Chapter 1046: Chapter 1046: First Battle
Once again, the two who provoked Flamel had no time to care about his feelings. Nero paced around Ye Ruozai, continuing his taunts: "I suppose we’ve both seen each other’s battles. Your techniques are indeed exquisite, but you should understand that such moves cannot be decisive in a battle of our level! Especially considering that each of us has at least one Divine Artifact with exceptional defense power."
Nero then stood still, spreading his arms toward Ye Ruozai with a sinister smile: "To end this battle quickly, let’s not waste time on unnecessary probing. Bring out your true skills and let’s see who’s superior."
"I was thinking the same thing." After Ye Ruozai spoke, he tossed the Longsword in his hand high into the sky, spread his arms, and clapped his hands forcefully toward Nero in the distance. Instantly, the stage platform shook violently as tiny saplings burst forth from the crevices, quickly growing into towering trees engulfing the entire stage with lightning speed.
"Ah, it’s still the same old trick as against Flamel, no originality at all. I told you this kind of attack doesn’t hurt me!" Nero said as he waved his arm, causing the vines rushing at him to explode. However, before the scattered wood debris could touch the ground, they transformed into a shower of sparks in mid-air, instantly igniting the surrounding trees. The ensuing blazing fire triggered a series of violent explosions.
In the heart of the explosion, Nero received the most direct impact. As the blast wave hurled him away, his skin began to char under the high heat. Yet, he remained unfazed, mocking: "Haha! I thought you had learned something new. Turns out your attacks are infused with the Power of Origin of the natural elements, two kinds from the start? Do you have more? Can you form a Five Element Cycle like Lin Daozi? I withstood three waves of his attacks, so what does yours amount to?"
Ye Ruozai, concealed in the flames, did not respond to the taunt. Just as Nero steadied himself after retreating and readied to counter-attack, fresh sprouts grew from the scorched earth beneath him. These rapidly growing branches transformed into human-shaped arms, each gripping one of Nero’s arms on either side.
Realizing the situation, Nero immediately attempted to channel his elemental energy to shake off the branches. However, to his astonishment, the energy he released within his body vanished into thin air in an instant. Seeing this, he quickly understood and looked down at the hands formed from the branches holding him. These hands were no longer made of tree branches but had turned into actual human hands.
His body and magic synchronized at the moment of contact with the enemy. Completing the exchange of Power of Origin and using the Purification Power of the foundational plane to seal my body’s abilities. Understanding this, Nero raised his head to see Ye Ruozai charging rapidly through the flames with arms held level. These new wood and fire element-origin powers must have been absorbed recently, yet he had quickly mastered their application. This guy’s talent is not to be underestimated, and he must be eliminated soon.
With that thought, Nero began to break free from the grasp of the hands. While elemental power could be sealed, his formidable physical strength could not be annulled. Based on the previous and current combat situations, Nero had already figured out that high-level elemental powers like Purification require Ye Ruozai to touch the enemy with both hands. As long as he breaks the contact, his elemental energy can flow freely again.
As Nero’s struggles intensified, the branch-formed arms were about to be torn apart. At that moment, Ye Ruozai had just charged through the fire and roared in front of Nero: "Brahma Sound in the Ear!"
These four words became the sound of a resounding chime in Nero’s ears, each toll striking at Nero’s soul. Simultaneously, Ye Ruozai’s palm pressed against Nero’s chest. Just as he was about to launch a follow-up attack to expand his advantage, he felt a sharp pain in his abdomen. The next moment, with a whoosh, his entire body shot back like an arrow, transforming into a shadow that flew back in the direction from which he had charged.
Retracting his transformed arm from hitting Ye Ruozai, Nero shook his head, still dizzy from the tolling chime. Then, he forcefully tore away the withered branches grasping him, devoid of Power of Origin. After clearing himself of these branches, a mere wave of his hand dispersed the surrounding flames, revealing his figure once again to the audience.
"I originally intended to save this move for Pei Yan, but judging by this match’s progression, it seems we won’t have the chance to face each other, so..." Nero placed a hand on his stiff neck, tilting his head toward Ye Ruozai with a sinister smile: "So let you experience this despair."
"Uh~ah~ah!" As soon as Nero’s words fell, he emitted a blood-curdling roar like a beast, his expression twisting. His eyes bulged like a fish’s, as if about to explode, while his facial muscles twitched uncontrollably, and saliva dripped steadily from the corner of his mouth onto the floor. The mutation initially only affecting his arm started spreading across his entire body. His muscles expanded and trembled irregularly, and on the surface, a layer of strange scales and steel feathers spread continuously.
This transformation left not just Ye Ruozai inside the arena speechless, but also shocked the spectators outside to silence. Their surprise gave way to anger and then hatred, as they watched each detail of Nero’s changing body, trying to ascertain the root of his transformation.
Fortunately, the time Nero took to transform was not as prolonged as Saraf’s completion of his dragon-human form. Within a few breaths, Nero achieved his final transformation. Now, his figure was more than twice its previous size, yet his expanded body did not appear overly bulky. He retained a lean, explosive physique. However, the sight of his entire body, except for his eyes and mouth, covered with scale armor disgusted the onlookers. The dense scales, under the sunlight, reflected a dark purple luster, sending chills through all who beheld them.
As he landed on the stage platform, the sharp metallic clang gave the audience an initial understanding of the new scales’ defensive power. Meanwhile, the speechless Engineer Li, witnessing such an intense battle up close for the first time, held his binoculars and began to scrutinize the patterns formed between the scales on Nero’s body. The familiar designs provoked an uneasy foreboding in his heart.
