Chapter 119: The Vanishing Wind (Part 1)

Originally, the city circle was not very large, but what had once been a densely packed cluster of buildings now lay scattered and fragmented. The storm unleashed by Oda Nobunaga’s strike came from behind him, a tempest that had nearly razed half the city center. The skyscraper beneath Xie Liu’s feet was one of the few survivors at the eye of Nobunaga’s wind.

Yet even this building was now only half intact; the other half had been reduced to rubble in the earlier storm. Xie Liu retracted the steel wire of his maneuvering belt, which still danced turbulently in the air, his face cold as he approached the edge of the building and surveyed the city before him—looking as if it had been bombarded.

“As expected of the Wind God. With that strike, an entire army would likely be wiped out,” Xie Liu admitted. There was no denying the tremendous power of Oda Nobunaga’s ability. When unleashed at full force, it was comparable to a small nuclear bomb.

What was most terrifying was that Nobunaga could perfectly control this power, which was akin to a nuclear explosion. Xie Liu’s calm gaze swept across the shattered ruins. Dust from the collapsed buildings still hung thickly in the air, blurring his sight beyond a short distance. He could vaguely make out several towering skyscrapers in the city center ahead, their dark silhouettes flickering faintly through the haze.

Turning his palm over, Xie Liu looked at the communicator still glowing with red and blue light. Though Xu Xiong was out of commission, the device had not lost its function. Clenching his fist slightly, he spoke into the palm, “Lin Yang, Ye Ling, are you still alive?” Though he asked, Xie Liu did not expect an answer—the communicator’s range was only about two hundred meters.

Yet contrary to his expectations, a voice echoed in his mind—it was Ye Ling.

“I’m still alive,” she replied, though her voice was weak and faint, clearly fatigued from dodging Nobunaga’s devastating strike.

Since the connection was established, Ye Ling must be nearby. Xie Liu looked downward and spotted Ye Ling hanging from the side of a building, her energy sword embedded in the wall serving as her anchor point.

Feeling as if he had discovered a new world, Xie Liu descended rapidly, performing two quick drops before landing on the floor where Ye Ling hung. He laughed aloud, “Ha! Miss, how did you end up hanging here?”

Ye Ling, clearly in no mood for banter, shot him a sharp glare. “Stop talking nonsense and pull me up.”

Knowing this was no time for jokes, Xie Liu helped her up. Ye Ling leaned against the wall, panting heavily, still shaken. Meanwhile, Xie Liu’s eyes roved unabashedly from her chest down to her feet. Only when Ye Ling noticed did he quickly avert his gaze.

“What now?” Ye Ling asked irresponsibly. Xie Liu hesitated, unsure how to respond. He looked ahead at the endless rubble and dust shrouding the battlefield, then sighed. “I underestimated Nobunaga’s strength. With such destructive power, getting close is nearly impossible.”

His eyes turned red as he spoke. Scanning the battlefield, a smile crept onto his lips. “Lin Yang is still alive, and I have a rough idea of Nobunaga’s location. That guy—his last strike didn’t kill us, it actually backfired on him.”

Ye Ling frowned in confusion. She had just sheathed her energy sword and now glanced at Xie Liu in doubt.

“Nobunaga thinks his power lets him do whatever he wants," Xie Liu explained. "But he forgets there are no psychics around him now. All his actions are based on what he sees, and his eyes aren’t as sharp as mine.”

Ye Ling’s eyes brightened with sudden understanding. “You mean Nobunaga is like a fighter jet without radar.”

“Exactly,” Xie Liu nodded. “All skill but no way to detect. That’s our best chance.” He then slipped an arm around Ye Ling’s slender waist. “Come on, let’s get closer.”

With that, the two leapt from the window. Xie Liu fired the steel wire from his maneuvering belt, weaving through the dense fog as they approached the city’s center.

Ye Ling, held firmly under Xie Liu’s arm, did not struggle. Instead, she asked, “Has Nobunaga not thought to use his wind to blow away the dust?”

Controlling their flight path, Xie Liu answered, “I wondered that too. I think he knows and has tried, but it probably made things worse. Using wind here would only stir up more dust.”

“So all Nobunaga can do is wait—wait for the dust to settle. That wait is our window for counterattack,” Xie Liu said, guiding Ye Ling onto a half-collapsed building at the edge of the thick fog.

