Book 10: Chapter 56: Final Battle with Gan Luo (2)

As Gan Luo rushed toward him, Qin Lun extended his right arm. Countless tiny green thorny vines grew out from under his skin, slowly forming a long bow as tall as a person. Holding the bow, Qin Lun reached behind with his free left hand and plucked a feather as tough as metal from his black wings. He used it as an arrow, nocked it on the bowstring, and shot it.

“Twang!” Gan Luo saw a black streak shooting toward him like lightning. He barely had time to raise his arm to cover his face when he felt a sharp jolt in his forearm, followed by a small stinging pain.

The deputy leader of Chaos looked down and saw that although he had deflected the black streak, one of the scales on his arm had shattered. A trace of dark green blood seeped from the wound.

Gan Luo was shocked. His Mantis Body belonged to the close-combat type among the Insectoids. The scales covering his body were harder than refined steel. In previous battles, even the powerful strength of the three-eyed giants had failed to harm him. Yet now, he was injured by that insignificant-looking feather.

Qin Lun had excellent eyesight. As soon as the arrow was released, he clearly saw the small wound on his enemy’s arm and immediately felt relieved.

After his main combat power shifted from the Bingren Mecha to the Angel Body, his original weapons were buried inside the pyramid along with the mecha. One reason he had avoided fighting Gan Luo earlier was precisely this.

The only advantage the Angel Body had over the Bingren Mecha was the quality of the physique itself. His opponent was Gan Luo, a high-rank Martial Artist. If the Angel Body wasn’t as powerful as Qin Lun had imagined, the outcome of this battle would be obvious without even fighting.

Seeing that the feather arrow could harm Gan Luo, a sharp glint flashed in Qin Lun’s eyes. Without hesitation, he plucked another handful of feathers from his wing, nocked them on the long bow, and fired. In the next moment, countless black streaks almost linked together like a black whip lashing toward the high-rank Apostle.

This was a bow skill Qin Lun rarely used since becoming a shooting master—Rapid Shot!

Gan Luo took a deep breath. His figure flickered as he pushed his body to its maximum speed, charging toward his opponent with afterimages. Some of Qin Lun’s arrows inevitably missed, but a small portion accurately struck the enemy.

Gan Luo blocked with his arms in front, protecting his head, face, and vital body parts. Enduring the stinging pain from the arrows, he charged toward his opponent. Qin Lun shot while dodging close combat. In long-distance travel, the Angel Body was inferior to the Mantis Body, but with an extra pair of wings suited for atmospheric flight, Qin Lun was much more agile than Gan Luo.

After failing to close in on the young man twice in a row, Gan Luo sighed inwardly. The scales on his body slightly stood up as he opened all the pores of his Mantis Body. Wisps of dark green mist seeped out from under his skin, gradually enveloping his entire body.

“Be careful!” Gan Luo shouted solemnly at Qin Lun. His opponent’s performance had earned his respect. As a Martial Artist, he was unwilling to take undue advantage. Besides, the martial skill he was about to use was very powerful, and the not fully accustomed Mantis Body might not control the force precisely. Since he couldn’t afford to accidentally kill Qin Lun, he naturally gave a warning first.

Hearing Gan Luo’s warning, Qin Lun grew slightly alert. Flapping his wings, he agilely drew a figure-eight in the air, widening the distance from his opponent slightly.

A cold glint appeared in Gan Luo’s eyes. After several rounds, the battle-experienced Martial Artist keenly spotted a weakness in Qin Lun. It seemed this opponent rarely fought Martial Artists, or perhaps due to his evasive fighting style, he was very unfamiliar with the martial techniques of close-combat experts.

Maybe when Qin Lun’s equipment and skills were unrestricted, this weakness wasn’t very noticeable. But now that he had lost all additional gear and most Apostle Skills were limited, this weakness stood out like a firefly in the night.

The green mist around Gan Luo grew denser, even trailing two whip-like streams of light smoke behind him.

In the next moment, the two green smoke whips behind Gan Luo suddenly flicked. A crisp explosive sound rang through the air, and the Martial Artist’s figure vanished from sight with that sound.

Using the life force of his Mantis Body, Gan Luo simulated a unique qi skill of Martial Artists—the B+ rank martial skill, Qi Wing Impact!

Martial Artists were indeed a close-combat profession, but that didn’t mean they had no way to deal with ranged attackers. In terms of short-distance bursts, Martial Artists were second only to Knights among melee professions, with more methods than a Warrior’s single charge.

Watching Gan Luo shooting toward him, Qin Lun’s pupils contracted. He suddenly felt locked by his opponent’s presence; no matter which way he dodged, it seemed he couldn’t avoid this impact.

“Bang!” Gan Luo, shooting forth with unstoppable momentum, crashed into his opponent. Qin Lun only had time to fold his angel wings in front of him before he was sent flying like a cannonball. The Holy Thorn long bow in his hand broke into several pieces.

The moment Qin Lun was sent flying, his body stiffened, completely losing self-control. Although the Gospel World couldn’t fully manifest a Martial Artist’s qi skills, the impact skill Gan Luo simulated still inflicted a stun-like law effect on his opponent.

A bright glow flashed in Gan Luo’s eyes. Seizing the moment Qin Lun lost control, his figure flickered again. When he reappeared, he was already behind his opponent.

