Ikaris's feet left the ground.
Golden energy surged from his chest to his limbs, a sudden gust of wind swept across the wasteland, and his figure shot into the sky, quickly transforming into a point of light in the night.
Chen Mo looked up at him.
"You can also use techniques that fall from the sky?"
The next second, a loud bang came from the sky.
Ikaris swooped down, increasing his speed, the golden energy in front of his fist compressed into a blinding shell of light.
The fist struck Chen Mo's raised arm.
A sharp buzzing sound exploded!
The wasteland beneath their feet collapsed instantly, cracks spreading outwards along the deep pit, and Tony, behind the ridge, was also pressed down by the blast wave.
Chen Mo remained still, watching Ikaris with great interest.
Using the recoil, Ikaris flipped over his head, his eyes shooting out beams of energy. Golden rays fell in a crisscross pattern, carving scorched grooves into the edge of the pit.
Chen Mo raised his arm to block the beam of light, and taking advantage of the opportunity, Ikaris rushed to the side while brushing against one of the beams, and his right knee struck hard.
Chen Mo turned his head, his knee grazing his ear. He grabbed Ikaris's ankle with his other hand, twisted his waist, and slammed him hard into the ground.
Bang!
Ikaris's body was half-buried in the soil.
Chen Mo didn't let go, dragging him forward and sweeping across. Along the way, rubble exploded one after another, and a ravine tens of meters long lay across the middle of the wasteland.
Ikaris gritted his teeth, forcibly twisted his body, and simultaneously unleashed golden energy from both palms.
The explosion at close range separated the two.
Ikaris broke free of his restraints, flipped himself up into the air, and before the dust from the explosion had even settled, he had already swooped down again.
Dozens of black and red tentacles tore through the smoke and shot towards us.
Ikaris raised his arm and knocked away the first few tentacles, but the remaining tentacles closed in from both sides, wrapping around his waist, abdomen and limbs.
The dark red blood vessels began to tighten inwards.
Golden patterns lit up from Ikaris's chest, and the Cosmic Energy accumulated within his body erupted simultaneously, creating an opening. His fists, glowing with golden light, slammed towards Chen Mo.
Chen Mo threw a punch at him.
The two clashed repeatedly in mid-air. Each time their fists collided, large golden light spots and Shockwave exploded, crashing to the ground and creating a deep crater.
Ikaris threw a punch at Chen Mo's face, but Chen Mo raised his hand to block it.
The next punch was aimed straight at his chest.
Chen Mo dodged to the side, then nudged his chin with his elbow.
Ikaris raised his left arm to block the elbow strike, the bone cracking with a dull thud. He endured the pain, grabbed Chen Mo's shoulder, and slammed his forehead into it.
Bang!
Chen Mo didn't even turn his head, and still had the leisure to make jokes.
"You're really going all out."
Ikaris's forehead had already split open, and blood was flowing down his nose. He did not retreat, and the golden light in his eyes grew stronger.
Makkari had been gone for several minutes.
He didn't know how long it would take for his people to arrive.
The monster before him neither chased nor rushed to kill him; it simply watched him attack again and again. Its composure spoke volumes.
But he had to continue.
Even if it can only buy us one more second.
Ikaris gripped Chen Mo's arms with both hands, channeling all the remaining Cosmic Energy within his body into his eyes. Golden patterns covered his cheeks, and the surrounding air distorted violently in the intense heat.
Chen Mo saw his choice but did not interrupt.
"There's another ultimate move?"
Ikaris roared in anger.
Two thick beams of light shot out from his eyes, merging into a golden torrent within a distance of less than half a meter, directly engulfing Chen Mo.
Destructive energy pierced the night sky.
Before the beam of light even reached a distant point, the nearby rocks had already begun to melt. The high temperature evaporated the moisture in the soil, and scalding white steam continuously billowed out from the cracks.
Behind the ridge, Tony's mask instantly dimmed.
On the armor's screen, the energy reading kept exceeding the warning line.
