RE: LORD OF TIME

Hearing the shriek filled with boundless rage, William immediately stopped chasing after the monsters and turned toward the cave entrance.

The three Peak Stage Star Warrior mutated sand scorpions slowly parted to the sides, and from within the cave, a gigantic monster covered in lava-colored armor slowly crawled out.

This mutated sand scorpion was also at the Peak Stage of the Star Warrior Realm, just like the other three scorpions.

However, although they were in the same realm, the difference between them was obvious at a single glance.

Unlike the other three mutated sand scorpions, who stood around three and a half meters tall, the one that had just emerged was nearly five meters in height.

Instead of the ordinary crimson armor covering the other mutated scorpions, this one’s entire body was protected by thick lava-colored armor that looked as though molten fire flowed beneath its surface.

Its tail alone measured nearly four meters long, and the hook at its end glowed with a lava-like luster, as if it were filled with molten magma capable of incinerating anything it touched.

Liam and Alicia quickly approached William and looked at the four monsters with grave expressions.

"The mutation level of this monster is too high. Although it’s still at the Peak Stage of Star Warrior because of the restrictions placed on a Rank One Astral Rift, its actual combat strength has definitely surpassed the Star Warrior Realm," Alicia said grimly.

William remained calm after hearing Alicia’s words because he had already seen this monster when he entered the cave earlier to provoke the mutated scorpions.

The three Peak Stage mutated sand scorpions hadn’t attacked him earlier because, unlike the weaker scorpions, the power behind their attacks was far too great.

They were afraid they would accidentally kill their own companions if they attacked while William was surrounded.

Similarly, William hadn’t used Blood Moon earlier because he was worried that if he revealed too much strength, the leader of the mutated monsters wouldn’t leave the cave.

If he displayed overwhelming power too soon, it would definitely make the leader wary, and it might simply choose to remain hidden inside the cave filled with Fire Essence Crystals.

If that happened, it would become a real headache for him because he couldn’t fight these monsters inside the cave.

Not only was the terrain extremely narrow, but Fire Essence Crystals were also incredibly volatile materials that could explode from even the slightest mistake.

If a battle broke out inside and the Fire Essence Crystal Mine detonated, William would undoubtedly die even if he had ten more lives.

That was precisely why he hadn’t used Blood Moon during the earlier battle.

"I have a few treasures with me that can help us," Alicia said as she turned toward William.

"But since this is a Rank One Astral Rift, any treasure above the Uncommon Grade can’t be used here. The treasures I have can only restrict them."

She looked directly into William’s eyes.

"Once I use them, let’s retreat immediately. Fighting these four monsters together isn’t something we can do without suffering injuries."

Even Liam, who usually maintained a playful attitude no matter the situation, nodded in agreement.

William smiled faintly when he saw their serious expressions before gently shaking his head.

"Just wait here. It will be over in a moment."

As he spoke, William calmly walked toward the four monsters.

"You..."

Alicia was about to stop him for doing something so reckless, but her voice suddenly halted and her gaze landed on William’s right hand.

At that moment, his right hand was calmly resting on the absurdly long sword hanging at his waist.

Until now, she had never seen him use it, causing her to subconsciously forget what William had said when they introduced their abilities before entering the Astral Rift.

’I am good at using swords...’ She suddenly recalled those words and an absurd thought instantly flashed through her mind.

Liam also noticed William’s action and he exchanged glances with Alicia.

Both of their eyes were filled with shock.

Unlike Liam and Alicia, William’s mind remained completely calm.

Even after the gigantic leader fully emerged from the cave and stood behind the other three Peak Stage monsters, not the slightest ripple appeared in his eyes.

Perhaps if he were still only at the Early Stage of Star Warrior, he would have needed to rely on Overlord to defeat this monster.

But after advancing to the Middle Stage, not only had his physical body become significantly stronger, but the quality of his Aether Energy had also risen.

Naturally, every skill and battle art he used would become considerably stronger as well.

Shriek! Shriek! Shriek!

Seeing William walking toward them, the three Peak Stage Star Warrior mutated scorpions let out enraged shrieks as gigantic balls of fire rapidly condensed before them.

Now that there were no longer any mutated sand scorpions surrounding William, they could attack freely without worrying about injuring their own companions.

"Let’s end this..."

William paid no attention to the monsters’ actions and the next instant, wind swirled beneath his feet as his figure vanished.

This time, he pushed Phantom Steps to its absolute limit, displaying a speed far greater than before.

At the same time, golden ripples spread around his body as he activated Time Acceleration as well.

The flow of time around him accelerated by 1.6 times, increasing his speed by another sixty percent.

The one hundred meters separating William from the monsters disappeared in an instant as though the distance had never existed.

Because of Time Acceleration, everything outside its field appeared noticeably slower in William’s vision.

On top of that, he was simultaneously using Time Perception.

As a result, William’s thoughts accelerated to an unbelievable degree and everything before him seemed to have completely stopped moving.

He could clearly see that the eyes of all four monsters were still fixed on the place where he had been standing a moment ago as their brains hadn’t even registered that he had already appeared directly before them.

