Skyfire Avenue - Chapter 777

Chapter 777

Chapter 777: Pleasant Surprises

A blinding light erupted from behind the mecha with the shield as its thrusters sparked to life . Its shield also flared with illumination, and emerging through the blaze was a bright yellow tiger’s head .

A wave of vigorous energy answered Lan Jue’s own, as lofty and indomitable as a mountain . Behind the glare was the fat mecha, almost certainly piloted by Tang Xiao . He’d transformed back from the alien planet to a standard mecha shape and hid behind the defender . All other members of their team quickly followed and lined up for protection .

Gravity went wild . One moment it was almost too much for him to move his arms, the next he was completely weightless . The constant, erratic changes were making it impossible to control Thor in its descent toward the line of contenders .

A figure suddenly appeared behind him . The deadly glint of a swiping dagger was coming at him again, aiming for another energy transfer pipe .

Thor’s armor and shields were impressive . How else could they get past his defenses unless by sneak attack? His opponent knew it too, so they had no delusions of destroying Thor outright . Evidently their plan was to cripple him, and give their companions an opportunity to land more devastating blows .

The speed of these fighters was top-notch .

Lan Jue acted as though he didn’t see the mecha from behind, and did not immediately react . Thor’s sword was pointed firmly ahead toward the others . But just as the blow was about to land Thor seemed to give in to the gravity and dipped – just enough to avoid the deadly daggers .

Ting! Thor’s sword rang against the metal shield . At it did the tiger emblazoned on the shield grew clearer, and almost seemed to move like it was biting at the sword .

Unfortunately for the shieldbearer a surge of energy burst from Thor’s weapon, submerging the tiger in electric power and eventually swallowing up the mecha that bore it .

It was immediately consumed, leaving no trace behind .

The team’s defender was no more .

Next Thor swung its left fist backward, as though for a wild punch . Yet a dragging vacuum force sprang up from behind . It was strong enough to nearly freeze the sneak attacker, just enough for Thor’s fist – flickering with black and white power – to come crashing into it .

Boom–! The cloaking mecha exploded, filling the air with thunderous noise and shards of smoldering metal . Two opponents down, but they could take solace in the fact that their loss wasn’t a deficiency of skill . It was due to the enormous difference in Discipline . Lan Jue’s peak-ranked power, Thor’s outrageous construction, and his martial arts knowledge had turned the tide of battle . Lan Jue managed to defeat the most menacing of his enemies, the cloaker . Focused flow All-Heaven lightning removed their shieldbearer from the equation .

The advantage of strength was revealed .

Thor continued to power forward, through where the defender had been, following the course of the sword as it headed for the fat mecha . The sounds of crashing waves grew louder .

Momentum was focused flow’s strong suit . It struck with the strength and consistency of mighty ocean waves . Just like the ebb and flow of the tide, Lan Jue’s next attack came on the heels of the first .

The large mecha didn’t try to dodge . In fact, it couldn’t . Instead it lunged forward to meet the electric blade without hesitation .

Liquid metal can’t survive All-Heaven lightning, why is he acting stupid? Lan Jue silently chastised . But when he saw his disciple dissolve into a puddle of mush and avoid the strike he didn’t know whether to laugh or curse .

If he hadn’t had to spin around and deal with the sneak attacker he could have focused on the sword, becoming one with the technique . But as it stood his flow had been broken as had his forward momentum . Of course, part of the reason he had to stop was for fear of being stuck in the puddle of student beneath his feet .

The floor of the arena was metal, and under Tang Xiao’s direction it turned to sludge below Thor . In the same instant a crushing gravitational pressure pressed down from above, hastening its sinking .

Even Lan Jue had to admit the team of Tang Xiao and this gravity Adept was something to behold .

Now the other mechas were coming in to attack . However, it was evident that Thor’s display of power had frightening them and changed their tactics . If they didn’t go all out now, they may not have another chance .

Two reached him first . One of them was shaped like a beast and lunged at him without a sound .

