The moment Tristan ate the crimson fruit, the pressure emanating from him surged.
At the same time, the muscles all over his body swelled like balloons, and his formerly lean cheeks grew round.
"Huh, huh..."
After Tristan swallowed the crimson fruit, the countless fine wounds on his body healed instantly, and a violent presence continued to grow.
Sensing Tristan's presence, Laius's expression changed slightly. He said to Black Tortoise Bowen behind him, "Fourth Brother, attack with everything you've got and finish him off!"
Bowen caught up and nodded in understanding.
The violent presence erupting from Tristan was clearly the result of a desperate measure. If they dared hold anything back now, they would be gambling with their own lives.
Black Tortoise Bowen unleashed his Earth Elemental System Divine Power at full force. Gripping his octagonal hammer, he activated the Profound Mysteries of the Laws of Strength to their fullest and, empowered by his Earth Divine Power, swung it fiercely at Tristan.
Boom!
The heavy face of the hammer slammed into the ground where Tristan stood. Centered on Tristan, an area of nearly a hundred square meters caved in beneath Bowen's blow, sending dust billowing into the sky.
When the dust settled, the spot where Tristan had stood was a deep pit, with no one in it.
"He ran?" Holding his octagonal hammer, Bowen retreated to Laius's side, remaining on guard.
A mocking voice suddenly rang out. "Not bad strength. Too bad your speed is still a little lacking."
As the voice spoke, a pitch-black figure suddenly emerged from the shadow behind Black Tortoise Bowen.
Tristan jerked up his wrist and clawed viciously at Bowen's back.
Rip!
His claws raked across Bowen's back, leaving three deep gouges in his armor.
"Fourth Brother!"
The instant Bowen was attacked, Laius snapped back to his senses and slashed at Tristan with his horse-slaying saber.
Clang!
Tristan's claws collided with Laius's blade in midair. Laius immediately fell back, while Tristan remained standing firmly in place.
Having driven Laius back, Tristan pressed his advantage. He swung his claws at Laius with enough force to rend metal and shatter jade.
After eating the crimson fruit, Tristan's attacks had become extremely fast, and his strength had also increased considerably. In just a few swipes, he inflicted considerable damage on Laius's divine body.
If Bowen had not been skilled at defense and blocked several lethal attacks for Laius, Tristan might well have ripped out Laius's Divine Spark by now.
Grinning viciously, Tristan looked at Laius with eyes full of resentment. "Laius, you forced me to do this. Today, you'll die right here!"
That crimson fruit was Tristan's final trump card. After eating it, his strength would surge for a short time, but the effect would not last long, and once the power it granted faded, Tristan would enter a prolonged period of weakness.
Despite the severe drawbacks of using it, the crimson fruit was still a rare life-saving treasure in Tristan's possession.
If he had not believed that Laius would refuse to let him go, Tristan would never have used the crimson fruit.
With the help of the fruit's power, Tristan's attacks grew increasingly fierce, and the Material Defense Artifact armor on Black Tortoise Bowen had been completely ruined.
At last, after clashing with Tristan's claws once again, Laius shouted to Bowen, "Fourth Brother, do it!"
Awoom!
Black Tortoise Bowen let out a tortoise's roar, and the shadow of a Divine Beast resembling a dragon turtle appeared behind him. Innate Divine Ability, Seal!
The moment he used the Innate Divine Ability of the Black Tortoise of the Four Divine Beasts, the space around Bowen froze, and an incomparably overbearing defensive force radiated from him.
Not only Bowen, but Laius and Tristan were also affected by Bowen's Innate Divine Ability.
Tristan felt his movements slow, as though the space around him had been sealed off by a strange force. Even the slightest extra movement became immensely difficult.
At the same time Bowen used his Innate Divine Ability, a tiger's roar rang out.
Behind Laius, a nearly solid White Tiger shadow appeared.
The White Tiger shadow opened its mouth and roared at Tristan.
Innate Divine Ability, Tiger Roar!
Unlike the Black Tortoise's Innate Divine Ability, the moment Laius unleashed his Innate Divine Ability, Tiger Roar, the surrounding space seemed faintly on the verge of tearing apart.
Tristan clearly sensed that the space around him was tearing apart the instant Laius unleashed his Innate Divine Ability.
The hairs on Tristan's back stood on end. His experience fighting life-and-death battles over countless years told him that Laius's Innate Divine Ability would surely kill him!
"Retreat!"
With a fierce shout, Tristan too summoned the shadow of a Divine Beast behind him: a pitch-black Divine Beast panther.
As the shadow appeared, Tristan's Darkness Divine Clone gradually became insubstantial.
The instant Tristan's Darkness Divine Clone became completely insubstantial, Laius's Innate Divine Ability, Tiger Roar, descended.
Amid the tiger's roar, it was as though a pair of giant hands tore apart the space where Tristan stood. The surrounding space became extremely distorted, and even tiny spatial rifts were visible to the naked eye.
Watching Tristan unleash his Innate Divine Ability, Laius's mouth twitched. "Damn it, that move again!"
Tristan's Innate Divine Ability could render him insubstantial, allowing him to withstand all material and soul attacks while in that state.
When he had fought Laius before, he had relied on that very move to escape with his life.
This time, even with the help of Black Tortoise Bowen's Innate Divine Ability, they had still been unable to stop Tristan from using it.
"What a pity!" Bowen shook his head. "If we'd had Eldest Brother take action, his Innate Divine Ability, Dragon Roar, would surely have stopped Tristan from using his Innate Divine Ability."
Although Bowen's Innate Divine Ability, Seal, could stabilize space to a degree, it was primarily defensive and fell a little short when it came to restricting an enemy's movements.
If Redding had used his Innate Divine Ability and relied on Dragon Roar to disrupt the flow of time, Tristan certainly would not have been able to use his Innate Divine Ability.
The shadow behind him dissipated, and Tristan's face grew somewhat pale. Eating the crimson fruit and then using his Innate Divine Ability had somewhat overtaxed his divine body.
But in Tristan's eyes, it was all worth it. Laius had become his heart demon, and as long as he could kill Laius, Tristan was willing to pay any price.
Looking at Laius and Bowen, Tristan sneered. "Laius, have you decided how you want to die?"
Laius showed no emotional reaction to Tristan's threat. "Say that after you've broken through our defenses."
The two of them were still enveloped by Bowen's Innate Divine Ability. Although Redding had yet to emerge from seclusion, Vermilion Bird Nemo was not in seclusion. The commotion from the three men's battle must have alerted Nemo, and as long as she arrived, Tristan would have no choice but to retreat.
As time passed, the effect of the red fruit on Tristan gradually weakened, but by comparison, the defense provided by Bowen's Innate Divine Ability was dissipating faster.
At last, Bowen's Innate Divine Ability exhausted all its power and dissolved into specks of light.
Killing intent ran rampant in Tristan's eyes. "Laius, I'll dig out your Divine Spark with my own hands."
There was not a trace of fear on Laius's face at Tristan's threat.
Although Vermilion Bird Nemo had yet to arrive, he and Bowen might not necessarily have reason to fear Tristan if they worked together.
Besides, Tristan's power was constantly dissipating. It was still uncertain who would come out on top!
Just as Tristan came within a hundred meters of Laius, a high-pitched dragon roar rang out.
An Azure Dragon Shadow appeared in the air.