"Hmph! I dare to stand here with you because I naturally have a plan. You didn't think I'd be so foolish as to start a fight without being prepared, did you?" Illustrious said coldly.
Illustrious snapped the fingers of her right hand, and a barrier with a radius of a thousand meters enveloped both Illustrious and Taihou.
Gazing at this four-star legendary barrier and sensing her own power drop to the level of a Five-Star Epic Ship Girl, Taihou didn't care. Instead, she became even more contemptuous. "Is this the reason you dare to face me without fear?"
"This barrier is a Downgrade Barrier. Within this barrier, your Four-Star Legendary strength will be reduced to the level of a Five-Star Epic Ship Girl. There are only two ways for those inside to deactivate the barrier and leave," Illustrious said unhurriedly. "The first is for the caster to deactivate it voluntarily; the second is to kill the caster."
"Which means I can leave very soon. However, the core of such a barrier requires a Golden Azure Core to be set up. I didn't expect you to have such a treasure. If you give it to me, I might actually spare your life," Taihou said with a hint of regret.
"Spare my life? That's hilarious. Even if I gave you the Golden Azure Core, you wouldn't let me go, would you?" Illustrious said dismissively.
"Correct. Even if you gave me the Golden Azure Core, I would still kill you," Taihou said, her voice full of killing intent.
"You keep saying you'll kill me, but I don't think you can do it. Now that we have equal strength, please stop talking big. It's not yet clear who will kill whom." Illustrious shook her head gently.
Taihou remained very calm; she felt her victory was certain. "How funny. You don't really think being at the same level makes you my equal, do you? That only makes me look down on you more. A true powerhouse doesn't rely on strength alone; they also need rich combat experience. And how could a Ship Girl with the aura of only a sixteen-year-old have more combat experience than me?"
"Combat experience isn't determined by how long someone has been fighting, but by life-and-death duels. Only by experiencing death-defying combat can a person truly achieve a breakthrough," Illustrious pointed out Taihou's error.
"Are you trying to say you've experienced more life-and-death duels than me?" Taihou retorted immediately upon hearing Illustrious's answer. "I am much older than you; you will never have more life-and-death duels than I have."
"May I ask how old you are then?" Illustrious pressed.
"I am already... wait, why should I tell you? Hmph! Since you claim your combat experience is so strong, I'll have to test it properly. If you can't even take one hit from me, then I can only say you're a piece of trash who's all talk." Taihou began to release her powerful aura, which was so strong it startled Illustrious.
To avoid being harmed by this aura, she immediately erupted with her own aura to resist Taihou's overwhelming pressure.
The auras of the two were like colliding meteorites, splashing up waves of Ship Qi aftershocks that left the entire sea surface turbulent.
"Swoosh!"
Illustrious, holding the silver sword, flashed to Taihou's side. The silver sword in her hand swept out with extreme naturalness, aiming a horizontal slash at the motionless Taihou, intending to cut her in two.
This strike was incredibly powerful; the air beneath the blade was rapidly displaced, and a low sonic boom echoed like an underground explosion, dull and eerie.
Facing such a terrifying strike, Taihou didn't show the slightest panic. It was only when the silver sword was a mere foot away from her that she finally took action.
With a wave of Taihou's right hand, a red circular light screen appeared in mid-air. The screen rippled, and a Red Spear Chain began to emerge from within. The spear tip emitted a red glow, and with a flash, the Red Spear Chain shot violently toward Illustrious.
Seeing the appearance of the Red Spear Chain, Illustrious realized that if she continued her slash at Taihou, she would certainly be pierced. Naturally unwilling to trade injury for injury, she abandoned her attack on Taihou and moved to knock away the Red Spear Chain.
"Bang!"
However, Illustrious hadn't expected the Red Spear Chain to contain such immense power. The massive force sent her flying backward.
As she was being thrown back, Illustrious immediately circulated the Silver Prayer Qi within her body at the ten-meter mark, forcibly halting her flight.
Looking ahead at Taihou, she discovered that there were now over a dozen red circular light screens around her, with Red Spear Chains emerging from each. With a wave of Taihou's right hand, the dozen or so Red Spear Chains shot violently toward Illustrious.
These Red Spear Chains were extremely fast, causing the space to vibrate wherever they passed. Their relentless momentum seemed capable of piercing through a mountain.
