"Hah!"
Above the Tengger Desert, facing the Chaos Antlar whose energy level had ascended to Class S, Cosmos showed no hint of fear. Instead, he assumed his stance, ready to engage at a moment's notice.
"Screech!"
"鸣——"
Lithra, fused with Qin Yuxin, also showed no sign of backing down. Upon hearing the provocative cry of the Chaos Antlar, she let out a piercing screech of her own.
The Chaos Antlar took the initiative, its rhinoceros beetle horn gathering clusters of dark-red lightning before discharging them toward the pair. The attack was incredibly fast; by the time Lithra reacted, it was already too late.
"Yah!"
Cosmos stood at the front, thrusting both hands forward. A Luna Barrier expanded, blocking the Antlar's lightning assault. Seeing this, the Antlar immediately increased its energy output, attempting to shatter Cosmos' shield and wipe them out in one go.
But at that moment, Cosmos performed a slight backward charging motion before thrusting the Luna Barrier outward. Pushing against the Antlar's hyper-lightning, and under the monster's wide-eyed shock, the Luna power—mingled with the reflected lightning—surged back, forcing the beast to experience its own medicine.
"BOOM BOOM BOOM—"
"Screech~~~"
Cosmos looked at the Lithra beside him. Ye Feng used telepathy to convey his intent, then thrust his glowing right palm forward, releasing a series of crescent-shaped Moonlight Smashes. Simultaneously, Lithra opened her beak, firing a continuous thermal ray that struck the Chaos Antlar dead center.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
"Thud—"
The energy attacks from both struck the Antlar, instantly igniting a flurry of sparks against its dark-red carapace. At the same time, sand billowed into the air, momentarily obscuring their vision.
"Screech!"
The dust had barely risen when the Chaos Antlar's voice rang out again, followed by the rapid buzzing of wings. A massive shadow lunged out of the haze, reaching the position of Cosmos and Lithra in an instant.
Lithra failed to react, but Cosmos had regained his composure. Seeing that his teammate couldn't dodge, he delivered a kick that sent her flying out of the line of fire. Just as he tried to dodge himself, the Chaos Antlar arrived. Ye Feng felt a sharp pain in his abdomen as his surroundings blurred in a high-speed retreat, eventually replaced by a sensation of weightlessness.
"Ugh!"
It wasn't just the height; the Chaos Antlar's massive mandibles were snapping frantically in mid-air. They clamped repeatedly onto Cosmos' waist, causing him to cry out in agony.
Below, Lithra scrambled to her feet. Seeing the two in flight, she opened her beak to fire thermal rays into the sky. The rays danced through the air; 30% missed, 50% hit the Chaos Antlar, but the remaining 20%—due to the two being so close—struck Cosmos.
Under the barrage, the Antlar naturally lost its lift and plummeted toward the ground. However, its massive mandibles refused to let go, denying Cosmos any chance to activate his flight capabilities and dragging him down with it.
"BOOM!!!"
The duo crashed. The ground shook for several seconds, and sand geysers erupted dozens of meters high. Fortunately, the impact forced the Chaos Antlar to release its grip. Cosmos hit the ground hard, rolling several hundred meters before coming to a stop.
Between the sudden impact, the aerial crushing, and the final fall, he struggled on the ground for a moment. Simultaneously, the sapphire jewel on his chest began to flash.
"Ding-dong! Ding-dong! Ding-dong!"
In the quiet desert, aside from the sound of wind and sand, the alarm from the timer was exceptionally distinct, causing the distant students to speculate wildly.
"Did you guys hear that?"
"I think I heard something, but it's not clear."
"I heard it! It sounds like 'ding-dong, ding-dong.' Why is there a sound like that in the desert?"
"Look over there! On the chest of that blue alien Ye Feng fused with—why did that sapphire jewel change color? It's flashing!"
As everyone turned their gaze, they saw Cosmos struggling to stand. The azure light on his chest had vanished, replaced by a blinking red light. The "ding-dong" rhythm matched the flashing red light perfectly!
"Hmm? What is that?" Back at the base, Principal Jiang watched the satellite feed and speculated curiously: "From blue to red... does that represent some kind of danger signal?"
