Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!—
Lightning, flames, storms, and freezing snow poured down like rain, striking the building in succession and instantly blowing it to pieces.
The upper half of the building, severed under the repeated bombardment, began to tilt and slowly fall from the heights, crashing into the ground with a thunderous roar that sent thick clouds of dust billowing into the air.
As the perpetrator of this destruction, Leon suddenly retreated violently after releasing the strike.
Weng!
A spear radiating an intense holy aura suddenly pierced through the phenomena of lightning, fire, wind, and snow. Carrying a sharp sonic boom, it blew aside the smoke and dust, extending its length as it lunged toward Leon. Leon evaded it by the narrowest of margins.
Flapping the ten demon wings on his back, Leon moved like a ghost, his form a blur as he circled the shaft of the extending Holy Spear. Simultaneously, he flicked out several bolts of lightning, thinning them until they were finer than thread. Like fleeting glints of thunder, they pierced toward the center of the elemental chaos.
Cao Cao appeared there, leaping high from a pile of rubble. Even as he dodged the incoming lightning rays, he retracted the extending Holy Spear and ascended into mid-air.
"You've certainly got nerve," Leon couldn't help but admire his opponent.
Unlike himself, Cao Cao was ultimately a human who could not fly. Engaging in aerial combat against Leon would normally only put him at a disadvantage. Yet, by relying on leaps, lunges, and utilizing various objects in the environment to facilitate high-altitude movement, Cao Cao had managed to withstand Leon's fierce assault and hold out until now.
This style of fighting—calculating even the surrounding environment into the strategy—was something Leon lacked.
One could only say that Cao Cao was truly a super-technical warrior. He understood deeply that as a human, he could never be physically stronger than other races. Therefore, he had honed this pure technique-based combat style to ensure that "defeating the strong with the weak" was no longer just an empty phrase.
"Likewise," Cao Cao said as he landed on the edge of a rooftop of a nearby building. Looking at Leon hovering in the air, he spoke with apparent admiration: "I thought that after our last battle, you wouldn't dare to casually close the distance with the Holy Spear again."
"Who would have thought you could overcome that fear? Even with the shaft of the Holy Spear right next to you, you dare to press in close."
"Aren't you afraid of being purified by the holy power of the True Longinus?"
Cao Cao's statement was less of a question and more of a probe. This clever commander had likely already sensed that Leon might have overcome the weaknesses of a demon and no longer feared the Holy Spear.
"If I said I was afraid, would you retreat obediently?" Leon answered with a question of his own. His half-smiling expression was quite unsettling.
"Of course not," Cao Cao narrowed his eyes, staring at Leon. "Your growth rate is too fast. Last time, I felt I could handle you with ease, but this time I've been pushed to the brink repeatedly. I don't dare let you grow any further."
"I have a feeling that if I can't defeat you today, I probably never will."
"If I want to eliminate you as a threat, today is my only chance."
Cao Cao raised the Holy Spear, letting the tip open.
"You are too terrifying, Leon Eligos. For the sake of our long-cherished wish, please perish here."
As the words fell, an intense holy flame ignited within the tip of the Holy Spear. The holy flames condensed into blades of light, flying out one by one from the open tip and shooting toward Leon.
Leon's figure immediately transformed into a mass of flames, flickering like a heat haze. Like a mirage, even when pierced by the blades of light, he remained unaffected, as if he possessed no physical substance.
"Is it this move again?" Cao Cao clicked his tongue.
He had seen this move several times now. Sometimes Leon transformed into lightning, sometimes into a gale, sometimes into flying snow, and sometimes into fire. Throughout the battle, Leon had demonstrated this ability more than once, turning himself into natural phenomena like earth, water, wind, fire, lightning, or ice. Even when Cao Cao slammed an attack laden with holy power into him, it failed to cause any damage. It was incredibly unfair.
This was, naturally, the new technique Leon had developed—"Hope of Nature."
Boom!
Leon, transformed into a heat haze, lunged at Cao Cao like real fire. He exploded at the moment Cao Cao jumped away, destroying the rooftop of the building. Immediately after, Leon's figure emerged from the explosive flames, rapidly catching up to the leaping Cao Cao.
Leon gripped an ice spear in his hand and hurled it fiercely at Cao Cao. The sonic boom pierced Cao Cao's eardrums and his skin.
