thefictionvixens Chapter 220 A Battle That Captains Cannot Lose
Chapter 220 A Battle That Captains Cannot Lose
To be honest, Dai Yueheng was quite tempted by Ma Rulong's suggestion, but tempted as he was, his long combat experience told him that there are many basic principles to follow in combat, and one of these principles is "Don't let your opponent get away with it easily."
Ma Rulong's demand for close-combat combat seemed to favor Dai Yueheng, a close-combat powerhouse Soul Master, while being detrimental to himself as a Soul Master. However! Ma Rulong wasn't stupid; he wouldn't use his weakness to attack the enemy's strength in such an important match. Especially since Ma Rulong made this seemingly unreasonable demand after his conventional offensive was failing—it was practically a clear message to Dai Yueheng that the demand was a trap.
Becoming wary, Dai Yueheng had no intention of agreeing to Ma Rulong's request. Moreover, Dai Yueheng immediately increased the detection power of his soul-guided device, conducting a comprehensive scan of the entire competition arena.
While panoramic simulation soul tools are difficult to manufacture, optical invisibility soul tools are not so hard to imitate. Shrek Academy has used this visual deception tactic in previous competitions, and it's hard to guarantee that Sun Moon Royal Soul Tool Academy won't take notice and apply it directly.
0.5 seconds later, Dai Yueheng looked at the result displayed on the soul guidance screen in front of him, cursed "cunning" under his breath, and began to move sideways again. During the sideways movement, Dai Yueheng kept an eye on the simulated light and shadow on the soul guidance screen, raised his right hand, and exposed the soul guidance ray emission port as his finger armor moved, aiming at Ma Rulong's figure, who seemed to be standing still, and struck him.
The soul-guided ray struck Ma Rulong's body cleanly and decisively, eliciting gasps from the crowd in Star Luo Square. Don't misunderstand, the audience wasn't surprised that Ma Rulong had been hit by Dai Yueheng's attack; they were surprised that Ma Rulong's figure had truly vanished like a mirage.
"Oh"
A soft laugh echoed on the arena. The instant Dai Yueheng made his move, another figure, Ma Rulong, appeared on the stage. Judging by the distance, he was closer to the destroyed image of light and shadow, likely because Dai Yueheng's reaction was too quick, leaving him little time to move.
"What a waste of my skills! I was seen through so easily. It seems my tricks are useless; I'll have to rely on real strength to achieve my goals!"
Judging from his tone, Ma Rulong was quite moved when he said these words, but judging from his expression, Ma Rulong clearly no longer had the patience to let Dai Yueheng continue playing his escape game.
What should one do when facing a slippery enemy? The poor can only choose to chase after them, while the rich usually choose carpet bombing. Ma Rulong was clearly proficient in the classic battle tactic of Soul Masters: the Soul Guidance Turret. Seeing that Dai Yueheng had no intention of closing in anytime soon, Ma Rulong transformed himself into an armory fortress in less than two seconds.
Seeing the seven spirit rings rising from Ma Rulong's body and hearing the gasps of surprise from the audience once again, Dai Yueheng realized what Ma Rulong was about to do. At this moment, he couldn't care less about the previously agreed-upon attrition plan. Countless simulated battles had taught Dai Yueheng that if a seventh-level spirit master at the Spirit Saint level went all out, covering the entire arena with their offensive firepower would be no problem at all, and could even be sustained for a long time.
Moreover, Dai Yueheng was aware of his own speed. Even with the acceleration of his soul-guided power armor, he didn't have the ability to force Ma Rulong to use an attack that covered the entire field to hit him. In other words, Ma Rulong actually only needed to expend less soul power and launch a saturation attack on the small area where Dai Yueheng was located.
Although under normal circumstances, the attacker always consumes more soul power than the defender, considering the difference in soul power and soul tool level between Dai Yueheng and Ma Rulong, if this continues, Dai Yueheng will definitely be the first to give up.
With no other option, Dai Yueheng, who had previously tried every means to avoid close combat with Ma Rulong, could only begin to approach Ma Rulong's location first.
