Daneel had always been fascinated by the weapon which changed the face of the Earth.

In a time when wars were mostly being fought with swords and shields, guns changed everything.

Yet, no matter how many years passed, the basic principle of a gun was the same.

The "bullet" would be comprised of two parts: a combustible part in the back end, and a penetrating projectile in the front.

The back would be hit by a "hammer" to ignite the material inside it, causing pressure which shot the projectile forward.

The cylinder would allow the projectile to accelerate while also setting it in the right direction where it was intended to go.

It was this basic principle that Daneel was using right now to overcome his weakness.

In reality, ever since he had managed to develop the technique where he could create condensed fire, he had been on the level of a Warrior.

Yet, his shortcoming was in the form of speed. Although he had an incredible weapon, he hadn’t had the requisite power to move it fast enough in order to effectively attack his enemies.

That was the case even now. He had the incredible weapon which was the compressed Tenebrous Fire, but he could not accelerate it with enough speed to penetrate the old man’s barrier.

This was where the construct came in. The reason it had taken so long to make was that the sturdy metal had been conjured from thin air. Daneel wanted to make it as stable as possible, so that no problem would come when the time came to launch his attack.

In his mind, he was inspired by the tanks which played a major part in both World Wars on Earth. Built as armored forts that could move and shoot devastating missiles, the death toll they had caused reached sky high.

His metal "box" was also similar to a tank, but without the wheels. This both gave him the opportunity to hide the inner working and also to provide a stability to the whole mechanism due to the sturdy construction.

Besides, it looked damn cool.

The mission now was simple: ignite the explosion trinkets along with the hammer to cause pressure that would shoot the Tenebrous Flame forward at a terrifying speed.

The front part of his "missile" was detachable, designed to fall away the moment before impact, letting the powerful flame penetrate through and burn everything from the inside.

Hence, Daneel was meaning to use both aspects in which a barrier could be brought down: overloading and penetration.

Penetration would result in an overall weakening in power of the barrier. Also, after penetrating, the flame would spread all over the inside while he would also attack from the outside.

Of course, a part of the missile would also shoot towards the old man, hopefully taking his life.

Daneel did not want to place full hope in this, so he had chosen this plan.

Because of being attacked from both sides, the barrier would surely collapse, leaving the old man defenseless.

He would never see it coming.

....

On the other side of the barrier, the old man was getting more and more frustrated as he realized that the fight above would also start if he didn’t manage to leave soon.

He knew very well about the peculiar rules of this Kingdom, so he knew that the King was obliged to take the challenge. Delaying for too long wouldn’t be possible.

Still, there was no way he could leave this life-saving treasure behind.

Hearing the sound of earth falling to the ground behind him, he was interrupted in his actions.

Turning around, he noticed that the wall of earth which his opponent had set up now had a hole in it.

In this hole was placed the top of a cylinder that was pointing straight at him.

Thinking that he didn’t have time to see this weird opponent’s shenanigans, he was just about to turn back when an ominous feeling stopped him from doing so.

TING

BANG

The sound of metal being hit by another metal was followed by the muffled sound of an explosion.

It was only a few milliseconds later that the old man finally saw what was going to be his doom.

Propelled forward by the force of multiple explosion trinkets, the ’missile’ reached a terrifying speed before flying out of the cylinder.

"NO!"

As his instincts blared at him, the old man shouted this word with anger before raising his hand to cast something in a bid to slow the momentum of this object.

Yet, he was simply too late. He could only watch as the pointed end of the metal projectile came nearer and nearer in his eyes before falling away to reveal that same skull which had been thwarted a half-hour ago.

Almost as if it were looking forward to taking revenge for being driven back, the skull seemed to be laughing even more diabolically than before.

PING

WHOOSH

The ultimate speed of the compressed fire allowed it to penetrate smoothly into the barrier which would have otherwise required an attack from an Exalted Warrior to be breached. This itself was a testament to just how powerful both Daneel’s construct and the system’s compression of the flame were.

As a part of the projectile proceeded towards the old man, the rest started spreading along the barrier on the inside. Meanwhile, Daneel had also shot another skull on the outside.

Green tongues of flame filled the old man’s vision. Even as the projectile of compressed flame sped towards him, he felt the heating up of the trinket which meant that even the pentashield trinket formation was being overloaded now.

"AARRGHHHH!"

With a bellow, he finally lifted the seal he had placed on his power that had kept his injury at bay so far.

At this moment, he didn’t have any choice. If he didn’t wish to die, it seemed that he would have to show who he really was.

His body which had been frail till now immediately swelled up to 3 times its size, threatening to burst apart the loose yellow robes he usually wore.

Even though blood started to seep from his chest the moment this transformation occurred, he ignored this pain and pointed his hand at the projectile.

As if time itself was slowing down, the small green skull the size of a fist had its momentum cut down until it involuntarily ground to a halt.

After it completely stopped in the air, the old man walked forward and clenched it in his hand.

Daneel, who was watching, felt his jaw drop as he saw the old man close his fist around the flame as if it were nothing. Metal and earth itself could be devoured at a crazy space by the flame. How much of a resistance could a human hand put up?

Yet, the next moment, he felt even more shock as he felt the connection he had with the flame in the old man’s hand being severed.

historical

[A part of the Tenebrous Flame has encountered an elemental force that it cannot resist! Connection has been cut!]

With the urgent message from the system resounding in Daneel’s head, he watched as the old man opened his hand, revealing an empty palm.

His bulging muscles would have let him win any bodybuilding competition back on Earth, and it also seemed as if these muscles weren’t just for show. His instincts told him that they were holding a power inside them that could pulverize him in no time.

"Converge!"

Frantically, Daneel gave the order for all the fire he had sent out to attack the old man at the same time. Leaving behind the barrier which was still healing the spot where it was penetrated, the entirety of the Tenebrous Flame converged on the large man’s body.

The shock on Daneel’s face turned to horror, realizing that the flame couldn’t even damage his clothes.

Smiling coldly, the old man raised his palm in the air, causing a suction force to appear that sucked all the flame into it.

BOOM

The very sound of his fist closing itself caused an explosion-like sound to echo in the ancestral grounds.

"Enough fun and games. You were able to launch an attack with the power of an Exalted Warrior. Good job. Now let’s see how you fare against a real peak Exalted Warrior Mage and Fighter."

Hearing these words, for the first time since beginning the fight, Daneel wondered if he had bitten off more than he could chew.

....

Meanwhile, in the Kingdom of Lanthanor.

Molan and Sister Xuan were walking in the streets, looking for a place to eat when the latter’s eyes suddenly flashed with surprise.

Catching hold of Molan’s hand, she teleported them back to their cottage before collecting a few items she had put there.

Seeing the urgency in Sister Xuan’s face, Molan knew something was up.

Mimicking her actions and packing all the weapons and safeguards they had been given by the sect, she asked, "What’s the matter?"

The answer made shock appear on her face, before being replaced by faint fear.

"Someone has unlocked a tagged seal nearby. As we are close by, we must act as the first responders and save whoever it is this exiled person is fighting with. Estimating the distance, it will take us one minute to get there. I pray that person survives for that long. But against someone one step away from being a Champion, I doubt their chances."