Chapter 43: Cool for Less Than Three Seconds
The aura emanating from Chen was becoming increasingly terrifying. Since the battle began, he had only made a single move, completely unlike those mages who recklessly spammed their skills.
Chen pursued efficiency. In his view, every single point of mana in a battle was extremely precious. Wasting even a fraction of mana was an unbearable thing for him. This could be considered a kind of benign obsessive-compulsive disorder, or rather, every mage lord had this kind of OCD.
Dark elements compressed and gathered at Chen's fingertips, causing the surrounding ground to tremble. Such a massive disturbance was naturally noticed by the Ant King, who was locked in battle with the Ice Giant and the Chairman.
"If that attack lands, it won't be good."
The Ant King raised its arm to block its head, and with a booming sound, it deflected the Ice Giant's hammer strike.
"Thirty-Fourth Form."
The Chairman's hand was like a blade as he suddenly thrust forward. The Hundred-Type sculpture behind him made the same motion, only magnifying the attack range a hundredfold.
With a clang, the golden giant hand of the Hundred-Type stabbed into the Ant King's ribs. Although the Ant King's physical defense was extremely strong, it still felt a sense of suffocation and stinging pain.
The Ant King's body flew backward uncontrollably, only to be met by the Ice Giant's pair of war hammers.
Another boom rang out as the Ant King was hammered into the ground.
It could be said that if any one of those present were missing, the Ant King wouldn't be in such a sorry state.
The Chairman seemed unable to do anything to the Ant King, and had even lost an arm to it, but his role in the battle was absolutely critical.
First, the Chairman's attack range was very wide. More importantly, his attack speed was extremely fast. As long as someone cooperated with him, his attacks were almost guaranteed to hit.
This was incredibly effective. Even if the Chairman's attacks couldn't cause visible injuries to the Ant King, he would continuously deplete its stamina, and would frequently knock the Ant King flying, creating numerous opportunities.
Old Smoke seemed unremarkable, but in truth, he had played an indispensable role in the first round of focused fire from Su Xiao and Chen against the Ant King.
As for Mizaki, she needed no introduction. This was a sexy, tough woman who dared to charge into close combat with the Ant King. The mere fact that she could engage the Ant King in melee showed her willingness to risk her life.
Mizaki's personality was indeed vile, but her current strength was entirely earned through her intelligence and courage. In real life, she was likely a strong, independent woman.
Su Xiao and Chen needed no further mention. So far, only these two had managed to severely wound the Ant King.
Watching the Ant King trying to break through the defensive line, Old Smoke, not far away, curled his lips into a smile. He suddenly thought that if the four of them formed a team, they would surely be unstoppable. Just as this idea appeared, Old Smoke shook his head with a bitter smile. The four of them had personalities that were too 'vile.' If they teamed up long-term, who knew what would happen. Just Chen's temper, which could infuriate someone in three sentences, was enough to handle, let alone Su Xiao, who was covered in blood energy.
"Go ahead and charge the line. In a direct confrontation, I'm indeed no match, but don't even think about breaking through."
Old Smoke took a deep drag on the large cigarette in his hand, smoke swirling around him. At this moment, the nearly sixty-year-old Old Smoke exuded a certain charm, capable of capturing the hearts of many young maidens.
"The uprising... has already begun!"
Needless to say, Old Smoke was about to enter his leader-of-the-rebels mode again. 'Cool for less than three seconds' was the perfect description for this guy.
Boom, boom, boom...
The Ant King punched the Ice Giant three times in succession. The Ice Giant's legs and a small part of its torso were shattered, exploding into a shower of ice crystals.
Just as the Ice Giant was smashed to pieces, Mizaki's eyes suddenly snapped open.
"Perfect timing."
Mizaki pressed her finger to her forehead, just covering the upper part of the trident pattern.
"Freeze!"
Mizaki suddenly let out a loud shout. Old Smoke, standing nearby, almost instinctively lifted his foot to kick her in the face.
Crack, crack, crack...
A vast amount of cold air emanated from the remains of the Ice Giant, instantly enveloping the Ant King and Netero.
"Bai Ye, Chen, don't attack directly. The strength of the Sea Ice is very high; it will affect your attacks on the Ant King. I'll release the Sea Ice in three seconds. Time your attacks yourselves."
As a strong Third Rank contractor, when Mizaki said three seconds, it was naturally precise to the moment.
Chen took a deep breath and began counting in his mind.
The ideal effect was that the moment Mizaki released the Sea Ice, Su Xiao and Chen's attacks would arrive right in front of the Sea Ice, giving the Ant King no time to react, let alone dodge.
Su Xiao's finger lightly pressed the trigger, ejecting the elemental bullet (Dark) from the chamber. He had noticed that Chen's attack was also of the dark attribute.
Dark attribute + dark attribute equals enhancement? Of course not. If the operating frequencies of the two differed too much, they would likely interfere with each other, or even cancel each other out. Ejecting the elemental bullet (Dark) was a matter of combat experience.
The new elemental bullet was of the fire attribute. Fire and dark attributes were mutually non-interfering and non-fusing attributes.
Su Xiao silently counted in his mind. A sharp, piercing screech came from Chen's attack being launched.
Su Xiao wasn't disturbed by Chen's attack. The flight speeds of bullets and spells were different. From the timing of Chen's attack, he could judge that the bullet from the Duke of Annihilation was clearly faster than the 'Finger of Destruction.'
After a brief wait, Su Xiao pulled the trigger. The stock of the Duke of Annihilation recoiled against his shoulder. The thick canvas beneath him was already shredded, and the concrete slab layer below was also extensively cracked.
Bang.
A blast wave over ten meters in diameter spread outward. The bullet left the chamber.
The flight speed of the fire-attribute bullet was impeccable, leaving a trail of fiery red light in the air.
With a crackling sound, the solid ice encasing the Ant King and the Chairman shattered, but the treatment of the two was vastly different.
A milky white light flickered over the Chairman's body. That cute little healer had given him a heal. As for the Ant King's treatment...
A pitch-black beam of light shot towards the Ant King's face. By the time the Ant King regained its mobility, the beam was already very close, with no possibility of dodging.
In a moment of crisis, the Ant King swung its tail in front of its face.
Chen's attack was blocked by the tail, but the bullet that arrived simultaneously had nothing to block it, heading straight for the Ant King's crown.
Su Xiao had fired three shots in total. Except for the second shot, which was a prediction against the fast-moving Ant King and couldn't lock onto its position, the other two shots were aimed at the head.
Judging from the dome-like shell on the Ant King's head, this guy had a very hard head. But the Duke of Annihilation's inlay effect, 'Sneer,' increased headshot lethality by a full 25%. No matter how hard the head was, it would be smashed.
Bang!
A ball of flame exploded. This was the effect of the elemental bullet (Fire). As for Chen's attack, due to the blinding light of the fire, the residual effects of the Finger of Destruction were completely obscured. This technique was one that was spectacular during charging but silent upon impact, the exact opposite of the Duke of Annihilation's attack method.
The ground was cratered by the Ant King's impact. Flames burned within the pit. This orange-yellow flame had an adhesive burning characteristic.
"Cough... cough... cough."
Intermittent, dry coughs came from within the flames.
Slap, slap, slap. A figure covered in flames walked out from the blazing inferno, leaving a trail of fiery footprints in its wake.