stonecrandall Chapter 78 The Three High Priests Engage in a Bitter Battle
Chapter 78 The Three High Priests Engage in a Bitter Battle
Chapter 78 The Three High Priests Engaged in a Bitter Battle
Beside the circular cloud lake of the altar of living sacrifices.
When the three high priests cut off the waterway and the White Pearl was stuck between the clouds in imminent danger, Funin Flamel's command fell like an ice blade.
"Zoro! South side, rocky area! Draw that guy with the gun away!"
"Chef Zeff! The Cloud Pillar Forest on the west side! Fatty's in your hands!"
"Mr. Gan Fall! The open mudflats on the east side! Deal with that disheveled black man!"
"The rest of you, push the ship with all your might! Defense team, hold the hull!"
Three figures moved in response.
Sauron charged straight for the southern rock formations, Zeff swept toward the western ruins of the pillar forest, and Gan Fall rode Pierre around the open mudflats on the eastern side.
The three high priests were indeed lured away, and a three-way battlefield instantly formed.
As Zoro stepped into the stone forest, the gray-white reefs resembled jagged fangs of a giant beast.
The Asura hid high above, his spear trembling silently, and the almost transparent strands of cloud-like rope filled the shadows in the cracks of the rocks.
Zoro's clothes tore silently from the shoulder.
"You found it?" Shura's voice came from behind the stone.
Zoro looked around.
In his perception, the entire stone forest resembled a three-dimensional, invisible spiderweb of death.
He could only move with minimal movement, his twin swords swung lightly.
Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle—
The broken rope and fine cloud fragments drifted in the air.
Shura squinted.
We can't let this green algae head adapt!
"Cross your legs!" Shura shouted in a low voice.
The three-foot-long bird unleashed a stream of fire, sweeping across the rope net in front of Zoro!
As the flames swept by, the rope cloud briefly appeared, taut, and melted!
Just as Zoro's gaze was drawn to the "visible" chaotic net ahead, Shura leaped down from the height, charging along the zigzag path of the Wind-Spitting Shell, his spear bursting with red light!
The entire gun followed a trajectory of a rope scorched by flames, piercing straight into Zoro's vest like lightning!
Fire rope kills!
Ahead lay a scorching, chaotic net, and behind him, the tip of a flaming spear accelerated along the "fire track." Zoro's pupils constricted, and he stomped his left foot, sending shards of rock flying. He crashed headlong into the area where the flames had swept past and the net had become visible and brittle!
At the same time, his right hand slashed with the Sandai Kitetsu in reverse, while his left hand cleaved with the Yubashiri in a forward slash, his body spinning like a wheel of blades!
"Three-Sword Style: Tornado!"
The miniature tornado, carrying a slashing motion, whipped up rubble and dust, tearing apart the brittle rope net that had become visible in front of it! It forcefully ripped a gap in the fire net!
The Asura, who had been thrusting along the "fire trail," found his target gone, replaced by a chaotic vortex of air. The tip of his spear pierced the vortex, deflecting his force. He tried to raise his spear.
But Zoro's sword had already pierced through the vortex!
"Dual Sword Style - Double Slash - Ascend the Tower!"
Yukari and Sandai Kitetsu slashed upwards, their attacks like shooting stars flying backwards, directly targeting the exposed opening in Shura's chest and abdomen caused by his adjustment!
Shura parried in a disheveled manner, his spear and sword clashing and exploding with a loud bang! He used the force to fly backward and disappeared back into the shadows of the stone forest, a new slash mark now appearing on his goggles.
Zoro landed slightly out of breath, with several bloody scratches on his body, but his eyes shone even brighter.
"interesting!"
Zeff entered the forest of cloud pillars, which resembled a graveyard of giants. Shadley was already waiting on a broken pillar, standing on a cloud ball, her smile exaggerated.
"Welcome to my amusement park, sir!"
Before he finished speaking, he raised both hands in unison, and four kinds of amazing clouds shot out.
