Chapter Ninety-Seven: The Ultimate Showdown

During the two hours of night, every squad seemed to have made the same tacit agreement: they hunkered down at their respective strongholds. As the sky gradually brightened, a thunderous roar erupted from the edge of the battlefield, and the arena shrank once more.

Xie Liu and Lin Yang crawled out of a cellar-like building and saw the sky growing light. They turned and urged the comrades behind them onward.

This time, Xie Liu caught sight of a vast wall of light far off on the horizon, perhaps three kilometers away by his estimate.

So that was the so-called boundary of the battlefield?

Xie Liu was the first to stand atop the small power station, staring at the wall of light ahead. A bone-chilling aura kept radiating from it. "If that thing catches up to us, we're dead for sure."

At this rate of contraction, the next shift would reach them.

"We can't stay here. Everyone move out. Time to run from the poison zone." Even then, Xie Liu did not forget to joke. The others packed up quickly. They did not dare head toward the nearby town. By Xie Liu's reckoning, they would have to follow the river to the south and keep moving.

Their gazes followed a winding little stream below the power station all the way toward the southeast, where they could faintly make out a cluster of towering buildings in the light of the rising sun, hazy and graceful.

"By my estimate, this poison ring will eventually close in on that city. But for now, our position is very unfavorable." Xie Liu pointed to the small town along the river. "It looks like we can't avoid that place. And I'm certain someone is waiting for us there."

"Still, no matter what, we have to pass through it, don't we?" Gong Hou appeared at Xie Liu's side, rolling his shoulders. He pointed toward the town, then toward the distant city. "There, and there. Our journey has only just begun."

"Yes. Let's go." Xie Liu smiled slightly, then saw three lines of glowing words drift across the sky in succession.

"Dawn Squad, Dragon God Squad, and Breaking Army Squad have been eliminated."

Xie Liu blinked and showed no great surprise. Those three teams were not especially strong, and the players they had brought out could not possibly be much stronger than the Gale Squad. Their elimination had been expected.

"Only thing I wonder is how many enemies they took down with them."

...

After forcing back Oda Nobunaga and Rommel, Franny returned to her sisters' side. She did not tell them what had happened. She was afraid they would worry, and she also did not want them dragged into the conflict. Indeed, she was not especially afraid of those two men, but her own teammates could not match them. After all, they were both level-ten powerhouses.

"Sister, this is bad! Little Night just spotted several people from the Judgment Squad. They're coming our way. What should we do?" Wendy ran over in a panic. If there was anything else she feared, it was those level-ten experts. Paul and the others of the Scorpion Squad had already stopped at an estate outside the city; after successive attacks from the Oracle Squad and the Azure Dragon Squad, they seemed to have suffered considerable losses and no longer posed much threat for the time being. The two members of the Godslayer Group had loudly occupied a building on the far side of the city, declaring that they would accept all challengers, which instead made them seem less dangerous.

That left only the Judgment Squad and Heaven and Chiba. Wendy and the others knew how terrifying Chiba was. It was certain that apart from Franny, no one could suppress that man.

"Sister, should we try talking to Chiba? We really shouldn't be fighting now." Wendy realized that once the Judgment Squad entered the city from their side, the clash was unavoidable. But for them to engage now was truly not a wise choice.

"Wendy, are rankings really that important to you?" Franny smiled as she took in the anxiety on Wendy's face. "If even you can't sit still, what are the younger sisters below supposed to do? Remember to set a good example."

Wendy was a little embarrassed by Franny's words and was about to speak when Franny suddenly turned and shielded her behind her. "Chiba, are you here to fight me?"

Wendy looked back in surprise at Franny's words. Sure enough, Heaven's Chiba was standing behind them. He rubbed his ear somewhat helplessly and laughed. "Trying to hide from your psychic power really is not easy."

"Where are Misaki and the others?" Franny had not seen anyone else behind Chiba.

Chiba rubbed his head and smiled bitterly. "I just had a quarrel with Misaki. She got angry and quit, and that dragged the others into quitting too. As you can see, I'm alone now."

"I have a feeling you drove them off on purpose." Franny shook her head, unconvinced.

Chiba shrugged. "Who knows? But speaking of which, Franny, do you really think this kind of contest means anything?"

Franny seemed to want to say something, but stopped. After a long look at Chiba's face, she finally sighed. "For people like us, it doesn't mean much at all. But for some people, it's more important than life itself."

Chiba's expression changed slightly after she heard this. "Where are the Doomed Squad now?"

Franny finally smiled. "They've reached a place you would never expect. And they succeeded in defeating the Gale Squad."

Chiba also showed surprise. "So that's how it is. I thought they were capable." He turned his gaze to the other side of the city, where the Godslayer Squad held sway. "Maybe they'll give that bastard Oda a pleasant surprise."

