Chapter 423: Power of the Soul
Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_
The improvement came from not only strength, but also a fighter’s overall responsiveness to changes on the battlefield.
The two lances collided with each other, spilling out enormous amounts of energy that rippled through space.
Wang Tong’s recklessness and his whimsical fighting style seemed unprofessional in comparison with the Ivantian Einherjar’s set-moves. However, no one other than Wang Tong would have held his ground for so long under an Einherjar’s attacks.
Nevertheless, Patroclus still had the absolute advantage as long as he kept at it; his victory was only a matter of time.
The Einherjar Lance was laced with a sizzling GN force as Wang Tong gave all he had in this fight. He had infused his attack with as much natural force as he could harness. Each jab and thrust carried a measure of levity and a sense of nonchalant finality. On the other hand, Patroclus’s direct and purposeful attacks were straight out of textbooks. There was no need to pull any tricks as Patroclus was confident that he could win the match with his Einherjar-level strength alone.
“KOM!”
Patroclus managed to open up the wall of ice spikes surrounding him, so he took the opportunity and dashed out of the encirclement, charging directly at Wang Tong. One advantage that Wang Tong had over his opponent was his experience in a real war. Never been the boots on the ground, Patroclus would never learn what it was like in fighting a real battle, much less drawing power from such experience.
By then, Wang Tong’s pupil had already turned bloody-red as he inched closer towards a battle trance. The risk was high as he went further into a battle trance, but Wang Tong conceded that his options were very limited. After years of training, Wang Tong had learned to enter battle trance by conditioning his mind and emotions. He had learned that his trigger was the scene of the bloody massacre of his comrades on Norton. While in a trance, Wang Tong was practically a hungry beast with limited mental capacity. In exchange, his physical damage was exponentially increased.
“KOM!”
A quick jab landed on Wang Tong’s shoulder, which felt like a mosquito bite to the entranced Wang Tong. He hurled his fist and landed it squarely on Patroclus’s face.
In the trance mode, Wang Tong’s defense was greatly reduced, since the simple mind of an enraged beast would not comprehend the act of evasion. There was only one way he could go, and it was forward, no side or back steps.
Wang Tong knew that this was the only way to victory, since he wagered that Patroclus would be much more afraid of being injured than he would. It was a scare tactic. However, what Wang Tong didn’t take into account was the eccentric mind of his opponent. Not only did Patroclus not show any fear, but he also looked to be enjoying the moment.
As the intensity of the battle grew, so did the recklessness of the combatants’ moves. They exchanged a few bare-knuckle rounds, taking their opponent’s hit with its full intent. But, neither of them seemed to be faltering.
It was clear by then that Patroclus was more than a wimpy rich kid who couldn’t take a hit. When Wang Tong’s powerful blows landed on the Ivantian Prince, it was not the pain that flickered in the young Einherjar eyes, but the excitement and fragile edge of calmness.
“KOM, KOM, KOM!”
As the heat of the battle intensified, both combatants had forsaken the cautious approach and started to trade blows directly. Everyone had abandoned the hope of seeing a peaceful ending of this struggle.
“KOM!”
The two fighters backed away from each other to take a breath and recuperate. Patroclus’s face was pale as wounds scattered all over his body. Wang Tong had cleverly used the GN force to penetrate the Ivantian’s defense before he injected the natural forces into the opening. However, none of the natural forces were able to hurt Patroclus more than causing superficial wounds. On the other hand, Wang Tong’s injury was much more severe. That being said, Wang Tong had an inhumanly fast rate of healing thanks to his Soul Essence.
Patroclus channeled his soul energy and floated into the air as the Deva Lance started to swirl in his hand like helicopter blades. The air moved in the same direction as the lance as energy poured into Patroclus’ system.
Everyone realized that Patroclus was about to unleash an Einherjar’s coup de grace.
The Deva Lance eventually created a silvery black-hole that started to suck in the energy from even the energy barriers.