As the Red Spear Chains attacked like lightning, Illustrious's expression remained calm. She brandished her silver sword, knocking the Red Spear Chains off their trajectories so they couldn't harm her.
Stepping onto the void, a low sonic boom suddenly erupted from the surroundings. Illustrious, holding the silver sword, flashed in front of Taihou and slashed down fiercely.
The sword cut through the void, and a sword hum suddenly rang out in mid-air. The silver sword transformed into silver lightning, the powerful strike generating countless gusts of wind.
These gusts blew Taihou's soft black hair, making it flutter continuously in the air. Her red evening dress clung tightly to her body, outlining her graceful and curvaceous figure.
Despite such a fierce downward slash, Taihou's face showed no sign of fear. She raised her hands and, just as the silver sword was about to strike her head, she clamped down on the lightning-fast blade.
After her full-strength strike was caught barehanded by Taihou, Illustrious tried to push the blade down but couldn't move it an inch. Sensing that Taihou's strength was immense, Illustrious immediately shifted her offensive. She raised her right leg, and as countless Silver Prayer Qi condensed, she delivered a fierce horizontal kick toward Taihou's body.
Faced with the rapidly approaching kick, Taihou had no choice but to release the silver sword. Circulating the Ship Qi within her body, she quickly escaped Illustrious's attack range.
Missing the kick and left in a brief moment of stiffness, Illustrious gave Taihou an opening. Over thirty Red Spear Chains immediately shot violently toward her.
Confronted by these thirty-plus Red Spear Chains, Illustrious began to erupt with Silver Prayer Qi. The flame-like Prayer Qi continuously enveloped her body as she gripped the silver sword with both hands. In the blink of an eye, a fifteen-meter-long light sword suddenly formed.
As soon as the light sword was formed, the surrounding space began to warp continuously. The terrifying power instantly cleared the air around it, and an aura of destruction spread outward.
"Great Illustrious Sword!"
With a cold shout that echoed through the sky, Illustrious swung the fifteen-meter light sword toward the thirty-plus Red Spear Chains.
The tip of the light sword transformed into a three-zhang wide beam of light, shooting violently toward the Red Spear Chains.
The power of the light beam was immense, accompanied by a series of sonic booms. The beam looked like a ray of judgment, appearing exceptionally beautiful against the azure sky.
Under the watchful eyes of Illustrious and Taihou, the light beam and the thirty-plus Red Spear Chains collided with a boom. A deafening sound rang out in mid-air, and an energy shockwave that caused the space to ripple surged out, finally spreading in all directions.
Countless powerful energy shockwaves continuously struck the sea, leaving the surface churning and turbulent.
After a moment, Illustrious and Taihou remained suspended in mid-air. After Taihou dispelled the last energy shockwave, she spoke with a look of disdain, "Is this your full strength? If so, then I can only say you're dead for sure."
"Don't be in such a hurry, Senior. That was just a test, merely a warm-up. The real show starts now," Illustrious said unhurriedly.
"You say that was just a test, a warm-up? Hahaha! Interesting woman, you've successfully caught my attention. In that case, let me show you a mere tip of the iceberg of my true strength!" Taihou laughed with great amusement.
She grasped at the void, and a blood-red spear appeared in Taihou's hand. "This is my weapon, the Blood-Sucking Spear. The fact that I've brought it out means you're worthy of me taking this seriously."
"Then it truly is my honor!" Illustrious chuckled.
"You can only stay that calm for now!" Looking at Illustrious nearby, Taihou shot toward her.
Seeing Taihou's violent approach, Illustrious gripped her silver sword and also charged like lightning. The two collided with a boom like two meteors. After one clash, the sword and spear separated, only to collide once again.
In the azure sky, the sword and spear continuously clashed, producing intense sparks with every hit. Energy shockwaves surged out from the points of impact.
This area of space fluctuated violently due to the power of their battle. The waves rolled incessantly, black clouds gathered in the sky, countless bolts of lightning began to surge, and fierce winds blew non-stop.
After backing away from a clash with Taihou, Illustrious's right hand continuously unleashed over a dozen sword qi waves. These murderous waves swept toward Taihou.
Taihou didn't take these sword qi waves seriously. She shattered them with her Blood-Sucking Spear while charging toward Illustrious.