Good job, kid . It was Jin Tao, Lan Jue noted . From the beginning he had been hiding behind the others, hiding his presence from his teacher . Now he burst out, holding nothing back .

He chopped with his sword, while in the same moment channeling his Discipline through Thor’s feet . The fluid metal holding him down fractured into minute splinters .

Lan Jue narrowed his eyes as the electric light of his blade carved through the air, right for Jin Tao . But just as it looked like the lion-shaped mecha would be put down, it suddenly shivered and split into two, completely avoiding the strike .

Ghosting? Jin Tao’s that fast?

That technique was something only god-level pilots could pull off, and Jin Tao already seemed to have a good grasp on it . It was no accident he used it in just that moment .

Impressive job kid, you’re improving quickly! In a flash the metal lion was within clawing distance . Both images closed in on him from either side .

Lan Jue was adept at ghosting, and knew its benefits . Thor took a step back and whipped its sword around in a circle – Taiji sword style .

Jin Tao only felt the energy in front of him change, and half a breath later his mecha could hardly move . He saw himself moving toward the arc of the electric blade almost in slow motion .

With a deep and guttural roar Jin Tao’s mecha fused back into one and reached out with its claws . A golden light burst from within him and spread out in a corona of light . The force of it wrenched him free from Thor’s control . Its two front appendages, claws glinting, tore toward Thor’s head .

Lan Jue was positioned just right to thrust his weapon into the lion’s chest .

Jin Tao did not dodge . His name, the Frenzied Lion Mastiff, was not given in vain . In every fight he viciously fought in the face of death . His opponents feared him . What’s more he was an expert at close combat, and it could be said he was the hardiest soldier in Star Division .

If Lan Jue went ahead with the thrust it would leave him open to Jin Tao’s claws . He would hit his mark, but not without being punished for it .

Lan Jue didn’t back down, he had faith in the strength of his Discipline . He saw that Jin Tao wasn’t going to retreat either . The young man was assured his ferocity and outright strength would shake his opponent to their core .

The lightning sword slipped into the lion’s chest, its doughty armor was no match for All-Heaven lightning . As electric light coursed into the mecha he could see it struggling .

But in a move that shocked the Jewelry Master, the lion mecha’s claws blasted off at the wrists and toward either side of Thor’s head . If it was just Lan Jue he could easily have dodge the surprise attack, but Thor was less nimble . By the time he was preparing the mecha to react, it was already too late .

Bang-bang! The two blows, one on top of the other, caused Thor to shake . The lion’s claws were lodged on either side of its head .

“Not good!” Lan Jue muttered to himself .

He barely got the words out before a bone-jarring explosion erupted above him . The claws’ explosions were so intense it actually knocked the other mechas back a few steps .

Thor, of course, got the worst of it . In this critical moment Lan Jue didn’t hold back and reached out with the full breadth of his lightning Discipline to try and mitigate the concussive damage .

But it was too quick . Thor’s head and shoulders were a mangled wreck . Thankfully his Discipline had saved the cockpit .

Insane . That was the only words he had to describe his disciple .

Little more than half of his mecha remained, but Lan Jue wasn’t out of the fight yet . Thor sprang to its feet and lashed out with its sword . The movement birthed a hail of electric bolts that covered the ground . Tang Xiao’s slippery mecha was instantly shot full of holes .

Liquid metal twice as strong would be no match for All-Heaven lightning! Tang Xiao was taken out of the fight .

Like a demon-possessed corpse Thor flailed . The unstoppable power of focused flow tore erratically across the battlefield . All of the remaining mechas were annihilated, but in the end more than forty percent of Thor had been obliterated .

Their tactics had been strange, but Lan Jue could tell his opponents weren’t working wholly in unison . If they had, things would have turned out worse for him .

There was a flash, and Thor’s lumbering remains appeared outside the ring . The pilots he’d battled against were waiting .

“Professor!” Tang Xiao’s beaming face met him .

“Professor!” Jin Tao’s happy greeting was half a second behind .

Lan Jue grunted . “I see how it is! It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you two, and this is how you greet me?”