NOVPUB
Chapter 60: The Battle With Young Master Leo (2)
ZZT-ZZT—BZZT!
ROAR!
The Golden Mecha roared to life. Its golden optics blazed to full brightness—and from its core, the phantom of a domineering lion emerged.
The Mecha shifted its head...
Its gaze is locked on Drake.
Then, in an instant—
It vanished.
BOOM!
It appeared in front of Drake with blinding speed—its massive fist rocketing toward him. Drake responded instantly, his own fist crashing forward. Compared to the Mecha’s, his hand looked like a child’s... but when their fists collided—
Neither moved.
The ground beneath them caved in from the sheer force of their clash. Shockwaves rippled outwards, yet both stood firm, their power locked in a thunderous stalemate.
Drake’s eyes narrowed. He hadn’t expected this.
For a Mecha to match him in raw physical strength—as a dragon, no less—was unthinkable. With his stats, he knew exactly how powerful he was.
But this Mecha... it had reached the peak stage of the Origin King Realm in brute strength. That meant it had amplified Leo’s power by three small realms.
It was unreal.
Their clash resumed with furious intensity. Despite its massive frame, the Mecha moved with inhuman agility. To the onlookers, only afterimages flickered in and out of view—the real evidence of the battle was in the devastation: cracked earth, shattered trees, cratered terrain.
Then they split apart, each sizing up the other with smoldering resolve.
"Sun Lion Art: Pounce of the Lion!"
"Devouring Art: Devourer Void Step!"
They launched at one another again, movement arts activated. The Mecha lunged with leonine grace, while Drake slipped through space itself, devouring the air as he moved.
"Sun Lion Art: Rush of the Lion!"
"Devouring Art: Devourer Strike!"
The Mecha’s fist burst into golden flame, shaped into a blazing image of a sun lion snarling at its edge. Drake’s fists surged with devouring energy, swirling with an abyssal pull. Then—
BOOM!
Their clash detonated the air. A shockwave tore through the battlefield, leveling anything nearby. Spectators shielded themselves, eyes wide in disbelief.
Only the strongest could follow the battle now. To the rest, they were blurs of violence and fury.
But Leo noticed something.
Drake’s Devouring Energy was absorbing the Mecha’s armor, disintegrating it piece by piece. Yet the Mecha’s self-repair protocols kicked in instantly, healing the damage and letting Leo continue throwing blows without pause.
"Fire Saint Art: Heavenly Blazing Palm!"
"First Move: Scorching Ember Art!"
Leo surged forward, his Mecha’s fists enveloped in divine flame. Their fists clashed again, and this time Drake’s arms were engulfed in searing fire—flames that tried to reduce his limbs to ash.
Drake narrowed his eyes. 𝓃𝓸𝓋𝓅𝓊𝒷.𝓬𝓸𝓂
Without hesitation, he activated his Devourer Void Stomach—pulling the flames in, trying to convert them to energy. But...
It resisted.
He gritted his teeth, finally managing to transform it—but not without effort.
"It’s a Saint Art. Its true power is unleashed when used with Origin Law," Drax’s voice echoed in his mind.
"Ahh, no wonder it gave me a bit of trouble," Drake chuckled, a wild glint in his eye.
Then his gaze sharpened.
"But one thing, Drax—what rank are my skills?" He had pondered the question for days.
"Well," Drax replied calmly, "I’d say your skills have reached the peak of the universe. Their rank and power grow with you. If you channel intent, they ascend to King or Ancestral Rank. If you infuse them with Law... they become Saint Arts."
Drake nodded slowly, the truth finally settling in.
"You’re such a problem. Why won’t you just let me kill you already?"
Leo’s frustrated voice boomed from within the Mecha. He had unleashed his Saint Art multiple times, yet he couldn’t land a decisive blow—Drake had devoured every last flame.
The Mecha surged forward again, its massive fist crashing toward Drake. Drake responded in kind, his own fist flying forward. But just as the Mecha neared him, it shifted form mid-charge, transforming back into the Mecha Sun Lion.
With sudden ferocity, the lion’s tail whipped around and struck Drake, catching him off guard.
Then, in a seamless motion, the Mecha Sun Lion leapt past him, spun into a perfect U-turn, and reverted once more into its humanoid Mecha form—its golden fist slamming into Drake and sending him hurtling into the earth.
Leo grinned with triumph. He had finally landed a hit, driving Drake into the ground with force.
But Drake... was amused.
He hadn’t expected such tactical creativity from Leo or the Mecha’s versatility. Rising slowly, he dusted himself off with a smirk—then, in a blur, unsheathed the Death Reaper.
"Don’t think you’re the only one with a weapon," Leo’s voice thundered again. In an instant, a golden spear detached from the Mecha Lion’s tail, materializing in his hand.
"Death Art: Death Crescent Slash!"
"Sun Lion Art: Lion King Slash!"
Their weapons clashed in a tempest of sparks and fury. The shockwave from their collision blasted both back, the land itself quaking beneath them.
Then—without warning—panels opened along the Mecha’s arms.
HISSSSS!
A volley of missiles launched, streaking toward Drake. Eyes narrowing, he darted sideways, weaving through them with blinding precision. Each missile exploded behind him, trying to shatter his rhythm, to interrupt the flow of his deadly intent.
But Drake didn’t falter.
The Mecha lunged forward once more, golden spear poised to strike. Drake met it head-on, the Death Reaper flashing through the air. Their battle resumed with ferocity, the battlefield becoming a graveyard of shattered stone, scorched earth, and ruined trees.
The clash was relentless—yet no victor emerged.
Drake could have ended it.
He knew that.
But unleashing his true strength would mean drawing on the full might of the dragon within—something he was still holding back.
His strikes tore into the Mecha, breaking apart components, but it was the rapid regeneration that kept it in the fight.
Leo tried his earlier tactic again—but Drake had already adapted. It failed.
Now, both warriors stood locked in frustration.
Neither had fallen.
Both still stood—unrelenting, unwavering, unbroken.
The onlookers watched, wide-eyed and silent, entranced by the spectacle, caught in a dream-like awe.
Until...
