Chapter 648: …As the Brave appears
[Oh shit, the maestro wasn’t the only one holding back this whole time,] Hurricroak observed. [Color me impress, I honestly thought she was just a Aether Master that could punch above her weight class. Like our maestro.]
[You do remember that we can’t use the ringmaster as a gauge for such things, right?,] Spring Brawler pointed out. [By the definitions of Valresta, he is technically a cheat-like existence, for Chaos’s sake, we are his cheat.]
[That is a fair point, but-wait…those assholes are trying to pre-emptively attack while he and the princess are in the middle of transforming. How rude. We should probably interfere with them before they manage to hurt the maestro.]
‘Actually, I think I can handle this myself. Just stick to the plan and-‘
[Wait,] Razorstella suddenly interjected. [I think I just came up with an idea to not demoralize these guys but also have them disregard us as obvious threats.]
‘That’s…unexpected. What’s the plan?’
[You’ll see. Spring Brawler, you’re coming with me. We’re gonna take a dive!]
[Huh? But we’re nowhere near any bodies of…oh wait, that kind of dive. Okay.]
‘Why am I getting the feeling that in another lifetime, you would’ve been the ultimate pro wrestler?’
[Because I understand what kayfabe means.]
‘Not gonna question why you know that term.’
[Good answer. Now I need you to say this line in order to really sell this loss…]
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As soon as Zhen Liu and Jinju Ren began to unveil their true power and began to activate their [Regalias], Gao Lin and Gao ZhiHui sprang into action in an attempt to stop this from happening, rushing towards the two young warriors with blatantly bloodthirsty intent.
“I don’t think so. Get them, you two!”
In what must’ve been a last ditch effort to deter the Fallen Clan warriors from attacking, Zhen Liu commanded the strange bladed ballerina puppet and the spring-limbed acrobatic puppet to intercept. Zhen Liu’s other three puppets had been dismissed around the same time he unleashed his power as a Grandmaster.
Evidently, it was common sense logic that dictated that when a high tier cultivator wanted to make use of [Regalia] or even their [Astra], then they needed to retract any extraneous usages of aether before doing so, so Gao Lin and Gao ZhiHui didn’t question this behavior and assumed that this was a moment of weakness. They were a little curious as to how Zhen Liu was able to operate two aether puppets while still forming his [Regalia], but they just chalked that up as some kind of fluke or the puppets were so weak that it didn’t really affect the [Regalia] making process.
This would turn out to be a case of the latter, as the pair of aether puppets weren’t able to do much, because as soon as they got within striking range of the two charging Grandmasters, they were both knocked away and sent flying into the distance and through the arena’s walls. Even if the puppets were still intact from such a powerful blow, there would be no way for them to react fast enough to prevent the inevitable from happening.
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[Huh. You never really appreciate how indestructible you really are until you’ve felt pain beforehand. That was like a light tickle at best.]
[Thanks for the assistance, director. Spring Brawler and I will now make our way to the prison.]
‘Excellent.’
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Either way, things weren’t looking too good for the young warriors…for the moment at least.
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*Bing-Bong*
The next two scenes happen at the exact same time, but for the sake of clarity, they’re being treated as separate moments.
Thank you.
*Bing-Bong*
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JinJu Ren’s Royal Regalia.
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The ink aether produced by this massive brush could either act as a powerful restraint or as a deadly blade, the effect being up to the wielder to decide, and in this moment, Gao ZhiHui wanted JinJu Ren’s head.
Unfortunately for him, he wasn’t going to get it.
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Once the aether dragon performed this one small task, it continued to spiral into the air before suddenly straightening and diving directly into JinJu Ren’s head.
As the dragon made contact with the princess, it began to disperse into particles of light before condensing into an armor that covered JinJu Ren from head to toe. At the very end of this process, JinJu Ren was fully decked out in a suit of armor that looked vaguely reminiscent to the armor that the Imperial Guards wore, but with a decidedly femme fatale looking dragon helmet and layers upon layers of metallic scales taking the place of traditional metal plates. In essence, JinJu Ren had transformed from a tomboyish princess to a dragon-like war goddess.
And right now, this goddess wanted blood.
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With that cheery threat made, JinJu Ren drew her [Dragon Dominator Saber] and rushed at Gao ZhiHui, aiming to do what the man failed to just seconds ago…
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Zhen Liu’s a Massive Nerd.
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Seconds ago, Gao Lin had watched as Zhen Liu manifested a strange looking belt that wrapped around the later’s waist the moment it could.
Gao Lin had no idea what this belt was or what it did, but something about it made his instincts feel uneasy. As such, when given the go-ahead, Gao Lin rushed forward with his fastest punch in order to end the fight before it could begin. Unfortunately for him, Zhen Liu’s hand was a lot faster, especially since all he needed to do was press a button on the side of his driver.
*Click!*
|MY Driver! Hero, Standby!|
*CLANG!*
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Before Gao Lin’s fist could crush Zhen Liu’s skull, a strange chibi-lookong warrior made of aether, armed with a sword and shield, manifested out of nowhere and blocked the former with the shield, causing Gao Lin to be momentarily stunned. The manifested warrior then swung its sword to knock the man backwards, just long enough for Zhen Liu to finish his task…[as well as enjoy the heroic sounding trumpet music that seemed to be coming from the belt itself.]
…
‘No.’
‘Its too nerdy.’
‘Fine…’
…
“Henshin!,” Zhen Liu shouted as he pulled the lever on the right of his belt.
*Click!*
|YUUSHA MODE, ENGAGE!|
As soon as this announcement was made the chibi warrior manifestation stiffened up and repositioned itself above Zhen Liu, floating right on top of him, as a complicated aether array appeared between the two. Then the actual transformation occured.
|A heroic brave has come, the chosen one is here, he shall be the one to befriend all demons,| the driver announced as the chibi warrior above Zhen Liu went through the array and transform into a suit of white and grey armor that encased Zhen Liu’s body completely.
To everyone else, Zhen Liu looked like a heroic-looking Grandmaster in full [Regalia].
To Zhen Liu himself…he couldn’t help but be reminded of a certain series of transforming heroes and he was having a bit of a moment.
So much so, that before Zhen Liu took on a little pose and said the following:
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With that declaration made, Zhen Liu rushed in to attack Gao Lin.
…
‘That…that felt good.’
‘I am weirdly disappointed Razorstella and Spring Brawler aren’t here to see this.’
=You did task them with something.=
‘I know, but still…’
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[Hey, big sis? Do you think the ring master and the others will be okay?]
[What? You mean without us? I mean, I know I’m one of the brightest stars in the world, but even I know those three are walking natural disasters. I’m pretty sure any enemy that come their way will end up in a pine box. Or worst.]
[Well, obviously, but that’s not what I mean.]
[Hmm?]
[It’s just…the moment we left the arena, I noticed this weight coming off of my shoulders. I don’t know what’s going on back there, but it’s sinister and…heavy.]
[Sinister and heavy? How?]
[Like there was something back there that could hurt or change us. Down to our existences.]
[…oh.]
