novelraw Chapter 433: A Duel Between Self and Self
Chapter 433: A Duel Between Self and Self
Above the ruins of the temple, space itself seemed sliced in two, with two mirror-image scenes of annihilation unfolding simultaneously.
The radiance of the Great Radiance Formation illuminated the drifting dust. Two nearly identical colossal ring arrays, each composed of tens of thousands of runic wizard artifacts, spun wildly in the sky above opposite ends of the temple, pouring down a torrential barrage of energy.
Dark-golden Trigram Fire Annihilation Divine Light crisscrossed and pierced through the confined space. Every clash triggered small-scale elemental annihilation and elicited anguished wails from the very fabric of space.
Silver spatial rifts and twisting force fields flickered in and out of existence, canceling each other out and producing grating, teeth-grinding tearing sounds.
On the ground battlefield, two nearly identical legions of black giants, radiating bone-chilling cold, collided like two opposing torrents of black metallic floodwaters. They tore into each other with the most primitive and brutal methods imaginable.
Claws met flesh, time-acceleration force fields interfered with one another, and abilities of devouring and self-regeneration turned the fight into a brutal war of attrition.
Jie Ming hovered in midair. His wizard robe was torn in many places, his breathing slightly labored, a trace of unwiped blood lingering at the corner of his mouth.
He directed the Great Radiance Formation to unleash suppressive barrages while simultaneously commanding the black giants. Yet his eagle-sharp gaze remained locked onto the “self” across from him.
He was at a slight disadvantage.
This was an undeniable fact. That opening sneak attack of Trigram Fire Annihilation Divine Light, though he had barely managed to evade it by transforming into light, had still consumed a massive amount of spiritual power and mental strength, completely disrupting his rhythm.
Meanwhile the opponent, that copy, had entered the battle in perfect condition. Every strike it delivered was precise, ruthless, and carried killing intent of the exact same origin as his own.
He had to find a way to break the deadlock.
Under immense pressure, Jie Ming’s mind raced at incredible speed.
Since his side had been affected, that meant Wizard Altreus had likely already broken free and might even be attempting to dismantle the trap from the outside at this very moment.
But the disparity in time flow between branches was an almost unsolvable problem. One second outside could equate to days of bitter fighting within.
Placing all hope on rescue would be foolish.
The optimal solution was always to seize the initiative himself, that is, to eliminate the mirror image before him.
Yet the problem stood out starkly: how could he, while at a disadvantage, defeat a “self” that possessed identical strength, skills, combat instincts, and even patterns of thought?
Relying on conventional tactics? The opponent would predict them in perfect sync.
Relying on a sudden burst of power? The opponent held exactly the same trump cards.
Relying on a war of attrition? His own condition was worse.
He needed a variable—one the opponent could not copy, yet one he could rapidly exploit in combat.
Knowledge.
The word flared like a match struck in darkness.
From the frantic studying he had done recently regarding time-related laws, he had already identified the true nature of this copy: a Time Remnant Image.
A high-grade application of the laws of time, operating on a principle similar to creating an independent time-pocket world.
But its target was an individual. At specific spacetime nodes related to or occupied by the target, it forcibly “imprinted” a “mirror” containing most of the target’s current state.
This mirror possessed the full power, skills, equipment, combat awareness, and most of the knowledge of the original.
But it had limits.
A Time Remnant Image was, ultimately, merely an “application product” of the laws of time.
What it could replicate were only those elements that could be clearly defined, recorded, and reproduced by conventional laws: energy level, material form, standard law knowledge, solidified skill models.
But those things that transcended conventional laws, involving higher-dimensional cognition or unique knowledge systems… it could not copy.
For example, the advanced knowledge possessed by all high-rank wizards of sixth ring and above.
And even more crucially—the cultivation knowledge system inherited from the Great Dao Book Pavilion, which originated from the rules of an entirely different world!
That was why Jie Ming understood he needed a method capable of creating a difference in a short time during battle.
And among all cultivation methods, what could be employed quickly in combat and immediately produce divergence?
Body Forging Techniques!
The essence of Body Forging Techniques lay in guiding the body toward “adaptive evolution” through specific energy circulation patterns and physical tempering.
A Time Remnant Image might be able to replicate the current physical strength granted by his Body Forging Technique, but it absolutely could not replicate the “adaptive evolution” that occurred only when the technique was actively running!
In other words, during the battle that followed, his Body Forging Technique could continue to “evolve,” while the mirror’s physical strength would be locked at its current state forever!
This was the breaking point!
A flash of brilliance passed through his eyes. Jie Ming instantly changed tactics.
With a thought, he issued an order to the portion of his own black giants currently locked in slaughter with the mirror’s black giants on the front line:
Self-destruct!
The remaining thousand-plus black giants halted their tearing without the slightest hesitation. The black liquid metal covering their bodies instantly boiled, their internal energy cores overloading to the point of madness.
While charging power, Jie Ming kept his eyes fixed on the opposite side.
In his prediction, the most rational response to such a sudden large-scale suicidal attack would be for the opponent to either order the black giants to retreat and evade, or to deploy powerful protective wizardry to withstand the blast.
Either way, he would seize the opening to charge an additional Trigram Fire Annihilation Divine Light and strive to establish an advantage.
But the mirror’s reaction caused his heart to sink.
