Hajin came out of the rubble with his right fist aimed at the center of Maren's armored chest, where every purple scale overlapped.
Golden mana struck the Overlord with a report that tore leaves from nearby branches, though the nine-foot body refused to move one step.
Pain climbed from Hajin's knuckles into his shoulder while Maren looked down at the fist resting against his breastplate.
"Was that meant to hurt me?" Maren asked as several voices followed his own. "Your confidence promised something much more impressive than this little measurement."
"It measured your balance," Hajin said while he pulled his numb hand away. "The answer could have shown better manners while breaking my hand."
Maren swept one thick arm across the clearing before Hajin's boots returned to the ground.
Hajin folded beneath the elbow after the swing began, using the beastkin instinct the bond fed back into him to read the moving shoulder.
