Chapter 448: This is what happens when a warrior fights a mage with full mana
"Winner! Aoko!"
The host's announcement decided the winner and loser of the match, but this did not deter the frenzied audience in the slightest.
Some fanatical Athena fans were already attempting to rush out of the stands and onto the stage to engage Cheng in a real-life PK.
However, the organizers were not to be trifled with; at least the security personnel in the venue had reached the level of low-tier Puppets, making it easy for them to suppress any audience riot.
Nevertheless, surrounded by a storm of vulgarities, Cheng Tian simply offered a retort.
He joined the world in making the universally recognized international greeting gesture... directed at all the spectators.
One gesture, a second explosion of emotion throughout the venue!
"Aoko! Please do not provoke the audience; this will add unnecessary trouble to our schedule!"
"Alright."
Cheng shrugged, then gave a thumbs-up to his teammates in the standby area, revealing his dazzlingly white teeth, and received positive responses.
Including Irene and other serious martial artists, while showing expressions of lingering fear, they also cast admiring glances at Cheng Tian.
The lingering fear stemmed from being fortunate enough not to face a special opponent like Athena.
Losing would have been one thing, a pure lack of skill, but winning would inevitably lead to the tricky situation before them.
Originally, they had no concrete understanding of the pressure they would face after battling a world-class idol, but now, they knew, and they were indeed scared.
Although as martial artists with both strength and fame, they had long enjoyed the adoration of numerous fans, as well as the slander of a few haters and rivals, they truly couldn't be sure they could easily withstand a situation where they indiscriminately drew the hatred of everyone.
Of course, everyone also understood that the young lady herself was simply participating in the competition, and she had already prepared for both getting hit and losing, making her a respectable young martial artist.
The problem, however, was that those who become fanatical worshippers of a specific individual inherently lack the label of "rationality"; expecting them to be of one mind with the young lady was utterly impossible.
So Cheng Tian was currently in a subtle atmosphere of being heavily criticized by passersby but greatly admired by experts, as he welcomed the second vanguard of the Psychic Soldier team, Kensou.
Athena had already been returned to Kensou by the world, and the muddled cherry boy, reminded by his master's kick, determined that Athena's true condition was far better than it appeared; the opponent had 100% held back, and Athena was already on the verge of waking up on her own.
But no matter what, the fainting of his beloved had plunged the young man into unprecedented fury, and the Dragon Power within him began to surge.
The rules of the King of Fighters tournament were purer than those of the martial arts competition.
Eliminating ring-outs, eliminating time limits, only unconsciousness and surrender remained.
The loser immediately left the stage, and the next participant immediately followed, continuing to fight the opponent from the previous match.
Kensou, having sent Athena off, had already returned to the arena, and even very politely bowed to Cheng Tian with a cupped-fist salute.
However, Cheng Tian had already detected the emotions hidden beneath his calm face, waiting to erupt at any moment.
"What are you thinking about right now?"
Cheng Tian casually provoked the innocent young man opposite him.
"...I want to make you lose very badly."
Kensou looked directly into Cheng Tian's eyes and answered very seriously.
"Oh, then you'll have to work hard."
Cheng Tian's nonchalant expression only added fuel to the cherry boy's fire.
On the other side, the host had smoothly distanced himself, broadcasting directly through the microphone.
"Kensou! Versus! Aoko!"
"Ready~~~~GO!"
The moment the announcement finished, Kensou explosively charged straight towards Cheng Tian.
Having learned from Athena's lesson, Kensou judged that Cheng Tian's close-combat ability was a weakness, so he decisively abandoned the tactic of long-range psychic wave suppression and opted for close-quarters fighting!
Athena's fighting style revolved primarily around psychic power, while Kensou was a master of both physical combat and psychic power. His agility was far superior to Cheng's, making it impossible for Cheng to escape.
Of course, Cheng Tian hadn't intended to run anyway.
Different people naturally called for different fighting styles... As Kensou's eyelids twitched wildly, Cheng Tian once again conjured the Mind Crystal, mimicking the trajectory of the Flash Crystal Wave and began to rotate around himself. This situation caused Kensou to instinctively slam on the brakes, his face filled with suspicion and uncertainty.
It was precisely because of his far superior knowledge and understanding of Athena's Flash Crystal Wave that he dared not casually gamble on what Cheng Tian's Mind Crystal truly was.
This was a classic negative example of preconceived notions.
Seeing the sudden stop from his opponent, Cheng Tian snapped his fingers. The two crystals immediately split, becoming four, and then, golden Judgment Arrows began to rapidly accumulate around his body at a rate of 5 arrows every 0.5 seconds.
Kensou, seeing this, somewhat belatedly crossed his hands in front of him and swung them forward forcefully, sending out a blue-white psychic energy orb—
Super Ball.
Its specifications and power were almost identical to Athena's psychic orb.
Cheng Tian's response to this was even simpler: he shot back with Judgment Arrows.
Low damage, strong clash judgment, was demonstrated to the fullest at this moment.
Kensou's energy blasts were easily pierced by the golden arrows like balloons, not a single one able to approach within ten meters of Cheng Tian. Instead, he himself had begun to flee and dodge the golden arrow rain that could fall from above at any moment, appearing utterly disheveled and lacking the imposing aura he had when he first entered the arena... Was this still a fighting competition?
The curses against Cheng Tian, which had been continuous, slowly died down. Everyone's attention was drawn to the golden arrows, moving smoothly like a flock of migratory birds across the sky.
It was, well, quite beautiful... even though the one controlling them was still a scoundrel who didn't know how to cherish beauty.
The audience was a bit conflicted.
Meanwhile, the martial artists on standby all showed various serious expressions of vigilance, study, and scrutiny.
Cheng Tian had exposed a brand new superpower, different from his substitute, and the time left for them to adjust their targeted tactics was clearly not much.
Kensou, who was twisting and turning with all his might, realized that if this continued, he would inevitably only face the outcome of being "worn down to death." Therefore, he prepared to go all out.
Ki~~
Accompanied by a peculiar sound effect, Kensou's body was enveloped in a layer of light green water light. With his palms clasped together, he pressed them directly against his chest. In an instant, a spherical energy began to erupt in waves centered on his body—
MAX Psychic Reflector!
This move was originally a super special move that caused continuous multi-stage damage by injecting it into the target's body to trigger a psychic shockwave. However, Kensou chose to cast it on himself, generating continuous psychic shockwaves within his own body in a self-harming manner.
And each time this spherical psychic shockwave pulsed, it would completely annihilate all golden Judgment Arrows attacking him within a two-meter radius. Taking advantage of the vacuum period of the first annihilation, he charged towards Cheng Tian's location!
He clearly intended to use a near-suicidal attack to blow up Cheng Tian with the remaining Psychic Reflector energy within him!
But Cheng Tian, right in front of him, made an unbelievable move.
He crossed his arms, stepped back, and then instantly appeared more than ten meters away—
It was Psychic Teleportation!?