Awakening：The Infinite Evolution of My Talent as a Low-Level Awakener-Chapter 776: Crushing Defeat! The Fall!

Sterl took a deep breath, and his numb body gradually began to recover. At the same time, the Power of Star-Bone surged within him, activating his Star-Bone Body to its highest potential.

This was a brutal battle, more dangerous than facing the siege of three powerful deities.

In terms of combat systems and sheer power, he was at a significant disadvantage, which made this fight incredibly perilous. A small mistake would result in irreparable consequences.

However, he wasn't without an advantage. The Nightmare Overlord had been sealed for forty thousand years, and he had already been heavily wounded by a previous strike. The remaining power could not last much longer.

Meanwhile, Sterl possessed a vast amount of vitality and regenerative ability. As long as he wasn't instantly killed, he could still fight.

Even so, his chances of victory were still low. Given the Nightmare Overlord's demonstrated power, once a weakness was exposed, no amount of vitality or recovery ability would help. It would all be ineffective before the overwhelming force of the Overlord's attacks.

"Your physique is impressive, not unlike the dead War Demon.

Aside from War, you are the second person who has been able to face me in direct combat and survive for a round."

"I am too weak. With my current origin, I can hold on for no more than ten seconds. It will either be your death or my fall."

Though the Nightmare Overlord was prideful, he didn't lash out at Sterl for taking advantage of his weakened state. In his view, defeat was defeat—there were no excuses or justifications.

The Nightmare Overlord's longsword hung at his side, and his breath grew heavier.

Even the same combat abilities would evolve differently depending on the user.

The Nightmare Overlord's swordsmanship was characterized by overwhelming force. Every slash felt like an enormous mountain crashing down. In the process, he was in an unstoppable body-enhancement state, unable to be interrupted.

Even when struck heavily, he would not retreat a single step, and his sword strikes would not be affected.

Upon hearing this, Sterl's expression grew serious, and he didn't dare show any signs of overconfidence. He let the star crystal longsword in his hand dissipate and took out the Sword of the World. To prevent the Sword of the World from being cleaved in half by the Overlord's strikes, he reinforced it with a layer of star crystal to increase the sword's toughness.

Although both of them were wielding longswords, the aura surrounding them was completely different.

If the Nightmare Overlord was a master with a heavy sword, someone who had spent tens of thousands of years perfecting his technique, with a sword that seemed almost alive, then Sterl was more like a struggling apprentice, barely able to use a sword. The difference between their swords, knives, or even a fire poker was minimal.

If translated into specific data, the Nightmare Overlord's swordsmanship would be at a level of Swordsmanship Mastery Lv70–Lv80, while Sterl was at Swordsmanship Mastery Lv10.

Above mastery lies specialization, and above specialization is the title of "Grandmaster." Only those who reach the level of Grandmaster can truly be called a "Master."

The gap between the techniques of the two was on completely different scales.

Fortunately, Sterl did not rely on his technique abilities as his core. He took out the Sword of the World not to engage in direct combat, but to avoid having his body cleaved in half with a single strike.

Feeling the increasing weight of the Nightmare Overlord's aura, Sterl didn't immediately attempt to strike.

Thanks to the warning from Dimension Perception, he understood that if he charged head-on like a brute against a Master of Techniques, he would be killed without hesitation.

So, he held back, focusing on gathering the Power of Star-Bone within him, and using the Fission Law to rapidly stack that power.

The two of them were locked in a fierce clash of momentum, and the air itself seemed to freeze.

In an instant, it felt as though several days had passed, or perhaps just the briefest moment.

The Nightmare Overlord suddenly opened his eyes, and his heavy sword sprang from the ground into his hands. The dark Power of Nightmares connected the sword to his very being.

"Here it comes..."

A loud alarm went off in Sterl's mind, and just as he had anticipated, he saw the massive sword suddenly strike toward him. Its speed and overwhelming momentum were so powerful that he had no time to react. The sword pierced through his skull, sending blood and shattered bone flying.

Boom!

The next moment, the scene in front of him shattered. What had just occurred wasn't real, but rather a prediction from Dimension Perception.

As this ability was used more and more, its effects grew stronger. Or rather, Dimension Perception itself was always powerful, but he hadn't fully harnessed its potential yet.

Regaining clarity, he didn't hesitate for a second. Even though Dimension Perception didn't show the Nightmare Overlord's presence, he quickly swung the Sword of the World, using the force of Annihilation Realm King's Fist to strike.

Boom!!

A shadow suddenly appeared in front of him, or rather, it was his Sword of the World that blocked the silent killing blow!

The two massive swords collided with the force of two heavy hammers, sending ripples through the surrounding space as fine cracks appeared.

Sterl's hands, gripping the longsword, exploded with deep, grotesque cuts as every muscle in his body groaned. From the Nightmare Overlord's sword, a unique force surged, so powerful that Sterl almost lost his grip on his own sword.