“My infrared vision detects two heat signatures ahead. One appears and disappears, then reappears elsewhere—definitely Lin Yang. The other must be Nobunaga. Other than that, no one else… Wait…” Xie Liu’s brow furrowed as he stared intently in one direction, murmuring to himself, “Did I see that wrong? There seemed to be a third heat signature just now.”

Ye Ling patted Xie Liu’s back. “Forget it. Just tell me where Nobunaga is.”

Xie Liu pointed to the tallest black skyscraper ahead. “On top of that building. If I remember correctly, it’s the core structure of this branch back then—said to be indestructible even by nuclear bombs.”

“Unfortunately, it wasn’t destroyed by nukes but was flooded by seawater,” Xie Liu smiled wryly. Nobunaga’s wind couldn’t damage this place, which was a blessing for Xie Liu, the sniper, since he needed cover.

Ye Ling paid no mind to his reflection. She dashed down from the building and ran toward the towering skyscraper ahead. “Xie Liu, stay here on standby. I’m going to help Lin Yang.”

“What?” Xie Liu exclaimed in surprise. Help Lin Yang? Was she sure she wasn’t rushing to her death? He smirked slightly, sensing that Ye Ling was acting out of character. She usually argued with him—what had changed?

No use overthinking. Xie Liu found a well-hidden spot, set up his sniper rifle, and activated his level-four infrared vision to search the dusty expanse for Nobunaga’s trail.

After Nobunaga unleashed his overwhelming strike, Lin Yang had dashed through over a dozen buildings, each instantly shattered into fragments. Fortunately, he narrowly avoided the wind blades each time. Despite the tremendous destruction, Lin Yang had managed to reach the base of Nobunaga’s skyscraper.

The air was thick with dust, but Lin Yang was unfazed. The advanced combat suit he found in the airdrop box had a psychokinetic scanning system that now revealed a different world before his eyes. He could clearly see Nobunaga standing atop the highest building.

The sword in his hand hummed softly. This was a once-in-a-lifetime moment. The swirling dust was his perfect camouflage. Leaping forward, he flickered through the air, covering hundreds of meters in less than three seconds. His sword pierced the dust, aimed straight at Nobunaga.

But amid the swirling dust, the wind around Nobunaga was clear and forceful. He applied great air pressure around himself, blowing all the dust aside. Though Lin Yang’s sword came at great speed, it did not escape Nobunaga’s keen eyes. Turning, Nobunaga swung his blade, the wind blade slicing through the dust like cannon fire, aimed directly at Lin Yang. Without hesitation, Lin Yang teleported away from his current position.

Nobunaga followed up immediately with a backhand strike. Lin Yang appeared suddenly, their blades clashed, sparks flying.

Ordinarily, Nobunaga’s basic warrior sword could not block Lin Yang’s energy sword. But Nobunaga had wrapped his blade with a high-frequency vibrating wind. When their swords met, it not only resisted breaking but sparked fiercely.

“You still haven’t given up?” Nobunaga’s gaze flickered over the sparking energy sword, his smile cold. Lin Yang felt a gust of wind hit him. Instantly, he teleported behind Nobunaga, but before raising his sword, a violent gale flung him off balance, sending him plummeting from the skyscraper.

Lin Yang flipped twice in midair, just as Nobunaga descended like a soaring wild goose, following him down the building. In the blink of an eye, Nobunaga was before him.

Before Lin Yang could react, Nobunaga sneered and swung his sword—

Lin Yang reappeared on the rooftop. Part of his combat suit on his shoulder had been sliced away. He looked down at the dust cloud from the explosions. The walls of the supposedly indestructible skyscraper were shattered by Nobunaga’s strike, debris flying in all directions.

Lin Yang sighed deeply. Nobunaga realized that large-scale area attacks had little effect on a spatial ability user like Lin Yang and only created dust that obstructed vision. So he resorted to close-range enhanced wind blade attacks. Though the attack radius shrank, the destructive power greatly increased. After just two clashes, Lin Yang felt his energy sword’s light begin to waver.

“The Photon Stabilizer is overloaded,” Lin Yang knew his sword could not withstand many more hits. The only choice was a swift and decisive battle.

Each of Nobunaga’s strikes carried an unstoppable gale, like a barrage of artillery fire. Lin Yang was soon pressed to the point of no return, unable to mount any effective counterattack.