272 A Melee II (1/2)

Chen Mu raised his right hand with no hesitation, and a strange whistling suddenly filled the crowd's eardrums. A faint, pale blue shadow cut through the sky, shooting toward someone's figure in the crowd.

Hugo's face shifted. He was in the middle of preparing to emit the powerful Aurora Beam with all his might. He hadn't thought his adversary would be able to react so quickly! Moreover, the timing was just right; unless he could dodge it, the blow would be inevitable.

What he was using would create the most powerful blow he knew of—the Aurora Beam Tubular Cannon. It had massive power, but it required that he deploy all of his perception to emit it. There would be no way to erect an energy cloak to protect himself.

Still, Hugo didn't intend to stop his firing of the Aurora Beam Tubular Canon.

The two card artisans beside Hugo immediately reacted at the same time. They simultaneously emitted wavy blades and energy shuttles, hoping to intercept their adversary's shot. Right when they erected their energy cloaks, one of them stepped to the side to block Hugo.

Those two card artisans had been with Hugo for many years and had rich experience. They had a tacit ability to complement one another, and their series of adaptations was impeccable.

Their expressions deepened but showed no panic.

The faint, light blue shadow was as fast as lightning—basically too fast to react to. But, for a card artisan, that tiny bit of time could still allow them to make some response.

The shadow was visibly about to collide with two other faint shadows, one red and one white. The two card artisans looked pleased. Although the faint shadow had shocking speed, it would be no problem to intercept it given their ability. In the organization's assessment, their accuracy was the absolute best.

Hugo was obviously aggressive to the bone. Most people would bring defensive-style card artisans with them, but the two with Hugo were both classically offensive card artisans. The tactic of using offense as defense was something they had perfected.

They had blocked such a blow hundreds of times, no matter how it was counted. The energy bodies they shot off would be sufficient to annihilate their adversary's energy body.

Suddenly, their expressions both shifted. The blue shadow's speed was actually increasing!

For the speed to break upward allowed it to perilously avoid all of the energy bodies the two of them had shot off. Their hearts plummeted, and a look of panic floated helplessly over their faces. Given so little time, the slightest mistake would be fatal. They couldn't react that time and could only stare as the faint shadow slammed into the card artisan's energy cloak in front of Hugo.

Ping! There was the crisp sound of glass being shattered.

The other card artisan looked on in panic at his comrade making such a splendid scene in front of him.

That faint, light blue shadow was like a sharp arrow flying from outer space. It plunged headlong into the yellow energy cloak! The energy cloak couldn't sustain such a huge blow; it turned into a shower of yellow starburst rain in an instant, enshrouding Hugo and the card artisan by his side.

A gush of blood was shooting out from the smoky fog of yellow, glowing rain. The card artisan in front of Hugo covered his throat as fresh blood gushed out from between his fingers. His throat gurgled as he tried to say something, but he couldn't get it out. His protruding eyes expressed a panicked hopelessness.

Behind him, Hugo's left arm was gushing blood in the same way. The penetrating power of their adversary's energy body was shockingly powerful. Hugo's hand shook, and the white starburst concentrated there scattered into the void like a school of fish.

Hugo's mask looked demonic inside the shower of yellow shreds. He had an icy expression as his right hand supported the slowly collapsing comrade in front of him. He raised his head and turned his gaze to where Chen Mu was, completely ignoring the blood gushing from the wound on his left arm. Then, with no hesitation, he disappeared into the crowd with the other card artisan.

* * *

Bogner was dumbfounded. Jiao Si was dumbfounded. All of the card artisans were dumbfounded.

”Was that just... Did you just emit that?” the always-sharp Bogner asked hesitantly. Jiao Si was also looking at Chen Mu full of astonishment. The gazes of the other card artisans toward Chen Mu were full of admiration.

To tell the truth, that blow had certainly been gorgeous. From Chen Mu lifting his head to shooting from his hand went as fast as lightning. In one go, he showed how solid his training was. Those card artisans had brilliant discernment, and they had clearly seen that the blow had been five in one.

To shoot off five energy shuttles within three-tenths of a second was equivalent to firing off at least 15 energy shuttles within a second. That kind of firing frequency was high enough to be terrifying!

Then, there was the strange urgency of the light blue energy shuttle to keep increasing its speed after leaving his hand. If it weren't for that characteristic of the tailless shuttle, those two high-grade card artisans of his adversary would never have been so easily hit.

Because of his perceptual strength and acuity both having increased so much at the same time, the tailless shuttle's power had metamorphosed in Chen Mu's hands. Compared to the previous damage of over 700, it had now reached about 1,200. Who knew how much faster its firing frequency was?