A keen sense of feeling made Asa clearly aware that his and his opponent's fighting strength were not on the same level.

  General Gru stood there, seemingly carefree and casual, with his hands behind his back. He looked at Asa as if he were watching a harmless little chick.

  But Asa felt that he was facing a primordial behemoth from the ancient secret realm. The gentle posture hid an aura as sharp and dangerous as a knife, as if it could reveal its true face of madness at any time, tearing everything in front of it to shreds and swallowing it whole.

  Judging from the opponent's movements just now, I don't have much of an advantage. The white light membrane covering his body is not magic, but another kind of power that is more simple, direct, and fierce, making it even more effective and unstoppable. Even with this long robe on my body, if I'm hit directly once, it's still enough to be fatal. This power combined with his physical body makes every one of his movements exceed the limits of human speed.

  Asa slowly crouched down with a starting motion, his right foot slightly outward, his left hand pressing on the ground, and his right hand grasping the hilt of the knife behind him. Every muscle in his body was accumulating strength as he made this movement, then tightening up, ready to explode out at any moment. His eyes were fixed on the ground, but all his spirit and attention were placed on his opponent ahead with a sidelong glance.

  One move. All opportunities depend on this one move.

  Indeed, the threat of death had awakened a deep-seated primal fighting spirit and killing intent within Asa, as if a wild beast had been sleeping there all along, waiting to be stirred up and then begin rampaging wildly through his body. The clarity of meditation still shrouded his thoughts, combining with this awakened primal urge to form a sharp, icy yet burning fighting spirit.

  Looking at the opponent in front of him, who was crouching down like a leopard, Gru's expression, which had been as still as a sculpture, actually showed a slight fluctuation. His thin lips stretched out to the side and then curved up slightly, giving him a hint of vitality. A faint white light began to emanate from his entire body.

  Neither of them moved a muscle. The air inside seemed to have solidified, exuding the damp and oppressive atmosphere of the sea before a storm. Sedros, the lord of the city, slowly backed out of the stone hut. He didn't want to intervene, nor did he think it was necessary for him to do so.

  The room was left with only two people's breathing sounds, chasing and overlapping each other in a strange rhythm.

  When Asa's inhalation peak caught up with Gru's exhalation trough, he suddenly burst out, and the power accumulated for a long time was released in this jump. Like a leopard, he rushed forward, and the strength of his feet and waist muscles was added to his wrists all the way. The knife on his back turned into a black lightning bolt, cutting down at Gru standing in front of him with a thunderous force.

  The flame in Gulu's eyes suddenly became smaller and weaker, as if it had lost sufficient fuel.

  He could see that this knife had good power and speed, but also felt very dull.

  The swordsman's power and physical movement are flawless, but there is no spirit or willpower in it at all, just a simple use of force. This is not the kind of attack that condenses life and soul in a fight to the death, but rather an action similar to chopping wood.

  Gleeb felt a great disappointment, at first he was excited to see the opponent's reaction and movement like a beast, thinking it would be an extremely enjoyable battle. He stretched out his right hand to grab the blade, as easily as catching a falling leaf while walking, and his left hand clenched into a fist with a hint of disdain and angry disappointment struck out.

  But he immediately found his right hand was light and his left hand was heavy.

  The feeling of holding a knife is very light, it's not just lacking in spirit and morale, but also seems to have no strength or speed at all.

  The knife is light because the person holding the knife has not grasped it at all, and has already let go when the knife is about to be caught. All the strength is reserved to resist a punch coming straight at the chest.

  One hand was just pressed on the fist, but even with all the strength that had been prepared in advance, there was no weakening of the fist's momentum, and the hand was instead brought together to strike the chest, the shape of the hand and the chest cavity sank in together.

  However, with the buffering of this left hand and the magical protective power brought by that long gown, the sternum did not shatter into the heart and lungs, but was only broken into several pieces, and the person was knocked back a step.

  There was no sound of shattering bones. The entire room was filled with a deafening roar, a mixture of airflow and magical energy. A gigantic, bizarre, and wild fireball suddenly took shape between the two and, propelled by a massive gust of air, shot straight at Gru's face, mere inches away. This was the true killing blow, condensed from all his strength and spirit, with even the fireball's appearance transformed into that of a raging beast due to the intense concentration and alteration of spiritual energy.

  The light in front of him reflected, and Gru's pupils became this jumping golden yellow. He could even see the magical force that was wildly flowing in this low-level magic spell, which was enough to blow a bronze statue into fragments all over the sky.

  The Fireball Technique is a simple flame attack spell that every novice magician uses. But it's precisely because of its simplicity that it can concentrate the caster's entire magical force in an instant, making it usable in close-range combat.

  Can't escape at all.

  At least half of Asa's magical power was used to accelerate the speed of the fireball. It was a well-timed opportunity, or rather, it was an opportunity created at the cost of one arm and severe injury.

  He had just seen the speed of this opponent, and no matter what distance or how fast the spell was used, there was no guarantee of hitting it.

  Create opportunities if there aren't any. Only when waiting for the opponent to attack and unable to dodge at the moment of their attack, is there a fleeting chance.

