CHAPTER 260: BEATEN

Ethan narrowed his eyes, his gaze sharp and dangerous as it locked on the abbot.

Just moments ago, they had shared a civil conversation, but clearly, the abbot’s thoughts—and intentions—were far from friendly.

’Does he want to make himself our enemy?Hmppp.....Who cares? If he wants to burn us alive, he’d better be ready for what comes next.’

He then stepped in front of his wife, retrieving the heavy metal door back into his [Inventory].

And without holding back, he unleashed his skill, [Shadow Forge].

From the ground, inky-black tentacles surged forth, writhing toward the abbot with lethal intent as Ethan controlled them with his hand, trying to subdue the abbot by force.

The abbot was truly taken aback by their impressive skills.

The sudden appearance of the metal door, which had effortlessly blocked the fire talisman, had already unsettled him.

Now, faced with these unnatural shadows and tentacles lunging at him, he was forced into full vigilance.

’How is this possible?He’s converting spiritual energy directly into elements—without a talisman or runes.’

The realization rattled him as he clenched his teeth.

’Is this the ability they spoke of?’

No longer daring to underestimate his opponents, he darted left and right, his thin robes swaying as he moved to dodge the incoming attacks.

In a swift motion, he activated a defensive talisman and then an invisible shield flared to life around him, shimmering faintly in the light.

But the shadow tentacles struck like whips, their movements fast and unpredictable, forcing the abbot to block and evade in equal measure.

His mind raced as he considered which talisman to use to counter these nasty shadows while carefully maneuvering his body

Ethan, on the other hand, wasn’t slowing down.

His shadows multiplied, writhing and curling, circling the abbot from every angle like predators ready to strike.

Yet, the abbot’s defensive talisman held firm.

It seems that the shadow tentacles are unable to penetrate it with their strikes.

Ethan sneered, mildly impressed—and slightly irritated—by how well the abbot manipulated his spiritual energy through talismans.

The techniques were versatile, but he soon noticed a critical loophole: as long as he kept attacking the same spot relentlessly, the shield would begin to shake and eventually crumble under the sustained pressure.

Of course, he had no intention of simply standing back and letting his shadow tentacles handle everything.

"Wife, stay still. I’ll subdue him and test my skills," he said with a confident wink, clearly excited to see how his ability fared in real combat.

"Go ahead. Don’t worry about me, but make sure you don’t damage the building," Elena replied evenly.

This was a military evacuation center, not their personal training ground.

The residents needed it intact for shelter from the scorching heat, and Elena had no intention of provoking the military unnecessarily.

"Alright. This won’t take long."

With that, Ethan activated [Shadow Cloak], his figure melting into the shadow until he was gone from sight.

Silently, he moved toward the abbot, who was still busy fending off the writhing shadow tentacles.

The abbot noticed the sudden disappearance, his instincts prickling.

’So... the masked man can hide,’ he thought grimly.

Not daring to take chances, he quickly activated another defensive talisman, reinforcing his shield in preparation for an ambush.

But before he could draw a breath of relief, Ethan reappeared in front of him, already wielding a massive weapon forged entirely from shadows.

A cold smirk spread across Ethan’s face.

"I’m not done yet. How about you take this hammer?"

He then swung the enormous shadow hammer with terrifying precision.

Boom!

Soon, the abbot’s shield shattered instantly under the force of the impact, sending him flying down the corridor like a rag doll.

Luckily, he managed to tear yet another talisman mid-flight, cushioning himself just before he slammed into the wall.

Even so, the sheer force behind the blow rattled him to his core.

A pain lanced through his chest, and a hot, metallic taste filled his mouth before he coughed up blood.

"Urghhh!! What the hell with that hammer?!" the abbot roared, as he wiped the blood within his mouth.

’So... even a defensive talisman can’t fully withstand his attack.’

He then glared at Ethan, only to find the masked man already commanding his shadow tentacles to strike again, giving him no time to breathe.

Looking at the abbot, Ethan was practically glowing with satisfaction.

He had finally seen the true extent of his shadow ability in action—and it pleased him.

As long as he was in an area shrouded with shadows, the consumption of his shadow core was minimal, letting him unleash multiple skills simultaneously without draining it.

Without warning, he blended into shadow once more, activating [Shadow Cloak].

He intended to make sure this arrogant abbot learned a painful lesson.

Seeing this, the abbot’s face tensed the instant Ethan disappeared into the shadows once again.

He gritted his teeth and hastily activated another talisman to strengthen his defense.

This time, however, his breath came heavier, and a sheen of sweat glistened on his forehead.

Unlike Ethan—whose core could store vast amounts of energy—the abbot’s vessel could only store a limited amount of spiritual energy.

The longer the fight dragged on, the more glaring this weakness became.

When Ethan materialized again, his massive shadow hammer was already swinging down.

But the abbot reacted quickly, igniting a fire talisman in an attempt to meet force with force.

The two powers clashed violently, flames licking against the dense shadows.

The impact sent a small shockwave through the corridor.

Though the blow still struck him, the abbot’s defensive talisman held till the end.

A smug smirk tugged at his lips; at last, he felt he had found a way to counter the masked man’s strange and overwhelming shadow skills.

But his triumph was short-lived.

Before he could even savor the small victory, the shadows at his feet surged upward like living chains.

In an instant, Ethan’s shadow tentacles wrapped around both of the abbot’s arms, yanking them behind his back and rendering him unable to use any talismans.

"Wha—?!" the abbot gasped, struggling against the crushing grip of the shadow chains.

Seeing him unable to move, Ethan then used [Shadow Forge] again to create a shadow whip and then lashed out at the arrogant abbot.

’He needs to learn a lesson.’

This was the scene the military officers encountered when they arrived: the abbot was beaten to a pulp, crying for mercy.