" JARVIS, calculate the extent of the damage."
"If the energy continues to be released, the terrain ahead will be permanently altered within seventeen seconds."
To put it bluntly.
"The nearby mountains will be melted through, sir."
Tony stared at the center of the beam.
Chen Mo, who was engulfed by the beam of light, raised his head.
On the surface of the black and red armor, golden patterns spun rapidly, and countless tiny components interlocked, unfolding a precise circular structure before him.
A golden torrent crashed into the ring.
There was no explosion.
The ring is divided into hundreds of layers from the center outwards, each layer rotating in a different direction. The incoming energy is cut, diverted, and then reorganized before being completely introduced into Chen Mo's body.
The molten rocks in the distance stopped spreading.
The impact reading on the armor's screen instantly dropped to zero.
Tony was silent for two seconds.
" JARVIS, tell me, that wasn't a technique he learned in a few minutes."
"I'm sorry, sir, I'm afraid it's just as you think."
"Break down each frame."
Tony enlarged the circular structure and quickly ran his fingers across several layers of the model.
"I need a similar energy distribution system. If the armor can't absorb it directly, then store it in an external module first. If you can't achieve 100%, at least get me 1%."
"This project may require a redesign of the armor's energy circuit."
"Then redesign it."
The beam of light lasted for several seconds.
The golden light in Ikaris's eyes quickly diminished and finally went out completely. His body swayed, but his hands still gripped Chen Mo's arm tightly.
Not a single step was taken.
His all-out attack was completely swallowed up by that golden structure.
The patterns on Chen Mo's body became brighter, and the Cosmic Energy accumulated inside his armor slowly circulated.
He smacked his lips.
"The portion size is decent, but unfortunately there's nothing new to add."
Ikaris looked up, her breathing erratic.
"You..."
Chen Mo took a step forward.
The distance between the two suddenly shortened.
Before Ikaris could retreat, a knee strike was already aimed at his abdomen.
Ikaris's body snapped back, blood gushing from his mouth, as he flew backward. He covered over a hundred meters before crashing heavily to the ground, tumbling backward a dozen times.
The last ray of golden light dissipated from his body.
Ikaris lay among the rubble, his chest still rising and falling, but his arms could no longer support his body.
Chen Mo landed on the ground, his black and red tentacles hanging down from his back.
"Alright, that's the end of the time-wasting segment."
He walked towards Ikaris.
After taking only two steps, Chen Mo suddenly stopped and looked up at the distant sky.
Several golden rays of light were rapidly approaching from the horizon.
"Thankfully, the takeout has finally arrived."
The light at the very front fell upon Ikaris.
Sersi saw her companion on the ground and turned pale. She knelt down to examine Ikaris's injuries, but her hand recoiled as soon as it touched his skin, driven back by the remaining dark red blood vessels.
" Ikaris!"
The Sprite followed closely behind.
She looked at the lingering golden traces in the pit, then at the mechanical patterns belonging to Phastos on Chen Mo's armor, and her eyes quickly reddened.
"Did you kill Phastos?"
Kingo stood in front of the two, his arms outstretched, golden energy balls already forming at his ten fingers.
"Step back."
His gaze swept across the ravaged wasteland and landed on Chen Mo.
The opponent wasn't even injured, but Ikaris had already lost the ability to fight.
The energy at Kingo's fingertips paused for a moment before continuing to gather.
A rapid, booming sound came from afar.
Makkari transformed into a golden lightning bolt and rushed back to the battlefield, stopping beside Sersi. She glanced at the fallen Ikaris, then quickly signaled to the others using sign language.
[ Phastos is dead.]
His abilities were taken away by this person.
Sersi slowly stood up.
The four Eternals gathered together and looked at Chen Mo.
Chen Mo glanced at several familiar faces, his tentacles on the back of his head rising one by one.
Only four?
He pointed at Ikaris.
"If you had come any later, this person would have missed the dinner."