Puchi!
Cao Cao felt a sharp pain in his shoulder. The ice spear grazed him, leaving a wound before flying past into the distance. Cao Cao endured the pain and engaged in a fierce melee with Leon, who had conjured another ice spear.
Qiang! Qiang! Qiang! Qiang!—
The sounds of the Holy Spear and the ice spear clashing rang out incessantly. Leon and Cao Cao's figures streaked across the sky like two meteors, one advancing and the other retreating, as the battle reached a fever pitch.
Reasonably speaking, Leon shouldn't be a match for a super-technical warrior like Cao Cao in close-quarters combat. Yet, Leon dared to press in, naturally because he had something to rely on.
His reliance was the "Hope of Nature" technique. Whenever Cao Cao's Holy Spear lunged through him, he would transform into fire or lightning to dodge, completely ignoring the holy flames on the spear. He would then hurl an ice spear at Cao Cao's vitals, looking for all the world as if he intended to disembowel him.
Cao Cao realized that Leon was adopting a close-combat style—which he wasn't traditionally best at—specifically to lock down the Holy Spear's extension ability. The tip of the Holy Spear was too sharp; even ignoring the holy power, its sharpness could easily pierce a mountain. Coupled with the ability to extend and retract freely, distance became meaningless. Even if Leon no longer feared the spear's holy attributes, being stabbed would still lead to a disastrous end.
Furthermore, once distance was opened, Leon's released attacks would give the sharp-eyed Cao Cao time and opportunity to react and counter easily. Therefore, Leon chose to fight up close to make the Spear's extension irrelevant, while making his own attacks more threatening by shortening Cao Cao's reaction time.
Since the "Hope of Nature" technique significantly reduced the possibility of being injured at close range, why not try it? Thus, Cao Cao found himself entangled by Leon, forced into a restricted close-quarters battle.
However, even after smashing through several buildings and having his body pierced a few times by Leon's ice spears, Cao Cao remained calm.
Shua shua shua—!
He brandished the Holy Spear, letting the sharp blade slice through the air, hacking at Leon's body from all directions multiple times. Yet every time, he only managed to strike sparks of fire or flashes of lightning from Leon, unable to inflict any real damage.
Boom!
Cao Cao also attempted to trigger the holy power, causing an explosion of holy flames, but in the end, it was he who was blown back. Leon dispersed like flying sand, easily bypassing the blast of light.
"You're unexpectedly troublesome..."
Cao Cao tried to extend the Holy Spear, only for Leon to reappear before him. A fierce gale erupted around Leon, blowing Cao Cao high into the sky. In the next second, countless giant rocks rose from the ground, shooting toward the airborne Cao Cao in a sky-covering barrage. Cao Cao raised the Holy Spear high, igniting the holy flames and sweeping them aside, shattering them all.
Hua!
At that moment, it began to rain. Leon had never relinquished control over the weather, keeping the heavy black clouds sitting high in the sky. Now, a torrential downpour suddenly erupted, causing Cao Cao to curse inwardly.
As expected, the rain quickly formed a flood that swallowed Cao Cao and washed him toward the ground.
Rumble—
The ground was struck by the impact of the flood, trembling as it turned into a vast ocean. Surrounding buildings were either submerged or swept away, as if hit by a tsunami. Cao Cao struggled in the water, swimming toward the nearest building. He soon broke through the surface with difficulty, collapsing on the rooftop and gasping for air.
"Honestly, what kind of demon is this? He's basically a God of Natural Disasters..." Cao Cao gave another bitter smile.
He truly hadn't expected this battle to be so arduous. The ease he felt last time was completely gone, and all the information he had painstakingly gathered seemed obsolete and useless.
Shua!
Leon's figure swept in like the wind, appearing above and looking down at the reclining Cao Cao.
"Are you going to give up?" Leon said with a smile.
Cao Cao didn't answer. He simply stood up slowly, shouldering the Holy Spear and tapping his shoulder.
"It's too early to talk about giving up." Cao Cao looked up at Leon in the sky, his fighting spirit undiminished. "I haven't even shown you the true power of this spear yet."
Leon's eyes flickered slightly. The current situation was the exact opposite of their last encounter, yet the stakes were the same.
