Chapter 24: METAL Arm
Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Tehrn
In contrast to Luv Ma"s prediction, w.a.n.g Tong"s arm did not move to grab the sword senselessly; instead, w.a.n.g Tong attempted to deflect the blow, which, all the same, would have left him in a perilous situation, should he miss the target or fail to strike in time, he would be hacked in half by Miao Xiu"s deadly strike.
w.a.n.g Tong did not hesitate, nor did he flinch, even though this was a fleeting moment of life and death in the PA world where emotions and feelings were emulated so vividly.
This unwavering equanimity was what made w.a.n.g Tong good combat material, and after being reformed in the h.e.l.lish furnace of Norton, hammered a thousand times on the anvil made out of Zerg"s body, and quenched in its blood, his will had been forged into steel, immovable and steadfast.
w.a.n.g Tong"s counter attack had caught Miao Xiu in a vulnerable position as he had opened his chest to w.a.n.g Tong"s retaliation. After losing the effective range of his sword, the follower of the Templar didn"t retreat to a more advantageous position; instead, he lifted his thigh unflinchingly and aimed his knee directly at the abdomen of the incoming attacker.
Miao Xiu had reckoned that it had been too late to dodge w.a.n.g Tong"s attack; however, he wouldn’t go down without taking w.a.n.g Tong with him, for he had aimed at w.a.n.g Tong’s dantian, the nexus hub of GN force, should his knee strike land precisely, it would cause more trauma and damage to w.a.n.g Tong than Miao Xiu would receive.
Although being forced into a defensive stance, Miao Xiu"s calculated retaliations still boasted his ruthless aggression on the battlefield.
Seeing that the clash was inevitable, w.a.n.g Tong gritted his teeth as the two bodies collided into each other; an explosive force propagated outward from the center of the impact and threw both of them into the air, away from each other.
They had by then both registered the power of their opponent"s attack, especially Miao Xiu whose initial strike was interrupted; a calculating and curious expression rose in their eyes.
"Who are you?" Miao Xiu asked. "Are you from one of the top six academies? Capth, or perhaps Yaldon?"
w.a.n.g Tong shook his head and said, "Neither, I am from a dingy little school you’ve probably never heard of. It"s my turn now, try to block this!"
w.a.n.g Tong"s body jerked forward abruptly, his footwork seemed elusive and strange to Miao Xiu, who started to feel dizzy as his eyeb.a.l.l.s struggled to trace w.a.n.g Tong"s movement.
Each step taken by w.a.n.g Tong carried a strange if not eerie quality. As a martial arts prodigy, Miao Xiu had seen many different types of foot movement for combat purposes, but none of which was as ugly as w.a.n.g Tong"s. Calling it footwork was farfetched; it was simply an incoherent and disorganized shuffle.
Annoyed by the pestering footsteps, Miao Xiu hacked towards w.a.n.g Tong in a fit of pique, attempting to end his opponent’s hideous performance. But Miao Xiu’s strike missed and he was greeted with a powerful punch towards the face.
Miao Xiu deftly jerked his head to one side, avoiding the incoming blow, but w.a.n.g Tong"s fist suddenly disappeared in front of him and reemerged, as Miao Xiu watched from the corner of his eyes, right in front of his chest, thrusting a devastating blow.
Miao Xiu initiated his METAL armor out of sheer instinct right before the impact. Although unharmed, he was blown away by w.a.n.g Tong’s punch, and staggered back a few dozen paces.
Miao Xiu blushed as he felt embarra.s.sed that he had broken his promise of not using his METAL suit. With his own ego working against him, Miao Xiao’s morale tapered under w.a.n.g Tong"s immense power delivered through his seemingly ragged moves.
"Nice footsteps, where did you learn that?" Miao Xiu asked curiously.
w.a.n.g Tong shook his head, "Nowhere, I made it up."
Although he felt even more humiliated by w.a.n.g Tong"s inattentive answer, he swallowed a thick clog of sputum and conceded his defeat: "You have won this round, whenever you want a rematch, just leave me a message."
w.a.n.g Tong waved his hand, gesturing to Miao Xiu that he didn"t want to end the battle yet. "It isn"t over yet, you brought your METAL suit, why don"t you use it?" w.a.n.g Tong had just sampled a small dose of the thrill of battle which only teased out more of his appet.i.te.
"Do you mean you want to fight me while I am wearing my METAL suit?" Miao Xiu asked in disbelief. Although he had used the METAL armor out of instinct to s.h.i.+eld w.a.n.g Tong"s attack, it did not mean that without METAL, w.a.n.g Tong"s strike would have ended the fight. After all, the Tactics of Hexa Solaris had quite capable defenses.
After w.a.n.g Tong had confirmed his seemingly suicidal challenge, Miao Xiu accepted the rematch knowing his opponent was about to eat crow.
With the help of a METAL suit, Miao Xiu"s power increased substantially; however, w.a.n.g Tong still looked calm and unfaltering, giving no impression that he perceived any imminent threat.
