What a terrifying storm...
A bitter smile hung on the man's lips, faint light in his eyes dim and unclear. His entire body was invaded by intense pain. One horrifying wound after another, deep enough to expose bone with flesh rolled outward, spread across this ruined body in chaotic crisscrossing patterns.
At present, his clothes were tattered like a beggar on the roadside. The torn garments had become strips of cloth, with only a few hanging from his body.
The amount of blood loss was shocking enough that even describing it as blood pouring like a stream would not be excessive. In fact, if anyone witnessed this scene, they would probably exclaim in astonishment that such horrific injuries still allowed him to breathe.
Yet even so.
After enduring such a terrifying storm, the man still stood proudly upright in midair, like a sword that would rather break than bend, radiating even more astonishing battle intent, completely unaffected by his injuries.
Such stubborn behavior would only consume more unnecessary stamina that could otherwise be conserved.
But... he still persisted.
Perhaps it was because of so-called stubbornness, or perhaps he simply refused to admit defeat, but even more than that, he was returning respect to the enemy before him.
He... no, rather, it.
Even after death, with its corpse controlled and reduced to a beast that knew only slaughter, it still displayed the lofty fighting spirit befitting a proud warrior.
Its consciousness had clearly already dissipated...
Yet the instinct engraved into its bones still drove this battle-hardened body, preventing it from forgetting the techniques forged through countless trials. By this point alone, it deserved respect.
It even made him want to witness what magnificent splendor it possessed while alive.
Surely it must have been a peerless warrior, unrivaled in grace and bearing.
And the more he realized this, the sadder he became.
Such a great warrior should not have its corpse defiled after death, becoming another's tool of slaughter. Its rightful place should have been eternal rest.
"Come, second round."
The man slowly exhaled a breath as his injuries healed at a speed visible to the naked eye: "You are a great warrior. In return... I will show the greatest respect by killing you!"
"Roar...."
The Original Body let out low growls, savage violence wildly flashing within those pitch-black eyes. Its violent aura surged upward again, like a ferocious beast from primordial wilderness releasing heart-palpitating pressure.
The man calmly gazed at it.
A faint voice, filled with exhaustion and weathered age, suddenly sounded beside his ear.
"Thank you..."
Boom——!!!
Before his injuries had fully healed, the man suddenly stepped forward. His entire figure instantly vanished from its original spot, appearing before the Original Body the very next second, as though the several hundred meters between them had been erased outright.
Yet the Original Body's reaction speed was simply monstrous. It seemed to have anticipated this long ago, decisively swinging the golden greatsword toward the newcomer's head.
The man's eyes sharpened. His five fingers clenched the void, and a longsword condensed from Reishi instantly appeared, sweeping upward in a streak of light.
Clang——
Blade and sword collided, releasing a resonant metallic cry. Soundwaves shook the heavens as the two separated after a single clash, countless sparks scattering outward.
But the next moment, an even more terrifying storm of sword qi completely enveloped this region.
In merely an instant.
The two had already exchanged thousands upon thousands of blows, their speed impossible for the naked eye to follow.
One could only see space continuously shattering, along with roaring fierce winds and sword qi tearing through the trembling sky, leaving behind gigantic ravines.
The mere shockwaves generated by their movement were enough to shatter mountain peaks.
Sharp sword qi split apart the heavens, completely shredding the cloud layer. Milky-white moonlight poured down as a result, illuminating one black and one white radiance intertwined together, colliding with near insanity.
Blade light and sword shadows crossed and clashed.
Clang clang clang clang!!!
Destructive fierce winds howled, while dense metallic clashes exploded endlessly like New Year firecrackers. The dazzling brilliance erupting from the collisions resembled blooming silver flowers and fiery trees, illuminating the night sky like endless daylight.
Strong... unbelievably strong!
After only a brief exchange, the man had already gained dozens of fresh wounds, every single one deep enough to expose bone, with flesh rolled outward in gruesome fashion.
However, such injuries were not fatal to him. As long as his brain and heart remained intact, recovery required only several breaths.
