Chapter 433 The Battle with Oneself
Above the ruins of the temple, space seemed to be cut in two, with two mirror-like destructions unfolding simultaneously.
The light of the Great Light illuminated the dust, and two almost identical giant circular arrays composed of tens of thousands of rune artifacts spun wildly above the temple, pouring out a torrential rain of energy.
The dark golden light of the annihilating fire crisscrossed and pierced through the limited space, each collision causing small-scale elemental annihilation and spatial wailing.
Silver spatial cracks and distorting force fields flashed intermittently, then canceled each other out, emitting a teeth-grinding tearing sound.
On the ground battlefield, two almost identical legions of black giants, exuding a chilling aura, clashed like two colliding torrents of black metal, tearing each other apart in the most primal and violent way.
The clash between claws and physique, the interference of time-accelerating force fields, and the ability to devour and heal turned the battle into a tug-of-war that consumed energy.
Jemin hovered in mid-air, his wizard robes torn in several places, his breathing slightly rapid, and a trace of blood still clinging to the corner of his mouth.
He controlled the Great Light Phase to launch suppressive fire, while simultaneously directing the Black Giant, his eyes sharp as an eagle's, fixed on the "himself" opposite him.
Slightly at a disadvantage.
This is an undeniable fact.
Although he narrowly deflected the initial sneak attack, the Divine Light of Annihilation, with his Transformation into Light technique, it consumed a great deal of his spiritual and mental energy and disrupted his rhythm.
But the opponent—the clone—entered the fray at full strength, each strike precise and ruthless, carrying the same killing intent as him.
We must find a way to break this deadlock.
Jemin's brain was working at breakneck speed under the pressure.
Since their side has been affected, it means that the wizard Artorias should have escaped and may even be trying to break the trap from the outside.
However, the difference in the flow rate of time branches is a difficult problem to solve; one second may pass outside, while several days may have already passed inside.
It is foolish to place all your hopes on rescue efforts.
The optimal solution is always to take the initiative, which means eliminating the mirror image in front of you.
But the problem is starkly presented: how to defeat a "self" with exactly the same strength, skills, fighting instincts, and even mindset when at a disadvantage?
Relying on conventional tactics? The opponent will anticipate that in real time.
Relying on a sudden burst of power? The opponent's cards are exactly the same.
Relying on a war of attrition? That would only worsen our own condition.
We must find a variable that the opponent cannot copy, but that we can quickly utilize in battle.
Knowledge.
This word is like a match struck in the dark.
Based on his recent cramming on the laws of time, he has identified the essence of this copy—a time afterimage.
A high-level application of the laws of time, the principle of which is similar to creating independent time-rift worlds.
However, the target is an individual, and it will forcibly "imprint" a "mirror image" containing most of its current state at the target's location or related spatiotemporal nodes.
This mirror image possesses all of the original's power, skills, equipment, and even combat awareness and most of its knowledge.
But it has its limits.
Afterimages of time are ultimately "applications" of the laws of time.
What it can replicate are things that can be clearly defined, recorded, and reproduced by conventional laws: energy levels, material forms, conventional law knowledge, and fixed skill models.
But those things that transcend the level of conventional laws, involving higher-dimensional cognition or unique knowledge systems... cannot be replicated.
For example, the advanced knowledge possessed by all high-level wizards of level six and above.
For example, the cultivation knowledge system inherited by "Da Dao Shu Ge" originates from the rules of another world!
Therefore, Jemin knew he needed a method that could make a difference in combat in a short period of time.
Of all the cultivation methods, which ones can be quickly applied in battle and immediately produce a difference?
Body Strengthening Method!
The essence of the Body Tempering Method is to guide the body through "adaptive evolution" through specific energy circulation and physical training.
The afterimage of time might be able to replicate the physical strength brought about by his current body tempering method, but it could never replicate the "adaptive evolution" that only occurs when running the method!
In other words, his body tempering technique can continue to "evolve" in the upcoming battle, while the physical strength of the mirror image will be locked at its current state!
This is the key to breaking the deadlock!
With a glint in his eyes, Jemin immediately changed tactics.
With a thought, he gave the order to the group of his own Black Giants who were fighting the mirror image of the Black Giant on the front line: Self-destruct!
The remaining thousands of black giants stopped biting without hesitation, the black liquid metal on their bodies instantly boiled, and their internal energy cores went into overload.
While gathering his strength, Jemin kept a close eye on his opponent.
In his mind, the most reasonable response to this sudden, wide-area suicide attack would be either to order the Black Giant to retreat temporarily or to cast a powerful protective spell to withstand the impact.
Regardless of the method, he could take this opportunity to unleash an extra burst of Fiery Annihilation Divine Light and try to gain an advantage.
However, the mirror's reaction made his heart sink.
Almost at the same moment the explosion occurred, "Jermin" on the other side issued the exact same order to the Black Giant on the front line!
