Chapter 189 Law vs. Atomu

One strike is enough!

This was the conclusion Atomu came to after observing the distribution of Law's Aura.

An opponent with average physical capabilities, who relies purely on his Aura, is nothing to be feared.

'This is ridiculous! He's actually choosing to fight head-on!' Biscuit almost cursed out loud as she watched from the sidelines!

Law was unaware of what Biscuit was thinking. At this moment, the only person in his eyes was Atomu. He only needed to cut Atomu's upper body with Shin to gain the upper hand!

The distance between them finally closed!

Atomu charged toward Law, and his towering figure casted a massive shadow over Law.

His fan-sized hand clenched into a fist, which is only slightly smaller than Law's head, but more than enough to crush it… or destroy the organs inside his body.

A punch was thrown towards Law's head. At that moment, half of the Aura in Atomu's body flowed onto the fist. He was employing an advanced Nen technique: Ryu!

Whoosh!

The air tore apart, and the flames in the hall flickered and dimmed momentarily.

Law also moved at this moment.

As the punch came barreling down, he took a small sidestep to the right and then stepped forward. He gripped his sword with both hands and released a sweeping horizontal slash aimed at Atomu's waist. He planned to avoid the punch, and used Atomu's own forward momentum to slice through his upper body!

'Good reaction!'

A fleeting thought crossed Atomu's mind as he instantly adjusted his response.

Boom!

The stone slabs beneath his feet shattered in an instant!

He actually leaped from a low altitude, and with the absolute advantage of his body size, he dodged Law's horizontal slash. At the same time, he changed his fist into an open palm and aimed to grab the crown of Law's head.

The exchange of attacks and counterattacks happened so quickly that they outpaced conscious thought.

Law's combat experience was too limited. Faced with Atomu's hasty change of tactics, he was unable to react with precision. Instead, he instinctively dropped into a deep squat, allowing Atomu's grasp to narrowly miss him as he passed overhead!

At this time, Atomu's lips curled into a cold smile.

While Law's crouch caused him to miss, Atomu smoothly transitioned into a flawless forward flip. As Law's movement momentarily stalled due to his dodge, Atomu delivered a crushing elbow strike to his back before fully landing.

Biscuit, who was observing from the sidelines, had her eyes widened slightly.

She realized that she had underestimated Atomu's strength. No, it should be said that she underestimated the strength that Atomu displayed in actual combat.

His rapid counters and ability to capitalize on every opening proved he was an experienced veteran.

This level of precision and reaction was not something Atomu had showed when he overpowered and eliminated Uncle Bill's group. It could also be said that Law's attack had forced him to reveal his true capabilities, and Biscuit finally understood that.

'It seems that Atomu did not underestimate Law because of the difference in strength. He chose to dodge that sword because Law used that sword to cut off the body of Mark, whose Aura had been greatly enhanced.'

'Not only is there a huge gap in strength, but he also displayed the mindset of a lion giving its all to hunt a rabbit. What chance did Law have?'

Bang!

Atomu's elbow strike landed solidly on Law's back. The impact sent Law flying like a dark blur, spitting blood as he crashed into a stone pillar, which shattered before embedding deeply into the wall of the hall.

After Atomu knocked Law away, he landed on the ground. He turned around and looked at the smoke-filled hall with a frown on his face.

'He's not dead.'

Just before his elbow struck, he had felt an inexplicable resistance, which weakened the power of his strike by at least 30%.

'Is it the effect of Mr. Muscle?'

Atomu coldly stared at the smoke-filled wall. He thought that his previous strike would kill Law, but now, it seems that Law was only heavily injured.

However, it doesn't matter. If Law was smart enough to play dead, Atomu might just spare his life.

From the moment Law attacked without leaving any room for retreat or maneuver, Atomu knew that Law was a novice in combat.

Biscuit, who is watching from the sidelines, shared the same thought.

