Chapter 492: Close Combat

Of course, doing this was undoubtedly risky—Rod was taking a gamble. Such a spirit of adventure wasn’t something everyone could muster, and very few were capable of it.
There were only two outcomes: either the Demon General would drop his weapon and engage in a head-on fight, putting himself in his own trap—fighting with his weaknesses against Rod’s strengths, thus bringing them to an equal footing and giving Rod a chance to win. If he failed, the result was obvious—only death. With the enemy armed while he was unarmed and at a disadvantage in strength, failure was inevitable, and failure meant death. Rod was risking his life in a huge gamble.
Those who understood this situation couldn’t help but gasp in awe, marveling at Rod’s courage. They wouldn’t dare do such a thing themselves and viewed Rod with even greater respect.
With both sides fighting bare-handed, Rod took a deep breath and a faint smile appeared on his lips. He hadn’t judged wrong—members of the Heavenly Demon clan were arrogant and proud, never resorting to exploiting others’ weaknesses. They had absolute confidence in themselves, so they wouldn’t accept such a concession from an enemy.
“Come, let me see just how strong your human bodies can be!” Ignoring the surroundings, the Demon General laughed loudly and roared at Rod. In the next moment, he rushed forward, fists clenched, and charged at Rod.
Driven by his combat energy, his fists emitted a dark glow, eerie and terrifying.
“Good, let me experience the physical strength of the Heavenly Demon clan too!” Rod shouted softly, concentrating his combat energy in his fists. Instantly, purple-golden energy spread throughout his arms, making them appear dozens of times larger. In an instant, they became as big as a giant hammer, which he swung at the Demon General.
Boom…
In this direct head-on clash, a deafening roar echoed, as if mountains were collapsing and the earth shaking.
After that punch, both men stumbled backward, retreating over ten meters before they could stabilize themselves.
The crowd was in shock—no one had expected a draw after just one punch. Rod and the Demon General were evenly matched.

The Demon Marshal’s face was also filled with disbelief at this moment. Looking at Rod, his expression finally turned serious: “Good, hahaha, very good. Truly worthy of someone with a divine king’s aura. You have the qualifications. I never expected human bodies to be able to be refined to such a degree—enough to compete with me. Today, let’s see who’s stronger!”
“Fight!” Rod roared back with a solemn expression. He could clearly sense the strength of the other party’s physique; his entire arm was still numb, from the skin to the bones and even down to the marrow, as if his arm didn’t belong to him at all.
By channeling his combat energy to secretly repair his injuries, he gradually regained some sensation. Taking a deep breath and shouting loudly, his combat energy covered his entire arm like a tangible force. Instantly, something astonishing happened—Rod’s arm began to develop patches of scales, covering it like armor.
In the blink of an eye, his entire arm was covered in scales. But this wasn’t the end—it was just the beginning. As the scales covered his arm, they continued to spread, soon covering his entire body. Finally, Rod revealed a ferocious appearance, one never seen by anyone before—he had completely transformed into the true form of a troll.
“The true form of a troll!” The Ancestor and Andrews couldn’t help but exclaim in shock.
It was indeed the true form of a troll—the most powerful form of the troll race. Rod had managed to achieve it. You see, even at their peak, according to the family records, only a handful of people had ever succeeded in achieving this form. Throughout history, not more than ten people had accomplished it. And Rod had done it.
What did this mean? It meant Rod had refined his troll body to the highest level—beyond all constraints, reaching an unsurpassable state. With such a body, even the strongest warriors at the Yin Yellow realm would find it difficult to break through. This showed just how powerful he was.
“Armored Transformation?” The Demon Marshal also exclaimed in shock: “You’re from the troll race!”
It seemed only now did he realize Rod’s true identity—he was a member of the troll race. How had he not noticed earlier?

Seeing Rod in this state, the Demon General’s expression grew once again solemn, a hint of coldness appearing in his eyes. It reminded him of hundreds of thousands of years ago, of the last war between gods and demons, and those two extremely powerful figures. If not for them, that war might not have ended in such a way. Without them, the Demon Clan would have long returned to rule the world.

It was because of their strength that the situation changed—even the Demon God, and himself, were defeated by those two and eventually imprisoned.

