Child of Destiny

Chapter 2322: Owen’s Cleverness

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Due to Heartless Dream’s change in fighting style, Owen struggled to regain his footing for the remainder of the match.

With Heartless Dream skillfully switching between the Gravity Domain and the Attraction Force of his Legendary Hammer, Owen found it increasingly difficult to identify an opening that would allow him to turn the tide.

The Gravity Domain severely restricted his movements, making it nearly impossible for him to approach his opponent.

However, if he deliberately kept his distance, he would have no reliable way to fight back.

After all, Owen was a melee fighter. To defeat his opponent, he had to close the distance and engage in close combat.

Worse still, Heartless Dream could harass him with Dark Attraction even when they were separated by a considerable distance.

This made Owen’s situation even more troublesome.

Fortunately, Owen was no ordinary player. Despite the difficulty of dealing with these two abilities, he had already begun to figure out the patterns governing Dark Attraction.

Although he couldn’t see the invisible columns of force generated by the skill, he could still anticipate when Heartless Dream was about to activate it.

All he needed to do was keep a close eye on his opponent’s movements.

By carefully observing Heartless Dream’s posture and the trajectory of his hammer swings, Owen could predict when the attraction force would manifest and determine the direction in which it would sweep across the battlefield.

Swoosh!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Unfortunately, understanding how the ability worked wasn’t enough to win the match.

No matter how accurately he predicted the incoming attacks, he still needed a way to get past Heartless Dream’s defenses and land some decisive blows.

And as long as he couldn’t approach his opponent, winning would remain a difficult prospect.

"Damn it! I’m in trouble," Owen cursed inwardly as he continued evading Heartless Dream’s attacks.

’Brother Swordsman is definitely going to make fun of me if I lose this match. And once the others find out, I’ll never hear the end of it either.’

The thought alone made Owen feel even more frustrated.

"If only some of my stronger abilities weren’t still on cooldown..." he muttered, unable to stop himself from complaining about his predicament.

He could almost imagine Shin watching him from a distance with that familiar, mocking gaze, as though silently urging him to hurry up and lose so that he could have a good laugh at his expense.

"As if I’m going to lose!" Owen immediately gritted his teeth and steeled his resolve, stubbornly refusing to surrender to his current predicament.

Swoosh!

Crackle! Crackle!

His body suddenly transformed into an arc of golden lightning as he darted across the battlefield, moving at incredible speed to avoid being caught by Heartless Dream’s abilities.

With the tremendous boost to his mobility, catching him was no easy task—even with the two special abilities attached to the Legendary Hammer.

Then, as he reached a pile of rubble some distance away, a faint smirk appeared beneath Owen’s helmet. ’You want to pull things toward you, right?’

He had timed his movements carefully, deliberately positioning himself near the rubble just as Heartless Dream prepared to activate Dark Attraction once again.

The moment he saw his opponent begin the familiar motion, Owen immediately swung his weapon toward the nearby debris. "Here! Try catching all of these!"

Bang!

The pile of rubble shattered under the impact, sending rocks of various sizes flying into the air.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

The moment Heartless Dream activated Dark Attraction, the scattered debris was caught in the invisible force and dragged toward him.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The rocks hurtled toward Heartless Dream at tremendous speed, with several particularly large boulders mixed into the barrage.

Caught off guard by Owen’s unexpected counter, Heartless Dream’s expression changed.

He immediately realized that he had been tricked!

However, despite the hail of rock fragments and massive boulders flying toward him, Heartless Dream remained calm as he steadily twirled his Legendary Hammer.

No matter how threatening they appeared, these chunks of rock posed little danger to someone of his caliber.

Crushing them would be child’s play for a fighter like him.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Heartless Dream swung his hammer in a series of powerful arcs, effortlessly smashing every rock and boulder that came within reach.

The massive weapon spun around him as he deftly maneuvered it with both hands, destroying the incoming projectiles before they could reach him.

However, this seemingly effortless defense also created an opening for Owen.

The moment Heartless Dream committed himself to crushing the incoming debris, Owen seized the opportunity to hurl even larger boulders at him.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

These massive chunks of rock were far more troublesome to deal with.

Heartless Dream immediately realized that he could no longer afford to maintain Dark Attraction while destroying them.

Otherwise, the ability might pull the shattered fragments back toward him while he was still swinging his hammer, potentially turning the incoming debris into a hazard even for himself.

With that thought in mind, he deactivated the skill and focused entirely on smashing the enormous boulders while keeping an eye on Owen in the distance.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

However, the longer the exchange continued, the more chaotic the battlefield became.

Their previous clashes had already devastated the surrounding area. Countless piles of rubble littered the ground, while massive boulders lay scattered across the battlefield, torn from the collapsed canyon walls by the destructive force of their attacks.

For Owen, this was practically an endless supply of ammunition.

