In battles between experts, every second mattered, and even the smallest detail could influence the outcome. In Wang Chong’s eyes, this subtle change in Khatabah’s condition revealed a wealth of information. The Ifrit did not fear lightning, so why did the Black Flame Ifrit momentarily freeze?
Something’s up!
Bzzz! Wang Chong immediately entered the world of energy, and all the sand around him faded away.
Where Wang Chong was standing was a blazing black flame, its tyrannical energy drowning out everything around it. In these circumstances, Wang Chong could see nothing.
Moreover, after reaching the Subtle realm, Wang Chong had gradually begun to realize that Subtle realm experts had an exquisite and subtle control over energy, and attempting to find their flaws through the world of energy was extremely difficult.
Though he was rather surprised, he was not dejected. His eyes flashed as he activated his True World ability.
Wang Chong immediately noticed something different.
Deep in the Ifrit’s mind were three black items, radiating faint glows, their energy completely different from the Ifrit.
It’s the moon god’s power!
Wang Chong’s body trembled in realization.
What had created the reaction to the lightning was not Khatabah or the Ifrit, but the Moon God Tree and the Moon God’s Forbidden Ring.
Khatabah had fused these items into the Ifrit to create the even stronger Black Flame Ifrit, but these two items were both made of metal, and metal could easily attract lightning!
The momentary freeze had been caused by the lightning striking the Moon God Tree and Moon God’s Forbidden Ring in the Black Flame Ifrit’s body.
Buzz!
Upon understanding this, Wang Chong immediately had an idea.
“Junior Guardian, Li Junxian, lend me a hand!
“Your Highness King Song, Song Yuanyi, Xie Guangting, and Lord Zhangchou… hold Khatabah down while I find a way to deal with him!” Wang Chong called out.
Chapter 1902 - Calling Down the Lightning!
Chapter 1902: Calling Down the Lightning!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
Boom!
Wang Chong made a flying leap, soaring into the sky.
Khatabah’s Black Flame Ifrit furiously roared and punched, but Wang Chong managed to narrowly dodge the attack.
“What’s going on?!”
“You need our help?”
The voices of Wang Zhongsi and Li Junxian resounded in Wang Chong’s mind, and the two of them shot upward like two jagged bolts of lightning.
Wang Chong’s words had come very suddenly, and in these dire circumstances, no one understood what Wang Chong was thinking. But at this time, everyone chose to believe in Wang Chong, as there were no better options.
“Don’t worry! Everyone, work together and hold down Khatabah!” Zhangchou Jianqiong called out, and took the lead in rushing at Khatabah.
He immediately gathered his Stellar Energy on his right fist. Awooo! A white tiger charged at the Black Flame Ifrit, and with a tremendous explosion, the flames quivered.
“Go!”
The others suppressed their injuries and lunged at Khatabah.
“Eight Ultimate Sunderings!”
“Immortal Universe Eternal Spring!”
“Demonic Obeisance!”
“Bone Devil Swallows the Heavens!”
Stellar Energies of both the righteous and evil paths barraged the Black Flame Ifrit.
“Transfer your energy to me!”
High in the sky, Wang Chong flew toward the thunderclouds while communicating with the other two.
Wang Chong alone lacked the strength to link with the lightning in the clouds, and only those in the Subtle realm, Wang Zhongsi and Li Junxian, could assist him.
Only the three of them working together could maximize the power of the Xuanyuan Sword.
Bang!
A large and firm hand and a slender and delicate hand pressed onto Wang Chong’s shoulders.
Wang Zhongsi and Li Junxian immediately began to transfer their energy to Wang Chong.
“We can only depend on you!” Li Junxian’s solemn voice spoke into Wang Chong’s mind.
With the Stellar Energy from the two, Wang Chong swelled in power, and the three of them continued to soar into the sky like an arrow.
“Stubborn to the end!”
A thunderous roar came from below, and then a fist of seething black flames rapidly began to approach from the ground.
“And when did I give you permission to leave?!”