After briefly testing how to move while supporting the soul-guided shield with one's own physical strength, considering the amount of soul power consumed by using the soul-guided shield alone, the propulsion device of the soul-guided power armor, and the amount of soul power required by the soul-guided shield, Dai Yueheng decisively chose the latter method of advancement.
Although the amount of soul power consumed per unit of time appears to have increased, the time required to consume it has been reduced by at least half.
As Dai Yueheng charged forward, Ma Rulong didn't create too much difficulty for him. After all, Ma Rulong's purpose in doing this was to force Dai Yueheng into close combat. If the attack intensity was too high, preventing Dai Yueheng from getting close, it might cause Dai Yueheng to give up entirely and choose to roam at a distance, ultimately achieving the goal of depleting most of Ma Rulong's soul power, thus completing the mission.
After estimating Dai Yueheng's speed, just as Dai Yueheng was about to pounce, Ma Rulong abandoned his entire set of soul-guided turret equipment (simply disengaging the soul-guided equipment from each other, leaving it scattered on the competition stage), and put on another set of soul-guided equipment that was clearly designed for close combat. At the same time, Ma Rulong also wielded a black and white greatsword with a very strong sense of pressure.
However, Ma Rulong still didn't fully understand Dai Yueheng's speed of advance, or rather, the performance of his soul-guided power armor. The instant Ma Rulong released the long-range fire suppression, Dai Yueheng accelerated like a tiger hunting its prey, covering the final few dozen meters in the blink of an eye. Although Ma Rulong had already taken out his equipment, he didn't have time to activate it.
Caught off guard, Dai Yueheng's soul-guided powered armor unleashed a powerful tiger-like attack, forcing Ma Rulong to disarm his invincible shield. This was a rather unavoidable choice; while the Big-Headed Spirit Ape possessed a beast-type martial soul, its physical defense wasn't particularly outstanding. Furthermore, Ma Rulong's soul rings and skills were primarily focused on soul power amplification. Dai Yueheng's tiger-paw attack, clearly enhanced by soul tools and skills, was something Ma Rulong, without activated defensive soul tools, couldn't withstand with his own bare defenses.
Reluctantly surrendering his trump card, Ma Rulong seized the opportunity to create some distance before fully activating his melee soul tool set. However, he quickly realized his mistake, as nearby, Dai Yueheng also used the opportunity to draw a soul tool longsword whose pressure was no less than his own. Incidentally, the soul tool power armor Dai Yueheng was wearing glowed with the light of a healing bottle being charged.
Based on Ma Rulong's understanding of the rules for using the milk bottle soul tool, this was not a good time to use it. However, now was not the time to ponder difficult questions. Perhaps Dai Yueheng was using the milk bottle soul tool at this moment because the other party did not understand the rules for using it? Ma Rulong's body subconsciously began to lunge forward. He needed to take advantage of the period of stiffness in Dai Yueheng's body after using the milk bottle to replenish his soul power and gain the initiative in his attack.
However, Ma Rulong still miscalculated. Shrek Academy is very strict in its practical training for its students. One of the rules in this training is something that every student learns from their own blood and tears and remembers to the bone—do not use skills you are not familiar with in actual combat unless you are already in dire straits.
Based on this information alone, Dai Yueheng couldn't possibly use a soul tool she didn't understand at this time, so Ma Rulong's guess was clearly wrong. When Ma Rulong pounced in front of Dai Yueheng, Dai Yueheng didn't freeze as Ma Rulong had imagined. Instead, she raised her long sword with a speed that Ma Rulong hadn't expected, completing a rather impressive counterattack.
While close combat is Ma Rulong's preferred fighting style, Dai Yueheng clearly has the upper hand in terms of melee proficiency. The clash of two level-eight melee soul tools wasn't flashy, but it still conveyed a visceral sense of power. However, as time went on, Dai Yueheng fell into a disadvantageous position. Although he managed to barely activate the Tyrant Tiger Soul Refining Blade, acquired from a top auction house, thanks to the soul power amplification device on his soul-guided power armor, this forced activation paled in comparison to Ma Rulong's relatively effortless control.
