Mahoraga: I'll Adapt!

"What the hell? Dude, who are you?"

The illusory figure manifested by the Jué was filled with questions as it watched someone slip through its protective shield after it was broken.

"Not a buddy? I was playing passively and farming well, just about to build up my energy and mass produce minions to establish a foothold... and you're telling me someone pushed the high ground?"

The white-haired, golden-eyed figure spotted the utterly bewildered Jué from afar and immediately made a hand gesture. "Nine Principles, Polarization, Crow and Declaration, Between Inside and Outside."

"Virtual style ""!"

"I'm so powerful, you think you're a human being?!" Jué immediately fled from his previous position.

A streak of purple light flashed past, blasting the area where it had been standing into dust. Its momentum continued unabated as it crashed straight into the sea, creating a towering wave.

Before the Jué could recover, the figure in the distance had already disappeared, and a voice rang in His ears.

"Jué you ever been kicked at the speed of light?"

"Wh... when?" Jué was startled, not expecting that even with the senses of his body, he could not detect Lu Guan's approach.

"Call out--!"

But Lu Guan didn't give Him time to dodge or react, and kicked His energy body's head off with a single blow.

"Boom!!!"

As his energy body was depleted, the Jué became utterly enraged.

Even a clay figure has some temper, let alone Naruto, who has been secretly developing and Threnodian accumulating enough power for so long.

A purple, illusory moon suddenly shone above Norfall Barrens, signifying that the Jué had chosen to awaken ahead of schedule, determined to subdue this arrogant human.

But as the cunning old fox, He naturally wouldn't choose to use His true form. Instead, a tall, humanoid figure wielding a long spear descended from the sky, landing in front of Lu Guan with a terrifying aura.

"Oh, the old rival's here..." Lu Guan chuckled upon seeing the newcomer. Wasn't this the threshold test for us Mingchao players to get started?

However, logically speaking, shouldn't any normal person with fingers be able to defeat the Crownless in the main storyline?

Unlike in the game, this Crownless can actually speak, "Foolish human, you have no idea what you're doing!"

Lu Guan shook his head. "I've had enough of all the red tape..."

Virtual type ""!!!

The zero-frame attack, Hollow Technique "Zi," successfully hit the Crownless, knocking it back several steps. After the smoke cleared, a black spear flew out and headed straight for Lu Guan.

"Huh... Instead of running away, they're attacking me?" Lu Guan spread his hands and shouted, "The World!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a yellowish-brown humanoid stand-in appeared behind him. Time seemed to stand still, and only Lu Guan and his stand-in could move.

He floated forward, turning the black spear that had shot towards him into the smoke and dust, aiming it at the Crownless.

"Time begins to flow..." As Lu Guan uttered these words, the stand-in behind him disappeared, the time-stopping effect was lifted, and everything around him began to function normally again.

"What...?!" The Crownless never expected that the black spear would fly towards him, and thus was caught off guard and pierced through by his own attack.

"What the hell is this?!" The Jué, who was controlling the Crownless, was nearly driven mad. In the frequencies He had drawn from past wars, He had seen countless powerful Resonator...

They either possessed powerful resonance abilities or outstanding physical bodies, but I've never seen anyone with such an eerie resonance ability...

The Crownless, pierced through the chest, did not fall. Powered by the power of the Threnodian, it possessed an almost insurmountable self-healing ability; the mere non-fatal wound would heal in just a few breaths.

"Not bad... Perfect for testing my new combo technique on you!" Lu Guan the Crownless constantly repairing himself and immediately thought he was an excellent punching bag. "I wouldn't dare use those moves on anyone else I spar with, but I have no reservations with you."

Then, he took a deep breath, and the surrounding temperature seemed to drop. The Jué, who was controlling the Crownless behind the scenes, became alert. He knew—something big was coming.

Lu Guan slowly opened his mouth, then shouted in an almost hoarse voice, "Help me, Mahoraga!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a tall, pale figure appeared before Lu Guan. This time Mahoraga Demon was not the same shikigami that would attack indiscriminately as long as it was within range, regardless of whether it was friend or foe, from the subjugation ritual.

After completing 40% development of his resonance ability, Lu Guan was able to bypass some conditions and summon the subdued Mahoraga, who could now truly become an ally in battle...

