But Kha'Zix had also been caught off guard. As Lianye broke free from the Hunting Rhythm state, he threw a chain net from concealment, smacking it right into the bug's face.
Before Kha'Zix's insectoid body could violently shake free of the lasso, Lianye's hunting blade sliced through its raised Insect Wings, tearing off a large section of its elytra.
Posting the image of the Void Predator Beast's ultimate evolution again. It got censored last time; if it gets hit by the censor's holy light again, there'll be nothing I can do.
End of Chapter
Valuable Prey
After the first close-range exchange ended, both of them pulled back a short distance and regrouped.
Since the Hero Ability Lianye currently used was the Pride Stalker, while the bug before him was the Void Predator, they did not even need the prerequisite of "disagreeing before fighting." The moment they discovered each other's trail, they could start fighting.
Simply put, whenever these two nemeses met, they had to fire a shot first... no, throw down.
The endless desire for battle and hunting was the source of Kha'Zix's continual feeding and evolution. It was also how Lianye collected proofs of glory and adorned the Bone Tooth Necklace with more memorable Trophy Stacks. Since both regarded the other as a nemesis, their desire for each other was even stronger.
Although the Void's energy had left a minor wound on his shoulder, it did not hinder Lianye's arm movements. Neither the coordination, force, nor speed of his attacks was affected.
As he closed in and fought Kha'Zix with his hunting blade, the wound on Lianye's shoulder healed rapidly at a visible rate, despite the corrosive effects of the Void's dark energy.
The Ultimate Being's exaggerated regenerative ability was plain to see.
After briefly losing one elytron, Kha'Zix lost its ability to fly nimbly. Yet it neither dodged nor retreated, instead swinging its enlarged claws as it clashed with Lianye at close range.
The dark-purple enlarged claws, Kha'Zix's most eye-catching weapons, could not only be swung like scythes in direct cross-slashes, but could also twist directions for pinpoint attacks resembling thrusts or upward strikes.
Although the move looked somewhat ridiculous, if this mantis-style strike landed even once, the scythe-like shape of those enlarged claws and the barbs decorating their dark-purple blades would be enough to make the opponent suffer.
"Thrust to kill, slash to wound"—such was the rule of cold-weapon combat. A thrust was far more lethal than a slash of equal force—of course, if one powerful slash cut the enemy in two, then forget I said anything.
Under the gradually brightening moonlight, the thin, cicada-wing-like elytra could be seen slowly recovering. From the point where they had been torn and shredded, even tougher and deadlier Insect Wings rapidly grew once more.
As an ultimate hunter as well, the Void Predator's self-healing ability surpassed that of the Pride Stalker. Otherwise, it would not possess such absurd powers of elimination and evolution.
In League of Legends' lore, when the two heroes first met, even before their powers had reached their peaks, their fierce battle had already lasted from sunset until sunrise.
Stamina and energy alone could not explain the intense battle between these two Ultimate Beings, because both were hunters—assassins—with terrifying destructive and explosive power. Even one successful attack would be enough to grievously wound the other. Strictly speaking, when hunting other prey, a single burst of power from an ambush was usually all they needed.
The only explanation for the endless battle between the Pride Stalker and the Void Predator was that, aside from their stamina, their recovery abilities as Ultimate Beings were equally terrifying—though that could not be reflected in Summoner's Rift. No player wanted a fast-paced match meant to last half an hour to drag on until the middle of the night.
This battle was unlike hunting clumsy Titans. Though Titans possessed immense destructive power, they were lumbering and utterly devoid of combat awareness.
Because of the "weak point" at the nape of their necks, Titans were surprisingly fragile compared to their enormous bodies. Just a few cuts were enough to bring down such giants.
But Kha'Zix was a terrifying opponent Lianye had never encountered before. Every one of its surprise attacks made his heart pound. Fortunately, after more than three years of tempering, he, as a Summoner, had long mastered the Pride Stalker's Hero Ability completely. That was why he could fight the Void Predator to a standstill without yielding an inch.
If the Lianye of several years ago had merely acquired the Pride Stalker's "hardware," then the current him had also become thoroughly proficient in the "software" of combat awareness and fighting techniques.
Thus, to Kha'Zix, the threat and pressure brought by its nemesis were no less than what Lianye himself felt. As the battle-hungry Void Bug adapted to the high-intensity fight and evolved, it deeply felt a surge of pleasure.
—This thrilling, excited tremor was precisely the "valuable prey" they both sought.
No matter what, each of them was prey the other wished to kill someday.
In other words, they had long since acknowledged and accepted each other in their hearts.
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