A dull longsword and a heartbroken villager

Despite these doubts, I couldn't sense any panic from him.

As always, he remained calm and composed.

"You just neutralized one of my attacks."

“Let’s try again then.” Umkandal said, extending one hand and making a lifting motion.

He was not holding anything in his hands...

What He held up was the enormous rock, high in the sky, surrounded by the remains of trees.

Sure enough, it felt the same as before, like a new star that would bring about the end of the world.

Honestly, this was the first time Bray had ever felt that throwing stones could be so terrifying; he had always thought it was a stupid attack method.

In retrospect, it was simply that the stones weren't big enough or impressive enough. Umm Kandar's devastating attack was thwarted once again.

Bray's sword missed again.

The battlefield shifted without anyone noticing.

Because the hilltop had been leveled by Umm Kandar's relentless offensive, they had to gradually shift their battleground.

The fact that they were able to hold out for so long was largely thanks to Bray's relentless defense.

If any attack by Umm Kandar were to be fully unleashed, nothing would grow there.

Looking up, I realized that the sky had darkened without me noticing.

Throughout the journey, the battle between Bray and Umkandar never ceased for a single second.

Because of the battle between the human and the god, one could hear thunder rumbling in the sky from the surrounding area.

However, there was actually no thunder or lightning in the sky, only dark clouds.

Those sounds that shook the souls of mortals were merely background music in the battle between a human and a god.

“Wow, Brekras, it’s a shame you’re just a human.” Umkandar’s cloak fluttered in the air currents.

The cloak was lifted, revealing Umkandal's powerful physique beneath.

Even though he was covered in armor, you could still feel the power contained in his bulging muscles.

"I think it's great that I'm human." Bray doesn't feel it's a pity that he's human at all.

On the contrary, isn't this something to be proud of?

“You should be proud of what you are,” Bray said quietly.

“That’s a really good point,” Umm Kandar said.

"I have always believed that the quantity of black iron is the key to creating miracles."

"Because there are so many people, there will be all sorts of ideas."

"There will be extremely stupid ideas, but there will also be some truly amazing ideas."

He gazed at Bray, before whom stood the blades separated by an invisible barrier, sparks flying from the collision of the blades with the barrier.

Are people stupid? Of course they are.

Are people very smart? Of course they are.

These two things are not contradictory at all when placed within the overall context of Black Iron.

“I actually admire the Black Iron race’s ability to create things, but to us, you are too insignificant.”

"It's not equal at all."

"I am also proud of the fact that I am a Silver type."

“I have never envied the Golden Seed, nor have I ever fantasized about becoming one,” Umkandal said, each word resounding with conviction.

He did not lie, nor did he have any reason to lie to Bray.

“Hahaha, ‘You should be proud of what you are,’ I really like that statement.” Umkandar swung his hand forcefully, knocking Bray away.

He said he admired Bray, but he didn't hold back at all in his attack.

“I suddenly remembered that Takaman had a very high opinion of you.”

"Now it seems that he is indeed a special case."

The Third Demon Lord, Takaman, once said that this Ringbearer is someone who can ignite the passion of warriors.

For Ummkandar, this shaman was a figure who inspired deep thought.

Equal combat strength is a prerequisite for dialogue.

Bray first has the entry ticket to this chapter's dialogue with the Silver Race.

And although it may sound a bit exaggerated, Bray's words can sometimes be quite thought-provoking.

He wasn't clever enough to utter a famous quote.

Yet he still manages to make people think deeply.

"It's such a pity. Every one of these in the world is a treasure."

“It would be a shame for me to destroy a treasure with my own hands.” Umkandar clenched his fist and tore Bray’s coat apart.

Of course, it wasn't that Umkandal had a perverse sense of humor and was tearing someone's clothes; it's just that his fatal blow was dodged, and the victim was the coat instead.

As the battle progressed, Bray's forehead was covered in more and more sweat, and his wounds continued to multiply.

Umm Kandar, however, remained calm and composed, just as he had at the beginning.

In this battle, it is obvious who is at a disadvantage.

“After all this time, you should have guessed what my ‘concept’ really is by now,” Umkandal said, straightening his new attire.

The concept of Umm Kandar has been almost unknown to most people.

Firstly, because Umm Kandar rarely needs to use that concept to deal with others.

Secondly, because those who needed Him to deal with concepts were all dead.

“Cause and effect,” Bray replied succinctly.

