Read Novel Full Chapter 886: Last Three Strikes
Chapter 886: Last Three Strikes
What did it feel like to witness something stand out so much that everything else became background noise or darkness.
It wasn’t the first time Michael had heard people use this phrase to describe something or a moment, but it was the first time he was witnessing it with his own eyes.
Except unlike others, his own situation was not a figure of speech.
It was something so bright that it drowned everything in the surroundings.
And it was headed straight down at him.
The lightning struck.
The massive pillar of light descended directly onto Michael’s position with absolute precision, as if the heavens themselves had locked onto him.
BOOOOOOM!!!
The impact was catastrophic.
The ground collapsed instantly.
A deep crater formed at the point of contact as the force of the lightning blasted through the earth. Soil, stone, and shattered roots were thrown outward in a violent explosion, tearing apart everything within dozens of meters.
Trees disintegrated.
The surrounding forest was erased in a single strike.
Dust and debris filled the air, rising like a thick curtain that blocked all visibility for a brief moment.
High above, the Rank Four powerhouses watched silently.
No one spoke.
Their eyes remained fixed on the center of the impact.
Slowly, the dust began to settle. And then, a figure emerged from within the crater.
Michael stood at the very center.
His clothes were mostly gone, reduced to barely anything after taking the full force of the lightning. His body was covered in dirt and ash, and there was even a bit of soil at the corner of his mouth, which he spat out in irritation. But aside from that, he did not look injured.
His posture remained upright.
For a brief moment, even the watching Rank Four elders were stunned.
Then one of them narrowed his eyes slightly.
"...Impressive."
No one disagreed.
They had all gone through tribulations themselves.
They all knew exactly the first strike was the easiest. The opening test. But even so, when they had faced their own tribulations, they had done so at the peak of Rank Three.
Their bodies had already been tempered with a solid foundation to boost them, and their control over their law was far more refined.
Michael was still only Rank Two.
Another elder spoke quietly.
"The power of that strike... that was closer to my second strike in my time."
A few others nodded subtly. For some, it was their second, and for others it was just a bit stronger than their first.
Lightning tribulations were never equal.
They were shaped by one’s foundation.
The stronger the base, the harsher the heavens.
Which meant one thing.
What Michael had just endured...
One elder finally exhaled slowly.
"...What a monster."
However, none of them smiled.
Not even a little.
Instead, a trace of worry appeared on the faces of the elders from Michael’s academy.
This was only the first strike.
There were nine in total.
And if the very first had already reached this level...
Then the rest would only grow more terrifying.
None of them voiced it aloud.
But the future ahead looked grim.
High above, the storm continued to churn violently.
Below, at the center of the crater, Michael stood silently.
Then his expression twitched.
"...Fuck."
He spat out the dirt in his mouth and clenched his jaw.
His body was not injured.
But the pain...
It stung like a bitch.
Every inch of his skin felt like it had been scorched, torn apart, and stitched back together in a single instant. His nerves still buzzed with residual energy, crackling faintly beneath his skin.
Even his bones felt heavy.
Michael took a slow breath.
He wanted to relax.
Even if just for a second.
But the heavens did not give him that luxury.
Before he could even steady himself, the dark clouds above roared again.
This time...
It was different.
Two streaks of lightning formed within the storm.
They twisted together like twin serpents, growing thicker and brighter with each passing second.
The pressure in the air multiplied instantly.
High above, several Rank Four elders’ expressions changed.
"...Already?"
The second round had begun.
The twin bolts descended.
BOOOOOOM!!!
The sky split open.
Two massive pillars of lightning crashed down toward Michael at the same time, carrying even greater destructive force than before.
The already shattered ground caved in even further as the two pillars of lightning slammed directly onto Michael’s position. The crater expanded violently, its edges collapsing inward as the earth struggled to withstand the force.
A blinding flash engulfed everything.
For a moment, even the Rank Four observers could not see what was happening within the storm of light.
Then the shockwave followed.
The surrounding terrain was completely devastated.