And that was just the beginning!

He could already foresee the next attack: a seemingly insignificant direct kick that would pierce through his chest, turning his heart into dust.

"Phantom Purgatory!"

He couldn't afford any hesitation. If he was even a fraction of a second late, the subsequent attack would surely kill him.

Suddenly, the Gate of Purgatory opened, and an invisible force forcibly sucked the Nightmare Overlord's soul into it.

At this moment, the Nightmare Overlord's kick was just inches away from Sterl's chest—if it had connected, it would have cleaved him in two.

Sterl's heart raced as he quickly withdrew.

But the next moment, there was a sharp crack, and the Nightmare Overlord's soul suddenly returned to his body.

He had somehow, forcefully broken free from the restraints of the Purgatory Space, escaping with some special force.

What should have been a four-second burn from Phantom Purgatory lasted only a second before shattering.

"It must be another derivative ability from his mastery of swordsmanship,"

Sterl's mood grew heavier. He had long known that battles with powerful opponents weren't just about comparing numbers—some seemingly insurmountable abilities might simply be flashy and hollow.

True combat was much more complicated than what data alone could show.

However, watching an ability he had placed so much hope in being so easily broken still left him with an unspoken sense of loss, though it was quickly suppressed. There was no time for such feelings with a great enemy before him.

Moreover, Phantom Purgatory wasn't without effect. Even though it only burned for a second, it added more strain to the already weakened Nightmare Overlord.

The exhaustion of both soul and body caused every cell in his body to resist fighting and further depletion.

But with his immense willpower, he forcibly suppressed his body's natural instincts, showing no outward signs of damage.

Immediately, Sterl moved to the side, narrowly avoiding the Nightmare Overlord's massive sword, the blade grazing his chest. Thanks to Dimension Perception, he was able to dodge, but the Nightmare Overlord stomped his foot, and the ground trembled with an eerie wave.

Sterl, standing firmly on the ground, felt his center of gravity suddenly falter.

Pfft!

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The Nightmare Overlord's sword slashed diagonally, cutting through the Starry Battle Armor's defense. A deep, bone-revealing wound appeared directly across Sterl's chest.

"Die! Power of the Overlord!"

A fierce wind pressure swept down from above. Sterl, gritting his teeth, raised the Sword of the World above his head with one hand, while his other fist, infused with Annihilation Realm King's Fist, slammed toward the Nightmare Overlord's abdomen.

Whoosh!

With a dull thud, the Sword of the World was knocked away, the hilt still gripped by a severed arm.

The massive sword, following the momentum of the strike, sliced through Sterl's shoulder and continued downward, slicing through his waist, cutting him in half.

This was clearly a final move from the Nightmare Overlord. Though his technique was that of a Master of Swordsmanship, even his ultimate technique was simple and unadorned, but its power was unquestionably the most terrifying attack Sterl had ever endured!

Pfft!!

Blood erupted in a column from the severed body of Sterl, the scene grotesquely violent.

His upper body slid downward under the force of gravity. Fortunately, numerous atomic-level star threads gathered together, weaving into countless smaller threads to stitch the smooth cut in his flesh back together.

As for Sterl's remaining right arm, it twisted into a helix, but with the force of Annihilation Realm King's Fist infused with Power of Star-Bone, it still left a half-meter wide blood hole in the Nightmare Overlord's body.

The Nightmare Overlord glanced down at the blood hole in his abdomen and extended his left hand, trying to press it to stop the bleeding. However, no matter how hard he tried, the blood just wouldn't be contained.

A wound that, in his prime, would have healed perfectly within half a minute, now became the last straw that broke the camel's back.

His right arm strained, struggling to lift his long sword for a final, deadly strike, but as the sword rose, his strength faltered.

In the end, the sword stopped just inches from Sterl's neck, and the spark in the Nightmare Overlord's eyes faded quickly.

"I never thought... I would be defeated... here."

"You've won."

"The Nightmare Land is yours... don't... let the Dream Spirit Empire have it easy."

With those final words, the Nightmare Overlord's massive body remained upright on the ground. His once high-held head gradually dropped, and his breath ceased entirely.

Thud.

Sterl collapsed onto his back, blood pouring from his mouth, nose, eyes, and ears. His chest rose and fell like a broken bellows, each breath painfully difficult.

The battle had lasted less than ten seconds, yet Sterl felt utterly exhausted, both physically and mentally drained.

The sword wound that had split him in two seemed to contain some kind of sword force, preventing the injury from healing.

If it hadn't been for his immense vitality and the timely stitching of the star threads, he would have long since succumbed.

In the face of the Nightmare Overlord's monstrous swordsmanship, his proud regeneration ability seemed like a joke.

The Overlord's sword could sever life itself, even the soul and fate—far beyond what mere vitality could heal.