There are many things that can be seen with just a single move. Not only is Law's combat experience lacking, but he is also overly dependent on Aura. This can be seen from the fact that he always distributes a portion of his Aura in his limbs to increase his strength and speed.

If one's physical fitness is strong enough, they can exert corresponding speed and strength even without using Aura to amplify it. That would allow them to use their Aura for far more strategic purposes.

'Aura, technique, physical strength, combat experience, mentality... he's completely outmatched.'

Biscuit had reached her conclusion. Anyway, she had already decided to save Law's life. As for polishing the raw stone? Forget it. She thought the only impressive aspects about Law were his Nen Exorcism Ability and Aura Control.

With this in mind, she prepared to step in and interrupt the fight, and then snatch the gemstone pendant from Atomu.

In fact, as a martial artist, she felt itchy to show her skills after seeing Atomu's battle-hardened skills.

However, at this moment, more than a dozen stones the size of washbasins suddenly shot out from the dust cloud that had not yet dissipated, flying straight toward Atomu.

Biscuit, who had just lifted her foot slightly, put it down again and thought to herself, 'Looks like he hasn't suffered enough yet.'

"Foolish."

Atomu didn't even bother dodging. He simply stood still, casually waving his hands to shatter several of the incoming stones, while the rest flew past him and crashed into the walls behind.

Law charged out of the dust cloud, with blood in his mouth and dust on his body, making him look quite battered.

If he had not compressed the Domain on his back in time and transferred part of his Aura to the front before crashing into the pillar and embedding into the wall, Atomu's elbow strike could have easily killed him.

He barely used his insignificant Gyo to weaken the damage, but Law also realized Atomu's overwhelming strength!

Even so, he would not back down.

Even if it meant striking a stone with an egg, he still harbored the delusion that he could shatter the stone!

'I just need to sever something… even if it's just a hand or a foot. But a direct clash won't work!'

Enduring the searing pain in his back, Law charged at Atomu once more.

Seeing that Law was not only not afraid of being beaten, but also dared to take the initiative to attack Atomu, Biscuit really didn't know how to evaluate Law.

'Does he have no sense of self-preservation?'

"You're really tired of living."

Atomu snorted coldly. With his next move, Law would definitely die.

With this thought in mind, he advanced toward the charging Law.

The distance between them rapidly shortened.

Suddenly, Law swung his sword and cut through a stone pillar. Then, with his left hand, he extended his Domain, slicing the fallen pillar into dozens of fragments and launching them at Atomu like a shotgun blast.

Meanwhile, he followed closely behind the debris.

If the physical gap was too large, then he would rely on Nen and his surroundings to shift the balance!

The dozens of Aura-infused stone fragments shot toward Atomu.

Atomu moved his hands swiftly, shattering the stones one by one, while the air filled with dust.

The Aura emanating from Atomu was like a beacon in the dark. Even though the dust cloud blocked his vision, Law could still easily track Atomu's location.

Similarly, Atomu can also sense Law's position. Unless Law used Zetsu to conceal his Aura, which he couldn't afford to do while enhancing his body, he would remain detectable.

"Left."

Atomu suddenly looked to the left, and saw a rotating circular Flying Slash shot out from the dust cloud and flying towards his neck.

Seeing this, Atomu leaned back and dodged the Flying Slash.

Law appeared after Flying Slash and slashed at Atomu.

Atomu could even dodge the long sword that was surrounded by Aura by closing his eyes. So he easily dodged it by just turning sideways, and then countered with a palm strike to Law's right shoulder.

However, as if foreseeing Atomu's move, Law had already concentrated most of his Aura on his right shoulder in advance.

Smack!

This palm strike should have shattered Law's shoulder and even his heart, but now, it only sent him flying.

'That slash…'

Atomu realized Law had preemptively gathered his Aura on his shoulder instead of reacting on the spot, and immediately felt something was wrong. However, he was unwilling to miss the opportunity, so he chased after Law who was flying out.

No matter what tricks Law had up his sleeve, they were meaningless in the face of Atomu's overwhelming strength.