There was no explosive clash as expected, no dazzling light showers from an energy confrontation.
The terrifying force, enough to obliterate a mountain from the map, smashed into the shimmering, multi-colored shield.
The shield didn't even ripple slightly, not a single wave disturbed its surface!
The absolute power that could make even gods look twice seemed to be swallowed by a bottomless black hole in an instant.
For the first time, a human-like shock appeared in the glacier-like eyes of the White Crystal Behemoth.
It looked at its own fist, which was undamaged, but felt like it had struck empty air.
Then, it glanced at the unmoving magic shield, seemingly unable to comprehend what had just happened.
"Tsk tsk, good stuff!"
"This strength, really packs a punch!"
A voice, filled with excitement and battle intent, rang out from the city gate.
Reize, who had somehow already planted his Thunderblade into the ground, twisted his neck, cracking it with a sharp sound, his eyes blazing with fiery combat fervor.
The suffocating coldness and the Behemoth's terrifying pressure outside the city seemed to have no effect on him whatsoever.
"The President said it's boring chopping up small fries all the time. I need some tough bones to crack if I'm going to improve,"
Reize grinned, showing his sharp white teeth, his gaze burning as he stared at the White Crystal Behemoth, which still seemed to be questioning its own existence.
"You big guy, you look tough enough!"
Before he finished speaking, a violent surge of blue lightning erupted around Reize's body!
The crackling arcs illuminated him like a thunder god descending from the heavens!
"Thunder Titan Power!"
He let out a low growl, his innate bloodline igniting, his muscles bulging, veins standing out as his strength surged to a terrifying level!
With a powerful push of his foot, the hard magic-gilded floor tiles beneath him gleamed briefly as he dissipated the immense recoil force.
His body shot forward like an electromagnetic cannonball, carrying a deafening thunderous sonic boom as he charged toward the White Crystal Behemoth, which resembled a mountain!
"ROAR!"
The White Crystal Behemoth was enraged by this "little bug's" provocation and roared.
Its enormous palm, carrying the chilling force of freezing everything and the power to tear space apart, slammed toward Reize with all its might!
"Bring it on!"
Reize didn't dodge or retreat, instead, he directly punched toward the massive palm that was dozens of times larger than his entire body!
Boom—!!!
A muffled sound, more thunderous than anything, exploded in the air!
The visible shockwave of force spread out in a circular pattern, freezing and shattering the ground in an instant.
Reize's figure was sent flying back at a speed even faster than when he came, like a meteor crashing into the city's protective magical shield.
He shook his slightly numb arm, the dark-colored armor on his body shimmering with faint runes, dissipating much of the terrifying cold air and shockwave that had invaded his body.
"Refreshing! Hahaha!"
Reize, far from being discouraged, had an even more enthusiastic battle spirit burning in his eyes.
"Now that's more like it! Way more fun than forging iron!"
Everyone outside the city stood in stunned silence.
A Legendary rank warrior, intentionally going head-to-head with an Eternal rank ancient Behemoth that dominated with pure strength?!
Though he was knocked back, it seemed like he hadn't taken much damage at all?
And he even looked… happy?!
The White Crystal Behemoth was also momentarily stunned.
It felt like its palm had just struck an incredibly hard and shock-absorbing divine iron, making its hand tingle slightly.
"Warm-up's over!"
Reize shouted, his eyes sharpening like blades.
"Let's play big!"
He slammed his hands together, causing the lightning power around him to converge wildly inward, and an even older, more violent aura awakened from deep within him!
"Body Reshaping! Titan's Fury!"
Crack! Crack!
The painful sound of bones cracking and muscles expanding rang out from within Reize's body!
In front of the watching crowd, Reize's body began to grow at a visible speed, expanding rapidly!
One meter, two meters… five meters… ten meters… fifty meters!
In just a few breaths, Reize had transformed from a human-sized figure into a towering giant, standing over a hundred meters tall, his body crackling with thick, dragon-like blue lightning arcs!
His muscles bulged like mountains, his skin took on a metallic bronze hue, covered in natural lightning runes, and his giant eyes spat out lightning a foot long, his roar echoing like thunder!
Although he was still smaller than the White Crystal Behemoth, which stood over two hundred meters tall, the power and pressure emitted by his condensed Thunder Titan form was not in the least bit inferior to the Behemoth's primal might!
"Now, it's fair!"
Reize, now in his Thunder Titan form, spoke with a voice that sounded like thunder itself.
His enormous fist clenched, and the surrounding lightning energy gathered violently!
