After the dust settled, the huge katana and the green giant hand in the night sky disappeared.
Looking at Thomas and Jōji again, both were still standing on the ground, but their facial expressions were different-one solemn, the other sinister.
Jōji gripped his katana with both hands, raising the tip high and shouted fiercely, “You’re quite strong, let’s have a fight to the death!”
“It’s not a fight to the death, but your death!” Thomas said, looking at Jōji as if he were a sworn enemy.
Thomas slowly raised his right hand, and amidst the flowing brilliance, a green battle armor appeared over his right hand.
Encased in the armor, Thomas’s right hand grew more than twice its size.
With a clench of his right hand, a fierce wind stirred around him.
The armored hand emitted a terrifying electric light, filled with explosive power.
“Die!” Thomas roared, his body transforming into a bolt of lightning and disappearing from the spot.
Jōji cursed loudly, turning into a streak of light and vanishing as well.
An extremely dazzling light, like that from welding, then lit up.
Different from before, this invisible clash made no sound.
After the light faded, the two men still stood in their original places as if they had never moved.
Jōji used his katana to support his body, breathing heavily and staring fixedly ahead.
The green glow of the battle armor on Thomas’s right hand dimmed.
Then, cracks appeared on the surface of the armor, and it fell off his right hand.
Thomas’s throat moved, blood spilled from the corner of his mouth, his body shook, and he knelt on one knee.
His right hand clenched tightly, his bloodshot eyes stubbornly stared at Jōji, as if he wanted to kill him with his gaze alone.
“Ha ha ha…” Jōji laughed wildly, then carrying his katana, he slowly approached Thomas, “Esper, you’re ultimately no match for me. Sacrifice your life for my Murasame!”
As Jōji came within two meters of Thomas, he slowly raised his katana.
Just as he was about to strike down, he suddenly changed from a strike to a block.
“Clang!”
A sound typical of clashing blades.
The blade broke into two pieces, and Jōji spewed blood from his mouth, flying backward.
After falling, he struggled a few times and then lay motionless.
“Such formidable strength!” Kazuhiko was shocked.
Kazuhiko crushed a jade slip, protecting his two disciples who were down and moved them aside, then looked at Leo and asked in stiff Mheffada, “May I ask your esteemed name?”
Leo ignored him, walked over to Thomas, and asked, “Thomas, are you alright?”
Thomas shook his head with effort, unable to speak.
“You rest and recuperate; I’ll handle this old man,” Leo said, pulling out a defensive Talisman from his body to protect Thomas.
“Kakumei, such formidable strength from that young man, I wonder where he comes from?” Kakusin, who had almost cleansed the toxins from his body, whispered to Kakumei.
After a brief period of recuperation, Kakumei’s injuries had improved a bit, and he replied, “He must be from the officials.”
“The officials…” Kakusin paused, quickly understanding, “WONDER!”
Leo, holding the Divine Dragon Sword, stepped towards Kazuhiko.
Seeing the treasure sword in Leo’s hand, Kazuhiko’s eyes showed a fervent and greedy gleam, and he asked loudly again, “May I ask the origin of the sword in your hand?”
“Dead men need not know so much,” Leo replied coldly, his heart already filled with killing intent.
“You little Orientiageomancy master, daring to run wild in my great Atraria, you’re really tired of living!” Leo’s response made Kazuhiko’s mouth twitch.
He formed a seal with one hand, and a symbol struck towards Leo.
Leo disappeared on the spot with a Hiding Spell.
Boom!
A loud noise.
Where Leo had been, dust flew up as if a grenade had exploded there.
Kazuhiko was startled and exclaimed, “Hiding Spell!?”
Kazuhiko had a deep understanding of Atraria’s Hiding Spell.
He very much wanted to cultivate it, but he lacked the secret techniques to do so.
When Leo reappeared, the Divine Dragon Sword in his hand was gone, replaced by a long spear.
The spear, not a physical object, glowed red and was clearly formed from intense flames. In the night, it shone with a brilliance that could steal the sun’s glory.
This was a spear formed from Spiritual Power and a Skyfire symbol; with the spear in hand, his killing intent was overwhelming.
Leo’s gaze fixed on Kazuhiko like that of a hawk, and he shouted with thunderous force, “Scorchspear, kill!”
As the word “kill” echoed, the long spear in Leo’s hand was already hurled forward.
Amidst a sharp whistling sound, the spear, like a fiery meteor trailing violent flames, shot towards Kazuhiko at an astonishing speed.
Kazuhiko’s face turned pale. He quickly took out a jade slip from his body, crushed it, and simultaneously formed seals with one hand, shouting, “Ōkuninushi, heavenly authority, destroy the heavens and the earth, break!”
With a slightly tense shout from Kazuhiko, the Eight-Forked Serpent, which had just shrunk to the ground, moved again.
One of the serpent’s heads rapidly extended and enlarged, its originally dark scales turning golden.
Amidst the radiance of gold, a strange seal appeared on top of the serpent’s head, which then transformed into a golden snake.
The golden snake bit its own tail, coiling into a circle, then flew rapidly to Kazuhiko’s side and began spinning.
Although these changes sound slow, they actually happened in just one or two seconds, until Scorchspear appeared in front of Kazuhiko.
Soon, something astonishing happened that surprised Leo.
The Skyfire symbol, formed by Spiritual Power into a spear, couldn’t penetrate the golden snake ring!
Just as Leo was astonished, something even more miraculous occurred.
In the middle of the golden snake-formed ring, something resembling a mirror appeared.
The spear hovered in front of the golden snake ring for only three seconds before plunging into it.
Immediately afterward, an extremely dangerous feeling overwhelmed Leo.
Leo cursed inwardly and cast another Hiding Spell, disappearing from the spot.
Scorchspear suddenly appeared in the air above Leo’s original position, then vanished along with Leo.
Now Leo was feeling quite frustrated.
The long spear he had unleashed, after piercing the golden snake ring, unexpectedly gained tracking capabilities, and its target had even turned into himself!