He kept moving from one location to another, grabbing whatever debris he could find and hurling it toward Heartless Dream.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The relentless bombardment continued until Heartless Dream suddenly realized that he had lost track of his opponent.

"Huh!?" He couldn’t help but frown deeply as he scanned the surrounding battlefield.

Owen had never remained in one place for long after throwing his projectiles. Instead, he constantly repositioned himself around Heartless Dream, making it increasingly difficult to predict where the next attack would come from.

The chaotic battlefield that Owen had deliberately created had finally achieved its purpose, and Heartless Dream had lost sight of him.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t afford to stop and search for his opponent just yet.

An even larger barrage of boulders was already hurtling toward him.

Seeing this, Heartless Dream immediately adjusted his stance and gripped his Legendary Hammer with both hands.

He swung the weapon repeatedly, smashing the massive boulders before they could reach him.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

His battle hammer danced around his body, moving in a series of powerful, fluid rotations as he pulverized one boulder after another.

Swoosh!

BOOM!

Heartless Dream finally brought his hammer down on the largest boulder in the incoming barrage, shattering it with a tremendous blow.

Countless fragments exploded in every direction, briefly obscuring his vision.

However, those scattered fragments also concealed something else.

Swoosh!

A figure suddenly emerged from behind the shattered boulder, descending toward Heartless Dream from above.

It was Owen!

He had been hiding behind the enormous boulder, using it as cover while waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

Now that Heartless Dream had destroyed his cover, Owen finally revealed himself, gripping his heavy mace with one hand and raising it high above his head.

Crackle! Crackle!

Golden lightning surged around the weapon, rapidly converging into a brilliant sphere of concentrated mana.

The dazzling radiance illuminated the entire battlefield, nearly blinding anyone who looked directly at it.

’Ancient Protector Skill (Quasi Tier 4): Punishment of the Divine Heavens’

BOOM!

A pillar of golden lightning suddenly descended from the sky, striking the head of Owen’s mace and enveloping the weapon in a torrent of divine energy.

The moment the lightning converged, Owen brought his mace crashing down as he descended toward Heartless Dream.

The attack came too suddenly.

Having just shattered the enormous boulder, Heartless Dream was caught completely off guard by Owen’s sudden appearance and devastating counterattack.

WHOOSH!

Instinctively, Heartless Dream considered activating his Dark Domain at full power, hoping to use the intensified gravity to restrict Owen’s movements.

However, it took him only an instant to realize that doing so might put him in an even more disadvantageous position.

The increased gravity would only accelerate Owen’s descent, further amplifying the momentum behind the attack he was preparing to unleash.

Heartless Dream’s expression changed as he finally understood the situation.

The two powerful trump cards he had revealed earlier had become weapons that his opponent could now turn against him.

Left with little choice, Heartless Dream decided to meet the incoming attack head-on.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

He twirled his Legendary Hammer several times, rapidly building momentum before unleashing one of his own powerful techniques.

’Golden Hammer Divine Art: Ultimate Move – Celestial Opposition’

BOOM!

Gripping the hammer with both hands, Heartless Dream suddenly swung it upward, sending a devastating strike toward the descending Owen.

Swoosh!

The surrounding air seemed to be drawn into the weapon’s trajectory, gathering around the upward swing and further amplifying its already terrifying power.

WHOOSH!

However, just before the two attacks could collide, Heartless Dream suddenly noticed something strange.

Upon closer inspection, he realized that Owen wasn’t actually descending toward him.

Instead, Owen had deliberately adjusted his trajectory, directing his devastating attack toward the ground rather than striking his opponent directly.

Heartless Dream’s eyes widened as he finally understood the deception.

His upward strike narrowly missed Owen, who continued descending toward the ground beside him.

BOOM!

Owen’s mace slammed into the ground with tremendous force, unleashing a devastating shockwave that spread in every direction.

The earth caved in beneath the impact, sending an enormous wave of destructive energy surging across the battlefield.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Although the shockwaves couldn’t match the destructive power of a direct hit from Owen’s ultimate attack, their repeated impacts were still more than enough to inflict considerable damage on anyone caught within their reach.

And Heartless Dream was standing right in the middle of it.

Having committed himself to his powerful upward strike, he was left in an awkward position, with neither enough time to retreat nor the opportunity to properly defend himself.

The successive shockwaves crashed into his body, pounding him relentlessly while bolts of golden lightning continued to descend from above.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Heartless Dream could only endure the devastating bombardment as his remaining Health steadily dwindled.

He had never expected Owen to use such an unconventional approach, deliberately sacrificing the opportunity to land a direct hit in exchange for exploiting the destructive force of his own attack.

By the time the final wave of energy swept across the battlefield, his remaining Health had finally been exhausted.

Heartless Dream stared blankly ahead as his vision began to fade.

In the end, he could only manage a single word.

"Clever..."

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