Chapter 165: Escaped


    *<strong>BAM!*</strong>


    With a powerful smash, Netherw hit the figure before him without hesitation.


    "Haha! You thought you will be able to beat me using this strange m-, huh?"


    But before Netherw could have finished his sentence, suddenly he realized that what he has just smashed felt kinda strange.


    Looking at his palm, suddenly Netherw''s eyes widened slightly only to see that instead of blood, what he could see on his hand were small pieces of debris and stone.


    "What the?", said Netherw with a frown, but suddenly he felt something was amiss, so he wanted to jump to the side, but he realized that he couldn''t.


    "!"


    Below his feet, the ground turned muddy, and instantly as half of his leg sunk into the soil, it solidified, trapping him into one ce.


    "This won''t help you at all!", roared angrily Netherw and smashed at the ground to free his feet instantly, but just as he did a loud voice sounded, "Now!"


    "Huh?"


    Netherw looked around to find where the voice came from, but what he could only see was a single figure appearing inches away from his body like thunder.


    "You!"


    Netherw watched as Joe, whose whole body was covered in a robe made out of pure thunder and lightning, shed at his neck with his silver sword with a frighteningly fast speed.


    "Still slow!", roared Netherw and waved his hand to deflect Joe''s attack.


    *<em>Swish!</em>*


    *<strong><em>Crack!</em></strong>*


    With a loud bang and cracking sound, Netherw broke Joe''s sword into several pieces, and with an insanely fast spin, he kicked toward Joe''s waist powerfully.


    However, Joe was watching this as calmly as ever and put his hand which held the remaining sword''s hilt to the side.


    *BOOM!*


    With an explosion like thunder hitting the bare ground, in Joe''s hand from the hilt, thunder burst forward, and like chains connecting to each other, lightning particles appeared between the broken pieces, creating a weapon simr to that of a whip.


    When all parts have been connected with his power, Joe swung the newly made weapon in his hand without hesitation.


    All of these things like connecting the parts with his power and creating the weapon till the part he swung it toward Netherw just only happened under a single second, showing that Joe''s speed was inhumanly fast currently.


    However, like everything else, this also came with a consequence and that consequence was visibly noticeable on Joe''s face.


    Blood was flowing out and down from his nose and the corner of his mouth showing just how much burden that ability of his was putting on his body.


    But still, with clenched teeth and a determined expression, Joe attacked Netherw, making his attack to defend against the kick sessfully.


    *<strong>BAM!*</strong>


    "Urgh!"


    However, God rank strength was not God rank strength for fun. The moment his whip-like weapon hit Netherw''s leg, barely diverting its trajectory, Joe''s whole figure still got flung away, making his body to explode onto a huge stone in the distance.


    But before that, Joe made sure to shout one more time.


    "Greg! Now!"


    Instantly as he said that behind Netherw''s back the huge boulder moved, and with a fast motion earth spikes exploded toward Netherw.


    "Sh*t!"


    Netherw was totally surprised by this sudden attack. He knew that M controlled his movement toward this boulder on purpose, but as to why he didn''t know.


    He thought it was for the reason to trap him and attack him from three different directions at once, but it was quite visible that it wasn''t the case.


    Not only didn''t M not attacked him but for some reason, Greg didn''t assault him either. But the best chance to attack him would have been now.


    He thought it was quite fishy and in the end, it turned out it really was. Everything until this moment was to distract his attention from the fact that the boulder behind his back could be used as a source of an attack.


    "I should have realized that brat could control the earth element.", thought Netherw angrily and wanted to jump away, but before he could have done so, another spike emerged, but this time it was from before him from the ground.


    "!"


    *Squash!*


    Piercing his stomach from the front, while piercing his back from the back, Netherw was stuck in one ce.


    "Bleargh!"


    Vomiting up a huge amount of blood, Netherw looked up and wanted to say something, however, suddenly his eyes widened.


