Douluo Continent: The Book of Witness and Peerless Tang Sect

Chapter 219 Finals - Individual Battle (Part 2)

As Ling Luochen finished communicating with the auxiliary intelligent cigar, the previously relatively calm preparation phase of the competition suddenly accelerated into the intense confrontation phase. The soul-guided power armor, which had been steadily advancing, suddenly stopped, followed by an exaggerated and abrupt air intake sound that echoed throughout the competition arena.

This unprecedented situation caused Meng Hongchen to instinctively stop in his tracks. The next moment, the seemingly heavy and solid soul-guided power armor abruptly left a phantom trail and disappeared from Meng Hongchen's visual range.

A roar like a dragon's cry rapidly approached. Meng Hongchen knew she needed to dodge, but it was too late. Because the two had been closing in on each other since the start of the match, the distance between them wasn't particularly exaggerated at this moment. The super-limit propulsion mode specially set up on the soul-guided power armor for escape, after absorbing Ling Luochen's soul power, entered full-power mode. The exaggerated speed was something a Soul King couldn't react to.

Wearing his soul-guided powered armor, Ling Luochen transformed into the most formidable forward in rugby, charging forward violently and firmly anchoring the quarterback holding the football. The only difference was that rugby defense members were not allowed to intentionally harm the quarterback, but Ling Luochen was deliberately trying to severely injure Meng Hongchen.

Holding Meng Hongchen tightly between the arms of the soul-guided power armor, Ling Luochen recklessly activated the electromagnetic pulse cannons and plasma cannons in the palms of the armor's hands, as well as the energy-gathering soul-guided cannon on the chest. Ignoring the damage to the soul-guided power armor and whether her own soul power could withstand such consumption, Ling Luochen only wanted to use the armor's capabilities to launch a surprise attack and control Meng Hongchen for the brief moment she had the power to completely cripple her.

Meng Hongchen felt extremely unwell. In just two short seconds, after losing control of Ling Luochen's position, she was already under immense control. The air around her was visibly distorted, and an extremely dangerous aura was constantly assaulting her senses.

Meng Hongchen knew very well that she didn't have time to break free from Ling Luochen's control. All she could do now was activate her defensive soul tool and see if it could buy her enough time to escape.

All the soul tools activated by Ling Luochen on the soul-guided power armor had taken effect, and a golden soul-guided shield appeared around Meng Hongchen. The appearance of this soul-guided shield was not beyond Ling Luochen's expectations. Back when the tactical meeting was held, everyone at Shrek Academy had already made it clear that each member of the Sun Moon Team carried at least one invincible shield.

In just three seconds, Ling Luochen was confident that she could control Meng Hongchen. Even though her own soul power no longer supported Ling Luochen in continuing to use the soul tool, don't forget that Ling Luochen was never a soul master; she was a Soul King-level control-type soul master produced by Shrek Academy's inner court.

Although Ling Luochen's control-type soul skills were relatively less effective against Meng Hongchen due to their shared ice attribute, as long as they worked, it didn't matter; Ling Luochen was simply stalling for time. Throughout this battle against Meng Hongchen, Ling Luochen's sole intention was to perish together with her.

Securing victory in the individual elimination rounds is indeed difficult. Ling Luochen is willing to use a 2-2-3 formation to secure the win for Shrek Academy, but he absolutely does not want the powerful opponents he has faced to become stumbling blocks for Shrek Academy in the same formation. The four filler opponents are fine, but Meng Hongchen is not an option.

Whether it was Ling Luochen's determination that moved the heavens or not, the situation quickly shifted in Ling Luochen's favor. The invincible shield was very useful, but as the granddaughter of the Mingde Hall Master, Meng Hongchen's defensive soul tool was clearly of a higher level.

The defensive upper limit of this kind of defensive soul tool is no worse than that of the invincible shield (the invincible shield is said to be invincible, but it still has a limit. It's just that on the platform of the competition, the defensive ability of this one-time defensive soul tool can indeed be called invincible). Moreover, compared with the invincible shield that needs to be actively triggered, the soul tool equipped on Meng Hongchen can be passively triggered, which will provide more protection for the user.

