However.

He still capitalized on the Fear Knight’s opening, forcibly snapping one of its arms!

Unlike the strategic contests and power struggles between Special Abilities, combat using Body Techniques is governed by an iron law: every attack inevitably creates an opening.

To perfectly combine offense and defense using Body Techniques, one would need to be three-headed and six-armed.

Reinhardt’s speed was incredible. His movements were clean and decisive. He suddenly exploded upward to dodge the stomp, violently snapped the Fear Knight’s arm, and then rapidly retreated after landing. The entire sequence was seamless, executed without a single warning.

And this scene.

The sickening sound of breaking bone and tearing sinew, though faint in the vast, boundless wasteland of the Northern Lands, was somehow deafening!

Even the Convicted Demons, infamous for their brutality, shuddered in their tower-like frames.

Because the one whose arm Reinhardt had just broken was no ordinary demon. It was Death Butcher Dortmund, a former Death Arena champion, a century-old veteran with a Seven-star Military Rank! A squad leader with the power to face an Earth Knight in direct combat!

What they found even more unbelievable was that the human New Recruit Knight, after taking such a fatal kick, wasn’t gravely wounded and on the verge of death. Instead, the intensity of his Power was actually increasing!

The Fear Knight’s eyes, blazing with sulfurous fire, twitched erratically. It was shocked that Reinhardt wasn’t mortally wounded, horrified that the young Knight’s aura was still growing stronger!

It had been ordered to capture the young Knight and bring him back to the Abyss to drink molten sulfur and receive the Great Lord’s blessing.

That was why it had held back from dealing a fatal blow. Following the traditions of the Fear Knights, it had tried to awaken the human’s deepest, most primal desire for power through torment.

Of course.

It succeeded.

But it hadn’t awakened a craving for Demon Power. Instead, it had awakened the Dual Attribute Knight Power hidden deep within his body!

In fact, when it first noticed it, the Fear Knight had subconsciously dismissed the boy’s Destruction Force Field as pathetically weak, believing it required a Special Ability just to unleash its full potential and was thus unworthy of concern.

Of course.

It was right about that, too.

But the Special Ability of Reinhardt’s Destruction Force Field was passive.

Ever since falling into the Abyss, Death Butcher Dortmund had followed the Great Lord’s will, slaughtering without rest and waging war for a century. It had witnessed a vast and complex number of Powers. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Therefore, it made its judgment and reached a decision in an incredibly short time.

’This young Knight’s Destruction Force Field is likely tied to his injuries. Maintaining a Dual Attribute Power must consume an enormous amount of stamina, making it impossible to sustain for long.’

’I’ve killed enough Two-star and Three-star Knights to make a small mountain, but this boy is on the verge of a rampage. He’s channeling far more power than his Physique can handle, which makes him a threat even to me!’

What happened next...

...was something the onlooking Convicted Demons would never forget.

Reinhardt braced himself, ready for a fight to the death with the Fear Knight. But his opponent merely glanced at him, snapped the fingers of its right hand, and the reflection of a massive, circular lava pool appeared beside it.

Reinhardt’s pupils contracted. ’I’ve already played all my trump cards,’ he thought in horror. ’If this hybrid Knight is a Dual Attribute user like me, I’m dead!’

The next moment.

Under Reinhardt’s intensely guarded, then utterly disbelieving gaze, the Fear Knight took a step back. It raised its remaining hand, snatched the reins that flew out from the reflection of the lava pool, and vaulted onto its Flaming Warhorse. It struck a desperate-looking pose, then shot past Reinhardt at high speed, never once looking back!

Reinhardt froze for a second. His first thought was that the creature was scared, but the realization that immediately followed sent a cold sweat down his spine.

’Bastard—!’

’This hybrid Knight isn’t just the strongest opponent I’ve ever faced, he’s also the most experienced and cunning!’

Reinhardt knew the weakness of his Destructive Field·Bloodthirsty Madness all too well.

With his current Physique, he could maintain this peak form for two minutes at most. If he went over that limit...

Then.

Under the increasingly fearful gazes of the Convicted Demons, Reinhardt, consumed by rage, became a veritable madman, chasing after the Fear Knight with reckless abandon.

"Don’t run! Get back here!"