"Charge!"
"Kill them!"
These five thousand soldiers were Liu Yan's true elite troops, and they were truly able to hit any target without hesitation.
Wang Yi had already been considering retreating, and with Liu Yan's army from Gengshi arriving at this time, how could he not run away? He immediately ordered the entire army to retreat.
Liu Yan led his army in pursuit and won a great victory, but he failed to find Liu Xiu!
"I'm going to take a look over there. You all should clean up the battlefield, or leave Kunyang and set up camp in the south," Liu Yan said, looking at the funnel-shaped cloud of insects.
Liu Jia hesitated for a moment, but finally bowed and accepted the order.
Liu Yan had a premonition that Liu Xiu was over there...
The bottom of the deep well was pitch black.
If Liu Xiu's or the fairy goddess's plan had any flaws, it would probably be the lighting—where was the light?
This is why Xiang Yu's eyes were different from ordinary people, and with the addition of the newly learned domineering aura, he had gained some perception ability, which was why he was able to barely see the situation inside the cave.
However, this environment is very suitable for training the ability to perceive the outward release of Haki. Simply put, it involves releasing Haki energy in the form of extremely small particles, mastering the interval distance, and using the energy particles to transmit information. It is somewhat like a martial arts master judging the target's movements based on air movement, or the perception of a beginner-level Observation Haki.
Of course, even if Xiang Yu couldn't see, there was still a way. Hao Jiu's system itself had night vision capabilities and didn't rely entirely on light.
"Thank you for coming...for justice!"
Liu Xiu's words made Xiang Yu very passionate and eager to fight, but Hao Jiu felt that they sounded a bit childish.
He kept using the term "this humble one" to curry favor with Xiang Yu and get him to work harder. There was no need to use such language. On the contrary, I remember Fujitora often using "this humble one" in his speech.
Could it really be due to Fujitora's influence? Or could this be another side effect of the Spirit System? Will using it for too long cause me to lose myself and start seeing myself as a character from One Piece?
Or perhaps Liu Xiu's mental strength was severely depleted, which is why he turned out this way?
However, it would be good news if Liu Xiu became more like Fujitora. Not only would his combat power increase, but if the elf girl wanted to turn against him and play dirty tricks after he killed the Beast System, Liu Xiu, or rather Fujitora, would definitely oppose such a dirty approach.
Click click click...
The floating insect cake gradually collapsed, breaking into pieces that fell orderly from the air. Every piece could not escape the perception of Observation Haki; it was impossible for it to remain hidden inside.
It's only a matter of time before the host of the beast system is found using this method. The locust army on the insect cake is unable to get close to it due to the reverse gravity, and can only frantically attack the cave wall, trying to dig a tunnel to bypass the insect cake.
But this approach is destined to be futile. Even if they manage to dig a tunnel, it will be detected by Observation Haki in that instant, or even before that, and the insect cake will immediately move down, leaving the locusts who have finally dug the tunnel in an awkward situation.
In reality, the first batch of locusts to enter the deep well were all elite locusts, while those left outside were mostly ordinary locusts, at most with some mutations. It's not easy for locusts the size of calves to dig a tunnel, and not all locusts can be devoured and integrated, so the digging speed is extremely slow, and there's no need to worry at all.
We should be more vigilant against the Beast System's host breaking out from the inside, but that's obviously unnecessary. Since the Beast System has appeared at this time, it has no intention of hiding; it's here to kill them.
Soon, a swarm of about a hundred small mutated locusts flew down from above, presumably those that had survived the crushing.
Then, two locusts the size of elephants flew out one after the other. Their wings seemed to be unable to bear the weight, and their heavy bodies crashed down!
Liu Xiu frowned and quickly disassembled and scanned the remaining insect cakes, but found nothing. It must have been these two big guys that withstood the Heaven and Earth Combined attack, while the smaller locusts survived by hiding in the gaps between these two super giant locusts.