After opening the passage to the Subtle realm and absorbing the energy of this higher dimension, Khatabah was brimming with power, and he was now essentially unopposed on the battlefield.
Whether it was Wang Chong or Li Junxian, no one was a match for Khatabah in his current state.
Even so, Khatabah did not dare to be careless. His first priority was to annihilate these top-class Tang commanders.
“Die for me!”
The ground burned with black flames as Khatabah streaked upward like a comet.
But at this moment, a roar came from out of the sandstorm, and some dark and heavy object slammed into the Black Flame Ifrit’s head.
The force of the impact even left a large hole in the Ifrit’s head.
Boom! Khatabah had been punching at Wang Chong’s group when this sudden strike made his body tremble and pause.
Wang Chong and the others used this moment to immediately vanish deep into the clouds.
“Damn it!”
Khatabah gnashed his teeth and turned around. Around seven thousand feet away from him, a mountainous figure stood, its body covered in red hair and its arms raised high, carrying what was clearly the corpse of a lion Behemoth.
On this battlefield, the one in the most awkward position was the King Ape under Wang Chong’s control.
While the King Ape possessed boundless physical strength that surpassed a peak Great General and almost reached the Subtle realm, it was still a Behemoth and had no idea how to use Stellar Energy. The Black Flame Ifrit was surrounded by two-hundred-thousand-degree flames, and this heat forced the King Ape to keep its distance.
The King Ape’s enormous strength was useless in this fight.
This was why the King Ape had remained out of the fight with the Black Flame Ifrit for so long.
But snakes and mice each had their own way of doing things, and in the end, Wang Chong had found a way to use it against the Ifrit.
Bang!
The King Ape did not seem to care that Khatabah had noticed it, baring its fangs as it threw the lion Behemoth’s body like a cannonball.
“Impudent!”
This time, Khatabah was not caught off guard by the King Ape’s attack.
He opened his fingers and sent a pillar of black flame that blasted aside the lion Behemoth corpse. The high temperatures instantly sent the corpse ablaze, and the awful stench of burning flesh soon spread throughout the battlefield.
Khatabah flicked his fingers, sending several dozen spears of black flame, each one ten-some meters long, hurtling toward the King Ape.
The heat of the spears alone was enough to melt steel and stone.
Roooar!
The King Ape chose to avoid a direct confrontation, roaring as it turned around and jumped into the distance.
Khatabah could only gnash his teeth, but there was nothing he could do about the slippery King Ape.
While Khatabah was distracted by the King Ape, Wang Chong, Wang Zhongsi, and Li Junxian continued to head to where the lightning was most concentrated.
“Wang Chong, it’s up to you!”
At the last moment, Wang Zhongsi and Li Junxian sent one last bit of energy to Wang Chong before breaking off, allowing Wang Chong to continue deeper into the clouds.
The two of them split up and began to descend.
“Right now, it all depends on him.”
As the wi
nds howled around him, Wang Zhongsi watched as Wang Chong turned into a shrinking black dot.
On the other side, Li Junxian looked at Wang Chong with hopeful eyes.
The opponent this time was incomparably powerful and possessed unprecedented force and size. Wang Zhongsi and Li Junxian had done all they could, but then Khatabah had fused with the Ifrit, making everyone despair. They could only depend on Wang Chong now.
In the Imperial Court, they had been enemies, and Li Junxian had hoped more than once that he could defeat Wang Chong. But at this moment, he hoped that Wang Chong could lead the Great Tang in a reversal of this battle.
Kacrack!
A thick lightning bolt crossed the skies, followed by a second, a third, a fourth… This was a land of mountainous dark clouds crisscrossed by rivers of lightning.
Wang Chong flew between the dark clouds and lightning. The air was so charged with electricity that his hair was standing on end.
Only high in the sky and deep within the clouds could one experience and understand the true, terrifying might of lightning.
No matter how powerful a martial artist was, they were no match for the limitless power of nature.
“It’s about ready!”
