Birth Of The Crafts-God

Lucas took on the six men that attacked him, and although he wasn't quickly defeated, the presence of the two second level stellar practitioners made the battle more difficult than it should have been.

Since they were ordered to arrest Lucas, the agents couldn't use their guns and had resorted to hand-to-hand combat.

One of the four first level stellar practitioners was the quickest to arrive with range. He threw a punch at Lucas, expecting to force the latter into a retreat. However, Lucas could see that the very second he did so, he would be one step closer to defeat.

The group had already understood that Lucas couldn't be underestimated seeing as he had taken down one of them quickly earlier on. Despite that, one of them had charged on his own. It might seem like a foolish move, but the first combatant was to play the role of the foreman. He was to force Lucas to retreat or dodge a few steps away. By doing so, he would inadvertently create an opening in his defence. In that space of time, the other three would attack Lucas, aiming at his openings.

Lucas had already figured this out thanks to his incredible battle experience and awareness that had taken into consideration the entire battlefield. As such, his response to the attacker's vigorous attack was not to retreat or withdraw, but to tilt his body towards the side while responding with a fist of his own.

*Bam*

It was a direct hit as Lucas' fist sent the man staggering backwards. He didn't relent as he charged in once again and unleashed a flurry of attacks on the agent, effectively knocking him out.

"Bastard!"

The other three first level agents arrived and attacked from three different angles and directions. Their first glowed —a sign that they were utilising stellar energy— as the trio charged in his solemn expressions. It was a three-pronged assault that had considered Lucas' possible escape routes. Unless he could instantaneously teleport, it looked impossible for Lucas to get out of the assault unharmed.

However, Lucas wasn't an ordinary human. Even if he was a level weaker than his opponents, to Lucas, such a gap was nonexistent. In that case, numbers didn't really matter.

With a deep yet slow breath, Lucas' brain rushed into action as everything he perceived seemed to move in slow motion.

'Retrieve.' [1]

A pair of gloves suddenly appeared on Lucas' hands. They were the Craftsman Gloves Lucas had gotten from the system as a welcome gift after transmigration. Although they weren't vestiges, their effects were just as good as vestiges.

Apart from the heat, burn, and elemental resistance, the gloves were penetration-proof and even had shock absorption capabilities. It also increased the strength of the user by a fixed percentage, which was currently thirty percent, while increasing the hit-rate and chance of attacks.

The whole idea behind these effects was to help Lucas in the work-station, especially when he was working with a hammer or the forge. However, the Craftsman Gloves could also be used for battles.

Even though he was incensed, Lucas still retained a part of his rationality and knew that it was best to not show his full capabilities, lest it draws even more suspicion onto him. At the moment, the top factions were merely lusting after the secret of the transformative abilities of SS vestiges, which was something no vestige-smith on the planet had yet to figure out.

However, once Lucas exposed a set of vestiges that constituted the Stellar Circuit Battle-Armour, the situation would become even more dire. The vestiges that constituted the armour were all at the peak of Grade 3 and could resonate with each other to produce an effect of a true Grade 4 vestige. Just like the SS vestige's transformative effect, this was a new technology that was nonexistent in Eretre. As such, Lucas refrained from using any of the vestiges that belonged to the set. Hence, his best option at the moment was the pair of Craftsman Gloves.

As the three attackers closed in on him, Lucas immediately made his move. He dodged the first by sidestepping to his right, but was brought closer to the second. Even so, he didn't fret as he moved his left hand and caught the attack.

The third assailant had already appeared behind Lucas and it was too late for him to dodge. However, Lucas never had any plans of dodging. Instead, he dragged the second agent and threw him into the trajectory of the third agent's attack.

*Bam*

"Puah!"

The attack struck the back of the second agent, who got shocked from it, spewing out blood as he fell to the ground.

"You...!"

The two agents were stunned and proceeded to glare angrily at Lucas.

Meanwhile, Lucas wasn't one to waste advantages. Right after he had performed the manoeuvre, he threw a punch right at the face of the third agent.

The man reacted by moving his hands to block, but it turned out to be a feint. Lucas' true attack was a kick right at the man's prize located at his pelvic region.

"Ahhh!"

The agent let out a horrifying scream, but Lucas had no remorse for him as he punched out once again. This time though, the fist was the real deal and it knocked the man out. Find your next adventure on empire

"You-"

Not just the first agent, but the other two second level agents as well as the three agents who had avoided the fight, were all speechless. Such a move was ruthless and very few would even use it in battle, due to the degree of injury it could cause. A man could be beaten, battered, tortured and messed up all over, but that region was a sacred zone that not even the most heinous of criminals would wreak havoc upon.

"Break his legs." One of the three agents who stood back ordered with a cold voice.

Of the three agents who stood back, two were at the third level while the one who gave the command was at the fourth. With him giving the order, not even the third level agents could sit back.

This time around, one of the third level agents came forward, and together with the others, there were now four people facing Lucas. However, compared to the previous four he has taken down, only one of them was at the first level; two were at the second level while the last one was at the third level.

From the perspective of a neutral party who knew nothing about the fighters, it was clear that Lucas would lose this round. So, unless Lucas used the vestiges, he would lose this battle and get arrested. However, he was unwilling to do that. It wasn't just because it would complicate the issue, but that the Stellar Circuit Battle-Armour alone would not be enough.

Against Ramirez, Lucas was able to utilise the Grade 4 vestige to display a fourth level Apertures Opening stage power. However, that alone wasn't enough and he had almost lost his life to Ramirez.

There was only one other solution, which was the key to his victory against both Ramirez and Ardeen in Alleva district. It was to use the Bronze cards from the system.

Lucas currently has one with a sixth level stellar practitioner ability and another with a fourth level. Pairing the Stellar Circuit Battle-Armour with the fourth level Bronze Grade card would be enough to kill everyone here, so escaping wasn't even a problem.

"Release."

Lucas gave the command right after mentally summoning the fourth level Bronze Grade card.

However, something unexpected had happened; something Lucas had never considered was possible.

"Access denied."

The system's cold voice reverberated in his head.