Chapter 108: Three-Way Battle

Oda Nobunaga's blade shifted slightly, slowly pointing toward the towering building where the tall man had appeared. "What wind blows the captain of the Scorpion Team here?"

"Wasn't it your wind that brought me here?" The tall man casually picked at his ear. He was none other than Moses Paul, captain of the Scorpion Team—a Level 10 space ability user!

Oda Nobunaga naturally did not believe his words. He gave a slight shake of his head, then shifted his gaze to the pretty young girl at Paul's side. "I imagine it wasn't my boisterous wind, but rather the elegant wind of the Wind Witch."

Paul did not deny it. He raised a hand and patted the girl's head. The young girl closed her eyes slightly, a look of delight spreading across her pretty face. Paul's doting expression was plain for all to see. "Go on back first."

"Back? Back where?" Lifa asked in retort. Paul's expression stiffened. Right—this was the battlefield of the ranking matches. But soon enough, he thought of a place. "Go check whether that fellow Eros is dead or not. If he's still alive, take him to your sister Angela and see if she can bring him back to life." He pointed toward the other side of the city. "They should be over there."

"But I'd rather stay here." Lifa wore the coquettish expression of a spoiled little girl. Paul gave a wry smile. "In the coming battle, I don't even have confidence in my own victory, let alone protecting you. Even if it's just an external unit, I still don't want to see you get hurt."

Lifa shot the man beside her a glare, hands on her hips. "This is a Level 10 battlefield—I don't qualify. I get it." Then she turned around in a huff. The moment she turned, she swept the displeasure from her face, stepped onto the wind, and wove between the towering buildings before drifting away into the distance.

Paul watched the Wind Witch leave until her figure vanished from his sight. Only then did he turn his head and fix his gaze on Oda Nobunaga and the others.

Oda Nobunaga lowered his blade and spoke quietly to Donghuang Taiyi behind him. "You leave too. This is not your battle."

The cold, shadowy figure behind him disappeared, leaving only Oda Nobunaga and Rommel. They stood at the edge of the ruined building, gazing across at Paul from afar.

...

Outside the battlefield.

Lee Se-joo walked out of the preparation room with a grim expression. Seeing Vladimir waiting outside, he said nothing, simply found a seat and sat down.

Vladimir watched Lee Se-joo enter and take his seat with an amused expression. Once Lee Se-joo had settled, he spoke. "What do you think? Without you, their mental ability user, do you think Xie Liu and the others still have a chance?"

After sitting down, Lee Se-joo produced a comic book from somewhere and immersed himself in it. Only when Vladimir asked did he close the comic. "Nothing is set in stone. I think Xie Liu's plans are only just beginning. Perhaps my elimination was unexpected for him, but it won't affect his scheme."

"Hmm..." Lee Se-joo thought for a moment. "We will win."

"Oh?" Vladimir made a thought-provoking sound. "I'd like to know—what makes you so sure you'll win?" He pointed at the translucent screen ahead. "You saw it too. Even if Frani doesn't make an enemy of you, Xie Liu and his group still have Paul and the two enemies from the Godslayer Team to contend with. And fine—even before they run into those two teams, your team has to clash with the Azure Dragon Team first. That's no easy opponent either."

"Do you still have confidence saying Xie Liu will win?" Vladimir smiled. Lee Se-joo rolled his eyes. "Do you think you need to run through our enemies again? I know them better than you do. Isn't my answer clear enough? We will win." With that, he opened his comic again. At the same time, a thunderous cheer erupted from outside.

"The sixth place has been decided—the Azure Dragon Team!"

Lee Se-joo gently turned a page of his comic. "What did I just say? We will win."

...

The announcement of the Azure Dragon Team's elimination came just after the Wind Witch had departed. Paul and the two Godslayer standouts, who had been locked in tense confrontation, both froze for a moment.

"I thought it would be the Doom Team that got eliminated." Oda Nobunaga was somewhat surprised. "I didn't expect them to keep surprising me."

"But those aren't our concern now." At this moment, Oda Nobunaga's eyes held only Paul across from him.

"Last year, you lost to Frani, and the two of us never got the chance to meet. I have to say, that was the greatest regret of my ten years in the direct division. Today, I hope you can fulfill that wish for me."

"Of course. Your wish will be granted." Paul reached out and drew the thin sword from his waist, offering Oda Nobunaga a swordsman's salute.

The cheers outside the battlefield had already shaken the heavens. The second great battle between Level 10 powerhouses was about to begin—something everyone had been waiting for. In comparison, no one cared anymore about how the Azure Dragon Team had just been eliminated.

Oda Nobunaga's blade had already been slowly lowered. It was merely a basic katana chosen before parachuting in, but in his hands, it was already an indestructible divine weapon.

Oda Nobunaga lashed out with a slash. Wind rose from his blade, tearing through the air before him. With a howl, five distinct wind blades came from all directions, converging upon the building where Paul stood.

