The Highest Bounty

Chapter 170 Gu Ding VS Yarrow

Gu Ding did not detect Yarrow’s wound. He was a pharmacologist, not a doctor. Moreover, Yarrow had concealed it very well. At the very least, he had successfully fooled more than forty of his crew. If his crew of more than forty people, who spent every day with him, were unable to tell he was wounded, it was only natural that Gu Ding would not notice it.

Neptune was the one who had detected it.

Neptune has the ability to analyze a person’s physical condition based on the magnetic field surrounding the individual as long as they were within Neptune’s range. The magnetic field around Yarrow was erratic and his power signatures were not at that of a true Rank 11 Gene Body. In addition to that, Neptune was more than 96% sure that Yarrow had been wounded based on the video of his fight with Kohld Blood, and he had yet to recover.

Neptune happily shared this news with Gu Ding. If Gu Ding had to go up against a Rank 11 Gene Body, there would be no chance of victory. However, his opponent had a secret wound that affected his true power, dropping from his peak form of Rank 11 Gene Body to a level close to Rank 10 Gene Body. This gave Gu Ding a fair chance at winning the fight.

Yarrow’s expression changed slightly at Gu Ding’s mention of his unhealed wound, but he quickly composed himself. “I have no idea why you would make such a strange judgment, but even if I was truly wounded, I am still a Rank 11 Gene Body. As for you, the highest you’ve ever been is only a Rank 7 Gene Body, am I right? Do you really think you would be an obstacle for me?”

“So, you think that I’m nothing more than a Rank 7 Gene Body when there’s a bounty of eighty million Universe Credits on me?” Gu Ding laughed at Yarrow’s words. He moved a step forward as he activated Ultimate Arts Level 8, summoning his Bronze Grade combat armor. He had also fully unleashed his Level 3 Rage Attack.

Three thousand and sixty points of basic combat effectiveness were enhanced by 400 times, giving it a sudden spike to one million two hundred and twenty thousand points. This was similar to the combat effectiveness of a Rank 10 Gene Body. Under the enhancement of the Advanced Iron Block, Gu Ding’s defense was further increased another twenty times, bringing the figure close to twenty-five million points.

After he was done with this preparation, primary power in the form of a bright, golden beam of light slowly emerged from his palms. Gu Ding clenched his hands into a fist and made a powerful jump as his figure dashed forward, arriving in front of Yarrow in a split second as he made the first attack.

Yarrow was taken aback upon witnessing Gu Ding’s speed. It was no lower than a Rank 10 Gene Body. It was at this point that he realized how misleading those videos he watched were. Gu Ding, whom everyone had thought to be only a Rank 7 Gene Body, had a combat effectiveness that was equivalent to that of a Rank 10 Gene Body!

Yarrow quickly pulled himself together. He did not panic over this as he was a Rank 11 Gene Body. Even though he was surprised by Gu Ding’s true power, he still did not think of Gu Ding as a threat t. He was well-versed in close combat, just like Gu Ding, and his body art had the effect of doubling his power. This was a skill that he had always been proud of.

As Yarrow watched Gu Ding speeding up to him, he met the attack with a punch as his fist was encompassed within a thick, silver light.

There was a flash as their attacks collided, causing an explosion from the golden and silver energy. A strong wind billowed from the powerful collision of both energies and drew the attention of everyone around. At the same time, Gu Ding was blown away by it as the golden energy in his fist dissipated instantly. He had only spent one day absorbing light energy for conversion into primary power. Unsurprisingly, it was no match for Yarrow’s years of training in Righteous Force. It was only normal that Gu Ding’s energy would dissipate.

As the crowd watched Gu Ding fly away with a single attack, they guessed that Gu Ding would lose his combat effectiveness following Yarrow’s punch. They had not expected Gu Ding to pick himself up as if nothing had happened, dashing speedily once more toward Yarrow.

Yarrow’s previous attack had caused a strong pushback that Gu Ding could not shield himself from, which was why Gu Ding had flown off backward. However, under the effect of the Advanced Iron Block, there was not much effect on his physical state. Only his arms felt slightly numb from the attack.

Yarrow noticed something unusual after the punch. Gu Ding’s strength was far inferior to him, yet when he delivered that blow, it felt like he was attacking the exterior of the Golden Eagle. He knew that his attack did not cause any damage to Gu Ding.

As expected, Gu Ding moved forward toward Yarrow immediately after stabilizing himself.

Many busybodies outside the battlefield were recording this scene. They saw it as an opportunity to record a sensational video. Newcomer Gu Ding had faced the full brunt of an attack from Yarrow yet managed to come out of it unscathed.

Elsa had taken the time to peek at Gu Ding’s battle and she was slightly surprised by the result. She had always thought Gu Ding was not powerful, but after witnessing Gu Ding being unaffected by an attack of that level, she realized she might have had a lapse in judgment.

What Elsa did not know, was that Gu Ding was indeed pretty weak when they had met. If it were not for the fact that he had upgraded himself over the last few days, he would not even be able to withstand a single attack from Elsa.

