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With the mist that was filling up the surroundings, Shin was able to hide his tracks which gave him enough room to catch his breath. But unlike his opponent who could not see through the mist, he was able to clearly see within it which gave him the opportunity to occasionally harass the latter whenever he got the chance.
But that did not mean that he already gained the upper hand. Given the stronger physique of his opponent and a higher level of martial arts attainment, his attacks were not that effective. Was even forced to hide deep in the mist due to the large range of attacks that Flame had.
The fire superpowers were still not to be underestimated, especially when its wield reached a high level of mastery on it. Flame, the mercenary, was not an idiot either – when he realized that he was already trapped inside an illusionary boundary, he chose to stay in a single place instead of randomly moving around. This way, he could properly feel his surroundings while protecting himself.
With him constantly throwing an attack with a wide range, his opponent would find it hard to approach him, especially when he was covering every direction with his fire attacks.
Within this mist, Flame understood that he already lost the initiative to control the rhythm of the battle, so he focused on a different area instead. He knew that the time was currently not in his favor – if he continued to linger on this place and was unable to take down his target, then the Dragon King would immediately arrive and that would be his end.
He had to think of a way to clear this mist or at least force Shin from hiding.
Having that idea in mind, Flame suddenly took a stance where he separated his feet, parallel to each other, before squatting his hips. He then placed both of his arms beside his waist with his fist facing the sky.
After that, he constantly released the fire from his body, filling up the air with its heat. The flickering flame that shrouded the mercenary's body formed a spherical field with a radius of 3 meters away from him.
His appearance looked like a miniature sun at the center of the mist.
Shin knew that his opponent was planning something, so he quickly threw a barrage of attacks in hope that it would interrupt his opponent. He bombarded his opponent with Mental Energy Waves, pouring out everything that he had in it, but they still ended up ineffective against Flame.
Pop! Pop! Pop!
A popcorn-like sound erupted from Flame's body as he continued to maintain his stance. The air around him also started to respond to it as the crackling sound of a burning wood could be heard.
With the constant heat that he was released, the surrounding air a dozen meters away from him started to rise sharply. The scarlet flames around him started to melt the ground and slowly turned it into magma that spurted out from underneath.
Boom!
A violent ripple was suddenly sent in every direction, affecting the air with the immense heat. And when it swept through Shin's body, he felt that his air began to bend and even gave off a charred smell.
Under the influence of the shapeless heat, his pores seemed to become affected and made it harder for him to breathe. Without any hesitation, he quickly released his Mental Energy and covered his body with it, protecting himself from the immense heat of the surrounding air.
This forced him to stop his tracks which cost him the collapse of his technique.
Alongside the pause of his movements, the mist produced by the 'Illusionary Ghost Tracks' slowly dissipated, revealing him in his opponent's view.
Now that Flame had found his target, he quickly kicked the ground and launched himself toward Shin as fast as he could.
Bang!
Whoosh!
Supported by the erupting flame behind him, the air was suddenly torn apart as Flame propelled toward his target like a flying missile. He did not stop as he swung his fisted hand, throwing a blazing punch forward.
The might of that punch gives Shin the impression of a gigantic cannon launcher shrinking back and charging up before delivering a powerful shot straight to his face.
Shin was forced to make a choice this time. He either had to face this attack head-on and worsen his internal injuries or try dodging it risking himself to get burned by the raging flame surrounding the blazing fist of his opponent.
This particular attack from his opponent was really tricky to deal with. The power behind the punch was so strong that it could crush and blast anything upon contact, especially with the explosive force that was accompanying it. But at the same time, the raging flame surrounding the fist was composed of pure energy from the superpower which could still burn anything in its path despite the punch missing the target.
Regardless of the choice that he was going to take, Shin would still suffer a serious injury that would affect the battle.
"If a single technique is not enough to stop it, then I will use four of mine!" muttered Shin as a resolute look surfaced on his face.
The Four Symbol Scripture was a combination of different types of Mentalism Techniques which could be used in every situation. Shin still remembered when Grandmaster Benn first demonstrated the combinations of those techniques to create a unified form.
He might not have reached that level of mastery yet, but he could still imitate those moves by combining all of his understanding of each technique.
Stretching his arm forward, a hexagonal shield made of mental energy was summoned in front of his palm as a series of runes appeared on its surface, reinforcing its defensive capabilities.
Bang!
But despite how sturdy-looking it was, the shield was still shattered into pieces right after it came in contact with the blazing punch of his opponent. Though, Shin did not get disheartened. This shield was not meant to stop the attack after all. Its purpose was to lessen the momentum of the punch and briefly slowed it down to buy him enough time to prepare his next move.
Mental Energy gathered on his other hand as he clenched it into a firm fist before sending out a punch. The same illusionary figure of a tiger shrouded his entire being as he threw that punch forward, seemingly trying to devour the incoming, blazing fist of his opponent.
Roar!
Boom!
Upon contact, Shin felt that something had exploded inside him as the force accompanying the punch of the opposing side. He felt that the muscles on his arm were shredded and torn apart before being burned by a raging flame.
