At this moment, Leo Ash, riding the Xuanyuan Sword upwards, finally let out a huge sigh of relief after hearing the footsteps behind him fade into the distance.
Although the Chiyou before him continuously emitted a strong, oppressive aura, perhaps because Ji Lin was controlling it, the beast did not attack Leo Ash directly.
Though Leo Ash, suspended in mid-air, was already prepared to dodge, being able to dodge was one thing; not having to dodge was always better.
Moreover, with everyone now moving away from him, while this meant he could no longer count on their support, it also meant...
—Sigh, the trump card I've hidden for so long can finally be used.
Previously, after two battles, Leo Ash's Honkai Energy and mana were mostly depleted. If he had encountered another enemy then, it would have been troublesome without revealing his trump card.
But now, the Divine Dragon's Ancient Water he had drawn earlier was the perfect item for restoring energy.
Taking out the Divine Dragon's Ancient Water and chugging it down, Leo Ash felt both his mana and Honkai Energy return to their maximum levels.
In that brief moment, he also took out the instant noodles he had hidden in his storage space and tossed a piece into his mouth.
Over the past month, he had repeatedly tested the activation mechanism of the (Noodle Aficionado) buff.
In a short period, regardless of whether he ate one type of noodle dish or multiple, he could only trigger one buff.
The effect of the buff was completely random, unrelated to the type or quantity of the noodle dish.
Only the duration would increase with the total amount of noodles consumed.
But the thing was, a small piece of instant noodle was enough to maintain the buff for several minutes.
And most of the battles he faced were quite short; a few minutes was more than enough.
The moment the instant noodle entered his system, he could feel his strength increase significantly.
With all these preparations complete, Leo Ash wove a chain of mana around the Xuanyuan Sword and formed a mana barrier in the air.
Using this mana barrier as a foothold, Leo Ash easily performed multiple jumps.
To be honest, for anyone with special energy, as long as that energy could form tangible objects in space, and as long as their physical abilities were slightly better than an ordinary person's, they could perform mid-air jumps by stepping on these objects.
Of course, in battle, creating a barrier requires dividing one's attention. Suddenly losing focus when facing a strong enemy, whether one can recover in time to defend is another matter entirely.
Some people being unable to perform a double jump is clearly a game mechanic, not an inability to do so.
Surely no one thinks a double jump is actually difficult, right?
"Ah."
Watching Leo Ash leap all the way up to her, the now completely blackened Ji Lin let out a helpless sigh.
"If you wanted to escape, I truly couldn't guarantee I could catch you. But since there was a way out, why did you have to come here to die?"
"Or is it..."
Looking at the Xuanyuan Sword entwined with mana chains in Leo Ash's hand, Ji Lin suddenly chuckled.
"You've had a change of heart and decided to offer the Xuanyuan Sword to me?"
"Ha, you wish."
Clenching the Xuanyuan Sword tightly, Leo Ash, maintaining his [Poker Face] trait to boost his combat power, spoke to Ji Lin expressionlessly.
"Do I look like the kind of coward who kneels on the spot when facing a strong opponent?"
"Not really."
Looking at the young man before her, Ji Lin said with a hint of emotion.
"Looking at you, I feel as if I'm seeing my past self. Just as passionate, just as naive, and just as—foolish."
After spitting out the word foolish, the smile on Ji Lin's face gradually took on a hint of 'madness.'
"It seems you, like my past self, think that protecting others is a glorious thing."
"It seems you, like my past self, think that the strong should protect the weak."
"It seems you, like my past self, think that—sacrificing oneself to protect those ignorant fools is a price worth paying."
At this moment, the smile completely vanished from Ji Lin's face.
"But rest assured, junior of Shenzhou. I will not let you suffer in the darkness as I did."
"Because—I will kill you, right here!"
"Oh, well said. So, is your boring speech over?"
Feeling a sudden vibration from the Xuanyuan Sword, Leo Ash looked down at the golden holy sword in his hand.
"Heh, old friend, it seems you agree with me."
At this moment, Ji Lin extended her right hand towards the Xuanyuan Sword in Leo Ash's hand.
"Return to my hand, and fight alongside me once more."