Franny nodded in agreement, then said, "Chiba, you didn't come all the way here just to chat with me, did you?"

"Of course not." Chiba drew his gaze back. "Such a good opportunity—I would never waste it."

"Truth be told, I've wanted to have a proper fight with you for a long time." Chiba rubbed his chin. "It wasn't possible outside, but here, I can truly let loose. Come on, don't hold back. Fight me with everything you've got. It doesn't matter if one of us dies."

No one had expected Chiba to be a battle maniac at heart as well. After her initial astonishment, Franny gave a helpless smile. "Then I'll grant your wish."

...

At the other end of the city, Oda Nobunaga suddenly looked up at the sky in shock. "Have they lost their minds? Starting a battle at a time like this?" From afar he could see two figures streaking across the heavens. One was moving with lightning speed, wrapped in endless arcs of electricity as he pursued the other.

"Franny, Chiba, what exactly are you doing?" Oda Nobunaga cursed loudly. He could not understand their thinking at all. Shouldn't they preserve their strength at a time like this, and wait until most of the squads had been eliminated before making their move? He could only conclude, after much thought, that they were insane.

Yes, at this moment the two of them were simply madmen. On ordinary days, they stood high above everyone else, synonymous with invincibility. Yet in their eyes, invincibility itself had become a kind of loneliness.

An evenly matched opponent was what they had always longed for.

The two flew past the forest of high-rises. Chiba laughed out loud behind her. "Franny, choosing this place was a bit of a miscalculation on your part."

They were in the very center of the city, surrounded on all sides by modern buildings and metal. Endless currents of electricity circled around Chiba, spreading outward without cease and weaving a blue net of lightning between the towers.

The sound of the electricity was shrill and piercing, echoing through the buildings.

"It does favor you, certainly. But do I have a choice?" Franny stood casually in the air. Her psychic power had grown so strong that she could float effortlessly.

"Then take this!" Chiba shouted, thrusting out a spear of lightning. Bolts scattered in all directions, flinging out torrents of plasma that surged straight toward Franny's face. Franny drifted backward, and with a turn of her hand, the moisture in the air began to move in an orderly pattern under her psychic force, condensing in her palm into a mirror made of water.

She lightly tapped forward with one finger. The water mirror rose before her, and when the spear of plasma struck it, both erupted at once. Electric light burst in every direction, carrying searing heat that riddled the already abandoned high-rises nearby with holes.

"I suppose I'll have to get serious now."

Chiba had never expected this blow to defeat Franny. Laughing, he turned his hand. Currents of electricity rose from his body, then he spread his fingers and pointed at a thirty-story building behind him. "Rise!" With his roar, the entire building tore free from the ground and was seized in midair by invisible force.

"Well done!" Franny could not help praising him.

Chiba snorted coldly and swept his hand. The building beside him was used as a weapon, hurtling straight toward Franny.

Franny did not dare let her guard drop. The instant the building came crashing in, she spread both arms. The two buildings beside her broke at their foundations and moved in an instant to her front, blocking the tower Chiba had hurled.

A deafening crash rang out. The three buildings slammed together and instantly shattered into fragments. Broken stone and steel flew wildly through the air. In their first exchange, the two had nearly ruined the entire area before them.

"It's not over yet!"

Seeing his attack blocked, Chiba was not surprised. He knew that if this level of power were enough to defeat Franny, then the whole thing would be far too absurd. Looking at the three buildings reduced to ruins, Chiba laughed. Endless electricity wrapped around him as he flew toward the collapsing, disintegrating structure.

"Come on, my comrades!" He beckoned, and from within the ruins, countless shattered iron pieces were summoned by him, breaking through the air as they rushed together before him.

"Franny, take this!" Chiba himself shot forward through the void. Endless shards of steel gathered in front of him, finally condensing into a gigantic iron sword over a hundred meters long, which he swung through the air at Franny.

The wind whipped up by the blade sent Franny's long hair streaming to one side, revealing her exquisite profile. Her expression turned grave. With a delicate turn of her hand, she pointed at the colossal iron sword slashing toward her.

"Freeze."

Then the fierce giant blade seemed to strike an unbreakable rock, unable to advance even an inch.

"Chiba, this move of yours is very strong, but..." Franny did not finish, because at that very moment Chiba had burst through countless falling stones and nearly reached her face. Lightning danced in his hand, and in the next instant he aimed it directly at her.

"I never expected to beat you with that. That was just my killing blow. Now, take my million-volt strike."

As he spoke, the sphere of thunder in his hand blazed to life, just a few meters from Franny's face.

"Sister!" Wendy cried out from afar, her face full of alarm.