Awakening：The Infinite Evolution of My Talent as a Low-Level Awakener - Chapter 164

Chapter 164: Facing the Legend
The only comforting thought for Sterl was that Octavius hadn’t activated the elite or boss templates exclusive to NPCs. Clearly, the Emperor of the Divine Mountain Empire was still aiming for even higher realms of power. OItherwise, his strength would have skyrocketed even further.

What surprised Sterl more was that his Flowing Water Law seemed less effective than expected. He had aimed for the emperor’s heart, but Octavius managed to dodge, only getting a cut on his waist.

Looking at the emperor’s attributes, Sterl could understand why.

Octavius’s stats were all around 1200 to 1300 points, with only his mental attribute slightly lower at about 1000 points.

As an emperor, he had an S-Class job, and his second class had further boosted his attribute points. However, his talent was rather poor, rated at only C-Class, offering weak enhancement effects.

Even so, the absurd base attributes of a legendary rank allowed the emperor to slightly surpass Sterl.

Moreover, Octavius’s arcane skill [Mountain] had reached the third stage, enhancing various attributes, especially constitution and strength, which saw a 100% increase!

This posed a tricky problem for Sterl. Even though Octavius’s agility only had a 30% enhancement, he had still managed to dodge Sterl’s Flowing Water Law attack with the help of a purple-quality skill!

In direct combat, Octavius’s other attributes would play an even bigger role.

Sterl wasn’t without his own advantages. Theoretically, Octavius’s defensive attributes, bolstered by his high constitution, would be ridiculously high. The blade formed by the Flowing Water Law, while lethal, still relied on basic attributes to maximize its potential. Sterl couldn’t fully exploit this ability’s upper limits yet but could easily injure Octavius.

It could only be said that the exclusive abilities at the demigod level were just absurd!

“Interesting…” Sterl took a slight breath. He had thought that helping the princes this time would be a simple matter of clearing some “monsters.”

But before him stood a formidable enemy!

A true legendary strongman!

Sterl felt considerable pressure. Although he was strong, he hadn’t completed the second class ritual and was merely at level 80 with an SSS-class job.

Previously, Sterl had been able to challenge enemies several stages above him.

However, not all enemies were as poorly developed as those from the human race on Earth, who often had B-Class or C-Class jobs.

Facing a legendary figure with an S-Class job, his attribute advantage was nullified.

Likewise, aside from his Law Power, his various skill qualities couldn’t completely overwhelm his opponent.

The idea of effortlessly killing Octavius was out of the question!

But precisely because of this, the blood in Sterl’s veins began to boil!

Sterl felt as if he had returned to the state he was in when he first entered the game.

The thrilling sensation of challenging a boss in his very first instance surged through Sterl once more!

Anyway, with the fail-safe of ascending to godhood, along with the resurrection armor and the invulnerability effect of Protection Power…

Why hesitate?

Just go for it!

Sterl was eager to see how far he could go against a true legendary figure.

In fact…

Sterl glanced back at the princes and princesses, a mysterious look flashing in his eyes. When he had used Star Insight to scan Octavius, he found that the legendary figure’s rating was almost maxed out. Just a bit more, and Octavius would hit the highest score limit for the strong enemy challenge required for Sterl’s second class ritual.

“If I can win, perhaps I can achieve even more…”

Sterl couldn’t help but strategize further in his mind.

The emperor, however, didn’t grasp the meaning behind Sterl’s gaze.

Seeing this enemy player brimming with fighting spirit, Octavius knew that this battle wouldn’t end peacefully.

Without hesitation, he gave the order.

“Form ranks! Charge!”

He chickened out!

Unlike Sterl, the emperor didn’t have overpowered life-saving skills. So he chose to let his soldiers deplete “Nathan’s” strength before making his move!

At this moment…

The elite Black Armor Army, which had surrounded Sterl, hesitated for half a second.

As for the others on the battlefield, they were utterly stunned!

Although many of them were second-class or higher, with enhanced mental attributes and quick thinking, they were still dumbfounded for a long time, their brains struggling to process what had just happened!!

This mysterious player, seemingly on a mission from a rival nation, had injured Octavius with a casual move? And that too through the emperor’s legendary-grade heavy armor, renowned for its damage reduction efficiency??

Although the armor itself was only silver-tier, it was still legendary equipment! A single light blade from this mysterious player had achieved such an effect. How powerful must he be?

Could it be that he, too, was a legend? Even a legend with exceptionally strong offensive capabilities?

