey twisted the spear even more, causing Adam to wince in agony. Seeing this, Jeffrey felt very gratified and he continued to torture the youth.

Kevin, on the other hand, screamed at Jeffrey, "You bastard! Kill him this instance!"

"Be quiet." Jeffrey turned to look at him and coldly replied, "I've had enough of you bossing me around. I'll kill him on my terms. So shut your mouth and focus on the runic formation."

"You!!" Kevin was livid. However, before he could speak another word, a terrifying pressure suddenly descended on the battlefield.

His gaze landed on Adam and saw that a large amount of mana was gathering in between the latter's hands. Seeing the sheer amount of mana as well as its overbearing nature, Kevin shuddered.

It was even worse for Jeffrey who was standing right in front of Adam. The former had completely frozen in fear.

Adam's gauntlets slowly broke down as mana gathered between his palms and started to form a singularity. The skin of his hands was torn and the flesh was destroyed, but he kept going.

The youth's eyes flashed with a brilliant light as he suddenly gained some insights into the philosophy of the Astral Tyrant Manual.

"Overcome all obstacles

"Conquer all enemies

"This is the Way of the Tyrant!"

Adam roared at the top of his lungs as his hands slowly got destroyed under the pressure of his mana.

The vortex of mana in between his palms started to swirl toward its epicenter. With one last push, Adam finally managed to execute this difficult technique of the Hand of Doom, albeit incomplete.

BOOOMM!!