Single Wish: Rise Of The Omniscient Paragon Chapter 1142 - 1139: Battling The Tribulation (2)

Corey spat out several mouthfuls of blood, his eyes fixed on the jagged, missing chunk of his waist.

It took a mere three seconds—though it felt like an eternity—for his mind to process the sequence of events.

One moment, he was focusing intensely on the hands of the colossal puppet; the next, his physical form jerked to the side without his command. A thunderous explosion erupted behind him, leaving a scorched, massive crater in its wake. Only then did he realize he was bleeding profusely.

What was happening?

Why was blood pouring from him?

When had the strike occurred?

Who had managed to land such a blow?

Even as these questions raced through Corey’s mind, his subconscious already grasped the grim reality. This realization caused him to shift his attention from his mangled waist to the giant hands that were supposed to have crushed the Heavenly Executor.

Or more accurately... the hands that failed to do so.

"No way," Corey whispered, his voice trembling with disbelief as those massive hands began to disintegrate.

A huge portion of the metal had been incinerated into ash, while the remaining fragments plunged into the Black Sea, triggering violent earthquakes and massive tsunamis. At the epicenter of the crumbling debris stood the Heavenly Executor, its golden lightning bolt leveled directly at him.

Seeing this, Corey understood everything: the Heavenly Executor was the one who had nearly claimed his life and carved that crater into the earth. As for his survival?

He owed that to Prima and Primus—specifically Prima.

While Primus possessed far more power than Corey and could track the movements of the Heavenly Executor, he was ultimately just a weapon. His combat experience and inherent abilities were insufficient to duel the Heavenly Executor on his own.

He required his master, Corey.

Yet Corey was far too weak. The sheer disparity between Corey and the Heavenly Executor was laid bare by a simple fact: Corey had failed to see the flash of the strike or hear the sound of the approach. He hadn't even registered the sensation of his waist being severed and cauterized.

The gap in their Cultivation and speed was simply insurmountable.

If not for Prima, who possessed a deep bond with Primus and strength exceeding Corey’s own, he would never have survived. She had moved his body out of the line of fire faster than he could think. By utilizing the shared senses provided by Primus, she had puppeted Corey’s physical form against his own Will.

As both Prima and Primus relayed these details to him, Corey let out a weary sigh. Despite the dire circumstances, his features remained composed.

He had anticipated a struggle. He knew deep down that his current power was nowhere near enough to overcome this Tribulation. He was a mere mortal, while this Tribulation was a force capable of slaying Immortals and Gods alike.

How could he possibly hope to win? His strategy had been to rely on the combined strength of Primus, Prima, and the colossal puppet to weather the storm. However, the brutal reality was proving to be vastly different from the billions of mental simulations he had conducted.

As he glanced at the colossal puppet, which was now missing its hands and likely would have been destroyed entirely if the Heavenly Executor’s focus hadn't shifted, Corey's instincts suddenly screamed a warning.

The very air felt charged with electricity, and the hair on his skin stood on end. He jerked his head up, his pupils shrinking to needle-points as he found the Heavenly Executor standing directly before him.

Even though Corey had been contemplating the puppet’s failure, he hadn't been caught off guard. His Eyes of Omniscience provided a full 360-degree field of vision, and while one Star of Consciousness handled his internal thoughts, thousands of others remained locked onto the Heavenly Executor.

In theory, his focus was absolute regardless of where he looked. But the enemy was simply too fast. The Heavenly Executor moved with such speed that it appeared to exist in two places simultaneously.

In less than a heartbeat, four clashes occurred. Each exchange resulted in Corey’s bones shattering, his blood reaching a boiling point, and his skin melting away like heated wax. Corey wasn't even the one fighting; Primus and Prima were piloting his body, yet the damage was catastrophic.

The duo had only managed to parry strikes aimed at his vitals. The rest of his body was left unrecognizable. Four thrusts—that was the extent of the Heavenly Executor's movement, yet it took everything Primus and Prima had to deflect them.

Corey couldn't fault them. They lacked true battle experience, resembling prodigies who were wielding a blade for the very first time. They were adapting at an incredible speed, but time was a luxury they didn't have.

Another collision sent Corey's eyes nearly bulging from their sockets as he was slammed violently into the earth. The impact generated a shockwave powerful enough to level a dozen buildings, causing his already ruined internal organs to rupture further.

Corey coughed up a mixture of blood, organ tissue, and bone fragments. He tried to force himself up, but his body refused to obey. Though he hadn't personally controlled his movements for a single second of the fight, he was a physical wreck.

A foot crafted from golden lightning appeared in his field of vision. Corey looked up at the Heavenly Executor, a slight frown marring his face, yet his eyes remained eerily calm and focused.