Lin Jing heard the Principal's remark. Seeing the solid blue light turn into a flashing red one made him recall the image of Cosmos vanishing like a mirage a year ago.
'Kid, I hope you can hold on.' He offered a silent prayer before continuing his observation.
In the Imperial office, Shajura watched Cosmos' timer light up. His face remained expressionless, but he muttered: "At this stage, he should be able to use the solar power of Corona Mode, shouldn't he?"
The Luna Mode of Cosmos was a fusion of kindness and mercy—the blue giant of the moon's grace. In this form, Cosmos utilized defense-specialized, soft-style combat. He possessed numerous purification and healing skills, acting as a gentle warrior with myriad mystical abilities.
Yet, even with such a miraculous form, there were limits when facing a berserk monster possessed by the Chaos Header that had completely lost its sense of self.
Thinking this, Shajura looked at a pendant next to his bonsai. It was a simple black cord threaded through a piece of azure amber. As he gazed at the necklace, a sound from the screen drew his attention back to the desert.
'Its offensive capability is too strong; I can't quite keep up with its speed. If only I could use that power...' With the timer ringing, Ye Feng knew his time was running out. Luna Mode was reaching its limit in this situation.
He closed his eyes, attempting to communicate with the light energy within him. In a dark, silent space, a cluster of azure light appeared, bringing a faint glow to the pitch-black world. Gazing at the blue light, its soft radiance represented the power of the Full Moon. And at the very center of this Full Moon power, a cluster of crimson light—representing the fierce, unyielding power of fire—waited quietly.
'I don't know why you are inside me, but since you are here, lend me your strength.' Looking at the orb of fusion energy, Ye Feng reached out, thrusting his hand into the core of that fierce flame.
He was nervous. He imagined the light rejecting him, releasing scorching energy to drive him back. With this trepidation, his palm reached the core, and he gripped it firmly.
In the next moment, the expected heat didn't occur. Ye Feng breathed a sigh of relief, but a new problem arose: He was holding it, but now what? There wasn't an instruction manual for this!
Outside, seeing Cosmos standing motionless, a wave of confusion hit everyone. Was Ye Feng just posing? Why wasn't he moving?
However, Lu Bai noticed the anomaly and aimed his PDI at Cosmos for an energy scan. The result made his eyes widen instantly.
"What is it, Lu Bai?" Lin Fei was injured, but he could still turn his head to look.
"Look at the blue giant—no, Ye Feng's overall energy is skyrocketing!" As he spoke, Lu Bai handed the PDI over. Lin Fei saw the energy readings climbing rapidly, surging toward Class S!
In the desert, seeing Cosmos stationary, the Chaos Antlar felt it had found an opening and unleashed a lightning strike.
"Not good!" Qin Yuxin reacted, Lithra gathering energy in her throat to fire a thermal ray. But despite her quick thinking, she was still too slow.
The Antlar's attack fired. As the dark-red lightning closed in, the thermal ray struck the Chaos Antlar from the side, interrupting its flow. However, a portion of the attack still streaked toward Cosmos.
At that moment, Cosmos suddenly looked up. His right hand rotated in a circular motion, and the power of the Full Moon formed a refractive curved mirror, deflecting the dark-red lightning away.
'Forget it. Even without the help of Corona power, I don't believe I can't defeat you!'
Ye Feng didn't know how to use that new power yet. He wanted to keep studying it, but the Chaos Antlar wouldn't give him the peace to do so. He decided that even without Corona Mode, the Luna Mode of Cosmos wasn't without a way to solve this crisis!
"Hah!"
A heavy grunt echoed. Cosmos moved at high speed, lunging forward with a hand-blade strike. To his surprise, the Chaos Antlar's enhanced insect eyes tracked the movement. Its massive mandibles snapped open, facing him head-on.
Cosmos faltered for a fraction of a second, then shifted from a single hand-blade to both arms. As they clashed, he firmly seized those two giant horns. The strength behind the horns was immense, exceeding his expectations. He decided not to remain in a stalemate.
Bracing his arms, he heaved the beast upward and threw it violently backward over his shoulder!
"BOOM!!!"