EP7 Murderous Blades

"Do what you do best"

Meteor focused his mind and concentrated his attention entirely on the North Wind.

He gripped Berloberg tightly, his heart and lungs working at full capacity, his arms turning red and burning hot, the feeling of his muscles throbbing with blood was wonderful!

[Do what you do best, kid!]

Run!

Be fast! Be fast enough!

--Then jump up!

His thick shoe uppers scraped against the asphalt pavement as he took a leap, light as a feather, and Berloberg began to unleash bursts of light.

The moment he broke through the fog, Meteor's timing in raising his sword was perfect. The terrible weather did not affect his judgment of distance; he had always been a genius at execution.

Xue Ming was amazed by Meteor's ability to stay airborne; the kid's jumping ability and explosive power were extremely strong, but today Meteor seemed to have evolved again.

The combination of speed and power, the judgment of timing and distance—the head-on strike was flawless.

North Wind, still unable to move after being attacked by the surge pulse, was doing his best to protect the various components of the artificial body, but had no way to deal with the attack.

The greatsword followed the meteor-like figure as it charged out, cleaving a clear path through the mist!

The loyal colt was coming to its master's rescue. As the meteor began its killing move, the horse [Three Kingdoms Black] started galloping towards its master.

Its large hooves suddenly lifted, exposing its strong legs and belly, as if it were trying to stand up with all its might to scare A Xing away.

But when two armies meet on a narrow path, the brave will prevail!

The scorching hot blade struck the colt's forelegs, cutting forward along the steel frame. Meteor roared furiously and instantly threw himself into the horse's body.

Berloberg's blade was not finely ground; it was a rough, rounded edge. At this moment, the powerful spiritual pressure emanating from Meteor was like voltage, frantically overclocking this psionic artifact.

The moment the circular blade struck the foal's limbs, the fullerene mesh armor instantly burned to ashes. Then, it melted a large amount of oil, which became entangled with the steel bones. The artificial muscles, having lost water and blood, were tightly absorbed by the circular blade!

The horse was sliced in two by the meteor almost instantly!

The blade's sinews remained unchanged, but due to the eerie suction and the temperature exceeding Berloberg's tolerance, the heavy sword nearly bent into a banana shape when it sliced through the horse's chest and spine.

But it is still deadly!

When the meteor fell to earth, half of North Wind's skull was shattered!

The curved greatsword cleaved the man and horse into two Y-shapes, like the forked trunk of a tree. Not a drop of blood flowed out; only the charred wounds could be seen from the bright flames on either side of the blade.

[Die!]

A Xing's leaping strike left him dazed and confused. Fortunately, Berloberg was pulled back by the horse's flesh and blood, allowing him to regain control of his sword and blade. He felt numbness in his legs, as if the sudden burst of extreme power had damaged his hamstrings.

He pushed aside the scalding corpse of the colt and finally saw the Y-shaped head of the swollen North Wind. The crescent helmet and the Prajna demon mask were split open together, and Berloberg also changed from the shape of a sword to a knife. It hammered into the alloy jaw of the North Wind and could no longer go any further.

Meanwhile, the performance of the Shippuden ninjas had only just begun.

Meteor seized the opportunity and ended the Gate of Death North Wind with a single sword strike. At this critical juncture, Gale found a chance to catch his breath and once again hid in the fog.

Xue Ming changed his bullets and returned to A Xing's side. The two brothers looked around back to back. At first, they could still hear the hoofbeats of the famous horse [White Stone], but later it seemed that they had lost their hearing and could not hear any sound at all.

Meteor, sword in hand, warned warily, "Ming Ge! It seems he's gone!"

"The fog hasn't lifted yet." Xue Ming's expression was grave, sensing impending doom. "This guy just witnessed your explosive power and doesn't dare approach us rashly."

Meteor: "What do we do now? Leave here? Pretend to run away and lure him out?"

"SD! Try blowing this fog away!" Xue Ming shouted the order.

Fragrant Dream emanated from its body; the steel cat's armor resembled shimmering silver shark fins, and powerful air currents blew out from the gaps in its cavities.

Xue Ming had already witnessed the power of Soul Might; its ability to break the sound barrier was entirely due to its spiritual structure, which resembled an industrial magical artifact.

The thick fog gradually dissipated--

The meteor was immediately delighted.

"Great! Ming Ge! It works!"

However, Xue Ming's complexion grew worse and worse, and she felt an indescribable tearing sensation throughout her body.

The dense fog, along with the powerful vortex, sucked in the Fragrant Dream iron armor, and then sprayed out from the crevices of the cat's hindquarters. At first, it was orderly, with sixteen wind ducts neatly arranged behind it.

The Fragrant Dream plowed forward several feet due to the powerful thrust, but in just a few seconds, the armor on the steel cat suddenly cracked!

The air duct went out of control in an instant, and the bluish-gray mist scattered outwards, leaving streaks on the asphalt road surface that looked like sword energy.

Xue Ming's face turned extremely pale; his arm had just been struck, and the impact had come too quickly and suddenly.

