Chapter 6998 A Battle of Life and Death

Chapter 6998 A Battle of Life and Death

Ananda's sword light, carrying an aura of cutting through nothing, flew outwards. The special nature of the Illusionary Light Sword extended the originally three-foot-long blade to several meters, or even tens of meters, although the characteristics of the Light-Containing Sword could not extend to such an exaggerated extent.

Even with his idealistic defense, Zhang Yong didn't want to experience the power of this thing. Even if the Han Guang Sword was weakened, if it hit, it would still leave a bloody mark. So Zhang Yong dodged by jumping around. With the disruption of Zhang Ping's spiral force field, as well as Slavnis's weakening of various attacks and sacrifice, it was not difficult for him to avoid this thing.

After dodging several times and getting used to Ananda's attack style, Zhang Yong would also use Illusion Condensation and Positive and Negative Spirals to create short, small spears about a foot long in an instant while jumping and dodging, in order to suppress Ananda.

However, the effect was very poor. Apart from the offensive talents such as Arc Slash, Illusionary Light Sword, and Shock Convergence, the remaining four talents of Ananda were all support. The ability to analyze and collect combat intelligence by divine knowledge, the basic enhancement of Eternal Golden Sun, the melee agility and reaction brought by airflow manipulation, and the short-range burst speed, combined with the control ability and burst power of the Willpower Limit Break talent, this guy is purely without weaknesses, pure stats. The combat mechanism is not very strong, but the counter mechanism is extremely overpowered.

As a result, all the suppressive spears thrown by Zhang Yong were dodged by Ananda. Even when the two were very close, the combat data analyzed by Shen Ermingzhi allowed Ananda to anticipate how her opponent would attack her a little bit in advance.

Furthermore, Ananda's airflow manipulation optimization focuses on combat awareness and auxiliary maneuvers, which caused Zhang Yong to fall into a disadvantageous position in close combat.

That's understandable, though. Back in Ganges, Huang Tao, Su Zong, and He Zhen ambushed Ananda together, but Ananda managed to kill one of Su Zong's clones. Su Zong's mechanics were average, but his talent set allowed him to fully utilize his combat awareness.

"Slash!" The arc of light that stretched back and cut blocked Zhang Yong's last dodge route. The azure water light cut directly into Zhang Yong's right shoulder. Sparks flew, but it failed to cut through Zhang Yong's defense.

"It feels like being burned to ashes. You even refined an old soldier with the talent of burning to ashes?" Ananda slashed at Zhang Yong's shoulder armor with his sword. After realizing that he had failed to break through the defense, he decisively jumped back to dodge. Then he saw three light spears, each only as thick as a chopstick, fly past his eyes and pierce his feet, triggering an explosion of light spears no less powerful than the previous one.

Zhang Yong stared at Ananda with his gun in hand. The opponent's stats were slightly lower than his, but the sun ring behind her, which Zena had voluntarily transformed into, brought Ananda's basic stats to a level second only to Zhang Yong's.

Later, relying on that head-on, hard-hitting talent structure, Ananda became the second most difficult opponent Zhang Yong had ever seen, because the opponent displayed the same aesthetic beauty in terms of numerical values, skills, and combat awareness as Sun Er. That's right, Ananda now really has some of Sun Er's performance.

"This is really difficult." Zhang Yong looked at Ananda with some distress. His win rate against Sun Er was only close to 50%. The reason he couldn't get past 50% was because of Sun Er's damned combat awareness. When the numerical difference between the two sides was not much, it came down to experience and awareness, and Sun Er's awareness was obviously better.

“Zena, Zhang Yong is not easy to deal with. If you trust me, give me all your power. I have a finishing move that I’ve wanted to use for a long time.” Ananda’s divine knowledge was working frantically, and he successfully formed a super-model finishing move in his mind based on his own talent structure and Zena’s talent structure. Of course, it was just based on intuition. He slapped his forehead and felt that he could do it, so he did it.

"Let me explain first. I have fallen from the state of transcendence I had before. I can only rely on you in this current state. We lack a miraculous reconciliation. The only reason I can do this is because I willingly give you my power. But this state cannot be maintained for long." Zena's voice echoed in Ananda's mind.

"How long can this state of complete synchronization with my power be maintained?" Anada pressed.

“Twenty…” Zena replied.

"Twenty minutes?" Ananda asked, thinking that he was confident he could kill Zhang Yong in twenty minutes. He had already discovered Zhang Yong's weakness: his stats were terrifyingly strong, but his combat awareness in controlling those stats was slightly lacking, while combat awareness was his advantage.

“Nineteen…” Zena said with a sigh.

Ananda was taken aback. "Damn, your synchronization can only last this short?"