  But such an opponent, as soon as he makes a move, almost has absolute certainty to kill him with one blow. The long gown on his body is not enough to defend against it, and more buffering is needed. So he used all his strength and one hand to defend, and then used magic power to attack.

  The fireball's diameter was as big as half a person. It had just taken shape and almost touched Gru's body, flying out at a speed faster than a crossbow arrow. The distance between the two was only two steps away. Absolutely no one could dodge at such a close distance, Asa was very confident.

  Isn't it absolutely true that no one can hide clearly, at least Gulu didn't show any intention of hiding. He let go of the knife and the white light on his hand became so strong that it seemed to have a physical form. This hand blocked the fireball in front of him with a speed that was almost invisible to the naked eye.

  The fireball wasn't really a ball, it was just a shape formed by the rapid rotation of magical power. As long as something slightly touched it and disrupted the balance of the magic, all its power would immediately explode out. But now this fireball was being blocked like a real ball by Gru's hand emitting white light. The flames on the edge of the fireball were restlessly fluctuating, trying to break free from the restraints and continue flying forward, but they couldn't get past that layer of white light at all. It was as if the most ferocious beast in hell was being held down by the war god Ares, unable to move.

  This was just a momentary pause, and Gulu's hand swung upwards, the fireball completely changed direction and continued to fly towards the roof with its original wild momentum. With a loud crash, the entire roof made of thick wooden structure instantly turned into countless scattered flames that soared into the air. Almost the entire city of Oufu was illuminated.

  Gulu's right hand was still in the pose of waving, and it wasn't easy to change the direction of a rolling ball of magical force without moving at all, at least several times more difficult than releasing this magic.

  So his hand had not yet been withdrawn, the hand that was casting this magic had already pressed against his face and a fireball began to flash in the palm. This time it did not shoot out, but instead directly pressed the fireball onto his face to explode.

  This was not a pre-prepared tactic. Given the physical limitations of humans, it is impossible for magical energy to flow quickly enough to cast another spell in such a short period of time. The formation of that fireball was slower and smaller than before. This was the opponent's second attack after the first one missed.

  He actually used his own hand and the danger of direct death to exchange for the most effective attack opportunity, how old and cunning. And facing a full-force strike that fell empty, he didn't have the slightest discouragement, but instead immediately launched another attack, this fighting spirit is more than the most ferocious warrior.

  This is the true warrior. Gruel let out a loud "Good!" The fist that had originally been thrown out was already withdrawn, and grabbed onto the hand that was stretched out in front of him, their fingers interlocking like a friendly high-five. The fireball that had barely taken shape was instantly crushed by the white mist on his hand.

  There was no sound of bones shattering, only the shape of that hand twisted strangely. The skeleton was like a fragile cookie under the powerful pressure of a machine, not that it couldn't make a sound, but it was crushed into fine powder before it had time to make a sound.

  "It's done." The knife finally fell to the ground. The outcome has been decided.

  This was a really good fight, and this opponent showed all his cleverness, strength, spirit, and will to the fullest. Gru felt very satisfied.

  Asa felt utterly desperate. Not only was he thoroughly and completely hopeless, but also angry, hurt, and fearful of death. Various forces swirled together to extinguish all reason and even human nature, leaving behind only pure primal instincts. He violently jerked the mangled hand, almost tearing his own broken hand off at the wrist, and used this pulling force to lunge directly at his opponent.

  Without thinking, he no longer has the ability to think now. With only an animal's instinct, he saw that softest part of the connection between his opponent's head and body, where a faint pulsation hinted at the large amount of red and smelly liquid flowing beneath. This hint further stimulated his instincts, and he opened his mouth and bit wildly in that direction.

  Gulu's neck arched, and his forehead collided with the opponent's head that was rushing straight over, making a "pa" sound.

  But what Asa heard was not that kind of sound at all. He heard the strange sound that a person can only hear once in his lifetime, the dull hum of his own skull cracking and directly impacting his nerves.

  It's as if a sharp awl has pierced the deepest part of my brain and burst open, dispersing its sharpness to every corner, bursting out from the inside and piercing all things into shreds.

  Asa didn't feel himself being knocked backward and flying out, crashing into the wall like a rag doll falling to the ground. He also didn't know that his blood was flowing out from both hands and head like a cheerful little river, constantly expanding its territory on the ground. He couldn't feel anything anymore.

  "What a truly magnificent battle, and the most artistic magical attack I've ever seen. Who would have thought that the Necromancer's Guild still had such talented individuals with vitality and creativity? What a pity...". Cedros, the lord of the city, shook his head and sighed as he walked into the house, bent down and took out the book from Asa's arms.

  Along with the book, two pieces of paper fell to the ground. These were two high-grade sheepskin papers, very thick and sturdy, with no rough edges at all, and on top of that, they had beautifully crafted embossed patterns, which made it clear that they were not something ordinary people or the necromancers of the Death Spirit Association would use.

  Ge Lu stood still on the spot, savoring every detail of the fight as if a gourmet recalling a delicious dish. This was not the strongest opponent he had ever met, but it was the most lethal, the most stimulating one.

  "Good." He sighed and took a sip of tea.

  "Not good." The lord of Sedros unfolded the two papers and looked at their contents clearly. His face changed.