Ronan had just lifted his foot when the cracks in the ground continued to spread, purple light pulsating beneath the rubble like veins. Ye Mo's fingertips were still pressing against the burnt-out detector, his knuckles white, his palm icy cold. He didn't move, but his mind had already raced through eight hundred thoughts—the signal had been sent out, no one responded, but no one was affected either, meaning his teammates were still hiding. The real show hadn't even started yet; someone had to be the first to flip the table.
And he was the one who never shied away from making things worse.
Ronan's lips curled into a smile, and he slightly raised his warhammer. The air began to distort, and the energy field bubbled and churned like boiling water. Just as he leaned forward and before he could finish speaking, Ye Mo moved.
Instead of retreating or dodging, he suddenly looked up, pulled his hands out of his pockets, palms facing upwards, as if holding two invisible guns.
"You can't hold out much longer?" Ye Mo grinned, squeezing out the words through gritted teeth, "I'll tell you that."
As soon as he finished speaking, a surge of heat exploded within his body, rushing up his spine and heading straight for his shoulders and neck. The " Lightning Control " module on the 12th level of the Gene Spiral Tower clicked open, and energy fragments, like lit fuses, crackled and exploded along the nerve pathways. He had picked up this ability from the edge of the battlefield where Storm was fighting the Sentry, and it took him seven tries to activate it. The combination method was a makeshift one, cobbled together from " Self-Healing + Electromagnetic Induction," and the side effect was that his head would buzz for three days after unleashing the ultimate move. But now? He couldn't care less about that.
"Boom--!"
The sky suddenly darkened, and the dark clouds seemed to have had their roof collapsed by a single step, pressing down instantly. A blue-white lightning bolt tore through the clouds and struck Ronan precisely on the head. Immediately afterward, a second and a third bolt exploded down in succession, as if God were drilling into his forehead.
The purple crack suddenly contracted, the airflow surged wildly, and the previously solidified dust was shaken into a spray. Ronan's armor flickered violently with purple flames, his left knee buckled uncontrollably, and he swayed, almost dropping the Destroyer Warhammer. Electricity seeped into his body through the metal gaps, his muscles instantly twitched, and the numbness in his right arm shot all the way to his shoulder, making it hard to even breathe.
"Damn!" Ye Mo was shocked. "He actually hit it?"
Before the second round of Thunderfall, he immediately rolled to the side, using a broken rock as cover, and slid five or six meters. This whole sequence of movements was purely instinctive, because he knew that this level of attack would at most tickle Ronan; what was truly deadly was the follow-up—if you hit him and he was still standing, then it was Ronan's turn to go berserk.
Sure enough, the lightning dissipated, Ronan slowly straightened up. His eyes, hidden behind the mask, narrowed into slits, swirling with purple light, and his killing intent surged. He glanced down at the still-smoking shoulder armor, then raised his hand to touch his cheek, which was slightly numb from the electric shock. A low growl rolled down his throat, like Beast bitten by an ant.
"Ants..." His voice was hoarse, eight octaves lower than before, each word sounding as if it had crawled out from the ground, "How dare you... hurt me?"
Ye Mo leaned against the rock, panting. His forehead was covered in sweat, not from exhaustion, but from pain. Lightning Control was like drinking fake alcohol—the power was overwhelming and harmful. After unleashing a wave, his head felt like it had been crushed by a rolling pin. His fingers trembled slightly, and arcs of electricity still flickered at their tips. The system beeped in his mind. " Lightning Control —Cooling down, estimated time remaining: 47 seconds."
"47 seconds?" he cursed inwardly. "I thought I could last another minute before lying down."
But he couldn't show any weakness on his face. He wiped his face, deliberately exaggerating the movement as if he was about to collapse, but in reality, he kept his eyes glued to Ronan's right shoulder out of the corner of his eye—although the attack had briefly paralyzed him, his right shoulder joint had a slight tremor for 0.2 seconds the moment he raised his arm, like a mechanical delay caused by energy overload.
"There's a flaw." Ye Mo was secretly delighted. "No matter how powerful the Power Stone is, the body can't withstand overclocking."
