# Chapter 15: Fierce Battle with Useno
Black dragon scales and ferocious spikes rapidly emerged, and in an instant Linley completed his Dragonblood Warrior transformation. The dark blue robe he had been wearing was instantly shattered by the wild battle qi, the fragments of the robe floating around Linley's body.
"Go!" Linley's dark golden pupils stared at Useno above.
Instantly, the countless floating robe fragments shot toward Useno in the air like arrows. Then, 'Bebe' standing behind Linley vanished from his spot with a whoosh. A distance of nearly a hundred meters—
In just an instant.
Bebe, whose body had grown to half a meter in length, appeared directly before Useno: "Yooooo~" A piercing shriek spread in all directions as Bebe's sharp claws turned into a whirlwind, fiercely swiping at Useno.
"Crackle, crackle~"
Useno's body seemed to catch fire in an instant, black flames churning on his surface. His fists, wreathed in black flames, rapidly clashed head-on with Bebe's claws. Only the sounds of "Boom!" "Boom!"... deafening, terrifying impacts rang out continuously.
"Whoosh!" Useno instantly retreated a hundred meters away.
Bebe glared angrily at Useno: "Useno, if you've got the guts, don't run." Just as Useno was about to speak, a whirlwind arrived before him, and at the same time, a claw covered in dragon scales, as if tearing through the void, suddenly slashed toward him like a sharp blade.
Useno's figure flickered again as he retreated.
Linley's form fully emerged. He stood in midair, blue-black energy rolling off his body: "Useno, why do you keep retreating? Weren't you just saying you wanted to kill me?" Linley's voice was low, his gaze like the cold reflection of a blade, enough to make one's heart tremble.
"Boss. That Useno's black flames are quite powerful, but they probably can't break through the Pulse Defense." Bebe's voice echoed in Linley's mind.
"I know. Useno hasn't used his ultimate move yet." Linley remained cautious and alert.
Useno flipped his hand, and a pure black, narrow longsword appeared in his grasp. He looked coldly at Linley and Bebe, this man and beast: "I was just testing your strength just now. Indeed... you are worthy of making me draw my blade."
Linley, Bebe, and Useno faced off in midair.
The citizens of Selli City below held their breath, watching this unprecedented great battle since the city's founding.
"Go." Linley's voice echoed in Bebe's mind. Linley and Bebe, man and beast, simultaneously spiraled in from two directions to attack Useno. The black mithril heavy sword in Linley's hand reflected a cyan glow as it lightly slashed toward Useno.
Seeing Bebe and Linley charging in, Useno judged in an instant: "This beast called Bebe is faster than me. And this Linley is only slightly slower than me. Was the intelligence wrong?"
Linley's figure flickered, seeming both slow and fast. Extremely eerie.
His deeper understanding of the laws of wind elements had also improved Linley's speed.
Bebe was the first to charge before Useno. Useno remained motionless in midair, letting Bebe's claw swipe at him. But suddenly, a black light flashed on Useno's black longsword, and the blade struck Bebe's claw.
"Clang!"
A sound like metal striking metal. Useno was knocked back a hundred meters by the rebound force. However, Bebe remained motionless in midair.
"Bebe." Linley sensed something was wrong.
"Boss, be careful. His longsword attack contains a soul attack." Bebe warned, "My head was a bit dizzy just now."
Linley's heart tightened. A soul attack?
But from what Linley observed, Useno was a Saint-level warrior. His mental strength probably wasn't that strong. Just like Olivia, who could use soul attacks, but his mental strength was only at the level of an eighth-rank mage. The soul attacks he used had little effect on those with strong souls.
"My mental strength has reached the ninth rank. My resistance should be sufficient." Linley ignored everything else, gripped his black mithril heavy sword, and charged forward again. Bebe shook his little head, then let out a low howl and charged at Useno once more.
Useno moved, instead rushing to meet Linley.
"Whoosh, whoosh~" The black mithril heavy sword, light as a feather, instantly tore through the air and slashed at Useno. The black longsword in Useno's hand, as if piercing through space, struck Linley's black mithril heavy sword with incredible speed.
The black mithril heavy sword and the black longsword collided—
Linley was knocked backward by the rebound, shaking his head in pain.
"Buzz~" A strange, terrifying vibration wave traveled through the black longsword directly to Useno, passing through the hellfire burning on his surface and surging into his body. The violent, terrifying tremors caused Useno's internal organs to shake violently.
"Pfft." A mouthful of blood sprayed directly from Useno's mouth.
Useno looked at Linley in disbelief. He hadn't expected to be severely injured in their first real exchange.
"One more hit like that, and I might not make it. This Linley's attack is too strange and terrifying. My defense is useless." Useno had already sensed Linley's terror. "I didn't think dealing with Linley would force me to use my ultimate move."
Linley's head had just recovered a bit.
"What a terrifying soul attack." Linley's heart trembled. "It not only penetrates the soul but also tempts and confuses."
"Die~" At this moment, Bebe charged ferociously at Useno, his sharp fangs directly biting down. But Bebe passed right through Useno's body, while 'Useno's' body remained in place.
"Two of them."
Linley stared in shock at this scene. Now there were two 'Usenos' in midair, and they were definitely not illusions. They were real!
"Clone?" Linley couldn't believe it.
