Volume 3: Global Vanguard & The Advanced Pinnacle
Chapter 227
Climax Blood Battle – Breaking Soundwaves & Mecha
The starting whistle rang out like a starting gun, tearing apart the breath-choking, tense atmosphere of the Ten-Thousand-Fathom Marine Arena.
One hundred and fifty thousand spectators packed tightly into the curved floating stands surrounding the Venice sea surface held their breath simultaneously. Hundreds of millions of pairs of eyes watched via global live magical broadcast screens right onto the competition grounds—a gigantic coral reef platform over a square kilometer wide, floating undulatingly upon the Adriatic waves, enclosed by a brilliantly blue semi-permanent forbidden-curse-level barrier.
This was the final battle. The Grand Finals of the World Magic Tournament.
On the other side of the arena, the United States National Team made no effort to conceal their intent to swallow their opponents whole from the very first seconds. The deafening, ear-splitting roar of magetech jet engines echoed from the Titanium mecha encasing Alexander. He was dubbed the “God of War of the West,” a dual-element Lightning-Fire user possessing the Pentagon’s cutting-edge magetech mecha technology. Beside him, the giant guardian Billy swung his heavy armored arms, locking the platform floor firmly with hydraulic anchors driven deep into the coral reef.
“Crush them into dust for me!”
Alexander roared, his voice magnified through the metal filter echoing like rumbling thunder.
Immediately, the most vicious vanguard spearhead of the Americans began to fire. But the first to strike was not the war machine Alexander, but Jessica—the female mage wielding the Wind and Sound elements, hailed by industry experts as the “Silent Nightmare” of the North American continent.
Jessica stepped half a step forward, her short platinum-blonde hair fluttering in the sea breeze. Attached to her ear was a bat-wing-shaped magical amplifier crafted from ultrasonic-wave-conducting metal. She did not need lengthy incantations; her slender hands simply crossed lightly in front of her chest, and silver-gray magic energy instantly overflowed from her bodice, blending with the howling gales swirling around her.
“Howling Gale Sound Wave — Mental Riot Wave!”
The corners of Jessica’s mouth curled into a cold, cruel smile.
No fireball blazed. No lightning descended. But the entire space above the combat platform suddenly distorted in a bizarre fashion!
The sea surface outside the edge of the competition arena, smooth as a mirror, suddenly bubbled with white foam and erupted into millions of tiny water droplets. An ultra-high-frequency ultrasonic wave, combined with invisible compressed wind pressure, swept ferociously across the coral stone floor at three times the speed of sound!
This attack was completely invisible to the naked eye, but it was a reaper’s scythe to any mage. Its target was not the exterior flesh and blood, but a direct strike against the opponent’s eardrums and spiritual sea!
In magic theory, condensing magic energy requires absolute mental concentration. Wanting to cast a Primary-level spell requires connecting seven Starlets into a Star Path; Intermediate requires forty-and-nine Starlets woven into a Star Map; and Advanced requires seven Starlets forming a magnificent Star Palace. Any sound wave shock hitting the resonant frequency of the brain was enough to cause violent turbulence in the spiritual sea, immediately snapping the linking Starlets and leading to magical backlash—magic energy self-detonating within the caster’s own meridians!
“Ugh...!”
On the side of Shenzhou, Xie Zhaoyuan let out a choked moan. The Light Element mage, who had just raised his hand intending to outline a golden Star Path to erect a shielding barrier, felt as though thousands of red-hot steel awls were stabbing straight into both of his temples. His spiritual energy disintegrated in an instant; the seven golden Starlets that had just flashed instantly shattered into floating specks of light, choking his chest and forcing him to stagger back half a step.
Ye Lingtian standing beside him also clenched his teeth tightly, cold sweat beading on his forehead. His Spatial Star Map, which had been half-outlined, was torn apart by the sonic tremor, the surrounding space warping so severely that he almost vomited blood.
“Damn it! Mental sound waves! The frequency is too high, magic energy simply cannot condense!” Ye Lingtian gritted out through his teeth.
In the stands, tens of thousands of American supporters began to roar in excitement. Whistling and jeering echoed everywhere:
“Look at those Shenzhou fellows! They can’t even stand steady!”
“Well done, Jessica! Crush their spiritual seas!”