He subtly adjusted his stance, feet slightly apart, center of gravity lowered, ready to launch another guerrilla attack. The situation had changed—he was a passive target just moments before, but now he was a troublesome opponent capable of making Ronan frown. As long as he didn't get greedy with his attacks and didn't try to kill in one strike, he had a chance as long as he was alive.
Ronan didn't waste any more words. He took a deep breath, spread his arms, raised the Destroyer Warhammer high above his head, and his body was engulfed in purple flames, like a layer of burning armor. The cracks in the ground expanded wildly, and purple light surged towards his feet like a tide, converging into a ring of energy.
Ye Mo's pupils contracted. "Are you going to unleash a powerful attack?"
He immediately pushed off the ground and retreated, but it was too late.
"Boom--!"
Ronan stomped his foot on the ground, and a circular shockwave exploded outwards from him, the shockwave carrying debris and arcs of electricity that swept across the surroundings. Ye Mo was thrown back, his back slamming hard against a boulder. He groaned, a sweet taste rising in his throat, almost vomiting. He suppressed his surging blood and qi, braced himself with one hand, and quickly rolled behind another piece of cover, his heart pounding like a drum.
"This is really bad." He licked his chapped lips, tasting a metallic flavor. "If I get hit again, I might just die on the spot."
But he didn't back down. Instead, he smiled.
Just moments after that kick landed, Ronan's right shoulder twitched again, more noticeably than before. It seemed that forcibly dispelling the residual lightning, coupled with his full-force output, had pushed the Power Stone to its limit.
"One more time," Ye Mo gritted his teeth. "If he gets hit just once more, his skin will short-circuit."
He slowly raised his hand, palm facing up, and mobilized his energy once more. His Lightning Control hadn't fully cooled down yet, and forcibly using it would only backfire, but he didn't need to unleash it completely—just one strike would be enough to allow him to regain the initiative.
The sky was still overcast, the clouds hadn't dispersed, and the residual static electricity in the air made his hair stand on end. He closed his eyes for a second, concentrated his mind, and focused all his energy on his fingertips, like drawing a bow, waiting for that one arrow.
Ronan slowly turned his head, his gaze locking onto his location. His warhammer sank to the ground, surrounded by purple flames, his killing intent almost tangible. He walked forward step by step, each step causing the ground to tremble and cracks to spread like a spider web.
"You think... this little noise can hurt me?" His voice was deep, filled with suppressed anger. "I'll show you what true power is."
Ye Mo didn't answer. He simply opened his eyes, raised his hand, and a flash of electricity appeared at his fingertips.
"Then try this."
Another bolt of lightning descended from the sky, striking Ronan squarely on the top of his head. Ronan raised his hammer to block, but the current surged through his body instantly, traveling along the metal. He groaned, his knees buckled, and he nearly collapsed to his knees. His armor flashed a violent purple light, and his left arm completely lost sensation.
Seizing the opportunity, Ye Mo flipped over and leaped up, using the lightning as cover to quickly create distance. He was breathing rapidly, his head was buzzing, the backlash from Lightning Control had begun, his temples were throbbing, and his vision was a little blurry.
"The cooldown is still 70%... I can't fight this head-on anymore." He muttered to himself, leaning against the rock pillar to steady himself, his right hand on the ground, his fingertips still crackling with electricity.
But a smile crept onto his lips.
Because he saw it clearly— Ronan had managed to stand, but the trembling in his right shoulder was becoming more and more frequent, with a 0.2-second delay with each exertion. The Power Stone's energy was overloaded, and his body was barely holding on.
"You're very strong," Ye Mo said softly, as if talking to himself, yet also as if addressing Ronan, "But you've forgotten, even the most powerful machine can burn out its motherboard."
Ronan raised his head, his eyes beneath the mask glowing purple, his killing intent boiling. He slowly raised his warhammer, the energy fluctuations stronger than before, and the cracks in the ground began to emit a piercing cracking sound.
Ye Mo squinted at him, her fingers curling slightly, preparing for the next round of maneuvering.
The wind didn't pick up, and the dust remained suspended in the air.
The real battle has only just begun.