Romulus found it quite interesting that his strike had actually missed, looking with amusement at Lin Qi, who was still in a state of virtualization.
"An interesting ability, however..."
Seeing that he had dodged Romulus's attack, Lin Qi breathed a sigh of relief. He had just wanted to run out of his attack range when he heard the sound of Romulus's club smashing towards him once again.
There was no other way. Lin Qi could only activate [Dodge], which he had turned off less than a second ago, once more.
Romulus's attacks continuously passed through Lin Qi's body, leaving not a single wound.
But he wasn't the least bit anxious. A faint smile on his face, he brandished the Founding Spear in his hand, sweeping it through Lin Qi's body again and again.
Yes, he wouldn't be anxious in the slightest.
But Lin Qi was getting anxious!
Lin Qi never considered his ability to be invincible. Even Obito, who could maintain virtualization for a full five minutes, had his moments of failure, let alone himself, who could only sustain it for five seconds?
Every one of Romulus's attacks was perfectly timed, each one precisely when Lin Qi wanted to deactivate virtualization to refresh the cooldown, forcing Lin Qi to continuously activate [Dodge], finding no opportunity for a buffer.
Even though Lin Qi fled in various directions, Romulus's attacks followed him like a shadow.
Five seconds... four seconds... three seconds... two seconds...
Watching [Dodge]'s duration about to end, fear inevitably filled Lin Qi's eyes.
If this continues, I will absolutely—die!
Lin Qi had never tried deactivating virtualization while another object was still passing through his body, but he didn't need to try to know that deactivating under these circumstances would definitely result in a gruesome death!
Fortunately, a crimson figure timely appeared within Lin Qi's field of vision.
"[Imperium of the Maiden's Flowery Words]!"
Amidst countless crimson flower petals, Nero slashed her sword against the Founding Spear.
She successfully caused Romulus's offensive to slow for a moment.
Nero hastily pulled Lin Qi backwards, putting a relatively safe distance between them.
"Art thou alright?"
Only then did Nero have a moment to check if Lin Qi was injured.
But after just a glance, Nero returned to staring intently at Romulus ahead.
The previous battle had already proven that they could not afford even the slightest lapse in focus against this Roman Founding Ancestor.
Lin Qi gasped for air, his heart in his chest pounding as if trying to leap out.
This was a normal reaction after a narrow escape from death.
After calming down for a second, Lin Qi barely returned to normal.
Some fear still remained in his eyes.
"...I'm fine..."
Lin Qi suppressed his voice, forcing his tone to become calm, then stood up.
Holding his flag-tipped spear, he assumed a fighting stance.
[Rallying Resolve]
Under the skill's effect, Lin Qi's condition improved considerably.
Right now, aside from reinforcement, Rune Magecraft probably wouldn't be very effective.
So the best combat method now was likely for both of them to engage Romulus in close-quarters combat together.
Romulus did not give the two much time to think, attacking again in the blink of an eye.
Just like when they fought Caesar before, Nero took the main offensive role, with Lin Qi providing support from the side.
The two met Romulus head-on.
The space was once again filled with the flashing of blade lights and sword shadows.
The sound of clashing metal was incessant.
Unlike Caesar's rapid attacks with his Golden Sword, which were too fast to follow,
Romulus's attack speed wasn't that fast, but his control over the rhythm of battle was simply outrageous.
It left the two of them struggling to respond, finding no opportunity to fight back.
In fact, Lin Qi almost had to activate [Dodge] once every two seconds just to barely keep up with the pace of this battle.
His head was throbbing, his spirit sounding alarms.
Having never used [Dodge] at such high intensity before, Lin Qi, while forcibly enduring his body's protests, couldn't help but wonder.
Was Romulus really holding back?
Lin Qi was certain he had held back in the game's story, but what about now?
He absolutely didn't feel like he was holding back at all!
Every move was fatal, each thrust of his spear was impossibly heavy. Just blocking his spear required one's full attention; the slightest carelessness would mean death on the spot.
If not for both Lin Qi and Nero's quick reactions, they would probably have died several times over by now.
"Is this all?" Romulus looked at the two with disappointment, yet the movements of his hands showed no sign of stopping.
Still, he swung his weapon down, one blow after another.
Under his formidable attacks, the two could only fight while retreating.
Their foreheads covered in cold sweat, they found no chance to retort.