Zeff closed his eyes slightly and listened intently.
The sound of wind, the hiss of the sphere, the faint hum of the internal springs and fluid oscillations —
Red ball right in front of him!
Zeff tilted his head slightly, the red ball whizzing past his ear, flying backward and exploding into a cloud of pungent, eye-watering red pepper smoke. But he had already held his breath.
The yellow ball bounced off the post!
Zeff braced himself on his legs without moving, his upper body bending backward at nearly ninety degrees like a willow in the wind. The yellow ball whistled past his nose and crashed into the pillar on the other side, popping open with a crack and ejecting dozens of sticky iron caltrops that were firmly nailed to the surface of the cloud pillar.
The green ball rolled to my feet!
Zeff raised his single leg with a seemingly slow but actually swift motion, skillfully dissipating and pressing down on the kinetic energy with the sole of his foot. The green ball trembled twice under his foot, cracked open, and overflowed with a highly acidic green liquid, causing the ground to sizzle as it corroded, but it could not damage the sole of his specially made boot in the slightest.
The basketball fell from above!
Just as Zeff's bent upper body bounced back, he precisely pinched an inconspicuous protrusion on the ball just before it touched the top.
The basketball deflated like a punctured balloon, the compressed, numbing gas inside leaking out silently and being dispersed by a passing gust of forest wind.
Four cloud spheres, four mechanisms, were dissolved into nothingness by four completely different methods.
For the first time, the smile on Shadley's face became noticeably stiff.
"Oh? The old man's hands are pretty steady. Let's try this then."
"Amazing Clouds - Scattering Flowers!"
Shadley's obese body spun rapidly, her wide sleeves billowing like a blower, and dozens of astonishing clouds of varying sizes and colors scattered out like a shower of flowers from a celestial maiden!
These cloud spheres no longer adhere to precise trajectories, but instead spread across all the space around Zeff, landing on the ground, pillars, and even in the air!
In an instant, poisonous fog filled the area within ten meters of Zeff, traps were everywhere, explosions rang out one after another, and visibility was completely chaotic.
Shadley's figure leaped and moved swiftly through the smoke and shadows of the pillars, emitting a strange, chuckling laugh: "Can you find me, old man? Guess where the next ball will come from?"
Despite being in a dangerous situation, Zeff remained calm. With his eyes closed, he relied on the sound of the wind, vibrations, and smells to construct a three-dimensional map of the surrounding situation in his mind.
Poisonous smoke, ground traps, and stray bullet attacks were all useless against him; he was waiting.
He waits for the other party to think he's exhausted and for the other party to unleash that so-called "large combination ball".
Waiting for that inevitable flaw that will be revealed in order to control such a complex attack.
As expected, Shadley made a move!
"Take this! The Ultimate Trial of the Ball - Amazing Ball Topknot - Ball Dragon!!"
The terrifying sphere was hurled at Zeff, like a ferocious multi-headed dragon, baring its fangs and claws as it lunged forward! The energy between the sub-spheres subtly interconnected, a single movement affecting the entire system!
This attack covered a huge area, the trajectory of the ball was unpredictable, and it clearly contained a chain reaction. Its power was far greater than the previous sporadic attacks!
It's now!
Zeff's tightly closed eyes snapped open, his gaze sharpening! This was the moment he had been waiting for!
Faced with the roaring "ball dragon", Zeff did not retreat, nor did he try to block the countless balls.
The muscles in his one leg suddenly bulged, his trouser leg tightened, and spiderweb-like cracks appeared on the hard cloud-like ground beneath his feet!
"Red Feet"
—
He roared in a low voice, his body suddenly released like a taut bowstring! Instead of charging towards the "Ball Dragon", he charged forward in a straight line, almost like a blur, towards the side and rear of the "Ball Dragon", towards the location of Shadley's main body!
It was so fast that it even left a white trail of air behind it!
