World Awakening: The Legendary Player-Chapter 118: New Move

The Blackwood elves were completely shocked. Their smirks were gone, replaced with looks of pure disbelief.

"No way," one of them whispered. "He countered the Shadow Step. How?"

Kalion’s face was a mask of cold fury. He had expected a quick, brutal execution, a bit of fun at the expense of a cocky human. He did not expect a real fight.

A few feet away, Mela just shook her head, her arms crossed. "Why is he playing around? He could have ended this already."

Serian watched with a small, knowing smile on her face. ’He’s not playing,’ she thought, remembering the look on his face when he’d killed Lola. ’I was wrong about him then. He wasn’t enjoying the murder, he was just high on the power. He’s like a child who’s just been given the most dangerous toy in the world, and he’s finally learning how to actually use it.’

This wasn’t a fight to him, it was a lesson, and he was a very eager student.

Back in the clearing, the game of cat and mouse continued. Renza would vanish, a blur of shadow and speed, and reappear from a new angle, his daggers aimed at a weak point. Each time, Nox would move a split second before, a void-forged shield or a gauntlet appearing just in time to block the blow.

CLANG! BAM! SHINK!

The sounds echoed through the clearing, a deadly rhythm. Renza was getting frustrated, his attacks becoming faster, more desperate. He was the hunter, the fastest in his clan, but this human was making a mockery of his speed. He was always one step ahead.

’This is getting boring,’ Nox thought. ’Defending is a waste of energy.’

He decided to change the game.

"You know," he said, his voice casual as he blocked another dagger strike without opening his eyes, a loud yawn escaping his lips. "I was expecting more."

Renza appeared across the clearing, his chest heaving slightly. The yawn was a greater insult than any punch. "Do not mock the arts of the Blackwood, human!"

Nox finally opened his eyes, but his expression was one of profound boredom. "Mocking? I’m not mocking you." He paused, letting the silence hang for a moment before delivering the final, crushing blow to Renza’s pride.

"I’m bored. This super-fast Shadow Step of yours? It’s the same trick, over and over. You’re predictable. And predictable," he finished, his voice dropping to a flat, dismissive tone, "is slow."

That broke him. The insult—that his clan’s ultimate technique was not just ineffective but boring—shattered Renza’s discipline. Pure, blinding rage took over. "I’LL KILL YOU!"

’Always works.’ He thought, ready to end it.

However, "Is that how you expected me to react?" Renza said, his expression back to calm.

’Oh, he was playing dumb?’ Nox felt a genuine flicker of surprise. This was new. Usually, people’s pride was a big, shiny red button just waiting to be pushed.

"Did you really think a few childish words would be enough to break my focus?" Renza’s voice was different now, a low, dangerous calm. "I have fought in more battles than you have had hot meals, boy. Your tricks are nothing new."

"See that?" Kalion sneered from the edge of the clearing. "Renza’s done playing with you. This is where you die."

The air around Renza seemed to shimmer and distort. He wasn’t just using the shadows anymore; he was twisting them, pulling them around his body like a cloak. He vanished again, but this time, Nox’s senses went haywire. He couldn’t get a clear lock. It wasn’t one mosquito buzzing around, it felt like a whole swarm.

’He’s masking his presence?’

A sharp pain erupted from his shoulder as a dagger sliced through his sleeve, drawing blood. He hadn’t even felt him coming.

Another cut appeared on his leg, then a third across his back. They weren’t deep, just shallow, annoying wounds, but Renza was too fast to see, his daggers landing with a precision that was impossible to track. He was a ghost with blades, everywhere and nowhere at once.

"He is using Shadow Mirage," Mela explained. "A more advanced form of the step. He creates false images of himself within the darkness, making it impossible to know where the real attack is coming from."

Serian watched, her hands clenched. "Nox can’t keep defending if he doesn’t know where to block."

