Meanwhile, the “slow-moving” energy blades and magic beams finally reached the leader's position.

  Did they hit?

  —Of course not!

  In the next instant—

  “Boom!!”

  The leader exploded from his position, his legs thrusting powerfully, and terrifying force poured down in an instant!

  The ground immediately shattered, and the layers of rock beneath his feet collapsed into countless fragments;

  At the epicenter of the explosion, dirt, rock debris, and dust surged outward in all directions;

  The entire earth seemed to be hammered, creating a radial deep crack in the ground!

  Almost simultaneously—

  The leader shot out like a cannonball!

  His body became a black streak, speeding along the distorted air currents;

  The air behind him exploded with a continuous sonic boom, and the surrounding air pressure rapidly changed!

  Target—the red-haired knight!

  As he charged forward, the air in his path was violently torn apart like water!

  And in that instant—

  The lingering afterimage at the spot finally shattered with a loud crack, torn apart by the red-haired knight’s magic beam into faint smoke!

  Of course, the red-haired knight did not completely "miss" the leader's movements.

  In fact, he saw everything clearly because he had—[Perception Link].

  Through the BOSS's "perspective," he accurately tracked every motion of the leader—his jump, acceleration, and target lock.

  Moreover, his Transcendent Intuition was going off wildly, warning him—danger was approaching, adjust the beam's direction immediately!

  He "knew," he "saw."

  But—so what?

  It’s important to understand that the so-called "seeing" wasn’t him observing with his own "eyes,"

  but real-time information relayed to him through [Perception Link], passed directly from the BOSS.

  This information bypassed vision and senses, directly injected into his soul.

  His soul "saw" and "recognized the danger," and tried to send the command to his body to react.

  But—

  The reaction chain was too long, and the time too short.

  From soul to nerves, from consciousness to action, every step had to be a race against time.

  But the leader's speed had long since exceeded the limits of this chain's capacity.

  Transcendent Intuition was roaring, his soul urgently issuing orders;

  Yet his brain had not fully processed it, and his body was already too late to move.

  Of course, Transcendent Intuition was roaring, and his soul could still issue commands—

  This meant that everything had not yet reached the point of despair.

  In that instant, he activated the Transcendent Power within him, unlocking all available combat resources;

  His body was strengthened in a flash, his reaction speed skyrocketed, and his consciousness became as sharp as a flash of lightning.

  He could move, but the problem was—what to do once he could act?

  —Should he evade? Should he retreat?

  On the surface, this seemed like the most rational choice, but he knew—this was the wrong answer!

  Once he retreated, the leader would bypass the red-haired knight and directly charge toward the priest who was still trapped by the [Buddha’s Palm].

  The red-haired knight didn’t know how long it would take for the priest to break free, but he knew—

  —The ultimate victory in this battle wasn’t up to him, but rather the priest and the BOSS.

  —Death wasn’t scary; what was terrifying was living in disgrace, bringing shame to his family!

  So, evade? Retreat?

  —Absolutely not!

  His pride wouldn’t allow it, his honor wouldn’t allow it, his faith wouldn’t allow it!

  Even his Transcendent Intuition was sending the strongest signal to him:

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  Not to flee—but to fight!

  Fighting—was the only answer!

  “Ka—!”

  A crisp sound of metal folding suddenly rang out!

  The red-haired knight suddenly raised his hand, and his magic handgun instantly disassembled;

  The mechanical structure spun and collapsed, the gun body rapidly shrinking as the gears clicked into place—

  —In an instant, it transformed into a silver-white ring, securely fastening onto his right-hand index finger!

  Everything was completed in the blink of an eye.

  He was no longer a ranged shooter, but—

  A knight drawing his sword for close combat!

  Both hands gripped the hilt tightly, his body crouched low, muscles tensed like bowstrings!

  His blood was boiling, power surged wildly within him!

  His gaze burned like fire, his breath thunderous—this was the posture of one prepared for death.

  The red-haired knight's figure shot through the air like a comet, his momentum like a long rainbow slicing through the sun, heading straight for the leader!

  The leader’s gaze sharpened, but in the next moment, he revealed a faint hint of appreciation.

  —Now that’s what a man looks like.

  But admiration didn’t mean mercy.

  “Bang!!”

  He suddenly pushed off with his feet, and the ground exploded beneath him,

  His entire body shot forward like a high-pressure black meteor, bursting once more into motion!

  The next moment—he was already standing in front of the red-haired knight!

  His fist swung out, the sound of wind and thunder exploding—

  This punch was devoid of any fancy moves, the angle simple, the force brutal, heading straight for the face! The killing intent surged!

  The red-haired knight’s body hadn’t even fully reacted, but his Transcendent Intuition was already sounding frantic alarms!

  His soul was roaring! Urging his sluggish body to respond!

  In that instant, his nerves leaped like lightning, the pain cutting like a knife—

  This wasn’t a dodge—it was a self-harming forced evasion!

  “Whoosh—!!”

  He suddenly jerked his head to the side, narrowly avoiding the punch!

  The tip of the fist nearly grazed his hair, and the violent punch's wind howled past his ear!

  But this punch was far from just simple force!

  The fist’s wind tore through the air, exploding into dozens of sharp wind blades, like a spinning wheel of blades, sweeping across the red-haired knight’s entire body!

  “Ding! Ding ding—!!”