"Could the host of the Beast System be one of these two giant locusts?" Hao Jiu appeared, trying to seduce the Beast System, just in case it wanted to say something more before the final battle.
The elven goddess's eyes appeared on Liu Xiu's eyelids. "Countless experiments have proven that humanoid creatures have higher talent as hosts, but there are also outstanding individuals among other species. Therefore, one cannot judge whether someone is a host solely based on their species. Some systems really like to bind mindless creatures, controlling the host to do anything, and can unilaterally unbind them at any time if they no longer want them."
"I see. You two should be careful. I think these two big guys are not easy to deal with," Hao Jiu said solemnly.
"Haha, let's make a bet and see who can choose the one that becomes the host, shall we?" Liu Xiu said, pointing his knife at one of the creatures and immediately throwing it to the other side, where it crashed into the rock wall with a loud thud.
"Hahaha... Since you've chosen that one, then I'll choose this one! You can stall for time, and I'll come to your aid after I kill this one!" Xiang Yu said, brandishing his halberd and charging forward. "Give me your life!"
Chapter 291 The Decisive Battle of Kunyang (Twenty-Eight)
Normally, a huge size represents super strong defense and strength, and the corresponding movement speed and agility will inevitably be worse. However, this locust, which is as big as an elephant, is obviously not normal. It doesn't even look like a locust anymore, or rather, it is a locust that has evolved in the direction of fighting and killing.
With its body length reduced, it can stand firmly on its front four limbs, while its powerful, super-long hind legs can not only jump, but also flip to the front to participate in attacks. Its forewings can also rotate in all directions, like a large sword.
The upper jaw of its mouthparts is gigantic, its entire lower leg is covered with barbs and spikes, and even the tentacles on its forehead are covered with spikes, like a pair of thorny vines. Moreover, all of these attack structures mentioned above are exceptionally sharp and hard.
These mutated structures allow the two locust kings to attack their surrounding enemies from all directions without any blind spots. Coupled with their compound eyes that enable night vision and their antennae that enhance their perception, they are virtually immune to sneak attacks.
"This is a killing machine! I think 'Locust Warrior' would be a more fitting name." Hao Jiu watched Xiang Yu fight for several rounds, having only managed to cut off one of his tentacles at the beginning, and then barely gaining any advantage. "Wait a minute, isn't Xiang Yu's Dragon Ball mode already expired?"
"Yes. But it doesn't matter when the time comes. I've gradually gotten used to its attack style. It's just that this guy is too big and has a hard shell. The wounds caused by the Overlord's Divine Halberd are too small. If it doesn't hit a vital spot, it will probably take a long time to kill him. I'm currently lacking a decisive killing move."
Xiang Yu had always fought against people and had little experience fighting against a monster that could attack from more than ten points on its body. But after a few rounds, Xiang Yu suddenly realized that this was similar to being surrounded and attacked by many people. The only difference was the weapons and attack methods, but in reality, it was just a few moves back and forth.
The only problem is that it's difficult to get close, but you have to fight in close combat because the domineering sword energy can't break through the locust's shell. Who can blame Xiang Yu for only mastering the domineering sword energy today?
It's already quite impressive that he's managed to unleash his domineering aura to this extent in just one day; it's just that he keeps encountering enemies of even greater strength.
Every time Xiang Yu made a close-range attack, he had to face attacks from at least three directions, and his domineering protective aura was not enough to defend against the attacks of this locust-like warrior.
The key issue is that the space at the bottom of this deep pit is limited. Even if Liu Xiu manages to control one of them and free up some space, this giant creature will still control more than half of the area once it spreads its wings. Its mouthparts, claws, wings, and so on all have powerful destructive capabilities.
Hao Jiu thought about it and realized it made sense. Apart from a ranged sword aura that he wasn't very familiar with, all of Xiang Yu's moves were based on mortal martial arts, which basically meant hitting the opponent with a weapon to cause damage.