However, at this stage, Dai Yueheng is not in a hurry at all. So what if he is at a disadvantage? It is still a long time before he is completely defeated! It is good that he can use this kind of fighting as cover to prepare for his next killing move under the cover of his martial soul consciousness and the auxiliary intelligence of his soul-guided power armor.
That's right, Dai Yueheng has awakened his own Martial Soul consciousness. Previously, Long You had used this method of secondary Martial Soul awakening to trade with Shrek Academy. Shrek Academy isn't a sect that keeps its secrets to itself; it's an academy that welcomes students from all over the world. Having obtained this clearly advantageous method, even if Shrek Academy doesn't implement it throughout the entire academy, those students who clearly have talent and receive preferential treatment from the academy's resources will have the opportunity to learn it. As an inner court student of Shrek Academy and a member of the Shrek team, Dai Yueheng naturally learned this method of secondary Martial Soul awakening.
Now that his martial soul has had ample time to develop, Dai Yueheng's unique martial soul consciousness has naturally emerged. This explains why Dai Yueheng was able to use the "milk bottle" soul tool to replenish his soul power in battle without experiencing any stiffness. His martial soul consciousness allows him to quickly disperse and absorb the concentrated surge of soul power within a short period, which is precisely why he is confident he can at least completely deplete Ma Rulong's strength.
The clanging of swords clashed for over three minutes, and Dai Yueheng was completely suppressed, her movement restricted. It seemed that if she exchanged a few more blows, she might slip up, allowing Ma Rulong to unleash his ultimate move and end the fight. Laments echoed around Star Luo Square, and Duke White Tiger on the city walls of Star Luo Imperial City had been frowning for a long time. However, Dai Yueheng, whose facial expression was completely hidden within her soul-guided power armor, inappropriately revealed a smile.
"It's noon, bring the knife down!"
After being suppressed for so long, Dai Yueheng couldn't help but shout out a chuunibyou (delusional) slogan in his soul-guided power armor.
The metal armor on the chest of the Soul Guidance Power Armor opened smoothly, revealing a Soul Guidance Cannon muzzle that exuded a distinct aura of destruction without warning.
Upon seeing the cannon muzzle, Ma Rulong's entire body screamed "something's wrong!" But before Ma Rulong could retreat, the cannon muzzle, which had clearly completed its charging, unleashed a dazzling light of soul power.
At a distance of too great, Dai Yueheng, a self-taught soul master, couldn't aim accurately; at too close, Ma Rulong, a self-taught close-combat soul master, couldn't react in time. Ma Rulong, who was already gathering soul power to unleash the ultimate move of the Yin-Yang Conversion Two-Element Sword, now felt like he was running out of power and couldn't withdraw at all. In fact, Ma Rulong not only didn't have time to retreat or dodge, he didn't even have enough mental or soul power to activate his defensive soul tool.
The dazzling light of soul power ultimately struck Ma Rulong directly. Aside from the "referee" on the field, Tian Sha Douluo, no one noticed that beneath the cover of this soul power light, Dai Yueheng's sixth soul ring was also gleaming with a jet-black light. Moreover, that seemingly formless soul power light was actually a large "kill" character.
The soul-guided cannon mounted on the chest armor of Dai Yueheng's soul-guided powered armor is actually a transformed form of a super-energy-concentrating soul-guided cannon. The idea behind this transformation comes from the right-arm mecha cannon that Long You himself created, which can be combined with the right arm soul bone of the Plate Armor Rhinoceros. However, it's unclear whether Dai Yueheng lacks a soul bone or if time was too tight, as Fan Yu didn't have time to complete the complex adjustments for matching the soul bone. In the end, they only created an energy-concentrating soul-guided cannon version that could match Dai Yueheng's sixth soul skill.
A roar? There should have been one, but perhaps the sound of the explosion at such close range was too loud, creating a state of profound silence. In any case, at this moment, the entire Star Luo Square fell into an eerie stillness. It was stillness, not stillness. After all, a figure soon emerged from the shadow of the soul power light. He didn't run far before stopping, and with Long You's keen eyesight, he could see that the hand armor of the soul-guided power armor had been retracted, and two milk bottle-shaped soul tools with ample soul power reserves were glowing.