The two Usenos moved again, becoming four 'Usenos'. This was different from Olivia's afterimages created by extreme speed, because each of these four 'Usenos' was real. Linley's soul force also detected that all four Usenos had Useno's aura.
"How, how is this possible?" Linley couldn't believe it.
The four Usenos stood in midair, coldly staring at Linley. The four 'Usenos' spoke one sentence each, forming a complete statement: "Linley. You do have some strength. You've forced me to use this move. As you saw just now, if you attack me, you'll find my body is illusory. But when I attack you, you'll find... my body is real. In other words, I can attack you, but you cannot attack me. You are doomed."
The four 'Usenos' simultaneously flew toward Linley at extreme speed.
"Die!" Linley charged at one of them, but in an instant, he swung his black mithril heavy sword at another—
Profound Truths of the Earth — 150-Layer Vibration Wave!
But it was like striking air. Linley's black mithril heavy sword passed through this 'Useno's' body without harming him in the slightest. However, this 'Useno' suddenly slashed his blade at Linley. Linley used his black mithril heavy sword to block at extreme speed.
"Boom."
Linley was sent flying, his mind also dizzy.
"How is this possible? How can there be such an abnormal ability?" Linley couldn't believe it. Even facing Fain, even facing Desri, Linley had never felt this hopeless. He couldn't attack his opponent, but his opponent could easily attack him? What was going on?
"Useno. Stop fooling yourself."
Bebe's voice rang out. Linley turned to look at Bebe, whose small eyes were fixed on Useno: "Can't attack you? If four people attacked your four bodies at the same time, tell me... would they hit you?" Bebe seemed very familiar with this ability.
The four Usenos all held their black longswords.
"It seems you know this move?" Useno sneered.
"Of course I do. Don't forget, I'm a darkness-type magical beast." Bebe's body flickered, and he split into two. Two 'Bebes' stood in midair. Useno was shocked by this sight. Linley was also stunned.
Below, the five Barker brothers watched everything happening above.
"What's going on?" Black Shark looked at Gates.
Gates shook his head in confusion: "This battle is beyond our involvement. Just watch."
Linley now flew to the side of the two 'Bebes'. Bebe said to Linley, "Boss. Among darkness attacks, there's a basic skill called 'Shadow Walk'. When Shadow Walk reaches a very high level, you can cultivate 'Shadow Transformation Technique'. Shadow Transformation Technique involves merging your body into shadows to move stealthily. However... above Shadow Transformation Technique, there's an even higher level — 'Shadow Clone Technique'. This requires reaching the Saint level to cultivate."
"But this Useno is even more skilled at 'Shadow Clone Technique' than I am." Bebe said.
"You call this 'Shadow Clone Technique'?" Useno frowned.
"You don't know?" Bebe looked at Useno.
Useno fell silent. In truth, this clone technique was something Useno had gradually comprehended based on the principles of Shadow Transformation Technique while cultivating the laws of darkness elements. As for the name, he had casually called it 'Clone Technique'.
Shadow Clone Technique.
The first level of Shadow Clone Technique was to form one additional shadow on top of the original, allowing the true body to shift positions between the two shadows at will.
The second level of Shadow Clone Technique was to turn two shadows into four shadows, allowing the true body to shift positions between the four shadows at will. Useno had clearly reached this second level.
When Linley attacked one of his clones, Useno's true body would shift to another shadow, then switch back when attacking Linley.
This move was powerful, but against a Deity-level expert's 'Divine Domain', it was completely useless.
"Bebe, when did you learn this?" Linley transmitted mentally.
"Darkness-type magical beasts are born knowing some darkness magic and special attacks. I could only use 'Shadow Clone Technique' after reaching the Saint level. Unfortunately, I'm not as good as this Useno." Bebe said helplessly. Magical beasts are born with magic and some special skills; the more powerful the beast, the stronger the magic.
Linley sighed inwardly.
"So what if you know? You're still going to die!" The four 'Usenos' moved simultaneously, targeting Linley! The four Usenos attacked from all sides at extreme speed. Linley immediately retreated... One against four, how could he fight? If he blocked one, Useno's true body would be among the other three.
In a direct confrontation, he would lose!
"Yoo~" Linley retreated, but the two 'Bebes' howled angrily and charged forward.
Both 'Bebes' were terrifyingly fast. They frantically tangled with the four 'Usenos' in combat. With four shadows to choose from, Useno could dodge much more easily than Bebe.
"Boom." Both 'Bebes' were knocked back.
"Bebe, quickly, come to me. Wait for my command." At this moment, Linley was standing on a street in Selli City, on the ground, looking up at Useno in the air. He waited quietly for Useno to come.
Bebe was a bit confused, but he still flew toward Linley at extreme speed.
"Boss, what are we going to do?" Bebe asked in confusion.
But when Bebe heard Linley's mental reply, his eyes lit up. He quickly scurried onto Linley's shoulder. Linley and Bebe stood on the ground, looking up at the four 'Usenos' above, seemingly unafraid.
"Hmm? What trick are they playing?"
Seeing Linley so confident, Useno was a bit suspicious. But when he searched with his soul force, there was no one else around Linley and Bebe, and no traps. Besides, at his level of expertise, having cultivated Shadow Clone Technique, what trap could he fear?
"Hmph." Useno snorted coldly and no longer hesitated. The four 'Usenos' simultaneously charged toward Linley below!