Mobius struggled free of Bai Chen's restraints and landed off to the side, glaring darkly at him. What was this Honkai energy intensity? What level was it, exactly? Had the world even lost information about that?
Was this ability just cheating? Who knew how many transformations this guy had, or how many trump cards he was hiding?
Unless the situation was truly desperate, Mobius had not wanted to make a move this soon.
"Mobius, if you stop now, we can still talk. As long as I make a few more trips, I might be able to get you all out of here!"
Having transformed into the Herrscher of Thunder, Bai Chen looked down upon Mobius from the sky like a god. The countless bolts of lightning in the heavens displayed his divine might, and the terrifying lightning even illuminated the night sky as brightly as day.
"As long as I use your body to complete my instrument, I will definitely be able to leave this world!"
Mobius had not been in this world for long. She did not dare gamble on Bai Chen's chances of success. She had never believed in anything but knowledge.
Under Mobius's control, countless shadows emerged like venomous snakes and lunged at Bai Chen in the air, trying to drag him down.
"Haah."
Seeing that Mobius had no intention of stopping, Bai Chen could only sigh helplessly. It seemed he would have to test his new skill on her.
Drive: Eden's Star · [Benares · Awakening]
The moment the skill activated, three crimson tattoos joined as one appeared on Bai Chen's back beneath his clothes.
Bai Chen had unlocked the Stigmata system not long ago!
It seemed he would have to beat Mobius up first before they could properly discuss what came next.
The Fight!
With a casual slash, Bai Chen scattered the shadows before him. Lightning flickered within the violet eyes that belonged exclusively to the Herrscher of Thunder.
The instant he equipped the Stigmata, Bai Chen's power erupted as if Mentos had been dropped into cola. This boost was no small matter!
Though the transformation that had originally lasted around three hours could now only last a little over an hour, and the consumption was indeed considerable.
But so what? It would not take that long to deal with Mobius now.
Bai Chen moved, transforming into lightning and vanishing from the sky, leaving only thunder rumbling through the air.
"So fast!"
Mobius's eyes could not catch the Herrscher of Thunder's movements at all, so she immediately slipped into the shadows to evade Bai Chen's incoming attack.
Boom!
A flash of lightning streaked past, and a sharp blade seemed to appear out of nowhere above Mobius's head, slicing her crown in two before she could fully enter the shadows.
Mobius rapidly retreated elsewhere through the shadows and touched the half of her crown that remained. Cold sweat the size of beans rolled down her face. Had she nearly been beheaded just now? Was this brat really that ruthless!?
A pool of black sludge appeared beneath Bai Chen as well, swallowing his legs like a swamp.
At the same time, abnormal energy invaded Bai Chen's body, attempting to harm him.
Bai Chen merely narrowed his eyes, and violent lightning surged out from within him, blasting apart the darkness around him.
"Damn it!"
Seeing her restraint so easily broken, Mobius once more commanded countless shadows to turn into spikes and attack Bai Chen. But an attack of this level was not even worth dodging.
With a sweep of his blade, several arcs of sword energy laced with lightning flew toward Mobius. The violent energy not only tore apart those shadows, but continued onward toward its target.
Before the sword energy even reached her, Mobius felt her body beginning to go numb. She decisively hid in the shadows again, attempting to flee.
Bai Chen would not let her leave so easily. Through the flow of electricity, he immediately sensed Mobius's trajectory.
The instant Mobius poked her head out, Bai Chen flashed before her and kicked her squarely in the face!
Driven by electric current, Bai Chen's kick yanked Mobius straight out of the shadows and launched her away like a cannonball.
A crushing defeat. Yes, this battle was a complete and utter stomp.
If Mobius's memory clone in the story had given the Herrscher of Thunder some trouble, then this Mobius was being beaten like a child!
Bai Chen's transformation into the Herrscher of Thunder had originally stacked upon his own base attributes. In theory, his overall abilities were already stronger than those of the transformed target's original body, not to mention that he was now equipped with a complete Stigmata!
Under such stacked power, even White Comet could not be underestimated, much less the Herrscher of Thunder.
Bai Chen abruptly darted away from his position. The instant he left, several scorched holes appeared where he had been standing!
Looking back along the direction of the attack, Bai Chen discovered that many large-headed dolls resembling Mobius had surrounded him at some point.
"You think toys like this can interfere with me?"
Bai Chen raised a hand, and countless thunder dragons descended from the sky, swallowing a large number of dolls.
"You can try!"
A massive staff came whistling out from where Mobius had vanished, but even this powerful strike was easily blocked when Bai Chen raised his blade.
Yet in that instant, enormous shadows and lightning burst from the staff together!
The unexpected attack landed on Bai Chen as expected, but just as Mobius began to feel pleased, she found him still standing calmly in place.
"Pathetic!"
A thin layer of crimson lightning had been covering Bai Chen's body the entire time. The attack had barely struck his actual body at all.
Looking toward Mobius, Bai Chen saw that she had almost completely lost her human appearance, transforming into a massive monster with the lower body of a serpent.
"Overload?"
Bai Chen exerted force and flung Mobius's staff away. Lightning surged over his blade as he slashed at the monster's chest!
Only in her Overload state could Mobius barely see Bai Chen's attack. She swiftly twisted aside to evade him, leaving behind a cluster of dark lightning that struck at Bai Chen.
Bai Chen had originally intended to reverse the attack and make the dark lightning return to strike its master, but he discovered that this dark lightning differed from ordinary lightning. Before fully analyzing it, his control over it was limited!
It seemed this dark lightning had been modified by Mobius. Perhaps it was some other substance that merely resembled lightning?
