Chapter 533: Get ready…
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Before Lei Zhong threw himself into the fray again, he quickly condensed his aether into a formation that floated above his chest, radiating with the power of thunder and lightning, spreading his arms wide in the process.
As he did, the shadow of a monstrous thunder deity appeared behind him, a clear sign of the “Exhibition” ability associated with Aether Masters.
[Shockstarter!]
*THUMP! ZAP*
Lei Zhong curled both of his hands into fists and simultaneously slammed them into his chest, passing through the aether formation in the process and dispelling the deity shadow behind him.
A sharp jump in the man’s aether occurred shortly after, accompanied by the sight of an electric blue aura surrounding the man.
“Of course these guys have empowerment type aether arts!,” Zhen Hai complained.
“Shut up and get serious!,” Zhen Yue shouted back.
“Yeah, yeah! Ha!”
Zhen Yue and Zhen Hai immediately circulated their aether, causing two distinctive displays of aether power to manifest around them.
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Zhen Yue’s display between the two of them was the tamer but more beautiful, with distinctive animal tattoos appearing across her body, taking on the shapes of a jaguar, an owl, a rabbit and a pangolin, giving her the look of a tribal warrior woman.
The formation of a moon-shaped aura behind her made her look more like a goddess though.
Zhen Hai’s display on the other hand was decidedly more savage looking, with his skin taking on a rough, grey appearance like that of a shark, his teeth elongated and sharpening into fangs that looked as if they could crush diamonds and an aura of savagery encapsulating him.
The faint shadow of a massive shark-like beast could be seen hovering around him, alongside faint traces of electricity.
Lei Zhong’s eyes flickered when he saw the lightning, but decided against speaking about it, he had a job to do after all.
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The muscular man in yellow, Gou Huang, stood up for his seat and walked over to Lei Zhong’s side, circulating his aether all the while.
As he did, his skin began to take on a stonier appearance, a singular, phantasmal horn made of crystal appeared on his forehead, reminding Zhen Hai and Zhen Yue of some kind of ogre or troll-like beast.
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As the combatants got into place, the pedestrians standing near by began to move.
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All around the fighters, people began to drop whatever they were doing and either ran away or hid behind some form of cover.
They could sense that these four people about to fight were all Aether Masters, and when Aether Masters fight, things got messy.
Normally, the city guard would put a stop to such messy affairs, but for reasons beyond the understanding of many of the passersbyers, none of them moved to stop this fight in the slightest.
If anything, they were making sure others wouldn’t intervene.
Of course…these guards were trained to deal with civilians and people who cultivated aether…not those who used an energy that wasn’t detectable by more normal means…
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[And now it’s turning into a slugfest, fan-fucking-tastic,] Razorstella cursed while still hiding out of sight of both parties. At this point in time though, she had switched out of her human disguise and switched into her mini-mode.
A good decision on her part, because as she hid herself away, she stumbled upon a rather interesting conversation between two members of the local law enforcement.
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[Huh…]
In the span of a short conversation, Razorstella learned a lot more about the power dynamic of Willow Scale City than what she had initially found out via her scouting, and possibly way more in-depth than if she just randomly talked to someone on the street.
Then again, much like Spring Brawler, she wasn’t a big fan of talking to people.
Maybe it was shared trait between proto-kaijin?
Regardless, the fact that the local law enforcement was basically an extension of the Zhen Clan’s power was…worrying.
[Okay, I know they’re probably using the term “old monster” as hyperbole, but what kind of family has this much power to be the defacto-]
[Heya, Razor!]
[BY CHAOS’S TEATS, WARN A KAIJIN!]
[Sorry…]
Just as Razorstella was about to speculate on the nature of the Zhen Clan’s power, Nepherage, Frosttusk, Hurricroak and even Spring Brawler had appeared above her head and jump into the little hiding spot she had found.
If one were to look at them, they would think they were abandoned toys.
[So what did we miss? Has anybody died yet?,] Hurricroak asked, [ya think we should get involved? Should we be placing bets?]
[Not yet, but-wait…where’s the director? I don’t sense his aura nearby.]
[He is currently back at the hotel, undergoing a makeover at the hands of Lady Jin Fang,] Nepherage answered.
[Makeover?]
[Figured…he’d…need…to…bluff…again…]
[Okay…wait, isn’t that Logos’s and Pathos’s department.]
[He said he wanted to give them a break on fussing over a human for a bit, since they’re busy with Jasper and Janice.]
[Ah…]
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=Hmmm…if this becomes more of a trend, perhaps we should try and optimize our disguise procedures…maybe finally make a djinn for it?=
=Maybe…depending on when our lord heads for the Storm Queen’s tomb though…=
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“So…Shen Yue…you want to trade dance partners, or…”
“I started this by picking a fight with the thunder guy, I will end this fight with the thunder guy. He’s mine.”
“Right on, that leaves rock-face to me,” Zhen Hai nodded, “wonder if his skin is tougher or weaker than a Rock Ape’s.”
At this point in time, the two sides had already finished whatever battle prep they wanted done and were entering combat stances. ready to rip each other to shreds at the drop of a hat.
Of course, while they were all ready to fight, they still waited for the other to make the first move.
The reason being that while on paper, both sides were Aether Masters with an average ring count of two to three, they both understood that the first move could make or break their victory.
Lei Zhong had already experienced Zhen Yue’s counterattacking abilities firsthand and was not eager to test to them again, meanwhile, Zhen Yue recognized that Lei Zhong was undoubtedly faster than her and didn’t want to risk exposing her flank and giving the man a chance to strike when she least expected it.
On the other hand, both Zhen Hai and Gou Huang had no other idea what the other was capable of, aside from what they saw in each other’s “aura displays”.
Time seemed to crawl as the warriors stared each other in a classic stand-off, waiting for the other to make a move first so they could respond appropriately.
But then…
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“Fuck it.”
Precisely one warrior from each side lost their patience and decided to go on the attack.
<<[Fierce Demon Thunder Kick!]>>
“[Megalodon Thrash!]”
The distinctive auras of two very different Ethereal grade aether arts seemed to fill the air as Lei Zhong and Zhen Hai rushed forward to strike at their respective opponents, passing each other in the process and staring daggers at each other.
They didn’t know who would win, they just knew they were definitely going to gang up on the other guy once they did.
<<"Break for me!">>
