Chapter 457: Twenty-Four Hours of Blood and Mana

Twenty-Four Hours of Blood and Mana

At this moment... Mike snorted coldly.

"Suppress!"

His voice was not loud.

Yet the instant those two words fell, the entire battlefield seemed to tremble.

The Celestis Restoration Art erupted with all its might.

A brilliant holy radiance burst from Mike’s body, spreading outward like an enormous curtain of light. The sacred power descended from above and collided head-on with the terrifying force unleashed by Gareth and the Gluttony wolf.

Boom!

The impact shook the heavens.

The ground beneath them cracked.

Dust and shattered stones were thrown into the air, while waves of Mana swept across the battlefield like violent tides.

For a moment, neither side could gain the upper hand.

Mike stood beneath the overwhelming pressure.

His grey hair whipped wildly behind him.

His black eyes remained fixed on Gareth.

His hands trembled slightly.

Not from fear.

From the sheer strain of maintaining the Celestis Restoration Art.

This was no ordinary confrontation.

Gareth had completely abandoned restraint.

For the past twenty-four hours, the battle had remained locked in a brutal stalemate.

Neither side had truly gained the upper hand.

Mike had defended.

Gareth had attacked.

Again and again.

Every time Gareth increased his strength, Mike adjusted the Celestis Restoration Art and deflected the incoming force. When Gareth changed his attack angle, Mike changed with him. When Gareth increased his Mana output, Mike endured the pressure and redirected it before it could reach the students behind him.

It had been a battle of patience as much as power.

And Mike had survived it.

But now, Gareth had finally stopped holding anything back.

He poured the divine power of the Gluttony wolf directly into his own body.

Boom!

A terrifying pressure erupted from him.

The ground cracked beneath his feet.

The surrounding space distorted slightly as waves of destructive power spread outward.

Yet Mike did not retreat.

He stepped forward instead.

His grey hair whipped wildly in the violent wind, and the holy radiance around his body burned brighter.

Another attack came.

Mike raised both hands.

The Celestis Restoration Art moved with his will.

Rather than meeting Gareth’s attack head-on, he shifted its trajectory.

Boom!

The destructive force swept past his shoulder and tore through the distant mountainside.

Mike’s body staggered.

He immediately planted his foot and stabilized himself.

Gareth attacked again.

Mike blocked.

Another strike.

He deflected it.

Another.

He redirected it.

The two sides continued exchanging blows.

For the entire span of the last twenty-four hours, neither side had managed to break the other’s defense.

But now...

Mike could feel the difference.

Gareth was growing stronger.

Every time he drew more power from the Gluttony wolf, the pressure increased.

The attacks became faster.

Heavier.

More destructive.

Mike could still resist.

But he could no longer do it as easily as before.

His boots slowly sank into the cracked earth.

His robe fluttered violently behind him.

His arms trembled beneath the pressure.

A thin line of blood appeared at the corner of his mouth.

Mike wiped it away with his thumb.

Then he raised his head.

His black eyes remained calm.

He was tired.

He was injured.

But he was still standing.

As long as Gareth continued attacking, Mike would continue defending.

He had no intention of giving him the slightest opening.

Another wave of divine power crashed toward him.

Mike’s hands moved once more.

The Celestis Restoration Art bloomed in the air.

"Come."

His voice was low.

"Let me see how much stronger you can become."

Gareth’s expression darkened.

He immediately understood.

Mike was not trying to defeat him.

He was buying time.

And despite the overwhelming pressure, the old Headmaster had endured every attack for the past twenty-four hours without allowing Gareth to gain a decisive advantage.

That realization made Gareth’s killing intent grow even colder.

He could not allow this stalemate to continue.

He had to break it.

Now.

Another terrifying collision erupted across the battlefield.

Boom!

His expression remained calm.

But his eyes had become considerably more serious.

He couldn’t keep deflecting like yesterday.

The moment he tried to redirect Gareth’s power now, the force would simply crash through the technique and return upon him.

The difference in cultivation was becoming too obvious.

The Celestis Restoration Art was powerful.

But it could not erase an absolute difference in strength.

It had to be said that the Celestis Restoration Art was indeed terrifying and profound.

After all, it had once been a Sacred Art.

However, an upheaval had occurred in the Ancient era.

During that catastrophe, a portion of the technique had been lost.

Because of that missing portion, the once-complete Sacred Art had fallen from its original height and become a Heaven-grade secret technique.

Even so, its foundation remained astonishing.

If another portion could be found...

Mike’s eyes narrowed.

The Celestis Restoration Art would definitely return to its former peak.

But that was a matter for another day.

Right now, he had to survive.

Boom!

Another terrifying wave crashed down.

Mike’s body shook.

His feet slid backward several meters.

The holy light around him flickered.

Gareth noticed it immediately.

His eyes sharpened.

Yesterday, Mike had repeatedly redirected his attacks.

Again and again.

No matter how violently he attacked, Mike had always managed to turn aside the worst of his strength.

But now...

The old man’s defense was beginning to crack.

A smile slowly appeared on Gareth’s face.

"So that’s it..."

His voice carried a trace of cruel amusement.

"You’ve finally reached your limit."

Mike’s jaw tightened.

He did not answer.

He simply raised both hands and poured even more Mana into the Celestis Restoration Art.

The holy light surged once again.

For a brief moment, it stabilized.

But the strain was obvious.

His breathing had become heavier.

His chest rose and fell.

His fingers trembled beneath the enormous pressure.

Even his spiritual foundation was beginning to ache.

Gareth laughed.

"Haha, Mike, let’s see how you can hold on! How can this small Celestis Restoration Art make up for the gap between us? Prepare to pay with your life for the death of my Sky Breaker Academy’s students."