  All the wind blades hit, but each one was blocked by the energy shield around him!

  —But it wasn’t just a normal impact!

  In the instant the wind blades and shield collided, an extremely piercing "shriek" exploded,

  Like steel needles stabbing into his brain, instantly piercing into the red-haired knight’s mental core!

  —This wasn’t a physical strike, but a mental attack!

  The red-haired knight’s soul suddenly shook, as if struck by a thousand hammers, a tearing pain instantly exploded deep in his consciousness!

  This wasn’t a soundwave, but a mental shriek that directly stabbed into his soul;

  That shriek, like a poisonous barb, stabbed into his consciousness, relentlessly tearing at his very self!

  In an instant, his mental world was violently shaken!

  The outer Mental Shield trembled wildly under the shriek;

  The mental buffs stacked by the mage and priest before the battle twisted like a light curtain, constantly being eroded, repaired, and eroded again!

  And beneath those layers of defense, the true foundation of it all was his own Spiritual Power!

  It was a silent yet immovable willwall, frozen deep within his soul’s core, like cast iron!

  The waves of pain crashed repeatedly, like massive waves pounding against a lone island;

  Yet that island remained unmoved, cracks appeared, but the will did not shatter!

  He stood firm like rock, his will interlocked like chains—

  —Hold, lock, endure!

  This power was not given from the outside; it was the soul core forged through years of refinement and countless experiences on the edge of life and death.

  As long as this core stands, he will never be broken!

  —Pain?

  Of course it hurt, to the point where it felt like his very soul was burning!

  But even so, he still stood firmly at the frontline, not retreating an inch.

  Because he understood—once he retreated, it would all be over!

  He gritted his teeth, his gaze locked firmly on the enemy in front of him, not a shred of hesitation in his eyes!

  Only a silent roar in his heart:

  —If I can’t even endure this little noise, then I don’t deserve to stand on this battlefield!

  Although the leader’s punch failed to hit the red-haired knight, the overwhelming force stilled the entire battlefield!

  The fist cut through the air, its momentum still unbroken;

  He forcibly pulled back his fist, halting its force, but even so, the residual wind from the punch continued to sweep outward!

  “Boom!!”

  The ground behind the red-haired knight was instantly torn apart!

  Large chunks of rock were lifted, and the earth was crushed into a deep trench several meters long,

  Dirt flew, and debris rained down, as if this land had been violently scraped by an invisible giant hammer!

  —And this was just the "aftershock" from retracting the punch!

  If that punch had truly landed…

  Elo, standing at a distance, observed the severe destruction and couldn’t help but estimate in his mind—

  He wouldn’t die, but at least three to five layers of his shield would be shattered!

  That’s right, shields—plural.

  Who said they only had one shield? Who said the fight was over once the shield was broken?

  —That’s just a stereotype.

  The red-haired knight had a total of 53 layers of shields!

  Among them—

  10 layers came from the mage; 15 layers from the priest, 15 layers were self-conjured;

  The remaining 13 layers even came from special barriers on his accessories and equipment!

  Elo stared at the shimmering protective light around the red-haired knight, half shocked, half speechless:

  —A group of monsters!

  The punch that missed ultimately created a brief opening in the leader’s defense.

  And this opening—was seized by the red-haired knight!

  Not with his own eyes, but through [Perception Link], he locked onto the opening with pinpoint accuracy from the BOSS’s “perspective”!

  —The opportunity had arrived!

  All the fighting energy within him exploded in an instant, and his sword blazed with a raging inferno, the knight's sword seemingly transforming into a burning star!

  The intense fighting energy coiled around it like tangible flames, violently churning, and the temperature soared above 1600°C!

  —This wasn’t a metaphor, this was the absolute temperature!

  The air distorted, the ground cracked dry, and within a few meters, the soil directly charred and bubbled;

  The shattered rocks, as if they were glass heated to the core, “cracked” and exploded, with flying ash burning into red sparks in the air!

  Even the red-haired knight’s own energy shield was violently shaking;

  If not for the layers of buffs protecting him, he might have been burned by the backlash of this strike!

  —But he hesitated not!

  His soul roared, his teeth clenched, and he gripped the blazing flame sword with all his might!

  He forcibly summoned his muscles and will, slashing into the opening with that fiery sword!

  This strike—was as fast as lightning, as powerful as a breaking mountain!

  But—the leader saw it!

  He saw the sword’s blade, the temperature, the killing intent, the momentum...

  He could dodge, absolutely, but—he didn’t!

  His eyes were as calm as water, as if facing the punch of a child.

  —Not enough.

  Just as the sword was about to strike his face—he raised his left hand!

  “Snap!!”

  He met it with his bare hand!

  It was a bare hand, with no internal energy flowing, no spiritual protection!

  He—his hand—simply pierced through the 1600°C searing fighting energy!

  That rough palm, with no fancy moves—grabbed the sword blade!

  The sword energy exploded, flames surged, and the sword body violently shook, emitting a roar like a dragon’s cry!

  But that hand—held steady, unmoving!

  Elo watched this scene, completely stunned!

  (°Д°)

  —Are you kidding me?!

  —You... this is absolutely ridiculous!

  —This is a temperature that can melt steel! And you’re grabbing it with your hand?!

  —It’s really a hand, not a clamp, it’s a “human hand”!