Bai Chen could only evade the dark lightning and prepare to close the distance with Mobius again.
Rumble!!
Mobius summoned dark lightning that filled the sky. In an instant, lasers, lightning spheres, and falling bolts filled every inch of the surrounding space! As if she had no energy expenditure at all, she dyed heaven and earth black and green!
Well, she was Mobius, the Infinite Serpent. Though she was not particularly outstanding in combat, she could not possibly be weak when it came to energy reserves.
Bai Chen weaved rapidly through the dense barrage, shattering the spiked shadows that occasionally burst from the ground along the way. Soon, he had closed the distance with Mobius again.
Just as he drew his blade to end the battle, several pillars of lightning suddenly erupted around Mobius, encasing her in their midst.
Some of the lightning struck Bai Chen, blackening his crimson armor, but it did not cause much actual damage.
Seeing his attack fail, Bai Chen could only quickly retreat to a safe distance, a trace of impatience appearing on his face.
"What's wrong? Aren't you quite fast?"
Mobius laughed loudly as she maintained the dark lightning filling the sky. She had been at a disadvantage since the battle began, but now she had finally regained some ground.
"Let's end this. I don't want to play anymore."
Hearing Mobius's mockery, Bai Chen's expression turned cold. He rose into the air and looked down at the green figure on the ground.
Under Bai Chen's influence, the lightning around them gradually grew restless, as though one could inhale lightning with every breath.
Heaven and earth changed color. The sky, which had merely been cloudy before, formed a slowly rotating thunderstorm cloud over a thousand meters wide, centered on Bai Chen.
From afar, it looked as though a god had descended and the apocalypse had arrived.
The Divine Ring belonging to the Herrscher of Thunder behind Bai Chen expanded directly, radiating dazzling light and displaying the Herrscher of Thunder's divine might.
At this moment, he locked onto Mobius below and raised the blade in his hand high, continuously gathering a terrifying aura.
"This is bad!"
Mobius immediately recognized that Bai Chen was preparing a devastating move and hurriedly pulled back, ready to leave the area.
"Dissipate within the thunder."
Whoosh!
With Bai Chen's slash, a terrifying blade wave appeared in the world like a colossal beast.
For the first time, Mobius saw a blade wave that could be described as blotting out the sky. Even the heavens were split in two!
"You've got to be kidding!"
The blade wave made of lightning destroyed everything it touched like dry weeds and rotten wood! Mobius had nowhere to evade!
All she could see was crimson light growing ever closer... and death...
The Battle Ends
The battlefield no longer resembled its previous state. The ground beneath them had been cleaved open by Bai Chen, forming an abyss that stretched for hundreds of meters.
Bai Chen had held back. Otherwise, allowing the damage to spread would have involved many innocent civilians.
After finishing that slash, Bai Chen withdrew his aura and returned to the ground, looking over the devastated surroundings.
The earth had been scorched black by the raging lightning, and even the air occasionally crackled with weak currents.
Snap!
Hearing the sound, Bai Chen immediately turned and controlled a python-like current of electricity to wrap around the person who had made it, dragging her before him.
A young girl version of Mobius! Perhaps because she had been killed and shed her skin countless times, her current outfit was rather indecent.
Mission progress: 12/20
Seeing the system prompt, Bai Chen's eye twitched slightly. He had almost forgotten about that. He would have to find an opportunity to look through every skin.
"You really are ruthless. You actually killed me outright!"
Suspended in the air by Bai Chen's lightning, Mobius glared at him in disbelief. She had thought he merely wanted to subdue her, but he had actually taken several of her lives!?
How many times had she died in that instant? She had become over a decade younger?!
Though Bai Chen wanted to directly tell her that he knew she could shed her skin, Mobius's attitude now clearly annoyed him.
"You're allowed to try to kill me, but I'm not allowed to use lethal force against you?"
Mobius was clearly stunned by Bai Chen's retort, then gritted her teeth and said:
"I was never planning to kill you!"
"You attacked me right away, and you still have the nerve to say that?"
Bai Chen raised an eyebrow and stared into Mobius's eyes, trying his best not to look anywhere else.
"Hmph. I only wanted to subdue you first."
Mobius answered with a dark expression. Who knew this brat would become so strong after transforming? It was completely unreasonable!
"If I had intended to kill you, I wouldn't have tried to draw your blood first."
Mobius continued explaining.
"Huh? So that was for drawing blood?"
Bai Chen was somewhat dumbfounded. He had thought it contained some strange drug!
To verify it, Bai Chen flashed away from where he stood, then returned shortly afterward with something resembling a syringe in his hand.
It was the object he had tossed into the room earlier. Bai Chen dismantled it in front of Mobius and found that there really was nothing inside.
"Then what did you mean by using my body?"
Bai Chen frowned deeply as he questioned her. Such dangerous wording could not simply be dismissed as a misunderstanding.
"Little friend, I meant borrowing one of your arms. Don't worry, my skills are excellent. I can definitely install an identical one afterward."
Seeing that Bai Chen no longer intended to kill her, Mobius began joking again.
"Get lost!"
Bai Chen flung Mobius several yards away, then controlled countless iron sand grains to emerge from the ground, wrap around her body, and pin her to the ground.
It also covered the sight that was making Bai Chen somewhat flustered.
"My trust in you isn't anywhere near that level."
Bai Chen did not dare gamble on whether this was the real Mobius. He was not even familiar with the Mobius from the original world, much less one from this strange world.
Besides, why should he give her an arm? Did Mobius think she was that important?
Before you continue