What truly made him feel troubled was the power battle armor on this 'corpse.'
In terms of swordsmanship, both had reached absolute perfection, virtually equal in skill. Yet the problem was that the other side wore power armor. Several times he found openings and slashed directly into them, but aside from sparks scattering, he could not break the defense at all.
Actually, saying it that way was not entirely correct.
It was not that he could not break the defense. Rather, this creature's instincts were unbelievably sharp. Whenever it sensed danger, it strengthened the field around the armor surface, releasing more black energy to forcibly neutralize dangerous attacks.
The more they exchanged blows, the more shocked the man became.
This creature had already been dead for unknown countless years, yet it still retained such combat instincts. Just what kind of terrifying warrior had it once been?!
Clang!
Blade and sword collided once again.
Knowing his strength could not match the opponent's, the man twisted his wrist and deflected the sword edge. His left hand, which had remained free the entire time, suddenly shot out, fingertips condensed with green flames as they swept across the Original Body's armor.
"Breaking Light Formation!"
Hearing this, the Original Body froze slightly and looked downward toward its chest. Upon the pitch-black power armor was clearly imprinted a pentagram formation.
"Explode!!!"
The man's cold eyes carried icy killing intent.
Breaking Light Formation was a high-level Quincy array requiring highly compressed Reishi to deploy. It could trigger massive Reishi detonations, with power that could increase almost limitlessly depending on the density and quantity of injected Reishi.
And this time, what he had injected was ultra-high density Reishi, namely the green flames under burning state. Their power was so enormous that even he himself had never attempted it before.
The Breaking Light Formation shone brilliantly as torrents of spiritual power violently surged, radiating a destructive aura.
The Original Body's pupils abruptly contracted, seemingly sensing that danger. Yet before it could react, a gigantic pillar of light completely swallowed it.
Rumble rumble rumble——!!!
A heaven-rending explosion instantly erupted above the Alps.
Ultra-high density Reishi burned violently as green flames roared like dragons, carrying terrifying scorching temperatures that directly engulfed the Original Body. An enormous mushroom cloud rose into the night sky.
The massive dazzling radiance could clearly be seen from hundreds of kilometers away, and one could even feel the violent trembling of the earth.
The temperature around the entire Alps instantly rose by dozens of degrees from the green flame explosion. The mountaintop looked as though it had been erased by an invisible hand, leaving behind only a perfectly smooth cross-section.
The region centered around the two had all air violently compressed and expelled outward, forming a near-vacuum zone.
After the initial explosion ended.
Whoooosh!!!
Air from every direction crazily rushed inward. Thick streams of airflow卷ed up endless smoke and dust together with surging green flames, stretching across the eternal night sky like hundreds upon hundreds of ancient dragons awakening from slumber, releasing overlapping earth-shaking roars throughout the entire mountain range.
"ROAR!"
A furious roar shattered the lingering smoke and dust as the savage figure smashed apart the air currents, gripping the golden greatsword while charging forward once more.
And upon that pitch-black power armor, there still was not the slightest sign of damage, as though enduring that level of explosion amounted to nothing more than a light scratch.
"So as expected..."
The man pulled the corner of his lips into a smile, seemingly unsurprised. He merely raised one hand silently. A silver-white firearm had somehow already appeared within his grip.
"If even this attack can be blocked, then I'll truly admire you."
Click!
His finger pulled the trigger.
An azure beam shot from the barrel. Plain and unremarkable, it looked utterly ordinary. Even the Original Body paid it no attention.
The Original Body directly charged toward that beam. Yet in the instant before impact, its instincts seemed to sense danger, forcibly twisting its body in midair, causing the beam originally aimed at its head to shift by over ten centimeters.
Bang——!
The pitch-black shoulder armor shattered completely, leaving behind a fist-sized hole.
Meanwhile, the azure beam encountered not the slightest resistance. After piercing through its shoulder, it vanished toward the distant mountain peaks.
"In the end, this thing is still the easiest to use."
Looking at the results of his attack, the man could not help grinning: "Two points, one line... all things pierced through."