The moment Ji Lin finished speaking, Leo Ash felt an incredibly terrifying energy erupt from the Key of Domination in his hand.
But in the next instant, the Xuanyuan Sword, which had snapped the mana chains, did not return to Ji Lin's hand.
On the contrary, the shimmering golden holy sword transformed into a ray of light and merged with the Star Ring Vortex on Leo Ash's hand to form a new pair of gauntlets.
This pair of gauntlets was similar to the [Key of Domination - Grips of Taixu] wielded by Fu Hua, yet they were not entirely the same.
On these gauntlets, which were primarily black and gold, there was also a feather, just like on the Grips of Taixu.
However, unlike Fu Hua's Grips of Taixu, the feather, which should have been crimson, was now continuously shifting between black and white.
"This... how is this possible!"
Seeing the Xuanyuan Sword not only disobey her command but also transform into another weapon and attach itself to Leo Ash's hands right before her eyes, Ji Lin's face turned ugly as she glared at him.
"You, what did you do!"
"What did I do? Instead of asking me that, you should probably consider if you've been disliked."
Feeling the powerful energy emanating from the gauntlets in his hands, Leo Ash maintained his indifferent tone and spoke to Ji Lin in a casual manner.
"Think about it. The Xuanyuan Sword was always the holy sword that protected Shenzhou. And now, the hero who once protected Shenzhou has chosen to fall. So..."
"—It seems perfectly normal for the holy sword to look down on a self-depraved old geezer like you."
Although Leo Ash's tone was flat and held no hint of mockery, at this moment, Ji Lin became even angrier precisely because his calm tone made it sound like he was stating a fact.
"You think—just by obtaining this worthless thing, you can defeat me?!"
Her defenses shattered, Ji Lin condensed Honkai Energy in her right hand, shaping it into a greatsword resembling the Xuanyuan Sword.
"I will now show you with facts that the gap between us cannot be bridged by a piece of junk!"
"Ah, you've lost your temper. But in the end, that's normal."
Leo Ash began to crack his knuckles in front of Ji Lin. His face calm, he looked at her and assumed a fighting stance.
"In the end, the hero of Shenzhou, Ji Lin, probably died heroically while suppressing Chiyou these past thousands of years."
"And you... you're probably just a puppet formed from her negative emotions."
"If the true hero of Shenzhou were standing before me, I might hold respect and caution towards her."
"But right now, there is no hero of Shenzhou before me, only a puppet controlled by the Honkai. A puppet..."
"—doesn't seem worthy of my serious attention."
Under the taunt of these calm words, Ji Lin was instantly enraged and summoned her warhorse.
As a person from an ancient era, Ji Lin's verbal sparring skills were naturally no match for Leo Ash, a veteran of internet surfing.
Unable to gain an advantage verbally, her priority had now changed.
Reclaiming the Xuanyuan Sword no longer mattered.
Getting revenge on the people of Shenzhou could wait.
Right now—she only wanted to rip that boy's damn mouth off!
"Now—die for me!"
The moment she leaped onto her horse, Ji Lin spurred her mount and charged towards Leo Ash.
To be honest, if Leo Ash were to dodge now, comparing his current speed to that of the horse, he felt the difficulty would be quite high.
But if he were to parry from a stationary position...
Mind Like Still Water, activate.
Royal Guard, activate.
Activating these two skills, Leo Ash felt the charging horse before him suddenly seem to slow down in his eyes.
Rather than competing in speed and precision, it was better to gamble now and solve the problem at its root.
In front of Leo Ash, the charging Ji Lin had already raised her right hand, lifting her greatsword.
She knew, of course, that her opponent standing still couldn't possibly be out of fear, but—did it matter what he was thinking now?
As a cavalry soldier charging into battle, why would Ji Lin care about her opponent's thoughts at a time like this?
As long as she could knock the enemy down with her horse, as long as she could slay the enemy with her weapon, what the enemy was thinking was of no concern to her!
Normally, when both sides have roughly equal strength, a cavalry soldier on a warhorse can certainly use the horse's impact force to knock a foot soldier to the ground and then finish them off.
But now, facing the straight-charging Ji Lin and her horse, Leo Ash simply assumed a stance and began to concentrate power in his right fist.
