Garawa - Out.
At this point, the apostles" initial fear of Zhao Yao had been converted into determined rage. When one comrade had fallen, more would take his place.
Three Middle Eastern apostles had metamorphosed into monstrous tigers that were at least five meters long. They ran alongside each other with their supercat, whom had also turned into a tiger. Together, they pounced at Zhao Yao, sinking their razor-sharp teeth in his waist, shoulders, neck, and calf.
A look of triumph crossed their faces when they managed to latch themselves onto the target, "We got him!"
Sharma, one of the apostles, was br.i.m.m.i.n.g with pride and excitement. He was indomitable as a tiger. The amount of strength, speed, and power he boasted increased tenfold whenever he transformed into the majestic animal. Once, during a fight back home, he had even crushed a tank in two with his fangs.
Now that all four of them had their deadly incisors deeply embedded into the Headless Horseman, they intended to rip him into pieces.
At the same time, the three remaining Singaporean apostles were ready to strike as well. There was hatred burning in their eyes as a burst of light radiated from their lightsabers, which shot out of their hands and hit Zhao Yao squarely on the chest.
Faceless heaved a sigh of relief.
"Is he dead?" he asked, unable to keep the eagerness out of his voice.
He craned his neck to look at Zhao Yao, who had not dodged the tigers or the lightsabers. Calmly, he raised his middle finger into the air.
His voice, which was eerily calm, boomed through the hall, "Do you know why I choose to remain here instead of avoiding your sorry excuse of an attack? It is because you can"t even get past my defenses. I don"t even need to run. Teleporting would just be a waste of energy."
Boom!
Once Zhao Yao finished speaking, the golden aura around him swelled meteorically in size, unleas.h.i.+ng hundreds of tonnes worth of energy. The four tigers were the first to be hit by the impact. There was a sickening crunch as their teeth were shattered into pieces. They let out feral roars of pain as they flew across the hall, blood splattering the horrified crowd.
Zhao Yao then took a step forward, which generated enough force to dislodge the three lightsabers and send them rocketing back to their owners. The three Singaporeans were also promptly knocked off their feet and out of view.
All Middle Eastern and Singapore apostles - Out.
All the color had drained from Faceless"s face.
"How… How is it that we can"t get past his defenses?"
He fell deeper into despair as his hopes were dashed once more.
Zhao Yao took this as an indication to check out his mission panel.
"600 experience points?" he exclaimed, "Why, you"re quite the buoyant fellow, aren"t you?"
Wind Devil was observing the battle with a look of disbelief on his face, "Just how powerful is this guy?!"
Shuiichi Nanno could see that many of the apostles were beginning to panic. He stepped in immediately and shouted, "We"ve got to keep steady. There is no such thing as an invincible power. As long we work together, we will be able to beat him."
Faceless quickly jumped in to add, "Yes, yes, yes. Every superpower has its weakness. Hang in there and we will emerge victorious."
As the two men tried to encourage the apostles, Zhao Yao had begun to wade through the crowd, his entire being caged in the lethal golden aura. Some tried to attack him, but they were quickly swatted away like flies. He slapped an apostle that tried to spit poison at him a few feet away and destroyed the slippery ice laid out beneath his feet with a stomp, completely disregarding the obstacles that stood in his way as he kept moving forward.
Faceless looked positively cadaverous as Zhao Yao gradually made his way towards him, unperturbed by any power or apostle that was flung his way.
Just as he thought that there was no way out, an apostle from Taiwan"s triads appeared before Zhao Yao, blocking his way. This man was named Lee Hao Nan. At this moment, his body was not made of flesh and bone. Instead, it seemed to be entirely made up of silver. Every step he took cracked the tiles beneath him.
Anyone who lay their eyes on him would have no doubt that he possessed an extraordinary amount of physical strength.
Lee Hao Nan wasted no time to throw a punch at Zhao Yao, whom promptly blocked it with his palm. The impact of the collision was so great that it produced debris forces that extended to every corner of the hall.
Each punch and kick that the Taiwanese apostle issued was met with a punch and kick of greater power. For Zhao Yao, this exchange was basically like hitting a metallic punching bag. For Lee Hao Nan, the blows he was receiving were becoming quite unbearable. He had no choice but to take a few steps back. However, even has his metallic body began to become deformed from the heavy blows, he continued to cling to Zhao Yao with all his strength.
"I"ll hold him in place! You guys think about how to defeat him!" he shouted.
"Good!" Shuiichi Nanno nodded pa.s.sionately, "This c.o.c.ky b.a.s.t.a.r.d thinks that we"re not worthy? This ought to show him."
He then turned to his fellow apostles with a battle plan, "We"ve got to strike at the exact same time. When we"re all on him, he would not be able to teleport. His defenses might be strong, but there must be a limit to how much they can take. If we all attack him at once, he won"t be able to take it."
It was common knowledge among apostles that it was impossible for a person to teleport with someone else in tow. This was a weakness that beset every apostle that was widely known to have this superpower.
The apostles in the crowded nodded vehemently, their eyes trained on Zhao Yao.
He surveyed the fierce faces that were turned to him. The apostles that posed the biggest threat to him were the trio from Samsara Sect, Wind Devil from Talon, and the Caucasians from Star Cats.
The men from Samsara Sect stood close to each other as they raised their open palms up to the heavens. A ball of red energy rose from their hands like a tiny sun, radiating heat that reaches unbearable temperatures in little time.
The representatives from Star Cats were not going to be bystanders either. Starlight emanated from their bodies and congregated into what looks like a large shooting star. As the wisps of light eventually solidified into a more concrete form, the objects surrounding it, from the dust and rubble on the floor to the chairs, began to levitate in the air.
The fierce determination demonstrated by the apostles reignited Faceless"s hope of victory.
"Yes! We can win! We can do this!" he thought.
Wind Devil was preparing to join in the fight as well. Tornadoes of wind were precipitating in the palms of his hands. They were spinning faster and faster, belching hisses that sounded like pieces of metal grinding against each other.
He snuck a peek at Purple Sabre Fairy, whom was lying on the floor, conscious but unmoving. His eyes were barely open so that he could catch glimpses of the battle while still appearing very much dead. Wind Devil could not help but give him a good kick.
"Are you just going to continue pretending to be dead?" he asked coldly.
Purple Sabre Fairy did not respond. Instead, he inched surrept.i.tiously away from Wind Devil, whom clicked his tongue in disapproval. He was about to say something else when something major happened on the battlefront.
Zhao Yao reached down and gripped the top of Lee Nan Hao"s head.
"Are you trying to hold me down? Did you really think you would succeed?" he taunted.
Wind Devil watched as Zhao Yao tapped a finger above Lee Nan Hao"s left shoulder. What he and everyone else in the hall could not see was that a dimension doorway had appeared in the exact position that Zhao Yao"s finger had landed.
This meant that Lee Nan Hao"s body was outside of the door while his left arm had gone through it.
Zhao Yao granted him access through the doorway, then dragged him one step back.
Lee Nan Hao let out a blood-curdling scream. So far, his metallic body could only be contorted, but not destroyed. This time, his left arm had been sucked into the portal while his body remained resolutely outside of it, held back by Zhao Yao.
His arm had been ripped whole from his shoulder.
Zhao Yao kicked the howling mess of a man away from him, then slammed his palm against the top of his head. He was instantly sent through the ground like a nail driven into wood by a hammer. All that remained was a hole on the floor and the pitiful wails that poured out of it.