Chapter 395: The Competition Begins (2/2)

These sorts of Adepts were unique to the North, remolded humans who were neither machine nor man. The Terminator was testament to what the method could produce – although just what he did to reach such lofty heights was a mystery.

1724 slowly lifted a meaty thumb between them, held horizontally. His orange eye glared at Lan Jue as the thumb waggled, and ultimately pointed down. 1724 smirked scornfully.

Lan Jue stood with his hands clasped behind his back. He didn’t move a muscle, and showed no reaction to his enemy’s taunts.

“Prepare to fight. Fifty-nine, fifty-eight, fifty-seven…”

“… five, four, three, two, one. Begin!”

The moment the electric buzzer sounded, 1724 was bounding across the arena. With a feral yell he leaped, and came crashing to earth with his alloy fist.

“Phboom—!“ A dramatic blast accompanied an invisible wall of force.

A seismic wave!

An important distinction of a remolded Adept was that their powers still came from their own core. Others who didn’t were simply cyborgs.

Even the space between them shivered as the concussive force swept across the arena. The surrounding shield rippled in protest.

This was quite the foe. He was as strong as he was unique. Lan Jue cursed his luck – no lazy start for him, it would appear.

But that didn’t mean he outlook was at all dire.

Lan Jue took a small step forward, and instantly a cloud of writhing lightning bolts appeared around him. The sea of disparate bolts linked together to form a protective net with Zeus in its center. As the seismic wave reached his shields they were scattered harmlessly.

“Hmph!” 1724 grunted in irritation. He launched from his crouched position, soaring through the air like a missile. He blazed a silver light and an ominous ‘wenggg’ sizzled through the air as a long whip snaked from the man’s arm. It lashed out toward Lan Jue’s face.

Vibration? Was this his Discipline? If so then it must be amplified by his machinery. The truth was something he’d likely never learn, since a Convert – as they called themselves – considered their construction their most important secret.

Lan Jue’s right arm shot out to block the humming whip. It entangled itself, then began to glow a smoky white. The net of electric energy dispersed like oil from water. With a fierce tug, 1724 pulled himself closer.

A red light flickered on his metallic shoulder, then a moment later it opened to reveal a small weapon. No sooner was the barrel revealed than a beam of energy thick as a man’s arm shot at Lan Jue.

The corner of Lan Jue’s eyes tightened. This one was crafty! He’d kept his methods secret until an opportune moment, and here it was. He looked like a hand-to-hand fighter, but the whip was a feint. He just needed an opportunity to blast Zeus close range with his laser. The real danger was coming right at his nose.

He couldn’t compete with the speed of light, there was no way he could effectively dodge the attack. The fraying net of lightning flared with power.

With an impotent puff his shields parted. The beam struck him at the right shoulder.

A shadow of anxiety crept in to Lan Jue’s heart. He’d grown so weak. Although his improvement with Qianlin was quick, he was still only ninth level, maybe the peak of first rank. It was still a bitter loss, to drop from seventh rank. Lan Jue suspected the Convert was the peak of eighth level, but certainly not ninth. Where he at his real strength, the piddling laser would never have penetrated his shield.

Seeing his attack hit the mark, 1724 began his charge again. He dropped his shoulder and a boquete of spikes half an inch log sprang out, set to impale his foe to the arena floor.

Lan Jue cursed his rotten luck.