Chapter 480: Chapter 303: Rock Whale
Amidst a swarm of fluttering confetti butterflies, the Joker floated down slowly, holding onto a balloon.
"This suit is quite expensive." He let go of the balloon and annoyedly patted the dust from his suit. "I’m just a spectator. Why must you bother me?"
The response was countless rock spikes erupting from the ground. Like Long Spears, they burst forth from every direction and at every angle, sealing off all paths of retreat.
The Joker unhurriedly tapped the ground with his Magic Wand, and his figure vanished instantly.
The next second, sharp rock spears crisscrossed and pierced through the space. If he hadn’t managed to escape in time, he would have undoubtedly been riddled with holes.
He appeared on the roof of a building by the street. It was far from the ground, allowing him to spot and dodge attacks at the first opportunity.
"Rise—!"
At the same time, the Tier Three Special Agent seemed to use all his might to heave upwards. RUMBLE... The earth quaked violently. Amidst the rising dust and smoke, a Rock Whale composed entirely of earth-brown rock burst from the ground, causing the surface to heave like an ocean, sending out waves of rubble.
Its massive body soared into the sky, and its cast shadow enveloped the entire street, plunging it into lightless darkness.
"Ohohohohohohoho!!!!"
The Joker on the roof looked up at the incredibly awe-inspiring Rock Whale and let out an excited shout, "Now this is interesting!!!"
The Rock Whale’s terrifying mass kicked up a hurricane of dust, bringing with it a suffocating sense of pressure as it smashed down violently towards the Joker’s position.
BOOM!
That building, along with several surrounding houses, was instantly crushed by the Rock Whale. The foundation collapsed dozens of meters, and huge cracks spread across the road. Rings of destructive earthen waves surged outwards, reaching Andre who was not far away. Even in his Bear Transformation state, the powerful impact still churned his insides and made him stagger.
If that attack had landed squarely on him, even he would have suffered considerable injuries—but Andre wouldn’t give his opponent the chance to hit him.
There are gaps between Ascenders, but that doesn’t mean a weaker Ascender can’t harm a stronger one. An ordinary person with a gun might be able to kill an Ascender, let alone one of the same Tier.
Often, losing a fight isn’t a matter of strength, but of not being able to act in time.
In battle, the initiative is a crucial factor. Stronger combatants can instantly kill weaker ones not just through overwhelming raw power, but also by landing a surprise first strike. When power levels are comparable, attacking first grants a massive advantage.
If that Tier Three Special Agent had been given a few more seconds to put distance between himself and Andre, he could have relied on his Earth Type Extraordinary Ability. Even if he couldn’t win, his life wouldn’t have been in danger. Unfortunately, he lost the initiative from the very start. If the Plague Doctor hadn’t arrived in time, Andre would have already choked him to death.
Thick smoke and dust enveloped the entire street, reducing visibility to a minimum.
In the distance, the Plague Doctor emerged from a hole in the wall, leaning on it and coughing a few times. He was carrying five automatic defensive Artifacts, all of them Advanced Alchemy Tools—a truly extravagant loadout. However, Andre’s last attack had shattered three of them directly. If he took another hit like that, he definitely wouldn’t be able to withstand it.
But fortunately, Andre was also injured. His physical body was certainly powerful, with formidable self-healing abilities that could even quickly mend a severed arm, but his Spiritual Power couldn’t recover so quickly. The Axiomatic Law’s main damage was to the Spiritual Realm and the Soul. After taking so many hits, Andre’s condition had declined by at least fifty percent.
’There’s a chance!’
The Plague Doctor took a deep breath and activated Axiomatic Law: Chain of Sin again.
RATTLE, RATTLE... The chains swayed, clattering sharply as they collided. One end was connected to Andre, while the other was held in the Plague Doctor’s hand.
Andre grabbed the Chain of Sin, trying to pull it out of himself. However, the chain was as if rooted in his very Soul. No matter how much force he used, he couldn’t budge it an inch. It was even frantically absorbing some kind of power from his Soul, growing even more solid.
At this point, Andre finally understood the Plague Doctor’s Ability.
—The Plague Doctor could manifest a person’s sins. The more crimes they had committed, the more terrifying the damage his Skills would inflict. That was why Andre’s body, of which he was so proud, had been severed by a single sword strike, while the same sword couldn’t harm an Alchemy Tool in the slightest, because Alchemy Tools have no life and cannot commit crimes.
’Unfortunately, I don’t have Covering Armor, or I would be immune to this guy’s sword...’ The thought flashed through Andre’s mind as he focused all his energy on regenerating his arm. With his other hand, he picked up the Shield from the ground and held it up in front of him to defend.
After a moment of consideration, Andre decided to retreat. He knew very well that he was a man steeped in sin, and his opponent’s Extraordinary Abilities were the perfect counter to him. If this dragged on, the situation would turn against him. The government had surely dispatched a large number of Ascenders to kill him by now; a delay of just a few more minutes would spell disaster.
But the Plague Doctor gave him no such chance. Tugging on the chain for leverage, he closed the distance in an instant.
Flames of light burned as the sword, imbued with the intent of judgment and verdict, hummed with fury and slashed down.
Andre raised his Shield to defend, once again engaging the Plague Doctor in a fierce battle.
Meanwhile.
The Tier Three Special Agent from the Counter-Terrorism Department was catching his breath. He knew the Joker had Instant Movement, so the Rock Whale crashing down was never going to be a fatal blow. In fact, he never intended to kill or injure the Joker with that move. He just wanted to create an environment shrouded in dust and earth. In this kind of environment, the power of all his Skills would be increased by 20%.
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