After cutting through everything in her path, Taihou flashed to Illustrious's side, raising the Blood-Sucking Spear and thrusting it toward Illustrious's chest.
The thrust pierced straight through Illustrious's body, but no blood splattered out. This was because Taihou hadn't hit Illustrious's true body; it was merely an afterimage.
"Hmph! Boring tricks."
With a sweep of her right hand to the left, the Soul-Devouring Spear immediately forced Illustrious's true body out. Seeing her target, Taihou attacked again like lightning. After being struck by Taihou, Illustrious immediately swung her silver sword in a spinning slash toward the approaching Taihou.
Taihou caught the slash, but she hadn't expected it to contain such significant power. She was knocked flying horizontally.
Illustrious pressed her advantage, shooting toward Taihou. Taihou used her strength to steady herself and continuously brandished her spear to fight back against the incoming Illustrious.
The two were locked in a tight struggle, their continuous exchanges generating energy shockwaves. Countless sounds of impact rang out in the sky, a rhythmic clanging like a hammer striking a stake.
Illustrious fought with increasing ferocity, while Taihou used more and more force. Initially, Taihou was only using thirty percent of her strength, but she gradually realized that thirty percent wasn't enough to handle Illustrious, eventually reaching her full power.
The two no longer held back, beginning to use their true strength. They continuously unleashed techniques against each other in the sky, causing the heavens to vibrate.
Illustrious raised her silver sword, her body frantically circulating Silver Prayer Qi. Countless wisps of Silver Prayer Qi radiated from her, spraying outward like flames.
The silver sword rapidly condensed immense amounts of Silver Prayer Qi, the blade gradually erupting with a blinding silver light. The light grew more and more dazzling until it was like the sun in the sky, making it impossible to look at directly.
With a cold expression, Illustrious looked at Taihou nearby and gave a cold shout. A three-zhang wide silver energy crescent blade shot violently from the silver sword.
"Heavenless Sword!"
The crescent blade cut across the horizon and vanished in a flash, accompanied by a series of sonic booms. This crescent blade was like a transcendent being appearing in the azure sky, its shining edge resembling a meteor that seemed ready to split the heavens in two.
As soon as the crescent blade was unleashed, its massive power was clearly perceivable by Taihou even from a distance. To withstand this terrifying ultimate move,
Taihou raised the Blood-Sucking Spear, and countless Ship Qi condensed onto it. In an instant, a blood-red giant spear, ten meters long and two feet in diameter, was formed.
Looking at Illustrious in the distance, Taihou threw it with all her might. The blood-red giant spear left her hand and shot violently toward Illustrious.
The blood-red giant spear possessed astonishing power, its immense piercing force causing the space to tremble. The giant spear was incredibly fast, colliding with the lightning-fast crescent blade in an instant.
In that moment, an explosion rang out in the azure sky. Countless energy shockwaves surged from the blast, and the massive pressure forced the sea below into four-meter-high waves.
After a while, Illustrious dispelled the last incoming shockwave with a light wave of her hand and said mockingly, "Senior! You don't seem to be in very good shape!"
At first, Illustrious had thought she would lose to Taihou; after all, she was a Four-Star Legendary Ship Girl. To win, she had come to the Downgrade Barrier and released her aura to lure Taihou. If Taihou had been cautious and hadn't come, she would have been in trouble.
But she hadn't expected this Taihou to rush in without a second thought. It was likely due to her blind confidence in her own strength!
Since she rushed in, it meant she had a chance of winning. This Downgrade Barrier was very effective, instantly reducing Taihou to the strength of a Five-Star Epic Ship Girl, but the cost was high—it cost her a Golden Azure Core worth 10 billion yuan.
"Don't get too ahead of yourself. I'll destroy you in one move right now." Taihou was panting heavily; she was struggling. She hadn't expected her strength to be suppressed to such an extent.
To wash away her humiliation, Taihou decided to finish Illustrious in one blow. Hundreds of red circular light screens appeared in the sky, and Red Spear Chains emerged from them. The red spear blades flashed with a destructive red light. With a wave of Taihou's right hand, hundreds of Red Spear Chains surged toward Illustrious.
"Hmph! If you want to settle this in one move, I'll grant your wish," Illustrious snorted coldly.
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