Chapter 601: Offering a Deal to a Bandit

Julius winced as he watched the axe warrior retreat in fear. He had to stop himself from apologizing to the terrified Tier 4 in front of him. In his excitement, he might have been a bit hasty and scared the enemy too much. He wanted to test things, but it was hard to do that when his opponents ran away from him.

The life reinforcement wasn’t extremely effective, but his body was already quite strong, and any enhancements would only exaggerate it. He looked over at where the archer had been and used some of his aura to pull the man’s axe back to him and handed it over with a cheerful grin.

“Here, take it.”

For some reason, the man didn’t accept his offer. Julius looked at the axe and noticed that it was still covered in the archer’s fluids. “Sorry, my bad,” he said apologetically and wiped down the blood with his aura, reaching the axe out again.

Instead of taking it, the burly man started to run away. Julius frowned and used a quick [Void Step] to appear in front of the man and practically threw the axe at him. “Here, just fucking take it and swing it at me. I want to try some stuff, and you seem like the perfect person to do that.”

The warrior’s aura pulsed with even more fear and anxiety as he stared at Julius. His hands shook as he finally took the axe from Julius’s hands.

“Who are you?”

Julius smiled brightly. “Just a normal guy trying to get used to his advancement. If you would be so kind as to swing that axe at me with all of your might, I would be forever grateful.”

“I don’t want to fight you,” the man said, his eyes quivering with fear.

“How about we make a deal? How does that sound?”

“A deal?” There was a little bit of hope in the man’s expression.

He nodded excitedly. “Yeah, if you help me out with what I need well enough, then I won’t kill you for trying to kill and steal from these lovely innocent people,” Julius offered.

He could see that the man wasn’t going to believe him very easily. But Julius wanted to convince the man. From what he had seen, the man was quite strong, and his skills would probably make for a very good test for what he wanted.

“Look, I just want you to swing that axe at me several times, okay? I am willing to—” He paused and glanced over at where a Tier 4 had knocked one of the guards down and was about to deliver a killing or crippling blow. He quickly snatched the axe back from the axe warrior, teleported over, and smashed the stolen axe into the bandit’s skull.

The surprise attack, on top of using such a large weapon, meant the man didn’t stand a chance. His head was crushed like a watermelon, and the guard who was on his ass in front of him was doused in blood.

Julius gave the man a good-natured grin and teleported back to the axe warrior, handing back the weapon, blood still dripping on its edge.

“So what do you say? We gotta deal?”

The warrior mumbled what sounded like a yes and took the axe once more, hugging it to his chest like a safety blanket.

“Okay, so I just want you to give me like a fifty percent swing at my chest.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, don’t worry about it. I want to see if something works.”

The man looked suspicious, as if he had an ulterior motive or was up to some kind of trick. But after a few moments, he nodded and prepared a swing.

Julius wasn’t concerned. He wanted to see the difference in how [Spirit Fortification] affected his constructs and his body. The skill primarily worked off his aura and his aura control. But now that he was in Tier 4, his aura was stronger. Did that mean [Spirit Fortification] was stronger as well?

He created a thin sheet of mana over his chest, reinforcing it with his aura. It didn’t feel that much different, but he wanted to see for himself.

He gave the signal that he was ready, and the axe warrior swung the blade at his chest. The thin sheet of mana looked fragile, but it was quite strong. The axe slammed into the barrier, and while cracks appeared along its surface, the damage was minimal.

“Okay, go full power,” Julius said with a furrow of his brow and repaired the sheet of mana, making sure it was in the exact same condition as before.

The axe warrior seemed a little excited about the request. He tried to hide it from Julius, but his eagerness shone through. He probably thought he had a chance to kill Julius. Little did he know that it would take a lot to kill Julius now. Especially after the body evolution and his advancement.

With all of the mana that the man could bring forth, the axe slammed into the thin sheet of mana, and it shattered after a brief moment of strain. Julius felt the axe bite into his chest, digging deep into his ribcage and puncturing his lungs. He saw the hopeful look on the axe warrior’s face as he dug the axe deeper, letting off an explosion while the axe was still lodged inside him.

His organs were damaged, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.

The warrior must have suddenly regained some confidence, seeing Julius inflicted with such a gruesome injury. Julius sensed a surge of pride and arrogance erupt from the man’s aura.

“Haha! Fucking cocky little shit,” the man laughed at his injured body, giving his body a kick as he lay there.

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Apparently, his fear of Julius was already gone. It was a shame too. Julius really had been about to let the man live if he helped him out. Too bad he couldn’t just be a good helper and ruin it.

Julius watched as the man brought the axe back up for another swing and let out a sigh when he used his new skill, [Field of the Shattered Will].

The new superior epic skill was strong. Very strong.