Wang Chong looked up, the countless bolts of lightning reflected in his black eyes. He could sense that the Xuanyuan Sword in his hand was resonating with the lightning.
Those bolts of lightning brimming with destructive energy were like venomous snakes, staring at the Xuanyuan Sword and preparing to lunge.
Wang Chong knew that this was the response of extremely polarized lightning toward metal.
The Xuanyuan Sword alone did not have the power to defeat Khatabah, but if he could infuse it with the power of all the lightning in the world, it was possible!
Buzz!
A moment later, Wang Chong took action, raising the Xuanyuan Sword over his head and pointing it at the dense congregation of lightning. After what seemed like one second and like countless eons…
Bang!
A massive bolt of lightning was drawn down, cleaving like an axe at the Xuanyuan Sword. Its blinding light pierced through the clouds and penetrated through the sandstorm, attracting the attention of the entire battlefield.
Abu Muslim, Adnan, and even the spectators on the Turkic steppe and the Tibetan Plateau unconsciously raised their heads to look at that dazzling source of light.
Boom!
And as they raised their heads, deep in the sky, another thick bolt of lightning slammed down at the Xuanyuan Sword, and then a third, a fourth, a fifth… As if a curtain had been raised, when Wang Chong raised the Xuanyuan Sword, more and more lightning began to be drawn toward it.
Rumble! In just a few moments, tens of thousands of bolts of lightning, following some sort of natural rhythm, slammed into the Xuanyuan Sword, and with each additional blazing bolt of lightning, the Xuanyuan Sword grew brighter and brighter. In the end, it erupted with a blue-white light that seemed brighter than the sun.
Chapter 1903 - The Black Flame Ifrit, Undone!
Chapter 1903: The Black Flame Ifrit, Undone!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
The divine sword had gathered such terrifying amounts of energy that it drew even Khatabah’s attention. Looking up at the sky, he saw Wang Chong.
“Hmph, so you’re trying to use the power of lightning to deal with me?”
The Black Flame Ifrit sneered as it knocked back those around it with a single strike. Though his reaction had been slightly slow, Khatabah had still almost instantly realized what Wang Chong was trying to do upon seeing that brilliant blue-white light.
“What an idiot! Not knowing your own strength! The Ifrit has no physical body and does not fear lightning. No matter how much power you gather, it will do no damage to me! And here I thought that you had understood a little from fighting the Ifrit for so long, but it seems that you understood nothing!”
Khatabah coldly laughed.
Wang Chong’s earlier performance had been too dazzling, with even the High Priest being slain. This had made Khatabah very cautious toward this young Tang commander, but it now seemed that his opponent was suffering from a case of wishful thinking.
“That being the case, let me end you!”
Khatabah pushed back Zhangchou Jianqiong and the others with another punch, an intimidating glint of cold light in his eyes. Behind the Black Flame Ifrit, the image of the massive Moon God Tree grew larger and more distinct. Silver divine characters began to emerge in the flames, all of them bursting with the mysteries of the universe and a lethal energy.
Buzz!
Khatabah’s eyes closed and opened, upon which a massive, complicated, and mysterious golden sign bloomed forth from his forehead. This sign seemed to be made of golden liquid, countless things flowing within it.
“Come! I’m waiting for you!”
Khatabah looked at the flashing lightning above and that tiny black point in the midst of it all, his eyes bright and cold, brimming with murderous desire. At the same time, he brought his blazing black fists to his ribs while the flames and smoke condensed together. All of his destructive power condensed and focused like a bow being pulled to the maximum, ready to unleash its power at any moment!
One strike!
As long as he could kill Wang Chong in one strike, he could end this war!
Khatabah was in no rush. He was like a lion that had found its target and was building up strength to deal the final blow!
Boom!
Finally, as the dazzling lightning continued to incessantly strike the Xuanyuan Sword, Wang Chong sensed that the sword had reached its limit.
Without the slightest hesitation, Wang Chong unleashed his supreme strike!