“A perfect asphyxiating tactic! The Shenzhou team might as well surrender right now!”
The international commentator sitting in the commentary booth screamed into the microphone: “Fantastic! Jessica has activated the Mental Riot Wave right at the tenth second! This is the famous spiritual sea-choking tactic that helped the US team destroy the England team in the Quarterfinals! The Shenzhou team is falling into an extremely perilous situation; if they cannot draw Star Maps, they will merely be living targets before Alexander’s cannon barrels!”
On the combat platform, Jessica looked at the struggling figures of the Shenzhou team members, the smile on her face growing even more arrogant. The sound waves in her hands grew increasingly shrill and piercing, preparing to unleash the final shockwave to completely collapse the opponents’ spiritual sea.
However, she did not realize that in the center of the Shenzhou formation, two people were completely unshaken.
Lin Feng still stood tall like an ancient stone mountain amidst the howling gale. The Primordial Dragon Pendant in his chest faintly radiated an invisible warmth, easily suppressing any external spiritual vibrations. He was not in a hurry to strike at all, his deep black eyes merely observing the enemy’s every move coldly.
And the second person standing motionless was Ye Qingwan.
Beside her ear, a delicate, tiny magic crystal earpiece vibrated softly with a string of crisp signals.
“Big Sister Qingwan, I’ve locked onto the exact frequency!”
Gu Xiaowei’s youthful yet confident voice from the rear technical command room transmitted directly into Ye Qingwan’s ear.
In the Shenzhou delegation’s technical analysis room, Gu Xiaowei sat before an advanced multi-dimensional magic scanning system. Her ten slender fingers glided across the blue crystal keyboard at a speed so fast it left only blurred afterimages. On the three light-guided optical screens in front of her, millions of optical spectrum parameters and sound wave charts were dancing frantically.
“Her emission frequency is 42,850 Hertz! Waveform oscillation: 0.0079 meters! The fatal resonance point lies in the inner ear cavity and the left chest cavity!”
Gu Xiaowei spoke as fast as a sniper, her large round eyes reflecting brilliant magic lights: “Target lock complete! Big Sister Qingwan, use Wind Vortex phase inversion by 180 degrees, 37-degree sweep angle directed northwest-slant! Smash her to pieces for me!”
“Understood. Thank you, Xiaowei.”
Ye Qingwan smiled faintly. Her smile was as gentle as spring flowers blooming, but deep within her eyes lay the cold sharpness of a top-tier prodigy of Shenzhou.
She lifted her delicate jade hand gently.
Beneath her feet, a jade-blue Star Map intertwined with emerald green blossomed brilliantly, completely uninterrupted by any sound waves. Because from the very beginning, Ye Qingwan was a master of both the Psychic and Wind elements; her spiritual energy had been forged as firm as solid rock!
“Wind Vortex — Musical Power Reversal!”
The ethereal incantation sounded like the plucking of a harp amidst a moonlit night.
A stream of pristine wind suddenly erupted from around Ye Qingwan’s body. But this howling gale did not blow outward to defend; instead, it spun violently to form a gigantic vacuum funnel!
“WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH!”
All of the spiritual ultrasonic waves that Jessica had frantically poured down were completely sucked completely inside Ye Qingwan’s wind funnel. The distorted ripples of the Mental Riot Wave were bent by the twisting force of the Wind Vortex, compressed tightly into a thick, solid sphere of sound.
That wasn’t all!
Ye Qingwan’s fingers plucked gently at empty space as if playing invisible strings. Her spiritual musical power poured directly into the sound sphere, completely reversing the oscillation frequency, shifting from in-phase to anti-phase, while simultaneously doubling the wave amplitude!
“What?!”
Jessica in the distance suddenly felt the sound waves generated by her own power completely slip out of control. The spiritual connection between her and the magic was savagely snapped!
“Returning this to you.” Ye Qingwan uttered a soft word.
Her jade hand waved fiercely forward!
“BOOOOOOM!”
The wind funnel exploded, releasing the entire inverted sound wave! An invisible shockwave pillar tore through the coral reef floor, creating a deep, straight trench heading directly toward Jessica!
Its speed was so fast that friction with the air created crackling electric sparks.
