MIGHT AS WELL BE OP

Energy roared and surged as the two forces collided, their immense power reverberating through the very fabric of the world.

Blinding streaks of light streaked across the battlefield, cutting through the chaos like celestial blades, their clash propelling them to a fiery domain of molten rock and smoldering heat.

Volcanoes erupted violently in their wake, spewing torrents of lava as if the earth itself sought to mirror the cataclysmic confrontation.

One figure, small and defiant.

The other, vast and imposing.

Yet, their battle shook the heavens and earth alike, a testament to their overwhelming might.

For hours, the titan and the dwarf had waged their relentless war, each strike echoing with the weight of their determination.

Their bodies bore the marks of their prolonged struggle, riddled with deep wounds and seeping injuries.

Blood dripped steadily from their mouths, noses, eyes, and ears, a grim testament to their shared resolve.

Yet, neither wavered, for they both understood the unspoken truth: this battle would not end until one of them fell.

Locking eyes once more across the chaotic battlefield, their gazes burned with unyielding killing intent, a silent promise that only death would grant resolution.

Mana surged from Taeron's core, an unstoppable force reshaping the battlefield as they clashed with unrelenting ferocity.

Beneath their feet, the earth transformed instantly, its structure shifting and morphing as if the very essence of matter obeyed Taeron's command.

Thrain sensed the change and instinctively attempted to retreat, but Taeron's relentless presence kept him firmly in check.

Then, in a moment that defied expectation, Thrain's footing faltered, his feet slipping on the altered terrain.

His eyes widened in disbelief, the realization striking him like a thunderclap.

'Impossible'

For one as skilled as he, aided by mana and aura, slipping should have been unthinkable.

Yet, Taeron's mastery over the earth had transcended even those safeguards.

'How can I even slip'

To Thrain, this was an impossibility.

Even if he could slip on the ground, his mastery of mana and aura should have negated such a misstep.

Yet Taeron's control over the earth had bypassed both energies, an act of precision and power that defied reason.

As Thrain floated midair for a split second, caught off guard, Taeron seized the opportunity with unrelenting precision.

This brief window, this fleeting instant, was all he needed.

It was the culmination of his plan, meticulously executed by altering the earth's structure.

Taeron's fist tensed, veins bulging across his forearm as raw strength coiled within his muscles.

Like a meteor descending from the heavens, his fist hurtled toward Thrain's exposed head with devastating force.

Thrain, still suspended midair, caught sight of the descending blow.

He realized instantly there was no time to raise his hammer to block; the earth's sudden shift had left him utterly vulnerable.

Without hesitation, he summoned both mana and aura in tandem.

Aura formed a protective barrier around him, shimmering faintly with raw energy.

Simultaneously, he invoked the fire element through his mana, flames erupting into life in the blink of an eye.

But the fire was not meant to attack.

Instead, Thrain willed it to explode outward in a controlled detonation.

The resulting shockwave surged around him, not powerful enough to harm Taeron but crafted with precision to push Thrain back, or at least deflect him from the trajectory of the incoming strike.

As the shockwave erupted, Thrain's head snapped to the side, his body jostled by the force.

But Taeron's fist was neither slow nor deterred.

It barreled forward with unstoppable momentum, connecting with the edge of Thrain's face.

The aura barrier flared, absorbing much of the impact, but the raw power behind the punch still caused an eruption of destruction.

The air cracked with the force of the collision, and the ground beneath them trembled once more as Taeron's unyielding strength clashed against Thrain's defensive might.

This time, the force of the collision was too immense for even them to contain.

Both combatants were hurled backward like ragdolls, their forms crashing into volcanoes with earth shaking force.

The volcanic peaks erupted on impact, spewing lava that splashed and rolled over their bodies.

Yet neither flinched.

The molten rock and crushing collisions barely registered as their energy-imbued forms shrugged off the destruction.

Taeron emerged first, stepping out of the shattered remains of the mountain he had been launched into.

Across the battlefield, Thrain staggered free from the molten wreckage that surrounded him.

Despite narrowly avoiding death, a faint grin tugged at the corners of his lips.

But something was different.

His left eye, once burning with life and determination, was gone.

The devastating force of Taeron's punch, partially absorbed by his aura barrier, had sent residual energy tearing through his skull, obliterating the eye.

To anyone else, it would have been a catastrophe.

But to Thrain, losing only his left eye instead of his entire head was nothing short of a victory.

His grin widened, more defiant than ever.

Thrain raised his massive hammer high, the sheer weight of it seeming to draw the heavens themselves toward him.

Lightning crackled along the length of the weapon, the very air around it vibrating with raw energy.

