An Understated Dominance - Chapter 2565

What caught Zeus off guard wasn’t just the golden steeple’s sturdiness—it completely absorbed his attacks. The lightning sphere he hurled had nearly all its energy swallowed by the steeple, leaving behind not even a scorch mark.

This method of neutralizing power was far more advanced than simply blocking it. It became clear that the golden steeple was a rare divine artifact, and breaking through it would be anything but easy.

Still, the more resistance he faced, the more convinced Zeus became that Logan was hiding somewhere inside the temple. He was certain that once the golden steeple was destroyed, the Hall of Gods’ looming threat—Logan—could be eliminated for good.

A middle-aged monk stepped forward and said firmly, “The Adamantine Body Art protects the Seven Shards Steeple. No matter how you attack, you won’t break through. Stop wasting your strength and leave the mountain.”

Zeus sneered. “You really think there’s a fortress I can’t bring down?”

Refusing to back down, the challenge only fueled his determination. Raising both hands, he rapidly gathered energy. Two lightning spheres formed in his palms, growing larger by the second.

“Break it down!”

Once the spheres reached the size of basketballs, Zeus hurled them at the golden steeple with full force.

Two loud explosions followed, shaking the steeple slightly.

The lightning spheres burst with energy, but the steeple absorbed it all—and they vanished without a trace.

But Zeus didn’t stop. He summoned lightning sphere after lightning sphere, launching them in a relentless barrage.

Explosions echoed again and again at the peak of Embercrest Hill. Yet no matter how fiercely he attacked, the steeple held firm without the slightest crack.

Inside the temple, the monks let out a sigh of relief when they saw the steeple still intact. The Seven Shards Steeple’s defenses were even stronger than they had imagined, capable of withstanding repeated assaults from a royal god—an extraordinary feat.

Even so, in the temple courtyard, Grace remained tense and unrelenting.
The steeple was a divine artifact bound to her life force. Though it appeared undamaged now, Grace knew it had its limits.

Each of Zeus’s strikes added more stress. If the pressure built up too much, the steeple would eventually shatter. In other words, if he kept attacking without rest, he would break through sooner or later.

At this pace, it could last maybe a day and a night—at most. And that was only if Hera stayed out of it. If she joined in, the steeple would collapse much sooner.

Right now, Grace had pinned all her hopes on Dustin.

If he could finish absorbing the Dracan essence before the steeple gave out, they might still have a chance to turn the tide. If not, she likely wouldn’t survive either.

She was gambling with her life, staking everything on Dustin’s breakthrough.

Time crawled by, while Zeus continued his relentless assault outside the temple.

He launched blue lightning spheres like cannonballs, hammering them into the golden steeple again and again. He knew it was durable, but nothing was truly indestructible—everything had its limits.

His strategy was simple: keep pounding until it broke. But carrying it out proved far more difficult. The steeple had limits, yes—but so did he.

After three hours of nonstop bombardment, the steeple still stood firm.

Zeus was worn out, panting and soaked in sweat. Since ascending as a royal god, he’d never pushed himself this hard. No enemy had ever forced him to this point.

He couldn’t believe a mere steeple had endured three straight hours of his full-power attacks. It felt like punching a turtle shell with bare fists. Frustrated, his determination only deepened.

Taking a brief pause, Zeus turned to Hera and said coldly, “How long do you plan to just sit there and watch?”

“Are you talking to me?” Hera replied with a yawn. “You looked so focused, I didn’t want to interrupt. You’re always whining when I steal your kills.”

“That was then. This is different,” he said, clearly irritated. “Can’t you see I’m doing all the work? If you don’t help break this steeple, it’s only going to drag on.”

As the leader of the Four Royal Gods, Zeus couldn’t afford to fail. If word got out that he couldn’t even destroy a steeple, he’d become a laughingstock.

“Fine. Since you asked nicely, I’ll help,” Hera said.

She stretched her arms, and the casual look on her face began to fade.