Hero of Darkness

10 Minutes Later. 

"Is that all? I thought you were supposed to be the strongest among them." spoke the blue wolfkin with a disappointed gaze. 

Unlike what he thought… The battle with Dorian was simply too anticlimactic. 

After figuring out all of the white wolfkin's skills, attack patterns, and combat techniques… There was nothing new that the disciple used against Atreus. 

Dorian only had 2 Saint Rank skills. One being the 4 massive and 500 meter long light elemental swords and second being the hundreds of swords that hovered like a swarm of bees around the user which were good for offense and defense. 

But for someone like him who had more than 30 Saint Rank skills and close to 16 Legendary Rank skills, 6 of which were usable in actual combat in his present scenario and elemental affinity without revealing his identity as a chosen Hero… The end result was simply underwhelming. 

All he had to do was close off their distance and make some critical strikes using Wrath of Vajra skill till Dorian was heavily injured and expended all of his world energy. 

Kahn now understood that although he wasn't as strong or skillful as Romulus, Vildred or Rathnaar… He was many times stronger than others of the same rank. 

It's not that the 4 disciples were weaker. They had impeccable teamwork and strategies for open war and also taking down a beginner 5th stage saint if they worked together. But their luck was just too bad because they faced him of all people they shouldn't have. 

"Now shut up and wait till I think of something to finish you all off." spoke Kahn as he stepped on Dorian's chest, further humiliating the strongest disciple among the group. 

This terrifying victory by Atreus wasn't achieved through some Deus Ex Machina style combat. 

Although Kahn was supposed to be weaker, he was already comparable to a beginner 5th stage saint and all of his physical stats already exceeded Dorian by a huge margin, hence his attack power and speed were multiple times faster than the latter. 

And the others were already many times weaker than him because of their ranks and classes which didn't have much defense to begin with. 

Like Romulus said, none of them realized what he was doing while getting beaten up by the four. 

And finally, he used the Psychokinesis skill associated with water from the sea below, making it look like the water itself was moving at his will as the entire water body moved away, revealing the destroyed open ground below. He then brought the other 3 disciples and used Lucid Reality on them. 

And lastly… 

Swoom! 

Hum! 

Hum! 

Whoosh! 

Atreus disappeared and the next time he appeared in the sky… the rising water started coalescing and formed an enormous 300 meter wide and 150 meter tall claw that was further reinforced by hundreds of icicles from the nearby terrain. 

A terrifying and malicious aura erupted from the fist and the 4 disciples felt a chill in their bodies. 

"Azure Dragon Fist!" shouted Atreus and made a punching gesture towards the wolfkins. 

[Such a chuunibyou name! Well not like I have named many skills any better.] thought Kahn. 

Shoot!

Like an arrow released from a bow, this massive fist made of moving ice descended from the sky. 

BANG!! 

The nearby space ruptured and the shockwaves from this attack froze the nearby terrain. 

And when everything became clear to them… All that was left was a massive fortress-like iceberg. 

Inside of it… Were the 4 disciples who were now turned into ice sculptures. 

The density of this ice was hard and strong that no matter how much saint pressure they used… none could escape. 

----------------

For a saint… The only two things that made them look like a God in the eyes of mortals were their uncontrollably strong bodies that were enough to destroy a mountain due to their rank and their world energy reserves. 

Without both… They were as weak as a normal person. 

And Atreus exhausted them all while fighting on all fronts in the past 4 hours. 

Outside the arena, even Priscilla was taken aback. 

It wasn't that Romulus trained them for nothing. It was just that Atreus was in control of this battle from beginning to end. 

And without even realizing, they overestimated themselves as he appeared weaker. And right when they thought they had proven themselves superior… 

He turned the tables on them. 

"Let's see what you all do with the second one." mocked Atreus like a supreme god looking down on ants. 

Finally, Atreus summoned another Azure Dragon Fist. 

[What the hell! He can attack with more of those?] thought Juno with a terrified mind as she struggled to move inside her ice prison. 

[No… This one is different. It's stronger than the first one. 

If we're hit in our current condition… I

I don't think any of us will survive.] relayed Dorian to his fellow disciples. 

But this time, Kahn used the Dragon Bloodlines effect. 

Beowulf was originally a legendary rank brawler warrior set made from the Guardian Dragon's horn and now with the Kahn utilizing the bloodline effect, it increased the overall attack power of the fist by 350% and the aura also became terrifyingly strong. 

This was extremely alarming to his opponents and all they could feel like a certain death was glaring at them. 

But right then… the arena suddenly deactivated and all of them were summoned back to the training facility. 

Romulus looked at his disciples with a gaze filled with disappointment. 

"Do you see the reason why I made him my Shadow Disciple?" he asked in a tyrannical voice. 

One after another, Romulus told them about their mistakes during the battle. 

And as soon as he finished… All of them had sullen expressions. 

"Tell me why you chose this type of strategy." he ordered Atreus. 

"I simply used a battle strategy I read about a long time ago." replied the blue wolfkin brawler. 

"Tell us what it is." commended the red wolfkin. 

"Engage people with what they expect; it is what they are able to discern and confirm their projections. It settles them into predictable patterns of response, occupying their minds while you wait for the extraordinary moment… 

That which they cannot anticipate." he said while looking down on all 4 of the disciples. 

All 4 of the white wolfkins had an almost ashamed expression after hearing these words. 

Whether it was strength, battle tactics, versatility… Atreus was superior in terms of everything. 

Against such a powerhouse… 

They no longer had the will to fight.