Having figured that out, Jiang Xiaofeng understood that he had to fight desperately to hold on.
It had nothing to do with a man's dignity. After all, dignity was something The Beheaded could casually throw on the ground and trample to pieces.
What Jiang Xiaofeng wanted was to let the Cursed Sword absorb as much of the Abyss power on Aether's sword as possible.
Although he did not know exactly what effect it would have on the Cursed Sword, Jiang Xiaofeng felt that it had to be a good thing.
With that thought, Jiang Xiaofeng planted his feet, equipped the Thunder Shield on his left hand, and gripped the Cursed Sword in his right.
Watching Jiang Xiaofeng's actions, Aether realized that Jiang Xiaofeng really only had the peculiar powers belonging to his weapons. The man himself had nothing but brute strength.
Once he understood this, Aether stopped holding back.
He unfurled six golden wings of light and swiftly attacked Jiang Xiaofeng!
Jiang Xiaofeng carefully sensed the trajectories of Aether's attacks, constantly blocking them with the Cursed Sword in his hand.
Whenever Aether attacked with anything other than the sword in his hand, Jiang Xiaofeng blocked it with the Thunder Shield. Meanwhile, the electrical currents released by the Thunder Shield frantically disrupted Aether as he darted around.
At this point, Aether was truly suffering.
It was impossible to say that he felt nothing from the powerful currents released by the Thunder Shield. Their power really was not weak.
Not to mention that this guy occasionally stomped spikes of rock out of the ground to disrupt his attacks!
Speaking of which, where were the Cryo and Geo mentioned in the intelligence? He had been guarding against them this whole time!
Aether thought as he attacked, watching for openings in Jiang Xiaofeng's defenses.
Little did he know that Jiang Xiaofeng no longer wanted to fight.
There was no other reason-he could barely hold on to the Cursed Sword anymore!
Aether's attacks were anything but infrequent. The Cursed Sword in Jiang Xiaofeng's hand had devoured so much Abyss power just through their clashes, which showed how frequently Aether was attacking!
Despite all his calculations, Jiang Xiaofeng had never imagined that the first thing to go wrong on his side would be his own weapon!
What the hell was the Cursed Sword doing?!
Feeling the Cursed Sword shaking more and more violently, Jiang Xiaofeng steeled himself and activated Time Warp!
"Aether-"
The colors of the surrounding world rapidly darkened, and everything except Jiang Xiaofeng and the Cursed Sword stopped.
Of course, they had not truly become completely motionless. Their speed had simply been reduced so drastically that it looked... as though time had stopped.
That included Aether, who was in midair preparing his next attack.
Jiang Xiaofeng let go of the Cursed Sword, hoping to make it stop.
Who knew that the moment the Cursed Sword left his hand, not only would it keep shaking, but it would fly toward Aether on its own!
Startled, Jiang Xiaofeng was about to chase after it, but then he thought of something, stopped, and let out a slight sigh of relief.
Time Warp slowed down "enemies." Since the Cursed Sword could still move, that meant it held no hostility toward Jiang Xiaofeng...
Jiang Xiaofeng counted down Time Warp's duration.
He had two copies of "Time Warp: Modified," meaning he could let the Cursed Sword absorb the Abyss power on Aether's sword without restraint for a full ten seconds.
Jiang Xiaofeng kept track of the time. Five seconds later, time resumed flowing in the world.
Aether charged at him again, only he seemed a little angrier.
Behind him, Jiang Xiaofeng's Cursed Sword followed relentlessly, wanting to keep devouring Abyss power.
Jiang Xiaofeng smiled slightly and took out another Time Warp: Modified.
The world dimmed once more.
Looking at Aether, whose attack was about to reach him, Jiang Xiaofeng patted his forehead.
Having skills without cooldowns certainly produced pleasing results.
But special skills like Time Warp consumed Jiang Xiaofeng's own stamina.