Almost at the exact instant the explosions began, the “Jie Ming” across from him issued the exact same command to his own front-line black giants!
Even more terrifying—the opponent didn’t even attempt to adjust position or defend. Just like Jie Ming, the moment the explosive light flared, it had already begun charging its own Trigram Fire Annihilation Divine Light!
And then…
BOOM BOOM BOOM!!!
A chain of explosions bloomed like flowers of death. The violent energy shockwave and spacetime distortion field instantly swept across a vast area.
In the next instant, two streams of apocalyptic dark-golden light coalesced almost simultaneously in front of the retreating figures!
“Damn it… even the thought patterns and tactical choices are perfectly synchronized…” Jie Ming ground his teeth and could only unleash the fully charged divine light with everything he had.
The two torrents of dark-golden light collided amid the aftermath of the explosions!
An even more violent elemental annihilation erupted. Terrifying chaotic energy currents and fragments of laws sprayed outward, further devastating the already ruined structure of the temple.
Between the two of them, an extremely unstable zone of elemental fury and chaos was created.
Now!
Taking advantage of the moment when both attacks clashed and energy perception was severely disrupted, Jie Ming executed a move the mirror had not anticipated!
The Great Radiance Formation ring array behind him suddenly emitted a piercing, dissonant hum!
At its core, the three metal discs that served as energy storage and regulation hubs flickered wildly. The direction of energy flow was forcibly reversed by Jie Ming’s mental power!
The “power furnace” that had been continuously supplying attack energy was instantly transformed into a “pump” operating at full power!
The powerful suction field formed by the three discs expanded violently, frantically devouring every trace of free-floating elemental energy in the surrounding space!
The chaotic energy band created by the mutual clash bore the brunt of it!
The violent, disorderly energy was brutally pulled and drained by this powerful directional suction.
In the blink of an eye, with Jie Ming at the center, the concentration of free-floating elements within a radius of ten thousand meters plummeted to nearly zero.
An elemental vacuum zone—or in other words, a temporary anti-magic field—was instantly formed!
Within this domain, any wizardry or runic wizard artifact that relied on ambient environmental elemental energy would suffer drastic reduction in effectiveness, or even complete failure!
The “Jie Ming” opposite clearly had not expected this move.
Though unprepared, the mirror “Jie Ming” reacted with terrifying speed.
The moment it sensed the elemental environment turning chaotic, it didn’t even attempt to salvage the situation, nor did it try to escape the forming anti-magic field.
Instead, it poured every last drop of the energy reserves in its elemental pool into the remaining runic wizard artifacts of the Great Radiance Formation in a desperate all-in gamble.
Crackle… BANG! BANG!
On the mirror’s Great Radiance Formation ring, thousands of runic wizard artifacts simultaneously sparked and burst into flames due to the sudden change in energy supply and internal overload—even directly exploding.
Yet it ignored the bearing limits of the runic artifacts entirely. At the cost of most of the array collapsing and self-destructing, before the anti-magic field could fully envelop it, it unleashed one final attack from within the chaotic elemental zone.
A volley of light projectiles shot forth. The entire ring array behind it rapidly dimmed, its rotation came to a halt, and it temporarily fell into paralysis.
“What?!” Jie Ming’s pupils contracted sharply.
Although the chaotic external elemental environment meant the volley contained fewer projectiles than usual, there were still enough to kill him!
There was no longer time to evade. But if he transformed into light, the three metal discs linked to his mind would also transform, causing him to lose the ability to maintain the anti-magic field.
Jie Ming clenched his teeth. He could only barely twist his body, concentrating all his protective spiritual light and the remaining uncollapsed defensive wizardry in front of him, while pushing his Body Forging Technique to its absolute limit in an attempt to tank the hit.
BOOM BOOM BOOM…
The continuous explosions instantly tore through the hastily gathered layers of protection, smashing viciously into the left side of Jie Ming’s chest!
A terrifying force erupted. The flesh, bone, and muscle of his left shoulder and half his chest were vaporized in an instant!
The tremendous impact sent his entire body flying backward like a rag doll. He smashed through several broken stone pillars before crashing heavily onto the temple’s icy stone floor, leaving a long trail of blood behind him.
“Cough… heh…”
The massive wound in his chest prevented him even from coughing properly. Fresh blood gushed from the corner of his mouth and from the gaping hole in his torso.
With difficulty, he raised his head. His blurred vision looked into the distance.
After firing that volley, the state of the other “Jie Ming” was also disastrous.
Forcibly overdriving the Great Radiance Formation had caused severe energy backlash. Its face was deathly pale, blood leaked from the corners of its mouth, and its body swayed unsteadily.
More crucially, this choice had caused it to fall directly into the elemental vacuum anti-magic field that Jie Ming had meticulously prepared.
At this moment, the domain had fully stabilized.
Its Great Radiance Formation was ruined. The black giant legion had suffered catastrophic losses during the earlier mutual self-destruction and was now cut off by the field.
Jie Ming struggled to his feet amid the pool of blood and shattered stone. Looking at the figure in the distance that was now trapped within the anti-magic field, gasping with difficulty, a cold, icy smile slowly spread across his bloodstained face.
Though the price was enormous… half his body was nearly gone.
But… the trap had finally succeeded.