Enjoy new chapters from empire

For a fleeting moment, it was as if time itself held its breath, waiting for the storm to break.

Then, with a deafening roar, lightning descended from the heavens, crackling with fierce brilliance as it struck the hammer with unrelenting force.

The entire landscape seemed to pulse in response, bathed in an almost blinding torrent of white lightning.

It was as if Thrain was summoning the very fury of the storm itself, drawing every ounce of energy from the atmosphere.

The ground beneath him groaned, the earth buckling and cracking as Thrain's knees bent under the overwhelming force he was harnessing.

The power continued to rise, until, at the apex of his control, it was as if the world itself was poised to collapse under the weight of his might.

Then, in an instant, it all released.

[Thrain Hammer Technique: Lightning Hammer Throw]

With an explosive movement, Thrain arched his arm back, every muscle in his body coiling like a spring.

In a single, beastly motion, he hurled the hammer forward, releasing a torrent of energy that shattered the air around him.

The force it carried was a storm incarnate, unyielding, relentless, and deafening.

The very earth trembled in its wake, unable to halt its monstrous progression.

Taeron's eyes narrowed as he saw the hammer bearing down upon him, a storm of raw power embodied in its descent.

With a fluid motion, he shifted his center of gravity, his stance becoming a pillar of unyielding strength.

Mana and aura converged beneath his feet, weaving seamlessly together, anchoring him to the earth.

Every fiber of his being coiled in preparation for the impending collision.

[Taeron Technique, Fist Type: World Fall]

With a roar, his fist shot out like a missile launched from the heart of a fighter jet.

The air around it crackled, warped by the force, and in that singular moment, time itself seemed to slow.

The two forces, one the hammer of a mighty dwarf, the other the fist of a titan, met mid-air with the precision of a poet choosing their words.

For a moment, there was nothing but silence.

Time itself felt suspended, stretched, fleeting yet eternal.

A split second passed, then an hour, a year, and then a millennium, each moment overlapping and slipping into the next.

It was as though the very concept of time had unraveled, caught in the sheer force of their clash.

And then, like the lifting of a veil, the silence shattered, and the world was reborn in a single cataclysmic explosion.

The collision sent shockwaves through the very fabric of the earth, tearing molten ground asunder.

Volcanoes, once towering in their fiery majesty, crumbled to dust, obliterated by the sheer ferocity of the impact.

The very world seemed to shake, the forces of nature buckling under the unimaginable power of their strike.

The shockwave rippled outward for miles, an unstoppable force of destruction.

The land itself was ravaged, everything in its path erased from existence.

Space itself seemed to fracture, splintering like glass, before rapidly repairing itself in a twisted dance of destruction and restoration.

Yet, the chaos was far from over.

A thick cloud of smoke rose, consuming everything in its wake, obscuring the devastation that had just occurred.

Amid the chaos, Taeron stood tall, unwavering, his body scarred from past battles but unscathed by the recent onslaught.

He gripped the hammer in his hand, feeling its weight, feeling the power coursing through it.

His feet were planted firmly, but the sheer force of the collision had forced him to skid backwards slightly.

Yet, despite the overwhelming power that had been released, he remained poised, his resolve unbroken.

The hammer of the dwarf now lay in his grasp, the dwarf was nothing without his hammer.

And in that moment, a thought crossed his mind, accompanied by the faintest of smiles.

He could end this now.

The dwarf's fate seemed sealed, and Taeron's grin widened.

He could feel the finality of his power.

But as the smoke continued to rise, the tension between them, unspoken lingered in the air.

The battle was nearing its conclusion.

Taeron's eyes locked onto Thrain, who stood with a peculiar stance.

His fists were now wrapped in an eerie, metallic energy, buzzing ominously as if every particle in his body had been replaced by the very essence of raw power.

'Is he planning to fight me barehanded now that he lost his hammer?'

Taeron thought.

The idea seemed absurd, but his attention was fully fixed on the dwarf, who was now preparing for his next move.

'Is the dwarf a fo...'

Before Taeron could finish his thoughts, Thrain was upon him.

The speed was shocking, too quick to react.

One moment, he was watching, analyzing, and the next, Thrain's fist was mere centimeters from his gut.

The force was overwhelming, the speed impossible to predict.

Taeron didn't even have time to raise his guard before the punch landed with bone shattering precision.

The impact sent Taeron hurtling backward, his body slamming into the earth.

The momentum was enough to send him flying, the very air beneath him unable to stop his violent descent.

His hand gripped the hammer instinctively, but his mind couldn't keep up with the sudden barrage.

Before he even managed to process the attack, Thrain was in front of him again.

A flash of aura surrounded the dwarf's fist, a torrent of metal wrapping around his arm like a cloak of pure destruction.

