CHAPTER 1074: CHAPTER 83: SOBER

In the blink of an eye, Li Like noticed that the two people with "half-body prosthesis" had already exchanged blows dozens of times.

Protector Shi had all of his Vector Injectors activated, frequently adjusting his motions and posture. The dozens of Vector Injectors on his body turned into light points, leaving trails in the air to sketch brilliant lines. He spun and advanced, his moves were erratic yet seamless, launching attacks from bizarre angles each time.

On the other side, Xiang Shan only kept the Vector Injectors on his back and elbows activated, arms spread wide, forming a tightly-knit air control circle to fend off all the opponent’s attacks. Not just that, he also attempted to grab hold of his opponent.

This upper-body Prosthetic Body’s strength was consistent with the lower body, even slightly stronger. From their last encounter, Xiang Shan was certain that if he could get a grip on the opponent, he could break their joints, or even capture them alive directly.

However, due to insufficient speed of the Vector Injectors, Xiang Shan was occasionally knocked back, crashing into nearby factories or power supply facilities. Nonetheless, he would strike the ground without hesitation, causing a fierce change in the surrounding terrain, propelling himself out.

The Guardian of Chaldea felt his heart bleeding. Every factory here was the lifeblood of the Neutral City Chaldea. The damage caused by the actions of both Martial Artists was incalculable.

But he found himself unable to intervene in this battle anymore. His Vector Thruster was already damaged, making it hard to sustain his acceleration. Even if he set aside his mental burden and moved like a Hunter using the surrounding environment, his agility ultimately fell short.

Additionally, it was difficult for him to use long-range weapons. His Firearms Path Martial Studies wasn’t particularly strong, and most importantly, he and the Hunter hadn’t established mutual trust. Aiming his gun at the Six Dragons Sect First Heavenly Layer master would certainly limit the Six Dragons Sect master’s performance, but the Hunter would be similarly hindered.

Such is the nature of Firearms Path Martial Studies; once action is taken, controlling the final outcome becomes difficult.

—That guy attacking the artillery position first was probably to eliminate threats.

Li Like felt bitter. He had already ordered the artillery position to retreat again. Although the artillery’s fixed bombardment could threaten a First Heavenly Layer Martial Artist, their mobility and firepower were not on the same level. If the artillery positioned itself at this distance, it could be easily wiped out by mistake.

Now the tactical formation used by the artillery position was also not suitable for dealing with a First Heavenly Layer Martial Artist.

No, no, this location simply wasn’t suitable.

If they wanted to use artillery to eliminate a First Heavenly Layer Martial Artist here, they’d have to be prepared for the entire industrial city to be obliterated.

The Chaldea populace couldn’t accept such a thing.

Almost every Chaldean was filled with emotions about this place. Although Chaldea was a city built from piles of wreckage, those pieces were pulled from space and personally fixed into place by everyone.

But at this moment, a sudden change occurred.

Two unmanned fighter drones resembling bats emerged from the gaps in the factory, one conducting a machine gun sweep, the other releasing missiles.

These two aircraft were designed with a special coating and shape, their radar signature doesn’t seem like a weapon, making it hard for ordinary Martial Artists to recognize. Yet the Hunter appeared unaffected by these interferences, deftly avoiding attacks, and then counter-attacking to destroy one of them.

But the other had already landed on Protector Shi’s lower back, accelerating him, and the size of the afterburner flare caused the Prosthetic Eye to automatically adjust.

Yet Xiang Shan did not chase.

"What’s wrong?" Li Like pursued, "Why did you let him escape? Why are you just watching?"

Xiang Shan spread his hands, "Nothing can be done, it’s his Prosthetic Body; he knows how much fuel is left inside."

"What..."

"This Prosthetic Body was stolen by me; the propellant inside isn’t full," Xiang Shan explained, spreading his hands again, "Nor are the munitions. Just now, it looked like I had the upper hand, but actually, the propellant and munitions were significantly consumed. He was deliberately consuming it, so I couldn’t catch up."

Xiang Shan shook his head, murmuring something.

He had Jeanne and Asgard craft several pairs of auxiliary legs, which indeed took up quite some time. Additionally, cracking the Six Dragons Sect’s instrument system also took some effort.

The combination of these two factors resulted in him spending too much time.

That Six Dragons Sect protector should have started changing Prosthetic Bodies after him, yet ended up acquiring not only the lower-body prosthesis but also unlocking the weapons and supplies hidden in the third location.

The unmanned aircraft with Flying Wings attachments were likely among them.

From the towering flames ignited by Xiang Shan blowing up one of them...

The propellant inside the drone was pretty much full.

And that Six Dragons Sect protector was clearly aware of his advantage too. He expended large amounts of propellant accelerating to the limit, launching attacks from strange angles with the goal of forcing Xiang Shan to repeatedly consume propellant in responses. Even knocking Xiang Shan back several times served this purpose.

His propellant reserve was far more than Xiang Shan’s. He was leveraging his strengths to pressure Xiang Shan’s weaknesses.

Moreover, this Prosthetic Body wasn’t designed specifically for atmospheric environments; it couldn’t rely on nuclear power to intake and spew out air using the atmosphere as propellant.

With Xiang Shan’s propellant depleted, he immediately dispersed without any reluctance for battle.

Xiang Shan, out of propellant as a master, and Li Like, as Chaldea’s Guardian with a damaged Vector Thruster, neither had the capability to stop him. He completely dismissed the feasibility of "slaying two First Heavenly Layer Martial Artists."

Even if Xiang Shan disregarded Chaldea, continuously striking the ground in pursuit, catching up would be tough.

The afterburner transformed into a stream of light, twisting several times in space, vanishing in front of the two.

Li Like could only pray his colleagues could intercept this audacious guy. He turned to Xiang Shan once more and asked, "So, this Prosthetic Body was the reason for you attacking our Chaldea defensive forces?"

Tumor Xiang Shan straightforwardly nodded, "Exactly."

"Why? You don’t want us in Chaldea to have this Prosthetic Body?"

"Because I’m unsure whether anyone among them belongs to the Six Dragons Sect." Tumor Xiang Shan explained, "If any of them are in the Six Dragons Sect, I would be in an irreversible predicament while switching Prosthetic Bodies. I was racing against that Six Dragons Sect demon person, competing who would retrieve the Prosthetic Body first. Interference here wasn’t an option."

Of course, Tumor Xiang Shan knew very well that none of them belonged to the Six Dragons Sect.

But he indeed needed a reasonable explanation on the surface.