Chapter 302: A Sinister Hunch
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Generally, once a cape was taken off, a transformation sequence would occur.
Streams of Void Energy surged into Baiyi’s body without a moment’s rest. The change in his mien was so abrupt, the a.s.sa.s.sination team felt it, too. However, most of them could not feel the sudden increase in oppressive force as much as the Northern Warrior did, and it made his face go pale instantly.
He suddenly felt like a moth eagerly rus.h.i.+ng towards a blazing flame. That realization made the Northern Warrior change his direction, despite having just mustered up some power himself. He slowed down to a halt and leaped backward as quickly as possible, instead.
Suddenly, Baiyi froze. The Void Energy, which had just surged into his body, suddenly changed into average mana, and the mana surged out of his body intensely. All that build-up towards his comeback move: Specialized Encas.e.m.e.nt Shaping Spell… had turned into average mana?
“What’s the matter?” The Northern Warrior, who had been quietly observing Baiyi, hurriedly asked.
“Something… Something’s not right.” Baiyi turned his gaze away from his and looked around the surrounding, instead. “There’s something—”
He did not get to finish his sentence when a wall of domineering heat, emitted from an intense combat chi, surged towards him. Baiyi’s thoughts were left hanging as the he was forced to take a few steps back.
The Northern Warrior, as it turned out, was aware that the fearsome mien Baiyi acquired only moments ago had dissipated. Although the Northern Warrior did not know why that happened, he did not need anyone to tell him that this was the best time to take action against the target. Seizing the chance, the Northern Warrior lunged forward. The other members of the a.s.sa.s.sination team came to the same conclusion as the warrior had and began to support their team leader.
“Alas, gentlemen! Hold naught back, lest th’ craven regains his fearsome power. Let’s jyne oor might ‘n’ seize this yin!” The Northern Warrior quickly stirred his combat chi and encased himself inside it. More combat chi coalesced around his arms and formed two long sabers.
Armed with two long sabers, the Northern Warrior swung the blades around, in ways that only Northern martial arts masters would recognize. As the long sabers were swung, the air around the Northern Warrior moved and bent with his chi, then it seemed to combine with the afterimages left by his long sabers. The enormous phantom of an imposing, roaring tiger formed around the super fast sabers.
Furthermore, a beastly and brutish aura burst forth from the Northern Warrior, and he seemed to have transformed into a tiger leaping out from the jungle. Then, he lunged at Baiyi.
“Roaring Tiger Slice? That’s… a military-style saber martial technique. To perfectly unite this particular fighting style with the Azure Cloud Sect’s Alkaid Inferno means that this man has some real skill in fighting,” Baiyi muttered. “W-what’s wrong with you? What are you standing for?” the Warrior Walker exclaimed from the void.
Something had gone quite wrong with Baiyi. He could barely dodge the Northern Warrior’s imposing blade attacks. It was as though the soul armature’s soul had exited his armor. Seeing Baiyi in a very precarious situation, the Warrior Walker, who had always spoken in a calm, indifferent tone, was left with no choice but to voice her concern in a high tone. This was most certainly the first time she had ever done that.
The enemy, however, did not plan to give Baiyi any breathing room. They unleashed an onslaught of attacks, like a group of farmers battling a defanged wolf. Nergal did not exit stealth mode as he flung dagger after dagger at Baiyi, aiming at his armor’s most damaged points. Nergal was so fast, he ended up hurling seventeen daggers in under two seconds. Although the Sorcerer Terrier was not good with offensive magic, he was adept at casting a variety of interfering and limiting spells, which would cancel any spells that Baiyi sought to cast, cornering the soul armature even more. The archer, who had long since discarded his broken longbow, created a green bow using his own combat chi and fired combat chi arrows at every area Baiyi could possibly dodge to or escape to.
The lich had seized the opportunity to complete his conjuring of the dead. An army of the dead could be seen marching forward, in the distance, emanating sickening, clanking noises caused by their bones. .h.i.tting their armor. In the air, silhouettes of banshees and phantoms soared above the marching revenants.
The situation spelled nothing but trouble for Baiyi. Faced with the barrage of attacks, Baiyi could do nothing else but dodge, seeing as he was not given the chance to fight back. Since this round of attacks began, Baiyi’s armor had sustained visible cracks and dents. All of that was earned in under two minutes. It felt as though his armor would get shattered in the next second.
Baiyi had taken his cape off before this round of attacks, so that was not in harm’s way like his armor was, at least.
The a.s.sa.s.sin Walker, who was watching from the Void, could not hold herself steady as the situation unfolded. She poked the Warrior Walker repeatedly and whimpered, “Big Sister Warrior, he’s not gonna make it! Please don’t chide him anymore, he… He needs help!”
She had barely finished her sentence when the Northern Warrior took advantage of an opening that Baiyi left. His long-saber unleashed a horizontal slash at the Fifth Walker’s abdomen, making the phantom of the savage tiger, which was formed by the sabers, open its enormous maw in a bid to bite Baiyi into pieces.