“Lightning Flash!”
With a thunderous roar from the heavens, Wang Chong used the Xuanyuan Sword’s strongest move.
Boom!
There was a massive boom that seemed to hearken back to the beginning of the universe, and the skies of the northwest trembled and shuddered. Even the sand blowing through the world seemed to pause. Then, under the guidance of some invisible and powerful force, all the lightning in the clouds converged on a single point.
And at that moment, Wang Chong disappeared.
Kacrack!
Through the sand, through the wind, through the dark clouds, a massive and blinding lightning bolt slashed down from the heavens, drawing down all the other lightning bolts with it.
Whoosh!
It was impossible to describe the power of this blow. The moment that blue-white lightning bolt appeared, it superseded all other light in the world, making everything else seem dim in comparison.
“Ah!”
Cries of alarm came from all around. Anyone who could see that battlefield felt like a calamity was approaching, as if that lightning bolt of oblivion was aimed at them.
The Arab cavalry in particular were stricken with fear.
Rumble!
A split-second later, that massive blue-white lightning bolt and all the tens of thousands of naturally-created lightning bolts blasted into the Black Flame Ifrit. Raaaa! Khatabah angrily bellowed as he punched with both hands.
There was a massive explosion as the Black Flame Ifrit released all of its terrifying destructive power against the Xuanyuan Sword and all the lightning it had brought with it.
Lightning bolts and black flames exploded through the air, and even the hardy earth seemed as fragile as paper as it fiercely shuddered.
Their clash was enough to make even the earth gasp in shock.
“Wang Chong!”
On the Great Tang side, Wang Zhongsi, Li Junxian, Zhangchou Jianqiong… all of them stared nervously at the clash between Wang Chong and Khatabah.
Wang Chong had used the Xuanyuan Sword to muster the power of nature, to call upon tens of thousands of lightning bolts to use against Khatabah. This was the final move. If not even this could do anything to Khatabah, they could only close th
eir eyes and accept death.
Bang!
After a seemingly interminable second, the boundless lightning pierced through the Black Flame Ifrit’s body and blasted into the earth.
On the other side, Khatabah’s flames and their destructive power finally broke through Wang Chong’s resistance and sent him flying.
“Milord!”
“Your Highness!”
As Wang Chong flew away like a ragdoll with blood flying out of his body, everyone on the Great Tang side paled, their hearts sinking.
“Haha, just an ant trying to shake a tree. Did you really think that lightning would be effective against me? What a fool! An Ifrit that has lived for countless years is not something so easily destroyed. Now, let me end your life and this war!”
Khatabah’s cold and majestic voice rang out as clearly as a bell, resonating in everyone’s souls.
Boom!
As Khatabah spoke, he strode toward Wang Chong, the Ifrit’s steps causing tremors through the earth.
Adnan, Abu Muslim, and the others were elated.
“Wonderful!”
The two of them were brimming with enthusiasm.
This battle had been full of so many twists and turns, and with the sudden attack of Bahram and his Aswaran Cataphracts out of the sandstorm, the entire Arab army was in disarray and on the verge of collapse. But if Wang Chong were killed, the Tang army would be like birds scattering from a falling tree. No one left could stand against the assault of the Black Flame Ifrit and the Arab army.
The Black Flame Ifrit’s terrifying flames would easily wipe out the Tang!
“I’ll use your head to end this sandstorm!”
Khatabah’s cold voice continued to ring out through the world as waves of flame swept forward.
Just when it seemed like Wang Chong was going to die to Khatabah’s flames, his cold and unperturbed voice rang out in Khatabah’s ears.
“Is that so?”
Khatabah suddenly grimaced. Several hundred feet away, Wang Chong was kneeling on the ground, his hair in disarray, but his cold eyes were tinged with derision.
Buzz!
Khatabah paused, and that flood of black flames froze in the air.
This was not Khatabah showing mercy. Rather, just when Khatabah was about to punch down, he felt like he had run into some invisible wall.
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