At first, Zeus and Hera hadn’t taken Dustin seriously.
In their eyes, Dustin’s strength was comparable to Poseidon’s. Since he was severely wounded, they figured either one of them could easily take him down, let alone if they attacked together.
But after testing him with a few probing strikes, they realized things weren’t that simple.
Looking at Dustin radiating such vitality, they wondered if there was even any sign of injury. Not only was he unharmed, but his strength far exceeded their expectations.
There were only two possible explanations for this situation. Either their intel gathering had been wrong, or Dustin had stumbled onto some lucky break that led to an unexpected breakthrough. As for how far he’d advanced, they couldn’t tell for the time being.
At that instant, Zeus and Hera finally understood why Grace had been stalling for time. Initially, they’d assumed she was buying time so Dustin could recover without being interrupted.
But now they realized that he hadn’t been recovering but had been at the critical juncture of a breakthrough.
Though reluctant to admit it, they had indeed been deceived. Grace had mixed truth with lies and led them around by the nose.
The realization left Zeus and Hera irritated, though what dominated was a sense of unease. Because now, the situation was starting to slip out of their control.
“Hera, looks like we’ll have to team up. This guy’s no pushover,” Zeus said, his expression grim as he glanced at her.
“Really? You think I hadn’t noticed?” she replied sarcastically.
Dustin wasn’t even using any divine artifacts. Instead, he only used protection armor energy to deflect their attacks. That fact alone demonstrated that he possessed strength on par with either royal god, perhaps even stronger.
Neither of them could guarantee victory alone. So, they must join forces if they want to bring Dustin down.
“Let’s attack together!”
Zeus shot Hera a quick glance, then suddenly thrust both hands skyward. Twin spheres of crackling lightning coalesced in his palms before he hurled them at Dustin with thunderous force.
At the same time, Hera launched her assault. Thousands of black icy spears materialized overhead, raining down like an apocalyptic downpour that sought to impale Dustin from every angle.
The two royal gods moved in sync-one attacking head-on while the other from above. Their coordination was flawless.
That kind of coordinated strike would’ve been devastating against any ordinary ultimate grandmaster.
But Dustin had already broken through the limits neither of them could reach. As the devastating barrage bore down on him, he stood still. He simply raised his hand and made one gentle sweeping motion.
When a breeze swept past, it instantly disintegrated Hera’s countless icy spears into dust that scattered and disappeared on contact.
Meanwhile, Zeus’ crackling spheres simply vanished into the same breeze. The wind swallowed them completely like stones dropped into a bottomless sea.
Their combined attacks struck nothing and became nothing. Silence swallowed their fury whole. What had roared to life with godlike wrath now scattered like ash on an unfelt breeze.
“What the hell?”
Zeus and Hera’s faces went ashen as they witnessed the impossible. Their expressions twisted with disbelief.
If Dustin had deflected their attacks using his protection armor energy or supreme divine power, they wouldn’t have been this shocked. But he hadn’t used either.
With just a casual wave of his hand, he had neutralized their combined assault, without so much as shifting his stance.
That unnatural technique was clearly beyond the realm of ultimate grandmasters. Could Dustin have already broken through his limits and ascended to the terrestrial immortal realm?
The thought sent a chill down both royal gods’ spines.
What kind of rotten luck was that? Just days after arriving in Dragonmarsh, they’d already encountered a mortal enemy of this caliber?
“Done with your attacks?” Dustin asked, looking at them calmly. “Because if you are, it’s my turn to attack.”
With that, he raised his sword finger and pointed at Zeus. A golden sword aura shot forward like lightning, aimed straight at his chest.
“Hmm?” Zeus’ expression changed. He quickly spread his palms to conjure a massive lightning sphere and hurled it toward the golden sword aura.
The collision sent shockwaves through the air. The lightning sphere exploded on impact, but the golden sword aura remained completely intact. Its deadly momentum barely diminished and continued its relentless path toward Zeus’ chest.
Zeus didn’t have time to gather his internal energy and could only instinctively raise his arms in defense.
His body had been tempered repeatedly by divine lightning until it became supernaturally resilient. Even without channeling his internal energy, his physical strength alone could kill an ordinary ultimate grandmaster.
The golden sword aura struck his raised arms with devastating force and erupted in a catastrophic explosion. The terrifying power tore his arm clean off at the shoulder, and the shockwave sent him flying dozens of feet away.
Zeus crashed through several walls before finally hitting the ground. He coughed violently, blood gushing from his nose and mouth.
“What?” Hera’s face drained of all color as the horrific scene unfolded before her.
In a single move, Dustin had crippled Zeus and severed his limb entirely. What kind of monster was he?
As she watched Dustin prepare to attack again, terror consumed her completely. Without even the courage to fight back, she whirled around and bolted.