What's even more terrifying is that the opponent didn't even try to take the opportunity to adjust or defend. Instead, just like Jemin, he began to gather his power and unleash the Divine Light of Extinction the moment the explosion and flames rose!
Then……
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The series of explosions bloomed like flowers of death, and the violent energy shock and spacetime distortion field instantly swept across a large area.
The next instant, two destructive dark golden lights condensed almost simultaneously in front of the two retreating figures!
"Damn it... even their thought patterns and tactical choices are completely synchronized..." Jemin gritted his teeth and could only unleash the divine light he had been preparing with all his might.
Two torrents of dark golden light collided in the aftershocks of the explosion!
An even more violent energy annihilation occurred, with terrifying energy turbulence and fragments of laws spraying in all directions, further damaging the already dilapidated structure of the temple.
Furthermore, it created an extremely unstable zone of elemental chaos between the two.
Now!
Taking advantage of the moment when the two sides' attacks collided and energy perception was severely disrupted, Jemin made an action that the mirror image had not anticipated!
The large circular array of light behind him suddenly emitted a discordant, piercing buzzing sound!
The three metal disc runes at the core, which serve as energy storage and regulation hubs, flickered wildly. The direction of energy flow was forcibly interfered with by Jemin's mental power and instantly reversed!
The "power furnace" that was originally providing a continuous source of energy for attacks has been turned into a "water pump" running at full power!
The powerful suction field formed by the three discs suddenly expanded, frantically devouring all the free elemental energy in the surrounding space!
That chaotic energy zone created by the collision was the first to be affected!
The violent and chaotic energy was brutally pulled and drained by this powerful, directional suction force.
Almost in the blink of an eye, the concentration of free elements plummeted to near zero within a radius of 10,000 meters centered on Jemin.
An elemental vacuum zone, or rather, a temporary magic-suppressing domain, instantly took shape!
In this realm, all witchcraft and talismanic artifacts that rely on the elemental energy of the external environment will have their effectiveness greatly reduced or even become completely ineffective!
The "Jermin" on the other side clearly hadn't expected this move.
However, although it was unexpected, the mirror image "Jermin" reacted extremely quickly.
When the mirror image discovered that the surrounding elemental environment was becoming chaotic, it did not try to salvage it, nor did it even attempt to escape the emerging anti-magic field.
What it did was to pour all the energy stored in the elemental pool into the remaining rune artifacts of the Great Light Phase in a desperate gamble.
*Sizzle... Bang!*
Behind the mirror image, thousands of rune artifacts on the large circular ring of light simultaneously sparked and even shattered due to the sudden change in energy supply and internal overload.
However, it completely disregarded the limits of the rune artifacts' capacity and launched a final attack in the elemental chaos zone before the magic-suppressing domain enveloped it, at the cost of most of the rune artifacts collapsing and self-destructing.
A beam of light shot out, and the light of the entire circular array behind it dimmed rapidly, its rotation stopped, and it was temporarily paralyzed.
"What?!" Jemin's pupils shrank.
Although the chaotic elemental environment outside meant that the number of light projectiles in this round was not large, it was enough to kill him!
It's too late to dodge now, but if I choose to turn into light, the three metal discs connected to my spirit will also turn into light, losing their effect of creating a magic-suppressing field.
Jemin gritted his teeth and could only barely turn to the side, concentrating all his protective aura and the remaining defensive magic that had not yet collapsed in front of him, while simultaneously running his body tempering technique to its limit, trying to withstand the attack head-on.
Boom boom boom...
The continuous explosions instantly pierced through the hastily assembled layers of protection, slamming into Jemin's left chest!
A terrifying force erupted, and the flesh and bones of Jemin's left shoulder, along with half of his chest, instantly vaporized and disappeared!
The immense impact sent him flying, crashing through several broken stone pillars like a rag doll before finally slamming heavily onto the cold stone floor of the temple, leaving a long trail of blood.
"Cough... Hah..."
The wound in his chest prevented Jemin from even coughing, and blood gushed from the corner of his mouth and the huge hole in his chest.
He struggled to lift his head, his blurred vision gazing into the distance.
After firing that shot, "Jermin" was in extremely poor condition.
Forcibly activating the Great Light Phase caused an energy backlash, leaving its face as pale as paper, blood trickling from the corner of its mouth, and its body swaying slightly.
More importantly, this choice led him into the elemental vacuum anti-magic zone that Jemin had meticulously set up.
At this moment, the domain has stabilized.
Its great light phase is destroyed, and the Black Giant Legion suffered heavy losses in the previous self-destruction collision and was separated by the domain.
Jemin struggled to his feet amidst the blood and rubble, and looking at the figure trapped in the anti-magic field in the distance, gasping for breath, a cold smile slowly spread across his blood-stained face.
Although the cost was enormous... almost half of his body was gone.
But... the trap was ultimately set.
(End of this chapter)
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