"If this is all, then you are not qualified to take Rome from my (Rome's) hands!"
As he spoke, Romulus seemed to become a bit more serious.
Red mana flickered over his body.
Then, with the speed of a sudden clap of thunder that gives no time to cover one's ears, he thrust down with his spear.
His target was none other than Lin Qi, who could no longer even properly activate [Dodge].
Faced with this suddenly accelerated thrust, even Nero didn't have time to react.
Only Lin Qi, who had been maintaining a defensive posture, barely managed to block with the flag-tipped spear in his hands.
His eyes reflected the strange shape of that spear.
The Founding Spear, carrying the wail of torn air, slammed directly into the flagpole. Lin Qi's strength barely provided any cushioning effect.
The flagpole, driven by Romulus's attack, first smashed into Lin Qi's forehead, then pressed fully against his body.
"BOOM!!!"
It was like being hit by a fully speeding concrete mixer truck. Lin Qi was sent flying by this single spear thrust.
He smashed through the wall behind him and vanished from sight in an instant.
"Maestro!"
Nero's face was full of anxiety. She raised her foot, about to rush over and check on Lin Qi's condition.
But Romulus's merciless attack was already upon her. If she ignored it, she would at the very least be severely injured.
Nero had no choice but to pull her attention back, hastily blocking Romulus's attacks.
'Maestro, please, don't be seriously hurt!'
She prayed silently in her heart, her eyes turning fierce.
On the other side.
"CRASH!"
"CRASH!"
"CRASH!"
Lin Qi crashed through several walls before finally falling down after hitting one that was somewhat sturdy.
If not for his physical prowess, comparable to a Servant's, Lin Qi would have probably died upon hitting the first wall.
But even so, Lin Qi was not in good shape.
His whole body felt like it had fallen apart; everything hurt.
Especially his back. If Lin Qi couldn't barely move, he would have sworn his spine was broken.
Lying on the ground, Lin Qi barely used his arms to prop himself up. Red blood dripped down from his forehead.
'Where... am I...?' Lin Qi thought, confused.
His head now felt like a bunch of big, rowdy men with poor drinking etiquette were inside, shouting, playing finger-guessing games, singing karaoke, tearing the place apart... every kind of chaos imaginable.
There was also a constant buzzing tinnitus, preventing him from hearing what was actually happening now.
Even his vision had become incredibly abstract, like he'd eaten undercooked mushrooms.
Before Lin Qi could sort out his fragmented thoughts, the side effects of using [Dodge] at high intensity, along with his body's protests, struck all at once.
"Cough... cough... HUACK—!"
Lin Qi coughed twice, then vomited the next second.
He couldn't stop vomiting.
The undigested food from his last meal was all vomited out, and upon closer inspection, there were quite a few unusual red streaks within.
After the intense vomiting, a trace of clarity returned to Lin Qi's eyes as he felt slightly better.
'That's right... I need to go back—Nero still needs me over there...'
Lin Qi suppressed the desire to vomit again.
He shakily, unsteadily, climbed up from the ground.
'I can't stop here...'
His vision was still distorted; Lin Qi couldn't even see the path clearly.
His head was also a tangled mess. His usually obedient arms and legs seemed to be malfunctioning, swaying erratically.
He took two steps.
Lin Qi lost control and fell to the ground.
'I promised to always stay by her side...'
Lin Qi's mind recalled the dream from that morning.
The scene of Nero being pierced through the chest by bizarre, misshapen weapons felt as if it was happening right before his eyes.
He didn't know what Romulus was really thinking, whether he was truly completely controlled by someone or not.
But Lin Qi knew:
'If I don't get back quickly, Nero alone might die—'
Lin Qi gritted his teeth, a fierce light flashing in his eyes.
Then, he leaned his head back slightly, gathering a bit of force.
His head slammed heavily onto the ground.
"THUD—"
A dull sound rang out.
Lin Qi slowly raised his head.
Crimson blood flowed straight down from his forehead, past his eyebrows, along his nose, and into Lin Qi's mouth.
Lin Qi's expression was twisted.
It hurt. It hurt enough to make one want to roll on the spot twice.
But he was awake now. Apart from a needle-like stabbing pain still coming from his head,
His vision was no longer distorted.
His arms and legs finally learned to obey his brain's commands.
This was enough.
...