Chapter 180: BATTLING ROCK MEN II

The ground of Terra itself seemed to respond to the guards’ call, rocks peeling away from the earth and converging on the rock humans, their bodies swelling in size. What were once figures twice Leo’s height grew to three times his size, their forms becoming towering monoliths of stone, their surfaces rippling with latent power as they prepared to crush the intruder."Wind Blades," Leo intoned, his voice steady as he unleashed arcs of compressed wind, razor-sharp crescents that sliced through the air with a high-pitched whine. The blades struck true, cleanly severing the heads of the rock humans closest to him, their bodies collapsing into heaps of rubble with dull thuds, dust rising in clouds around them.

Leo pressed forward, flying toward the mansion’s heart with the grace of a storm, his body propelled by gusts of controlled wind. More guards converged, their numbers swelling until he was completely surrounded, a ring of stone giants closing in with menacing intent, their footsteps shaking the ground like miniature earthquakes.

"Tempest!" Leo roared, unleashing a massive vortex of wind that exploded outward, blowing the guards away with effortless ease, their heavy bodies tumbling across the rocky terrain like pebbles caught in a hurricane. He advanced relentlessly toward the mansion’s core, his eyes locked on his goal, until a towering rock human blocked his path, its presence dominating the battlefield like a mountain come to life.

"How dare you, little thing, intrude into my home and kill my people?" the rock human demanded, its voice a low rumble that seemed to shake the very air, staring down at Leo like an insignificant pest that had overstepped its bounds, its quartz-like eyes gleaming with contempt.

"You do not give me that look! I’m not accepting that from you!" Leo yelled, his irritation flaring as he felt the sting of the rock human’s dismissive gaze, his temper fraying after the day’s earlier rejections. His face flushed with anger, his usual composure unraveling as he glared at the towering figure.

"I’ll say what I want to say. For the crime of killing my people, you’ll face the penalty of death," the rock human declared, its tone authoritative, like a judge delivering a final verdict to a condemned soul, its massive hands clenching into fists.

The ground beneath them split in two with a deafening crack, and from the planet’s molten core, searing, hardened rock surged upward, glowing with intense heat as it converged on the rock human’s body. The rocks, radiating temperatures exceeding thousands of degrees Celsius, fused with its form, increasing its size until it towered ten times larger than Leo, a fiery colossus wreathed in red-hot stone.

Leo stared at the massive rock human with unshaken calm, his eyes devoid of fear, a stark contrast to the fury burning within him. The ground vibrated under the weight of the giant’s movements, each step sending tremors through the earth as it prepared to strike.

The rock human launched its attack, throwing a massive hand forward, the planet itself resonating with the force of its blow. Jagged rocks tore from the ground, hurtling toward Leo like a barrage of molten missiles, their heat warping the air around them.

Leo stretched out his hand, summoning an extremely powerful gust of wind that halted the rocks mid-flight, their momentum reversed as he pushed them back toward the rock human with double the speed, the air howling with the force of his counterattack.

The rock human raised its arms instinctively, shielding its face from the incoming barrage, the glowing rocks shattering against its reinforced exterior with explosive impacts, sending sparks and debris scattering across the battlefield.

"You shouldn’t have done that," Leo whispered menacingly, appearing suddenly beside the rock human’s ear, his voice a chilling promise as he clutched his hands tightly, wind swirling around them in a violent maelstrom. He threw a devastating punch, the compressed wind amplifying the blow’s force.

Boom!

The rock human was sent flying, crashing into its own mansion with catastrophic force, the grand structure crumbling into a pile of rubble and dust under the impact, the sound echoing like a thunderclap across the desolate landscape.

Leo wasn’t done. He appeared before the rock human again in a flash, controlling the wind to lift the giant several meters into the air, its massive form suspended helplessly. Clamping his hands once more, Leo delivered a powerful downward strike, slamming the rock human into the ground with such force that it formed a deep crater, the earth splitting further under the impact.rable surface.

The rock human staggered to its feet from the crater, swaying dizzily, its vision blurred from the concussive force of Leo’s attacks, its glowing exterior dimming as it struggled to maintain its form.

"She flatly told me no. Doesn’t that mean she planned to go alone?" Leo asked the disoriented rock human, his tone conversational, as if they were old friends sharing a drink, not mortal enemies locked in combat.

"What do you think?" Leo pressed further, his voice laced with frustration, but the rock human, still reeling, looked utterly lost, unable to follow the bizarre tangent of Leo’s rant.

"I’m asking you a question! It’s not cool to be silent!" Leo snapped, his irritation peaking as he felt personally offended by the rock human’s silence. He kicked the giant with a burst of wind-enhanced force, sending it skidding across the ground, causing even more damage to its already battered form.

"Guess what I found out? She was willing to tag along with Michael. Crazy, right? That’s exactly what I thought!" Leo continued, tormenting the rock human not just physically but mentally, his words a relentless barrage as he vented his frustrations.

"Did you get rejected?" the rock human asked, finally piecing together fragments of Leo’s rant as it struggled to its feet, its voice weak but curious, hoping to distract Leo by engaging in his strange conversation.