241. In the Name of Domination, Summon Me
Bang!
The Akaban Squad Warrior kicked open the doors of Parliament, immediately met by a barrage of intense gunfire. As thousands of metal bullets, propelled by electromagnetic force, ripped through the air and rocketed toward them, time suddenly seemed to sink into a mercury-like state, slowing to a crawl.
[Conscripted Omega Energy•Mercury Zone]
Like a slowed-down film, the bullets were casually intercepted and flicked aside by a large hand. The Akaban Squad Warrior next to him felt his sense of shock and fear shift in slow motion, still too stunned to react. A broad back filled his field of view.
Without wasting words, Li Aozi raised his hand toward the front. Five fingers moved like piano keys striking in turn.
[Electric Shock]
[Brilliance of the Polar Day]
[Steel Piercing]
[White Phosphorus Flame]
[Kinetic Shell]
Five distinct Omega Energies blasted forth from each fingertip—lightning and dazzling radiance, metal jets dancing with white-phosphorus flames, and pure kinetic impact slamming into the sandbag fortifications. In an instant, the ambushers and their cover were utterly reduced to nothing.
Time resumed its flow.
The explosion's shockwave ruffled Li Aozi's clothes; his black windbreaker flapped like a devil's wings.
"Continue."
Li Aozi strode forward without concern.
"—Hey!"
A surviving soldier suddenly raised his head, dragging his intestines that were spilling out. Eyes full of dread and unwillingness, he asked:
"You… who on earth are you? That kind of power… even a Gamma rank wouldn't be so terrifying! What… are you?!"
"Me?" Tilting his head, Li Aozi switched to a disguise mode, letting Isaac's consciousness speak freely: "Just think of me as an angel."
"An… angel?"
"The glorious Lord of mine, Ruler of Reality, the great God of Domination—Leozi. I'm the angel of Destruction He sent."
As Isaac spoke, he flicked out a business card from his pocket, letting it drop to the ground. While the Akaban Squad Warriors tended to the wounded prisoner, the survivor finally saw the text on the card:
"If reality leaves you lost, pray at the White Obelisk, and His Highness Leozi will surely hear your pleas."
"Leozi… the Holy Monument Church?"
The captured soldier murmured the name, looked down at his mutilated body, and then toward Li Aozi's departing figure. His mind wavered.
['Holy Monument Church' believers +119]
"Indeed—violence is the best way to expand a market and spread a faith."
With a black devil-like face, Li Aozi had already sorted everything out. Now, conscripted once again, he wielded his powers with ease. No matter the foe, no one could withstand the density of his Omega Energy strikes.
He precisely wove a net of Omega Energy. Snipers attempting a sneak attack from long range had their bullets bounced back by [Reflection Barrier], piercing straight through their skulls. Swordsmen who closed in, shouting battle cries with katanas in hand, were met by the pinkish[Sakura Dragon Scales] blanketing Li Aozi's body. They hacked and slashed with their fine nano blades, sending out bursts of sparks on the petal-like, resplendent dragon scales. Bolstered by his [Bloodline], Li Aozi kept his hands behind him, unmoving.
"Long live His Majesty the Ring King!"
A frenzied modified samurai drew his blade, the high-frequency vibration of its edge glowing a fiery orange:
"Let me show you the might of the most advanced high-frequency particle blade—'Muramasa'!"
With that, he exploded into motion, pushing his speed to the limit. He left countless afterimages in midair, shifting unpredictably. Even bullets couldn't catch him.
In an instant, the vibrating blade swung toward Li Aozi's neck!
[Sequence Ninth•Gravity]
A field of gravity halted the blade mid-swing, as though it were stuck in mud, unable to advance.
[Armor of Mountains]
Heavy layers of rock enshrouded Li Aozi, forming a coat of stone. Even a blade that cuts through anything could only throw off sparks against it.
[Sakura Dragon Scales]
[Rose Dragon Scales]
Cherry-pink and bright-red dragon scales erupted like flower petals, layering over one another in an overlapping shell stronger than titanium alloy. The high-frequency blade, despite its constant cutting force, grew blunt and dull. Yet bolstered by the samurai's Qi power, it forced itself a bit further.
"Almost there! Almost there! Go to hell, you beast!"
[Bronze Skin]
Suddenly, his skin took on a metallic sheen, completely neutralizing the blade. The excessive cutting had damaged the weapon itself beyond repair.
Crack!
The blade representing Tianhuan's cutting-edge technology instantly shattered, fragments of metal scattering across the ground, each shard reflecting the samurai's vacant stare:
"Th-this… impossible! How can this be? I refuse to accept this!"
The aura reads no more than an Alpha-tier ordinary [Martial Artist], yet the terror he unleashed was such that not a scratch could be made on him.
"Ah…"
Li Aozi sighed softly. The temperature around them plummeted, white frost and snow swept in, and his eyes were veiled by icy-blue snowflake markings:
"Resisting a natural disaster… is futile."
"Open fire!"
Hidden Tianhuan soldiers raised anti-vehicle weapons and fired a volley of anti-tank missiles at Li Aozi.
[Freezing Breath]
Standing alone on a frozen tundra, hands behind his back, Li Aozi let the boundless cold winds rage. Before the missiles could even reach him, their engines stalled midair, drifting feebly to the ground. The temperature was so low they couldn't even detonate, and the chill wind continued toward the stubbornly resisting soldiers, freezing their joints in place, frost and snow sealing up their eyes, mouths, and noses. They were immobilized in an instant.
Pathetic.
An endless despair arose in the hearts of Tianhuan's soldiers.
They skipped straight past fear to a shared certainty: "Victory is impossible."
As Li Aozi prepared to continue deeper into the Parliament building, swirling with frost-laden gales, a resounding shout came from all directions:
"You lot, halt!"
Halt!!
Halt!!!
Echo upon echo rang out. A pure-white nine-tailed fox strode from the shadows, wreathed in pale-green ghostly flames.
"Hmm?"
Li Aozi turned his head slightly, spotting the sickly middle-aged man stepping forth from the spiritual realm. The man's face was grim but looked righteously unyielding. Then Li Aozi gave a light laugh:
"I almost forgot—Tianhuan has a Gamma rank as well."
"I don't care who you are or which of the Four Nations you represent. If you dare openly support the traitorous Akaban Squad and usurp the King's authority, I—Tianhuan's Onmyōji—shall thwart this defiance of the heavenly way, even if it costs me my life!"
The grand Onmyōji clutched a handful of talismans, brimming with righteous purpose. He shouted:
"O eight-headed Dragon God, grant power to your descendant! Help me eradicate the enemy before me!"
At that moment, a terrifying surge of spiritual power came roaring forth like a tidal wave. The Onmyōji's robes billowed under an ancient, mystical aura spreading out.
"Oh…" Li Aozi's eyes lit up. "This is quite interesting."
He rolled his neck around, lifting one hand from behind his back.
"Dealing with you… it's worth using my left hand."
...
"What the hell is that monster?!"
Soldiers hiding in a room cried out in terror.
"It's untouchable, unharmed by anything, and the powers it uses are endless—it can manipulate nature, warp space-time… nothing's out of reach."
One soldier shivered violently, fingers necrotic from frostbite, moaning in despair:
"Isn't this just…"
"—A god?"
A nearby samurai bristled, kicking the soldier over:
"Don't be ridiculous! There's only one god in this world—His Majesty the Ring King! Only the Ring King is the heir of the Dragon God's destiny, commanding six trillion earthly and heavenly deities. His Majesty shall reign for millennia, ruling all! How dare you question our god?!"