Now, he saw the true form of a troll once more. This rare sight of a troll’s true form appearing after thousands of years, and encountering it again, made his eyes flash with cold light. “Good. Today, I’ll thoroughly experience once more the power of your true form as a troll. The Demon Clan still has someone as strong as you even after the curse—truly astonishing. It seems even the Demon God didn’t expect such a scenario.”

Speaking of the Demon God, a hint of bitterness appeared on the Demon General’s face. He stared at Rod, lost in thought. Could it be that hundreds of thousands of years later, he would still be defeated by this man? Could it be that the Demon Clan would rise again?

He was also filled with confusion—why was the curse ineffective against him? Why did the Demon God’s curse fail on him?

“True form of a troll! You’re the first to face it!” Taking a deep breath, Rod spoke in a grave tone.

His expression was serious. If not forced to this extreme, he would never use this move. He had mastered it after breaking through to the later stage of Yang Xuan some time ago. It required extremely high standards—reaching the tenth level of physical cultivation. How many in the entire Demon Clan could achieve that? How many could reach the later stage of Yang Xuan while having their bodies thoroughly refined to eliminate impurities? Without the trials in the Netherhell Fire, Rod would never have been able to manifest his true troll form.

At this moment, everyone was moved. From afar, they could sense the terrifying aura emanating from Rod, which seemed to surge once again in an instant, even gaining the upper hand over his opponent.

Is this the true form of the Demon Clan? Looking at Rod now, their eyes were filled with complexity. Rod, covered in scales, no longer appeared ferocious or ugly; instead, he exuded a sense of might and masculinity, like an invincible warrior from the heavens.

“If this boy isn’t eliminated, our Demon Clan will have no chance!” He silently made up his mind, his gaze sharpening instantly.

“Let me truly experience it—take my Sky-Shattering Fist!” With a sharp shout, he transformed into a streak of light and rushed toward Rod. His palm gathered nearly all his magical energy, and in an instant, a giant palm the size of the sky appeared mid-air. Its fingers stretched out, completely covering Rod’s sky and descending with tremendous force. The momentum was overwhelming. “Break the Sky!” But this time it wasn’t a sword move—it was a fist, a fighting technique Rod had mastered from “Break the Sky,” filled with fierce killing intent that pierced the heavens. The fist instantly grew to human size and soared upward, with a black palm on one side and a purple-golden fist on the other, both standing out sharply. The palm pressed down rapidly from above, while the fist shot straight up from below, trying to break through that palm! The clash of these two forces left onlookers on edge, their eyes wide with shock. “Boom…” A flash of purple-golden light appeared, then clashed with the black palm. Finally, they collided. At that moment, the sky seemed to collapse, the earth to sink; darkness filled the entire space, until the purple-golden light illuminated it all. It felt as though thousands of years had passed, breaking through eternity and restoring vitality to the world. The darkness gradually faded, the purple-golden light expanded, and the two forces balanced each other before disappearing simultaneously in a burst of sound! The sky remained the same, but with a hint more brightness; the earth was still there, yet now in a mess of craters; the people were still there, but now with gaping mouths, retreating quickly. This was the true test of physical strength between two absolute powerhouses. Who said such battles were simple? Just one move revealed its terrifying nature—this was a battle that shook the heavens and earth, no less intense than battles with weapons. Who could endure such a physical clash? Only Rod! As light returned to the world, Rod and the Demon General slowly reappeared before everyone’s eyes. Both were bent over, breathing heavily, standing face to face with expressions of deep seriousness. It seemed no winner had emerged after that single move—Rod had finally found a balance in this confrontation. “Again!” they shouted once more after catching their breath. Immediately, like arrows leaving their bows, they rushed at each other once again. Two lights—black and purple—swiftly darted through the air like mischievous spirits, constantly entangling with each other. “Boom…”

Explosions and collisions rang out from time to time, sending chills down one’s spine. As the two fought with all their might at extreme speeds, no more than ten people in the arena could clearly see their battle, not even Lucy could see clearly. All that could be heard were the earth-shattering, heart-stirring booms and collisions, and the flashing and clashing of two beams of light. All that could be felt was their fierce momentum and violent energy.