In fact, it was precisely because this defensive soul tool could be passively triggered that Meng Hongchen was spared the direct knockout from the competition by Ling Luochen's suicidal charge. After all, Meng Hongchen's martial soul was a mimicry martial soul, lacking the physical enhancements of a beast martial soul. Given his delayed reaction time, it was perfectly normal for him to be unable to withstand the fierce impact.

However, this very feature is both its strength and its weakness. Compared to an invincible shield that absorbs soul power instantly upon activation, the defensive soul-guided equipment used by Meng Hongchen requires continuous absorption of the user's soul power. The higher the intensity of the attack to be defended against, the more terrifying the soul power consumption becomes. Given the current attack intensity released by Ling Luochen controlling the soul-guided power armor, Meng Hongchen's soul power reserves are rapidly draining away at an uncontrollable rate.

Ling Luochen wanted to control Meng Hongchen for another three seconds, but in less than two seconds, Meng Hongchen was already in a state of exhaustion of soul power. To avoid the embarrassing situation of completely losing her soul power and collapsing helplessly on the stage, Meng Hongchen chose to risk trying to break free from Ling Luochen's control. And then, that was the end of it; Ling Luochen successfully achieved his pre-planned tactic of mutual destruction.

While Meng Hongchen took advantage of the moment when Ling Luochen's offensive paused and retracted her defensive soul tool, Ling Luochen swiftly cast a control-type soul skill that froze Meng Hongchen's entire body. Immediately afterward, he used the soul-guided lightsaber attached to his soul-guided power armor to deliver three cuts and six holes to Meng Hongchen.

The stab hadn't landed in a fatal spot, so Tian Sha Douluo didn't stop him. However, before the soul power light emanating from the soul-guided power armor completely extinguished, Meng Hongchen fell unconscious due to excessive blood loss and was casually tossed onto the arena floor by Ling Luochen. Immediately afterward, a metallic groan echoed across the arena as the two-meter-tall soul-guided power armor collapsed like a mountain topped with a jade pillar, unable to move further.

The victory of Shrek Academy in the individual battle was announced in a formulaic manner, and as usual, Tian Sha Douluo sent the defeated Meng Hongchen to the Sun Moon Team's waiting area. However, this time, Tian Sha Douluo did not urge the Sun Moon Team to send in new members. Instead, he waved for Shrek Academy to come up on stage themselves and carry away Ling Luochen, who should now be in a coma, and the soul-guided power armor.

Since both sides were fielding new members, Tian Sha Douluo generously gave them time to prepare. However, it's hard to say whether Tian Sha Douluo himself also wanted to use this opportunity to organize his thoughts.

Huang Jinxu, the Heavenly Fiend Douluo, admitted that due to his martial soul, he wasn't a particularly emotional person. However, the current situation still stirred a complex feeling in him, something he hadn't experienced in a long time. Having lived to this age, Huang Jinxu had naturally witnessed the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament before, nor had he seen the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy battle against Shrek Academy for the first time. But this was the first time he had seen the Sun Moon team so badly outmaneuvered.

Shrek Academy's strength on paper appears quite weak (compared to Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy), and they didn't use any fouls during the competition. No, not just fouls, they didn't employ many outrageous or eye-catching tactics either. Compared to previous Shrek teams, the only change in this year's Shrek team, besides their significantly lower average strength, lies in their soul tools.

Compared to the absolutely traditional Soul Master teams of previous years, this year's Shrek Academy team felt like a team sent by a Soul Master Academy, displaying a variety of novel Soul Tools that even the Sun Moon Academy couldn't produce. Huang Jinxu carefully recalled the previous matches, and this Heavenly Fiend Douluo had to admit that the Sun Moon Academy team, which usually only used Soul Tools with unknown effects to trick others, had actually fallen victim to these same Soul Tools with unclear functions from the Shrek Academy team.

The atmosphere in the stands was quite lively. In the eyes of the audience, the despicable Demon Dragon Sun Moon Team was about to be defeated by the Warrior Shrek Academy. The atmosphere on the competition stage was quite quiet. After all, the Heavenly Fiend Douluo was still reflecting on his performance and was not in a hurry to urge either side to send their next player onto the field. The atmosphere in the waiting area was quite tense. Both Shrek Academy and Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy had now reached the most crucial moment.

