Chapter 420 - 379: A Fight to the Death (Part 2)

Chapter 420: Chapter 379: A Fight to the Death (Part 2)

’If only the rules didn’t force a title change this time...’

Guan Tong mused. According to the rules, all Ascenders who had kept their tournament Invitation Letters were forced to equip the "Contestant" title.

This prevented him from using the effects of his "Civilization Observer" title; otherwise, he could have used it to see through Lucifer’s abilities.

Lucifer attacked relentlessly, while Guan Tong constantly used Shadow Creatures to block, shifting his own position to dodge.

It seemed he was at a disadvantage with no way to fight back, but this was merely part of his cautious battle strategy.

He could afford to drag this out; Lucifer could not. If this stalemate continued, it wouldn’t be long before Lucifer’s Psychic Power ran low, whereas Guan Tong’s own reserves were still plentiful.

A surefire victory was much better than a risky one. Lucifer’s speed was astounding, and Guan Tong didn’t want to rashly approach him for a Small Space attack—Lucifer might dodge it and land a counterblow.

"Is running all you know?" Lucifer taunted. "Don’t you even have the courage to face me? Coward!"

Guan Tong ignored him.

"I know this Shadow World of yours absorbs my Psychic Power, but did you think I came unprepared?"

As he spoke, Lucifer took out a blue crystal. It emanated a crystalline light that continuously poured into his body.

"Since I knew I was coming to face you, did you really think I wouldn’t have made extra preparations?"

’...An item to restore Psychic Power.’

Guan Tong wasn’t surprised to see what Lucifer was doing.

It was perfectly normal for a powerhouse of his caliber to have an item that restored Psychic Power.

Just as Guan Tong looked over, Lucifer suddenly flung his left wing. It detached from his body and shot forward like a throwing knife!

The attack was incredibly swift. Had Guan Tong not been completely focused and dodged to the side in time, he would have been impaled.

SWOOSH SWOOSH SWOOSH SWOOSH SWOOSH!

After the initial attack missed, the wing shot out smaller feathers in all directions, each one sharper than a steel needle.

At such close range, Guan Tong didn’t want to rely solely on his Shadow Armor. With a thought, he summoned the Giant Axe Warrior to block the feathers for him while swinging its axe toward the detached wing.

"There!"

For some reason, the Giant Axe Warrior’s swing drew Lucifer’s attention. The wing that had missed its attack immediately shot back, piercing through the Giant Axe Warrior’s body on its way.

A flash of insight struck Guan Tong, and he instantly understood how Lucifer was able to pinpoint his location within the darkness and smoke.

It wasn’t by sound, but by...

FWEEET—

A sharp whistle rang out, and several figures immediately scattered, running in different directions.

Lucifer cut them down one by one with a few quick dashes, only then realizing he had been tricked. "Wait! These are..."

He opened his eyes and looked down at the corpse he was standing on—one he had just killed.

It was clearly not Guan Tong. It wasn’t even human.

It was one of the Living Dead!

"You pinpoint your enemy’s position by sensing disturbances in the airflow. That’s your secret," Guan Tong’s voice echoed from deep within the mist.

Lucifer’s expression soured. He hadn’t expected his secret to be figured out so quickly.

He knew Guan Tong wasn’t bluffing; otherwise, he wouldn’t have summoned the Living Dead to test his theory.

"That’s right! After losing to you last time, I’ve spent all this time researching how to defeat you and your Shadow World. Then I saw the birds in the sky... They can adjust their flight by sensing the airflow with their wings. So I thought, why can’t I do the same? Why can’t I use my wings to sense the disturbances in the air and find you in the darkness?!"

"..."

Guan Tong had suspected as much, which was why he summoned the Living Dead to test his theory. But hearing Lucifer admit it outright still left him a little speechless.

’To spend so much time developing an ability just to deal with him... He’s a textbook arch-nemesis.’

Unfortunately for Lucifer, however, once this secret was discovered, it became full of holes.

"With so many things disturbing the airflow, how will you sense anything?"

Guan Tong blew the [Corpse Whistle] repeatedly. A large number of Living Dead clawed their way out of the ground. All of them were humanoid figures similar in shape to Guan Tong, and their movements created similar disturbances in the surrounding airflow, instantly crippling Lucifer’s ability to track him.

"Damn it..."

At this point, Lucifer could see that Guan Tong had also grown much stronger.