When you're hacking at people, you don't feel there's anything wrong with it; you might even split someone in two with a single blow. But when you're fighting a huge monster, the problem becomes apparent.
Those wounds that would instantly kill a human are just minor injuries on the locust warrior. Even if they hit a vital spot, they might not be able to kill the enemy, and that's assuming the enemy doesn't have a system to help them recover.
The problem is that the God's Shop is unusable right now, and we didn't expect Xiang Yu to advance so quickly, so we didn't prepare any special moves or anything like that. What should we do? Ah? I've got it!
"King Xiang, I have a plan that will allow you to quickly master a powerful killing move. Once you've mastered it, you can kill this locust general in one move."
Xiang Yu's eyes lit up. "Tell me quickly!"
"Xiang Yu could try combining his ordinary moves with his domineering aura, like this..." Hao Jiu felt that he and Xiang Yu were truly the best partners, invincible!
"Hahaha... What's so difficult about that? If you can master this move, a single healing potion will be enough to kill this bug! Perhaps even killing Liu Xiu in an instant will be an achievement!"
After Xiang Yu finished speaking, he shook his Overlord Divine Halberd, and two powerful energies shot straight towards the locust's two pairs of glowing compound eyes. Then he charged forward and swung his Overlord Divine Halberd to sweep away the enemy in one fell swoop.
Clang clang clang...
The locust warrior's attacks with its tentacles, claws, and wing blades were all blocked, but Xiang Yu suddenly changed direction and attacked from the side, because he knew that the locust had deliberately let him move forward so that it could use its mouthparts to deliver a fatal blow.
The sides of a locust are easier to approach than the front, as they lack the deadly threat of mouthparts and the interference of extremely flexible and swift tentacles. However, the sides are not the locust's vital points. Xiang Yu had previously struck one with his halberd, and only some juice flowed out, which could barely be considered a minor injury.
Of course, with the sharpness of the Overlord's Halberd, if the locust did not resist, Xiang Yu could have easily cut the locust general in half, one stroke at a time, just like felling a tree.
In reality, Xiang Yu couldn't even insert the halberd deeper. The locusts' attack would come immediately. Without the halberd's sharp edge to deter him, the locusts' barbed spikes posed a great threat to Xiang Yu. Once hit, it wouldn't be easy to quickly pull it out and escape the battle. If he was even a little slow, he might be pierced by more attacks and unable to get away.
Even if healing medicine can heal an injury instantly, it cannot heal an injury if there is a foreign object in the body. So when that happens, even if the first blow pierces the heart, you have to pull your heart out as soon as possible.
This is one of the reasons why Xiang Yu never rushed in to fight head-on; otherwise, he might have been put on the defensive.
As for the other reason, it was not worth it for Xiang Yu to exchange injuries for injuries when he had no powerful killing moves and lacked healing medicine.
While recuperating, Liu Xiu used his gravity abilities to toy with the locust warrior he had chosen, smashing a large crater into the solid rock wall. After all, it was just a simple-minded insect that only knew how to use brute force to withstand attacks.
However, Liu Xiu is currently unable to unleash his ultimate move, and to kill the Locust General, he would need a powerful attack like the Hell Tribe or the Fierce Tiger. Therefore, Liu Xiu can only obediently follow the established tactics to hold off this one.
However, Liu Xiu would occasionally glance at the battlefield on Xiang Yu's side, hoping to figure out as soon as possible which one was the true host of the Beast System.
To be honest, Liu Xiu felt that the one he chose didn't seem quite right. It was a bit slow to react and was repeatedly defeated by the same move. But he didn't dare to rule it out directly, in case the other party was faking it.
Therefore, the key to distinguishing the real from the fake lies with Xiang Yu. If it's a fake, Xiang Yu's combat power is more than enough to kill it; at most, it will just take more time and cause him more injuries. Even if the target host he chose is real, Xiang Yu should be able to expose it.
In fact, Liu Xiu still has the strength to fight. His system still has a final trump card, but it can only be used after it is 100% certain that it is the Beast System. If that happens, it will probably be a lose-lose situation.
