Thankfully, he had teleported out of the disaster zone, so the attack didn''t hit him directly, but it was still enough to affect him mentally.


    That was just a casual swipe with its ws…


    Yet it levelled something the size of an average city back in the Federation…


    He barely managed to stabilise himself enough to regain focus, and the King was still right in front of him.


    Alex had be used to being called the ''King ss prodigy'' by now, but he felt embarrassed to even hold that title while facing off against the King of Evermoor.


    He tried dodging to the side, but it was toote.


    In a movement many times faster than Alex could achieve, the beast sliced through the air once more.


    Zzooom!


    Alex felt the pain instantly as the attack cut straight across his right arm as he tumbled backward for nearly a Kilometre from the attack.


    The King of Evermoor simply looked down at him from afar, not even a single change in its expression yet, like it was just dealing with a pest.


    Disoriented, Alex looked down at the source of his pain, only to be visibly stunned and shocked by what he was seeing.


    "My arm… It''s gone!"


    He desperately looked all around himself, trying to locate the area where his armnded.


    Because the arm that was missing happened to be holding onto Virtue''s Edge at the time!


    If he somehow lost that sword, then things would really have taken the worst turn possible for him…


    Whoosh!


    But out of nowhere, the sword came flying at him from a distance andnded perfectly in his other hand, like it had been there the whole time.


    Unexpectedly, it seemed the sword had a function that he didn''t know existed until this moment.


    Since Virtue''s Edge was bound to him, it seemed it could return to him in times where it was flung from his person, just like this one.


    "Fuck!"


    But Alex''s mood was still rotten to the core.


    So what if his sword had returned? All it did was probably dy his death by a few more moments.


    But now that there was some distance between himself and the King, Alex took the slight moment of respite he had been offered to activate the one thing that might give him a fighting chance in this battle.


    ''Phoenix Fire!''


    Instantly, the crimson red mes spontaneouslybusted all around Alex and epassed him in their vigorous hue.


    Right away, their regenerative fire effect got to work on his most vulnerable spot — the missing right arm.


    Compared to thest time, the speed of recovery was much faster now that he had assimted with the Phoenix Fire element after bing a C tier awakened.


    But the King of Evermoor wasn''t a cker, and moved so fast it appeared like it was teleporting, arriving in front of Alex, covering a distance of kilometres in just a moment.


    Even with Alex''s slower perception of time, it still looked like it had arrived in an instant…


    "Weak."


    But out of nowhere, a voice entered his mind and spoke to him.


    Alex didn''t respond to it, nor did he even show any reaction to it either.


    It hade from the King of Evermoor, but Alex was already too shell shocked by having to face off a King ss beast to even be surprised by anything else anymore.


    His arm still hurt like hell, even though it was halfway from being regrown, and he felt his energy draining by the seconds as his Phoenix Fire worked tirelessly to heal him.


    He quickly teleported once again as he wanted to put some more distance between himself and the beast, even if it was closed up again mere momentster.


    Thankfully, his teleportation was the one thing that allowed him to even have a fighting chance, other than his Phoenix mes of course, as it allowed him the use of true instantaneous movement.


    While the King of Evermoor might be moving so fast that its movements appeared instant to Alex, there was a vast chasm between ''appearing instant'' and being actually instant.


    The Beast moved in close to Alex once more. Alex but now his right arm had fully regrown.


    He took Virtue''s Edge and started firing off any attack he could at the beast in an attempt to counteract-


    "Weak."


    His attacks were swatted away mid air, even the ones where he had infused his Phoenix mes into them, and Alex was hit by a wave of energy like a shockwave, sending him flying backwards once more.


    Tens upon tens of kilometres away he was finally stopped after leaving a trail of destruction in his wake.


    He had been knocked into countless trees, each barely slowing him down, until he crashed through enough that he came to aplete stop.


    If it weren''t for the trees, he would have carried on for another hundred kilometres or so.


    "Ptui!"


    Coughing out a mouthful of blood, Alex tried to get back up on his feet, but less than a secondter, the King was before him once again.


    He tried lifting Virtue''s Edge to send out another volley, in a desperate hope that one of his attacks might actually make it through.


    But like many things in life, it was wishful thinking.


    Before he could even send a volley of attacks at the beast, Virtue''s Edge vibrated violently within his hands until he could no longer keep his grip steady on it.


    Whoosh!


    Just like when his sword came flying back to him like an obedient pet, it was ripped away from his grasp and flew into the hands of the King, which had one of its ws outstretched towards him.


    It was clear that it was the culprit that caused his sword to betray him.


    "Weak."


    The King tried to crush the sword within its grasp, expecting it to crumble.


    But no matter how hard it squeezed, the thing didn''t budge.


    And at this moment, Alex saw an opportunity and didn''t hesitate in grasping it.


    ''Ignite!''


    Instantly, the residual Phoenix mes left inside Virtue''s Edge that had been built up in preparation for his attacks all exploded out at once, in the palm of the King of Evermoor.