Volume 4: Shadows of Conflict, Chapter 174: Enjoying the Fierce Battle

“It seems there’s nothing more to say. A fight between us today is inevitable!” Thorne said.
“Right here? Though I’m not a devout Christian, fighting here would surely be a desecration of your faith! Archbishop Thorne, you must be aware of this better than I am, right?” Chu Tianyu continued to show his arrogance.
“No destruction, no construction. This church is indeed old—just like the churches today, lifeless. Wouldn’t it be better to use it as my battlefield, allowing it to be reborn through destruction?” Thorne said, using the church as a metaphor.
Chu Tianyu raised an eyebrow. “Oh, is that so? I’ve heard that your sacred power increases greatly in certain environments, like ancient churches…”
Thorne didn’t respond. Instead, he raised the ruby-encrusted sacred staff high as Chu Tianyu finished speaking. His lips moved slightly, and instantly, the entire staff was enveloped in red light. The light in the church dimmed, as if all the sacred energy left from its long history were converging toward him.
As he gathered energy, Thorne focused all his attention on Chu Tianyu. With his other hand, hidden beneath his robe, he had already formed an energy pellet the size of a jujube seed. This was another ultimate move of Archbishop Thorne. Though small, this energy pellet was one of the fundamental elements of life, with enough power to shatter metal and stone. If Chu Tianyu tried to attack while Thorne was gathering energy, at close range, Thorne was confident he could end the battle with just this pellet.
From the moment Chu Tianyu saw Thorne, he knew there must be a reason why this man ranked above the Norse gods and stood at the top of power in all of Europe. But the strength he displayed now was already on par with that of the Norse Faruk after summoning the gods.
Moreover, Chu Tianyu had a premonition—that Thorne hadn’t used all his strength yet, that he still had secret weapons unused, just like the London Eagle, Greer, who hadn’t appeared yet.
However, the stronger the opponent, the happier Chu Tianyu was, especially since he had only recently faced difficulties. At his current level, encountering a decent opponent was already quite fortunate.

That’s why Chu Tianyu went all out, allowing him to fully demonstrate his abilities to see just how strong this so-called number one in Europe really was. Yet Chu Tianyu didn’t become careless just because there was a challenge ahead. His strategy was to not only assess Thorne’s true strength and enjoy the thrill of the challenge but also, as taught by his third master, avoid putting himself in danger at any cost. Thus, Chu Tianyu deliberately acted arrogantly to give Thorne a preconceived wrong impression.

Thorne’s gathered sacred energy finally reached its peak. A powerful spiral of energy surged toward Chu Tianyu, carrying destructive force akin to a hurricane, ravaging everything around him…

“I admire your courage and even more your boldness for trusting me enough to gather such sacred energy. As a reward, I’ll give you another chance to be friends!”

Before the words “chance to be friends” even faded, Thorne launched a sudden, storm-like attack from afar. His body was enveloped in golden light as he rushed toward Chu Tianyu like lightning, firing an energy projectile from his other hand, which left a trail of white light, striking first despite being behind.

Chu Tianyu had been prepared for Thorne’s unannounced attack. He clenched his fist, surrounding it with purple energy, and charged headfirst at the white energy projectile. At the same time, a layer of purple energy appeared in front of his body, colliding head-on with Thorne’s attack from afar.

A massive roar erupted as their energies collided, generating invisible energy waves that spread outward instantly, destroying everything in their path—including the four walls of the church, the stone pillars around it shattering into pieces, and the huge roof collapsing under its own weight, sending dust everywhere.

At the same time, two beams of light pierced through the collapsing roof and intertwined at incredible speed. Energy surged violently, Thorne’s white sacred light illuminating the surroundings, while Chu Tianyu’s purple aura added a mysterious touch to the night.

A few masters of stealth were also planning to strike when the time was right, as ordered by Boss Thorne, but they never expected that the aftermath of the two fighting would be beyond their ability to withstand. Those closest to them were already suffering from surging internal energy and had to retreat repeatedly, while those further back also faced severe difficulties—not only dealing with the intense force waves but also the flying sand and stones carried by the strong winds. Thus, they were forced to retreat as well, only managing to stabilize themselves after moving far away and using obstacles for support.

Meanwhile, the two fighters in the arena were battling with great intensity, as if they hadn’t encountered any real opponents and were experiencing the joy of finding relief after a long drought. Especially Chu Tianyu, who kept changing his punching techniques, unleashing everything he had learned, channeling all his internal energy into his attacks without reservation against Thorne. Thorne, relying on his sacred staff and the strange golden glow surrounding his body, could barely hold his ground, which gave Chu Tianyu the chance to fully display his skills.

However, both knew that so far, despite the massive disturbances caused by their fight, this was still just a tentative warm-up. Thorne, unlike Chu Tianyu’s composure and ease, had to unleash all his sacred power just to barely fend off the opponent’s fierce attacks, with no chance to counter. Though shocked by Chu Tianyu’s strength, this outcome was exactly what he wanted—because opportunities often arise when the opponent thinks they have the upper hand, and that’s when it’s the perfect time for him to use his ultimate move…