"I am Cao Cao of the Hero Faction, a descendant of Cao Cao from the ancient Three Kingdoms of the East. My weapon is True Longinus, ranked first among the Longinus Weapons. I look forward to your guidance."
Cao Cao walked with measured, dignified steps until he stood directly opposite Cid. He clasped his hands together and bowed respectfully as he introduced himself.
"Oh?"
"Please don't mind it. This is just a tradition from the martial arts schools back home when people spar. Since this is a formal match, I ought to follow tradition."
Cao Cao rose easily, relaxing the posture he had just taken as he loosened up his muscles and explained with a smile.
"Heh, I know about that, but seeing you do it like this…"
Cid chuckled and shook his head with a faint smile. How could he not know that ritual? In his previous life, when he had studied martial arts, he had spent quite some time in the East. The "Son" in "Son Goki" had come from that period.
"Forget it. In that case…"
With a soft sigh, Cid lifted his right foot and kicked a crowbar lying near him, one that had been exposed during the fight between Cao Cao and Vali's group.
The crowbar shot high into the air, spun several times, and dropped neatly into Cid's hand.
Cid twirled it with interest like a baton, then finally aimed it at Cao Cao, forming a standoff with the True Longinus pointed at him.
"Shadow, also known as Shadow. No distinguished background to speak of, so just think of me as a nameless nobody. My weapon is an ordinary crowbar that surpasses the top-ranked Longinus Weapon, True Longinus, just as you said."
At those words, Cao Cao's expression darkened. He looked at the "ordinary crowbar" facing off against his True Longinus without losing the slightest ground, then raised his eyes to Shadow.
"Are you insulting me?"
"I'm only telling the truth."
Cid spoke calmly as he quietly met Cao Cao's gaze. With a light laugh, his figure vanished from where he stood the next instant, while Cao Cao's figure remained in place.
"Rumble, rumble, rumble…"
A thunderous series of explosions erupted. Several afterimages appeared across the ground and sky as violent shockwaves swept over the entire battlefield. They were moving so fast that no one could clearly see the fight between them.
"How despicable…"
As those words rang out, a dark shadow swept past the Cao Cao who had remained in place. More than half his body was instantly torn away, yet no blood flowed. The remaining lower half slowly dissolved into a cloud of Magical Power and vanished.
"What else can I do? Facing one of the world's strongest at this stage was completely beyond my expectations. If I want to survive, using a few tricks should be acceptable, shouldn't it?"
Amid the clash of metal, Cao Cao's shameless words reached Cid's ears. Cid did not refute him. He merely nodded, raised the crowbar, and caught the tip of Cao Cao's Spear, locking it against the protruding point of the crowbar.
"Of course it's acceptable. In a sense, I'm the type who believes the victor is king and the strong prey on the weak."
"Now that you mention it, that makes sense. After all, like Ophis, you're the type who believes strength can decide everything, so you don't care about anyone else…"
Cao Cao replied with a smile. Faced with his halted attack, he not only refused to withdraw his Spear, but instead chose to clash head-on, trying to break through Shadow's defense by force.
This was not reckless. The outcome of this battle had been decided from the very beginning, and Cao Cao knew that clearly. He had personally experienced the power of the Dragon God, so he understood that, as they were now, they had no chance at all against an opponent on Shadow's level.
But that did not mean he had no possibility of winning. From his exchanges with Shadow up to now, combined with the information he had gathered to deal with him, Shadow could barely be considered chaotic neutral.
So this was a battle that would decide both superiority and life or death. There was only one chance.
"Personally, I find you very interesting…"
The crowbar in his hand easily redirected the force behind Cao Cao's thrust. Cid let the Spear slide past his side, turned, raised the iron crowbar high in his left hand, aimed at Cao Cao, who could no longer pull back his momentum, and brought it down.
"Clang!"
The protruding piece of iron made intimate contact with Cao Cao's cheek, producing a sharp, ringing impact. The tremendous force transmitted through the crowbar instantly sent Cao Cao flying, carving a furrow across the ground.
"What is it that people pursue throughout their lives? The answer is desire.
Every action needs desire to drive it. That desire may be survival, greed, or lust, but it definitely exists. So what desire is driving you to do all this?"
His hands did not stop moving. With his right hand, Cid gathered Magical Power and pulled back the crowbar that had been knocked away earlier and was still spinning through the air.