No one could have imagined that Oda Nobunaga would strike with such ferocity right from the start. The five wind blades carved along bizarre arcs, charging directly at Paul. Every building along their path was pulverized, and the shattered debris became ornaments of the storm, vastly amplifying the destructive force of the wind.

"The Wind God, Oda Nobunaga..." Paul still did not move his body. Facing the wind that filled the sky before him, he pointed his rapier forward.

"Spatial Freeze!"

The world froze solid in that instant. There was no warning whatsoever—it simply froze. Everything, from the towering buildings caught up in the whirlwind to every single leaf and every tiny grain of sand, stopped in place.

The world—centered around Paul—was utterly frozen! This was Paul's power. He represented the strongest spatial ability user in the Fantasy City, a Level 10 spatial ability master known as the "Dimension Walker."

What was frozen was not just the flying sand and stones, but also Oda Nobunaga's wind. The world fell silent in a single moment. No wind howled past. No violent debris storm raged. Paul's longsword pointed at the world before him.

Though spatial solidification had been applied, it was still a hazy blur that could not be seen through. Paul stared intently at the indistinct world before him, and suddenly a look of shock crossed his face. The dusty world before his eyes was instantly split open by golden light—a colossal golden beam dozens of meters wide tore through the smoke and dust, charging straight at Paul.

Paul yanked his longsword back. Space twisted around him, and his figure suddenly appeared below the beam of light, dodging the ferocious strike.

The dust before him was blown away. As the golden light vanished, Paul suddenly realized that an eye-searing sun had appeared above his head at some point.

But Paul knew full well that this was no sun at all. It was a "Concentrated Light Orb" created by Rommel's ability. If there was anyone in the entire Fantasy City who excelled at area attacks, it was undoubtedly Rommel. To him, one enemy and a group of enemies made no difference; likewise, a single point and an entire city made no difference either!

Paul cursed inwardly. The concentrated light orb above his head spat out countless rays of light, mercilessly blanketing Paul without hesitation.

But Paul was, after all, a Level 10 spatial ability user. He swung his rapier, shattering several beams of golden light while dodging attacks back and forth. In his haste, his hand happened to touch a partially collapsed building beside him.

Then that building vanished.

Oda Nobunaga and Rommel both looked up sharply. The vanished building appeared above their heads without the slightest warning, then came crashing down.

The two of them shifted their bodies simultaneously, dodging the falling structure. The ruined building they had been standing on was smashed to pieces by the descending one, sending up rolling clouds of dust.

"Good. This is the kind of fight that's worth having." Oda Nobunaga and Rommel's figures appeared before the collapsed building. The wind wrapped around them, suspending them in midair. The two glanced back at the crumbling tower without surprise. If Paul couldn't manage a move like that, then he wouldn't deserve the title of a Level 10 powerhouse.

The two hung in midair. Rommel nodded to Oda Nobunaga, then disappeared. A man who could manipulate light—invisibility was just a basic trick for him.

He was a fox, a fox who could control light!

"Rommel, burn this whole place down for me." Oda Nobunaga gave a cold laugh. "Build me the perfect battlefield!"

Rommel's figure did not show itself, but the light orb overhead descended, extending eight rays of light in eight directions, looking as though it was about to raze the entire area to the ground.

But Paul appeared at that moment. He stood atop a building that had yet to collapse, his expression grim. If he truly let Rommel level the place, that would work against him.

He understood that this was Oda Nobunaga's way of forcing him out, yet he had no choice but to respond. The moment he appeared, Oda Nobunaga had already raised his blade.

"So it has to come to this, does it?" Paul sighed. Facing two Level 10 powerhouses at once—this was not what he wanted. But the arrow had been loosed from the bowstring; there was no turning back.

He held the rapier vertically before his chest, his gaze fixed on Oda Nobunaga before him, and on the enormous golden orb behind him.

"Come, then!" Paul roared, thrusting his sword forward. "Spatial Pierce!"

An inexplicable energy pierced through the void, hurtling toward Oda Nobunaga. At the same moment, Oda Nobunaga aimed his blade downward. The flames atop the golden orb above twisted and warped, absorbed by the katana in Oda Nobunaga's hand.

Then wind rose from the void. Oda Nobunaga let out a cold shout and thrust his blade forward. The wind, wrapped in light, dove downward, meeting Paul's thrusting sword light head-on.

They were about to collide, and both Paul and Oda Nobunaga wore expressions of excitement! This was a Level 10 collision!

Yet in the instant before the two energies met, a figure in white robes suddenly descended from the sky and inserted herself between them.

Frani.

Both streams of energy charged at the center—at Frani!

The beautiful young woman smiled slightly. She spread her arms, pointing at the two attacks coming from different directions.

"Disperse." With Frani's soft utterance, the two energies struck what seemed to be an indestructible wall and shattered into countless fragments, scattering in every direction!

Silence. After the initial attack, everyone chose silence.

Frani stood in the void, lowering her hands. Her long skirt swayed gently. She blinked, smiled, and said: "Mind if I join in?"