Genetic Ascension
chapter-483

The Arctic Emperor's pain echoed as pulsing thoughts in Sylas' mind. However, his speed wasn't slow.

The invisible man was covered in the blood of his own making. He was forced to send out a pulse of Aether to push it away from himself, but that only made his image even brighter in Sylas' visualization.

<Cryobane Elevation>.

<Surfing Frost>.

Suddenly, Sylas' Speed and Dexterity went from 520 to 884. Ice appeared on the ground all around him at the same time, raising his speed to an even more exaggerated level, even approaching 1500 when he also used his telekinesis to lower his weight.

The synergy between <Arctic King's Domain> and <Surfing Frost> wasn't bad at all. He didn't need to waste much Aether creating ice paths because the world was his ice path.

Sylas' sudden acceleration caught the sneak attacker off guard. A fist was drilled into his gut in the next instant.

At the same time, a large amount of Ice-Poison Runes was already beginning to accumulate along his body. Sylas focused the Slow Ice-Poison Rune, knowing that Freeze was too brittle for the occasion.

Damage began to accumulate as Sylas and the man entered another furious exchange.

Sylas glided across the ice, using a series of footholds when he needed friction and speed when he needed added power.

He and the hidden man flickered around one another, dagger and fist meeting again and again before the situation suddenly changed once again.

Winter's Edge.

Sylas didn't let up on the gas pedal. The poor blood circulation in his body was nothing more than an afterthought. His entire being was focused on taking this man down.

By this point, the army generals had noticed that the flags had stopped working and put two and two together. They weren't just foolish NPCs; they had complex thoughts of their own. It wasn't long before they concluded that something was wrong with Sylas, and they located the sounds of battle.

The invisible man seemed to realize that he was running out of time. The poison was continuously slowing him down, and now with Winter's Edge, even his defenses were starting to be compromised.

SHIIING!

Sylas' gaze flashed as the warning signs pulsed in his mind.

He slid to the side with <Surfing Frost>, but the blade followed him. However, just as he was about to be cut in half, his path of ice curved into the skies.

The blade sliced into the path, but Sylas had already surfed up and over, smashing down with a fist from above.

BANG!

Sylas' fist slammed into hard ground, and he couldn't help but frown.

The sneak attacker was gone.

'No, he can't have gone far. He didn't use any skills, or else I would have sensed the Aether.' <Arctic Howl Mutant>.

Sylas reacted quickly. His thoughts moved so fast that there didn't even seem to be a moment between his fist hitting the icy ground and his roar echoing.

The sound of his surge of ice colliding against something caught Sylas' attention instantly. He turned his head in that direction and cast <King's Bind> from the Stabilizing Bracelet in the same instant the hidden man escaped the freeze.

The Stabilizing Bracelet cracked and then shattered apart, its Durability having reached the end of its lifespan. Sylas knew that this would happen soon. He just hadn't been able to find anyone to repair it; his life was just filled with one dangerous event after another.

But he didn't have the time to mind it or care either.

With <King's Bind> activated, whatever Skill the man was using to hide himself suddenly collapsed, and Sylas found the face of a young man with an almost curious expression on his face looking back at him.

This wasn't the look of someone who should be in a fierce battle at all. It was almost the look of a cat playing around with a mouse caught in a trap.

Grin.

Sylas actually couldn't see the man's stats or his name even in this situation. It was as though he didn't exist at all.

However, unlike others, Sylas wasn't put off by Grin's gaze in the slightest. His gaze was still just as cold and indifferent, the weakness in his body doing nothing to slow down his counterattack in the slightest.

The dagger in Grin's hand was ripped out by Sylas' telekinesis as he couldn't control his body to tighten his grip for a brief instant. Then, in a sudden turn, the dagger turned and stabbed right into Grin's throat.

Sylas closed in the final distance, his fist aiming right for Grin's head.

<Psychedelic Punch>.

The Beast Totem behind him roared with life, and his gaze seemed to turn into slits as though

a mighty Serpentes Emperor was bearing down on the world.

However, Grin's expression was still seemingly calm.

BANG!

Grin's head exploded into a rain of blood and gore.

Finally, Sylas came to a stop, his body heaving for breath. A coldness permeated him from head to toe, and a shiver crept up his spine. This wasn't from fear, but rather the fact his blood was starting to run cold.

'Is he really dead?' Sylas couldn't help but think this. Grin wasn't normal, but was there anyone who could be so careless in the face of death?

Even after his oaths, Sylas didn't believe that he could be, and maybe that was why he was pushing so hard. While he had been in difficult, near-death experiences since the volcano incident... had he ever faced true death?

He raised a hand to his neck, feeling the icy cold as his vision swam.

'Maybe...'

Sylas shook his head. His intuition was telling him that this Grin character hadn't died just yet. Regardless of whether he was right or not, he would have to prepare for it as though it was inevitable. This opponent was too shocking.

'But now I know how to deal with his invisibility. Next time it won't be the same.'

...

In a forest in the far-off distance, a man stumbled out with a pale face. If Sylas had been able

to see his stats before and after, he would have known that they plummeted by half.

However, Grin didn't seem to care in the slightest.

'So... that snake is yours, hm?'