As the attack was about to land on Anthony, Bryan, who had already recovered thanks to his Dragon scale reducing the pain and injury he received, immediately found himself at Anthony’s position, his eyes widening in shock, but before he could do anything, he was now held in place by Rider’s skill, and with that, Bringer’s elbow slammed into his Dragon scale with the force of a bullet train crashing against a human body, the sheer impact reverberating through the surrounding air with violent intensity.

His chest caved in, Dragon scale shattering under the force, Rider deactivated his skill, and the next moment, Bryan was torn backwards like a kite caught in a raging windstorm, he vomited blood as his body spun uncontrollably before he ultimately collapsed against a mountain a kilometre away, the impact sending cracks racing across the rock surface.

Before Rider could even blink, Anthony appeared before him, his fist covered in dense earth molecules as he punched forward with a wide smile on his face, the very air distorting slightly from the pressure of his movement. Rider didn’t hesitate, his instincts and reflexes firing like bullets as his fist tore outwards to meet Anthony’s incoming strike with full force.

The moment their fists met, compressed wind rings exploded outward between them in violent succession, the earth beneath their feet flattening and sinking due to the sheer atmospheric pressure exerted by the clash. Rider’s eyes flickered with a hint of surprise, he was at the King Realm for crying out loud, and with his true Titan strength combined with his Royal Bloodline Grade, his raw physical power brushed the threshold of the next realm, yet Anthony had met his attack head-on without even the slightest strain.

Rider wanted to move again, to press the momentum and continue the assault, but Anthony clamped down on his wrist with immense force. Anthony’s hand couldn’t even fully wrap around Rider’s massive wrist due to its immense size, but that didn’t matter in the slightest to him, he simply held it firmly with sheer power and pulled the twelve-foot-tall Titan forward as though dragging something weightless.

The moment Rider staggered forward, Anthony leaped upwards fluidly, earth particles condensing tightly around his kneecap as he drove it into the Titan’s temple with devastating, battering force. Rider’s head snapped violently to the side, his consciousness threatening to shut down entirely as his vision blurred from the impact.

As Anthony was about to follow up with a combo, his senses flickered sharply as he detected Tiara already in motion, rushing towards him with lethal intent. Anthony landed lightly on Rider’s chest, using his massive frame as a springboard, and instantly leaped backwards, propelling himself directly towards the incoming Tiara with controlled ease.

The moment Anthony closed the distance, Tiara seamlessly shifted her attack from swordplay to blood manipulation. Blood immediately bloomed midair around Anthony, expanding outward before enclosing him entirely like a cocoon, and in the very next moment, spear-like projectiles erupted from the inner walls of the cocoon, thrusting forward to pierce through Anthony’s body from all directions with lethal force.

Anthony smirked faintly, snapping his fingers as mana responded instantly to his command, and ice bloomed outward in a flash, freezing the blood constructs in place mid-motion. In the next instant, the frozen cocoon shattered violently, fragments scattering through the air as Anthony reappeared once more.

But the very moment he appeared, a sharp crackling sound echoed above, and from the sky, a golden thunderbolt, courtesy of Bryan, descended upon Anthony’s position with screeching, searing intensity.

Anthony’s head snapped upward at the incoming strike, yet there was no trace of panic within him. He simply clenched his fist, aura flowing seamlessly through his body and concentrating within his arm as he punched upward to meet the lightning head-on. The collision unleashed a chaotic eruption of burning and crackling energy, the forest instantly consumed within a storm of destructive lightning. Smaller streaks of electric arcs tore through the surroundings, the ground melting into molten lava as trees ignited and burned to ash within seconds.

And within that devastation stood Anthony, completely uninjured, his body as flawless as ever, untouched by the destruction he had just faced.

"So, you want to play with lightning, huh?" he spoke, his voice low and calm, yet carrying an undercurrent of dominance.

At that question, the sky itself seemed to respond, rumbling ominously as clouds gathered, thickened, and darkened, compressing unnaturally as though struggling to contain the immense force Anthony was summoning.

Tiara, Bringer, Rider, and Bryan all felt a chilling sense of horror grip them, their eyes instinctively drawn to the ominous sky above. And from those heavy clouds, four catastrophic bolts of lightning descended simultaneously, each carrying far more power than anything Bryan could ever hope to muster.

The four of them reacted instantly, unleashing their strongest defensive measures to withstand the incoming attack, as there was absolutely no possibility of evasion. And in the next moment, the world was swallowed by blinding lightning energy, everything drowned in an brilliant expanse of pure white. Smoke, dust, and sand surged outward violently, churning and expanding to obscure everything in a dense, suffocating haze.

As the haze gradually cleared, all four figures dropped to their knees, coughing violently as blood spilled from their mouths, their bodies charred and burnt beyond recognition, muscles twitching uncontrollably, their very flesh carrying the unmistakable stench of burnt meat. Even though they had defended themselves, the outcome had been utterly futile.

They lifted their gazes towards Anthony, disbelief flickering within their eyes as they tried to comprehend how he could still wield such overwhelming power even while restricting himself to the Master Mana Rank.

What they failed to understand, however, was that while Anthony had limited his rank, his mastery had not diminished in the slightest. His absurd level of mana control remained untouched, allowing him to manipulate and enhance both his physical strikes and magical output with unparalleled efficiency.

Furthermore, his elemental control far exceeded theirs, coupled with superior battle acumen and vastly greater combat experience. The gap between them was not something that could be bridged through effort alone.

Yet even then, their determination did not waver. They stared at Anthony with steel resolve, refusing to yield despite the huge disparity. Their mana and aura stirred once more, gathering within their bodies as they prepared themselves for another exchange.

Tiara, being the first to recover due to her Vampire physiology, wasted no time in rejoining the battle. With no ally obstructing her line of attack, she unleashed a barrage of blood constructs, blood swords, blood spears, and blood arrows, all surging forward towards Anthony in rapid succession.

Anthony smiled faintly at the incoming onslaught, raising his left hand as mana enveloped it, while his right hand remained calmly behind his back. His left hand moved in a blur, effortlessly deflecting each projectile aside with almost insulting ease, his movements precise and controlled as he followed the trajectory of every single attack.

In the very next moment, the projectiles froze midair. Tiara’s eyes widened instantly, and without hesitation, she teleported away from her position. The instant she vanished, the suspended blood constructs reversed direction, tearing violently towards where she and her teammates had been standing moments before. Although she had managed to evade, the others were not as fortunate, the attacks pierced through their already damaged bodies, reopening wounds and drawing even more blood.

Anthony had simply seized control of her blood constructs through superior blood manipulation and mana control.

And with that, they all stared at Anthony once more, fully aware that their chances of winning this spar had fallen far below zero, no matter how many limitations Anthony imposed upon himself in an attempt to balance the scales.

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AUTHOR’S NOTE: I love you all to the moon and back.