There was another flash between Gu Ding and Yarrow as their punches collided, creating a tremble in the air that sounded like a booming detonation from a cannon. It had created a shockwave of energy that rang through the air, much like a raging storm being unleashed in every direction. At that moment, anyone lower than a Rank 8 Gene Body was blown away. Gu Ding was sent flying backward once again as he spun around in circles in the sky.

He managed to land feet-first on the ground but was still pushed back a few meters by the overwhelming force. He regained balance once again and it was apparent that Gu Ding remained unharmed yet again. Yarrow was surprised as he clearly sensed Gu Ding becoming stronger than before. Even though it was not enough to harm Yarrow, but if Gu Ding’s increasing strength was a special ability, it would mean big trouble. This is because each time Yarrow attacked, the more Gu Ding would gain in strength. The worst part of it all was that his attack could not penetrate Gu Ding’s defenses at all.

The thought of this convinced Yarrow to change his battle tactics.

He had planned to go head-to-head with Gu Ding and overpower him with pure strength, making Gu Ding realize that Yarrow was the stronger of the two. That was why Yarrow did not follow up with another attack during both times Gu Ding was sent flying. By the looks of it, Gu Ding’s defense was extremely solid. To make sure Gu Ding would stay down permanently, Yarrow’s only option was to focus on destroying his defense by raining down a storm on Gu Ding. This time, Yarrow made the first move. Yarrow attacked the moment Gu Ding stabilized himself, appearing in front of Gu Ding in one quick dash. The speed of a Rank 11 Gene Body was miles faster than a Rank 10 Gene Body, which was why Gu Ding did not have time to react.

Yarrow’s body was immediately encompassed within a silver-colored Righteous Force. This time, he did not hold back as he bombarded Gu Ding with continuous vicious assaults. Each punch and each kick pummelled Gu Ding with full strength as the attacks rained down on Gu Ding’s body.

Every attack that collided with Gu Ding’s body produced a booming sound, much like the explosion created by a cannon shot. It felt like armor-piercing shells landing on rocky terrain. The explosive power from the Righteous Force created sparks of silver fire, causing everyone watching it to be dumbstruck.

Elsa, who was not far away, witnessed Gu Ding get buried within the silver sparks. She grew slightly worried at the sight of those powerful attacks as she knew that even with her physical strength, she would have been seriously wounded under such an attack.

Robert, in an unusual move, was also staring at Gu Ding’s location. He was wondering whether to unleash that weapon. However, Neptune did not transmit any messages, which meant that Gu Ding was not in danger yet. At this thought, he stood down from the decision and turned to watch Liliath, whose eyes were shut tight.

The exploding noises had gone on for quite a while and all the spectators were under the assumption that Gu Ding had been completely smashed into a pulp, but Yarrow knew that was not the case. He still had the feeling as if he were attacking a special grade metal. Every attack had given off the feeling as if the impact was being absorbed. If he had successfully destroyed Gu Ding’s defense, this would not be the sensation he would feel from his punches. Yarrow was starting to doubt that Gu Ding was a human being because of this unbelievably powerful defense that made it seem like he was a robot made of a special metal.

As for Gu Ding, he was starting to feel dismal over the situation. Even though Yarrow’s attacks could not bypass his defense, Gu Ding still felt the pain from those attacks on his body. Moreover, he was being forced into a passive state as he had no way of retaliating. This was the first time he had been in such a situation and he was miserable. More importantly, the Advanced Iron Block could only last for an hour. If this went on for more than an hour, not only would he lose his enhanced defense, he would also lose one-third of his original defense. When that time comes, Yarrow’s attack would completely annihilate him. “I can’t go on like this!” Gu Ding calculated his timing. His fight with Yarrow had gone on for more than ten minutes, he only had slightly more than forty minutes of this advantage. Gu Ding had to win this fight within that timeframe or face lethal consequences.

The Ultimate Arts Level 8 had helped enhance Gu Ding’s combat effectiveness to one million two hundred and twenty-four thousand points. Even with the help of Damage Stacking of three times the enhancement, he could only reach four million eight hundred and ninety-six thousand points. There was no way he could put a dent in Yarrow. Even if he used Ultimate Arts Level 9 and enhanced his combat effectiveness further, his strongest attack would only be at nine million seven hundred and ninety-two thousand points. It was not enough to break through Yarrow’s defense. The only option was to use Ultimate Arts Level 10… This would enhance his combat effectiveness even further and only then, could his attack be stacked up to nineteen million five hundred and eighty-four thousand points.

Gu Ding calculated in his mind and knew that only by using Ultimate Arts Level 10, would he be able to wound his opponent enough to win the fight.

His breathing sped up at this thought, and his Ultimate Arts was quickly upgraded from Level 8 to Level 9, but that was not the end. It continued increasing from Level 9 until it was finally at Level 10…

Unexpectedly, Neptune did not voice any objections to this. Judging from Gu Ding’s current physical condition, he could exhaust himself too much trying to achieve Ultimate Arts Level 1oi n such a short time. All Neptune did was give a casual warning, “You only have twenty minutes to end this fight.” A smile appeared on Gu Ding’s face as he clamped his hands around Yarrow’s fists. “Are you done punching?!”