"How is that possible!"
All of this happened so suddenly. From Wen Jing's sudden attack to the assassin turning into a bloody mist, the whole process took no more than two seconds.
The Metal Controller paused briefly, completely unprepared for this turn of events. Wen Jing before him seemed to have suddenly become someone he couldn't comprehend.
Is this really a student who hasn't fully awakened yet?
To assess the combat strength of an Awakened, two dimensions are typically considered.
One is the level of the Wilderness Body, and the other is age.
In terms of the levels of the Wilderness Body, the three major academies are the most intuitive examples: F to E are low-level, E to C are mid-level, and C to A are high-level.
The distinction between the E and C ranks is somewhat ambiguous because the different talents of the Wilderness Body lead to differences in individual combat strength, thus placing them somewhere between the two ranks.
As for S-rank, that's a super-rank; below that, even A-rank is just an ant, nothing more to say.
Another dimension is age.
Awakened have reached a certain age naturally possess a higher level of combat strength compared to when their compatibility is just at 100%, a result of differences in experience and resources.
Even with differences in combat power, those who can challenge opponents of higher ranks are extremely rare, and this only happens between adjacent ranks. A lower-ranked opponent challenging a higher-ranked opponent is simply a pipe dream.
Therefore, whether it is the Federation or the Empire, the peak combat power consists of high-level Awakened have lived for hundreds of years.
Of course, since there are 'usual' situations, there will naturally be 'unusual' situations as well.
In a massive population, there will always be some exceptional geniuses and outstanding individuals whose combat strength cannot be assessed by rank or age.
Just like how Dean Bai, who was clearly at the bottom of the C-level in the high-level league, still dominated his peers in the same league.
Therefore, the Empire did not underestimate Wen Jing, who was full of legends and Wilderness Body was said to be able to evolve—to ensure that nothing went wrong, the scale of this assassination was already up to the standard for high-level fully Awakened!
Assassination is not a competition where you know your opponent beforehand and have the upper hand. Under normal circumstances, the Metal Controller should have been caught in the first wave of attacks.
As it turned out, Wen Jing not only held on, but also managed to kill the assassin.
The brilliance she has displayed to get to where she is today is not even her full potential?
In the brief moment when the metal master lost his composure, Wen Jing's figure, carrying a strong aura of death, rushed towards him.
"The first one."
She was counting aloud, her pure black compound eyes revealing no emotion.
"Arrogant!" The metal controller was both angry and horrified, but he was by no means a novice. He immediately controlled the extraordinary metal to condense into a solid metal shield in front of him.
"Sizzle!"
As Wen Jing pursued, two blade-like forelimbs suddenly shot out from his hands. A cold, sharp light flashed on them, and the slashes, imbued with Sharpness [ Sharpness ] property, struck the metal shield, instantly igniting a string of sparks and leaving two deep grooves that almost pierced through it.
"Is this the strength of an insectoid Wilderness Body?"
The Metal Master couldn't help but take a deep breath. Although the metal he controlled was strong in its toughness, its hardness was not the highest, but it was definitely not low either.
Wen Jing's Wilderness Body could cause such destruction, and it was even classified as F-level... The Federation's Mastermind system must be malfunctioning!
"Bang!"
The next moment, the Metal Controller swung his arms violently, directly controlling the metal shield to explode. The direction of the exploding metal fragments was under his control, and they surged towards Wen Jing in layers like living things.
At the same time, he conjured a metal skateboard beneath his feet and retreated Extreme Speed.
The shapeshifters, separated by a distance, worked in perfect harmony, immediately activating the surrounding spatial chains to grant him mobility far exceeding his own limits.
The core talent of the Metal Master, [ Metal Frenzy ], is a typical ranged attack. Its greatest power does not come from the metal itself, but from the kinetic energy added when it is in motion.
Moreover, given the assassin's death before them, the two already knew that Wen Jing was strong in close combat, and that they needed to keep their distance from her, whether it was her extreme cold or her Wilderness Body.
"Whoosh whoosh whoosh!"
At the same time, more metal was breaking through the ice behind them, about to form a new storm of sharp blades.
However, just as the Metal Master was fully unleashing his talent and handing over his displacement to the Shapeshifter... the direction of gravity and the curvature of space around him suddenly reversed.
This change was small for the entire locked-down space, but the consequences were enormous.
Because the spatial chain that pulls apart in one direction becomes a 'bowstring' at this moment, the farther and faster it is pulled, the greater the rebound force.
In an instant, the Metal Controller went from Extreme Speed retreating to Extreme Speed advancing.
In fact, the vast majority of this 'power' was provided by the Shapeshifter!
"What?!"
The shapeshifter and the metal manipulator's expressions changed simultaneously; the latter tried to steady himself, but it was too late.
Wen Jing smiled, activated [ Extreme Speed ], and rushed towards him in both directions.
"The second one."
