Chapter 491: Abandoning the Sword

Watching Rod ahead, Lilith and Lucy were somewhat distracted, their hearts tightening in concern. This was undoubtedly the toughest battle he had ever faced. His enemy was the Demon General—a super warrior who had reached the quasi-Mystic Yellow realm. Even the ancient ancestor of the trolls, such a powerful being, had been severely injured at his hands. Could Rod really hold on? They couldn’t help but worry.

Contrary to the women, the other warriors, having witnessed Rod’s aura and combat energy, regained hope. They focused intently on Rod, hoping he could bring them hope and defeat the Demon General.

In less than a moment, both of their auras reached a terrifying level. Rod’s side displayed a holy purple-gold hue, while the Demon General’s side was filled with endless darkness, like a black hole, creating a stark contrast.

“Not bad, there’s still some potential!” Sensing Rod’s fierce aura, the Demon General was slightly stunned and said in surprise, somewhat acknowledging Rod’s strength for now.

“Better things are yet to come!” Rod replied with a cold snort.

This was the critical moment. They couldn’t let themselves be overwhelmed by the opponent’s aura; they had to be stronger. It was crucial—otherwise, if their aura fell behind, even if their strength was equal, they would already be half defeated. Moreover, Rod’s strength couldn’t compare to that of the Demon General at all.

With a serious expression, Rod analyzed silently. During his clash with the ancient ancestor, the Demon General must have used three or four out of ten parts of his combat energy, and he too had suffered some injuries. He had to take advantage of these two points.

On the other hand, his demonic soul had likely only recently merged with his physical body. Even if he had regained his current strength, he might not be able to fully unleash it, unable to reach a state of perfect unity of mind and body. This invisibly created an opportunity for him.

Rod knew that to win, he had to focus on these aspects. Only by seizing these opportunities to attack unpreparedly, targeting weaknesses, and utilizing all his strengths could he have a chance of victory.

If all else failed, Rod still had one last resort, hoping it would allow him to turn the situation in his favor.

“Take my move!” After observing for a while, he saw that the opponent’s defense was flawless. The opponent seemed calm, standing there, but he had blocked all surrounding energy, sealing off every possible attack vector—there was no opening to exploit.

Under such circumstances, Rod had no choice but to take the initiative and launch an attack first. With inferior strength, allowing the opponent to strike first would undoubtedly be a bad omen. The Dragon Slaying Move was unleashed in an instant—air was torn asunder, accompanied by a high-pitched roar, like that of a giant dragon wailing in pain, utterly agonizing. The long sword in his hand instantly formed a hundred-zhang-long purple-gold curtain, slashing downward at the Demon General with tremendous force and a roaring sound. Rod himself became like a streak of purple-gold light, disappearing from his original position in an instant, leaving behind a long afterimage as he charged at the Demon General. “Trying to stop a chariot with your arms—overestimating your own strength. Very well, I’ll show you what true power is!” The Demon General sneered upon seeing Rod take the initiative. He quickly retreated close to the ground, giving off a strange vibe. After dodging Rod’s attack, he let out a furious shout and shot upward into the sky, accompanied by a dark glow! Reaching a high vantage point, he turned his spear around and descended with his sword, rushing downward at an even faster speed than before. Since his own Dragon Slaying Move had been easily dodged, Rod didn’t dare be careless and quickly adjusted his stance, narrowing his eyes slightly. “Break the Sky!” With a furious roar, instead of dodging, he charged forward to confront the enemy head-on. “Ah…” Instantly, cries of shock filled the air. Instead of avoiding the attack, Rod chose to press forward aggressively—was he insane? To confront someone clearly stronger than himself at this moment only left everyone puzzled and confused. Everyone frowned; continuing like this would be extremely disadvantageous for Rod. A fierce battle would only lead to death. Everyone began to worry and wonder what Rod’s plan was—what exactly did he intend to do? Only the Wolf King and a few others exchanged glances, seemingly guessing Rod’s intentions. Just as the Ancestor had said before, after the fierce battle, the Demon General had exhausted three-fourths of his combat energy. Coupled with his injuries, facing another intense battle would drain even more of his energy and worsen his physical condition. Rod might have seized this point to force a direct confrontation, draining the Demon General’s strength. He might not even aim to win, being prepared to suffer serious injuries. He was doing this merely to create opportunities for others, for his own group.