Jessica’s eyes widened, her pupils contracting to the size of sesame seeds. She wanted to retreat, wanted to chant a defensive spell, but it was already too late! The sound wave carrying twice the power of her own attack slammed straight into Jessica’s chest and both ears!
“CRACK!”
The bat-wing-shaped magic amplifier on Jessica’s ear exploded into a hundred metal fragments that embedded straight into her flesh.
“AAAHHHHHHH!”
A horrifying, blood-curdling scream tore through the arena space. Jessica clutched her ears, her eardrums torn apart on the spot by the terrifying sound pressure. Violent spiritual backlash slammed straight into her spiritual sea, causing her to lose all sense of direction; fresh blood spurted from her ear canals, eye corners, and mouth, soaking the front of her white robe.
She staggered and collapsed onto the floor, convulsing in a pool of blood, completely losing her combat capability!
The Americans’ complacent preemptive strike had been broken in a manner that was merciless and supremely satisfying!
The entire arena of one hundred and fifty thousand people suddenly plunged into a deathly silence. The jeers of the Western spectators just now were instantly choked off in their throats.
“Damn it! Jessica is taken down?!”
Alexander roared, his face distorted with rage. He could not believe that the mental control trump card they had painstakingly prepared was neutralized and counter-attacked so savagely by a Shenzhou female mage!
“Billy! Erect the shielding barrier! David, go take that Ice Element brawler’s life for me!” Alexander bellowed orders.
“Understood!”
Billy—the giant bearing Viking hybrid blood—stepped heavily forward. The magetech mecha encasing his body emitted high-pressure exhaust hissing sounds. He slammed his gigantic metal hands fiercely onto the ground, activating all Earth Element magic energy combined with the most advanced magetech engineering.
“Heavy Earth Shield — Diamond Giant Wall!”
“CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!”
The coral reef floor shook violently. Hundreds of granite blocks embedded with glittering diamond crystals rose from the earth, combining with the Titanium alloy bracing bars of Billy’s mecha to form an impregnable fortress wall fifteen meters high and over three meters thick blocking in front of Alexander.
The hydraulic piston system mounted behind the giant shield plunged deep into the earth, emitting piercing mechanical shrieks as it pumped full of high-grade heavy-duty hydraulic oil, creating an inviolable stronghold. Standing behind this massive shield, Alexander began to raise his shoulder-mounted Lightning-Fire cannon barrels, fierce red destructive energy beginning to gather at a mad speed.
At the same time, in the shadows at the base of the diamond giant wall, a thin, gaunt shadow vanished without a trace.
That was David—the number one assassin of the United States Empire!
David possessed Shadow Element cultivation reaching the absolute peak of the Advanced level. He could dissolve his body into any blind spot of light, moving at ghostly speeds without producing the slightest magical fluctuation.
His mission was very clear: While Billy erected the shield to draw attention, he would circle around the blind spot of the battlefield, ambush, and take Han Yue’s life!
David knew very well that Han Yue was Shenzhou’s most dangerous Ice Element control core. If she were allowed to perform freely, this entire arena would become her home turf.
“Rustle... rustle...”
Like a venomous snake slithering through rock crevices, David’s shadow glided swiftly across the coral reef floor. He utilized every crack and shadow cast by Billy’s giant shield to close in on the Shenzhou formation from the right flank.
Ten meters... seven meters... five meters!
Han Yue stood there, her blue robes fluttering in the wind, her eyes closed tightly as if concentrating all her mind on summoning glacial ice. There was not a single defensive shield around her!
“Die, you foolish Easterner!”
In the shadows behind Han Yue, David emerged like a ghost from the grave. His face revealed a fierce and triumphant expression.
On David’s two hands, pitch-black shadow steel claws soaked in ghostly toxic poison had extended half a meter. He swung his twin claws, tearing through the air, aiming straight at Han Yue’s nape and heart to stab down! The distance was less than half a meter!
At this distance, even a mage equipped with magic armor shields would never have time to activate them!
However...
Han Yue did not turn her head. The corners of her mouth didn’t even hold a trace of fear.
Because she knew that man was always right here.
“SWISH!”
A sharp, wind-splitting sound suddenly echoed through the quiet space!
There was no warning. No ordinary magical fluctuations. A brilliant silver spatial crack suddenly ripped open right in the space between David’s steel claws and Han Yue’s nape!
And out of that spatial crack stepped a towering figure.
