Chapter 389: Missed the Target
Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_
The two fighters stared at each other as they felt the noise around them start to tune down. This was a fight that required their absolute concentration, since what was at stake was not simply a victory or a defeat, but something much greater than that.
"Divine Preaching!"
Michaux shouted as he switched through a few hand signs. The hand signs had caught other Mastery casters off guard. They knew that Michaux would never use hand signs while unleashing his attacks, unless he was going to double down on his attack.
"Break!" Michaux shouted.
'Kaboom!'
As if struck by a nuke, the entire arena trembled. The roar of the explosion could be heard miles away. Even while sitting behind the energy shield, the audiences could sense a shocking way of energy sweep across them.
Everyone was shaken by Michaux's performance, as they had finally realized that he had been holding back his power while fighting against his previous opponents.
After seeing such a deadly attack, everyone at Ayrlarng thought that Wang Tong had lost the battle there and then.
Suddenly, the front row audiences heard someone was dusting his clothes amidst the plume of dust on the stage. As the dust and the smoke settled, they watched as Wang Tong stood with tattered clothes and a broad smile on his face.
"Awesome power!" Wang Tong exclaimed.
Michaux had missed his target!
Michaux had never missed his target before, so most people started to wonder if Wang Tong had actually evaded the attack.
The students of Ayrlarng cheered after seeing that Wang Tong was unharmed. Although Wang Tong was well known in Ayrlarng as the strongest fighter—not only in METAL combat but also in fleet combat—no one had thought that he would be able to sustain such a powerful blow from the young master.
After having experienced Michaux's attack first hand, Wang Tong conceded that the soul energy attacks were indeed as powerful as what the other had claimed. Not only was the amount of soul energy in the attack enormous, but the attack was also aimed directly at the sea of consciousness. If Wang Tong didn't have the soul essence guarding his sea of consciousness, he would have been defeated just like all the other opponents of Michaux.
Having missed his target, Michaux was overtaken by astonishment, as his eyes glinted with curiosity.
Wang Tong clutched his fists and smiled faintly. Suddenly, he poked the air in front of him with one of his index fingers and then he announced, "Break!"
"Kaboom...Kaboom... KABOOM!"
A serious of explosion erupted on the ground, with a pattern that was the same as that of Michaux. The blasts let loose a storm of grit and sands hurling towards Michaux.
Michaux slammed a palm down on the ground, sending a wave of soul energy to counter the incoming storm, and eventually subsided the intensity of the storm.
Everyone was in awe of the level of power at the display. After a reverential silence, a wave of cheers erupted from the audiences.
"Who is Wang Tong? How come he was able to stand his ground against the young master?"
Not only had Wang Tong surprised everyone by his powerful attack, but Michaux's superb defense ability had also caught many audiences off guard.
It was obvious by then that the fight was not going to end any time soon.
"Brother Wang, are you planning to defeat me using my own ability?" Wang Tong's attack amused Michaux. Sensing the power in Wang Tong's attack, Michaux was elated to finally fight the mysterious fighter one on one.
"Hehe. I do want to try!"
Before Wang Tong finished the last word, he cranked up his GN force and charged at Michaux. It was common knowledge that although Michaux was the master of soul energy, his GN force was relatively weak. Therefore, by using GN force infused attacks, Wang Tong was trying to use his opponent's weakness to his advantage.
Wang Tong unleashed the "Layered Fist of Tong" at Michaux, wondering how he would be able to defend against his attack this time.
Seeing the incoming attack, Michaux stood still and didn't charge up his soul energy. Why was he thinking? Why didn't he counter the attack?
Right before Wang Tong's blow reached him, Michaux finally swept his right hand across and cast a golden shimmer around him. Wang Tong's fist landed squarely on the golden shield. However, it could cause no damage at all.
Wang Tong took a step back to take in what had just happened.
Wang Tong flexed his wrist. The punch had sent a numbness throughout his arm, as the power in his blow was reflected back to himself by the golden shield.
A brief moment later, Wang Tong attacked again with the Layered Fist of Tong. He doubted that the golden shield would be able to withstand the same attack twice.
Having seen through Wang Tong's intention, Michaux smiled and stood his ground. Wang Tong unleashed over twenty strikes in a blink, but none of them were able to make a dent in the golden shield.
Inside the golden light, Michaux waved his hand and the ground in front of him exploded, stopping Wang Tong cold in his track.
"Brother Wang, pure GN force attack is useless against me."
Having sensed how powerful his opponent was, Wang Tong cracked a satisfied smile. Although Michaux's defense was not perfect, for example, it might be breached if Wang Tong compounded the force inside each punch, it was a huge improvement over any form of defense Wang Tong had ever seen. The reason why Wang Tong didn't compound the force in his punches was that it would take a long time, and no one would wait for that on a real battlefield.
Wang Tong conceded that Michaux's defense would be the most annoying element of the fight. It was similar to Wang Tong's golden shield, but much more powerful.
Wang Tong took another few steps back, and Michaux's golden shield faded away as silence fell into the arena.
Seeing that Michaux was still unharmed after having received the belligerent bombardment from Wang Tong, some of the audiences had realized how wrong they had been in assuming that Michaux's defense was his weakness. So far, the match was a draw, and everyone wondered what could happen next.
"Ruoer, I am so nervous." Ma Xiaoru held on to Li Ruoer's hand and said.
The development on the stage made Li Ruoer furrow her brows. She wondered how come an Ayrlarng student could become so powerful. Why did House Ma ditch the marriage proposal with her brother in favor of this no account? Why did Wang Tong suddenly become so close with the young master Michaux? One question bade another, but Li Ruoer had found no answers.
Wang Tong folded his hands and made a strange hand sign, that looked exactly like that of Guan Dongyang.
"Fire Drake!"
A giant fire serpent spurred out from a wall of fire and charged at Michaux.
Michaux didn't flinch as he set up the golden shield again, with the fire dragon plunging right into him. The impact caused an explosion, sending a shock wave throughout the arena. After the smoke dissipated, Michaux walked out of the cinders and ashes completely unharmed. He extended his arms, sending a force wave out that snuffed the remaining fires around him.
"Brother Wang, I hoped you would show me what I really wanted to see." Michaux shook his head and said. He then linked his fingers and extended his arms, mumbling some words as if casting a spell. Suddenly, the same fire dragon appeared in front of Wang Tong and lunged at him.
There was no time for Wang Tong to evade, so he swept his hands and sent a wave of bone-chilling wind at the fire dragon, freezing it instantly.
All the Mastery fighters couldn't believe their eyes; the two on the stage had repeated their coup de grace with such ease that they didn't even require the aid of complicated hand signs. The fact that Wang Tong was able to cast spells as easily as Michaux was the second shock for the Mastery fighters.
Wang Tong didn't give Michaux time to connect his attacks, so he quickly pressed his left hand down on the ground, as a gaping hole suddenly appeared underneath Wang Tong's feet. Suddenly, Wang Tong disappeared from thin air, as if he had fallen through the hole under him. Michaux could still sense his whereabouts, so he charged up his soul energy and attacked Wang Tong with lightning that fell from the sky. However, Wang Tong was always one step faster than the lightning attacks. When he was close enough, he delivered a sweep kick at Michaux's feet to throw him off balance.