It wasn’t just his skill and complexity in manipulating Shadows; his analytical skills, judgment, and even his emotions were far more stable than before.

’If this keeps up,’ he thought, ’I’ll just be worn down to death.’

’There’s only one way,’ he thought.

Lucifer’s face tensed, as if he had made a firm decision.

’His aura changed?’

Guan Tong sensed the change in Lucifer and knew the man was likely about to put his life on the line. He immediately raised his guard.

Lucifer caught the wing as it flew back, re-fusing it with his body. Then, he pulled a handful of pills from his inventory and swallowed them.

In an instant, immense Psychic Power erupted from around him!

Guan Tong’s eyes narrowed; he hadn’t expected Lucifer to do something so drastic.

There were many drugs and items in the system’s shop that could temporarily boost one’s abilities, mental state, physical strength, and even raise their Psychic Power limit. But most of these drugs exacted a heavy toll after their effects wore off.

Some would permanently lower one’s Psychic Power limit, others would cause the permanent loss of certain bodily functions, and some could even leave the user completely paralyzed for an extended period. The number and variety of side effects were staggering.

Lucifer had just swallowed at least a dozen pills in one go. This wasn’t just a desperate gamble anymore; it was pure insanity.

Guan Tong watched as Lucifer’s aura surged, his muscles swelling and veins bulging all over his body. "Even if you manage to defeat me like this," Guan Tong said in a low voice, "you’ll be facing a dead end. Once the side effects hit and you’re left helpless, my friends will kill you with ease."

"AND! SO! WHAT!"

Lucifer’s eyes were blood-red. One of the drugs he had taken gave him the temporary ability to see in the dark, and his gaze was now locked onto Guan Tong.

"As long as I can kill you, I’ll pay any price!"

"...You’re insane."

"ARGHHHHHHHH!"

Stimulated by the potent drugs, Lucifer roared at the sky. The muscles on his back contorted, and then two more bloody wings tore their way out!

"Hahahahaha! Four wings!" Lucifer cackled. "I knew it! Once my Psychic Power breaks through again, the number of my Fallen Angel’s Wings can increase!"

’A massive, temporary boost to the Psychic Power limit from drugs can actually cause a Psychic Power-based item to evolve?’

Witnessing the two new wings sprout from his back, Guan Tong realized this was the first time he had ever seen anything like it.

’However, a change forced like this must be temporary,’ he reasoned. ’He’ll definitely lose them once the drugs wear off.’

"With four wings... I... am... so strong now!"

Lucifer’s four wings beat in unison, and with a surging gale, he appeared before Guan Tong in the next instant.

His face, twisted and swollen from the drugs, was almost touching Guan Tong’s.

"...!"

Guan Tong was staggered by such terrifying speed. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ

He immediately used Body Shifting to swap places with a distant Shadow, barely dodging the cross-slash of the four wings. The Shadow he had switched with was instantly sliced into dozens of fragments.

In that moment, he knew he could have used Body Shifting to leave the battlefield entirely. It would have been easy to just wait out the drugs’ duration, after which Lucifer would be helpless.

But Guan Tong knew he couldn’t do that. If he did, he would be safe, but an enraged Lucifer would undoubtedly kill everyone else in the estate before the drugs wore off.

Shangyuan Zi, Yelena... Shi Jingyi. Leaving them to face a four-winged Lucifer in this drugged-up state was far too dangerous!

"Hahahahaha! Faced with the speed of four wings, how many more times can you run?!"

Lucifer cackled madly as he gave chase, closing in on Guan Tong once again.

This was the first time Guan Tong had ever found Body Shifting’s ten-second cooldown to be too long. But he knew that against Lucifer in this state, continuing to just dodge and defend would only create an opening for his enemy.

"Die!"

Lucifer roared, his body spinning wildly. The airflow churned by his four wings instantly formed an immense storm! The storm’s radius was more than ten times larger than his Storm Feather Blade, and the piercing sound it made was like the shriek of a thousand birds. The farm’s grass and the very earth beneath it were ripped up, gathering into a great wave of soil!

Facing such a terrifying attack, Guan Tong had no time to think. The Nanomite Swarm Gloves on his left hand instantly transformed into a "Nanomite Swarm net" to act as a shield. At the same time, his right hand condensed a swirling Small Space, formed from tens of thousands of units of Psychic Power, to serve as his sword.

He thrust both hands forward. The next moment, two diametrically opposed, yet equally fatal, forces collided with a deafening roar!