Although Wang Tong could not yet utilize the power of Einherjar, he would not give up the match so quickly. Sensing the enormous pressure coming down on him from above, Wang Tong shouted out as fire spilled out of his eyes. The Einherjar Lance hummed, resonating with his owner’s calling. Suddenly, a fire drake appeared out of nowhere and swooped down on Patroclus. It was just another common Mastery trick. Wang Tong would be too naive to think that he could stop an Einherjar with it.
While thinking that, Wang Tong gripped the lance and pushed it forward and started chanting. An ice drake appeared right next to the fire drake, interlocking its serpentine body with the fire. However, as the two serpents got closer, wild explosions erupted as the two opposite elements worked against each other.
Even as the two drakes was about to come apart due to the insistent explosions, Wang Tong doubled down on his attack and summoned a tornado that wrapped tightly around the two deadly harbinger of deaths, binding them together.
The turmoil inside the tornado increased by ten folds, but the wind-cage held and didn’t give in. All mastery masters were shocked by the scene. They would have never imagined to combined two opposite natural forces together; they wouldn’t be able to pull it off even if they had thought of it. Michaux was also taken aback by Wang Tong’s technique. He reckoned that Wang Tong had used the wind element as a binding force to glue the fire and ice together, a truly precarious move.
Meanwhile in the sky, Patroclus’s Einherjar attack was ready to be unleashed. The space-time web had already crumbled into one singularity, resting on the tip of his lance.
“KOM!”
Carrying the cosmic energy, The Deva lace bore down on Wang Tong.
Wang Tong reacted quickly and removed the binding wind around the boiling concoction of death.
As the two energies collided, everyone was blinded by a bright flash. No one could hear or see anything, and the world seemed to have come to a halt.
After a while, a rumbling in the distance broke the silence. As the rumbling increased its intensity, it turned into a roar and then a moan. People started to feel the world tremble under their feet as if the arena would collapse at any second.
When the bright light finally faded, people watched in horror as they discovered that last attack had destroyed 12 out of the 14 layers of energy shields. The last two layers opened up at a dozen places and were barely holding on. The scene at the center of the stage was even more gruesome, as the entire stage had been pulverized.
In a plume of dust, people found Wang Tong and Patroclus, both standing. Wang Tong’s eyes were blood-shot while the Ivantian Prince was injured at a few places.
They were both smiling at each other!
“HAHAHA!”
The smiles turned into joyful laughter. This was the most satisfying battle they had ever fought, and they could finally understand the Blade Warrior and Rilangalos. The results of the match no longer mattered, and only the match itself would live forever.
After the laughter, Wang Tong rubbed the blood from the corner of his mouth and announced, “I’m getting bored. Let’s finish it!”
“Haha! Might as well!”
Even as the two fighters spoke, their lances hummed as if they were also communicating with one another. The arena maintenance crew had promptly restarted the energy shields, putting the facility back to service.
Wang Tong squeezed the lance and announced, “Charcoal, start!” He stomped the end of the lance on the ground as he charged up his soul energy. Patroclus was already hovering in the air, absorbing as much energy as he could.
Wang Tong clenched the lance as he harnessed the primal power from the inner core of the moon. This was the ultimate strike that had defeated Michaux.
Patroclus’s face contorted as he overloaded his system with energy; this would be his final blow!
Ma Xiaoru was terrified. She didn’t care about the outcome; she only wanted Wang Tong to be safe. But, however overwrought she was, she could not do anything. She felt like she was watching a slow train wreck.
“KOM!”
A golden dragon, ten times the size of the fire and ice drakes, charged out of the Einherjar Lance. Meanwhile, a silvery shield was formed around Patroclus.
Kaboom!
Patroclus blocked Wang Tong’s ultimate strike with ease. Patroclus didn’t give Wang Tong a second chance as he leveled his lance and charged at Wang Tong.
This was the moment of life and death; the suspense made many audiences cover their eyes.
However, Wang Tong had promised Ma Xiaoru that he would return safely as the winner. In a blink of an eye, the belligerent energy in Patroclus’s attack was absorbed by Wang Tong’s lance.
It was the power of the Soul Essence!