The White Crystal Behemoth's glacier-like eyes finally showed unprecedented seriousness, along with rage at the provocation!
"ROAR!!!"
Boom!!!
The two towering giants collided like two moving mountains!
They engaged in a brutal, primal clash of power!
The Thunder Titan's fist, wreathed in destructive lightning, collided with the White Crystal Behemoth's freezing, world-crushing icy fist.
Each collision created a terrifying boom that could deafen even Legendary rank powerhouses!
The shockwaves spread like a tsunami, blowing the onlookers off their feet, with weaker individuals even vomiting blood and collapsing!
Above them, thunder and blizzards intertwined in the sky!
The earth beneath them groaned, cracked, froze, and was then melted by the lightning!
It was an ultimate feast of visual spectacle and raw power!
It was a collision between barbaric strength and divine might!
All the onlookers, including those Eternal rank powerhouses, watched in awe, their minds rocked!
They had never seen such a direct, brutal, yet exhilarating battle!
Marshal Otto of Crossbridge clenched his fist, muttering,
"Thunder Titan bloodline, why is it here? And that armor, it perfectly absorbs the impact..."
The Thunderclap Tower Master, surrounded by arcs of lightning, quivered with excitement.
The elven elder's eyes were filled with awe, "The perfect fusion of nature and lightning, it's a miracle..."
Though Reize appeared to be repeatedly pushed back by the White Crystal Behemoth, whose strength was clearly greater, his battle spirit only grew stronger with every blow.
His mastery over the lightning grew more refined, as though he were using the ancient beast as the best sharpening stone!
This earth-shaking melee battle had completely stunned all the forces outside the city.
They suddenly began to doubt their own assessment of Dalton Town's strength.
However, just as everyone was still reeling from the shock…
"ROAR—!!!"
A series of ferocious, brutal, and enraged roars shook the heavens and the earth.
A massive, sinister orc warship, made from unknown giant beast bones and dark metal, violently crashed through the clouds, casting a huge ominous shadow.
At the prow of the ship, a blood-dripping tusk totem was carved.
Standing at the prow was an ancient orc dressed in a colorful feathered cloak, holding a twisted skull staff—Grom, the High Priest of the Orc Empire!
An Eternal rank shaman powerhouse!
His murky eyes burned with the flames of vengeance and insatiable greed.
The death of Morg, his most cherished child and the future pillar of the Orc Empire, had clearly been communicated to him by secret means.
Now, this unknown junior had killed him with a single strike.
Just thinking about it, Grom's heart surged with fury.
Behind him, four giant orcs, each the size of a small mountain, clad in heavy bone armor, stood guard, exuding an oppressive aura!
His gaze swept toward the distant battlefield, where the earth-shaking battle between Reize and the Behemoth raged on. Though there was surprise in his eyes, there was also more malice.
Grom's gaze shifted to the magnificent city walls before him.
There were no negotiations, no preliminaries!
This Orc High Priest, consumed by hatred and greed, had lost his sense of reason.
Or perhaps it was his unwavering belief in the primal divine power of the orcs that made him fearless.
He let out a harsh, shrill battle chant in the ancient Orc tongue and raised his skeletal staff high!
In an instant, the heavens and earth changed color!
Dark clouds gathered, the wind howled, and the air filled with the stench of decay and sulfur!
Countless visible gray-green energies, representing disease, aging, curses, and misfortune, were forcibly drawn from all directions, gathering at the top of the staff to form an enormous, roiling torrent of disaster!
Wherever this torrent passed, the ground turned black and withered, and the space itself groaned under the unbearable weight!
This was an attack filled with the fury of an Eternal rank powerhouse, a terrifying curse capable of turning a city with millions of inhabitants into a ghost town within hours!
"Die!!!"
Grom sneered and violently swung his staff toward the towering city gates of Dalton!
A powerhouse like Reize was undoubtedly one of the top forces within this city!
He knew a thing or two about all the Eternal rank powerhouses in existence.
Even if this mysterious city had some hidden forces, it couldn't possibly have many strong individuals.
Now was the perfect opportunity to strike while the city's defender was preoccupied and break through the gates!
At that moment, all the newly arrived giant figures' faces changed drastically, and they instinctively assumed defensive stances.
Even if they could block such an attack, it would come at a heavy cost.
Marshal Otto's hand had already summoned a blazing protective spell!
However, as the devastating torrent of disaster, capable of withering the soul of even a Legendary rank powerhouse, hurtled toward them—
The shadow at the city gates seemed to stir slightly.
There was no explosion of light, no ripples of energy.
