MIGHT AS WELL BE OP Chapter 971: War Machines
Previously on MIGHT AS WELL BE OP...
The instant Klaus uttered those words, Aaaninja and Lucian disappeared from their spots in under a blink's time, their forms fading away like illusions, only to reemerge at the positions the other had just vacated, backs turned to each other in utter quiet for a brief pause, before a resounding clash echoed out, as if their speed had outpaced sound itself.
Neither turned to face the other right away, their postures staying loose, muscles unruffled, overall bearing steady and eerily serene, swords remaining in their sheaths like no event of note had transpired.
It looked like that one brief clash had disclosed a truth to each, a quiet admission of the opponent's prowess, a silent grasp only peak warriors could share.
Right after, their frames stiffened, sinews winding tight like coiled springs as they amassed wild, immense power and boundless might without any limits or holds, no more probing, they unleashed full bodily force at once, as if the idea of holding back had vanished completely.
At that, they spun toward each other and charged with world-ending fury, blades slashing like furious creatures clashing in a fight for supremacy. And as two massive warheads smashing together in flight, their weapons at last connected.
For that split second, the whole Separate Plane froze in awe, all going blank as time seemed to stutter and waver, then it jerked sharply back to normal, and with that jolt, a total-devouring blast surged out from the single point where their blades touched in that tiny fragment of reality.
Even space couldn't withstand the power, it broke apart completely without mercy, crumbling like brittle glass, quakes ripping the ground as a strength that could obliterate worlds burst from their second clash, the ruin resounding forever through the endless plane.
Black eyes locked with rainbow ones, void smashing into colorful splendor, and in an eye's flash they were gone from their spots, forms streaking across the full Separate Plane as they collided and pulled apart with savage force and frenzy. Ruin bloomed one instant, wiping out terrains ruthlessly, but renewal chased it the next as the Separate Plane healed right away, rebuilding just to shatter once more in an endless loop.
Clang Clang Clang Clang Clang Clang.
The noise from their weapons striking rang with uncanny rhythm and accuracy, like they were unwittingly crafting a brutal melody, like creators shaped in ateliers instead of war zones. But they ignored it now, racing beyond visible speed, beyond a blink, beyond thinking, beyond what words could capture or minds could grasp.
Explosions ripped out, shockwaves chasing without end as they dashed, one a streak of black, the other of white, like they represented the ends of the color range, symbols of shadow and glow battling in endless conflict.
Now, talk had no role, grins had no purpose, just sheer, supreme, raw concentration lingered. The first to falter would taste blade's edge, and who that would be hinged soon on talent, accuracy, and battle's unforgiving rhythm.
In a swift move, they landed on a hill of sand waves, but one blade sweep from Aaaninja brought it down fully, the mass exploding into a thundering wave of grains that engulfed the skyline, though both had vanished before the rubble could fall under gravity's pull.
The atmosphere quivered nonstop, finding no peace, gales howling as their divides cracked one after another from the strikes. Wherever these two went, space buckled at the mere clash of their arms. Their steps never halted, always shifting, strikes flying every split second since neither risked slowing, as a single pause spelled sure loss.
Hesitation? Mercy?
Such notions didn't belong here; save those tales for mortal stages, not realms housing entities like them, those who had transcended such weak emotions long ago.
Moves flowed with smooth elegance unlike anything they'd shown in past fights. Plain sword forms in their grips proved deadlier than any elaborate or showy arts anyone might devise, since mastery made basics surpass elaborate designs.
A slash to split a peak straight through.
A cleave to carve a vast gap.
A thrust to burst a crater wide.
A cut to tear space open.
Their assault sequence flowed from one type to the next with stunning skill and practiced ease, yet their guards were equally stunning and captivating as their strikes, a flawless blend of ruin and safeguard woven together.
A slash clashed with a parry. A cleave hit a block, a thrust faced a dodge. A cut struck a deflection.
No one paused, no one eased, no one winked as if such efforts wasted power better used to boost another limb and amp up their duel, forms operating like flawless combat engines.
Strain built ever higher, drive soaring without bound, frenzy gripping the field as their paces quickened more and more, power rising to ridiculous levels where weights and measures lost all sense, such terms becoming pointless.
Even in their rush, their lingering images and shades seemed to strike and crash on their own as they ghosted through the void, spectral remnants fighting their quiet feud.
They materialized in a woodland, Lucian suspended midair, Aaaninja gazing up from the ground, moments stretching as if the world halted to behold the grim splendor unfolding. But Lucian shifted once more, dragging time back to flow. His katana whipped out and down in a rending slant path.
A streak of dark blade curve lunged ahead like decreed by fate. Aaaninja merely twisted his hand with a master's casual flick, brushing off the strike like a teacher's. His light blade curve shot up in raw velocity and flawless blade craft.
When the two blade curves connected, the breeze wavered in total hush, space shrank back in terror, world caught its air, time stalled, and light specks quivered briefly as if all being questioned the sight.
Then it struck.
A vast, colossal surge of frenzy detonated and hurled outward in raw, obliterating might that erased all in hundreds of kilometers, the blow hammering Aaaninja and Lucian's old spots with doomsday rage. Yet both had blinked away, abandoning only dim echoes behind as their wild clash picked up elsewhere, the fight nowhere near done and ramping up even more.