“Without the combined spirit and energy of both sides in the Miracle Transformation, it would be too difficult to fully integrate them and become like one person, even for someone with a normal will that has reached its limits. I suspect that Zhang Ping and the other one, or two other guys, haven’t turned against Zhang Yong because they might be taking this opportunity to merge with Zhang Yong and are experiencing and trying to understand the so-called Miracle Transformation.” Zena stared at Zhang Yong, who was holding a gun and looking thoughtful.

"What?" Ananda exclaimed in surprise.

"Yes, that's most likely the case. Otherwise, if the refining were done without any scruples, the refined warriors would inevitably resist." Zena's tone was somewhat heavy.

"Then what should we do?" Ananda pressed, because he and Zena were now in a state of complete coordination, almost like one person, which was why they could share these innate powers. Based on this, Ananda could understand what Zena meant when he said that the equipment Zhang Yong had refined was also sharing one of the strongest powers in this world!

That's a single-person miracle transformation. You only need to pay a little face to personally experience it and actually use it. If it were on the open, a guy with seven levels of forging might still hesitate, but in a situation like the Grand Martial Arts Competition where you're bound by defeat, it's a completely different kind of stepping stone.

"Do you think they can learn it?" Ananda asked with a serious expression.

“It’s hard to say. After all, those who reach this level are all elites with their own understanding of power. Even if they can’t achieve the Miracle Transformation, would you give up such an opportunity to experience it firsthand? Moreover, with such talent to reach the seventh level, even if they can’t achieve the Miracle Transformation, they can still gain some benefits from Zhang Yong.” Zena’s cautious voice reached Annada’s ears, and Annada couldn’t help but chuckle twice upon hearing this.

After all, when Ananda used Zena's talents, he was also learning how to use these talents and trying to combine them into his own talents in order to optimize them.

"Then what do you suggest?" Ananda was somewhat eager to try, wanting to experience Zhang Yong's miraculous transformation as well, since such opportunities were rare.

"Defeat Zhang Yong and turn him into a weapon. You and I only have a dozen seconds left to coordinate perfectly. Use whatever moves you have in those few seconds," Zena instructed Anna. In a direct fight, Anna was undoubtedly the strongest among their group.

"Alright!" Ananda gripped the steel sword and pointed it in Zhang Yong's direction. At this moment, the Nightmare Unicorn had already transformed into armor and attached itself to Zhang Yong's body, with a pair of wings extending from its back.

"Zhang Yong, let's settle this with one move!" Ananda's aura reached its limit. "If you win, you can do whatever you want with Zena and me, turn us into armor or magical artifacts, it's up to you. But if you lose, I will turn you into armor and deal with you as well!"

"I'm not afraid of you! Under the witness of the Empire's will, the loser is at the mercy of the victor!" Zhang Yong felt Anada's tyrannical aura. He had already thought of how to deal with Anada and Zena. When he heard Anada's provocative words, he immediately agreed.

"Alright, Zhang Yong, just wait until I turn you into armor!" Ananda crouched down, assuming an attack stance. At that moment, his body shone brightly—no, flames burned within him.

A great sun rose from the earth, releasing boundless light and heat in the sky.

Without the slightest hesitation or fear, Ananda charged directly into the sun. The boundless light and heat seemed to be roasting Ananda into jerky, but faced with such light and heat, Ananda's divine awareness was almost at its limit, and then she seized that moment of inspiration.

"Drive it, you bastard!" Anada roared, then took a deep breath, the scorching air filling his lungs and becoming fuel for the engine. Sparks appeared between his lips and teeth as he opened his mouth.

At this moment, Ananda's expression was extremely ferocious, and even his originally clear black and white eyes turned crimson gold, as if reflecting the golden sun.

"Now!" Anada roared, then reached out and grabbed, activating Zena's talent core and pressing it directly into his heart. Blazing white light rose from Anada's body, and then the huge golden sun, enough to illuminate a hundred miles around, was pressed directly into Anada's heart.

A wild power surged from Anada's heart. At this moment, Anada and Zena became one, with Anada as flesh and Zena as spirit, completely merging into one individual.

In an instant, the flames surged, and the blinding light drew everyone in the entire small world to look in their direction.

"How many seconds can you maintain this power?" Zhang Yong's hair was blown wildly outside his armor. He raised his hand to shield his eyes and looked at Ananda with a cold smile, relying on his senses.

"You want to settle this once and for all? Come on!" Zhang Yong said maniacally. It's just a head-on fight, what's there to be afraid of? How could I, Zhang Yong, possibly lose to you!
"Ha, ahhh!" Anada roared out in agony like a dying beast, his eyes bloodshot. He was almost unable to control this terrifying power, and could only roar loudly to vent his emotions. But no matter what, this finishing move was complete!

Gripping the steel sword tightly, a surge of power flowed into the blade, instantly evaporating almost all the moisture in the air. A crimson flame several meters long ignited on the blade. Then, Ananda looked down at Zhang Yong, who was charging towards him, and said, "Come and fight!"