The massive torrent of disaster, infused with the full strength of an Eternal rank high shaman, seemed to strike an absolute "nothingness" just a hundred meters from the gates.
A barrier that denied even the existence of "existence" itself!
Without a sound, the surging gray-green energy vanished, as though it had never existed in this world.
Time seemed to freeze once again.
Everyone's expressions froze in place—fear, confusion, and bewilderment…
And then—
A blurred figure appeared, as though stepping out of the deepest nightmare.
Silently, it appeared directly in front of the orc warship, facing the high priest Grom at the prow.
The figure was cloaked in a pitch-black robe that seemed to absorb all light, leaving only a pair of eyes that glowed faintly through the hood, scanning the orc high priest and the four massive orcs.
It was none other than Walter, the head of the intelligence department.
He didn't make a single move.
At the sight of the warship, Grom's previously enraged, twisted expression instantly froze.
His blood-red pupils contracted violently, as if they had seen something beyond his comprehension.
His mouth opened, but no sound came out.
The four enormous orcs beside him, resembling primordial beasts, didn't even twitch a muscle.
Their crimson eyes dimmed as if extinguished like candles.
Silence.
A dead, suffocating silence.
And then—
"Thud..."
"Thud... thud..."
Five bodies.
Including the Eternal rank orc High Priest Grom, as though all their life force had been instantaneously drained, collapsed lifelessly onto the cold deck, their life forces completely severed.
They died without a sound, leaving an eerie chill!
Walter's blurry figure flickered like a phantom.
The shadow gradually faded.
From beginning to end, no words were spoken, no full appearance revealed.
Only an unfathomable impression was left.
All the powers, all the giants, all the greed, calculations, and arrogance…
In that moment, they were utterly crushed by this incomprehensible force!
Only an ice-cold fear remained in their souls.
A drop of cold sweat silently slid down Marshal Otto of the Crossbridge Empire's temple, and the protective spell he had been gathering quietly dissipated.
The lightning arcs surrounding the Thunderclap Tower Master grew subdued.
The ancient elven staff in the elder's hand trembled slightly.
Dwarf King Thrain tightly gripped his divine craftsman's hammer, his knuckles turning white…
Even the Behemoth in the wilderness was startled by the sudden extinguishment of the orc High Priest's aura and paused its clash with Reize.
Instant kill of an Eternal rank?!
And such an eerie, effortless kill?!
To the beings in this city, it seemed that Legendary rank gatekeepers, and even Eternal rank giants, were just mere dust that could be casually wiped away!
No more scheming!
All that remained was reverence for absolute power.
And… a spark of madness, a desire that began to grow.
Perhaps, this city truly holds the potential for reaching higher levels?!
Marshal Otto of the Crossbridge Empire was the first to react.
He almost stumbled as he fell from the air, his posture completely unbefitting his identity, but he quickly walked toward Reize, offering a space ring adorned with a huge purple crystal that clearly wasn't ordinary.
"We, the Crossbridge Empire, have understood the rules of Dalton Town," he said, respectfully presenting it. "This is a small token of my respect, please accept it!"
With the Empire Marshal taking the lead, the other giant figures seemed to snap out of their shock, suddenly realizing what they needed to do!
They rushed forward, seemingly desperate not to miss out on the opportunity to enter the city.
One after another, they presented their most prized treasures: glowing magic gems, strange herbs sealed in crystal, scrolls emitting ancient energy, even fragments of ancient artifacts… all in exchange for the right to enter the city.
"I'll offer fifty million from Thunder Mage Tower!"
"Frost Temple offers forty million!"
"Dwarven Kingdom offers eighty million!"
"..."
The scene, which had been filled with extreme fear, instantly turned into a farcical "tribute" frenzy.
Far in the heart of Dalton Town,
At the top of the towering spires in the core area,
Leo Grey sat leisurely on a chair made from the natural branches of the World Tree.
A smooth, water-like mirror floated before him, clearly displaying everything that had transpired at the city gates.
He sipped from a cup of tea, which emitted a faint starry glow, lightly blowing on it.
Desire itself is not a sin, he knew this well.
What drives individuals forward, what pushes civilization to evolve, is often this seemingly vulgar yet undeniably real craving.
Right and wrong are not determined by what one thinks, but by the actions they take.
Greed is a double-edged sword: it can bring about destruction and madness, but it can also become the fuel that ignites progress.
What he needed to do was set the rules, establish boundaries, and let this dangerous double-edged sword be wielded within his domain to carve a more brilliant civilization.
He took a sip of his tea, his gaze calm and unaffected.
It was as though he were watching a drama that had nothing to do with him.