If the Northern Warrior succeeded, Baiyi would most definitely be fragmented!
At that pivotal instant, something stirred Baiyi. It was the tearful cry from the a.s.sa.s.sin Walker. The soul armature was finally jolted from his reverie and stomped the ground, causing a wave of sand to rise, and leaped into the air. Baiyi swung the War G.o.d’s sword, and a line of dazzling light, which alternated between red and blue, slashed at the phantom tiger’s neck.
The indestructible War G.o.d’s Sword could cut everything under the sun — including a person’s combat chi. When Baiyi’s slash hit its target, the connection between the warrior and his chi was severed, and the phantom tiger was beheaded. The rest of the phantom began to dissipate.
However, that did not stop the Northern Warrior, at all. To him, it had only bought Baiyi a little breathing room. The Northern Warrior didn’t even look alarmed. He flashed a cold smile, and combat chi began to surge out of his hands again, and it regrew the phantom tiger’s head.
The Northern Warrior lunged at Baiyi, who was still in midair. As there was no surface for the Fifth Walker to land on, it seemed as though the phantom tiger would maul him this time.
However, the Northern Warrior’s attack missed its target as Baiyi had disappeared yet again. The Northern Warrior spun around without a second thought and hurled his long sabers with every ounce of momentum he had towards the ground.
When the long sabers. .h.i.t the ground, they smashed into pieces, unable to withstand the force of impact. However, that explosive force of impact created a terrifying heatwave that soared into the sky around the Northern Warrior. It was if he had just ignited every molecule in the atmosphere.
The terrifying heatwave forced Baiyi, who had just appeared behind the Northern Warrior and was about to strike, to back off and distance himself.
When the heatwave finally subsided, Baiyi had retreated to a safer distance. The Northern Warrior’s combat chi seemed significantly weakened, losing its previous oppressive edge. The sand beneath the Northern Warrior was bright red — the after-effect of the terrifying heatwave. With the Northern Warrior standing atop the red, hot patch of sand, the scene looked like one from an infernal h.e.l.l. Dust floated down around the Northern Warrior, making the scene seem vivid in its dramatic outlook.
The Northern Warrior had ceased his unrelenting attacks. The way the Northern Warriors cultivate their combat chi was different from the Southern Knights’. While advanced Southern fighters focused on training themselves to greatly improve the total amount of combat chi within their body, Northern Warriors focused on concentrating and cultivating their combat chi to achieve certain levels of purity and control, which boosts the offensive power of Northern martial arts. The downside to this was that their combat chi reservoir became lackl.u.s.ter, and that was why the Northern Warrior sought to buy some time to recover after unleas.h.i.+ng Chi Fury.
Holy-level fighters still had the advantage brought about by their rank, however. It only took seconds for the warrior to recover his combat chi, and the aura surrounding him became deep green once more. It was good that there was some distance between Baiyi and his foe because it allowed him time to chat with those in the Void.
“I was thinking about something while scanning the surrounding with my psychic energy,” Baiyi said, elucidating his earlier state.
“You were almost punched into a big pig-head while thinking about whatever you were thinking about!” The a.s.sa.s.sin Walker huffed in anger.
‘A pig-head and a huffing piggie? That’s quite a pair, isn’t it?’ Baiyi replied internally, then he continued to explain, “When I was about to use Void Energy, a gut feeling just… tickled. An alarm within me seemed to go off… I can’t really explain or describe that instinct, but it felt like something very dangerous was watching me from the shadows… Hence, I stopped focusing on the fight.”
If the a.s.sa.s.sination team had known that Baiyi had not been paying attention and was mulling over some things, how would they feel?
“If you had to think about it when you were in the middle of a fight… It must have been something very significant. You say you felt like you were being observed? Do you mean that one of them was using a Spying or Recording Spell?” The Archmage asked hurriedly.
A battle like theirs would have attracted attention, so it was possible to have someone record the battle with some sort of Recording Magic, like how people on Earth would record with cameras and smartphones. This type of magic was very easily detected, but it was possible that someone had enhanced their capability to prevent others from detecting their recording spells, just as how denizens of Earth came up with peephole cameras.
Baiyi’s answer was far more sinister, however. “No no no. It’s not something that simple. It felt like… someone from up there.”
“Those… Higher Powers?” The Voidwalkers cried out in alarm. An unexplored mini realm like the one Baiyi was on was like a single crystal of silica in a huge world. Why would any higher power be interested in the place?
“I just felt like it was them. I was trying to figure it out, of course, and in the end, I thought it most probably wasn’t any one of those lot. G.o.ds are divine, aren’t they? They would never stoop so low as to spy like a voyeur. They need their faces,” Baiyi disagreed with their guess. “We still need to identify what is really is going on, but I’m afraid I can’t use Void Energy for fun right now.”
Although Baiyi was only guessing based on his gut instinct, it was still the Fifth Walker’s instinct. That was far from the “I might be able to win her heart!” or “I think she likes me too!” sort of guess.
“Not that it matters,” Baiyi stared at the Northern Warrior. “Even without Void Energy, I could still finish them off.”