Chapter 448 – Confrontation

The moment Punk turned toward the Oasis Lake, a piercing roar erupted as a blinding golden light, imbued with terrifyingly sharp Battle Aura, shot toward his back.

“Master-Level Combat Skill—Light Lance Thrust”!

Without a doubt, this was a genuine Master-Level Combat Skill. Its sharpness, compressed to an extreme and capable of shredding even the folds of space, seemed potent enough to bore through a mountain if one stood in its path. Merely gazing at its radiance was enough to sting the eyes.

Yet, just as the skill was about to strike Punk’s back, a pale, semi-circular membrane of light abruptly materialized between the aura-spear and his body.

“Master-Level Conjuration Spell—Aura Deflection Shield”

“Fssht!!”

As Punk promptly unleashed the spell he had been holding ready, the semi-circular shield flickered and vanished into Annihilation. The Battle Aura that struck the “Aura Deflection Shield” skidded sideways across the translucent energy membrane, following the shield’s curved boundary. It missed Punk entirely, piercing a fist-sized hole in a nearby rock before vanishing into the distant Desert.

“What do you think you’re doing, Kane?!”

Punk slowly turned, his expression dark as he faced Kane, who was equally furious. Though Punk understood Kane’s reason for attacking and had anticipated the move, he maintained an icy, interrogative stance.

In contrast to Punk’s cold glare, Kane’s face was now etched with murderous intent and menace.

“Hey, hey, hey… Cyan, don’t play dumb with me. You know exactly what you did. That was a pretty shady move, wasn’t it? Hogging all the benefits so far is just a bit too inappropriate, don’t you think?!”

It seemed that after Punk swiftly snatched the only valuable core from the flesh golem, Kane’s dissatisfaction could no longer be concealed.

Perhaps arguing at the enemy’s doorstep wasn’t the wisest course, but it was precisely in such circumstances that Kane felt the need to establish a clear hierarchy with Punk. While a single flesh golem core might not be a big deal, before the real battle began, these two temporary partners had to determine who would take the lead—or at least ensure a superficially “fair” distribution of gains to maintain their cooperation. As for the actual spoils after the fight… that was another matter entirely.

Now, despite being in genuine danger, this was clearly an opportune moment to “settle the score.”

Facing the knight’s bloodthirsty, knife-edged smile, Punk—who had long seen through Kane’s intentions—felt no anger. He simply stood calmly by the Lake and coldly uttered a blunt retort:

“So… you want this flesh golem’s core? Fine. Come and take it. I’ve never been one to give things away for free.”Without the slightest concession, Punk calmly retrieved the Suture Monster’s core from his Storage Ring, tossed it in his hand a couple of times, and then, under Kane’s murderous gaze, placed the core back into the Storage Ring.

For a moment, both Punk and Kane fell into silence.

There was no rampant Battle Aura or magical energy around the two confronting powerhouses. Having some understanding of each other’s capabilities, they saw no point in meaningless intimidation through aura. At that moment, these two Master-Level experts, with icy-cold eyes, simply stared at each other. Yet, this simple and calm gaze carried far more meaning and turbulence than a direct confrontation.

On the crushed shrubs left by the Suture Monster in the Oasis, plant roots, transformed into tentacle-like structures, had already begun creeping over the monster’s mangled corpse. The seemingly harmless green stems and leaves had now grown jagged fangs and thorns. A mass of plants had enveloped the Suture Monster’s body, turning the left side of the battlefield into an ever-expanding sphere of thorns. Emboldened by their feast, the flourishing plants even extended their sharp teeth toward Kane and Punk.

“Boom!”

With a casual thrust of his Lance, accompanied by a hurricane-like surge of Battle Aura sweeping across the battlefield, the plant bulb that had slowly moved near Kane exploded violently. Scattered crimson leaves drifted slowly between Punk and Kane…

“Ora ora ora, alright, alright. Expecting you, a stone-faced guy, to change your expression is just foolish. I mean, can’t you even crack a smile? Come on, follow my lead—first, curl the corners of your mouth, then squint your eyes, and finally exhale from your chest… Hahahaha, a smile is a tool for mutual understanding between people. You should practice it more when you have time.”

As Kane swiftly resumed his flippant tone and forced an awkward smile, the tension lingering by the Lake vanished instantly, as if Annihilated.

Clearly, this confrontation between Punk and Kane had reached some sort of resolution.

Though, as expected, it was Kane who ultimately conceded, his sudden thrust of the Lance had also made his boundaries and stance clear. Some things were mutually understood by both Punk and Kane, as there was no need to voice them aloud.

Ignoring Kane’s earnest “smile tutorial,” Punk turned and continued walking toward the Lake. Following closely, Kane strode after him, slinging his Lance over his shoulder.

At this point, if not for the crimson leaves still writhing slowly on the ground, no one would have been able to tell that a terrifying battle had nearly erupted here.

However… such tranquility was only superficial. Just as Punk never ceased pondering Kane’s “intentions,” Kane was always trying to guess what schemes Punk had in mind.

In fact, just as Punk stepped into the river, Kane’s voice, suddenly low and serious, reached Punk’s ears almost simultaneously:”Do not contest my target, Punk Cyan! That is not a wise choice.”

At this moment, Kane’s tone was icy and profound—clearly, this was the serious ultimatum-style warning of this “Hip-hop Knight”!

But Punk offered no response to Kane. He simply continued striding step by step into the lake. Soon, the ripples on the water’s surface could no longer reflect that conspicuous black Mage Robe with red patterns…

Ultimately, the cooperation between these two was merely a process of scheming against each other for personal gain. If an opportunity arose to stab the other to death, neither Punk nor Kane… would hesitate for even a moment!

——————Break——————

Inside the Underground Cave beneath the lake surface, beside the Abyss passage Altar.

With trembling, aged fingers, Sorsend injected another dose of serum into his artery. His hoarse, quavering voice let out another low sigh:

“…Our guests have arrived, but… they didn’t come together. That black dragon is still en route, yet these two ‘prey’ are already impatient…”

“Gah gah, so we need to stall them for a while, eh? Is this really wise? I’ve got a bad feeling about this… Though it’s part of the plan, what if something goes wrong? Gah gah.”

The Magical Raven Vector flew down from Sorsend’s shoulder. While deftly tossing the used syringe into a trash bin, it muttered to itself in a childlike, tender voice.

But Sorsend clearly didn’t notice what his Magic Raven had said. At this moment, the Old Man was staring intently with bloodshot eyes toward the Cave entrance—evidently, he had long been anticipating the coming battle.

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(End of Chapter)