After entering the second phase, Aemdo's combat strength surged rapidly, and he began clashing head-on with Nero.
When Aemdo's health dropped to 30%, the ultimate ability that had always been locked during previous Nero trial runs finally lit up, and a prompt appeared on the screen.
"Nero's ultimate is fully charged. Tap to release 'Panshing Exhausts All, Heaven-Pouring One Slash' to finish Burning Star Omen, Falcorez."
Siberian Duck immediately tapped it.
After activating the ultimate, it entered a preparation stance.
Nero, who had been sitting sideways on Black Cutter, jumped down from the sword, then grabbed it in a reverse grip. The blade of Black Cutter was embedded into the ground.
Within the cracks on Nero's body, a faint purple starry sky slowly flowed, emitting light, while pale cyan whirlwinds circled around him, making the boy's white hair flutter and his clothes ripple.
Looking at him like this, Nero gave off a sense of overwhelming boldness. Even though his build was small, his weapon was heavy and massive, and his presence was imposing.
Instead of looking comical or cute, he carried the aura of standing alone against thousands, impossible to pass.
After selecting Aemdo as the target, Siberian Duck chose to release it, and the animation for Nero's ultimate began.
The boy gripped the sword in reverse and swung it upward. A wave-like sword energy shattered the ground and shot forward, instantly piercing through Aemdo.
At the moment his body was penetrated, accompanied by an impact frame, the screen turned into a black-and-white ink-wash style, with drops of ink splashing down, as if painting scattered blood.
This strike surged like a raging tide, fast as thunder.
Immediately after, Nero slashed again from midair. The camera pulled into a wide overhead view, and the sword energy crashed down in a straight line.
Aemdo, the earth, and the stretching mountain ranges were all beneath this strike.
Just like before, the moment the sword energy split the mountains and land in two, it entered an impact frame, turning into an ink painting with expressive blank space.
This strike shattered mountains and split the earth, severing rivers and seas.
Then Nero unleashed the third strike. This time, the perspective had shifted into the vastness of outer space. With another impact frame, a planet was instantly split into two.
This strike cleaved the mortal world, dividing the stars.
The fourth strike was the final one. After it fell, the perspective stretched and twisted rapidly.
Countless stars and galaxies gathered together, forming a brilliant band of light in the pitch-black void where no other stars could be seen, until a sword light that swept across all emptiness cut through and covered it.
And so, within the boundless darkness, silence, and ashes, the deep space before the eyes was left with only this single, blindingly bright line of sword light.
This strike would bring all things to collapse, its sharpness reaching the absolute extreme.
Four strikes in total instantly emptied Aemdo's health bar.
Nero's ultimate carried out four attacks, dealing wind damage equal to 100%, 125%, 150%, and 175% of his attack to all enemies respectively, with the last three counting as separate follow-up attacks.
"Ahhh!!! Isn't Nero's ultimate animation insanely cool? The style is maxed out, and it maxed out my graphics card too!"
Siberian Duck let out an excited "duck scream." "Guys, I really love this. MiHoYo, I strongly demand that Nero's playable version keeps this!"
[Nero's Sword: Seriously awesome!]
[Ugly Enough to Get Scolded at Home: Honestly it's okay. When I played this part on my phone, I thought it was going to explode, but somehow it survived.]
[I'm Really Not a Leaker: Thank that mysterious insider at MiHoYo! Who knows how much effort they put in so your phones wouldn't get fried.]
[Glue Man: Isn't that the rumor guy? Back again showing off? That "insider" isn't you, is it? Every time you talk it sounds like you're bragging about your achievements.]
[I'm Really Not a Leaker: Pfft! What a joke. If I had that kind of ability, would I still be here watching streams? I just have some insider tidbits.]
[So Handsome I Get Beaten Outside: Pfft! What a joke. What does watching streams have to do with having ability? Does being capable mean you can't watch streams?]
[Nero's Sword: Guys, how did I perform?]
[Rivers and Seas: My take is, when one person ascends, even the chickens and dogs benefit.]
[Nero's Black Cutter: What does that mean?]
[Aha's Emanator: It means the one who's strong is Nero. What does that have to do with you, Black Cutter?]
Siberian Duck glanced at the chat, then refocused all her attention back on the game.
———
Even after transforming into the Burning Star Omen, Aemdo still couldn't win the duel against Nero. He was sent flying again by Black Cutter, and even the flames on his body dimmed somewhat.
After being knocked down again and again, Aemdo finally realized something, this boy in front of him, Nero, possessed a strength that was overwhelming to everyone else.
If he relied only on his own power, then no matter what, the outcome of this duel was already decided. All his efforts were in vain. He would never be able to reclaim the fragment of the divine body.
His appearance was close to that of Him, simply seeing it brought joy. His power was also close to that of Him, making him feel like a mortal facing a god.
Meanwhile, after Aemdo was forced back by Nero, Huanlong, who was connected to him, was also affected.
The raging flames burning on her body suddenly faded, and she could clearly feel that the power augmenting her and Aemdo's control over her had completely disappeared.
But she clearly couldn't unleash her full strength anymore. After all, before Aemdo took control of her, she had already been defeated and thoroughly battered by Nero.
Now that Aemdo's influence had suddenly vanished, even if Huanlong were stupid, she would know that Aemdo must have been dealt with by that white-haired brat too.
On top of that, the flames disappearing happened so suddenly. In short, under all these circumstances, Huanlong had no chance to counterattack according to her own will.
She was first suppressed by a black hole, then smashed away by a blue dragon carrying massive waves, and finally pierced through from behind by the Divine General.
Huanlong took a full combo miserably, then exited the stage obediently.
At this moment, the frustration in Huanlong's heart surged wildly. She had clearly planned everything from the start, so how did it end up like this? Not only did she fail, but she seemed to be the one who suffered the most.
Meanwhile, Aemdo, standing once again before Nero, got back up. In an extremely sincere tone, he said to Nero, "In terms of skill and personal strength, I am inferior to you."
"At this point, in order to achieve my goal and successfully reclaim the fragment, I still have one final trump card left."
"If even this strike cannot defeat you, then I will have completely lost this duel. At that time, Aemdo will leave himself at your disposal."
Nero narrowed his eyes slightly.
At first, he had thought Aemdo was quite polite.
But as the battle dragged on and he continued fighting at full strength, the pain throughout Nero's body kept building up. Right now, all he could think was, 'Why does this guy talk so much?'