Chapter 272 The Shadowy Replication

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Powerful bolts of energy burst out from within Thomas. He resonated an aura of extreme violence and Ricky could sense the daunting and dangerous energy that pervaded through the air. That aura gave Ricky a strange kind of unease, but he tried not to show it on his face.

'How many aces has he got up his sleeve? Is this another of his more powerful skills that he intends to use as a trump card?' Ricky couldn't help but wonder to himself in surprise.

Ricky decided not to pull his punches or hide his abilities anymore as the impending strike came toward him. Without delay, he activated the three kinds of fire energy he held in his body and wrapped himself up in the flames. He also boosted his runic power as high as it would go. By doing that, he had directly entered into his peak state and was at full power.

As he activated his full power, the Iron Destroyer in his hand seemed to be eager to leap into action again. It vibrated in accordance with his energy. The blade made a kind of excited buzz in anticipation. Ricky had heard that kind of buzz before, but this time, it was louder and its pitch became higher. He felt that a sort of strong connection between him and his weapon had started to form. At that moment, it all clicked for him.

"It seems that this situation has just now helped me build a unique connection between me and my saber. It feels strange, but I have a feeling that this connection will enhance the power of my saber-light," he murmured to himself in amazement.

He knew that there was no time for celebrating his progress just then. Thomas seemed to have fully prepared himself and was about to launch his attack. Ricky quickly shifted his attention back to his rival.

"I do admire your courage, Ricky. I know very few who would dare to challenge someone three grades more powerful than them. I respect you, so I will reward a talented warrior like you with a good fight. Enjoy it while you can!" Thomas shouted the last sentence out in a hoarse voice. Then he was submerged in a thick, dark fog of spiritual energy that was swirling faster and faster. It was pushing everything, including the air, out of the area around him as the energy inside the fog exploded all of a sudden.

Boom! Instantly, the explosion created shock-waves that carried the energy away from him. The ripples lashed out against everything around them. They caused the whole space to shake with their force. Even someone as powerful as Ricky was knocked back by the energy. He took quite a few steps back while raising his hands to fend off the air that buffeted him.

In his defensive position, Ricky's heart suddenly stopped in his chest. His eyes widened and his pupil shrank in shock. With his keen senses, he was able to feel the existence of a third person in the area. It had just appeared out of nowhere! He was both confused and astonished because he had been sure that the aura that the third man released was exactly the same as Thomas's.

Ricky found it hard to believe. He narrowed his eyes and tried to locate Thomas so he could see more clearly what had happened. His eyes were sharpened by the blue light in them, but he still had a hard time confirming the location of his rival.

Luckily, the waves of dark air began to gradually fade away. Slowly but surely, two figures stepped out of the fog. Ricky hoped that his eyes were playing tricks on him, but it seemed that they weren't after all. What he saw was r

rike!"

Without hesitation, Ricky attacked with all his strength. At the same time, he activated the Fire Cloud Fist. He was bringing out all of his energy and injecting it into this ultimate strike.

Once his attack met the shadows, however, Ricky's face darkened. He got a sinking feeling in his stomach as his strike made contact. Though his attack was already very powerful, it couldn't match up to Thomas' Shadowy Fatal Light at all.

His fear was realized at that moment. In the violent collision between the strike and the shadows, the strike kept retreating until it collapsed after a short standoff. Ricky was totally defeated in the first round.

Undoubtedly, the Devouring Skill--Wrath killing Strike was very powerful, but the doubled Shadowy Fatal Light was obviously superior.

"I knew it!" Ricky sighed, biting his lip.

"See? I told you. Have some humility, you uppity boy! You had the choice of taking your own life, but you didn't cherish it. That was the greatest mercy I could offer. Now, it seems that you do deserve to be smashed into pieces!" Thomas scoffed, taking pleasure in the discouraged look on Ricky's face.

Thomas's eyes were filled with maliciousness. In addition to that, there was also excitement. He was truly excited to be able to kill Ricky. He could already imagine how Ricky would be reduced to dust under his unmistakably superior power. The approaching victory gave him a feeling of ecstasy.

"Remember what I said? I will never believe there is an option for me to ever surrender!" Ricky was irritated by Thomas' mocking tone and the complacency on his face. He roared in fury, and another wave of spiritual energy spewed out from his body.

The energy of the devouring rune was also released then. As that energy was released, the chaotic fire runes and the power of the three fires were suppressed for the time being. As a result, his whole body was completely covered by the red devouring runes in no time.

Strangely, when he was only wrapped in the devouring runes, the energy Ricky unleashed had only increased rather than weakened. In fact, that adjustment seemed to have temporarily brought his level up to more than the fifth grade of Bone Reinforcement.

"Devouring Storm!" Ricky shouted again, making the air around him shake from his snarl.