With a raised hand, a spark-like fragment fell, its power no less than that of Zhang Yong's horizontal slash.

"Quickly, quickly, strengthen the defense of the small world. Don't let these guys break through it. The move this guy used wasn't banned before, but it looks like an ultimate negative finishing move. Can Annada last fifteen seconds?" Chen Xi said to Lu Bu, Guan Yu and the others.

"It all depends on whether Zhang Yong can withstand these few moves. If he can, then Zhang Yong wins; if he can't, then the three of them are finished," Lu Bu commented while maintaining the stability of the small world.

The moment Lu Bu spoke, Zhang Yong angrily charged forward with his spear, shouting, "A fierce and exhilarating clash, huh? Come on, who's afraid of who!"
"Sun Halo Sword!" Ananda didn't keep Chen Xi waiting any longer. As Zhang Yong charged forward with his spear, Ananda raised his steel sword. The crimson flames, which were already several meters long, surged again, even piercing the sky. The scorching heat flowed straight to the heavens, then crashed down on Zhang Yong like a sword pillar. "Prepare to die, Zhang Yong!"

"You think you can kill me with this? You're dreaming!" Zhang Yong's face turned extremely ferocious at this moment. Just looking at the fiery stream that cleaved through the air and clouds, he knew that if he were to take this hit, even with seven layers of defense and multiple layers of attenuation, he would be crippled if he didn't die.

"Die!" Zhang Yong activated Miracle Transformation to its limit, using the Imperial Will to separate Zhang Ping from him. Then, he took to the air and flew against the current. After nine consecutive leaps, Zhang Yong was like a shooting star flying against the current, soaring straight into the sky. The precision of his movements left Zhang Ping dumbfounded. Damn it!

The Halo Sword, like wings falling from the sky, collided with Zhang Yong amidst a storm, thunder, and flames. In that instant, a violent shockwave was released from the point of impact, pushing the clouds in the sky outwards. What followed was a level 10 gale that could blow people away!
However, at that very moment, a blurry, crimson figure descended upon Zhang Yong amidst the storm, wielding a sword and slashing down at him.

Without any unnecessary movements, a horizontal slash was delivered, aimed at Zhang Yong's left arm. Moreover, the high-temperature fire blade condensed by the flames was also frantically attacking Zhang Yong under the control of this figure.

Having withstood the sun halo sword, Zhang Yong, his body burning hot and his skin cracked from the scalding, wielded his spear and launched a counterattack against the attack in front of him.

However, it was of little use. Time was of the essence, and Ananda, with her strong combat awareness, launched an extremely fast-paced attack. Zhang Yong's prolonged defense was bound to fail. With a sword blade carrying extremely high vibrations, Zhang Yong's spear was deflected, leaving Zhang Yong's chest wide open!

It can be said that Zhang Yong was completely at a disadvantage in terms of combat awareness and close-quarters combat.

But in the blink of an eye, Zhang Yong laughed. "Me, trying to compete with you gods in combat awareness? In an instant, Zhang Yong prepared himself mentally."

With a ferocious grin, he said to Anda, who was pouncing on him, "Anada, I'll show you what the Iron Cavalry's combat strategy is."

Suppressing any thoughts of dodging or parrying, Zhang Yong faced more than a dozen swords and spears, grabbed a long spear, and launched a direct assault without even bothering to dodge. Damn it, today we'll see who has the toughest health bar!
The spear thrust straight at Ananda. If Ananda continued to slash, this spear would surely hit her head. Such a resolute move of mutual destruction left Ananda with no doubt. She simply turned her head instinctively, and then used four or five fire blades to parry the spear, while the rest slashed wildly at Zhang Yong. "Utterly foolish, go on your way, Zhang Yong!"

In an instant, seven or eight blades struck Zhang Yong simultaneously, the steel sword even piercing through his armor, blood splattering everywhere. But at this moment, Zhang Yong's eyes shone even brighter.

Then, the next moment, Ananda's demon weapon also pierced through Zhang Yong, and even though Zhang Yong was prepared, he still spat out a mouthful of blood.

But at this moment, Zhang Yong showed no fear whatsoever; all he felt was the madness of the Xiliang people. Staring at Ananda, who was preparing to unleash a final blow with the Sun Wheel, he revealed a crazed smile.

"You've slashed me so many times, now it's my turn!" Zhang Yong roared maniacally, his muscles gripping Ananda's steel sword tightly. As for the demonic weapon that had pierced his body, it was miraculously enhanced and sacrificed, instantly being refined into essence, energy, and spirit to replenish Zhang Yong.

