CHAPTER 240: I’LL BEAT THE CONTROL OUT OF YOU

The battle raged on beneath the towering shadow of the mountain, the air thick with Qi and the scent of blood and frost. The clash of power echoed through the valleys like thunder. Each time Lucas struck, the ground quaked and splintered beneath his feet, yet not a single one of his attacks left a lasting mark on the towering ascendant-ranked beasts before him. Their hides shimmered with silver energy, their roars shaking the air as they advanced with unrelenting fury.

His sword blazed with golden light as he slashed again and again, but the wounds he inflicted healed almost instantly. It was as though the beasts were feeding off something...something unseen and sinister. Lucas’s eyes narrowed as he teleported from spot to spot, barely avoiding a massive wave of frost that shattered the earth where he once stood. In a flash of golden light, he reappeared behind one of the beasts and launched a heavy strike, but even that was repelled with brutal ease.

"Damn it..." Lucas muttered under his breath as he spun to block another claw attack. Sparks flew as his sword clashed with the beast’s icy talons. The sheer force sent him skidding backward, his boots carving deep marks into the frozen ground.

Behind him, Selene tried to take a step forward, but Lucas’s voice cut through the chaos.

"Stay back!" he shouted without even looking. His tone was firm, commanding, leaving no room for argument.

"But Master...!" Lira started, clutching her wind-forged daggers tightly.

"I said stay back!" Lucas barked again, his voice echoing with the faint pulse of Qi that made the air vibrate. "You’ll only get in the way right now. Save your strength."

Nyx clenched her fists in frustration, but deep down, they all knew he was right. The sheer pressure of the beasts’ aura was crushing...these were opponents leagues beyond their current power. Even the Empress, watching from the rear, said nothing. Her eyes were calm under the veil, observing Lucas’s movements closely, measuring every flicker of power that left his body.

The ground erupted beside Lucas as another beast..a mountain gorilla with fur like glacial stone...swung its massive arm. Lucas vanished just before impact, reappearing above its shoulder in a swirl of spatial distortion. His blade flared again, slicing through the air and meeting the creature’s neck. A shockwave followed...but the blade bounced off harmlessly, leaving only a faint scratch.

"What in the world are they made of?" Lucas muttered, landing lightly on the ground. He exhaled slowly, then glanced toward the Empress and the girls in the distance.

As he narrowly dodged another attack, Lucas’s expression darkened. He could feel the intent behind the beasts’ movements...they weren’t fighting to kill. They were circling, studying him, their glowing eyes locked solely on him.

"Yeah..." he whispered bitterly, teleporting again as a massive energy beam scorched the air where he’d stood. "It’s me they want... not the others."

He tightened his grip on his sword, his eyes flashing with resolve even as doubt churned in his chest.

"If that’s the case, Empress... then you’ve got a lot of explaining to do after this."

He darted forward, his boots cracking the icy ground as he broke away from the rest of the battle. The air trembled with tension, Qi rippling through every gust of wind that tore across the mountain slope. His target... the towering ascendant-ranked mountain gorilla whose silver eyes burned with intelligence and killing intent...let out a roar so loud it shook snow from the cliffs above.

Everyone froze for a heartbeat when they realized what Lucas was doing.

"Is he insane?" the old guide barked, parrying the claw of a white lion beast. "That creature could crush him with a single blow!"

Aeloria frowned deeply, barely sparing a glance as she shattered a wolf with a surge of rock spikes. "He’s reckless!" she shouted, voice ringing with frustration.

Seraphina’s expression was sharper, eyes narrowing as she followed Lucas’s movements. "No... he’s not reckless. He’s thinking."

Meanwhile, the girls...Selene, Nyx, Lira, and Mirielle...stood further back, watching with hearts hammering. The cold wind bit into their faces, but it was nothing compared to the fear and disbelief tightening in their chests.

"Master!" Lira yelled, her voice carried by the wind. "What are you doing? You’ll get yourself killed!"

But Lucas didn’t answer. Instead, he slowed his pace as he approached the beast. His sword vanished into his spatial void with a flick of his wrist, and he clenched both fists, his knuckles cracking audibly. The gorilla noticed his gesture and let out a guttural growl, slamming its chest with both fists, the sound echoing like a drumbeat of thunder.

"Is he..." Nyx whispered in disbelief, "is he challenging it to a fistfight?"

Selene swallowed hard, unable to take her eyes off him. "He must have a plan," she said quietly, though her voice trembled. "He wouldn’t do this without one."

The Empress, still seated elegantly beneath the glowing barrier of her tent, tilted her head slightly. Beneath her thin veil, her lips curved into a playful, knowing smile. Her golden eyes shimmered faintly.

"How interesting..." she murmured softly, her tone amused. "So, you’ve finally decided to test your limits."

The gorilla stomped forward, each step shaking the earth. It raised a massive arm, muscles rippling like stone beneath fur, and pounded the ground in challenge.

Lucas’s lips curved into a grin. "Good," he muttered. "Let’s see just how tough you really are."

Then, without hesitation, he lunged forward.

The moment their fists met, the impact sent a shockwave through the entire battlefield. Snow erupted from the ground in a violent blast, cracks spiderwebbed across the ice beneath them, and the air itself seemed to tremble. The other beasts paused for an instant, instinctively looking toward the source of the explosion.

Lucas slid back several feet, his arm vibrating from the sheer force of the collision..but he didn’t fall. Instead, he smirked, shaking his hand slightly. "That all you got?"

The gorilla roared again, furious, and charged forward, swinging both fists this time. Lucas met it head-on, his fists moving like lightning, each punch infused with condensed Qi. The sounds of their blows colliding echoed like cannons through the mountain.

The old guide blinked in disbelief. "Impossible... no human under the ascendant peak can do that..."

And still, the Empress remained calm, her smirk never fading. The faint glimmer in her eyes was a mixture of curiosity and admiration. "Show me more, Xavier Alden," she whispered under her breath. "Show me what that foreign soul of yours is truly capable of."

Up ahead, Lucas ducked beneath another colossal swing, his movements a blur. With a sudden burst of speed, he drove his fist straight into the gorilla’s abdomen, sending a shock of Qi into its core. The beast staggered, eyes flaring with silver light once more. Lucas’s grin deepened.

"Oh, I see now," he said quietly to himself. "You’re not fighting with your own will anymore... someone’s controlling you."

He straightened, his golden aura flaring brighter, and cracked his neck with a casual tilt. "Fine then... I’ll beat the control right out of you."

The gorilla roared again, but this time, Lucas didn’t back down...he surged forward, fists blazing with golden Qi, meeting the beast’s oncoming strike with everything he had. The collision lit up the mountainside like a miniature sun, the echoes of their blows rolling down the peaks like distant thunder.