"What? Are you thinking about me?"
Zoran pierced through Master Wyatt's thoughts in an instant. Standing opposite him, Master Wyatt nodded, his expression grave and hesitant. Ever since the realization that the entity before him might not be human, he had become deeply unsettled.
In this universe, even the most exotic species, the Wolf Clan, the Dragon Clan, or the White Tiger Clan, possessed recognizable biological traits. This "Shendu," however, was something else entirely. While he hadn't yet crossed into the realm of eldritch nightmares, he was already far removed from the definition of a "human."
"Thinking so much... will it change anything?" Zoran asked with a subtle, knowing smile, gesturing toward the battlefield. "You'd be better off just watching the show with me."
His gaze, deep and inscrutable, lingered for a moment before he asked, "Want to place a bet? Who do you think will win?"
Master Wyatt let out a dry, forced chuckle. "Your brother, of course."
Zoran laughed softly, shaking his head with a touch of resignation. "Watching a show with someone who reads the room too well... it really takes the fun out of it."
On the field of golden, shifting sands, the Whale Shark King stood in his armored form. Opposite him, Shendu had adjusted his physical stature to match his opponent's. Both were born warriors, both prided themselves on being the strongest, and both craved a fight of equal footing. Neither was willing to let the other feel they had held back.
"As the host, I suppose I shall have to make the first move," the Whale Shark King said in a low voice. Before the wind could even carry his words away, his form flickered and vanished, reappearing directly before Shendu.
Close-quarters combat was the specialty of the strong in this universe. He threw a punch that pierced through the swirling sand, aimed straight for Shendu's chest. With his vast reserves of Hetero-Energy, he was both blindingly fast and devastatingly powerful.
Shendu was fighting entirely with his own innate power. The speed of the Rabbit Talisman didn't just bolster his velocity; it allowed him to track the Whale Shark King's movements. His Ox Talisman-enhanced strength ignited in a split second, meeting the punch head-on.
A dull, thundering boom erupted like a shockwave, sending a violent gust of wind tearing across the desert.
"Great brute force, but your physical constitution is lacking," the Whale Shark King noted as he retracted his fist, his eyes fixed on Shendu's arm.
Opposite him, Shendu's arm had been nearly shredded, a mess of gore and bone. Yet, Shendu seemed entirely indifferent, his face alight with the thrill of facing a true rival. He grinned, and his mangled arm knitted itself back together in an instant, as if the injury had never occurred.
With his current power levels, a direct attrition battle against the Whale Shark King was an uphill struggle. Fortunately, he was never short on mechanics. The Horse Talisman repaired the damage in a heartbeat, with virtually zero energy cost. The Dragon Talisman, one of the cornerstones of Shendu's power, provided not just simple explosive energy blasts, but an endless wellspring of fuel.
The Whale Shark King's eyes narrowed. Confined by the conventions of this world, he had never seen such a combat tactic. Regeneration? Is it really possible to fight like that?
He pushed his doubts aside, unleashing a flurry of blows like a torrential storm.
"Without armor, your body is incredibly fragile!" he remarked, pointing out the critical flaw. Armor was the physical manifestation of Hetero-Energy; only Hetero-Energy could withstand such force. Otherwise, how could a mere physical frame hope to resist the impact of such power?
Everything played out as he predicted. Shendu's speed was near-sync with his own, but every time they clashed, Shendu's body would essentially collapse on impact.
Just as the Whale Shark King prepared to close the distance and deny Shendu any chance to utilize his bizarre recovery, a dazzling, brilliant light erupted from Shendu's maw.
The Dragon Blast lit up the horizon, hurtling directly toward the Whale Shark King. The immense energy slammed into his palms, shoving him deep into the sea of sand.
A long moment passed before the power of the blast dissipated. Shendu stood steady, looking like nothing had happened, his previous wounds completely erased. As the sand settled, the Whaleshark King was revealed in the distance. He stood firm, a fading, dim light shimmering in his outstretched palms. He had successfully defended against the entire force of the Dragon Blast.
"Is this your trump card?" the Whale Shark King murmured.
He glanced at the perfectly pristine Shendu. After only two exchanges, his unparalleled combat intuition had exposed Shendu's anomaly: if one could not obliterate his entire existence in a single strike, the man could recover from any wound instantly.
He was like an unkillable, resilient cockroach.
"Truly unprecedented," the Whale Shark King sighed. Then, his eyes hardened. "However, I have found your weakness. This ends here!"
He stood his ground, slowly raising his arms, Hetero-Energy accumulating in his palms. His opponent was bizarre, and his methods were strange, but his true Hetero-Energy level was undeniably low. Even if he felt no pain, as long as he was a biological entity, he could be killed.
The massive influx of Hetero-Energy could annihilate any life force instantly.
"It is over," the Whale Shark King breathed, waving his hand with elegant lethality. "Tsunami Calamity."
This was his signature move, much like Kino's Fire Cloud Technique, a high-level maneuver that concentrated Hetero-Energy into a devastating wave. He hadn't used this technique in ages, having mastered far more powerful ones, but for this occasion, it was exactly what was required.
The Tsunami Calamity materialized instantly, surging toward Shendu. The massive halo of Hetero-Energy illuminated Shendu's face. This move was designed to erase everything in its path.
Shendu let out a sharp cry, the speed of the Rabbit Talisman surging through his veins. He transformed into a ghost, flickering across the desert, his silhouette tracing a jagged line across the dunes.
Behind him, the Tsunami Calamity pursued him like a parasite that refused to let go.
The Whale Shark King's brow arched. He realized that his Tsunami Calamity couldn't catch Shendu.
This guy is freakishly fast.
The Whale Shark King abandoned his elegant posture and suddenly moved. If he didn't intervene now, Shendu could keep running with that wave behind him for an eternity.
"I must retract what I said earlier. Your fighting style truly annoys me."
The Whale Shark King spat the words out, and the moment he finished, his Hetero-Energy exploded, and he dove into the shifting sands of the battlefield. Everything went quiet. Only the glow of the Tsunami Calamity remained, relentlessly chasing Shendu.
At this moment, besides Zoran, Master Wyatt, and Thales, more eyes were watching this clash. Even Galvas was observing the situation intently. The development had become something even he could not predict.
A long time passed, and just as everyone assumed the Whale Shark King had vanished, he erupted from the sea of sand in the next instant, moving at blinding speed. He had poured every ounce of his Hetero-Energy into pure velocity to intercept Shendu.
He emerged from the sand, anticipated Shendu's path, seized the elusive opening, and slammed into him with brute, overwhelming force, stopping him dead in his tracks.
In a flash, the Tsunami Calamity engulfed Shendu's body.
A blinding light erupted. The Whale Shark King landed with calm grace as the Tsunami Calamity landed its strike. He brushed off his hands, standing with his back to the resulting violent explosion.
"Hmph. Nothing to write home about."
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