Blacksmith of the Apocalypse

“This guy is really tough, contrary to his looks,” Marcel exclaimed half joking and half annoyed through his gritted teeth. He and Elza had started fighting together after her powerful entrance. His three original opponents had quickly fallen, but the man the ice queen had thrown over here was like a cockroach.

“Are you jealous? I'm used to jealousy. Not everyone can be strong and handsome. i don't hold it against someone who lacks both like you,” the young man with the silver mask taunted. Despite looking like a potato after his fight with Elza, he had only grown stronger and more handsome.

“Tsk, to think he held back against me, despite the beating I gave him,” Elza said, slight annoyance audible in her cold voice. Since the couple fought together, the young man had revealed that he was not only proficient in ice magic but also in fire magic.

He spoke some mumbo jumbo about Ying and Yang and how he had perfected controlling the properties of opposites. it sounded like a lot of bullshit and bragging to them, but his power was undeniable.

“What will you do now? You don't stand a chance;” the young cultivator said with a smug face. He was right, they were in a stalemate and it was uncertain who would tire out first. Marcel and Erza shared a glance.

In sync, they pulled out a potion bottle each, popping the cork, and chucked it. The young man could only stare in surprise, by the time he wanted to act, they had already thrown away the empty bottles.

““Time for round three.”” They spoke and attacked together. Connecting the fire and ice, to create a storm to accompany their attacks, their powers had grown by several times. They doping. it was super effective!

Facing their combined attacks, imbued with holy power, the cultivator had no more chance to catch a breath. They weaved their attacks together, quickly pushing into a corner, when suddenly-

The constant banging in the city fell silent. The barrier above had vanished. in shock, the battle halted.

“That's my sign! Bye!” the handsome man called out. Using the chance he turned into a streak of rainbow light, fleeing from their fight.

...

Dwarfs were well-known for their willpower. They didn't just start off with a high score in the attribute, but also strong modifiers for stats like mental resistance. This was why Seth had no doubts when he gave Polter not just the Lunacy Armor, but also the Set of Madness, two item sets that usually shouldn't be worn together.

Polter's willpower and resistance were off the charts compared to normal players. No matter what intrusive thoughts spoke to him, he would have the leeway to make his own decisions. He would not fall to lunacy or madness... unless he wanted it.

“Star-breaking Shield Bash!” the dwarf clad in black flames cried out and charged at the giant like a madman. The shield didn't get much action in his previous frenzy, but now it was all he had left. he didn't use a skill but called out a phrase he had learned from Seth.

Dumm Ting's expression was visibly stumped. Although he had let himself be beaten to a sorry state to crush his opponent's mentality, the Dwarf almost didn't react to the loss of his main weapon. Belatedly, the martial artist hurried to protect his especially vulnerable twin planets, when he realized what the dwarf was up to.

Bruised arms blocked the smooth silver shield clad in shield aura and black flames. Because of the size difference, Dumm Ting had to move into an awkward stance to defend against the attack from below.

“What kind of creature are you?! To attack a man's -”

“Star-breaking Shield Bash!” the dwarf interrupted him, not stopping at all. He angled the shield and the smooth surface slid away from his forearms. Polter ducked down, passing through his legs, and aimed straight up for the magic pouch.

Like a dog hunted by a bee, the cultivator made a massive leap in the air, to evade the shattering of bis dragon pearls. The edge of the silver shield barely missed the dangly bits. The aura of might surrounding Polter visibly increased, when the dwarf made a 180° turn to face his opponent who was now in mid-air.

“Star Breaking Throw!” he exclaimed, and threw the the cutlass, his sidearm, after the opponent. Dumm Ting grunted. he wasn't at the level where he could freely move in the air, but the midget was underestimating him! Kicking the air, he changed his position, but couldn't fully evade. The cutlass covered in dark flames deeply lodged into his thigh, instead of his whatchamacallit.

“You animal!” Dumm Ting cried out, when Polter was already rushing to the place he was going to land, however, the martial artist was not disturbed enough to follow his pace. Dumm Ting turned his leap into a jump attack.

Gathering his spiritual energy, he was ready to crush the dwarf on the rooftop below. The Offensive was always the best defense! Just before Dumm Ting came down like an artillery shell, Polter evaded, allowing the cultivator to drill through the roof into the floors below.

The golems had long evacuated the building. It had only been Dumm Ting and Polter for a while. The moment the cultivator drilled into the rooftop, the sun finally vanished behind the mountains. the night began.

When Dumm Ting looked up to see his vertically challenged opponent, he saw his silhouette with the big waning moon as the background and slightly illuminated by the bright lights of the adjacent city. The hits on the barrier were now visible ripples of light across the dome that covered the city.

The dwarf didn't follow him. Why had he suddenly become so calm, just glaring at him from above? Dumm Ting used the moment of silence to circulate his Qi and recover some of his wounds. he didn't know what had happened to the dwarf, but driving out the dark flames had become much harder than in their first fight. Overall, how had he become so much stronger?

“Are you hiding from me now?” the dwarf's cackle came from above. Dumm Ting took a deep breath and with one push of spiritual energy, he drove the dark flame from his wounds. He was ready to end the midget once and for all.

Returning to the rooftop, he felt ready to face the dwarf until he met him in the moonlight. His senses tingled, signaling him extreme danger. Suddenly, Polter vanished from his view.

“<Shield Saint's Charge>! <Shield Bash>!” the words reached his ears when the shield already towered over him. He crossed his arms but couldn't mitigate the force. The martial artist was catapulted across the rooftop. With the terrifying acceleration, the dwarf followed the cultivator.

“<Lunacy Unleashed>! <Shield Bash>!”

Dumm Ting had just come to a halt after rolling across the rooftop when the dwarf was already on him. He wasn't wearing the shield anymore. What bash was he talking about? He was holding the shield with both hands on the rim and hit his upper arm with the edge!

An audible crack betrayed the fact, that his arm actually broke from that strike. He kept repeating the word “Shield bash” as he hammered him with the shield, the normal hits had him winding in pain, Empowering his broken bones with energy, Dumm Ting could only cower on the ground and protect his vitals.

“Star Breaking Shield Bash!”

Instinctively, the martial artist moved to protect his stars, however, no attack below the belt came. Instead, he got a massive hit to his now-exposed head. Was this how it ended? Suddenly, things went dark.

But it wasn't that he was gone, but the barrier in the sky had vanished! The elder did it! Ha! As long as he got out of this he could- He heard a crack and things went dark. This time for good.

Only Polter was left on the roof, looking at the sky, breathing heavily. He had gotten his revenge, but.. had they lost the war?