No one told him the answer, but having been in contact with "concepts" for a long time, he was always able to understand what the "concepts" he was facing were about.

It's strange, he can't quite put his finger on it... It's even more mysterious than intuition.

And "The Last Echo" was even more accurate in his judgment of "concept" than Bray.

“Hmph…” Umkandal slightly raised his drooping eyelids.

"Cause and effect" is another extraordinary concept that Bray saw after White Face's "spacetime".

Like "spacetime," the word "cause and effect" gives people a direct and powerful sense of impact.

Although concepts have no inherent strength or weakness—

But indeed, the word "cause and effect" has an unparalleled impact compared to other ordinary words.

Just as the name suggests, Umkandal is able to manipulate cause and effect.

The same Umkandal, like Whiteface, is capable of performing unconventional maneuvers.

It's just that the will of the world won't allow it.

If cause and effect can be manipulated at will, it's just as terrifying as if space and time could be manipulated at will.

Of course, even when restricted, Umkandal remains powerful.

Even though the concept was suppressed by Bray's longsword, it was still powerful.

“That’s a pretty accurate assessment,” Umm Kandar said.

He didn't have the bad habit of explaining his abilities to others during battle, but it's another matter if the other party figured it out themselves.

There's no need to hide it anymore.

Umm Kandar's most frequently used method is "causality".

If some of the conditions are met, then something will inevitably happen.

By focusing on the essential factors, one can disregard the process and achieve the absolute result.

For example, Umm Kandar only needs to do certain things, and it will be absolutely impossible for Bray to hit him.

Of course, this is just a very simple part of how it is used.

Because the concept was suppressed by Bray, Umm Kandar's operational scope was also very limited.

Just as other silver species can kill lower species with a single thought, if Umkandal's concept had not been suppressed, then the Bray in front of him might have disappeared directly due to the contradiction of "cause and effect".

Umm Kandar could even define the existence or non-existence of certain things through causality.

Even if they are both Silver Species, it is impossible for them to defeat Umkandar, who has developed his concept of "cause and effect" to an extreme degree.

"Now that you know, you should understand that nothing you do will make a difference."

“The process is just a formality to me,” Umm Kandar said.

“You haven’t decided my fate yet,” Bray interrupted.

He opened his right eye, and that lifeless right eye looked at Umkandal.

“You shouldn’t be able to decide my fate,” he continued.

"At most, you can only decide the outcome of some minor things."

“These small results are also the ‘cause’ of the next thing,” Ummkandar said nonchalantly.

Bray is right, but He cannot decide the outcome of Bray's victory or defeat this time, not entirely because the concept was suppressed.

However, it does not affect the overall situation.

“Try to keep resisting, to prove that your struggle is worthwhile.” Umm Kandar originally wanted to say that Bray’s struggle was pointless.

But after seeing the right eye, He changed His mind. The human eye can always express a lot, just as complex as language.

Losing an eye was a pity, but Bray still has one last eye.

That eye has always told others what kind of guy Bray really is.

The feeling of being pumped up? Sorry, Bray is good at having that word.

Bray himself didn't know if he could win this battle.

He might die at Umm Kandar's hands, really... it wouldn't be surprising if he did.

Beneath that calm gaze lies a determination to carry out one's actions.

Since they had decided to do everything in their power to kill the nearby Silver-ranked beings, there was little reason to run away.

Facing Umkandal, I can only say that I had very bad luck.

That's all.

Black iron, bronze, and silver types each possess their own powerful existence.

Without a ring, even black iron will reach a bottleneck, a bottleneck that cannot be broken through.

Generally speaking, it's normal for a strong lower-level species to be unable to defeat a strong higher-level species.

Thinking about it that way, Bray didn't think his luck was particularly bad, even though he still didn't know where his ring was.

Maybe it's in my heart?

"Clang—" The sword was already swung out instinctively while Bray was thinking.

However, since the outcome has been decided, it is clear that this sword strike will miss.

“It’s all in vain,” Umkandal said.

If the attack misses, it is only natural to take the hit from the opponent.

Whether intentionally or not, Umkandal did not continue to use those large-scale attacks, but instead began to fight with his own physical body.

This might be telling Bray that He not only possesses the mental power to distort things and the concept to rewrite cause and effect, but also an incredibly powerful physical body.

Perhaps He did this to further prove that Bray was incapable of defeating Him.

Umkandal needs to beat Bray, and there's no excuse for doing so.

This is His pride as an absolute power.