"Its energy level has reached SS. Does this mean the negative energy inside Queen Tortoise is growing even stronger?"
Seeing the results displayed on his PDI, Ye Feng surmised that this was likely related to King Tortoise's death. As is well known, negative energy is fueled by many factors, and resentment is a primary one.
As Queen Tortoise took the stage, Golza and Gakuma stood together. After exchanging a glance, they charged toward her simultaneously.
"It's no use. Zhou Fei and Li Zheng are simply no match for Queen Tortoise."
Even without knowing their exact energy levels, Ye Feng could tell from their previous performance that they stood no chance against her.
Beep beep beep!
The PDI chirped. When Ye Feng opened it, Qin Yuxin's face appeared on the screen.
"Ye Feng, what do you think my chances are in a fight against Queen Tortoise?" On the screen, Qin Yuxin finished speaking and looked up toward the battlefield.
Ye Feng also looked up. Seeing Gakuma and Golza knocked to the ground in their very first encounter with Queen Tortoise, he knew their defeat was only a matter of time.
But just then, seven or eight more monsters joined the fray, and four or five Defense Force fighter jets launched an attack on Queen Tortoise.
"Qin Yuxin, your winning probability against Queen Tortoise is less than ten percent. You'd better observe carefully before deciding whether to jump in."
Fearing she might act recklessly, Ye Feng quickly gave her a solemn warning. Unexpectedly, she merely nodded and cut the connection before saying another word.
"That woman... she isn't planning to go in, is she?" Qin Yuxin's behavior made Ye Feng realize something. Just as he was about to head back to the school, a bird-like cry rang out.
"Ang—"
A giant bird flew directly over him. Ye Feng shielded himself from the gale with his arm and looked up to see Lidurias soaring through the sky.
"Why won't that woman just listen to reason?"
The die was cast. Ye Feng gritted his teeth and ran toward the battlefield anyway. Whether he was waiting for an opportunity or was simply afraid to transform, only Ye Feng himself knew.
"Ang-ah~~"
Lidurias flew through the air, spitting thermal rays that directly eliminated ten pairs of Spheres. As Queen Tortoise was entangled with Golza, Lidurias performed a dive and tackled her to the ground. The two behemoths began rolling across the earth.
"Roar~~~"
Golza stood up. Seeing Queen Tortoise pinned by Lidurias, purple energy began to converge at his forehead. Once the energy reached its peak, he unleashed his Ultrasonic Ray. It struck the downed Queen Tortoise, instantly triggering a massive explosion.
BOOM—
The sound of the blast echoed along the edge of West Lake, and billowing smoke blanketed a five-hundred-meter radius. The other TPC personnel who had transformed into monsters to assist, as well as the Defense Force pilots, all watched the smoke with anticipation.
"Retreat, quickly! Your attacks can't hurt Queen Tortoise at all!"
While Golza and the other monsters were staring blankly at the smoke, a jarring shout reached them, causing the monsters to freeze.
But in that split second of hesitation, several red pearls flew out and stuck to Golza's body.
BOOM! RUMBLE—
"Roar~~~"
In an instant, the flame pearls fired by Queen Tortoise exploded on Golza. Towering flames immediately engulfed his entire body, accompanied by the monster's agonizing screams. Amidst the fire, Golza transformed into streaks of dark red light and dissipated on the spot.
"He was beaten back to his original form." On the other side of West Lake, Ye Feng stared blankly at the scene, his fists instinctively tightening.
Having dispersed Golza, Queen Tortoise immediately turned her fury on Gakuma. The power of a Class SS monster was immense, far beyond what Class B energy monsters like Li Zheng could handle. After a frenzy of savage clawing from Queen Tortoise, more flame pearls stuck to Gakuma. Upon detonation, he too was beaten back to his human form.
In less than a minute, only eight monsters remained on the banks of West Lake: Qin Yuxin's Lidurias and the monsters fused by the TPC reinforcements. The Defense Force fighter jets were battling the few remaining Spheres, but the situation was grim; many had already been shot down.
Ten minutes passed, and the battle remained fierce. During this time, Ye Feng rescued Li Zheng and Zhou Fei. The three of them stood on the opposite side of West Lake, watching the fight.
On the battlefield, Queen Tortoise was like a god of war. Her hands possessed gargantuan strength; with a single swipe, she swatted two monsters into dark red energy, dispersing them. After scattering the two monsters, Queen Tortoise's red eyes fired two beams that struck another monster. The rays pierced through its chest, instantly dispersing it as well.
At that moment, Lidurias' thermal ray hit its target, but the Queen stood her ground as if nothing had happened. She turned around, her blood-red eyes once again firing two laser beams that knocked Lidurias to the ground.
Aside from Lidurias, only three monsters remained standing before Queen Tortoise. But these three were so intimidated by her power that they didn't dare to advance. Seeing this, Queen Tortoise stood her ground and extended a hand, making a very human-like "come here" gesture—it was a move dripping with provocation.
"Brother Feng, why aren't you going in? With your strength, even if you can't beat Queen Tortoise, you shouldn't let her be this arrogant, right?" Li Zheng was incredibly frustrated watching Queen Tortoise flaunt her power. But he knew his own limits; he was powerless and could only look to Ye Feng.
Just because he couldn't do it didn't mean others couldn't. The Ye Feng of a year ago—or rather, Ultraman Cosmos—and that one-versus-seven battle were deeply etched into his mind. In Li Zheng's eyes, even if Ultraman Cosmos couldn't defeat Queen Tortoise, he certainly wouldn't let her get away with this.
"Yeah, Ye Feng, go on! We're fine now, we won't hold you back." Zhou Fei gritted his teeth, assuming Ye Feng was worried about the two of them. He wanted Ye Feng to be at ease and just focus on the fight.
Ye Feng didn't respond. He only looked at the Cosmos Stone in his hand, trapped in a spiral of internal conflict. He had tried several times, but every time he went to raise the stone, the image of him killing King Tortoise would surface in his mind. He had wanted to save King Tortoise, but because of his own emotions, he had killed him by mistake.
Whenever this thought appeared, a voice would echo from deep within his heart: 'Am I really suited to be an Ultra Warrior? Am I fit to transform into Ultraman Cosmos?'
"What? Losing your confidence already?"
In his hesitation, an ancient voice whispered in Ye Feng's ear, making him freeze.
"Who is it?!"