Lin Feng!
“What?!”
The cruel smile on David’s face instantly froze. His pupils dilated in terror. He was a professional assassin; his assassination speed had reached the peak realm—how could anyone use teleportation with millimeter-level precision to block his claw strike like this?!
Before David could react, monstrous killing intent descended upon his head.
Lin Feng stood there, his eyes as cold as a razor blade staring straight into David’s face. Raging dark purple lightning burst forth from his entire body. That was the Raging Lightning Absolute Shadow—a tyrannical lightning seed tempered through tens of thousands of tribulations!
“With mere trash like you, you dare to touch my people?”
Lin Feng’s voice was low, but its might exploded like thunder beside David’s ear.
Lin Feng’s right hand reached out. Five fingers tightly wrapped in dark purple lightning transformed into a sharp lightning claw akin to the talons of an ancient abyssal fiend beast:
“Abyssal Night Claw!”
“SLASH!”
The lightning claw tore through space, faster than lightning itself!
David’s two shadow steel claws, the moment they touched the dark purple lightning, were crushed into fragments of red-hot iron by the heat and destructive might. Before David could utter a cry of terror, Lin Feng’s hand clamped straight onto his throat!
“CRACK!”
The steel vice grip choked off David’s windpipe. Thousands of dark purple lightning bolts frantically flooded the assassin’s body, shattering his entire meridian system and Shadow spiritual sea.
“Ugh... gah...!”
David’s eyes rolled backward, his legs thrashing in mid-air. He stood nearly one meter ninety, with a muscular, agile physique, yet at this moment he was hoisted into the air by Lin Feng with a single hand, looking no different from a chick grabbed by the neck waiting to be slaughtered!
Utter terror flooded David’s mind. He realized the young man before him was not human, but a true monster!
“Get lost back to your America!”
Lin Feng coldly spat out a single word.
His arm flexed, muscles rippling with power. He spun half a turn, using the momentum to hurl David away fiercely like throwing a magical hammer ball!
“SWOOSH!”
David’s body tore through the air, flying over a distance of more than fifty meters across the arena, crashing straight toward the forbidden-curse barrier wall surrounding the combat stage!
“BOOOOOOM!”
A heaven-shaking collision echoed, causing the entire battle platform to vibrate violently!
David’s entire body smashed into the transparent barrier wall. The terrifying impact caused the magic barrier to flash with dazzling blue shockwaves. David’s ribs and spine shattered into multiple segments, and fresh blood gushed from his mouth, staining a large section of the barrier red!
He slid down the stone floor like a pile of soft mud, eyes rolled back, his entire body convulsing a few times before passing out completely!
“BEEP... BEEP... BEEP!”
The referee’s vital signs monitoring system atop the arena instantly emitted frantic alarm bells, blazing red light shining directly onto David:
“Contestant David of the United States Empire — INCAPACITATED! ELIMINATED!”
The stadium of one hundred and fifty thousand people fell silent for a single second, then instantly erupted into an earthquake of excitement!
“LIN FENG! LIN FENG! AWESOME!”
“A single move! Just a single move choking the assassin and smashing him into the barrier!”
“Haha! Where is the US team? Where is all your arrogant bravado?!”
The wildly enthusiastic roars of the Shenzhou supporters made the Adriatic sea surface tremble. Bright red flags fluttered overwhelmingly across the sky!
Yet Shenzhou’s performance was far from over.
The very moment David crashed into the barrier, Han Yue—who had been standing quietly behind Lin Feng all this while—slowly opened her eyes.
Those were eyes so deep blue, cold, and pure that they made one shudder. Beneath her feet, a magnificent Ice Element Star Palace consisting of seven closely intertwined Star Maps was already complete!
She hadn’t wasted even a single second created for her by Lin Feng.
Han Yue stepped forward lightly, her delicate jade toe stepping gently and gracefully onto the coral stone floor.
Omega Ice — Absolute Zero Degree!
Her ethereal voice echoed throughout space like silver bell chimes ringing atop the thousand-year ice-bound peaks of Mount Kunlun.
“CRACK... CRACK... CRACK!”
From beneath her heels, a silver-white glacial chill erupted frantically! The surrounding air instantly condensed into sparkling ice-crystal mist. The temperature of the entire arena plummeted headlong, plunging from twenty degrees Celsius down to minus sixty degrees Celsius in the blink of an eye!
