MIGHT AS WELL BE OP Chapter 916: Forest
Previously on MIGHT AS WELL BE OP...
Fist collided with blade in a cataclysmic eruption of erasing force. The atmosphere between the two combatants expanded like a balloon pushed past its breaking point, swelling for a heartbeat before detonating in a display of pure chaos. The desert itself recoiled as the sand was blasted backward in a frenzy; dunes disintegrated and grains screamed while being hurled away from the impact's epicenter.
Aura Nova’s gaze sharpened with calculation for a fleeting moment before a smirk played upon her lips. She had been momentarily startled—nothing more—that Kingsley possessed the audacity to meet her cold steel with his bare knuckles. That flicker of surprise evaporated instantly. Without losing a single heartbeat, the pair vanished into a flickering blur, their velocity peaking as the surrounding battlefield struggled to track their movements.
Kingsley met every strike Aura Nova unleashed with a frontal assault, displaying a brand of fearlessness that suggested he felt no dread toward her weapon. Aura Nova’s short sword swung downward in a savage cleave, the metal whistling as it sped toward Kingsley’s shoulder. Kingsley, however, did not retreat. Raising his hand with calm composure, he met the edge with the back of his palm, parrying the strike with such trivial ease it looked as though he were brushing away a mere insect.
His opposite hand lunged forward immediately, a fist cutting through the air toward Aura Nova’s midsection with the lethal intent of crushing her internal organs. But Aura Nova was far from sluggish. Her free hand reacted in perfect harmony, the edge of her second short sword intercepting Kingsley’s fist. Steel and flesh met with a thunderous shockwave.
The earth beneath them trembled as the wind exploded outward, howling in every direction. In another distorted blink of motion, they vanished again, their sheer speed dragging the sands behind them in impossible proportions. An instant later, they materialized at the edge of a forest, perched atop a mountain peak. Despite the change in terrain, the ferocity of their exchange did not waver; it only grew more savage.
Kingsley’s foot lashed upward from below, aiming directly for her chin. Having anticipated the maneuver, Aura Nova snapped her head aside, narrowly avoiding the kick as it sliced through the air where her face had just been. She retaliated instantly, her blades screaming forward to amputate his leg in one decisive stroke. Before the strike could land, Kingsley’s legs twisted with explosive agility, swinging toward her skull as if to shatter it like a melon.
Aura Nova abandoned her offensive immediately. Her spine arched backward with unnatural speed, her evasion dictated by pure instinct. She heard the wind detonate violently in the space her head had occupied just moments prior. Kingsley was relentless, however. He was locked into a ruthless combination, and Aura Nova’s successful evasion did nothing to dampen his momentum.
His leg stalled mid-air, muscles coiling tight. His toe pivoted toward the heavens, and then, with the concentrated power of a collapsing sun, his heel drove downward toward her forehead. Aura Nova’s senses reached their zenith as she watched the attack descend. She did not speak or hesitate. Moving with the fluid grace of a feline, her body shifted laterally as if she were made of pliable cartilage rather than bone.
Kingsley’s foot slammed into the mountain. The entire peak shuddered with terrifying intensity as the force traveled into the earth, sending earthquake-like shockwaves rippling outward for several seconds. Violent cracks spiderwebbed across the stone, though the mountain stubbornly refused to crumble.
The moment the impact landed, Aura Nova struck. Her blade carved a lethal arc through the air, aiming for Kingsley’s throat with pinpoint precision. Kingsley did not dare pause. He ducked instantly, the steel whistling through the void where his head had been. Yet as he lowered his stance, he saw a knee flying toward his face; Aura Nova had predicted his reaction perfectly.
Even from a squatting position, Kingsley proved his mastery as a martial artist. His form flowed across the mountain's surface as he sidestepped with fluid, precise movements. His torso twisted with seasoned grace, and in the next heartbeat, he appeared at Aura Nova’s flank. His fist surged upward, carrying enough devastating power to shatter her ribcage from the side.
Aura Nova did not simply watch the blow approach. She mirrored Kingsley’s rhythm, matching his steps with flawless timing. While standing, her body maintained that same level of controlled grace. The second she came to a halt, her left foot snapped off the ground, tearing through the air toward Kingsley’s temple with explosive velocity.
Despite his low stance, Kingsley moved with immaculate ease, his vast battle experience manifesting in real-time. He leaned back sharply, letting Aura Nova’s foot pass through empty space. She did not miss a beat or show any sign of hesitation. Her twin daggers followed the kick immediately, plunging downward in a decisive thrust intended to end the duel.
Kingsley refused to be pinned down. He rolled to the side, executing a clean evasion. He cared nothing for dignity or the etiquette of a Young Master; this was a life-and-death struggle. Aura Nova’s twin short swords buried themselves in the mountain, blasting a massive crater into the surface as stone shards erupted outward.
Suddenly, the mountain itself heaved violently before exploding backward with apocalyptic pressure. The blast sent both fighters soaring through the air. Before they could be carried away, they recalibrated, kicking off the very air. Their bodies darted through the falling mountain rubble, dancing between raining boulders and debris as they descended.
Using the tumbling rocks as temporary footholds, they bypassed the laws of gravity, striking and countering without a pause. Their exchange remained relentless and merciless, neither showing any sign of stopping until the other was broken. With a deafening boom, their feet struck the ground below. A ravine split open the moment they landed, the impact releasing a wind blast with the power of a cannon. Trees were flattened and ripped from the earth as roots snapped and soil was uprooted.
Kingsley and Aura Nova were indifferent to the devastation. They existed in a world of their own, seeing only their opponent and acknowledging nothing else. The forest was consumed by phantom streaks of gold and blue, colliding repeatedly with overwhelming force as their battle raged on without restraint.