In the blink of an eye, the light quickly faded, leaving only large patches of scorched ground and flickering arcs of electricity to mark what had just happened.
Yano was blasted backward, the residual shockwaves from the explosion still rippling through his body. Thankfully, his armor held—had it not, he'd have been obliterated.
As he spotted the black shadow speeding toward him, Yano activated the thrusters on his waist, stabilizing his flight. He halted himself midair, then launched forward again.
They collided head-on!
No retreat—full force!
Blazing flames erupted, his fist glowing red-hot in an instant. Golden patterns flared across his skin, fire-element energy surging wildly.
Zane watched it all but didn't change tactics. Massive quantities of ice and fire energy separated from the ambient Ether.
A streak of ghostly blue—pale blue flames burst forth—not from his fists, but his legs!
Though clearly flames, every step Zane took left frost in his wake. Just as they were about to clash, he suddenly halted mid-charge.
He wasn't recklessly charging in. Qingyi had taught him to weigh his strengths and weaknesses carefully—he'd taken that to heart.
Zane knew his human body, unaided by Ether, couldn't match Yano's mechanical strength.
Only a fool would trade blows head-on.
The earlier charge? Just bait.
Zane shifted his footing, sidestepping Yano's punch. He spun—one leg rising—
And slammed it down!
Yano's missed fire punch didn't stop. A surge of violent fire energy burst forth, erupting into a horizontal firestorm that scorched nearly 100 meters of ground into ash.
But Zane had long since moved out of range.
His counterattack struck Yano like a hammer blow, slamming him into the ground as if Zane had stomped him down with overwhelming force.
Almost the moment Yano touched the ground, ice energy exploded. A sunken ring of ice formed instantly around him.
Both fighters were now inside it.
Ice crystals coated Yano's body. Blue flame serpents slithered through, seeking to burn everything.
Yano's eyes lit up suddenly.
Then, his body split with cracks, scalding elemental energy pouring out—
In the next instant, it erupted.
A crimson energy shield expanded in a flash, engulfing a wide radius. Outside the blast, Zane was already retreating fast.
He landed lightly, expression unchanged. The rippling space around him gradually stilled.
Much better than speeding up manually.
As the red light faded, a figure burst out from within—blazing fast, like a cannonball skimming the ground.
No—this was a cannonball!
As Yano neared, his chest flared red—
BOOM!
A hundred meters away, a skyscraper was blasted open midsection. Within a second, the entire structure collapsed.
But on the ruined battlefield, the fight continued.
This time, there were no large-scale explosions. It was like watching two martial arts masters—every movement sleek, sharp, and alive with motion.
Strands of Ether energy clung to Zane, and openings and dangers constantly appeared in his vision.
At first glance, their moves looked unremarkable—less flashy than even an Ethereal's claw swipe.
But when Zane sidestepped and Yano's fist crashed into the ground, a deafening boom shattered the earth like a spiderweb, revealing the true intensity of their clash.
Moments later, Zane pulled back.
"You're right, senior. I'm not your equal in this—still a lot to improve."
"If I were a Void Hunter like Hoshimi Miyabi, I'd probably be losing already."
Zane's gaze sharpened. He had no problem admitting weakness. This opponent had vast combat experience—backed by a massive data bank and terrifying learning speed.
Zane wasn't there yet.
He'd been slacking off recently. That would change. Time to train with Qingyi every day and catch up…
But this wasn't a problem.
He had more than enough tricks up his sleeve.
"Yano, take this blade."
Zane conjured the Ether Long Sword once more. Three types of elemental energy surged into it like a storm—red, blue, and gold interweaving, forming a brilliant tri-color glow.
The battlefield dimmed. Zane stepped on Yano's body—his once-imposing mechanical form now broken and battered.
Yano realized the threat—he could already sense the scope of this next attack.
He activated all his thrusters, launching straight into the sky.
Zane didn't move. He simply watched quietly as energy surged around him, still building.
"Hiding in the sky..."
"Think that'll help?"
"I'll slice the sky—"
"Along with you!"
...
"Miss, isn't this a bit much?"
"This entire military zone…"
Shin waved off the concerned voice beside her, visibly impatient.
"What's the problem? I'm going to help my people. What's wrong with bringing more troops?"
She said it like it was common sense. The man beside her gave a bitter smile—it almost sounded like he was the unreasonable one.
"But Miss, this is a critical time for your promotion. The pressure from above is already intense. Shouldn't you dial it back a bit...?"
He sighed, but didn't voice his real thought: he didn't know why that Fool sealed off the Dead End Hollow, but that guy only just joined the Falkenhayn Mercenary Troupe. Since when did he become her personal soldier?
"Hold back? Heh…"
Shin scoffed, flicking her hair behind her ear.
"So what if I've learned how to run experiments? Those lunatics are getting bolder every day. Perfect time to crush them."
"I want to flaunt my strength. I want to throw my weight around. Got a problem with that?"
"If they don't like it—come fight us!"
"If they beat me, I'll walk away. But if they can't…"
"Then they'd better shut up and live with it!"
The colonel beside her winced. His gaze shifted to the stream of armored units and fully armed defense troops pouring out.
Miss!
This was a whole military zone!
Thousands of troops, fully mobilized!
Who the hell could stop that? Who'd even dare?
Sure, those who know understand it's a Hollow containment operation. But anyone else might think she was staging a coup against New Eridu!
This was power-tripping to the max...
"I've held back long enough. Let me have some fun!"