A phantom of Cao Cao appeared behind Cid, holding the True Longinus as it swung toward Shadow's head. But before the attack could be completed, the returning crowbar struck it and scattered it into Magical Power.
"Can you tell me?"
Without even turning his head, Cid caught the returning crowbar with perfect accuracy and looked toward Cao Cao, who was coughing in the overturned pit.
"Cough, cough… The famous Shadow is asking me. How could I refuse to answer?
It's simple. We want to become heroes. But the pressure our ancestors place on us is too great. No matter what we do, we are confined beneath them. That is why I want to prove the potential of Humans…"
"You want to surpass them? That really is an admirable goal…"
Watching Cao Cao cough several teeth onto the ground, with most of the flesh on his face torn away by the crowbar's earlier blow, Cid softly stated the other man's thoughts.
"So you really saw right through me. Fighting someone with a technical style stronger than mine really is unpleasant. Fine…"
The white orb floating behind him flashed. The injuries from his fall were restored, and the bloody wound on Cao Cao's face vanished. He raised the True Longinus again, took one step forward, and disappeared.
Wow, an ability I haven't seen before. Did he develop it that quickly?
"One of my teachers once said that weaknesses exist to be compensated for, not hidden, because nothing can stay hidden forever. Weaknesses will eventually be exposed.
The gap between a Human body and the bodies of aberrations like you is simply too large. I once tried to compensate through technique, but the margin for error was too small. All I could do was gather information in advance."
When Cao Cao reappeared before Cid, every injury on his body had vanished. His attack was fast, precise, and ruthless, aimed straight at Cid's throat.
Cid's response was to raise his right hand while tilting his head.
A movement that completely defied the structure of the human body unfolded. The tip of the Spear brushed past Cid's edge, while the raised crowbar drew a beautiful arc and struck Cao Cao in the stomach again, sending a large spray of blood from his mouth.
"Just like with you, Shadow. There's far too little information I can gather. Even after doing everything I could to collect it, all I could conclude was that you're a powerful fighter who follows the orthodox style.
That style is truly annoying. Both your power and your technique are flawless. Anyone who fights you will lose if they fall even slightly short in any area, and even if they surpass you in one area, defeating you is still difficult…"
Ignoring his wounds, which rapidly disappeared beneath the white light, Cao Cao wiped away the blood flowing into his eyes, lifted his head, and stared intently at Shadow as he rose into the sky.
"But gathering all that information was still useful. At the very least, you aren't truly without weaknesses…"
"Oh? My weakness… I'd love to hear it."
Cid knew that Cao Cao gathered piles of information before fighting. After all, the Human body was indeed somewhat fragile. But saying that he had a weakness… that really was underestimating him.
"You may be troublesome, but after spending three days and three nights, I still found your weakness…"
Cao Cao charged toward Shadow with his Spear raised. The white orb behind him released a brilliant light that engulfed the entire field. When the light faded, two dark figures fell to the ground at the same time.
"Shadow, you are just like Ophis. Far too arrogant and far too confident."
Compared to Shadow, who landed on one knee, Cao Cao had once again smashed a huge crater into the ground. He struggled to his feet, blood pouring from his body, yet his face wore the smug smile of someone whose scheme had succeeded. He pointed proudly at Shadow.
"This is…"
Cid spread his arms and looked around. A powerful binding force had appeared over the surface of his body. Under the light emitted by the white orb in the sky, he could feel his body's power being restrained by some kind of force.
"After all, you're the third strongest opponent I prepared to kill. I gathered a great deal of information to deal with you, and I discovered that you're arrogant…"
Hearing Cid's confusion, Cao Cao explained with obvious delight.
"You have a sense of superiority toward your enemies, like a cat playing with a mouse. You always lower your strength first, play around with them for a while, and only then kill them. And that so-called lowering even includes your defense…"
"Itthiratana?"
"Exactly, Itthiratana. It's the Sub-Species Balance Breaker I developed. By abandoning all of my Magical Power, I can push one ability to its absolute limit. And this time, the ability I chose to push to its absolute limit was Itthiratana.
If you had kept your defenses up, I don't think I could have pulled you in. But you chose on your own to lower your defense, giving me the chance to succeed. What a pity. Hahaha…"
Cao Cao, you really do look like a third-rate villain who suddenly got the upper hand. Even the way you explain your ability on your own and raise a flag is exactly the same…
"All right. But why are you so sure… that you'll be the one to win? Aren't you… affected by this ability too? Or do you think… you can beat me in close combat?"
