Wood wiped a blood-slick hand across the wound in his chest. The sharp tang of iron flooded his senses. He was badly hurt. For now, the Divine Scales was bolstering his body, but once his potential expired, this injury could very well strip him of the power to fight.0

The pain came in surging waves that gnawed at his nerves—yet rather than cloud his mind, it honed his thoughts to an icy clarity.0

The knight before him, Wang Yu, was no longer an opponent he could hope to fell while his Divine Scales remained active. The problem wasn't so much the force of his explosive blows, but rather the shockwaves Wang Yu's body triggered the instant it was torn or battered.0

Those concussive bursts couldn't be ignored, and the wounds he could inflict while enduring them weren't enough to keep this unnervingly fast-healing opponent down. Prolonging the exchange would only see the precious seconds of the Divine Scales being wasted.0

As Wang Yu came thundering toward him, Wood pulled a small, blast-scorched-but-still-intact pouch from his belt. From it he drew a vial, smashed it against his chest, and gripped a finely wrought magitech talisman...0