Chapter 190 Remarkable Trap

The speed at which Law mobilized his Aura for attack and defense was not fast enough to block Atomu's palm strike. Instead, he had preemptively moved his Aura, making it seem like he knew in advance that Atomu would target his right shoulder.

Law knew that Atomu would have many options between attack and defense, but that slash Law had made had reduced Atomu's options to just one.

This is also why Atomu felt something was wrong. He vaguely sensed something unusual about that slash, but the opportunity was fleeting. He had to take advantage of Law's unstable posture upon landing and finish him off in one blow!

'That really hurts…'

Pain flashed across Law's face as he adjusted his posture mid-air. Then, as his feet touched the ground, he slid backward before fully dissipating the momentum.

Even after concentrating 80% of his Manifested Aura into defense, he still felt intense pain that extended to his injured back. Pain and more pain.

Gritting his teeth, Law endured the pain. While sliding back, he bent his knees into a half-crouch, leaning forward with his upper body.

His left hand, covered with Aura, pressed against the ground.

From a distance, his action of pressing the ground with his left hand seems like an attempt to brake as quickly as possible, but in fact, that wasn't the case.

When his body was about to come to a stop, Law used God Hand to cut the rock layer underneath into tiny granules through the stone slab, and then squeezed it slightly to create a cavity.

After finishing this discreet maneuver, Law looked up and saw Atomu was already upon him.

Atomu hadn't noticed Law's subtle action. As a person with rich combat experience, he shouldn't have made such an oversight.

However, precisely because Law relied too much on Aura, Atomu did not find it strange when he saw Law use his left hand, which was wrapped in Aura, to press against the ground to slow down.

Even if he had noticed it, he wouldn't have guessed that Law had hollowed out the rock beneath the slabs.

"You should've just stayed down!"

After getting close, Atomu gathered his Aura and was about to slap Law to death with his palm when he heard a muffled sound under his feet. The stone slab shattered, and his right foot sank into the ground.

"Huh?"

Atomu was startled, and as his right foot sank into the ground, he lost balance and stumbled forward.

At this time, Law was already prepared and slashed at Atomu's chest as he turned over.

The Aura surrounding the blade shone brightly, reflecting in Atomu's surprised eyes.

However…

Atomu abruptly bent his left knee, and his Aura surged like an explosive jet. In an instant, his left leg shot forward before the sword could reach him, stomping down with immense force, sending a powerful shockwave through the ground.

Boom!

The infused Aura shattered the stone beneath him, sending shards flying into the air. The impact also sent Law airborne, causing his attack to miss completely.

Shattered stone fragments scattered in all directions.

Law's expression shifted as he saw his well-prepared attack fail. He quickly withdrew his sword, steadied himself mid-air, and retreated backwards, trying to regain distance as quickly as possible.

At the same time, Atomu's expression was extremely cold. He stood in a weird posture, then swiftly swung his hand to strike the airborne stone slabs in front of him.

One by one, the slabs shattered into pieces and flew toward the retreating Law, turning Law's own strategy against him.

Although the fragments weren't coated with aura, they were propelled purely by Atomu's raw strength, so their impact wasn't to be underestimated.

Seeing the incoming debris, Law extended his Domain while retreating, stopping the fragments in mid-air before wrapping them in Aura and sending them back at Atomu.

"I really underestimated you."

Seeing this, Atomu's face darkened slightly. The sheer number of fragments being returned to him left him with little choice. Since his foot was still trapped underground, he could only block them with force.

Crossing his arms in front of his face, Atomu concentrated his Manifested Aura at the front of his body to block the stone barrage. The Aura-coated stones slammed into him without leaving a scratch.

At this time, Law had already closed the distance to fifty meters. Seeing Atomu's foot still stuck in the ground, he couldn't help but sigh.

He used the dust cloud to block his vision and then used the Flying Aura to force Atomu to dodge. Only then could he use that slash to make Atomu make the counterattack he wanted to see, which was a slap on the right shoulder.

Preemptively gathering his Aura for defense was to ensure that he wouldn't suffer serious injury from that strike.

Law was very sure that when he was still able to adjust his body in mid-air after being knocked away by a palm strike, Atomu would not miss the opportunity to pursue him and would attack him when he could barely stabilize his body.

Everything leading up to this moment had been planned for that precise scenario.

Using God Hand during his sliding stop, Law created a hidden cavity in the ground, trapping Atomu's foot and causing him to lose balance due to the momentum of his own attack.

At that time, it was time for Law to cut Atomu down in a single strike!

Unexpectedly, just when the plan was about to succeed, Atomu's Aura suddenly erupted like a jet engine, accelerating his movements instantly. With his left foot stomping the ground, he shattered Law's carefully orchestrated attack!

The main issue was that Law's time to create the trap had been too short, and since he was only using his left hand, he could only create a trap that would sink Atomu's right foot into the ground.

If his God Hand had been stronger, he could have trapped both of Atomu's feet, which might have led to a completely different outcome.

'With this opportunity lost, it will be even more difficult to create it again...'

The area around where Atomu was standing was now a complete mess. The stone slabs were gone, revealing the rough, uneven rock layer beneath.

'That little brat almost got me!'

Atomu yanked his foot out of the ground, and when he looked at Law, his face looked quite ugly.

What he had initially thought was just an insignificant insect that could be crushed at any moment had actually forced him to use his Nen Ability, consuming a fifth of his Aura.

If he hadn't used his Nen Ability to suddenly increase his speed and strength at that time, he might have been taken down by that strike.

It was also because Law had previously demonstrated his ability, otherwise, Atomu wouldn't have taken him so seriously.

That rusty sword, which appeared fragile and ready to break at any moment, was something Atomu no longer underestimated. After all, he had seen its power firsthand.

After this second brief exchange, Biscuit's impression of Law underwent a drastic change.

As an observer rather than a participant, Biscuit hadn't fully grasped the intricacies of Law's strange sword. She just saw the various actions taken by Law, which eventually led Atomu into the trap successfully.

'What an impressive tactical execution!'

If their strengths were equal, it wouldn't have been so remarkable, but given the vast gap between them, for the weaker side to lead the stronger into his rhythm was an extraordinary feat.

And yet, Law had done it...

'What a pity!'

Biscuit gritted her teeth slightly, feeling regretful that Law's attack had failed.

The moment Atomu's foot sank into the ground should have been when the battle was decided. However, Law's physical fitness was too poor, resulting in not achieving the desired effect despite the operation being in place.

If Law's body coordination had been slightly better, he could have reduced the time it took to transition from a crouch to a standing position by at least 0.5 seconds. If his physical fitness were higher, the speed of his slash would have been faster!

But there were no 'what-ifs'. Law was just a second too slow, giving Atomu the chance to escape.

At this time, Biscuit realized she had underestimated Law.