Chapter 396: Return of the Moon King
Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_
Patroclus struggled to keep his voice down but failed; the beast was about to be unshackled.
After gathered herself, Heidi suddenly realized that the fingers she had seen earlier were nothing but an illusion; it was a technique that struck a resemblance with that of the Kaedeians.
She raised the blade high above her head and started to chant in Kaedeian tongue. Despite the smooth sound of each syllable, no one other than Kaedeians knew what she was chanting.
The MC knew a little bit of Kaedeian, and therefore, he translated her chanting into broken sentences.
"Power of the Gods...lend me...your servant...METAL!"
Suddenly, the blade lit up with an intense light, as something slithered along it down to Heidi's hands, arms, finally reaching her body. When the blinding light subsided, people watched with astonishment as a full METAL suit appeared on Heidi.
The tournament had forbidden the usage of mechanical METAL suits, and therefore, Heidi's METAL suit ought to be made out of different material.
"Interesting! Using the natural force to form a METAL suit, eh? Do you have a name for such technique?" Patroclus smiled amusingly.
"Phantom METAL."
Not only had Kaedeians been searching for new replacements for human METAL suits, but they had also been researching different ways of harnessing the natural force as the Mastery did. They had soon discovered that the METAL suit made out of the natural force could achieve 100% synchronization with the wearer, and were convinced that the natural force would be the future of cultivation.
Although the new invention would not immediately affect the still-powerful METAL suit industry, it would have a huge long-term impact.
Wearing the Phantom METAL, Kaedian Princess lunged at Patroclus again.
"Kill!"
The audiences watched as Heidi charged forward with a deceptive footstep, that was meant to confuse the opponent.
Patroclus closed his eyes and opened up his arms, as if he were going to embrace the attacker.
Heidi thrust one arm forward as a blade appeared in her hand out of nowhere. However, some experienced warriors in the audience found out something was amiss: such attack would not release the full intent of the thrusting motion. This kind of a slip up should not have happened during a fight between such powerful fighters.
Even as the audiences wondered what had gone wrong, Heidi reached out the arm, and suddenly, five ice serpents slithered out from under her sleeve and lashed out at Patroclus.
"Kom!"
It was obvious by then that the GN force blade attack was merely a cover, and the real strike was the five serpents materialized using the natural force. Only the Kaedeians would be able to transition from GN force attack to natural force so smoothly.
As soon as the five ice serpents materialized on the stage, the air seemed to have gotten colder. It was a clear sign that Heidi was much more skilled at wielding the natural force than even the Mastery warriors such as Guan Dongyang.
The ice serpents exploded when they were near their target. A thousand icicles blasted at Patroclus and sealed him inside an ice shell, immobilizing him in the end. However, everyone, including Heidi, knew that Patroclus would not be subdued so quickly. Therefore, the Kaedeian princess attacked again as she jammed the sharp tip of the blade into the ice statue. Then, she opened her arms as a circular magic seal appeared under her feet. Luminescent colors lighted each letter and stroke that made up the seal. As the circle started to turn by itself, the temperature inside the arena dropped dramatically. A few moments later, heavy snowflakes fell from the sky as Heidi industriously changed multiple hand signs, commanding the motion of the luminescent seal.
Gong-son Wuce had only heard of such technique before, and it was called the Seal of Sub Zero.
"Seal!"
A thousand thin wisps of cold air rose from the center of the seal, twisting into numerous strands of energy that rushed into the ice statue.
The temperature in the arena had dropped to below forty degrees. Most audiences in the reserved seat had initiated their protective shield to ward off the biting coldness.
All of this was happening when the arena energy shield was still functioning.
As everyone was convinced that Heidi would heavily leverage on her Phantom METAL, she started to use soul energy. Her unpredictability reminded the audiences of Wang Tong, the Dragon Warrior.
A layer of scintillating frost had crept onto the surface of the floor while tiny crystals formed on the ice statue, until the surface of the statue looked almost metallic.
"The Absolute Zero Ice Cage!"
After completing her coup de grace, Heidi retracted the METAL and revealed her pale and exhausted face. The METAL was used to ward off the extreme coldness while she was casting her spell.
A reverential silence fell in the arena, followed by a cracking noise from the first layer of the arena energy shield.
Inside the ice cage, the Ivantian Prince's expression looked serene and otherworldly, suggesting that he might never get out of the cage again. Heidi was very confident in the power of the ice cage; it would take even an Einherjar a while to get out from there, much less Patroclus.
Seeing that Patroclus was utterly immobilized, the referee started the countdown.
Heidi had done all she could to capture Patroclus inside the cage. Unlike a male fighter who would seek to solve the problem by force, Heidi had chosen a peaceful solution.
Five seconds later, seeing Patroclus was still trapped inside the ice cage, the Ivantian audiences started getting nervous. He was their Prince, and if he lost, all Ivantians would have lost.
"Eight!"
The Ivantians rounded their eyes in disbelief as the referee continued the countdown.
"Kom!"
Suddenly, a wave of blue energy pieced the icy cage and sloshed over the stage.
"Nine!"
"Kaboom!"
The ground trembled as if the earth were about to turn upside down. Another wave of blue energy shot through the air and stripped apart the first and second layer of energy shield, until the third and the last shield finally blocked it.
As Patroclus emerged out of the ice, he was holding something in his hand: the legendary weapon of Rilangalos, the Deva Lance!
"Kom!"
Patroclus stabbed the butt of the Lance into the ground, and the entire world trembled as the stage suddenly collapsed in front of everyone's eyes.
Heidi attempted to ward off the belligerent attack, but she was immediately blown away by the insurmountable energy. When the havoc subsided, people saw the entire stage was destroyed, except the few square inches of a floor under Patroclus's feet.
The Deva lance had finally revealed itself to everyone in the hands of the heir of Rilangalos. Although Patroclus's opponent was a lovely princess who only sought peace, Patroclus had struck her down as if she were a menacing demon.
Staring at the god-like Patroclus on the stage, people suddenly remembered the nickname for Rilangalos—Asura, the Demon God.
The beast inside him was finally let loose.
Patroclus didn't spare the half-conscious Heidi a glance. Instead, he reached out and pointed at a corner of the arena, drawing everyone's eyes to the same spot.
He did not point at Li Shiming, nor Lie Jian. At the corner of the arena sat only one remaining combatant—Wang Tong.
The MC shrieked in excitement, "That's Wang Tong! WANG TONG! The heir of Rilangalos has pointed at Wang Tong!"
Everyone was taken back by the turn of the event since they had expected Patroclus's goal was to defeat Li Shiming. Meanwhile, they wondered why a dark horse would have evoked such intense interest in Patroclus.
Wang Tong remained calm and smiled faintly. He could feel the excitement of Patroclus, since the same excitement had been roiling inside Wang Tong ever since the start of the match. Wang Tong was eager to experience the power of Patroclus's deadly strikes first hand.
So confident was Patroclus that he didn't even turn back to make sure he had defeated his opponent before he sheathed the Deva Lance.