Facing the charging horse, Leo Ash, having completed his charge-up, attacked the horse's head from the side with his right fist.
In Ji Lin's eyes, this was undoubtedly a reckless move.
She had already raised her greatsword. Before Leo Ash's fist could touch the horse, her greatsword would surely slice off his arm.
However, Ji Lin, swinging her greatsword, did not achieve the result she desired.
"Wha—"
At the moment her weapon failed to inflict any damage on the enemy, Ji Lin saw an incredibly terrifying energy erupt from her opponent's fist.
At the same time, Leo Ash, having finished charging, poured all his power into his gauntlet and punched the horse squarely in the head.
"Galactica Phantom!"
With one strike, Ji Lin's horse was hit directly on the head.
Although it was a creation of Honkai Energy, this creation still retained some biological characteristics.
At the very least, a horse with its head blown off could only lose its ability to move, just like a real living creature.
And Ji Lin, riding the horse, was thrown to the ground after her mount was 'killed.'
In Ji Lin's eyes, Leo Ash's ability to so accurately strike the horse's head was more like a blind cat finding a dead mouse.
But for Leo Ash, after he activated abilities like Mind Like Still Water, Galactica Phantom, and Royal Guard, his killing of the horse of the straight-charging Ji Lin was an inevitable outcome.
Because Ji Lin chose a straight charge, Leo Ash had the opportunity to charge up without having to predict the enemy's direction of advance, and he could use Mind Like Still Water to calculate the enemy's arrival time in advance.
Because Galactica Phantom has the property of 'while charging, the user can automatically perfectly block most attacks,' Leo Ash, having gained a near-super armor ability, did not need to worry about Ji Lin's slash at his arm and could attack with peace of mind.
Because of Royal Guard's property, Leo Ash was able to absorb Ji Lin's attack through Galactica Phantom's characteristic and convert it into his own destructive power, which he then infused into his fist.
With all these buffs stacked, it was not surprising that Leo Ash could destroy the horse with a single punch.
As for why he didn't use Galactica Phantom from the start against Rita—using different tactics against different opponents is a very normal thing.
Rita's mobility was extremely high at the time, and under that condition, recklessly charging up would have left him with a significant opening.
This opening wouldn't have been fatal, but given Rita's previous mobility, she would have probably slipped away by the time Leo Ash finished charging.
And Ji Lin—now out of her mind and resorting to a charge, she never considered Leo Ash her equal from the start, and her charging horse had speed but no mobility.
For Leo Ash, who had mastered Mind Like Still Water, an enemy with such tactical flaws and a compromised state of mind was actually easier to deal with.
"You... you dare kill my horse?!"
Unable to accept that her warhorse was shattered in a single blow, Ji Lin, the moment she fell, somersaulted into the air and brought her greatsword down on Leo Ash's head.
"Go—to hell!"
"Ah, leaping into the air. It looks very fierce, but the problem is..."
Facing the incredibly ferocious expression of his enemy, Leo Ash, with a lack of interest, set up a Phantasmagoria above his head and began to gather power in his right fist again, using a different flow of power than before.
The moment Ji Lin passed through the Phantasmagoria, she felt the intensity of the energy in her body weaken.
But in the next moment, unable to change her attack motion in mid-air, Ji Lin could only press on and bring the sword down on Leo Ash's head.
Facing this attack, Leo Ash suddenly exhaled a breath of turbid air and struck the enemy's greatsword with his right fist.
And then—
"Sea Tiger—Destructive Punch!"
Using this martial art for the first time, Leo Ash shattered Ji Lin's greatsword, which had been weakened by the Phantasmagoria, into pieces with a single blow.
Facing Leo Ash's attack, the utterly shocked Ji Lin felt a force travel through the greatsword and into her body.
Before she could suppress this power...
"Now, explode."
At Leo Ash's 'command,' the vital points of her body, as if completely controlled by him, instantly exploded.
After only two exchanges, Ji Lin, who had been boasting so grandly just moments ago, was now lying on the ground.
Why did things turn out this way.
I only lost the Xuanyuan Sword, why am I now...
—so easily defeated by a brat?
......