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"This is literally gods fighting," Wu Liuqi muttered, smacking his lips as he watched the chaos unfold. "So… should we run?"
Elsa and Liu Erlong stared at him.
Our teammate's fighting for his life and you're thinking about ditching?
Wow. Not friend material.
Of course, Wu Liuqi was mostly joking. Assassin Seven might've been cold, but the current him? Way too sentimental to actually leave.
Elsa sighed. "This mantis is ridiculously hard to deal with. Thick skin, hard bones…"
No kidding.
It tanked a Tailed Beast Bomb.
"It's strong," Wu Liuqi admitted. "But it lacks combat experience. That might be our opening."
Memory restored or not, his vision was still sharp.
If he fully reintegrated Assassin Seven, he could instantly jump to fourth tier. With some adjustment, maybe even fifth.
"Even so," Elsa muttered, "its power isn't any weaker than Madara at full strength."
"Full-power Madara would be classified as sixth tier," she added. "And so is this mantis."
Wu Liuqi: "…"
Kurama was going all out now. In that situation, Elsa and the others had no choice but to retreat further.
Elsa was drained. Liu Erlong and Wu Liuqi were too weak to stay close.
If they didn't pull back, the aftershocks alone would wipe them out.
Especially now that Kurama was spamming Tailed Beast Bombs like they were on clearance sale.
Each one could blow up half a mountain. Basically missiles.
Elsa hesitated as they retreated. "Is it really okay for us to just leave Kurama fighting alone?"
Wu Liuqi straightened up, looking righteous. "We're just staying out of the way so he doesn't have to worry about us!"
Liu Erlong shot him a look.
Oh please. I saw you flinch earlier.
"And besides," Wu Liuqi added honestly, "if we stayed any closer, we'd probably be dead in the next second."
Elsa and Liu Erlong fell silent.
Fair point.
Another Tailed Beast Bomb exploded in the distance.
Sam inhaled deeply as the violent wind whipped past him. "This battlefield is insane."
"The ground's shaking more than before… The fight's escalating."
He wasn't distracted by the rift anymore, so he could clearly feel it.
And he was right.
The battle had intensified.
No—this was their true power now.
The mantis might lack skill compared to Kurama, but it had massive reserves of energy. Void energy.
If technique failed, it would simply crush through with brute force.
Which, ironically, used to be Kurama's favorite tactic.
If Kurama hadn't lived as long as he had, if he didn't have centuries of combat experience, he'd already have been devoured.
To the mantis, a being like Kurama—pure chakra given life—was a walking super-supplement.
That was why Sam hadn't rushed to help. As long as the Void rift remained open, the mantis could continuously absorb energy and grow mid-fight.
Kurama was still fighting.
But anyone with eyes could see it.
He was starting to lose ground.
The mantis was getting stronger.
Clang—
The sound of metal striking metal rang out.
Wu Liuqi's forty-meter blade had slashed across the mantis's body.
Sam saw it clearly. Using his shapeshifting trick, Wu Liuqi had weaved left and right, closing in before seizing the moment to strike.
Unfortunately…
He didn't even scratch it.
"Uh…" Wu Liuqi gave an awkward laugh, glancing at the mantis. "If I said I was just passing by… would you believe me?"
The mantis said nothing.
It simply swung a scythe at him.
"Waaah! I'm dead, I'm dead!"
Mid-scream, Wu Liuqi transformed into a rock, barely dodging the first slash.
But the second blade was already coming.
"Wu Liuqi! Watch out!"
Elsa shouted as she forced out the last of her recovered magic. Ice surged beneath the mantis's feet, forming a thick wall to block the attack.
The mantis's scythe sliced through it like paper.
Wu Liuqi sucked in a sharp breath.
"Crap… this is bad…"
Silence hung for half a heartbeat.
"....."