To Liu Xiu's disappointment, his temporary teammates seemed to have no way to deal with the locust, and it was unlikely that they could seriously injure it even by the time he recovered his mental state.
"Ugh, that trick again. Even if it hits, it'll only leave a small gash. Is that all he can do...? That's impossible!"
Liu Xiu's eyes widened instantly, revealing completely white pupils. Why was it like this when the attack method was exactly the same as last time?
The Overlord's Divine Halberd pierced the locust general's body from the side, and then...
Puff puff puff...
Blood splattered!
Xiang Yu was eventually pierced through the body by the spikes, but the locust general did not make any further moves. He collapsed to the ground and died without even letting out a scream!
Liu Xiu was filled with questions. How did he manage to do that?
That was an instant kill! That's incredible!
Chapter 292 The Decisive Battle of Kunyang (Twenty-Nine)
The biggest difference between the domineering energy release and ordinary sword energy is that sword energy is a blade of energy generated when wielding a weapon with skill. It's just that some blades of energy are amplified by skills, making their power or size exceptionally strong.
However, the sword energy generated by the release of domineering aura is a sword energy simulated by directly controlling the domineering energy. Even if Xiang Yu does not move or has no weapon in hand, he can still release sword energy of various shapes, or compress the sword energy and keep it around the weapon to increase the size of the weapon.
Xiang Yu's current attack range is about ten meters. If he has enough domineering energy and uses it all to extend his weapon, it's like having a ten-meter-long sword in his hand, allowing him to easily allow others to run nine meters away.
When mastered, unleashing one's domineering aura becomes a divine skill, capable of decapitating an enemy with a single thought.
Of course, the prerequisite is that you have to be able to break through the enemy's defenses. True masters have extremely strong defenses and vitality.
For example, Xiang Yu's current opponent, the Locust Warrior, would not be able to break through his defenses simply by relying on his domineering sword energy if he did not have the Overlord's Divine Halberd.
Hao Jiu's idea of combining domineering energy with ordinary moves involves using the Overlord's Divine Halberd to break through the enemy's defenses, and then using the characteristics of domineering energy to launch an energy attack from inside the enemy through the halberd.
The Locust Warrior's outer shell is very sturdy, but its internal organs are extremely fragile and can be easily shattered by the bursting forth of domineering energy.
Xiang Yu even controlled several streams of domineering energy to strike the locusts' heads and other vital points, resulting in an instant kill!
"Don't just stand there! I'm not the host!" Xiang Yu roared as he severed the spike piercing him with his halberd and pulled the barbed spike out from behind him.
Liu Xiu suddenly realized that Xiang Yu's side had been killed, and the beast's host was on his side!
But it's a bit late!
This time, the locust warriors that attacked were not easily neutralized by Liu Xiu's gravity control as they had been before. Instead, with the help of their wings, they stabilized themselves and suddenly spewed out a powerful gust of air from their tails, rushing towards Liu Xiu in an instant.
"Ah!" Liu Xiu screamed as the tentacles and spikes on his thigh pierced his body, and then the terrifying maw bit down on Liu Xiu's head!
In his haste, Liu Xiu used the Wado Ichimonji to block the biting attack, while enduring the excruciating pain, he took out a knife and tried to cut off the spikes piercing his body.
However, the locust warrior's momentum did not diminish, and it slammed Liu Xiu against the rock wall behind him. At the same time, its four forelimbs instantly pierced the ground to stabilize its body. In this way, it became difficult for Liu Xiu to use gravity to push the locust warrior away.
In the critical moment, Xiang Yu charged forward with his Overlord Halberd and thrust it out, but unexpectedly, a large amount of viscous liquid sprayed out from the abdomen and tail of the locust general!
"Get out of the way!" Hao Jiu exclaimed in alarm, as the sap sprayed by these otherworldly creatures was usually highly poisonous!