In an instant, the two figures separated.
One stood in midair, the other stepped upon the earth.
The man half-lowered his eyelids, his gaze calm as still water, slowly exhaling a stream of scorching white breath.
One after another, red patterns resembling circuitry gradually faded from the pale skin of his arm. That tightly clenched fist first loosened, then repeatedly tightened again, trembling ever so slightly in a way nearly impossible to detect with the naked eye.
Just now, he had not used Blut Vene for defense, but had directly used Blut Arterie.
Similar to Blut Vene, Blut Arterie likewise directly injected Reishi into the blood vessels, thereby stimulating the greatest possible destructive power of the body. With his current strength using this technique, even a mountain could be effortlessly destroyed.
But even so, he had still fallen into disadvantage just now.
Through the clash, he could clearly sense that the other party's punch had not contained any other power, merely the brute force of pure flesh.
"A little interesting..."
The man moved his wrist slightly, his gaze carrying an unclear meaning as he sized up the Original Body, saying: "Clearly a human, yet without a soul residing within. So now, are you human... or a zombie?"
"Roar..."
Hearing this, the Original Body raised that savage face, yet could only let out meaningless roars.
Deep within those pitch-black eyes, aside from the burning battle intent rising within, there was also faintly revealed a trace of pleading.
The man was slightly stunned, thinking he had seen wrongly.
But immediately afterward, he suddenly realized that he had not seen wrongly. The gaze revealed in those eyes truly was pleading.
Within the beast-like violent roars of the Original Body, one could even sense a trace of pain and regret.
In a daze, the man seemed to experience an auditory hallucination.
Within the painful shrieks was mixed a weary, weathered voice, seemingly telling him, "Save me."
Save who?
The man suddenly awoke from the illusion and met the Original Body's painful gaze, vaguely understanding.
The powerful warrior before him, resembling a rotting corpse, had been forcibly awakened after death. Someone had driven this warrior's body back onto a battlefield where it should never have stepped again. The emotions brewed from that suffering were currently speaking to him through the 'corpse.'
Begging for release, begging for salvation, begging for rest.
This unknown warrior, unwilling to let his corpse be toyed with after death, was pleading with him.
"I understand."
The man withdrew the contempt from his eyes, heavily exhaled a breath, and solemnly said: "Don't worry, I will release you."
In midair, vast torrents of air surged over, stirring up tidal waves crashing against empty shores. Amid the roaring fierce winds like thunder, the man standing proudly in the heavens took one step forward, dazzling platinum-white brilliance blooming around him.
Six sacred and pure wings unfolded behind him, while the man's eyes blazed like flowing magma in molten red-gold colors.
"Roar——!"
The Original Body seemed to sense his resolve, black energy flooding violently throughout his body.
One black, one white.
Ink-black染ed the snowy white earth, while blazing white drove back the night sky.
When the auras gathered around both men reached their peak like erupting volcanoes, thick spiritual power and another force tore and collided together. The surging fierce winds rose like raging tides striking empty skies, while the atmosphere itself became so heavy and sluggish it nearly collapsed.
At this moment, a streak of milky-white moonlight suddenly cut through the dark clouds like a sword.
When that milky-white moonlight descended, and the rippling glow illuminated each other's faces, two gazes almost tangible collided together. Blazing white lightning seemed to clash in midair, causing bursts of thunderous sounds to erupt through the void.
That beam of moonlight seemed like some sort of signal, opening the curtain upon the fierce battle.
The two moved simultaneously, like athletes hearing the starting gun. The fully accumulated momentum burst forth in an instant, pulling along enormous wind dragons of airwaves as they directly charged toward each other with nearly the most overbearing posture imaginable.
"Roar——!"
The Original Body let out an enraged howl, while rolling soundwave air currents shattered the sky.
The flaming golden greatsword tore through the heavens. An uncontrollable murderous aura accompanied the sword edge as the Original Body raised the sword above his head, then slashed downward with all his might.
Wherever the sword pressure passed, dark and chilling killing intent swept across everything.
Massive streams of air wailed sharply as they were cleaved apart by the violent golden greatsword, splitting into two like parted currents. Wherever the eye could see, even the void itself trembled precariously beneath this slash, constantly releasing sounds like silk being torn apart.
The Original Body split the void with a single slash, and trembling killing intent swept forward.
Yet for some reason, the man suddenly froze for an instant.
Immediately after, somewhat absentmindedly, he subconsciously grasped the void with one hand.
Buzz!
Azure Reishi condensed into a longsword.
The instant the man grasped the longsword, that familiar feeling surged into his heart. Like a memory forged through thousands of temperings and impossible to forget, engraved deep into his bones, it caused him to instinctively assume a crouched sword-drawing stance.
What he was skilled with... should be the sword.
In that case, let instinct tell him how to unleash this slash.
Draw the blade, slash!
"Swordsmanship·Yachiru Style·Yomi!"
As the man's calm voice sounded, the azure longsword was drawn from beside his abdomen, emitting a bright and high-pitched cry.
Clang——!
The sword cry resembled a dragon's roar, driving away the rolling darkness ahead.
A streak of azure brilliance compressed to the extreme appeared, like the dividing line between day and night. In the most extreme and overbearing violent manner, carrying unmatched sharpness and brutality, it crashed into the flaming golden greatsword.
This slash resembled a dragon soaring from the abyss and breaking through the sea. The instant the two touched, it exploded outward, releasing incomparable brilliance.
Rumble rumble rumble——!!!
The brilliance released in that instant turned the night into day.
The enormous ruins of the HYDRA base shook and collapsed amid thunderous vibrations. A gigantic breach was torn open at the center of the collision as rolling smoke, dust, and airwaves surged like dragons overturning the earth. Countless reinforced steel and stones shot into the sky.
Blade light surged like an ocean, destroying cities and shattering earth, drowning all things.
But a violent roar suddenly interrupted the chaotic sound.
That towering figure roared wildly, forcibly shattering the ocean-like blade light. Under the man's slightly shocked gaze, he actually caught the longsword with his bare hand.
Crack..... bang!
The five thick fingers suddenly exerted force. The Reishi-condensed longsword released mournful cries before ultimately being crushed apart directly within his grip.
The man's pupils slightly contracted as he inwardly exclaimed: "This monster's strength is terrifying!"
Even weapons condensed from Reishi were far harder than tungsten steel, yet this creature before him had crushed a longsword with hardness comparable to tungsten steel merely by gripping it barehanded. Just how terrifying must that strength be?
No sooner said than done.
In the instant the man froze in thought, the power armor worn by the Original Body rushed close. Violent and savage aura assaulted his face like a beast choosing someone to devour. As every bone and tendon in his body trembled, thunderous explosions erupted, and he stepped forward while punching directly outward.
One punch swept away raging airwaves, creating a near-vacuum within a hundred meters.
Even the slightest bit of overflowing fist wind could grind steel into mud.
This was the sign of power reaching its extreme, and also the most complete interpretation of violence itself. Even the void could not bear such terrifying power, only collapsing and shattering amid mournful cries, presenting a scene like broken mirror fragments.