Meteor stared in disbelief as his older brother's movements grew increasingly sluggish.

He saw that Xue Ming's arm was like mud, with many tiny holes that were almost invisible to the naked eye. These pits were about the same size as pores, but much denser!

Immediately afterwards, the arm began to melt, and a pool of sticky bloody mud fell from the forearm, flowing down along with bone fragments that looked like dust!

Because Xue Ming was holding the gun, his right arm was tightly gripping the handle of the Hunting Goddess, and his forearm was positioned at the butt of the gun. This turbulent current pierced through his arm, as if a high-pressure water jet had brutally sliced through the delicate pink oxide layer of the aluminum alloy butt.

What exactly happened?

Bu Liuxing had absolutely no idea what was going on.

The enemy hadn't even shown themselves, so how could they inflict such severe damage on Ming Ge?

Fragrant Dream took a deep breath, and the jet of thick mist it exhaled pierced through Jiang Xueming's arm and gun butt, along with some flesh and blood from his side, leaving a hole the size of a baby's fist.

Xue Ming's body slumped, part of his lung was injured, and blood foam came out of his mouth and nose. He wanted to get the Universal Elixir, but his hands would not obey his command— Fragrant Dream's spirit body shattered. In that instant, he entered the Gate of Death, but his will to live held him up and prevented him from falling into the inevitable deadly state of blurred consciousness.

"There's a knife in the fog."

Meteor abandoned Berloberg; without Ming Ge's gunfire, he raised Galaxy to cover Ming Ge.

"What's the meaning?"

Xue Ming much. The moment the blood entered his lungs, he felt an unbearable itch in his chest. If he coughed up at that moment, his rapidly spasming cardiopulmonary system would worsen the wound. As he explained, he reached into his bag for Universal Elixir.

"Watch out for the fog. There's a knife in the meteor fog; this thing has altered the structure of all-carbon."

Just like the amusing anecdote Daoist Master Ping'an told Meteor at the very beginning of the journey—

The most ingenious things in the world are often the simplest.

The most stable structure is triangular. There are many configurations of elemental carbon, one of which is the configuration of diamond.

The ninja thoroughly studied the classic human academy, learning all the battle records related to Fragrant Dream, before using this Soul Power attack against Jiang Xueming.

Just now, the steel cat acted as an air compressor, inhaling and expelling the diamond-structured carbon nanoparticles from the dense fog. These nano-carbons are originally harmless to the human body. When they float in the air at the micrometer level and are combined with aerogel or water mist, they are also harmless when inhaled.

However, the Fragrant Dream attracted almost all the dust and mist within a radius of over eighty cubic meters.

Manipulated by the gale, these diamonds transformed into indestructible abrasives, instantly destroying the spiritual structure of Fragrant Dream from the inside out, severely injuring Xue Ming.

The high-speed jet of diamond abrasive pierced through Xue Ming's skin, flesh, and bones, and even through the butt of the Huntress's gun. Like an indestructible blade, it caught even Mr. Wei Meng off guard. That's why Xue Ming told Meteor—there were knives in the air, but they didn't attack them on their own; they ran right into them.

The figure of a ninja with the Gale Force materialized from the pool of blood.

He was like an invisible ghost, without any physical form.

He crossed his arms and arrogantly told Meteor, "Put down your weapons."

Meteor showed no intention of surrendering, Ming Ge was still unable to break free from the grip of the Gate of Death, struggling desperately to wake up from his mentally exhausted state.

What Xue Ming didn't know was that FE204863 had previously used the spiritual essence of this physical body to activate the power of the Regret Pill, so it was perfectly normal for his energy to be completely depleted now.

"Put down your weapons!"

The ninja raised his hand, trying to grab the muzzle of Yinhe's gun.

Meteor immediately opened fire, punching a large hole in Gale's head. The sand-like head was blown apart by the muzzle flash, but it didn't stop Gale's actions. This monster seemed to be able to think without a head and could continue attacking.

The ninja grabbed Galaxy's gun barrel, and in that instant—Meteor felt a sharp pain in his palm as Galaxy's gun barrel began to burn!

"The chemical properties of nano-iron will cause it to spontaneously combust. I advise you to lay down your weapons and surrender immediately." Jifeng kindly advised, but the head that had been blown off by the bullet grew back—and it actually transformed into the shape of North Wind!

Along with the samurai iron armor and breastplate, it completely transformed into the appearance of North Wind!

Meteor's brain was instantly overloaded; he couldn't fathom just how terrifying Gale's true abilities really were.

--Can this guy resurrect other cyborgs?

No, that's not how it works.

Gale definitely needs a stable electronic brain and the support of the Liman Hypothesis. Otherwise, this guy wouldn't deserve to have complete logical thinking.

The illusion before me is a shadow clone created by Gale using the corpse of North Wind!

So even with my head smashed to pieces, this thing could still maintain its sanity and try to grab my gun!

The real Gale always lurked in the shadows; his soul power could be unleashed by remotely manipulating a dummy.

However, this ability clearly violates the laws governing spirits.