For the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy, Ma Rulong, who was about to take the stage, was their last hope. The information Long You had analyzed beforehand was actually flawless; its unusual clarity and completeness stemmed entirely from the Sun Moon team's deeply ingrained and intense belief that their captain would be the last to save the day. All the previous arrangements were, in fact, designed to allow Ma Rulong to stage a desperate comeback.

Yes, that's right. Compared to the original story, in this timeline, Meng Hongchen isn't the one expected to succeed in the Sun Moon Team. The Sun Moon Team knows that Meng Hongchen, having already shown his skills in team battles, holds few secrets for Shrek Academy. Their poison, which could have been a trump card, will be thoroughly guarded against. In a contest of raw power, any Soul King from Shrek Academy wouldn't back down. Therefore, in the end, the Sun Moon Team will still have to rely on Ma Rulong, who possesses an absolute advantage in soul power.

For Shrek Academy, whether Dai Yueheng can fulfill his pre-match boast is also crucial. Ma Rulong doesn't need to be injured to the extent of Meng Hongchen, but Ma Rulong must be worn down sufficiently.

"There's no need to hide anymore. We're the ones who're behind now. No matter what, we have to win the one-on-one elimination battle. It's unacceptable to end this tournament here."

"Yueheng, remember, we've already done all sorts of rehearsals, so don't put too much pressure on yourself. The move Luo Chen just used was pretty good, but if you want to use it too, you can't use it blindly; you have to find the right opportunity."

"Don't worry, we will definitely achieve our goal." X2

The battle began, and Ma Rulong's revelation of his spirit rings indeed caused a stir among the crowd. However, Dai Yueheng's subsequent fighting style triggered a chorus of boos throughout the Star Luo Square.

To achieve his ultimate goal of wearing down Ma Rulong, Dai Yueheng completely abandoned all pretense of dignity in this battle. Relying on the powerful detection and auxiliary intelligent soul tools that Fan Yu had added to his soul-guided power armor, he dodged Ma Rulong's attacks throughout, avoiding contact entirely. This was an extremely passive hit-and-run tactic, completely disregarding his reputation as the Shrek Academy's offensive-type Soul Emperor—a textbook example of a cowardly man.

Furthermore, in order to conserve his soul power and prepare for the final burst of power, Dai Yueheng relied entirely on his physical strength and the mechanical hydraulic system within the soul-guided power armor throughout the piloting process, except for the detection soul guide device and the auxiliary intelligent soul guide device that were required to supply soul power. He did not activate the soul guide engine at all.

Two full minutes passed, and after trying various ranged attack methods without achieving the desired effect, Ma Rulong's face, which had become enormous due to the possession of his martial spirit, revealed a distinctly gloomy expression.

At this point in the match, Ma Rulong was well aware that the Sun and Moon team's chances were slim. Otherwise, what Elder Hong had just said wouldn't have been "We must win the one-on-one elimination matches to ensure the Sun and Moon team's journey doesn't end in the second round of the finals," but rather "It's time to win the championship that belongs to us."

"As a power-attack type Soul Master, are you going to keep running away like this forever?"

Despite knowing it was unlikely, Ma Rulong still wanted to try influencing Dai Yueheng's choice with words. Once Dai Yueheng had the idea of ​​retaliating, Ma Rulong was confident that he could seize the moment when the other party attempted to fight back and exploit the weakness created by the dynamic shift in the situation.

Faced with Ma Rulong's provocation, Dai Yueheng stopped abruptly. It wasn't that he was tired, nor was he provoked by Ma Rulong into changing tactics; rather, it was because there was no need to waste any more energy. Ma Rulong's current posture clearly indicated that he wasn't planning to continue with ranged attacks, and running now would simply be a waste of energy.

However, despite stopping, Dai Yueheng didn't reply. Judging by his own experience, Dai Yueheng was certain that if he revealed any weakness here, Ma Rulong wouldn't let the opportunity pass. Having already challenged a stronger opponent from a weaker position, Dai Yueheng couldn't allow himself to make a mistake in the fight.

"How about close combat? Let's settle this with the methods you Soul Masters are best at."