The Adriatic sea surface surrounding the platform instantly froze three meters thick! Thousands of razor-sharp ice pillars resembling sea monster fangs rose from the seabed, tearing through the water surface.
And that extremely cold glacial river surged across the floor, rushing straight toward Billy’s Diamond Giant Shield!
Standing behind his shield, Billy saw the glacier rush over and sneered: “Useless! My Giant Shield is reinforced with diamond and Titanium alloy, and inside is a hydraulic piston system rated for three thousand tons! How could this bit of paltry ice pierce my defenses?!”
However, Billy’s smile vanished the very next second.
Han Yue’s target had never been to shatter the outer granite or diamond!
The minus sixty-degree Celsius chill of Absolute Zero Degree swept across the base of the giant shield, immediately threading through mechanical gaps, invading straight into the internal machinery of Billy’s mecha!
Under this extreme temperature, all hydraulic fluid and magic-energy driving liquids inside the high-pressure pipes instantly froze into solid stone-wax blocks!
Though Titanium alloy was extremely sturdy against impact forces, when encountering sudden extreme cold, it entered a state of “cold brittleness”—the metal molecular bonds were disrupted, becoming as brittle as glass!
“HISSSSS... CLANG!”
The hydraulic system clogged, and localized pressure spikes blew out the relief valves.
“CRACK! BOOM!”
A piercing breaking sound rang out! Billy’s gigantic hydraulic support legs plunged deep into the earth fractured into massive chunks, then shattered into thousands of rusted iron fragments!
“What?! Hydraulic pressure dropped to zero! Motor joints are completely locked!”
Billy screamed in terror inside the cockpit. He frantically stomped the pedals and yanked the control levers, but his entire multi-ton mecha had now turned into a rigid block of ice and iron, unable to budge even half an inch!
Losing its hydraulic support system, the tens-of-tons Diamond Giant Shield instantly lost its balance.
“BOOOOOOOM!”
A thunder-like explosion erupted! The massive diamond fortress wall collapsed onto the ice-floor, shattering into piles of broken rubble!
Billy himself was trapped tight inside the paralyzed mecha, pitching forward headfirst, his entire body covered by Han Yue’s glacial ice, turning into an immobile ice statue right in the middle of the battlefield!
In the span of less than two full minutes!
Jessica’s control sound wave—suffered backlash, vomited blood, and collapsed!
David’s ghostly assassin—grabbed by the neck and smashed into the barrier by Lin Feng, eliminated from the match!
Billy’s sturdiest steel shield—mecha system completely destroyed by Absolute Zero Degree, frozen into an ice statue!
The United States Empire’s dual comprehensive offense-defense vanguard and vicious ambush tactics had been broken down smoothly, mercilessly, and thoroughly by the Shenzhou Team!
The Americans’ seemingly invincible formation now plunged straight into a severe, unprecedented passive state!
Amidst the clearing smoke and chilling frost, only a single solitary figure remained amidst the ruins.
Alexander.
The “God of War of the West” stood there, the Titanium mecha on his body crackling with fierce red electric sparks. The Lightning-Fire cannon barrels on his shoulders had just charged full of energy, but before his eyes, all his teammates had fallen like straw!
The arrogance, haughtiness, and habitual swagger on Alexander’s face completely vanished. Replaced by shock, humiliation, and a frantic rage burning every cell in his body.
Alexander’s eyes were bloodshot like a cornered beast. His armored chest heaved violently. He stared fixedly at Lin Feng, who stood casually with folded arms ahead, and at Han Yue and Ye Qingwan, whose expressions were as indifferent as if they had just swept up roadside garbage.
“Shenzhou pests...”
A choked growl issued from deep within Alexander’s chest, then transformed into a frantic scream that tore eardrums:
“YOU FORCED ME TO THIS POINT! ALL OF YOU, GO TO HELL!”
Alexander’s steel-armored hand slammed fiercely against his chest, ripping off the blood-red safety magic lock!
“ROOOOOOAR!”
Energy overload alarm sirens wailed frantically from the Titan mecha. Dark red forbidden Lightning-Fire magic energies like volcanic magma began to erupt frantically, transforming his armor into a true engine of destruction...