No matter which one of the possibilities were actually true, getting rid of this annoying and dangerous frost is just a first step for me. Thinking how this time the penguin didn't use any other attack while trying to root me in place, I think I could very well take it for granted that the sword that I snatched from him was its only way to do me harm at the range!

While I could use the combination of my two weapons to send fiery attack its way, using the ultraviolet sword drains a lot of my energy, and with the distance separating us, I can't be so sure if it had any real effect on my target. It's good that it took care of the frost and stopped chanting of this strange poetry that was causing it, but I can't rely on it anymore.

In the end, I had no other option than to close the distance and use my newly acquired prowess to fight it!

Obviously, this decision had nothing to do with my eagerness to test how much stronger did I become after boosting most of my stats to my current maximum! I'm not such a reckless person after all!

With my regained eagerness to fight, I start marching forward through the insane amount of wooden ruble created by the previous events of this historic fight. Actually thinking this through, I'm sure I am the first to challenge this monstrum without any kind of backup plan or reinforces coming my way in any predictable timeline!

While I know it's rather stupid, It's not like I have literally any other way to solve this problem. If I try to run away, this penguin will surely try to follow and catch me, if not because of the injuries that I already inflicted on it, then for the sake of recovering the sword that I took from him! While his lack of ranged attack was a blessing for me, it meant that without this sword, it would lose its most dangerous asset!

In this world where it was to eat or to be eaten, even such a powerful beast was bound to have some natural enemies. Even if it was the overlord of its area, just the fact that this penguin could leave his lair at will, implied two important things.

For one, the rules imposed by this ancient barrier weren't absolute. With the limited information I have, I can only guess that the blockade can apply only to the demonic beasts below the spirit realm. As for the second, since those monsters usually kept themselves confined to their respective places of residence, there were some important reasons keeping them there!

The biggest clue as to why those monsters were still staying in their homes despite the ability to cross the ancient barrier was the frosty climate that I encountered after entering this penguin liar. Despite being surrounded by warm, lush forest, it was still able to retain its coldness!

As I march forward, the broken tree branches are crumbling under my feet. Maybe I'm not used to my new strength yet, maybe growing actually made me weight more? I doesn't really matter now. While it's annoying to fall into a pit created by myself, I still see this as an absolute win! That only proves that my power is unlimited!

Ok, I will stop thinking memes from the earth now, I promise. In the way, that is da Ugandan Knuckle wey!

Ok, really, that was the last one. While I would love to keep joking in my head, I finally notice a massive body of my current nemesis slowly sliding towards me on a small sheet of ice.

That would explain how it managed to get closer to me without making much of a sound!

According to the millennia-old rule, if you can see the enemy, the enemy can see you as well!

As soon as we both realised how close we are to each other, a lot of things happened at the same time.

Not daring to waste the opportunity, I dashed forward while slashing windslord behind whenever I was midair, to boost my speed even further. The second I reached the effective range of forty meters, I swept my blade all the way from behind my back to my left side, making almost a full circle with it, with all my strength infused in this strike.

When I was still accelerating, the penguin jumped off its icy snowboard and started running towards me. While its build came with ridiculously short legs, his sheer size allowed him to cover the vast distance with each step. In other words, I only had a single, small window to attack, before his leg would flatten me down to earth!

Even with my slash connecting with the penguin's body, I didn't see any cuts appearing on it at all! While the monster staggered in its step for a bit, outside of pain, there was no real damage to its vitality!

Using up the momentum attained before, I jump forward to avoid its step by dashing right next to its side.

Obviously, I won't miss such a perfect opportunity!

As both of us are dashing towards each other, I step to the side alerting the original course of my run. Sliding through the air right next to the perfectly fluffy fur of the monster, I slash with windslord from my left to my right, with my sword barely missing the direct contact with the enemy flesh!

But that doesn't mean I missed!

With no reason to bother by the possible resistance offered by such a comfortable-looking armour, I use my sword speciality at almost point-blank range! This time, I can watch with satisfaction while flying away from the monster as a wide cut appears on its side with blood fountaining its way from penguin insides!

With such a bait flying through the air unguarded, I intentionally crash at the end of my jump to lose my momentum. Unbothered by the pain suddenly resounding through my entire body, I prompt myself forward and crazily jump towards the trail of blood left by the running penguin!

As a being far bigger than me, it can't simply tumble to earth to stop! The more something weighs, the greater the energy it carries along with its momentum! Banking on this fact, I dive into the stream of blood that almost touched the ground.

ABSORB!

The first clash between a man and a poetic penguin!