Cao Yang's body was like paper to this axe, offering no resistance whatsoever. The axe easily sliced through his skin, cut through his muscles, and severed his ribs, as easily as handling a pork chop.
With just this one strike, Cao Yang's body was severely injured, almost cut in two. The immense pain caused him to lose consciousness, his eyes glazed over, and he was practically dead.
Escanor looked at Cao Yang and shook his head helplessly, saying, "Weak, so very weak. To end your suffering, let me send you away from this world!"
Escanor then raised his axe, seemingly about to deliver another blow, but Qian Xunji arrived just then, his six pairs of black wings unfurling behind him, and a black sword in his hand, blocking Escanor's impending attack.
Just as Escanor was feeling a bit surprised, Cao Yang, whom he was holding, had already been rescued by the Evil Dragon that Xue Qinghe had transformed into and taken to an open space where he was put down.
The opponent killed Cao Yang in a single move, demonstrating strength far beyond everyone's imagination. Therefore, Qian Xunji dared not hold back and immediately unleashed his Martial Soul Avatar. His entire body seemed to be enveloped in darkness, quickly forming a set of all-black armor.
This was the first time Qi Ling had seen Qian Xunji in his current battle form. Qi Ling had to admit that he knew very little about Qian Xunji after his Martial Soul Mutation. He only knew that his Fallen Angel Martial Soul corresponded to Qian Renxue's Angel Martial Soul, and that they were the two strongest Martial Soul in the angel Martial Soul, one light and one dark.
Escanor was surprised to have his attack blocked, so he abandoned his pursuit of Cao Yang and looked at the man in front of him, saying, "Hey? Your strength is quite impressive. You were actually able to block one of my attacks. Commendable!"
"Hmph, don't look down on me. You're just a brute with a little strength. Do you really think you're invincible?" Qian Xunji said, a black light flashing on the black magic sword in his hand. Then he slashed at Escanor's chest, leaving a wound.
Strangely, after being wounded by the demonic sword, no blood flowed from Escanor's wound. Instead, it was enveloped in a black flame, as if his blood was being used as fuel to ignite his body.
Although his body was engulfed in black flames, Escanor's face showed no sign of pain, only unwavering contempt, as if he were scorning Qian Xunji's attack.
Then, Escanor stretched out his hand and ran his thumb across his wound. Wherever he touched, the black flames were immediately extinguished, revealing the fresh wound beneath.
"Too weak. Do you really think such an attack can defeat me?" Escanor said. "There's a limit to looking down on people. Let me show you what true power is!"
Then, Escanor raised his axe, and a strange power began to gather in his body once more. This time, along with the increase in power, his body continued to grow larger, and his muscles became even more powerful.
As Escanor absorbed the power and grew even stronger, everyone was astonished. This power—was it Middle God- level? That was terrifying!
Qian Xunji was also taken aback when he saw Escanor transform again, but before he could finish his surprise, Escanor's axe had already swung towards him. Qian Xunji had no choice but to raise his sword to block it again.
But the moment he received the attack, Qian Xunji's expression changed, because he hadn't expected Escanor to change so much, as if he had become a completely different person, and his strength had completely surpassed his own.
Unable to withstand the attack, Qian Xunji had no choice but to use his special ability to instantly etherealize his body in an attempt to avoid the impact of the force.
However, upon seeing Qian Xunji's reaction, Escanor scoffed and said, "Feeling you can't defeat a powerful opponent, you want to run away from the duel before you? How can such a cowardly act be allowed!"
Then, Qian Xunji felt a magical power emanating from the opponent's axe. This power was like sunlight shining on Qian Xunji, making him feel warm.
However, Qian Xunji felt no enjoyment whatsoever; instead, he felt a sense of fear. He discovered that under the influence of this power, his body could no longer become ethereal, and therefore he could not evade the opponent's attacks!
Qian Xunji instantly understood that the effect of this power was to force him to engage in a direct confrontation with his opponent, and it was estimated that some spatial abilities would also be disabled. It could be said to be a rather powerful means of control.
Helplessly taking the attack, Qian Xunji felt like a blade of grass in the wind, being carried away by the gale. Fortunately, he had three pairs of wings to cushion the impact, so he only suffered minor injuries.
"Hey, don't just stand there and watch! Come on in!" Xue Qinghe said helplessly. "We're already at war with the enemy. Do you think they'll let us go if we lose?"
Upon hearing Xue Qinghe's words, the group seemed to remember that they were a team. Several people began to move. If they had so many people, it would be a huge failure if they couldn't even take down one of their opponents.
Qi Ling naturally couldn't just slack off now; he loved nothing more than doing nothing. However, seeing Xiaoyu's enthusiastic expression, Qi Ling said helplessly, "Hey, Xiaoyu, don't act rashly later! This enemy... well, how should I put it..."
Qi Ling for a while, Qi Ling finally found a suitable way to say, "This enemy is very strong, so you just need to cooperate with me! Don't go in when I'm not going in!"
Upon hearing Qi Ling's words, Xiaoyu nodded excitedly and said, "Yes, yes, yes! Bai Di, don't worry, I understand what you mean! I definitely won't let you down!"
"Huh? Really?..." Qi Ling looked at Xiaoyu's expression; it didn't seem like she understood what she meant at all!
Looking at Kurumi beside her, she clearly understood Qi Ling's meaning, and said with a smile, "It seems I also need to lend a hand, but I'm a girl and don't possess that many powerful abilities, so I can only support you like this."
The two people who reacted the most to Kurumi's words were Qi Ling and Xiao Die. No matter how hard it was said, neither of them believed it.
Then Kurumi pulled out a flintlock pistol from somewhere and fired a shot at Escanor. The bullet struck his chest and then slowly fell to the ground, seemingly without leaving a mark.