Such an action carried a danger beyond anyone’s imagination; it seemed Rod had made an immense determination this time. The few people present showed signs of concern, looking at each other, hoping that Rod would remain unharmed in this battle. Otherwise, even if they won, no one would be able to be happy. Their hearts tightened at that moment!

Boom… The Sky-Piercing Sword finally clashed head-on with the Demon General. In an instant, sword energy surged outward, spreading in all directions and creating visible waves of air that ravaged the surroundings. Layer after layer, wave after wave, forcing those watching to quickly shield themselves—these energy fluctuations were too terrifying to behold; even the slightest carelessness could result in injury.

After that move, Rod and the Demon General parted again, with Rod flying dozens of meters before he managed to stabilize himself and wipe away a trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth, his gaze grave.

The Demon General wasn’t faring any better either. He retreated dozens of meters before stabilizing himself, his eyes now showing a hint of admiration for Rod.

“Good! Hahaha, go again!” Impressed, the Demon General roared with laughter.

If the earlier battle with the Ancestor had been a contest of strength between two individuals, then this battle with Rod was a contest of physical prowess rather than strength—power became the key factor.

This was exactly the outcome Rod wanted to see. He had enough confidence in his own body and strength. Since his strength was inferior to the opponent’s, he certainly wouldn’t be foolish enough to compete head-on in strength. Instead, he had to force the opponent into his domain of expertise—physical strength and endurance were undoubtedly Rod’s greatest assets.

On this continent, if Rod claimed his strength and endurance were second-best, few would dare claim to be first. Perhaps only the Dragon Emperor of the dragon race could rival him; everyone else was insignificant.

“Alright…” With a light shout, Rod laughed and threw his long sword aside, fighting bare-handed.

“Rod…”

“Elder brother…”

“That kid!”

Instantly, cries of shock erupted from everyone. What was Rod doing? He had thrown away his weapon! Didn’t he know that for a swordsman, the sword was the life of their battles? With the sword came life, and without it, death. With his strength inferior to the opponent’s, throwing away his weapon was surely seeking death!

Everyone stared in shock, calling out worriedly as they watched Rod, but he remained unmoved.

“Hahaha… Great! I like it. You’re the first person I’ve really taken a liking to!” Just as everyone was worried, something completely unexpected happened. Instead of taking the opportunity to attack Rod, the Demon General not only praised Rod’s actions greatly but also said, “Since that’s the case, I’ll have a proper fight with you. So no one can say I’m bullying you!” With that, he threw his long sword aside and stood bare-handed across from Rod! No one could have imagined that the final battle would develop to this extent. Who would have thought that the fight between the two strongest warriors on the continents—a life-or-death battle that would determine the future of the world—would continue in such a way? “Hey, it seems we’ll never be able to match this kid!” The Wolf King in the distance sighed helplessly as he watched Rod. “Yes, we can’t compete. His courage and ambition are beyond our reach!” The Dragon King also spoke with emotion, viewing Rod in a new light and recognizing the purpose behind his actions. He silently marveled at how risky and bold Rod’s move was. Rod’s goal was simple: to force the Demon General to engage in a direct physical confrontation. Who didn’t know about Rod’s incredible physical strength and monstrous power? In these two aspects, no one dared claim to be second only to him; even the dragons paled in comparison to him. Knowing full well his own weaknesses, Rod came up with this strategy—to leverage his strengths to counter the Demon General. Since the Demon General’s demon soul had just merged with his body, his physical strength was undoubtedly his weakest point. Rod was using his advantages to exploit the opponent’s weaknesses, instantly narrowing the gap between their strengths and putting them on an equal footing. Of course, this was also a risky move—Rod was taking a gamble. Not everyone could exhibit such courage; very few were capable of doing so.

You must know that there are only two outcomes to this approach. Either the demon general will drop his weapon and fight head-on, in which case he will fall into his own trap, fighting against himself using both his strengths and weaknesses, thus putting himself on an equal footing and gaining a chance to win. If he fails, the outcome is obvious—only death awaits. With the opponent armed while he is unarmed and there is a difference in strength, failure is the only result, and the outcome of failure is death. Rod is risking his life in a huge gamble.