Shadley's pupils constricted! He hadn't expected Zeff to ignore the deadly "ball dragon" and charge straight at him!
"—Rock Smash!!"
In the reflection of Shadley's horrified, magnified eyes, a powerful front kick landed squarely in the center of his round belly!
"Pfft—!"
It sounded like a muffled thud, as if a water-filled air bag had been struck by a giant hammer.
Shadley's exaggerated smile twisted completely, his eyes bulged out, and his obese body flew backward like a ball kicked with all its might, crashing into a pile of broken pillars and stirring up a cloud of dust.
The situation was completely different on the eastern mudflats.
Gaidaz had completely transformed the nearly 100-square-meter mudflat in front of him into a dark brown swamp cloud domain that constantly emitted gray-black bubbles.
The viscous cloud-like substance slowly undulated, emitting a muddy, putrid odor.
Gaidaz stood on a specially reserved "safe island" in the center of the swamp cloud, rolling his eyes, biting his lower lip, and occasionally slapping the ground under his feet or beside him to replenish and maintain the swamp cloud's range and activity.
Gaidaz is constantly expanding his territory, forcing Gan Fall and Pierre to either risk entering the attack range at low altitude or watch helplessly as he slowly spreads the swamp cloud further, even threatening the waterway entrance.
Gan Fowler maneuvered Pierre around 30 meters in the air, a height that exceeded the most effective throwing range of the Gaidaz "Swamp Cloud Hamburger," but was not so high that it would lose its element of surprise.
Instead of rushing into an attack, Gan Fall, like the most patient hunter, observed carefully.
He observed several key points.
Swamp clouds have a limit to their expansion.
Maintaining such a large swamp cloud must have been quite taxing for Gaidaz. The rate of movement at the edge of the swamp cloud varied, accelerating when Gaidaz slammed the ground to replenish it, and then slowing down again.
Gaddafi's "safe haven" needs to be maintained.
He cannot be completely submerged in the swamp cloud, otherwise he will also be unable to move freely. To maintain the solid ground beneath his feet, he needs to continuously output cloud shell energy to "solidify" or "displace" the swamp cloud.
The attack pattern is singular.
Gadaz primarily relies on Swamp Cloud to trap enemies, supplemented by close-range attacks with "Jet Fist" and long-range throws with "Swamp Hamburger". He lacks effective and sustained anti-air capabilities.
After figuring out his opponent's tactics, Gan Fall took action.
"Pierre, lower your altitude and launch a feint attack on the left flank."
"Gan Fore gave the order in a low voice," Pierre whistled, and with a nimble dive, assumed a low-altitude attack from the left.
Gaidaz immediately became alert and forcefully hurled a large cloud of swamp cloud in the trajectory of Pierre's dive!
"Don't even think about it!"
Pierre rose lightly, the swamp clouds fell, and splashed a new stain on the mudflats.
Gan Fowle noticed that when Gaidaz threw, his center of gravity shifted slightly to the left due to the force, and he unconsciously stomped his right foot to maintain balance.
This means that the opponent's attention to the right side and the "solidified" force under their feet may be slightly distracted at this moment.
"Now!"
A glint flashed in Gan Fall's eyes.
They did not choose to attack Gaidaz himself, as that would risk getting caught in the Swamp Cloud and engaging in close combat.
He gave the reins a sharp jerk, and Pierre understood, suddenly climbing upwards at an almost vertical angle, as if trying to escape the battlefield!
Gaidaz was taken aback and subconsciously looked up, his attention drawn to the sudden ascent, thinking that his opponent was about to give up the attack or find a new angle.
However, just as they climbed to over 2,000 meters and Gaidaz was following their line of sight, Gan Faure suddenly jumped off Pierre's back!
Instead of jumping towards Gadaz, or towards Swamp Cloud, he jumped to the right rear of Gadaz, outside the edge of the Swamp Cloud area, to a seemingly ordinary but relatively dry area!
"What?!"
