258 Chapter 257: Struggle against the Stronges (1/2)
Boom!
The entire marsh was engulfed in a mix of crimson flames and azure blasts, billowing outward in a white colossal conflagration as the destructive energies mixed and struggled to nullify each other. The landscape was altered in that single instant.
Far away, Tong Xue paused for a moment – just a very slight second – and turned around. His eyes widened when he saw the enormous explosion burst out of the swamp that he had left behind. By now, there was considerable distance between him and the wasteland where I was dueling the Heavenly Venom King.
”?!”
For some reason, the explosion had halted in its tracks.
Tong Xue breathed a sigh of relief and turned to resume his run, slightly more relaxed than before. However, his brow creased in worry when he recalled that I had remained behind to stall for as much time as possible.
”Stay safe and survive, Fei Wu,” Tong Xue muttered, making the sign of the Aquila. ”The Emperor Protects.”
Meanwhile, back in the devastated wasteland, my consciousness returned and I found myself somehow still standing amidst the ruins.
”…I withstood the Fire Breaker?” I murmured in disbelief. That had been a last-ditch effort on my part, but I never thought I would have succeeded.
Woo…
The winds continued to howl eerily, sinking into the crater where Sha Chen calmly stood.
It wasn't just one crater. Now there were two colossal craters, one that was centered on Sha Chen, and another with me in the middle. Funnily enough, I realized that the crater I was in was deeper than the scorched but otherwise mild depression where Sha Chen currently resided on. Smoke continued to billow from the scorched earth, what little remained of mud drifting into the air as steam.
Taking a deep breath, I dashed across the earth, snatching up my Shadow Fox from the edge of the crater. Despite the tremendous clash of devastating qi, the black spirit sword remained intact and unscratched, a testament to Tang Qi Hong's skill as a blacksmith.
After seizing my Shadow Fox, I practically bounced off the ground and flung myself in Sha Chen's direction.
”Hmph!”
Sha Chen snorted as he rose to his full height, readying to meet my blow.
The both of us met in the edge of the crater he was in, me swinging both of my swords down with all my strength while Sha Chen evenly met my blows with his qi-clad palms. The moment we collided, the surroundings erupted in white flames of qi. The ground shrieked from the devastating impact that tore mercilessly into its already crumbling structure and more rocks and soil were being upended and scattered into the air.
I slashed at Sha Chen again, my blades slamming into his arms. The Heavenly Venom King had crossed his arms to block the lethal strike, and the dense amount of protective qi that wreathed his body flared brightly. The ground shattered under our feet, unable to withstand our devastating clash that shook heaven and earth.
Vroom!
White qi swirled into a whirlwind-like maelstrom that rampaged between us. Despite my youthful vigor, I was unable to force Sha Chen back even a step. The old monster calmly held his ground, effortlessly blocking my attack.
Then he suddenly slashed at me with his venomous claws, forcing me to retreat. As I stepped back to avoid getting cut by the ominously glowing fingers, I countered swiftly with a double swing of my swords. Sha Chen staggered back, escaping the lethal blades by a hair's breadth. He then reached out to slash my head, and despite me pulling it back, I could see his claws cut several strands of hair loose.
Ducking under his attack, I thrust my sword upward and toward his neck in an effort to decapitate him, but he easily dodged my Azure Lotus Sword. I then followed up with a swing from my Shadow Fox from what I hoped to be the opposite direction and therefore his blind spot, but the ancient martial artist had an immense wealth of experience to draw upon. Already anticipating my move, he ducked under my swords, and then gently deflected my Shadow Fox aside before I could eviscerate him.
He then swung his arm down in retaliation, almost catching me by surprise. Withdrawing Shadow Fox, I parried his attack, and the ground exploded underneath my feet as it groaned in protest against the tremendous weight Sha Chen just placed upon it.
However, I was far from done. While firmly standing my ground, I infused my Shadow Fox with qi and unleashed a Shadow Dragon Meteor Strike at pointblank range.
Boom!
The earth trembled yet again from another forceful fissure, its soft features torn apart for the umpteenth time.
Kaboom!
”Kuh!”
Despite being armed with two of the best weapons I ever had the honor of possessing, I was scarcely able to defend myself against Sha Chen's ruthless barrage of strikes. Slowly, I was being forced back, retreating shamefully as I struggled to hold out against Sha Chen's bombardment. Each of his strikes felt like a meteoric blow, unleashing apocalyptic damage that razed our surrondings and erased my footing.
Bam! Wham! Slam!
”!”
An unusually powerful strike smashed my swords aside and sent me hurtling backward. Despite digging my feet into the soft earth, I was unable to arrest my momentum. Reversing the grip of both my swords, I stabbed them into the damp dirt and forcibly brought myself to a halt. Even as I crouched, explosive qi continued to ring and rampage about me.
”Argh!”
I brought both swords up to defend myself, to no avail. Gritting my teeth, I unleashed a second Shadow Dragon Meteor Strike just as Sha Chen landed to deliver what he thought was the finishing blow. My black qi collided with his white qi, and the entire area vanished in yet another blinding conflagration.
”…ugh!”
Buffeted by the violent shockwaves, I swayed unsteadily on my feet, but gritted my teeth and steeled myself for the next wave. Even though I was nearing my limit, Sha Chen didn't seem to have broken a single sweat.
