Chapter 128: You Aren’t My Opponent

"Knights!!"

​"...?!"

​Everyone’s eyes widened in utter shock as the sunlight vanished from beneath Asher’s boots, the shadows twisting and contorting like living tendrils before five colossal, dark-armored Knights materialized from the abyss, locking their heavy shields together in a tight, impenetrable defensive formation around him.

​"Wait, this guy can also summon?!" Soren muttered in disbelief, his massive jaw practically hitting the ground as he felt the dense energy radiating from the shadowy Knights.

​"I don’t think we can defeat him..." Liana murmured in a low, trembling voice, her hand unconsciously sliding away from her daggers as she stared at Asher with growing awe.

​"Yeah, this guy is seriously powerful," Abel said with a relaxed smile, resting both hands on his blue-gemmed walking stick.

​"Powerful?! What the hell are you saying, you blue-skinned old man!" Juanita snapped, whirling around and pointing her venomous, dripping blade straight at Abel’s nose. "Viper is still the absolute strongest among us!"

​"Hey! I don’t have blue skin, only my hair is blue!! I am just saying his combat foundation is clearly stronger than all of us combined!" Abel yelled back at her, his composure breaking for a split second.

​"Quiet, both of you! Just shut up and keep watching!" Natalie snapped with absolute authority, her sharp, cold voice instantly shutting the two Demons up as her eyes remained glued to the battle.

_

​Asher stood quietly in the center of the formation, his dark eyes cold and analytical behind his Knights’ towering tower-shields. The heavy metallic clashing echoed in rapid succession as the summons absorbed a barrage of invisible, high-speed strikes.

​’So her physical attack power drops when she strikes from complete stealth... It’s the balance mechanic of her physique.’ Asher deduced, his system interface flashing in his mind as he reviewed her parameters.

​{Physique: Devouring Physique: (Effect: Forcefully steals 50% of the total stats of up to ten targets, temporarily adding it to the user’s current attributes. Active Duration: 30 Minutes. Cooldown: 1 Hour.).}

​’Thirty minutes is an eternity in a high-rank battle that can end in five seconds... The worst part is that a physique this broken only needs an hour to reset.’ Asher analyzed silently:

’Right now, with my stats stolen, she is both faster and physically stronger than me... But if I release all my sealed abilities, she still wouldn’t come close to defeating me.’

​Asher turned his head slightly, his gaze sweeping over the nine Demons standing near the driveway, and then toward Marianne, who was watching with crossed arms.

​’I don’t plan to reveal my true trump cards with so many untrusted eyes present... But still, I should at least show these underworld elites who the absolute ruler is,’ he thought, a confident, cynical smirk touching his lips as he activated his vision, tracking the subtle distortions in space.

​’No matter how fast you get, before my Shadow Gaze, your energy signature is as glaring as a lighthouse beacon in the dark,’ Asher thought, slowly raising his right hand above his head.

​’I still don’t know the full extent of her offensive skills... I must keep this controlled. Juliana and Sara are nearby, and Kelly is inside eating. I have no intention of destroying my own mansion today.’

​"Now!"

​BOOM!!

​With his command, all five Shadow Knights erupted forward in unison, the asphalt cracking beneath their armored boots! One of the heavy-armored Knights locked onto the exact location where Viper was hovering and brought its massive dark-steel broadsword down in a devastating arc.

​’Huh? That Knight must share my vision through the Shadow Gaze link.’ Asher noted.

​BOOOOM!

​A direct, explosive counter-punch from Viper collided with the blade, the raw physical impact instantly shattering the Knight into a shower of metallic shards. Without a microsecond of hesitation, her blurred figure redirected her momentum, charging straight toward Asher like a bullet.

​"Let me reset the board." Asher muttered coldly.

​In a fraction of a millisecond, Asher manually deactivated every single one of his active stat-buffing skills—and before the system could even register the total drain, he instantly re-activated them in a single, synchronized surge!

​"...?!"

​The sudden, violent spike in atmospheric pressure made Viper’s eyes widen mid-stride.

​"Don’t mess with me!!" Asher roared, stepping into her path and driving a straight right punch toward her face.

​Caught completely off-guard by his sudden, miraculous restoration of peak power, Viper tried to shift her weight, but it was too late.

​BOOOOM!!!

​Asher’s fist smashed directly into her cheek, the sheer physical shockwave blasting the air out of her lungs and sending her flying backward through the air like a meteor.

".....?!!!"

