The instant General Budo finished speaking, a man wielding a heavy sword rushed forward. Just as the sword was about to blow Budo's head off, Budo blocked it with the iron stake in his right hand.
In an instant, a huge electric current surged through the man's entire body, but as a puppet, he felt no pain and continued to exert force towards the blocking iron stake.
Upon seeing the man's profile, Budo had intended to deliver a lightning strike to his chest, but was instead taken aback.
" Rocks... I never imagined you'd be killed by this little girl and used as a puppet..."
This man— Rocks, one of Kurome ' puppets—was a former Imperial general and also one of Najenda's colleagues. On the eve of his planned defection to Najenda, his illicit activities were discovered by members of the royal family, leading to his assassination by Kurome.
"Where are you looking!"
Taking advantage of this moment of stunned silence, Lan opened ' Mostima ' and unleashed a barrage of feathers at Budo, but Budo, as if he had anticipated this, calmly released an energy ball.
" Thunderbolt Concentrated Shot!"
The powerful lightning cannon instantly destroyed all the flying feathers that shot towards the heavily wounded Wave beside Lan. At that moment, the man named ' Wall the Bodyguard ' from the puppet rushed forward and immediately took all the damage for Wave.
Kurome held the katana to her chest, already panting heavily. Controlling Wall to protect Wave was clearly the wisest decision at this moment, but she could barely keep up with Budo's reaction speed.
Like Budo's arm, Destaguru's mouth emitted a terrifying blue light, a warning that it was about to unleash a destructive ray.
Facing this behemoth, Budo supported his right hand with his left, and the three lightning energy balls merged into one, tearing open a small hole in the middle. An unprecedentedly powerful bolt of lightning, covering the entire room, suddenly shot out.
Wall assumed a defensive stance to protect Lan and Wave. Kurome was shielded in front of him by the Kaiser Frog, while ' Destaguru ' unleashed its destructive beam, colliding violently with the overwhelming lightning.
The high-frequency gunfire was almost inaudible; everyone's eardrums were shaking wildly, and the only sound was the howling of the wind.
The walls in front and behind had been breached, and the powerful energy had almost sublimated the rubble that had just rolled down into gas. The flying jade stones, under the continuous explosions, actually acted as a buffer, becoming a shield for the people.
Budo breathed heavily through the thick smoke, while Destaguru's energy was completely depleted, and it was unknown how long it would take to recharge for the next shot.
General Budo's extensive combat experience and powerful Teigu left Kurome, Wave, and Ran somewhat helpless.
But they knew all too well that there was no one to help them.
Budo knew the Kurome Puppet's weakness well; if things continued like this, it would only become a one-sided war of attrition, and even the Danger Beasts ' Destaguru ' was ultimately no match for Budo.
"A bodyguard... what a troublesome character. I'll start by dealing with you."
Amidst the thick smoke, Budo's gaze was fixed on the puppet Wall, who had been protecting Wave and Lan.
If it weren't for him getting in the way, I could easily have dealt with these two traitors, the ' Jaegers '.
Budo raised his right hand; all he had to do was shoot through his power core, and that would undoubtedly signify his victory.
The surrounding puppets were about to step forward to interfere with Budo when they felt a gust of wind that made it difficult for their ankles to exert force—this was the strong wind caused by the air spill from the recent explosion.
Meanwhile, Budo's right hand had already raised the iron stake, which was brimming with the power of lightning.
Three lightning energy balls gathered together; it would take Destaguru a long time to charge up for this shot, but Budo could fire them continuously.
Kurome ' intuition told her that if she were hit head-on by this shot, Wall would definitely die.
Just then, Lan stepped in front of Wall.
This was such a reckless move, it was like committing suicide. Kurome and Wave looked at Lan in disbelief.
Clearly, as a puppet, Wall's defensive capabilities are stronger than those of the physically formed Lan.
Moreover, even if Wall is shattered by the lightning, as long as Kurome, Wave, and Lan are still alive, there is still hope.
"Lan... what are you doing?!"
For some reason, Lan chose to take the hit, but when Wave and Kurome looked at him, they felt a special feeling in his eyes, as if he were seeking encouragement from his companions, and his eyes shone with a unique brilliance.
For some reason, Kurome and Wave now want to believe in Ran at this moment, and they have no other choice but to believe in Ran.
"Wanting to trade one life for another... that's a wise choice, since your usefulness isn't as great as that puppet's for now..."
General Budo aimed his right hand at Lan's body, and three lightning balls shot out as if summoned.
The three pearls merged into one, then the pearl shattered, and dazzling white lightning once again spread throughout the rooftop-like room.
Without the wall to block the light, the lightning strike didn't blind them, but neither Kurome nor Wave dared to watch any longer.
Lan is probably going to die in battle.
The incredibly powerful lightning cannon, almost the size of a two-story building, hurtled straight towards the outnumbered Lan. But at that moment, Lan's wings suddenly spread to their maximum extent.
"Secret Technique: Feather of God!"
Everyone knows that the legendary Teigu, ' Thousand-Mile Flight Mostima, ' grants the user the ability to fly, but no one knows that its wielder secretly discovered its ultimate technique.
' Feather of God.'
This skill was specifically developed to counter Champ the Clown's " Chaos Scream," and while it consumes an enormous amount of energy, it can deflect all of the opponent's flying attacks.
Lan hadn't activated this skill yet, precisely because she was waiting for Budo to gather his strength and unleash this devastating cannon shot in her direction.
A feather lay across Lan's face, radiating a golden glow.
This radiance didn't carry the same intense killing intent as Lin Feng's bullet impact, but rather a chilling sense of cleansing and purifying everything.
For a moment, time and space seemed to stand still, and everything was frozen in place, except for that string of electromagnetic cannons that seemed to want to devour everything. It charged forward with bared teeth and claws, but all that could be heard was a clear, chime-like sound.
As if time had reversed, the vector of this electromagnetic pulse was completely twisted by this small feather that exuded a cool and detached aura. Its direction was reversed, pointing directly at General Budo.
Then, time and space resumed their flow.
"----???!!!"
All he could see was a white flash. General Budo raised the iron stake in his right hand to resist the inexplicable reversed lightning strike, but it was too late.