Wildness and Masks

"Ha!"

With a burst of Battle Qi, Macal transformed into a white flash, leaving a sizable crater in his wake.

'How can he be so fast!'

The snake-man, who had been mocking just moments ago, watched as Macal accelerated with full force, his vertical pupils widening in shock.

The long sword, wreathed in pure white flames, pierced the snake-man's throat before the two wizards could react.

Battle Qi surged, and with a flick of the sword, the snake-man's head, full of disbelief, flew from his body.

Macal never acted unless it was with full force!

"Second Brother!" The bulky man roared, eyes wide with rage, charging at Macal as if to tear him apart.

'Good... one down.'

Having anticipated the outcome, Macal deftly sidestepped the bulky man's attack with agile footwork.

Such an extraordinary burst of power could only be used once in a short time.

Boom—!

The sound of collision echoed again, but this time, Macal's evasive maneuver left the bulky man striking nothing but air.

Well, not entirely nothing.

At least he shattered the headless corpse of the snake-man.

"You'll pay for this!"

The bulky man, drenched in his comrade's green blood, glared at Macal with bloodthirsty eyes.

He hadn't expected that in just a single encounter, his 'brother' would fall at the hands of this Paladin of Dawn.

"Now it's your turn to face judgment!"

The flames on Macal's body hadn't dissipated, shielding him from the splattering green blood of the snake-man's exploding corpse. He raised his sword and charged again.

"Ah!" The bulky man didn't dodge or evade, charging forward with a roar like a terrifying bear.

Clang—!

The sound of metal clashing rang out as the Battle Qi-enhanced sword successfully pierced the bulky man's body under Macal's control.

However... the expected breakthrough didn't occur.

The moment Macal's sword entered the bulky man's body—it got stuck!

'Alloy Hardening!'

Macal realized the bulky man's other ability and immediately released his grip, abandoning the sword and leaping aside to dodge.

'Even harder than I imagined... even with bloodline sorcery enhancement, it shouldn't be this hard—could it be that this guy's forbidden potion was made from the Steel Armored Demon Spider?!'

Aside from the legendary seven Sequence Potions that could lead to godhood, forbidden potions were always a gamble in terms of power acquisition.

Generally, the abilities gained were determined by the demon beast crystal core in the potion formula and the user's own aptitude.

There was an old saying in the Black Market—when you choose a potion, the potion also chooses you.

Clearly, the bulky man before him had a high compatibility with the forbidden potion he consumed.

This was why Macal had chosen the snake-man as his first target.

"You! Must! Die!"