"So all you did was call for reinforcements?" Jué complained through the Crownless, "Did you have to make it so dramatic?"

Whose ultimate skill is calling for reinforcements? That's way too weird!

"Let's go, Mahoraga!" Lu Guan gave Mahoraga. "Let's use the Sword of Extermination on Him for the sake of justice!"

However, Mahoraga was not enthusiastic. In the face of the summoner's enthusiasm, it merely symbolically moved the wheel above its head, as if to accommodate Lu Guan's sudden, insidious speech.

This mere genius is no match for Fushiguro; he adapts with ease...

"Two against one? Don't you have any sportsmanship at all?" Jué complained. "How did someone like you end up among the Huanglong people?"

"Fool! This is war!" Lu Guan retorted disdainfully. "If we succeed, we'll be a righteous army; if we fail, we'll still be glorious!"

The Jué laughed in anger, "You damn well... you get to claim all the blame, good and bad!"

"Words are useless! Let's fight!" Lu Guan had no intention of getting into a verbal battle with a naturally evil Threnodian. What if Ming Shi learned from his experience in verbal sparring and he couldn't win the argument next time?

The Crownless picked up his spear. "That's exactly what I was thinking!"

Mahoraga charged ahead, drawing his Sword of Extermination and delivering a powerful slash at the Crownless.

"Bite!!!"

The Crownless held the gun horizontally across the shaft with one hand to block the attack, then placed his other hand on Mahoraga's abdomen.

"Boom!!!"

The black beam of light pierced straight through Mahoraga's body, and even Lu Guan behind him was knocked back several steps.

However, Mahoraga could recover quickly from such injuries with just a little adaptation. It swung its left fist and struck the Crownless on the forehead, sending it flying to the side.

This round was evenly matched.

But is that really the case?

Lu Guan's purpose in coming here was not simply to vent his anger; he genuinely came to obtain further intelligence.

Unfortunately Jué is very good at hiding it, and has not revealed any information about the "Desolation" on Him. If it weren't for the fact that the aura is impossible to fake, Lu Guan would even think that He has not been infected.

"His recovery ability is quite strong..." The Crownless got up again and looked straight at the Mahoraga who had recovered completely.

As a general under the command of "War," it naturally possessed martial arts skills left over from the frequency of war. However, facing an opponent with the same regenerative abilities, it knew that martial arts skills could not be the sole means of victory...

So... the way to win is obvious...

"Boom!!!"

With a loud bang, a female Tacet Discord appeared in the center of the battlefield, holding a dark purple scythe, and slowly walked towards Mahoraga.

The Dreamless, Calamity Class babbling creature, is, like the Crownless, Tacet Discord created by the Lord of Threnodian Jué. However, although it also incorporates the frequency of war, it differs from the Crownless; it is the Jué Flame's truly prized and readily available weapon.

"Now... it's two against two!" The Crownless spoke slowly, shifting his gaze to Lu Guan beside him.

"I don't think so..." Lu Guan grinned, making a hand gesture like a pistol, interlocking his two thumbs and flipping them in front of his chest to form a lightning bolt symbol, then slightly raised his head.

"We're all the same age, I didn't originally intend to..."

"Dimensionality Reduction Strike!"

As the legendary master of the Pomegranate Wall uttered his defiant statement, the three figures, including Mahoraga, began to compress rapidly until they were reduced to a two-dimensional form...

Specifically, the original battles were like those in Devil May Cry... but the battles that were "Dimensionality Reduction Strike" to two dimensions were like those in The King of Fighters.

So, what's the use? It's simple: Mahoraga can quickly adapt to two-dimensional changes, but the "database" of the Crownless and the Dreamless doesn't contain two-dimensional combat methods...

In other words, the "Dimensionality Reduction Strike" turned these two into blank slates.

The wheel above Mahoraga's head began to spin wildly. It quickly adapted to the two-dimensional world, turned its head, and looked at Lu Guan with a resentful expression.

"As expected of Mahoraga, you adapted to changes that others couldn't adapt to so easily! I never imagined you could do something like this!"

"You bastard... what have you done?" The furious voice of the Jué came from the Crownless's mouth. "What exactly happened?"

Lu Guan answered with a mischievous grin, "The string has turned into a meow~"