    The reason why, because not far away from him, Greg was holding his ck staff in hand above his head, while around his weapon, golden mes were swirling like crazy.


    Watching as his veins below his skin bulged out, making his whole figure look frighteningly scary, Netherw knew that if he doesn''t run bow, he will die for sure.


    "Not good!", said Netherw hurriedly, and without hesitation, he swung his ws toward the earth pir before him, smashing it into pieces.


    However, the moment he freed himself, purplish mes broke out below the ground before him, setting his right arm into mes.


    Netherw wanted to put out the mes on his limb, but unfortunately, no matter how hard he swung his hand, the mes didn''t want to vanish at all. Instead, they became even more crazy, approaching toward his head like a virus, ready to but him alive in any given second.


    Knowing there was no time to waste, Netherw swung his other arm, and without a single hesitation he cut off his arm.


    "<strong>ROOAAR!</strong>"


    With a deafening roar, Netherw looked toward M in the distance who caused him to do this, but before he could have done anything else, suddenly suffocating power burst toward him from the side.


    Turning his head toward where the power came, Netherw saw as dense golden mes were swirling toward him like a crazy dragon, melting away the ground and the close proximity around it instantly.


    Watching the mes which were even scarier than M''s, Netherw turned shocked and said, "Are they even human?"


    And just as he said this, the golden mes reached him, engulfing him entirely.


    *BOOM!*


    However only after a second, a loud explosion happened inside the swirling mes and like a bullet, Netherw''s figure burst out, running away as fast as he possibly could.


    Joe who was already on his feet and M wanted to chase after the creature when suddenly Greg''s voice sounded behind his back.


    "Let him go. We won''t be able to catch him. Also, there could be the possibility he lures us into a trap, so let''s just calm down and rest."


    With that, Greg took out a healing potion from his shadow and after drinking it he sat down to rest.


    M and Joe looking at Greg''s tired expression looked at each other, but after a while they too fell onto their butts, looking all exhausted all of a sudden.


    "Oh, man... I thought I was dead!", said M as she looked up the sky, breathing in as much air as she could right now.


    "Haha! Me too. That creature was too strong! If it was only a one on one fight, I would have died for a thousand times already!", said Joe with a smile looking at Greg before him.


    "It seems your n worked. If we have been a bit better, there would have been the chance we have killed it. But, still, I''m quite satisfied with this result too.", said Joe as he looked at Greg.


    "Me too.", nodded Greg, but after looking at the boulder he just used a few moments ago he said, "But to tell the truth, I wasn''tpletely sure it would work."


    "Huh? What do you mean?", asked M from the side, looking at Greg with a confused expression.


    Greg pointed at the boulder and said, "That rock. Don''t you find it strange?"


    "Huh?"


    Both M and Joe turned their gazes at the rock that Greg was referring to, but after inspecting it for a few seconds they didn''t notice anything strange at all.


    "No. It looks to me like any other rock.", said M with a shake of her head.


    Hearing this Greg smiled and said, "Then look around and say that again."


    M hearing this frowned and said, "What do yo-, huh?"


    The moment M looked around, what he could see except of the sign of their attacks, was a sheer t surface. Not a tree or bush, but only that single boulder that Greg used a few minutes ago.


    "Now that you say this. It is truly strange. Your breakthrough erased everything nearby. Even a small portion of the mountain''s side vanished, but strangely that boulder didn''t. What is that?", said Joe as he looked at the boulder.


    Standing up, Greg stepped closer to the huge piece of stone and put his hand on it while closing his eyes.


    Using his earth element''s vibration powers, Greg tried to see the structure of the boulder to see if there was anything strange about it, however, the moment he did, his eyes shot wide open, making him to step a few meters behind immediately.


    "What happened?", asked Joe noticing Greg''s sudden behavior, but Greg''s answer made him look insanely stupified.


    "It''s... It''s an entrance toward somewhere deep underground."