Chen Fei's voice carried across the battlefield, and I couldn't help laughing as I heard the challenge in his tone. "You really don't know when to stop provoking me, do you?" I shouted back, although there was already a smile forming on my face. Chen Fei simply raised his hand, and the flames surrounding his body suddenly intensified, turning brighter as the temperature around him began to rise.
"Why would I stop when you're clearly having fun?" he called back. "Besides, I think we've learned enough about Sonic Speed. Now I want to see whether you can keep up with me."
Before I could answer, Chen Fei disappeared.
He didn't move like Fang Xiaotong did. There was no simple streak of motion across the ground, nor did he rely entirely on physical speed. Instead, his entire body erupted into brilliant flames as he launched himself into the air, leaving behind a trail of fire that stretched across the battlefield. He flew directly over the defensive line, and the monsters beneath him immediately looked upward as though they had sensed a predator approaching from above.
Then Chen Fei raised both hands.
The flames surrounding his body separated into dozens of streams, each one twisting through the air before descending toward the monsters below. The creatures attempted to scatter, but the fire moved with Chen Fei's control, following their movements instead of spreading randomly. Several monsters were engulfed almost immediately, their bodies disappearing beneath the intense flames before collapsing onto the pavement.
"He's controlling every single flame," I muttered.
Yin Yuca stood beside me, watching the battlefield with an expression of genuine amazement. "And he's doing it while flying."
Meiying looked toward the monsters Chen Fei had just defeated before turning back toward us. "If he keeps improving at this rate, we might not have to worry about the monsters getting anywhere near the school."
A tremendous explosion interrupted her.
Chen Fei had descended directly into another group.
The flames surrounding his body exploded outward, creating a circular wave of heat that forced several monsters backward. Instead of allowing them to recover, Chen Fei immediately raised his hand and compressed the flames into several concentrated spheres. One after another, the spheres shot forward and struck the creatures with tremendous force, each impact producing another burst of fire.
The monsters that had survived the first attack tried to charge him.
Chen Fei didn't retreat.
His entire body transformed into fire.
The creatures passed directly through him.
For a moment, it looked as though they had successfully attacked him, but Chen Fei's body simply reformed several meters behind them. He turned around, raised his hand, and unleashed a massive stream of flames that swept across the creatures from behind.
I couldn't help staring.
"That's ridiculous."
Fang Xiaotong laughed beside me. "I was thinking the same thing."
Chen Fei landed several meters away, his body returning to its normal form as the remaining flames slowly disappeared around him. He looked toward us with a confident grin.
"Still think Sonic Speed is better?"
Fang Xiaotong immediately shook his head. "I never said that."
"You were thinking it."
"I was absolutely thinking it."
I laughed while watching the two of them argue in the middle of a battlefield. Somehow, despite the monsters surrounding us and the sound of gunfire continuing in the distance, the exchange made everything feel slightly less terrifying.
Then another group of monsters emerged from the smoke.
This time, there were far more of them.
At least twenty creatures rushed toward the defensive line, their bodies moving together as they charged through the streets. The police immediately began firing, but the sheer number of monsters forced several officers to retreat.
Chen Fei's expression changed.
"Fang."
"I see them."
"Take the ones on the left."
Fang Xiaotong nodded.
"I'll handle the right."
The two of them moved at almost exactly the same time.
Fang Xiaotong disappeared from sight, accelerating toward the left side of the approaching horde while Chen Fei launched himself into the air. Fang moved between the creatures, striking their legs, heads, and bodies before immediately changing direction, preventing them from surrounding him. Every time one of the monsters attempted to attack him, he was already somewhere else.
Chen Fei, meanwhile, became a living inferno above the battlefield.
He spread his arms, and the flames surrounding him expanded outward until they formed a massive burning arc. With a sweeping motion of his hands, he brought the flames downward.
The entire right side of the monster horde vanished beneath the fire.
The heat was so intense that even the soldiers standing nearby were forced to shield their faces.
"Everyone move back!" a police officer shouted. "Give him room!"
Chen Fei continued controlling the flames, concentrating them around the monsters rather than allowing the fire to spread toward the school. His control was surprisingly precise. Although his ability possessed tremendous destructive potential, he was clearly making an effort to keep the flames contained to the battlefield.
One of the monsters managed to escape the flames.
It charged directly toward Chen Fei.
Chen Fei looked at it.
The creature leapt.
Chen Fei simply raised one hand.
A wall of fire appeared between them.
The monster crashed directly through it.
For a brief moment, I thought it had managed to reach him.
Then Chen Fei's eyes narrowed.
The flames surrounding his body suddenly became brighter.
The creature stopped.
A concentrated beam of fire erupted from Chen Fei's palm and struck the monster directly in the chest. The creature was thrown backward and crashed into the ground several meters away.
Chen Fei looked at his hand.
"That was stronger than before."
Fang Xiaotong appeared beside him almost instantly.
"You're getting stronger during the fight?"
"I think so."
Fang looked toward the remaining creatures.
"Then we'd better keep fighting."
Chen Fei smiled.
"Agreed."
The two of them rushed forward again.
This time, Fang Xiaotong created openings for Chen Fei rather than simply defeating everything himself. He would accelerate toward a group of monsters, draw their attention, and force them to chase him before suddenly changing direction. The creatures would become grouped together as they attempted to follow him, and that was when Chen Fei would strike.
A wave of flames would sweep across the group.
Several monsters would collapse.
Then Fang would move toward another group.
Chen Fei would follow.
Again and again, their abilities began complementing each other.
"Left side!" Fang shouted.
"I've got it!"
Chen Fei immediately redirected the flames toward the creatures Fang had gathered together. The fire swept across them, and Fang accelerated through the opening before turning around and leading another group toward Chen Fei.
"Behind you!" Fang shouted.
Chen Fei turned.
A monster was already within striking distance.
Instead of moving away, Chen Fei allowed the creature's claws to pass directly through his flaming body. His physical form dispersed into fire before reforming behind the monster.
"Too slow."
He placed his palm against its back.
The flames erupted.
The creature was thrown forward and crashed into the pavement.
Fang Xiaotong stared at him for a moment before laughing.
"You're getting pretty confident."
Chen Fei looked over his shoulder.
"I learned from you."
"Then you better keep learning."
Another group appeared from the smoke.
Fang Xiaotong immediately accelerated toward them.
Chen Fei followed from above.
And for the first time since the invasion began, the four of us realized something important.
The monsters weren't simply fighting humanity.
They were fighting us.
Fang Xiaotong's speed allowed him to control the battlefield from the ground, while Chen Fei's Flames of Orion gave us overwhelming offensive power from the air. Meiying could keep injured fighters alive, and Yin Yuca remained beside us, watching everything unfold with a strange calmness that I couldn't quite understand.
"Brother Yin!" Fang shouted while accelerating past him. "You'd better figure out what your luck can do soon!"
Yin Yuca smiled faintly.
"I'll try."
Meiying looked at him.
"Just don't do anything reckless."
Yin Yuca glanced toward the battlefield.
"I'll keep that in mind."
Another explosion shook the ground.
Chen Fei had just eliminated another group.
Fang Xiaotong immediately charged toward the next one.
The invasion had only just begun, yet the four of us were already beginning to understand our roles.
And as Fang Xiaotong accelerated across the battlefield while Chen Fei descended from the sky in a storm of flames, neither of them seemed interested in slowing down.