​The audience watched in utter disbelief as Viper hit the driveway, her boots skidding across fifty meters of ruined earth before she finally stabilized herself, revealing a small crimson bruise forming on her cheek.

​"You could...?" She stood upright, wiping a drop of blood from her lip as her glowing white eyes stared at Asher in genuine shock, watching as his stats spiked back into the millions.

​"You simply attacked without thinking," Asher said, casually rolling his shoulders with a shrug. "My stats were boosted so high because of my active skills in the first place. When you stole half of them, I simply re-cast my skills to regain the difference. Nothing serious about it."

​"Re-cast skills of that scale...? Skills that gives such stats should have a severe cooldown penalty... How come yours doesn’t?" she asked, her bored demeanor completely gone, replaced by intense, thrilling curiosity.

​Right now, both she and Asher held comparable stats, with only a minor difference of a few hundred thousand attributes between them. However, Viper was suddenly at a strategic disadvantage because Asher could literally regenerate his stolen stat pool at will.

​’Most of these buffs stem directly from my innate physiques and unique system titles... There is no way something tied to my soul could have a simple cooldown,’ Asher thought with an internal smirk. He raised his arm and pointed a single finger directly at Viper.

​"I will repeat your own words back to you: Now, let’s have some real fun."

​WHOOSH!!

​The remaining four Knights shot forward with terrifying speed, while one instantly melted into the ground, entering complete shadow stealth.

​"Your summons can also use high-tier stealth skill?! Hahahaha!!! What a legendary thing to wake up to! Come on, give me more fun!!" Viper yelled, her excitement exploding as she kicked off the ground, leaving a massive crater behind her.

​BAM!!!

​A single, brute-force punch from Viper shattered the head of the first incoming Knight. Without missing a beat, she spun on her heel and delivered a high roundhouse kick into the chest of the second, blasting the heavy summon backward into the estate walls.

​She surged toward the third Knight, which thrust its shadowy broadsword straight at her throat. She dodged with a razor-thin sidestep, drove her elbow into its guard, and unleashed a devastating front kick right into its abdomen, sending it crashing across the driveway.

​"Now, where is that little stealth mouse hiding?" She swept her white eyes around her immediate surroundings, her instincts flaring.

​"Caught you!!"

​She thrust her bare hand forward into empty space, catching the stealthed Knight’s surprise blade by the raw metal edge with her palm, and snapped her leg out in a lethal thrust kick.

​BOOOOM!

​The stealthed Knight was blasted backward, leaving its sword clamped in her grip, before crashing heavily right at Asher’s feet and disintegrating into metallic dust.

​"Is that really all you’ve got?!" Viper asked with a predatory smirk, crushing the stolen shadow sword into fine dark powder with a simple squeeze of her hand.

​"All? You aren’t even close to being my match yet." Asher said, his smirk widening as the five destroyed Knights instantly rose from the shadows beneath his feet once more.

​This time, dark, abyssal tendrils surged up from the earth, wrapping tightly around their frames to form an additional layer of dense armor.

​{Skill Effect: Shadow Armor Applied — Defense Increased by +1,000,000!}

​".....?!"

​Viper stared at the glowing, dark armor reinforcing the summons, momentarily stunned by the absurd energy capacity required to sustain such high-rank magic without a visible chant.

​"Play with her." Asher ordered softly.

​BOOM!!

​All five Knights shot forward simultaneously, moving at twice their previous speed as dark, corrupted lightning crackled across their heavy weapons.

​Before the lead Knight could even reach Viper, an overwhelming wave of pitch-black energy erupted from its core, instantly expanding in every direction and enveloping the entire driveway, the estate, and everyone present into a isolated realm of absolute darkness.

​{Skill Activated: Shadow Domain!}

{Effect: Master’s and all Shadow Knights’ total stats increased by +100%! Target [Viper]’s Spirit energy Flow has been forcefully sealed!}

​"Hmmm..."

​Viper merely grimaced, feeling her internal spirit energy suddenly hit a absolute wall as her pathways were forcibly suppressed by the domain’s rules. She looked up, her white eyes scanning the endless, pitch-black sky that had completely blocked out the morning sun.

​"What a breathtaking ability... This must be a genuine Divine-Tier domain..." A dark, exhilarated laugh escaped her lips as she dropped into a low combat stance. "Hahahaha, this is getting so interesting!"

​She laughed wildly into the dark void as the five reinforced Knights closed in on her from all directions, their massive dark blades cutting through the air like executioners’ axes.