“Bang!” Gan Luo calmed his mind and steadily pushed a palm strike onto Qin Lun’s back. The young man’s body bent into a strange reverse fold.

“Pfft!” Qin Lun felt a sweet taste in his throat and couldn’t help spitting out a mouthful of golden blood. A strong warning signal arose in his mind. Though still unable to control his body, he desperately urged the Holy Thorns within him. Countless thorny vines emerged from under his skin, wrapping him up like a large zongzi.

However, Gan Luo’s assault was clearly not over. Once a skilled Martial Artist seized an opening and the opponent couldn’t break free, unless the Martial Artist exhausted himself, it would be a full combo of critical strikes and control.

The dark green life force covering Gan Luo’s body boiled like hot water. The deputy leader of Chaos moved like a dancing Elf, while Qin Lun was tossed around in the air like a ball, caught in his opponent’s storm-like attacks.

For a time, fragments of emerald Holy Thorns mixed with black angel feathers scattered everywhere. Qin Lun was like a lost finch in a storm.

Even with the double protection of Holy Thorns and wings, Qin Lun still felt his whole body aching as if about to break, like a piece of red-hot iron being hammered. Several ribs inside him had already broken, and his internal organs were severely injured.

If not for the truly strong Angel Body, if it were the original Bingren Mecha, it would probably have been torn into scrap metal by Gan Luo now.

“It’s been so long; why hasn’t that thing come yet? Do I really have to admit defeat?” Qin Lun thought helplessly.

“Screech…” As if sensing Qin Lun’s call, a sharp, high-pitched cry came from the edge of the area where the two were fiercely fighting. Two enormous bird-like creatures flew closer from afar. With wingspans reaching hundreds of meters, these giant birds covered the sky above them like dark clouds.

Looking closely, these two giant birds had no feathers. Their huge wings resembled more the bat-like wings of wyverns, with sharp hooked claws at the edges. Their skin was bare and ugly, covered with scales like those of cold-blooded animals.

Their beaks were long and flat, with a pouch-like lower part, somewhat resembling a fish-catching bird from the Earth Federation—the pelican. However, other parts of their bodies resembled the sky dominators of the Cretaceous period—pterosaurs.

Seeing Qin Lun and Gan Luo fighting fiercely in the air, these two behemoths seemed extremely angry. With a flap of their wings, they dove straight down, sharp hooked claws reaching out to grab each of the two men.

“Finally!” Seeing this, Qin Lun secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

There was a reason he chose this airspace for the final battle with Gan Luo. The area they were in was close to a steep cliff, and atop that high cliff was the nest of these two giant birds.

However, Qin Lun’s original plan didn’t include this creature nest. Most powerful species had their own territories, usually spaced quite far apart from each other.

After luring Gan Luo to the three-eyed tribe’s village, Qin Lun’s next destination was supposed to be the territory of another Thornback Giant Rhinoceros. But after Gan Luo used the Duel Shackles, he couldn’t make it there anymore. He had to settle for second best and chose this airspace.

These two giant birds were also very powerful, and their domain was the sky, not interfering with the three-eyed tribe’s territory, so they were relatively close by. Now they became substitutes for the Thornback Giant Rhinoceros.

After fighting for so long, the two men finally caught the attention of these giant birds. Beasts defending their hunting grounds were fearsome. As soon as the two giant birds saw them, just as Qin Lun had expected, they immediately attacked.

“Bang!” Qin Lun took the giant bird’s attack full on. The sharp hooked claws tore his back, flesh ripped open, but it also blocked Gan Luo.

As his body freed from paralysis, Qin Lun could finally spread his wings, drawing an arc in the air as he escaped Gan Luo’s attack range. Gan Luo, however, was blocked by the huge giant bird’s attack path and now had to deal with the claws right in front of him.

“Damn it!” Gan Luo cursed under his breath, his face grim. He vaguely felt that the appearance of these two giant birds might not be accidental. Considering Qin Lun’s previous act of deliberately leading him to the three-eyed tribe’s village, he suspected this was another deliberate move by his opponent.

“Will this ever end? Do you think these two beasts can hold me for long?” Gan Luo said expressionlessly to Qin Lun. “Now you’re heavily injured and don’t have the stamina to run anymore. Just admit defeat!”

“Heh, I don’t see it that way!” Qin Lun wiped a trace of blood from the corner of his mouth. With a flip of his hand, the Holy Thorns condensed into another long bow. Panting heavily, his chest rapidly rising and falling, he said, “I really don’t have much fighting power left, but you’re not much better off either. After using that forbidden skill for so long, your body is almost done for, right?”

Gan Luo fell silent, but a look of determination slowly appeared in his eyes.

“That’s right; under normal circumstances, my body can no longer support the Duel Shackles.” Gan Luo suddenly spoke calmly. “But as an Apostle, never underestimate a strong fighter’s desire for victory. I must win this duel!”

Gan Luo formed his fingers like a blade and slashed forward swiftly. With that motion, a crisp “ding” sound came from the empty space in front of him. At the same time, Qin Lun felt his body lighten. Instantly understanding what the high-rank Apostle before him had done, a look of shock appeared on his face.

“For victory, I can give up my own forbidden skill. What about you? What are you willing to sacrifice for it?” Gan Luo lifted his head with a proud expression.