No one realized that Sterl had used Law Power.

Compared to [Moon], [Flowing Water] had a much subtler effect!

Those without sufficient realm couldn’t recognize it as the legendary Law Power.

Instead, many simply didn’t sense the legendary ability’s fluctuations or the aura of a golden-quality skill, so they looked at the player in horror…

No way??

Could he injure the emperor without even using a golden-quality skill? How strong was he?? Many noble officials discreetly distanced themselves from the central battlefield. They were genuinely scared, and some even hurriedly left, planning to return to their residences to pack up and flee.

The nobles’ fervor for the emperor naturally couldn’t compare to that of the common people. They always had an escape route. At worst, they could flee to another country and live as wealthy commoners.

The princes and princesses, however, stood helplessly in place. They didn’t dare to run, fearing that without the mysterious player’s protection, they would quickly be captured by their father’s elite troops.

But the strength of this mysterious powerhouse was terrifying. If he really clashed with Octavius, the aftermath of the battle could easily shock them to death…

The princes and princesses felt utterly paralyzed. It seemed like a no-win situation, a certain death either way!

If Sterl knew what these people were thinking, he would probably laugh in disbelief. His strength was usually underestimated, and today, it was rare to be overestimated.

The players also took several steps back, especially Faye, who slightly hid among the crowd, seemingly ready to flee…

“Law Power??”

Others couldn’t recognize it, but Felicia reacted quickly. She was a demigod, after all.

In her mind space, Felicia shouted frantically, “Retreat! Retreat!”

“Could this be a demigod?”

“Doesn’t seem like it… the aura is still weak, but this person has already grasped the existence of Law Power. We can’t handle this. Let’s get out quickly!”

She felt extremely frustrated. She had painstakingly brought her obedient disciple along, significantly boosting their strength, only to encounter increasingly high-level battles, forcing them to flee every time…

Meanwhile, many soldiers, nobles, and commoners of the Divine Mountain Empire were in utter despair.

From their perspective, the previously invincible Emperor had been wounded—and so easily at that??

When “Nathan” had initially attacked, countless people wanted to curse him for defying the Emperor’s recruitment—such a crime deserved death! But now, they were all rendered speechless.

After a few seconds of stunned silence, however, Octavius’s fanatical supporters began to shout again: “Kill him! How dare he harm the Emperor!”

“Soldiers, charge! Tear him apart!”

“By law, exterminate his entire clan!”

Most NPCs didn’t understand the nature of players. In [Transcendence], players had no family or clan. Their curses were purely venomous words…

However, accompanied by their angry shouts, the soldiers quickly snapped out of their initial stupor and returned to normal. Although they were shocked to see the Emperor injured, their loyalty to Octavius remained unwavering. They executed his orders without hesitation!

The soldiers charged forward at a rapid pace, drawing their weapons as they advanced. The dark energy that flowed through their bodies connected them in a stream of power that bound them together.

This was one of the critical reasons Octavius had ordered these soldiers into action. By utilizing this dark energy formation, they could transfer the damage they received among themselves. Even if that mysterious figure from another world (the player) truly possessed legendary strength, he would have to break through the entire formation to kill any single soldier!

This was the elite unit of the Divine Mountain Empire’s Imperial Guard! It was the highest embodiment of royal power. Without this, how could the royal family, especially the demigod who was always in seclusion, suppress the other powerful figures in the empire?

Even though the Divine Mountain Empire was relatively impoverished, it still produced a legendary figure or two every few hundred years!

In the absence of the demigod’s ability to intervene at will, the Black Armor Army, trained from childhood through arcane skills, was one of the royal family’s greatest trump cards.

However…As the soldiers advanced to launch their attack, the torrent they formed resembled a rapidly contracting magic array, capable of entrapping and crushing everything within it.

But to the countless onlookers on the periphery, what they saw was a series of muffled groans and the sight of numerous soldiers around “Nathan” collapsing one after another!

The black energy surrounding them dissipated instantly.

the Black Armor Army’s most powerful combined assault technique had no effect whatsoever!

The soldiers couldn’t even begin to share the damage or defend against the powerful attack; instead, they all fell dead on the spot!

From a bird’s-eye view, it appeared as if a stone had struck the surface of a pond, and the ripples spread outward continuously.

The soldiers encircling “Nathan” fell one after another with each spreading wave.

At the same time, the black energy was dispersed and carried away by the wind.

“Nathan.” however, remained standing calmly in place, his expression serene, as if nothing had happened at all.