Chapter 321 - 280: The Might of One Punch: The Power of the Fourth Earth Ring

Flayer Du Ma’s expression twisted in an instant.

To his preternaturally fast visual reflexes, time seemed to slow to a crawl.

In his peripheral vision, he saw Reinhardt’s approaching iron fist. It lacked Domain Power, but this was far beyond the strength a Four-star Earth Military Rank Knight should possess!

At that moment, in the perception of the Fear Knight Du Ma, the wave of Mighty Power erupting from Reinhardt’s Combat Technique touched upon the peak of the Five-Star level, even brushing against the threshold of the Six-star Earth Military Rank!

’This bastard...’

At his peak, a power of this level, while a threat, would not have been enough to make him actively evade.

But now...

He had to evade!

For a notoriously infamous Fear Knight and Void Realm Warlord to resort to such tactics against the assault of a mere Four-star Earth Military Rank Knight... The humiliation sent Flayer Du Ma into a towering rage!

If he hadn’t encountered the Human Empire’s Grand Governor in the Verne War Zone, how could he possibly be forced to evade the attack of a laughable insect?!

Unlike Death Butcher Dortmund—the Fear Knight who excelled at Body Techniques Combat with his unpredictable style—or Carnivorous Hunting Dog Carlos, whose fighting style resembled that of a cunning predator, Flayer Du Ma’s mentality as a powerhouse would never allow him to be forced into a tactical retreat by a mere insect. His was a brutal fighting style of overwhelming brute force, just like when he had first rammed headlong into Reinhardt.

This was the very reason he stood atop the corpses of countless renegade Knights, having earned the blessing of the Slaughter Death Arena.

In his mind, true warriors and powerhouses met every threat head-on! To take even a single step back was a sign of cowardice and weakness—utterly intolerable!

In the blink of an eye.

The Fine Craftsmanship Furnace Cast Steel Execution Rack on Du Ma’s back erupted with terrifying Demon Evil Power, which gushed from it like a surging river of blood!

Earth Ring: Blood Cocoon.

This was one of Du Ma’s few defensive and escape techniques. Once the river of blood formed from Demon Evil Power enveloped his body, he could use it to withstand Reinhardt’s assault while making his escape.

He could have used his Domain Power to crush every Imperial Knight in the hangar to death.

But his pride and brutality disdained such an act.

In Du Ma’s mind—long twisted and warped by the blessing of the Slaughter Death Arena’s Mighty Power—using his Domain to kill these ants would be a grave insult to his own strength!

However.

Just as the surging river of blood began to form a cocoon...

In Du Ma’s vision, Reinhardt’s incoming iron fist seemed to stutter, like a lagging, tearing image. After a brief, imperceptible freeze, it ignored the distance between them and suddenly swelled to fill his sight!

Even though Flayer Du Ma was a top-tier powerhouse of the Seven-star Earth Military Rank and could keenly perceive the acceleration of Reinhardt’s charge, it was now obviously too late to make the tactical decision to block or dodge.

’This damned ant—!’

In Du Ma’s shocked and furious gaze, he managed to raise his right hand in a final, desperate attempt to resist.

But Reinhardt’s iron fist—empowered by both the Destruction Force Field and his Avenger Power Armor—had already become a cannonball, smashing viciously into his face!

BOOM—!

The massive iron fist.

Wreathed in the Destruction Force Field, it crushed down upon Du Ma’s savage, demonic face! The instant of impact, the skin and muscle of his face rippled like water, and his skull emitted the sound of cracking under the unbearable strain!

His neck vertebrae cracked audibly.

Even the Steel Execution Rack covering his neck shrieked with the sound of tearing metal!

Twenty seconds left on the retreat countdown.

A terrifying sonic boom from the shockwave tearing through the air echoed wildly throughout the hangar!

Flayer Du Ma, intertwined with his Steel Execution Rack—his mountain-like, two-ton body—was sent flying backward like a cannonball!

He shot across the battlefield at near-subsonic speeds in the blink of an eye!

His trajectory carved a path through the battlefield, crushing the bodies of hundreds of Demons and kicking up a monstrous wave of blood and bone!

He didn’t stop until he slammed into a bulkhead, causing the entire Demon Mother Ship to shake and tremble as if struck by an earthquake. Countless Demons lost their footing and collapsed. Even the Imperial Knights desperately holding the evacuation zone struggled to stay on their feet, their hearts pounding with utter shock!

The crushing power displayed by Reinhardt’s single punch far exceeded their understanding of the strength of one of the Emperor’s Vengeful Angels!

At that moment, Iron Crown Florian and Senior Think Tank Albert finally understood the true weight behind Grand Governor Sedon calling Reinhardt his Battle Brother.

Such overwhelming power!

Utterly devastating!

The next moment.

Flayer Du Ma was only stopped by the bulkhead for a tenth of a second before he—along with the shattered section of the wall—was blasted out of the ship!

The resulting pressure imbalance from the breached hangar bulkhead created a powerful vacuum. Thousands of mutilated Demon corpses were sucked into a river of death, surging toward the gaping hole.

After landing, Reinhardt grabbed Albert, who had been caught in the outward torrent of air. Seizing the brief opportunity, he shouldered the man and, propelled by a blast of high-temperature energy, made a great leap, landing with a heavy thud inside the evacuation zone.

He handed him to Raphael and commanded via Telepathy.

’Raphael, look after him.’

Then, he turned to the struggling Second Company Commander Stearns and Florian. ’Matthias, go help Stearns. All three of you, get back to the evacuation zone. Be ready to leave at any moment.

This is not a fight you can be part of.’

Having given his orders, Reinhardt didn’t pause for a second. He glanced toward the breach in the ship’s hull, leaped high, and left the evacuation zone.

The only reason he’d been able to escape the Fear Knight Du Ma’s notice and land that forceful punch was because he had been holding back the Special Ability of his Fourth Earth Ring: Sands of Time.

He was waiting for an opportunity to turn the tide of battle or, failing that, to buy more time.

His punch had broken through Flayer Du Ma’s defense by utilizing the special property of the Fourth Earth Ring: Time Sand Reverse Flow, compressing the less-than-a-second window of his assault tenfold.

The result was self-evident. Even for a Fear Knight as powerful as one of the Seven-star Earth Military Rank, his visual reflexes couldn’t keep up with that level of speed.

But.

Reinhardt knew perfectly well that even though his Combat Skill, Humiliate People’s Power, was one of his ultimate trump cards, thinking he could kill his opponent with it was nothing but a dream.

A Seven-star Earth Military Rank blessed by the Slaughter Death Arena.

A former member of the Dragon Hunter’s Ten Dragon Guard.

A thousand-year veteran.

Even with Flayer Du Ma grievously wounded from his battle with Sedon, Reinhardt knew that against a powerhouse of this caliber, the most he could do—even by giving it his all—was buy time for the others to retreat.

Twenty seconds passed in a flash.

By the time he had given his orders and left the evacuation zone, the retreat vessel captained by Agate had already broken through the blockade and reached the exterior of the hangar.

After the first batch of wounded had boarded...

A hysterical, yet utterly ecstatic roar grew from a distant cry to a thundering presence that suddenly echoed throughout the hangar!

"You’ve thrilled me—! Imperial Knight!"