"Talent Collapse!" Zhang Yong roared, throwing a punch. At this moment, he didn't consider himself human, nor did he consider Zhang Ping and Slavnis human. Most of his 20 elite talents collapsed on the spot, squeezing out an explosive power that could be described as the ultimate. This punch truly exceeded 100 years of internal energy. Then, with blood flowing from his seven orifices, Zhang Yong punched Anada's chest. With just one blow, Anada was broken in two. The spot where he was hit directly turned into blood mist and debris.

The battle is over.

When he landed, Zhang Yong could barely stand. He was incredibly weak at that moment, but he could feel his own strength even more clearly.

“You win…” Ananda said, with a hint of a final burst of energy.

Zhang Yong didn't say a word more. He directly squeezed out all of Ananda's remaining talent and energy, and then used a miracle to replenish him, Zhang Ping, and Slavnis, quickly restoring their talents. After that, he reached out and picked up the sun wheel, which had become much dimmer, and squeezed out Zena's power as well, recovering himself to about 70-80%.

"Your Incinerate and Sacrifice talents are really useful." Zhang Yong, having completely drained Zena and Ananda and recovered his strength, patted his breastplate and said to Slavnis.

"..." Slavnis was silent for a while. How to put it, even with his incineration and sacrifice talents, he didn't have such power to instantly drain two seventh-level fusions. It was mainly due to Zhang Yong's miracle enhancement. This thing is purely heaven-defying!

"Why don't you turn them into equipment too?" Zhang Ping asked with a puzzled look. Zena and Anada were definitely strong enough.

“The Yuezhi haven’t surrendered yet, so they’re not considered allies. Let’s just kill them,” Zhang Yong said coldly. “That move just now was indeed powerful. If it weren’t for Slavnis’s weakening and sacrifice, as well as the defensive capabilities you provided, I probably wouldn’t have been able to withstand the Sun Halo Sword.”

“That move was indeed very powerful,” Slavnis agreed. “If I were alone, I would die too. That thing is too fierce.”

“Same.” Zhang Ping said succinctly, “Zhang Er, are you going to continue pushing forward? The Path of Oath has backlashes, which are the so-called trials. You’ve only gone this far and you’ve already encountered such a trial. I estimate there will be more trials to come. Are you going to continue?”

"Why don't you leave?" Zhang Yong retorted. "If I were at the seventh level, would I be in such a sorry state facing those two guys working together?"

"Alright then, whatever you say!" Zhang Ping didn't say anything more. With Zhang Yong's intense battle, he also had the opportunity to experience the Miracle Transformation for a long time, which was a good thing for him. Well, he could find joy in hardship. At least when he had no other choice, he had the opportunity to have a substantial contact with the Miracle Transformation, which was indeed a good thing.

Meanwhile, Zena and Annada woke up in another side hall of the Pantheon. They were both a little dazed when they woke up. Zhang Yong had been ruthless in the end. Even with protection, the miraculous infiltration was no joke. The two of them were clearly in poor condition.

"What's going on? Why didn't I turn into equipment?" Ananda asked, somewhat puzzled.

"They probably don't think it's good enough," Zena said casually. "The Grand Martial Arts Tournament is over for us now, so let's leave it at that."

“Zhang Yong’s defensive power…” Ananda suddenly spoke up. Zena nodded slowly upon hearing this. Even he had to admit that Zhang Yong’s defensive power at the last moment was simply too outrageous. Otherwise, after seven or eight strikes, they would definitely have won.

"It's not just a matter of mental defense and armor; his physical defense is also incredibly exaggerated. His body, forged through countless trials, even seems almost eternal under the combined effects of willpower and miraculous transformation." Zena told Ananda what he had seen in his final moments.

“Your observation skills are indeed strong. At the last moment, I couldn’t even activate Divine Awareness. That newly developed finishing move still has a lot of room for improvement.” Ananda explained with some fatigue, “If I could have held on a little longer, I wouldn’t have been in such a hurry.”

“The opponent’s margin for error is too high. They are completely different from the opponents we normally face. There is no way to kill them quickly. Moreover, I suspect that even if you were to behead Zhang Yong with a steel sword, you might not be able to sever his neck in one blow.” Zena said with some weariness, “That guy’s body is very deeply integrated with his miracle transformation. Although I couldn’t feel it myself, I could see some things from that close distance. Unfortunately, willpower cannot last forever.”

There are many veterans in this world who have achieved transcendence of willpower. Whether it was the Han Dynasty or Rome, there were veterans who, while fighting on the battlefield, briefly reached a state of transcendence of willpower due to certain emotions or beliefs.

Even the veterans under Zhang Ren's command, during the decisive battle, briefly achieved a transcendence of willpower thanks to Zhang Ren's methods and explosive power. Although that transcendence of willpower was as fleeting as a shooting star, it was indeed achieved during that brief period of time.

But maintaining that willpower in a constant state is extremely difficult!
I guess I'm really not good at writing battle scenes. *sigh*