”Huff…”
This time, I found myself in a smoldering crater that were several dozen meters across, and almost shaped like a leaf. Or a kaiju's footprint. The earth had blackened from the incendiary effects of our volatile qi, resembling almost a crater from a recent volcanic eruption.
”!”
Sha Chen was streaking toward me like a bullet. Not confident that I could take another of his blows head-on, I used a footwork technique to escape. Kicking the ground, I bounded upward and simply disappeared from sight.
Unfortunately, Sha Chen was far too seasoned a veteran to fall for that.
He immediately changed trajectory, adjusting his speed and movements to shift toward my direction. Before I could land with Tui, he was already crashing in my direction. He lashed out before my feet hit the ground, and the ground exploded once again as it crumbled underneath my feet. I jumped away desperately before I could be swallowed by a sinkhole.
Damn it…
I wished I could use Heaven and Earth Strike freely. I had been trying the whole time to recapture the feeling, the moment where I saw two clouds of qi colliding with each other and creating that spark for me to slash at, but up till now…nothing.
Without Heaven and Earth Strike, I stood absolutely no chance of surviving against an extremely powerful Sha Chen.
The Dark Sage was pursuing me relentlessly, smashing craters into the ground with each strike. I was barely able to dodge each one, pushing my footwork to the limits and desperately hopping from point to point with my opponent hot on my heels.
Bam! Wham!
What was left of the Toxic Marshes couldn't be called a swamp. The trees had been decimated, the muddy waters had been vaporized, and all that was left was a wet but barren wasteland. Even so, Sha Chen's thirst for destruction remained far from satiated.
Boom!
Bloody hell…in under the last minute, Sha Chen's clash with me had left at least six distinct craters in the once vast Toxic Marshes. On the bright side, right in the open, I saw no sign of Tong Xue. I prayed that he had succeeded in getting away.
Given Sha Chen's speed, however, I wasn't taking anything for granted. I was determined to survive as long as possible, to delay him as much as possible, until Tong Xue reached Duchun Town. Once Tong Xue reached the relative safety of Duchun Town, even the Dark Sage would not carelessly assault the town, for there was an entire battalion of Imperial Guardsmen garrisoned there. Even the Heavenly Venom King could not prevail against such large numbers of professional soldiers. That was the sole reason why he didn't finish off Song Ting Yu.
I was betting everything on that.
Wham!
Blocking another strike from Sha Chen with my dual swords, I staggered back, and retaliated with a riposte that almost cut his cheek. The Dark Sage merely cocked his head to the side and slammed his elbow into my wrist. I recoiled from the pain, but was thankful that Sha Chen's blow did not break the bone in my hand.
It would be disastrious otherwise.
Sha Chen then swooped underneath me to deliver a double palm strike, but I parried that with the hilts of both my swords, smacking his fingers away. Even so, Sha Chen was able to push me back with a kick that sent me skidding backward, out of breath.
”Gah…!”
Breathing heavily, I unleashed another Shadow Dragon Meteor Strike at pointblank range, but Sha Chen casually slapped it away, his hands dispersing the destructive black qi. He then cocked his arm back, clenched his fingers into a fist and sent a devastating punch in my direction.
I blocked his fist with Shadow Fox's blade, and almost had my Spirit Sword torn out of my grasp. Again, the blow was causing my arms to go numb, shuddering from the violent impacts. Sha Chen then spun around and struck me with a Venom Claw, and even though I parried this deadly strike with Azure Lotus Sword, the strength behind the blow lifted me from the ground and sent me hurtling through the air.
Despite being helplessly blown back, I was able to correct my posture and kicked off from a clod of dirt suspended in midair and executed a footwork technique. My figure blurred and disappeared just as Sha Chen's claws tore through it, and I reappeared several meters behind him.
Landing unsteadily on the ground, I immediately followed up with a Heavenly Draconic Meteor Strike that washed over the still-turning Sha Chen, but he batted the tidal wave of azure qi aside, as if it was no more than an irritance.
Fuck! If I was able to use Heaven and Earth Strike freely, I would have ended the match there and then! Wasted opportunity.
”…”
Similarly frustrated, Sha Chen glowered at me, puzzlement etched onto his aged, lined face.
”How is this greenhorn brat putting a fight against me?” he murmured, puzzled and impressed. ”Even with my strength and vast experience, he's nearly going toe-to-toe with me. How has he survived every one of my attacks thus far?”
Shaking his head, he dove at me once again, both his hands curling into lethal Venom Claws. Instinctively understanding that I would be unable to dodge, I stood my ground and squarely met him head-on, swinging both my swords. My glowing blades collided with his deadly Venom Claws before exploding forcefully.
BOOM!
The both of us sprang apart in a shower of sparks and a colossal explosion of qi that swirled around violently like a hurricane, razing more of the battered landscape.
Skidding to a stop, Sha Chen grounded his feet into the ground. He dispersed the poisonous qi that saturated his fingers, and instead replaced them with a more powerful crimson qi. Swinging them down, he dropped into an intimidating stance.
”Mass Incendiary Blast!” he growled.
Crimson qi blasted around him before transforming into a gargantuan powerful fireball that resembled the sun.
In response to that, I held my ground and faced him squarely. Dropping Shadow Fox, I gripped my Azure Lotus Sword with both hands and infused with as much qi as possible before unleashing a Heaven and Earth Yuan Yin Frost Strike.
Fire against ice.
The massive fireball collided against the azure, frozen wave of frost.
Wham!