Nox was getting pissed. The small, stinging cuts were more annoying than anything else, like a swarm of angry bees he couldn’t swat.

’This is so stupid,’ he thought, gritting his teeth as another dagger grazed his arm. ’I can’t hit what I can’t find.’ He had to change the rules of the game, and if the hunter was using the shadows on the ground to his advantage, then the ground had to go.

"Hey!" he yelled, not to Renza, but to Serian and Mela. "Get back unless you want a face full of dirt."

Mela looked at him like he was crazy, but Serian, trusting the look in his eyes, pulled her back a few steps.

Nox ignored them and dropped into a low crouch, his Brutalizer gauntlets glowing with a faint red light. He took a deep breath, activated Primal Void, and poured all of his energy into his fists.

Then he punched the ground.

It wasn’t a single punch; it was a rapid-fire series of blows, like a jackhammer, that hit the forest floor with a sound like rolling thunder. frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The packed earth of the clearing didn’t just crack, it exploded. A massive wave of dirt, rocks, and splintered roots erupted into the air, creating a thick, choking cloud of brown dust that instantly filled the entire space. Visibility dropped to zero.

The Blackwood elves, who had been enjoying the show, were completely caught off guard. They coughed and shielded their eyes, their smirks gone.

"What in the hells is he doing?!" Kalion roared, spitting out a mouthful of dirt.

From within the dust cloud, there was a choked gasp, followed by a series of frantic coughs. Renza, his Shadow Mirage technique now useless without clear shadows to move between, was suddenly just a guy trapped in a dust storm. He was visible, a hazy silhouette trying to wave the dust from his face.

’Gotcha.’

Nox shot through the cloud like a torpedo. He didn’t need to see, he just followed the sound of the coughing. He burst out of the haze right in front of the startled elf.

Renza’s eyes went wide. He tried to vanish, to use his Shadow Step, but he was disoriented and there were no clear shadows to jump to. He was just a fast guy, and Nox was a freight train.

Nox didn’t waste the opening. He wasn’t just going to punch him, he was going to make an example of him.

’This is what happens when you waste my time.’

He poured his mana into his legs and arms, combining the explosive speed of a micro-Void Step with the raw, overwhelming power of Primal Void. He didn’t just move forward, he warped, his body a blur inside the choking dust cloud.

The first punch was a blur, a solid right hook that slammed into Renza’s gut with the force of a car crash. The sound was a wet, sickening CRUNCH as the Brutalizer gauntlet caved in his leather armor and the ribs underneath.

Renza’s eyes went wide, all the air exploding from his lungs in a choked gasp.

Before he could even start to fall, Nox was already pivoting, his other fist coming up in a vicious uppercut that snapped Renza’s head back with a sharp crack. For a split second, the skinny elf was airborne, his body lifted off the ground by the sheer force of the blow.

But Nox wasn’t done.

He followed through with a high kick, his boot connecting with Renza’s chest in mid-air and sending him flying backward out of the dust cloud. The elf bounced once on the hard-packed earth with a sickening thud before skidding to a stop in a crumpled heap at Kalion’s feet, completely unconscious and unmoving.

The entire combo had taken less than two seconds.

The dust began to settle, revealing Nox standing there, his fists still smoking with dark energy. He slowly lowered his leg, a bored expression on his face.

The clearing was dead silent.

The Blackwood elves, Kalion included, just stared at the broken body of their fastest hunter, then back at the human who had just dismantled him with such brutal, impossible speed. Their arrogant smirks were gone, replaced by looks of pure, unadulterated shock and a new, healthy dose of fear.

Mela’s jaw was literally hanging open. ’He... he wasn’t even trying before,’ she thought, her mind struggling to process what she had just seen. ’That speed... it’s greater than Liesa’s. It’s greater than mine.’

Serian let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding, a proud smile touching her lips.

Nox casually dusted off his hands and looked over at the stunned leader.

"He blinked," he said, his voice flat. "So I win."