......

    shin watched the two transform with calm eyes. even though he could feel an immense threat coming from them, it was still manageable with his current strength.

    what worried him a little was the situation of these two top experts of the game in the real world. if what uno had said earlier was true, then there was a high chance that these two would be squeezed dry if the battle took longer.

    this meant that he had to end this battle as soon as possible to make sure that he could at least save their lives.

    even if these guys did not sound like good people, he could tell that they were not at the point where they had to do immortal things.

    he could at least feel that they were true experts of the game. he just did not know if they knew about the artificial seed of hatred implanted in them or if they were aware of the consequences of taking those drugs.

    he did not know if they were tricked by the power backing them or if they volunteered to become guinea pigs for such an immoral experiment.

    regardless, he had to defeat them as soon as possible before things could get ugly.

    bang! bang!

    not long after, jorn and his right-hand man finally finished their berserk forms. the transparent membrane that was protecting them earlier also disappeared.

    there were not many changes between their current selves and previous ones. aside from the mixture of black and crimson auras that were covering their bodies and the bloodshot eyes, which signified that they somewhat losing themselves, there were no noticeable changes in their appearance.

    shin slightly frowned as he could sense that this would require him a little effort to take down these two. but it shouldn''t be a problem so long as he went all out from the start.

    the problem was the mysterious guy, who was hiding in the dark. if he was even a bit careless, then he could get ambushed by that person and suffer considerable damage.

    he had to pay close attention to his surroundings while trying to take down these two before him as soon as possible.

    bang!

    not waiting for him to respond, jorn, the tier 3 woflkin berserker, suddenly kicked the ground and swiftly propelled himself toward shin like an aggressive predator pouncing on its prey.

    swoosh!

    jorn appeared before shin within an instant and swung one of his battle axes down, carrying an unimaginable amount of strength.

    whoosh!

    shin could even hear the wind being split apart as the battle-ax descended towards him. adding the dangerous and sinister aura enveloping the sharp edge of the ax, this attack shouldn''t lose to leonard even for a bit.

    click!

    slightly raising his brows, shin pushed the sword with a thumb as his right hand grabbed the hilt before unsheathing the [yamato] and swinging it diagonally.

    shing!

    boom!

    find more to read at empire

    the collision of the blades quickly produced a massive shockwave that spread in every direction, sweeping through the entire place.

    he was about to cut down this wolfkin, but the latter seemed to have a much sharper sense compared to their original state.

    jorn swiftly retreated with a couple of steps back before disappearing in front of shin.

    swoosh!

    immediately after, shin was greeted by a flying arrow that was shining with crimson light, heading straight in his direction.

    given the speed and might of this attack, it was impossible to underestimate it, especially when shin could see that even the space itself was being distorted by the energies surrounding the arrow through his true sight ocular skill.

    swoosh!

    swiftly flipping the sword in hand, shin circulated the energies within his body and activated the void powers he gained through his contact with hanzo before coating his sword and body with it.

    he then suddenly swung the sword down in a very gentle manner, seemingly drawing a stroke in the air with a brush.

    crack!

    he fearlessly brandished his battle axes, leaving multiple afterimages in the air alongside a series of air explosions that were produced by each swing.

    shin was not afraid to accept the challenge but he had to also pay attention to the elven archer who was keeping an eye on him and waiting for an opening in his defense.

    hu~!

    he regulated his breathing as he expanded his senses with the help of the ''boundless ocean technique''. his senses were heightened while his strength and speed grew.

    using the boundless ocean technique and grand dominator technique together, shin was filled with overwhelming strength alongside very sharp senses.

    bang! bang! bang!

    not long after, he exchanged a series of blows against jorn, who was further strengthened by a series of buffs.

    swoosh! swoosh! swoosh!

    during their clash, shin instantly sensed the series of arrows that were flying at him from different angles, targeting the flaws of his defense that were opened as he fought jorn.

    jorn even coordinated with his partner well as he suddenly increased the pressure on shin by attacking more aggressively.

    "ha!!!"

    but despite all of that, shin remained calm. he coldly stared at jorn while blocking each strike of the latter.

    at the same time, his spiritual sense swept through all the incoming arrows while he activated his ''sensing circle''.

    bang!

    not long after, he pushed jorn back by sending a powerful strike with his greatsword. then he took advantage of that little space he created and used the brief time that he had brought himself to change the form of his left-hand sword.

    the blade of the sword turned extremely thin with an unimaginable flexibility. it also became incredibly light as it became extended, turning into a whip-like sword.

    ''legacy skill: mondi''s style – abyssal form''

    alongside the boundless ocean technique, he manipulated the energy within his body and activated the power of the primordial waters.

    ''four symbol scripture: heavenly black turtle – serpent dance''

    waving his arm, the tape-like blade of his whip sword turned into a water serpent that revolved around shin and formed a spinning water curtain that blocked the incoming arrows.

    clang! clang! clang!

    pulling his arm backward, shin put the sword horizontally across his chest as its long and flexible blade retracted.

    then his breathing changed once again, switching to the solar breathing technique, as he summoned the power of the eternal flame.

    the sword changed form for another time and transformed into a rapier, which was enfolded with blazing flame.

    ''legacy skill: mondi''s style – conviction form''

    this form might not be able to be possessed by solus due to incompatibility, but it still contained a strong power that was destructive enough to burn the surrounding space.

    he then stabbed the sword forward, leaving a beautiful trail of fire in the air.

    ''four symbol scripture: celestial vermilion bird – phoenix annihilation''

    swoosh!

    a powerful beam of fire flew forward, burning evening on its path and trying to devour his jorn, who was standing in front of it.

    boom!

    not long after, jorn''s figure was revealed again. he was still standing strong, but his body was currently charred black by that blazing wave.

    he was wearing a solemn expression, as his health bar had a sliver of health left, barely hanging on to his life.

    if not for him activating his tier 3 life-saving skill, the undying will, he would likely have died already.

    .....