Gaidaz hadn't anticipated this turn of events.
Did the opponent abandon their air superiority and land far from us?
He instinctively wanted to mobilize the swamp cloud on the right to spread and devour that location, but mobilizing the swamp cloud would take time, and that location happened to be on the weak edge of the area he was currently maintaining.
Gan Fall landed, rolled over to dissipate the force, and without stopping, gripped the "Knight's Lance" tightly with both hands, slamming the metal butt of the lance heavily onto the ground.
As he leaned forward, he channeled all his strength into his arms, aiming the spear tip at the ground beneath his feet, where the "impact shell" pattern shone with a dazzling light!
"Tear me apart!"
Gan Fall roared, using his spear as a conduit to unleash the immense shock force stored within the Shock Shell!
"Impact Technique: Ground Collapse!"
Boom!
Centered on the location of Qiangdun Dun, a terrifying implosion-like collapse occurred in the fan-shaped area in front of it, with the mudflats and clouds reaching a depth of several meters!
The solid sedimentary cloud layer seemed to have been hollowed out and shattered from below by an invisible behemoth, turning into countless loose fragments and dust.
This terrifying shock even spread out like waves, severely disturbing the nearby swamp cloud structure maintained by the energy of the Gaidaz cloud shell!
The "safety island" beneath Gaidaz's feet shook violently. He cried out in alarm and nearly fell, hurriedly using the Wind-Blowing Shell to steady himself.
What terrified him even more was that he felt his "energy connection" with the vast swamp cloud had become extremely unstable due to the violent shaking of the earth's strata!
The viscous swamp clouds seemed to have lost some of their support, their activity greatly reduced, and they even began to show signs of "falling apart," their color fading and the number of bubbles decreasing.
After unleashing this earth-shattering attack, Gan Fall did not pause for a moment, making several swift tactical leaps backward while simultaneously whistling.
After successfully luring the enemy uphill, Pierre made a precise dive and caught Gan Faure at the highest point of his last jump, then took off again.
The entire sequence of movements was fluid and seamless, from feinting, drawing attention, landing, unleashing area-of-effect damage, to retreating, all within five or six seconds.
However, this completely disrupted Gaidaz's rhythm and severely damaged the foundation of his "domain".
"What—what did you do!?"
Gaidaz was both shocked and furious.
Looking at the collapsed, shattered, and dust-filled area before him, and at his own listless Swamp Cloud, his heart was bleeding.
Maintaining such a large area is extremely costly, and the damage will be difficult to recover in a short period of time.
"Your swamp cloud needs a stable geological stratum as a base to maintain its viscous 'devouring' properties," Gan Fall's voice came calmly. "I've simply made your foundation—less stable."
Gaidaz trembled with rage, his reason overwhelmed by fury. "Bastard! I'm going to smash you into the mud!"
The jets from the soles of his shoes and the jets from his elbows sprayed violently at the same time, propelling Gaidaz's body out at an astonishing speed, gliding across the swamp cloud area that was not yet completely deactivated!
He unleashed a barrage of punches, aiming directly at Pierre, who was flying low. He completely abandoned the safe, area-of-effect tactics, determined to finish off this detestable former god in close combat!
Gan Fall was waiting for the other party to become impatient and reckless out of anger.
He calmly pulled the reins, and Pierre deftly flew to the side.
Gaidaz's fists missed their mark, and due to his excessive momentum and poor coordination, he stumbled upon landing.
Gan Faure did not let the opportunity pass. He steered Pierre in a rapid spin, and his spear shot out like a venomous dragon, aiming straight for Gaidaz's exposed back, which had been exposed due to his stumble!
In a panic, Gaidaz tried to twist and block, but his poor coordination betrayed him once again. He tripped over his right heel halfway through the turn!
"Whoaaaaah—!"
Gaidaz let out a comical yet terrified scream, completely losing his balance and falling forward like a giant puppet clumsily manipulated by strings.
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