Luv Ma also felt that w.a.n.g Tong"s challenge was amusing. He had won the first round out of sheer luck thanks to his bizarre footwork. Luv Ma had reckoned that both fighters’ strength were similar without METAL, but with the enhancements from the METAL suit, there would be no doubt that a decisive victory would belong to Miao Xiu.
"Is this dude really that ignorant of his own limits or..." Luv Ma pondered.
w.a.n.g Tong attacked first this time as he darted towards Miao Xiu with his bizarre and eerie footsteps. All the while, w.a.n.g Tong felt relieved that he could finally unleash his full strength without worrying about injuring his opponent thanks to the METAL suit.
w.a.n.g Tong’s initial attack had been a straightforward thrust, but as he got closer to his target, the thrust somehow had turned into a parallel swooping slash.
Luv Ma watched as he felt that every infinitesimal movement of w.a.n.g Tong"s body seemed to have contradicted human physiology, but instead, resembled that of Zergs.
Unknown to Luv Ma, his suspicion was not unfounded as w.a.n.g Tong had indeed learned his footwork from the spider-like Zergs.
Miao Xiu had accurately predicted the pattern and set his sword in w.a.n.g Tong"s path as he initiated his METAL suit, it had seemed that w.a.n.g Tong had failed to deceive his opponent this time.
w.a.n.g Tong dodged the sharp point that emerged suddenly in his path with a half pirouette, and then he smiled. This was exactly the kind of practice he needed, he needed someone to scrutinize his attacks in a real battle to help him to keep on improving.
w.a.n.g Tong gathered himself after he dodged the attack, and retaliated immediately with his spider steps. Having seen through w.a.n.g Tong"s trick, Miao Xiu lashed out with a ruthless counter attack, intending to end the increasingly pestering match.
Although Miao Xiu"s strength had been increased exponentially due to the METAL suit, his strike had missed w.a.n.g Tong once again. Before he could pull back his sword, he saw w.a.n.g Tong"s fist flying towards him.
Knowing that no ordinary attack would be able to harm him with his METAL suit turned on, Miao Xiu’s subconscious had relaxed and slowed him down as a row of whitening knuckles grazed his body, but to Miao Xiu’s surprise, the graze injured him.
Miao Xiu’s face suddenly became grave as he realized that w.a.n.g Tong would be a tougher nut to crack than he had initially thought.
Realizing that he had been deceived by w.a.n.g Tong’s elusive power, Miao Xiu spoke in a serious tone, "I have underestimated you. Why didn"t you reveal your true power?"
w.a.n.g Tong"s face lit up with joy, "Well, I will, only when you use your real coup de grace."
"Interesting, I have a hard time believing that you’re not from one of the top six academies. Anyhow, there"s no point hiding anything now, the fight ends here!"
Luv Ma registered that Maio Xiu was about to unleash his real coup de grace, the ultimate kill strike Miao Xiu had learned from the Templars.
Miao Xiu"s body tensed up, as he held the hilt of his sword in both hands, his knuckles whitening. Suddenly, a plethora of sizzling GN force flushed out of his dantian, seeping into the sword, his eyes s.h.i.+ned like fiery blaze as his body inched into the ground — a result of the swirling waves of unseen energy pus.h.i.+ng down on its body.
He was by then ready to unleash his ultimate power and awaken his opponent with a sudden realization of devastation, making him repent while engulfed by the Templar’s righteous blaze.
This was the Templar"s retribution-Attack of Gaia.
Miao Xiu"s body suddenly blurred before it completely disappeared, leaving only the path of the sword visible, which slashed up and down at a tilted angle. It sliced through the air like slicing open a fish"s belly. Miao Xiu initiated and completed the coup de grace in one go, with flawless footwork and impeccable movements.
w.a.n.g Tong was not fast enough to dodge the sudden burst of energy at point blank, even if he had, he would not have antic.i.p.ated the trembling and exploding earth under his feet, as swirling sharp lances of GN energy thrust out of the earth’s crust while spitting at the sky, filling the entire battlefield with flying boulders the size of a cow or larger.
This was Miao Xiu"s ultimate coup de grace, the move that has to kill once unleashed.
"Konnnnn." The strike landed, the trembling stopped, and the battle was concluded.
Luv Ma was elated, moved by the unbelievable power in front of him, executed in a flawless and unstoppable fas.h.i.+on, he felt that he was not watching a battle, but was appreciating a piece of divine art.
But... what Luv Ma saw next almost made his jaw drop. He rubbed his disbelieving eyes with the cus.h.i.+ons of his palms and narrowed his eyes to reexamine the battlefield.
Miao Xiu"s sword was resting on w.a.n.g Tong"s right arm, which was completely unharmed.
Miao Xiu was rendered speechless even more so than Luv Ma. He knew that he had struck true, and w.a.n.g Tong"s virtual body should have been sliced in half under the Attack of Gaia, like a block of b.u.t.ter under a molten knife. Instead, w.a.n.g Tong stood there in once piece as if nothing had happened.
This blow promised at least one hundred and thirty sols of energy, enough to disintegrate any human flesh upon contact.
Disheveled, Miao Xiu thought to himself, "Could it be that this guy"s right arm is made out of the Templar’s METAL suit?"