Moreover, these skills seemed unwilling to stop unless they consumed something. Seeing that Jiang Xiaofeng suffered no effects from exhausted stamina, they instead set their sights on his true body-his moss-like soul.
Time Warp had begun consuming Jiang Xiaofeng's so-called mental energy.
Every time he used it, he had to blink once to show his respect for Time Warp's mental energy consumption.
Yes, that was right. Just one blink.
The consumption of mental energy caused Jiang Xiaofeng no pain. He had already used it twice in succession and still felt no discomfort.
Perhaps something somewhere in Jiang Xiaofeng had already been quietly consumed while he used these skills...
In any case, Jiang Xiaofeng activated Time Warp twice, and the Cursed Sword absorbed Abyss power for a full ten seconds.
Although Aether could not understand exactly what had happened, he could still feel his power draining away!
Looking at Jiang Xiaofeng, who had lost his weapon, Aether immediately launched his next attack.
The black light on his longsword grew increasingly intense, soon reaching more than ten meters high.
Aether leaped high and brought it slashing down at Jiang Xiaofeng!
Looking at Aether's current state, Jiang Xiaofeng shook his head.
The situation had reached a stalemate. Jiang Xiaofeng could do nothing to Aether, and Aether could not hurt Jiang Xiaofeng either.
At that thought, Jiang Xiaofeng called to Aether, "How about we call a truce for now?"
"If we keep this stalemate going and your sister finishes up and comes back here, things won't be so nice."
"You'd be better off just sending a bunch of Abyss Mages after me than coming yourself."
Panting, Aether looked at that turtle shell of Jiang Xiaofeng's and could only nod.
What on earth was that thing?!
Why did it still show no signs of breaking after so many sword strikes?!
Jiang Xiaofeng took out Valmont's Whip and pulled back the Cursed Sword, which was still flying through the air toward Aether.
"Are you trying to be Nightblood?"
Jiang Xiaofeng cursed, then held it tightly in his hand.
"Hmm, anyway, I don't have any other intentions toward Lumine, so rest assured, brother-in-law... fuck."
Jiang Xiaofeng covered his mouth. He had spoken too quickly and let his tongue slip.
Seeing signs that Aether was about to attack again, Jiang Xiaofeng hurriedly said, "Don't worry. I won't interfere too much with Lumine's journey."
"I have my own things to do. The reason I sought out Lumine was that little one by her side."
Aether frowned and asked, "The little one called Paimon?"
Jiang Xiaofeng nodded.
"Forgive me, but I can't tell you why."
"Also, after the Stormterror incident, Lumine will meet Dainsleif before long. Do you really have no intention of stopping it?"
Aether's eyes widened.
Jiang Xiaofeng was amused. So you really didn't know. You weren't pretending in the story.
"Hmm, judging by the temper of your Abyss, you probably won't be able to stop it."
"That's all I have to say. Hmm."
Jiang Xiaofeng spread his hands.
The Cursed Sword gradually quieted down in Jiang Xiaofeng's hand. It probably knew that it could no longer seize the chance to absorb Abyss power.
Aether was thinking too.
Jiang Xiaofeng waved his hand, dismissing his guest.
"All right, Aether. If you have questions, go back to the Abyss and think them over yourself. I still have a second group to welcome here."
"One more piece of advice: Khaenri'ah's destruction was inevitable. Once Khaenri'ah regains its former glory, the entire world could become a wasteland."
"That's why the one above destroyed Khaenri'ah."
"Unless you're completely confident, you'd better not oppose Celestia. Nothing good will come of it."
After hearing Jiang Xiaofeng's words, Aether gave him a long look, opened a portal, and left Stormterror's Lair.
Looking at the spot where Aether had left, Jiang Xiaofeng laughed. "If you said you'd never been to Earth, I wouldn't fucking believe you."
With that, he gave the middle finger in the direction where Aether had disappeared, then looked toward the entrance to Stormterror's Lair.