He forcefully suppressed its feeling as he quickly covered his arm with his mental energy, quickly using the healing abilities of the Celestial Vermillion Bird Method of the Four Symbol Scripture before the damage completely shattered his entire arm.
He then absorbed the force of his opponent as he quickly retracted his arm. He rode the momentum produced by the impact to move backward while using the movement technique of the Holy Azure Dragon Method of the Four Symbol Scriptures to widen the distance between him and the mercenary.
On the other hand, Flame was about to give chase when he suddenly felt a powerful pounding force from Shin's punch. The initial collision with the barrier lessened the momentum of his punch before the latter's attack somewhat nullify the major force of his own punch.
Then the pounding force quickly followed after that which gave Flame a numbing sensation on his arms. It did not cause him any damage, but it still forced him to stop in his tracks due to the uncomfortable sensation that it had.
That particular punch from Shin was a combination of three techniques that he knew. Its outward appearance was similar to the offensive strike of the Sacred White Tiger Method which carried a powerful force. But hidden within it was a tremor force that triggered the 'poison' that he prepared earlier.
This so-called poison was not entirely harmful but it could cause the target to feel dizzy and numb in their muscles after repeated exposure to it.
Shin had mixed this 'poison' with the mist that he had created with his previous technique. It was ineffective against opponents with a higher level of physique if they just inhaled it, but it could still cause them to feel its effects clearly if it was triggered by an external force.
The tremor force that Shin had hidden on his earlier punch produced a pounding force that repeatedly shook the muscles and innards of his opponent, triggering the hidden effects of his 'poison'. Due to that, Shin brought himself another precious time to catch his breath.
This could also affect the movements of his opponent in the upcoming exchange.
Flame shook his head a little quickly resuming his attacks. He instantly caught up to Shin with the help of his booster-like flame that pushed him from behind before continuing to harass Shin.
The howling of the wind was getting louder as Flame gradually gained momentum on each of his strikes. His powerful punches and whipping kicks were like a barrage of missiles on a battlefield.
There were no feints mixed on it and just pure and raw firepower. But despite the straightforwardness that they had, the consecutive and concentrated attacks had thrown Shin in a difficult predicament.
Despite him constantly dodging and blocking those attacks, he was still receiving considerable damage on his body. His injuries were also worsening every second. There was even blood dripping on the corner of his mouth as he suppressed the urge to vomit blood.
The surrounding air was also gradually heating up, making it harder for Shin to breathe and causing his movements to become a little sluggish.
He was relying heavily on his Spiritual Sense and True Sight to read the movements of his opponent, minimizing the damage to his body. But he was still constantly being hit by a couple of attacks due to his worsening movements.
In not for the 'poison' technique affecting the movements of his opponent, then Shin had most likely turned into charred, pounded meat already.
Shin clearly understood his current predicament and knew that he would lose if he let his focus slip even for a brief moment. And with his willpower, he stubbornly held his ground despite the worsening condition of his body.
In front of the monstrous strength and crazy attacks of his opponent, Shin's fists, arms, and elbows were gradually getting numb from the exchanges. His legs were constantly moving back as they could no longer support his body in withstanding the blows of his opponent.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Shin's entire arms were shaking violently as he continuously blocks the attacks. There were already burn marks on it, clearly indicating that his healing techniques could no longer keep up with the damage that his opponent was causing him.
The surrounding temperature was also getting higher and higher which made breathing the air impossible. If he breathed in, then his windpipes would most likely burn.
He created a screen on the holes of his nose earlier to filter the air that he was breathing, but even it could no longer help him with the current temperature of the surroundings.
Due to that, his vision was starting to get affected – whatever he saw seemed to be distorting. He was only relying on his Spiritual Sense right now to read the movements of his opponent, but even it was also starting to get affected too due to the intense heat.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
Flame's attacks were continuously being thrown out and seemed to be not going to stop until he killed Shin.
The area below Shin was sinking in as dust and gravel were sent flying away. He was constantly taking a step back for every attack that he blocked.
Bang!
Another powerful punch was thrown at Shin as his already burned arms shook and shivered. He left a deep footprint when he stomped on the ground after blocking the attack. He felt that his innards were going to explode but he stubbornly held his ground and firmly stood on his feet.
The expression on his face was dark, but he was still thinking of a way to get out of this hopeless situation.
Making a stride and cutting in, Flame retracted his breathing and instantly exploded it. He raised his right arm and threw it forward with a punch fully packed with all of his force.
A raging flame spun around his blazing fist as he pressed it toward Shin, who forcefully raised his arms and crossed them in front of him. He hid his head behind it before summoning his remaining Mental Energy and covering his body with it.
Boom!
Shin was sent flying like a meteor in the opposite direction. Flame, the mercenary, quickly chased after his flying body and caught up to him within an instant.
He did not hesitate as he immediately smashed his fist down, smashing Shin's body on the ground. He then followed it up with another powerful strike that buried Shin underneath a pile of rubbles.
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