Chapter 518: The Burden of Sacrifice

“Is there really any way to trigger Divine Rage instantly…”

Outside the quiet courtyard, Yenir ate the plain congee brought by Little Sister while he pondered deeply, his brow furrowed in thought.

After returning from the Prime Minister’s place, he unusually found himself with some free time.

Three days into the Death Duel, the documents on Lu Haishan had been delivered to him well in advance.

He planned to check on Sun Li Cheng in the afternoon. Supposedly, that guy is so consumed with his Transcendent Project that he barely sleeps and spends every day locked away in the Laboratory, even skipping meals.

At that thought, Yenir couldn’t help but worry that the fellow might wear himself out to death.

With nothing pressing to do, he decided to stay at home and quietly mull things over.

“It takes ten of the same level to trigger Divine Rage…”

“I’m already Third-Stage Mid-level. If everything goes well, I’ll be advanced soon…”

“Back then, ten cannon fodder were no sweat to dispatch… but once you hit the high levels—even peak—triggering Divine Rage becomes a real challenge…”

Habitually, he caressed the Ring in his hand while letting out a silent sigh.

To be honest, although the Divine Rage skill is truly terrifying, it has been his only trump card in a situation like this.

But when he thought it over, he couldn’t help but wonder why the skill felt more useless as his strength grew.

If he had known he’d be up against Peak Third-Stage fighters so early, he’d have preferred to remain stuck at Third-Stage Beginner.

Awakeners at Third-Stage Mid-level—even Advanced ones—are considered top-tier in every Battle Zone, and they’re exceedingly rare. In some weaker countries, they could easily become marshals!

And every time he made a move, it cost him ten lives.

If Divine Rage were solely relied upon to instantly dispatch those old-timers—say, a hundred Peak Third-Stage foes—damn it, he’d need a thousand Third-Stage Mid-level sacrifices!

“Something just doesn’t feel right…”

“Logically, the higher the level of the Awakener you kill, the greater Divine Rage’s final power should be. Or perhaps it should require fewer—three mid-levels ought to match up to ten beginners.”

“Could it be that the summoned Fourth-Stage phantom is just too overpowered? That Divine Rage only needs ten Third-Stage sacrifices? Strength aside, there must be some rule governing it.”

His eyes flickered as he repeatedly examined the Divine Rage skill on his panel. Yenir could only arrive at this one plausible explanation.

Even though the Divine Rage skill is as overpowered as a cheat code, who wouldn’t want an even stronger cheat?

“This is getting troublesome…”

“In a Death Duel with Lu Haishan, how am I supposed to trigger Divine Rage…”

“If nothing goes wrong, there’ll probably be a large crowd of Peak Third-Stage Awakeners watching—plus a heap of hostile peak-level fighters.”

“Just the thought of forcefully dispatching a batch of Third-Stage Mid-level foes right under their noses is daunting…”

“And besides…”

Yenir looked up and instinctively glanced toward the Heroic Monument at the Capital Core.

“Do the Prime Minister and his people even know that instantly killing a Peak Third-Stage opponent actually requires sacrifices?”

“I can’t kill my own people, and if I take out the group brought by those old-timers, they’ll lose their minds.”

“But without using Divine Rage, how am I supposed to take down Lu Haishan?”

Things were getting tricky.

After returning, Yenir suddenly realized that Lu Haishan’s hasty escape that day had inadvertently saved his life.

If Lu Haishan hadn’t run, he would have held the advantage at that moment!

It was a pity— that old fellow was far too alert, ten times more so than his son, Lu Tianming!

“Can repeated Dimensional Surge really grind down a Peak Third-Stage fighter?”

“Or should I learn another Sword Technique and push myself to SSS-Level?”

Reaching for the thick stack of Documents before him, Yenir frowned as he studied the intelligence on Lu Haishan.

Lu Haishan, Lu Tianming.

Both shared remarkably similar innate talents; their fighting styles and abilities were almost cut from the same cloth.

That came as no surprise.

Father and son—Lu Tianming was practically a mirror image molded by Lu Haishan himself.

The only difference was that Lu Haishan’s offensive power was far more terrifying and his speed even greater.

If Lu Tianming was like a meat grinder steadily advancing on the battlefield, then Lu Haishan was a bulldozer—sword flashes and his abundant Spirit Energy at Peak Third-Stage allowed him to sustain explosive bursts.

Yenir knew that unless Dimensional Surge could directly grind Lu Haishan down—or rather, instantly eliminate him—

he wouldn’t even withstand a single strike! He’d be cut down on the spot!

With his strength, even activating a double-layer shield wouldn’t be enough to block a full-force attack from a Peak Third-Stage fighter!

“So, it’d be best if I could acquire a suitable skill within these three days?”

“I hope I don’t end up falling flat on my face…”

After running through the scenarios repeatedly, a sudden surge of apprehension flashed in Yenir’s heart.

If he failed to kill Lu Haishan—and had to rely on Fang Hao and the others to save him… then he’d be in deep trouble.

“Committee Member Yenir! The skill has been acquired!”

“Would you like to take a look?”

Just as Yenir, frowning, was about to ask Fang Hao if there was any other suitable Sword Technique, Wang Tian—still bandaged from head to toe—rushed in excitedly from outside the Yard.

“Got it?”

With a raised brow, Yenir instantly appeared before Wang Tian, signaling him to show the details.

In the next moment, a luminous screen abruptly unfolded before his eyes.

“S-Level Skill [Judgment Sword] – Sword Technique”

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