What little remained of the forest was flattened entirely. The ground cracked outward like a spiderweb, and chunks of stone were lifted into the air before being reduced to dust by the residual energy.
The storm above rumbled louder.
The light faded and the dust settled once more.
Once again, all eyes locked onto the center of the crater.
A figure still stood there.
Michael.
But this time, the difference was clear.
A thin line of blood ran from the corner of his mouth.
Several faint scorch marks traced across his skin, and tiny cracks had appeared in places where the lightning had struck hardest. They were not deep wounds, but they were enough to show that the second strike had left its mark.
Even so, he was still standing.
High above, the elders could not hide their reactions anymore.
"...You’re joking."
One of them spoke under his breath.
Another slowly narrowed his eyes.
"...He took that?"
For most of them, that wasn’t even their third strike. It was looking like a fourth one.
For a brief moment, silence filled the sky again.
Then a thought surfaced among them almost simultaneously.
Had this boy... angered the heavens?
Because this no longer looked like a simple advancement.
This looked like punishment.
And just as that thought formed...
The heavens responded.
The dark clouds churned violently.
This time, the reaction was even more intense.
Three streaks of lightning appeared.
They did not form slowly.
They manifested almost instantly, each one thicker and more terrifying than the last, twisting together within the clouds like dragons preparing to descend.
The pressure dropped sharply.
Even the air seemed to freeze.
Below, Michael raised his head slightly.
His breathing had become heavier.
His body still tingled with pain.
And before he could even curse again...
The sky fell.
BOOOOOOM!!!
Three pillars of lightning descended at once.
The triple strike landed.
The entire region seemed to collapse under the impact.
The crater deepened again, its edges breaking apart as layers of earth were peeled away like fragile skin. The shockwave spread even farther this time, flattening everything in its path and carving trenches across the land.
The sky did not calm.
It grew worse.
A few seconds later...
A fourth bolt formed.
It did not give Michael time to recover.
BOOOOOOM!!!
The fourth strike descended like judgment, smashing directly into the already ruined crater.
Another pause.
Then the fifth.
BOOOOOOM!!!
By now, the ground had become unrecognizable. What was once a forest had turned into a wasteland of scorched earth and shattered stone.
And then...
The sixth.
BOOOOOOM!!!
This time, even the distant Rank Four observers felt their hearts tighten slightly.
No one spoke.
Because at this point...
Even they knew this had gone far beyond normal.
When the light finally faded, silence returned once more.
And within the crater...
Michael lay on the ground.
A pool of blood slowly spread beneath him.
His body twitched faintly, scorched and battered, small wounds now visible across his frame. His earlier stability had vanished, replaced by something far more fragile.
Yet...
He was not dead.
He was still alive. Barely.
Michael’s chest rose and fell unevenly as he stared up at the heavens.
His vision blurred slightly, but even through the haze, he could see it.
The storm was still gathering.
His lips moved weakly.
He could feel it.
One more strike.
If it came down the same way as the others...
He might actually die.
The only reason he had survived this far was because of his body.
A godlike vessel together with a law copying the beginning traits.
But even that had its limits.
The lightning was not just destructive.
It seemed to also suppress his healing factor.
Each strike had weakened his healing ability, slowing it down more and more until even his natural regeneration felt sluggish and restrained.
Michael’s eyes narrowed slightly.
Time.
He didn’t have much left.
A thought surfaced in his mind as he remembered something he had figured out a few days ago while studying his law.
The Law of Echoed Existence.
Until now, he had used it to treat his undead as extensions of himself.
A connection.
A reflection.
But what if...
They weren’t just reflections?
What if they became him?
The idea formed clearly.
And Michael did not hesitate.
With what little strength he had left, he reached into his soul space.
The Damaged Coffin of the Forgotten appeared beside him with a dull thud.
Then...
A figure emerged.
Lily.
The moment she appeared, the heavens reacted.
And without giving Michael even a second to act...
The seventh strike began to descend.
A/N: Another Chapter coming soon. I’m trying not to keep you guys waiting, so hopefully the Chapter didn’t look rushed.