While Cid mocked him inwardly, his tone remained very calm as he analyzed the situation. After all, Cao Cao's bluffing while trying to recover his stamina was rather funny, and he could see through it at a glance.
"If we're talking purely about combat… I don't think I can win. But this isn't a fair fight…"
As he said that, Cao Cao raised his long Spear, his eyes still fixed on the crowbar in Cid's hand, which had lost its Magical Power reinforcement and now had several cracks running through it.
"What I hold is the First Longinus, True Longinus. What you have, Shadow, is only an ordinary crowbar whose internal structure has been destroyed. Even if both sides have lost their Magical Power, the difference between our weapons is obvious."
The earlier exchange, when Cao Cao had used Parināyakaratana despite being injured to destroy the crowbar's internal structure, had become the foundation for his path to victory at this very moment.
At that thought, Cao Cao's eyes could not help but grow heated, and his breathing grew heavy. The temptation of openly defeating one of the world's strongest was something he could not refuse.
"All I can say is that, like Ophis, you were still too arrogant. If you had switched to a better weapon, then the outcome between us really would have been uncertain. But that's your own fault. Who told you to say that a trash crowbar was stronger than my True Longinus?"
Clearly, Cao Cao was still holding a grudge over Cid's earlier claim that his crowbar surpassed the True Longinus.
"But… isn't that the truth?"
Yet after hearing Cao Cao's words, Cid asked him this in return.
"A weapon is only a support. No matter how powerful a weapon is, if it's paired with a weak person, it has no right to be called number one. And no matter how weak a weapon is, if no one can defeat it, then it is the strongest weapon."
Or rather, defeating an evil dragon with "a trash weapon" was what made it satisfying, wasn't it?
"Besides, a crowbar isn't trash. In my personal fighting style, the crowbar is my second-best method of combat. Its potential…"
"You sure talk a lot for someone about to die."
Cid had actually wanted to continue teaching Cao Cao about the potential of the crowbar, but faced with Cao Cao charging at him, he could only sigh regretfully.
"Well… this is a good chance to test this so-called Realm of Heaven, Earth, and Man."
His tone was casual, but when Cid raised the crowbar in his hand, which was already on the verge of falling apart, the entire world seemed to tremble. Heaven and earth changed.
"Guwah!"
His attacking posture was clearly full of openings, yet the crowbar somehow avoided every obstruction and struck Cao Cao squarely in the abdomen, as if Cao Cao had offered himself up to be hit.
"What kind of move is that?!"
Cao Cao stood up in confusion, but before he could launch another attack, Cid had already silently arrived in front of him and raised the crowbar again.
He wanted to block it. Cao Cao was still confident he could break through such a flawed attack. But… his foot slipped. Because of that slip, he instead offered the spot that would be struck right up to the crowbar.
"What the hell!"
He was sent flying. Before he could even react, Cid appeared in front of him once more. The protruding part of the crowbar smashed directly into Cao Cao's face, knocking him to the ground.
"Wait…"
"Shut up. You chose this yourself!"
Giving Cao Cao no chance to speak, Cid began beating him from both sides, his movements flowing like water.
He kept beating him, and beating him…
"This might be a bit much…"
Once Cao Cao was in such a miserable state that he could no longer get up, Cid lowered the crowbar and muttered to himself.
Even though his body was currently under magic suppression, Cid had a feeling that all the Magical Power and resources on this planet were at his disposal, and anyone who tried to oppose him would be hit with a special-grade debuff.
Attack correction, infinite HP and MP, an opening debuff…
"No, it seems like it isn't limited to the planet beneath my feet…"
While beating Cao Cao, Cid noticed something was off. The range of this "Heaven and Earth" seemed to be determined by his own perception.
A planet, the solar system, the Milky Way, a nebula cluster…
"No wonder. This isn't a realm. It's a cultivation method."
The corner of his mouth twitched. This was clearly a cultivation method of joining oneself with the Heavenly Dao by replacing Heaven's will with one's own heart. Unfortunately, for him, it was completely useless.
"But I can write it down. Someone might need it someday…"
Thinking that, Cid stopped exploring its range in his mind. If he kept going and did not want to unconsciously merge with the cosmos, he would have to use some real effort.
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