Chapter 170: Chapter 170: The Man Who Distorts the World
The newcomer dropped Charles III like an old rag.
His body hit the ground with a dull thud — lifeless, powerless.
The stranger took a single, slow step... yet in the next instant, he was already standing in front of Jax.
No flash, no sound — just an impossible skip in space, as if he had folded reality itself.
"Who are you?" he asked calmly, his tone firm. "And what did you do to Charles that my healing won’t work on him?"
Jax stared at him in silence for a few seconds. Then, his grin widened — mocking, almost playful.
"Why don’t you make me tell you?" he replied, his voice dripping with provocation.
The newcomer said nothing.
He simply smiled.
And without warning — he threw a punch.
The movement was so slow it looked ridiculous. The fist drifted through the air, almost floating... yet something about that strike wasn’t normal.
Jax tried to move — and realized he couldn’t.
His body was bound to the fabric of space itself, chained by invisible threads that held him in place.
The fist kept coming, crawling forward through the air as if time itself had frozen.
Jax growled — a low, feral sound.
Golden light erupted from his body, divine power wrapping around him like fire.
He broke the invisible bindings at the very last second and turned his head.
The punch brushed past his cheek.
The air shattered like glass.
The newcomer looked at him, slightly surprised — but still smiling.
"Well... I’m impressed you dodged that," he said calmly.
Jax leapt backward, widening the distance, his aura expanding like a storm.
But then — he felt it.
Something behind him... shifted.
A chill ran down his spine.
The air warped.
Reality folded.
And in the distance — an entire mountain exploded.
The ground trembled, the sky split with a deafening roar.
Fragments of rock rained down like burning meteors as the mountain vanished from the map in a single instant.
The stranger looked at the destruction with mild curiosity, as if he’d just discovered something amusing.
"Hmph... I rarely miss. But you—" he pointed at Jax with a smile, "—you’re definitely not just a monster."
The earth was still shaking.
Jax stared back, his expression no longer divine or arrogant — but predatory.
"Heh... and you’re definitely not human."
Both men smiled at the same time.
The stranger tilted his head slightly, as if he’d just made up his mind.
"I see... if you won’t talk," he said, raising his hand slowly, "then I’ll make you."
With a fluid motion, he drew the wooden katana strapped to his back.
The air around the weapon trembled — it wasn’t just a strike, it was an intent that sliced through reality itself.
Without moving from his spot, the stranger unleashed a single slash.
The invisible energy crossed the distance in an instant and struck the golden wall behind Jax — who dodged it effortlessly with a mere shift of his body.
The impact echoed like thunder.
A massive crack spread across the wall, splitting it from side to side.
On the other side, the inside of the city became visible — thousands of golden temples, and the six disciples struggling to disperse part of the attack to keep the citizens from dying on the spot.
"Tsk..." Jax clicked his tongue, his voice cold.
"If you want to fight me, do it somewhere else. I won’t turn my city into rubble."
The outsider chuckled softly, his gaze never leaving Jax.
"Somewhere else? What a waste of effort."
He smirked. "It’s much easier to destroy your city. You didn’t want to be a good boy and tell me what I wanted... so I’ll just break one of your toys."
Jax’s expression changed instantly.
His divine aura roared, like a chained beast finally breaking free.
"How dare you!" he shouted, fury shaking his voice.
"How can you call yourself human when you slaughter innocents without mercy?!"
The outsider laughed — cold and hollow.
"Human?" he echoed with disdain.
"Don’t wag your tongue too much, monster."
His gaze turned sharp, cutting through Jax like a blade.
"You did the same. Or did you forget how many armies you burned alive in the name of your ’believers’?"
Jax gritted his teeth, rage twisting his face.
The air between them vibrated again — two forces, two worlds, clashing without even touching.
"Then come," Jax said in a grave tone, extending his hand.
"I’ll show you the difference between a god and a man."
The outsider smirked, spinning his sword with elegance.
"Perfect," he whispered. "I’ve always wanted to kill a god."
The sky darkened.
Jax straightened his body, divine light blazing from every inch of him.
"I’ve had enough..." he growled, his voice rumbling like thunder.
The energy of faith — the devotion of millions who worshipped him as a god — condensed around his form.
Two enormous golden claws burst from his back, twisted and perfect, infused with pure power.
With a roar, he sent them flying at the visitor.
The attack tore across the sky like a solar storm, shredding the air to pieces — yet the stranger only smiled.
In a lazy motion, he tilted his body aside and dodged effortlessly.
"Too slow," he muttered, amused.
His counter came instantly — another swing of his wooden blade, so subtle it barely left an afterimage.
The invisible cut flew straight toward the golden wall — toward the city.
But Jax appeared in its path.
His body, hardened like divine steel, absorbed the impact head-on.
The ground quaked beneath his feet; cracks of raw energy spread for miles.
The newcomer lowered his sword slowly, his grin widening.
"Well... that was impressive."
His eyes gleamed dangerously. "Now I know your weakness."
Jax frowned.
"What are you talking about?"
The stranger raised a hand and pointed at the city behind him.
"You care about them, don’t you? Then let’s see how you save them."
His body began to rise, floating above the battlefield. The atmosphere twisted violently — reality itself seemed to groan in protest.
The air pulsed.
An unbearable pressure crushed everything around.
The stranger assumed a perfect stance, his voice calm but lethal:
"Ten Thousand Sword Slash."
A single line of energy formed in the sky. Then another. And another.
In an instant, thousands of blades of pure energy descended together, each capable of erasing a mountain.
The clone of Jax roared, unleashing his power.
He punched through countless blades, detonating them midair — but not all.
Dozens slipped through.
The sky flashed white.
Explosions rippled across the golden wall and the city.
Shockwaves lifted entire buildings; dust devoured the horizon.
The screams of the innocent echoed through the chaos as a dense gray cloud consumed everything.
And through the smoke — Jax’s silhouette still burned bright.
But his eyes were fixed on the sky.
For the first time in a long, long while... his expression held no arrogance.
Only fury.
And something far deeper—
Fear.