The moment Buck and the flying fist converged, Kane’s figure turned into a void and merged into the ground.

  The triumphant sneer on Buck’s face froze.

  Where is he?

  His massive frame lunged forward a few steps from sheer momentum, his alloy bone-blades slicing through the empty air with a futile hiss.

  On the other side, in Crag’s sector, the battle was decided in a split second.

  "DIE!"

  Morris’s eyes flared with murderous light. The chainsaw, clamped tight by Crag’s shoulder, whirred frantically, mere millimeters from Crag’s carotid artery.

  Crag didn't flinch.

  His right fist, channeling the strength of his entire body, was like a black star falling from the heavens. He smashed it down toward Morris’s head with brutal finality!

  No fancy techniques. Only the most primal, purest vent of power!

  Morris felt the icy touch of death. He tried to dodge, but with his weapon snagged, his body wouldn't budge.

  "Aaaargh!"

  In a fit of desperation, his other hand slammed onto a red button at his waist. His trump card—a Plasma Detonation Grenade!

  A double suicide!

  However, Crag’s fist was faster.

  THUMP!!!

  A sound like a heavy cannon blast instantly drowned out the roar of the chainsaw. Crag’s massive fist made direct contact with Morris’s skull, which buckled inward before detonating. Red and white sprayed across Crag’s body.

  At almost the exact same moment, the activated grenade went off with a BOOM!

  The plasma grenade erupted. A torrential flood of searing plasma and a destructive shockwave radiated violently from Morris’s corpse in a fan-shaped blast, instantly engulfing Crag’s chest and abdomen.

  Crag’s massive frame shuddered violently. He looked down.

  The rock armor of [ Unyielding Bastion ], already riddled with cracks from the prolonged chainsaw grinding, finally let out a loud crack and shattered completely under the direct blast.

  But at the moment of shattering, a strange, invisible golden energy flowed through his entire body.

  Three seconds of damage immunity!

  The steel shrapnel, capable of turning alloy plating into a sieve, struck his deep-black skin and merely stirred ripples before being deflected.

  Unscathed!

  Crag looked at Morris’s headless corpse and slowly relaxed the shoulder that had clamped the chainsaw. A gash reaching the bone stretched from his shoulder to his collarbone, oozing thick, black-red lava-like blood.

  He didn't care. He had won.

  It was then that Buck, on the other side, finally snapped out of the shock of Kane’s disappearance. He was no fool; an ability this eerie had to have limitations.

  He spun around, muscles taut and senses heightened to the limit, wary of any corner where an enemy might emerge. His repulsor shield remained active, and the circling rocket fist was returning to him at high speed.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  He was confident: the moment his opponent showed his face, he would react instantly.

  The ground.

  The shadows.

  From behind!

  A lethal chill shot up Buck’s spine.

  Buck roared, spinning around without a second thought to unleash a horizontal sweep of his bone-blades.

  He saw it.

  Kane’s figure was rising like a specter from the earth, less than five meters behind him. The brat was already leveling that eerie pistol.

  "Too slow!"

  Buck sneered. His bone-blades had already sealed off every possible path for Kane to dodge. He could already envision the scene of the boy being hacked in two at the waist.

  However, there wasn't a trace of panic on Kane's face.

  Only cold indifference.

  He didn't plan on dodging at all.

  The instant Buck’s bone-blades reached him, a cluster of pale-green gale—visible only to Kane—rapidly materialized in his right palm.

  [ Aero Blade ]!

  He pulled the trigger, using that gale to "drive" the bullet!

  Sss—BOOM!!!

  A destructive white pillar of air, interlaced with countless emerald blade-lights, erupted violently from the muzzle of The Cyclone!

  This time, it wasn't a silent swallowing.

  It was absolute laceration.

  Ping... Crack!

  The repulsor shield Buck took such pride in couldn't last even a heartbeat against that destructive beam. It emitted a sound like shattering glass and collapsed instantly.

  "Im... possible!"

  The sneer on Buck’s face froze into a mask of pure terror.

  He watched helplessly as the white pillar of air instantly punched through his bone-blades, through his chest, and through everything behind him.

  He looked down.

  A basin-sized hole had appeared in his chest. The edges weren't a mess of bloody flesh, but a bizarre state of vaporized crystallization caused by high temperatures and high-frequency cutting.

  His cybernetic organs, his skeleton, his flesh—and his final spark of consciousness—were all utterly evaporated by that single shot.

  Thud!

  The rocket fist, now devoid of control, fell lifelessly from the sky and slammed into the dirt.

  Buck’s massive frame toppled straight backward, kicking up a cloud of dust. His eyes remained wide, refusing to close even in death.

  The battle was over.

  Silence returned to the ruins in an instant.

  Kane’s chest heaved violently, every breath bringing a searing sting. The cost of stacking [ Aero Blade ] with The Cyclone was far greater than he had anticipated.

  But he didn't rest.

  He immediately walked toward Buck’s corpse. This was a survival instinct etched into his very marrow; he would never overlook a single piece of loot.

  He moved nimbly, searching Buck's body.

  Three energy cells.

  A credit chip—roughly tens of thousands of Kunlun Credits.

  Various scattered cybernetic components.

  Finally, he hauled up the heavy rocket fist. Even though the interface had been wrecked by his shot, the core driver and energy modules inside were definitely valuable.

  On the other side, Crag approached, dragging his heavily wounded body. He glanced at Morris’s corpse and kicked the still-whirring chainsaw toward Kane’s feet.

  "This... counts too," Crag said, his voice raspy.

  Kane’s eyes lit up, and he unceremoniously shoved the chainsaw into his already bulging, oversized backpack.

  On the black market, this thing could be traded for another fortune.

  After finishing his sweep, Kane’s gaze fell upon the hollowed-out crater in Buck’s chest. Along the inner rim of the hole, something seemed to be glinting.

  He reached inside, groped around for a moment, and pulled out a small metal box that had been slightly deformed by the intense heat. The box was sturdy and hadn't been completely destroyed.

  Kane forced it open.

  Inside lay a fist-sized crystal, crimson throughout and looking as if it were perpetually wreathed in flame. It emitted a mellow glow and warmth, bathing the surrounding ruins in a comforting red light.

  That radiance was brimming with a primal, majestic vitality.

  The Tinder Crystal!

  Holding it in his hand, Kane could clearly feel the immense energy contained within.

  "Crag."

  He called out and tossed the crystal over.

  Crag caught it somewhat clumsily. The moment his palm made contact with the Tinder Crystal, the Stoneborn giant—who hadn't flinched despite his heavy bleeding—shuddered violently.

  He used his massive, intact hand to repeatedly stroke the crystal's smooth surface. His eyes, usually either sharp or dull, now overflowed with a deep and complex reverence.

  This was the lost holy relic of their tribe.

  The source of energy they relied on for survival.

  The object his brother had given his life to reclaim, only for it to be stolen away again.

  Now, it was back.

  Crag looked up, casting a long, deep look at Kane, who was busy stuffing items into his backpack. He didn't say "thank you." Those two words were no longer enough to carry the weight of this debt.

  He simply tucked the Tinder Crystal away carefully against his body, then walked over to the heavy rocket fist and hoisted it onto his shoulder with a single hand.

  "I’ll carry it," Crag said, his voice raspy but unshakable. "This... is heavy."

  Kane glanced at him and nodded, saying nothing more. He knew the giant was expressing his deepest gratitude in his own way.

  Once they finished clearing the battlefield, the pair didn't linger for a second longer. With Kane in the lead and Crag following behind, the two figures—hauling a staggering amount of loot—quickly vanished into the darkness of the deep ruins.

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