Its sharp forelimbs pierced through the metal rain, precisely penetrating the head of the metal controller and exiting through the cervical vertebrae.
At that moment, the Metal Controller was not yet completely dead.
But then, extreme cold was released.
The light in his eyes dimmed instantly, and like the previous assassins, he dissipated into a cloud of blood mist on the spot.
"Ta-da..."
The surrounding metal scattered on the ground with a clatter, as if it had lost its life.
From the Wen Jing suddenly killed the assassin to the moment the Metal Controller died, the entire process took only a few breaths!
At the scene, only the shapeshifter remained, his face deathly pale and his eyes filled with doubt and uncertainty.
Even though he was a fully Awakened, the strongest among the assassination team members, he was still staring intently at Wen Jing, his heart filled with turmoil.
Besides the extreme cold of close combat, the opponent also possesses spatial abilities. Moreover, the method by which Wen Jing briefly manipulated the spatial chains was different from the conventional principle of spatial sealing. Although it was not enough to destroy the spatial chains themselves, it was a method that was completely unknown to him.
The Awakened are most wary of the unknown.
At this moment, Wen Jing also turned around.
The moment her gaze met the Shapeshifter's, she pushed off with her feet and charged towards him without the slightest hesitation.
The Shapeshifter's heart tightened immediately, and he instantly summoned all the spatial chains around him to create a 'near distance yet far distance' between himself and Wen Jing.
This direct spatial scale, unlike the previous auxiliary displacement, did not give the other party the opportunity to manipulate gravity.
At the same time, his mind raced, and he hesitated whether he should choose to retreat.
If they don't retreat, both of their teammates have already perished. If they continue fighting, they don't know if Wen Jing has any unknown methods up his sleeve. If they delay too long, Dean Fu might arrive soon.
But he was unwilling to give up if they really withdrew.
Wen Jing's continuous bursts of power, killing two C-level enemies, must have consumed a significant amount of her own energy, and there's no doubt that she was recently seriously injured.
If she is actually at her last gasp and bluffing, then retreating would mean missing the best opportunity to kill her.
Wen Jing's current potential is already terrifying. If we miss this opportunity and let her grow unchecked, wouldn't her future be even more dreadful?
Just then, Wen Jing's expression suddenly changed, and the pure black in his eyes faded, becoming very clear.
She looked in one direction with surprise. " Dean Fu!"
"Um?"
Dean Fu has caught up with us?
The Shapeshifter tensed up and instinctively moved his spatial chains to form a defense, as his current concern was that Dean Fu was coming after him.
However, he immediately realized that Wen Jing was bluffing him.
If Dean Fu were here, he would definitely launch a mental attack directly; there would be no need for her to call out.
Sure enough, at the moment the Shapeshifter was distracted, an Energy Pulse shot over.
With a thought, the straight pulse broke in two in mid-air, and the point of breakage showed a spatial displacement like water refraction, causing the attack to miss.
Wen Jing persisted, seizing the opportunity to once again try to close the distance between himself and the Shapeshifter.
Such a resolute attitude suggests that they are determined to keep him here!
"Is she really confident she can kill me? Does she have some trump card up her sleeve?"
Seeing this, the already hesitant Shapeshifter's mind swayed once more, recalling Wen Jing's mental attack from the intelligence report.
The assassination team had actually taken precautions against this.
Metal Masters are ranged attackers, Assassins can enter the shadows and become immune, and Shapeshifter themselves are naturally skilled in mysticism.
Mental attacks require a certain distance to be released and are generally effective only in one-on-one situations.
Moreover, Wen Jing is not fully awakened. If he dares to use a mental attack on any of them during the siege, not only will he fail to kill any of them instantly, but he will also be killed by the others at the same time.
Now that the other two are dead, Wen Jing probably plans to use a mental attack on him after closing the distance.
The Shapeshifter was originally skilled in mysterious magic, was not afraid, but after being struck by Dean Fu and seeing the other party's posture, he couldn't help but feel a little uncertain.
This genius cannot be judged by ordinary standards; if something were to happen to him, he would die here.
While the Shapeshifter is loyal to the Empire, he is not a suicide bomber; he wouldn't be so utterly devoted as to risk his life for Wen Jing...
"Withdraw!"
Having made his decision, he no longer hesitated, retracting the unfolded spatial chains as he moved towards the outskirts of the Out-of-Control Zone.
This Out-of-Control Zone only unfolded after the landing point of the 'gate' was determined. Within the Out-of-Control Zone, it is impossible to use this Wilderness Weapon to connect to other areas of the material universe.
"Don't even think about running away!"
Upon seeing the Shapeshifter remove the spatial blockade, Wen Jing outwardly pursued relentlessly, but inwardly he was resigned.
Just as the other party had guessed, she was actually at her last gasp.
After consecutively killing two fully Awakened, she had very little energy left in her body.