CHAPTER 1073: CHAPTER 82: ALARM

Protector Shi’s appearance at this moment was somewhat strange. His lower body was much larger than his upper body, like a child wearing a giant’s long boots on his legs.

His upper body had also been simply modified, with a thicker layer of external armor. This layer of armor made him appear bulkier, with his upper body resembling the pupa of some grotesquely deformed insect. His arms were crossed in front of his chest, forming a defensive stance.

The strength difference between his upper and lower body was too great, rendering his upper body useless in attacks, so he simply adopted a purely defensive posture with it, using his lower body to attack instead.

The only purpose of Protector Shi’s sudden assault was to disable Li Like.

He had to disable a Chaldean Guardian to increase his chances of escaping Chaldea.

And Li Like found himself in a disadvantageous position.

The Light Flame Greatsword formed by proton beams was a terrible melee weapon.

As a close-combat weapon, its blocking ability was almost nonexistent, unable to deflect any attacks. Compared to other physical weapons, this was a major shortcoming. Traditional melee weapons could not only injure but also block and intercept, even redirect attacks with ease.

However, compared to the Sonicon Blade, which also lacks blocking ability, it had the embarrassing issue of "insufficient lethality."

The Sonicon Blade could directly destroy external armor upon contact, but the high-energy Proton Beam forming the Light Flame Greatsword could only rapidly heat it. When swung too quickly, it suffered from a "lack of heating time." Additionally, the First Heavenly Layer warriors’ framework possesses a strong magnetic field. These fields stabilize the relative position of metal parts and quickly distribute forces. The charged Proton Beam is similarly affected by these fields, unable to inflict enough damage even when penetrating the external armor.

Huh? Use an uncharged Neutron Beam? That’s a good idea. But the only problem is, a Neutron Beam can’t be confined to a sword shape with magnetic fields.

The Light Flame Greatsword is an energy-consuming method to reduce the damage range, aiming to protect the surrounding environment. It is lightweight and easy to deploy. For First Heavenly Layer warriors, it serves as a decent supplementary attack means. Li Like had only drawn it in haste to intercept missiles.

In front of Li Like, the flames merged into one, resembling a ball of lightning. But as the sword danced furiously, Protector Shi simply kicked forward. The strong magnetic field deflected most of the high-energy Proton Beam, striking directly in front of Li Like.

"Boom boom boom boom boom boom..."

Li Like was hit consecutively six times, beaten backward in retreat.

Then, a bullet struck his back.

It happened at the exact moment he activated the Vector Injector, opening his external armor.

A silhouette like a bat darted out from between the gaps of the factories. It was a small fighter jet. Its alien radar-evading design had avoided Li Like’s senses.

It was like a giant hammer struck Li Like’s back, making him roll and kneel. Though the injury wasn’t fatal, his heart sank slightly. He could feel that his Vector Thruster was severely damaged.

He had lost the capability for high-speed movement. He could still rely on the ground to battle this unfamiliar expert, but he no longer had the means to pursue him.

The bat-like fighter quickly approached, then attached itself to Protector Shi’s back, aligning with the interface.

At this moment, a voice came through: "Trying to leave? It’s not that easy!"

Surging through the billowing flames was a figure reminiscent of a simian creature. Its upper body was exceptionally exaggerated, occupying almost eighty percent of its body...

No, that’s not right, it seemed to only have an upper body. Its lower half was a prosthetic limb like a spider or a crab!

Massive fists attacked from both sides, with the Vector Injector at the elbows accelerating the movement. Protector Shi instinctively met the attack but quickly realized something and activated the Flying Wings to escape.

However, he was a step too slow, as the two hands seized his Flying Wings and waist, then forcefully pulled apart.

Soon after, a blast of flames erupted upward.

The Flying Wings’ propellant carried its own fuel and oxidizer. In the low-oxygen atmosphere, it could still burn for a long time. Amidst the flames, the two figures separated once more and began to face off.

At this point, Li Like lapsed into silence. Those two guys’ prosthetic body designs were completely identical, even...

No, they were essentially half-body prostheses...

They were sharing a single prosthetic body.

Seeing that a quick escape was impossible, Protector Shi took a stance and said, "Thief of prosthetic bodies. Why not use your own prosthetic body?"

He still believed that Jeanne and Tumor Xiang Shan possessed a First Heavenly Layer prosthetic body. It’s difficult for someone who had never experienced it to control such a body made of steel the first time they encounter it. The sheer volume of signals would overwhelm the average person’s brain.

Yet they just stole and directly controlled his prosthetic body. Calling it "high skill" or "great talent" couldn’t explain it.

Tumor Xiang Shan replied with amusement, "I just felt like it. My favorite thing is to grab the enemy’s equipment, then turn it back on them, telling them, ’Your skills are garbage’ — how does it feel to see the inferiority of your Martial Studies?"

"You bastard..." Even the well-mannered Protector Shi showed some anger: "Such a pity, a frog in a well. You’re only able to take pride against someone like me with inadequate martial skills. Against true experts, you’ll amount to nothing."

"True experts? Like your Sect Hierarch, or something?"

"Even facing a Martial God, one could exchange a few moves, that counts as an expert." Protector Shi kicked out with both feet: "You’re still far from that level."

Xiang Shan met with his hands.

Protector Shi’s feet fluttered like butterflies, or a swarm of dancing bees. Xiang Shan’s hands spread open, resembling a crescent moon, or the jaws of a behemoth. This time, Xiang Shan no longer used his fists, instead attempting to use a gripping technique to seize the extremities of Protector Shi’s limbs. Protector Shi maxed out the Vector Injector, making his movements elusive, like fireworks shooting skyward.

Xiang Shan was knocked towards a factory by a series of kicking strikes. But he slapped the wall, rebounding immediately. Behind him, the entire small factory’s workshop began to deform, its equipment unable to bear the load, sounding alarms of failing.

It was at this point that an alert abruptly sounded in Li Like’s mind.

"What? An unidentified craft is approaching rapidly?"