As Zhou Chen approaches him with heavy steps, which cause the glazed tiles beneath the former's feet to be thrown into the air, Yang Ning folds his black bow into a sword.
*Klang! Klang! Klang!* and in a rapid manner, the two exchange more than 40 hits with each other in the span of a single second!
The air that emanates from the two at this time is filled with a sense of dignity, the sort that is akin to those felt from the bodies of powerful practitioners.
(Bi Xie!)
(Hengxing!)
*Klang! Klang! Klang!* amidst their violent clash, memories from when they were practitioners flash in their heads—causing their attacks to gain more speed and more force with every blow!
"…"
Drawing his trident back, Zhou Chen ignites its head in white flames.
Similarly, Yang Ning imbues his sword with the might of a falling comet—causing it to give off a pale blue glow.
In the same instance, the two lunge their weapons towards each other, and—
*Boom!!!!!* upon collision, a shockwave erupts from the point of contact—throwing both Zhou Chen and Yang Ning backwards by a few meters.
This also causes the glazed tiles that are beneath their feet to be scraped off the roof that they're standing on.
"…"
"…"
Just as the two are about to exchange another blow—
*…!* a blue leaf falls from above, prompting both Zhou Chen and Yang Ning to reach for it.
As the two brush each other by—
*…!!!* a cold flash goes off between them, and the one who manages to have grasped the leaf turns out to be—
"…"
"…"
Holding half a leaf in their hand, the two turns to face each other.
"…"
"…"
Exchanging a stare that lasts for half a minute, the two ultimately decided to part ways.
Having fought Xie Lie Yang together—under the names of Zhou Chen and Yang Ning, the two considered the other a valuable comrade.
However, with their memories as Yun Bi Xie and Hengxing Zi returning to them—the two, who had found out that they were originally sworn enemies, they can't help but want to settle their old score once and for all, even if death in their current form isn't genuine.
As a part of settling this old score, the two have silently decided to collect as many Spirit Extract leaves as possible—prior to engaging in a final duel.
As for the stakes of this duel, neither of them has yet to figure out what to forfeit.
...…
Throughout the ancient city, similar battles were waged—in order to acquire Spirit Extract leaves, all of which, were captured by the drones that were released into the air by the Moon Guards and the NPI agents.
So long as these drones situate themselves several meters above the ancient city, the lamellar armored ghosts won't use the ballistae to shoot them down.
However, that doesn't mean that the lamellar armored ghosts have ceased to display hostility towards the city's invaders.
"Dammit, what the hell are these things?"
Shouting this aloud, Teng Hao pushes one of the lamellar armored ghosts back, and punctures its chest by stabbing it with his bo-staff.
"How should I know? Just focus on cutting them down, and if you see leaves, nab them!"
Following Gui Lian's reply, Shen Le leaps into the air, and grabs onto a blue leaf.
Upon landing—
"I got one!"
Just as Shen Le rejoices—
"…!"
A weapon spirit leaps out of an alleyway with their Relic drawn, and a free hand reaching out for the leaf.
"Careful!"
Closing the distance, Ling Yi throws out a punch with his gauntlet-wrapped fist—throwing the weapon spirit back.
And not a moment too soon, another weapon spirit drops from the roof of a building—with the intent to perform a sneak attack.
Towards the second weapon spirit's ill intent—
"…"
Using Ling Yi's shoulder as a footing, Chang Ye leaps into the air, and cuts the falling weapon spirit down.
Touching the ground once more, Chang Ye can't help but frown, while remarking—
"Something feels really wrong with cutting down fellow Sinners."
Snuffing out the life of the first attacker, Gui Lian heaves a sigh, and replies—
"It's because of what happened in the village. …Considering what we're up against, we really shouldn't be fighting each other."
Massaging his temple, Teng Hao sighs as well, and remarks—
"Well, what can we do? Resources are limited. Only the strongest can acquire them, and to do that-"
Before Teng Hao can even finish speaking, more weapon spirits and lamellar armored ghosts approach their direction, to which, the former asks—
"Shall we just run?"
"I'd say so; no point in joining that mess."
...…
Compared to some of the weapon spirits—who are experiencing a headache, the viewers of the livestream continue to be glued to their screens.
To them, everything that is captured by the drones might as well be scenes taken directly out of an action-genre blockbuster, as the official chat box exploded with comments and emojis.
For the most part, experiencing attacks from fellow weapon spirits and the lamellar armored ghosts—shouldn't be considered anything unusual.
In fact, it should be expected.
However, for the Dainsfield associates, the situation is rather different.
"Dammit!"
"The hell is happening here?"
"Why are they all targeting us?! We don't even have any leaves on our person!"