Thrain's fist slammed into Taeron's temples, the world spinning as his body recoiled violently.

Taeron was sent flying again, his senses scrambling to regain control as his body spun uncontrollably through the air.

Every ounce of his will focused on keeping himself from losing consciousness.

But Thrain wasn't done.

Before Taeron could recover, the dwarf appeared once more, and his entire body now shimmered in a metallic sheen, radiating an energy that made the air itself hum.

[Weight Change: Ten Thousand Tons]

Thrain's weight increased drastically, and with it, his entire form seemed to glow with a terrifying, amplified power.

Metal wrapped around him like armor, his muscles bulging with unnatural force.

Aura swirled around him, transforming him into an unstoppable juggernaut.

Then, with a single motion, Thrain launched himself at Taeron with the power of a falling asteroid.

The impact was catastrophic.

Taeron's chest caved under the brutal force, cracks spreading through his ribs like spider webs.

The ground beneath them buckled, but Thrain didn't stop.

His feet pressed into Taeron's body with a power that seemed to crush time itself.

Taeron was launched backward, the violent force sending him skidding through the molten earth.

But Taeron wasn't done yet either.

His mind raced, and he quickly put a thought into action.

He released his grip from the hammer for a split second, stabilizing his body mid air.

Then, as the pressure around him shifted and Thrain prepared for another attack, Taeron vanished.

Thrain froze in surprise as the titan before him disappeared.

But Taeron's voice echoed from behind him.

"It was your hammer, wasn't it?"

Thrain's gaze remained fixed on him, his grin never faltering.

The truth was undeniable, he had planned this.

The hammer was his key to the teleportation, another card up his sleeves.

Taeron continued, his voice filled with realization.

"Your hammer has an ability to allow its wielder to teleport to it. That's why you threw it as an attack, you knew I would grab it and think that without your hammer, you were just a simple dwarf"

Thrain didn't argue.

He simply smiled, nodding in agreement.

His plan had worked, but he couldn't end his enemy.

With a swift motion, Thrain raised his hand.

His hammer trembled for a second before shooting up into his grasp.

"I thought you were all muscles and no brain"

Thrain remarked, his voice not even dripping with mockery, but merely stating a fact.

"A lot of people see me like that"

Taeron replied calmly.

"I just don't like using my brain and prefer to fight head on. But I should end this. The others are done with their own opponents"

At that, Thrain's expression shifted.

The air seemed to change, the atmosphe thickening with pressure as the tension mounted.

"You should rejoice for making me pull this card out though"

Taeron said, his tone ominous.

"Activate"

Suddenly, the injuries that had littered Taeron's body began to heal.

The minor cuts, bruises, and abrasions that had accumulated throughout the fight disappeared as his muscles grew taut and his physique expanded.

His body bulged with power, growing taller, more formidable with every passing second.

[War Physique]

This was Taeron's true form, a physique he had rarely ever used.

But now, facing an opponent as strong as Thrain, he had no choice but to unleash it.

It was a form that granted him unmatched strength.

Thrain watched as Taeron's transformation took place, his expression shifting slightly.

There was no denying it, Taeron was far more than a mere brute.

"I'll give you a satisfying death"

Taeron's voice rang out as he materialized beside the dwarf with terrifying speed.

Before Thrain could react, Taeron's fist collided with his head.

The force was so great that his neck snapped back, his entire body whipped from the impact.

The ground below him cracked open as he plummeted from the sky.

Taeron followed quickly, his presence bearing down on Thrain as the dwarf struggled to rise.

But before he could even move, Taeron's hand landed heavily on his shoulder.

The weight was impossible to bear, and with a single press, Thrain's knees buckled, collapsing him to the earth.

Despite the overwhelming pressure, Thrain's eyes never lost their fire.

He still smiled, even as he knelt before Taeron, as if he had one last trick up his sleeve.

With a defiant grunt, he swung his hammer upward, aiming for Taeron's ribs.

But Taeron didn't even flinch.

He allowed the hammer to connect with his body.

However, when it did, a shocking vibration ran through the weapon and through Thrain's entire body.

CRACK

Thrain's eyes widened in disbelief as his hammer shattered into pieces.

His hand fell limply to his side, and his gaze met Taeron's, filled with shock and awe.

"You fought well"

Taeron said softly, his grip tightening on the dwarf's head.

With a final, sickening crunch, the dwarf's skull imploded.

Blood and brain matter splattered across the earth as the last vestige of resistance vanished.

Taeron stood over him, his face expressionless.

Another powerful foe had fallen, but in the quiet aftermath of the battle, there was no satisfaction in his eyes.