Blood Moon slid out of its sheath.

As the blade emerged, deep-blue streams of water flowed across its edge before compressing into an almost invisible film that made the blade appear unnaturally thin and impossibly sharp.

At that very moment, the monsters’ eyes slowly began shifting from William’s previous position toward his current one.

Swish!

William swung Blood Moon.

Empowered by the Sword Dominator Trait, which increased the sword’s power by three hundred and fifty percent, the blade sliced cleanly through the first monster without encountering even the slightest resistance.

As the sword effortlessly passed through the monster’s body, William suddenly felt as though he wasn’t merely cutting down an enemy.

He was severing his weak self from the original timeline as well.

Back then, he would have had no choice but to flee before monsters like these.

But now... Everything was different.

’I won’t walk that broken path again.’

He stepped forward and instantly appeared before the second monster.

Without hesitation, he swung Blood Moon once again and the exact same result followed.

’I won’t lose anyone precious to me again.’

Taking a third step, William appeared before the third Peak Stage Star Warrior mutated sand scorpion.

By now, its brain had finally registered William’s true position.

But that was all.

Although it knew William was standing directly before it, its body remained far too slow to react. Much less launch a counterattack.

Swish!

The third slash effortlessly passed through its body.

Before the three monsters could even comprehend what had happened, William had already moved behind them and stood directly before the gigantic five-meter-tall leader.

Unlike the others, this monster possessed much faster reaction speed.

By the time William arrived before it, the monster had already locked onto his position.

William could even see its massive tail beginning to swing toward him, while a lava-like energy slowly spread across its entire body, reinforcing its defenses even further.

Standing before the monster, he instinctively understood that he only had enough time to deliver one strike before that terrifying tail reached him.

Yet looking at the gigantic monster standing before him, he had a faint feeling that one strike wouldn’t be enough to kill it.

Although he understood that one strike wasn’t enough to kill it, deep down, William didn’t want to swing his sword a second time.

’If I can’t even kill a monster that’s only one minor realm above me with a single strike, then how will I protect my family and friends if the Abyss successfully invades again?’

’How will I break free from the shackles of those nobles standing above my head?’

At this instant, William suddenly felt something explode inside his mind.

Within his Sea of Consciousness, the Trait Images of Sword Dominator and True Wisdom began trembling violently and under the combined influence of both traits, inspiration suddenly descended upon him.

The process of using Shockwave Fist replayed itself inside his mind and at the same time, the flow of Aether Energy throughout his body suddenly changed.

Out of no where, in his mind, instead of using a fist to execute Shockwave Fist, a figure suddenly wielded a sword to perform the battle art.

(You have created a Battle Art—Rendering Moon Slash.)

A notification flashed across William’s status window but he had no time to pay attention to it.

Countless insights flooded into his mind within a single instant and William suddenly swung Blood Moon upward in a vertical arc toward the gigantic monster’s head.

Swish!

A sharp and unsettling aura spread across the surroundings as Blood Moon vibrated violently.

CHIIIII!

The blade collided with the monster’s body, producing a chilling sound as though an ordinary piece of wood had been pressed against a rapidly spinning chainsaw.

Swish!

A vibrating sword light tore through the monster’s body before soaring straight into the sky, disappearing beyond the raging sandstorm.

William immediately deactivated every skill and battle art he was using and the instant he did, everything before his eyes returned to normal as time resumed its natural flow.

Suddenly, an unbearable headache assaulted him.

"Fu*k..." William grabbed his head as his body nearly collapsed onto the ground, his vision blurring.

His mind had been pushed far beyond its normal limits after processing such an overwhelming amount of information in only a brief moment.

Although it felt as though a long time had passed, in reality, not even two seconds had elapsed from the moment William activated Phantom Steps until he delivered all four slashes.

Yet within those two short seconds, his brain had processed an unimaginable amount of information.

From observing every detail of the battlefield...To controlling multiple skills and battle arts simultaneously... To creating an entirely new battle art during the final strike.

His mind had accomplished all of it almost instantly.

Not only that, his Aether Energy was nearly exhausted.

Time Acceleration, Time Perception, Phantom Steps, Wind Cutter and finally, the last sword strike...

Every one of them had consumed enormous amounts of Aether Energy, nearly draining him completely within only a few short seconds.

Although William was in no condition to stand properly, he stubbornly forced himself to remain standing and slowly raised his eyes as he wanted to see the result of his final strike.

The moment he looked up, he saw a perfectly straight sword mark stretching across the entire front of the five-meter-tall monster’s body and the next instant—

Woosh!

A fountain of lava-colored blood erupted into the sky as the monster’s head slowly detached from its body before crashing toward the ground.

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

Four heavy sounds echoed almost simultaneously as the heads of the other three Peak Stage mutated sand scorpions also slid from their bodies before crashing onto the sand.

Although William’s head still felt as though it were about to split apart at any moment, looking at the scene before him, he suddenly felt that the headache wasn’t nearly as unbearable anymore.

Suddenly, the corpse of the mutated scorpion leader emitted a glow and a drop appeared beside it

Seeing this, the headache he was feeling somehow seemed to lessen even further.