These nanomaterials are all inanimate objects created by Gale, and should never be used as a medium to amplify his spiritual power—no matter how useful a tool is, it is still just a tool, and should never be considered a living person or a soul.

These bionic cyborgs have numerous universal interfaces and are highly compatible. If Gale were to transform North Wind's essence into nanomachines and convert them into his physical body...

Thinking of this, Meteor's face broke out in a cold sweat.

--This guy is like a virus. Any engineering waste can be reconfigured into C60 nanomechanical units in his hands, becoming part of his ninja swarm.

Killing his companions will only make him stronger.

"The limitation of Homo sapiens lies in the fact that human weakness is incorrigible."

The ninja destroyed Meteor's weapon and, manipulating North Wind's corpse, began to lecture him at length.

"Mechanical learning, intimidation-based rewards and punishments, cages and whips are the only ways to control you—you are not worthy of civilization."

Meteor's hands were scalded with more than ten blisters. Unable to bear the excruciating pain, he abandoned the Milky Way.

He switched to the bent Berloberg sword and prepared to retaliate.

But the Berloberg also started to heat up! It was heating up from the blade and the hilt together!

Meteor roared, "When! Why was Berloberg also hit by the Soul Might attack?!"

"Just before you cleaved through North Wind's remains, he gave me his last instructions." Jifeng stood with his hands on his hips and chest puffed out, like he was performing for a monkey. "I've already taken a portion of his remains for my own use. There were no lies, no secrets, and no communication barriers between us."

"You share a deep friendship with this nameless warrior beside you. But my divine companion and I are inseparable, sharing the same thoughts."

"The goddess of fate truly favors the brave, allowing me to savor the fear in your heart."

Berloberg also began to burn, almost reducing it to just its handle. Before the flames even touched his palm, Meteor dropped his weapon in pain and slowly retreated, supporting Ming Ge.

The ninja continued—

"--If it weren't for preserving your brains and protecting the precious lives of the holy beast offspring behind you."

"You are no match for me at all. How can a human defy a god?"

Jiang Xueming: "Bullshit! Cough!"

"I'm very interested in you." Gale, wearing a mask that obscured his expression, spoke with increasing intensity. "Just now, you used all sorts of gadgets to kill the Kyoraku Special Squad soldiers, and attempted to kill the gods, whether you were in Extreme Bliss Space or the material world—a coincidence of foresight, a ruthless and decisive judgment."

"It all fascinates me; you think like a machine, you live like a machine."

"Your mental model will surely create new deities to continue serving our eternally joyful and beautiful divine realms."

Meteor finally had a free hand. While holding Ming Ge, he pulled out the Universal Elixir and stabbed it into Ming Ge's neck.

Jiang Xueming's complexion improved slightly, and her eyes cleared from being unfocused.

"If Shinto City were even half as good as you say, I might actually believe you. Besides, I'm a bad person. Would a perfectly virtuous cyborg like a bad man? That doesn't make sense. How about I tell you a joke, and you pass a logic test—I want to see if you can understand it. If you really can, then we can waste our breath and talk about life ideals?"

The gale wasn't in a hurry at all.

His soul power was secretly waiting, hiding beside the railway maintenance passage of the cross-sea bridge. If these two Homo sapiens still had any intention of escaping, he would use his soul power to destroy the bridge.

"Please speak."

"My wife frequents the station's customer service department, chatting with her best friend—" Jiang Xueming recounted these everyday anecdotes while winking at Liuxing, signaling him to fetch the Dragon Slayer Sword, "--What a coincidence, her best friend also likes bad boys."

"After hearing our story, this kind young woman began to have doubts—"

"--What exactly is wrong with me?"

"Is it spending a woman's money? Breaking her heart? Or is it indulging in all three vices—gambling, prostitution, and drugs—and beyond redemption? Which kind of 'bad' does my wife actually like?"

"Do you know the answer, Gale? If you can't, I don't think you're human or intelligent, and we have nothing to talk about."

The samurai general is dead, but the ninja still controls the zombie, and the signal lights on the exoskeleton begin to flash in response to the voice output.

"You really are a bad man, and that's what your wife likes."

Xue Ming's expression changed, and he suddenly grabbed Liuxing, telling him not to make any rash moves.

The ninja finished speaking.

"--It's the kind of evil you're trying to convey—the kind of badness that involves many lives on your hands. Is that the kind of joke you're trying to tell, the kind of humor you're trying to express?"

Xue Ming was speechless, because Xiao Qi had indeed told him such a joke.

"By using my logical reasoning units to make judgments, I need to gradually reconstruct this text. It must be more concise," Gale continued.

Do you like bad boys?

"Yes, I like it."

"Using your money and then hurting your feelings? What kind of 'bad' is that?"

"The kind of evil that has hundreds of lives on their hands."

The synthesized female voice abruptly stopped.

Gale proved with his strength that he was no ordinary ghost.

He already possesses a sufficiently complex mind. Other gods are more or less influenced by electronic memory and genetic prototypes, but like Gale, they should eventually be able to develop more creative associative abilities.

"Jiang Xueming, don't underestimate me."