"Last time someone interrupted; it seems that won't happen this time." Leon smiled as well.
"Correct!" Cao Cao shouted loudly. "Open your eyes wide and see for yourself—the power of this spear!"
A dazzling flash began to appear on the Holy Spear held high in Cao Cao's hand.
"—Balance Breaker!"
As the words of power rang out, the Balance Breaker that Cao Cao had failed to activate last time was finally successfully triggered. And unlike Vali's grand, earth-shaking Balance Breaker, Cao Cao's was extremely quiet. Aside from the Holy Spear radiating a dazzling light, no other phenomena appeared.
There were no soaring flames or brilliant magic. Behind Cao Cao's back, a halo radiating holy light emerged, and seven black spheres the size of bowling balls slowly manifested along with it.
"This is the Balance Breaker of my 'True Longinus'—'Polar Night Longinus Cakravartin'!"
Cao Cao took a step forward, and the seven spheres surrounding him moved accordingly.
"Can you withstand it? The power of these seven treasures!"
Hearing this, Leon's expression turned solemn. Familiar with the original story, he naturally knew what Cao Cao's Balance Breaker was.
The "Polar Night Longinus Cakravartin" was unlike his or Vali's Balance Breakers; it didn't provide an explosive boost to the user's raw power upon activation. Instead, it possessed abilities called the "Seven Treasures."
The "Seven Treasures" referred to the seven orbs surrounding Cao Cao. Each of those seven orbs possessed a unique special ability. Yes, Cao Cao's Balance Breaker possessed a total of seven distinct abilities.
"Hatthiratana (Elephant Treasure)!"
Cao Cao manipulated one of the orbs to fly beneath his feet, and for the first time, he took flight. Hatthiratana (Elephant Treasure)'s ability was flight—it could allow the user and others to fly.
"Let's have another aerial battle, Master Eligos."
Cao Cao flew into the sky at extreme speed. Compared to when he could only move by leaping, he was completely different.
Boom!
Leon did not hesitate. With a wave of his hand, he released a bolt of lightning, striking down from the dark sky directly at the ascending Cao Cao.
"Maniratana (Pearl Treasure)!"
Cao Cao didn't dodge this time. He manipulated another orb to fly above his head, turning it into a vortex. The lightning from the sky struck the vortex and was swallowed directly by it. Then, behind Leon, an identical vortex appeared.
Boom!
The lightning struck out from the vortex, hitting Leon and sending him flying.
"Absorbing the enemy's attack and releasing it from any direction?!" Leon's demon wings flapped as he struggled to stabilize himself, though he couldn't prevent his body from smoking as if he were being roasted.
"Correct."
Cao Cao's voice came from behind Leon.
Puchi!
The tip of the Holy Spear pierced Leon's chest, erupting from the front.
"Hmm?"
Cao Cao, who had appeared behind Leon at some unknown moment, frowned. He swung the Holy Spear, shattering the Leon in front of him. The shattered Leon turned into countless blocks of ice that dispersed before Cao Cao.
"Is it that move again?" Cao Cao murmured, letting the scattered ice gather and reform into Leon's likeness.
"That was teleportation just now, wasn't it?" Leon reappeared unharmed and asked calmly.
"Assaratana (Horse Treasure). Its ability is to teleport any target." Cao Cao didn't hide it—or perhaps, feeling that Leon had already seen through it, he openly disclosed it.
"It's a pity Itthiratana (Female Treasure) is ineffective against you, otherwise I could try to seal that move of yours."
Itthiratana (Female Treasure)'s ability targeted females with supernatural powers, completely sealing their strength for a set period. It would prioritize the most powerful individual on the field, could affect up to three targets, and could not be evaded. If Itthiratana (Female Treasure) worked on Leon, then forget "Hope of Nature"—even the powers of "Zenith Tempest" might be sealed.
A similar situation existed with Cakkaratana (Wheel Treasure), which prioritized destroying the strongest weapon on the field. Unfortunately, Leon didn't use a weapon, so this ability was ineffective against him. However, Cakkaratana (Wheel Treasure) could also transform into a spear shape to attack the target, so it wasn't entirely useless.
"Next is—Parinayakaratana (General Treasure)!"
One of the orbs behind Cao Cao flew out and split apart.
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