Xiao Feng's extraordinary power caught the metal esper utterly off guard. According to the information Zeus had provided, Xiao Feng was supposed to wield only mid-tier abilities—Level Four or Five at most. Yet what he now witnessed was a display of powers that all ranked above Level Eight, leaving the Level Nine adversary visibly unsettled.
He stared in disbelief as the metallic particles rose from his arm, hastily retracting his metal manipulation. If he had continued, Xiao Feng would have surely reduced him to a cloud of metallic dust.
What he had failed to anticipate was just how vulnerable he became once stripped of his metallic armor.
No sooner had the metal esper relinquished his power than a sharp crack resonated—the very instant Xiao Feng severed his neck with ruthless precision.
Xiao Feng himself was taken aback, surprised at how effortlessly he had eliminated a Level Nine esper. Springing to his feet, he dashed toward Pandora's side.
Pandora, her vibrant purple hair a stark contrast against the night, was clearly struggling against the two remaining Level Nine espers, unable to penetrate their formidable defenses.
As Xiao Feng swept past her, Pandora glanced back in astonishment, spotting the metal esper sprawled motionless on the ground.
"No way... that fast?" she murmured, incredulous that Xiao Feng had dispatched a Level Nine so swiftly.
Suddenly, an innumerable cascade of water molecules coalesced beside Xiao Feng, forming a rushing torrent that engulfed the flames conjured by the fire esper.
Water quells fire. Though Xiao Feng's mastery over water was tentative and unrefined, the display carried an intangible awe.
The fire esper, aghast as his flames were smothered beneath the surging water, barely registered the phantom movement before a brutal punch landed squarely on his cheek.
"Damn it..." Xiao Feng cursed under his breath as the resounding crack shattered the fire esper's face, the force of his blow echoing the might of a tempest.
The fire esper tumbled violently through the air, crashing onto the ground with a sickening thud. Without hesitation, Xiao Feng seized a shredded tank tread from the rubble and smashed it down upon his foe.
A spray of blood erupted. With brutal finality, the relentless Xiao Feng shattered the fire esper's limbs under the iron weight—an utterly grisly sight.
Pandora's shock deepened. In less than ten seconds, Xiao Feng had turned the tide—slaying a Level Nine esper faster than she herself might have managed. Her gaze toward him shifted, tinged with newfound respect. And when Xiao Feng fully immersed himself in the fight, his manly determination and unwavering resolve stirred something even a mechanical being like Pandora could scarcely ignore. Were she not a construct, she might well have fallen for him in that instant.
Having disposed of the fire esper, Xiao Feng's focus snapped to the wind esper. With a coiled posture, he launched himself forward.
The wind esper, wary after witnessing the fire esper's swift defeat, conjured a blade-shaped gust of razor-sharp air that sliced toward Xiao Feng.
Yet Xiao Feng's agility astonished him. The young man weaved through the tempest so swiftly his form blurred, vanishing from sight. By the time the wind esper regained his composure, Xiao Feng stood before him, gripping the heavy tank tread like a weapon. The murderous intent blazing in Xiao Feng's eyes was unmistakable.
"Die, damn you!" Xiao Feng roared, swinging the massive tread with all his might.
With a sickening crack of breaking bones, the tank tread shattered the wind esper's defenses and sent him hurtling through the air.
Before the foe could recover, Pandora surged forward, her twin blades slicing with lethal precision. Within moments, she cleaved the airborne wind esper into fragments.
Xiao Feng straightened, panting heavily. The sheer intensity of the battle had taken its toll. Pandora, landing gracefully, turned to face him. The boy with cropped hair, now exuding a striking aura of power and command as he gripped the battered tank tread, was a world apart from the lost youth she had first met in the interrogation chamber.
Surveying the Alliance soldiers aiming their rifles, Xiao Feng barked, "Anyone who's not with me, get the hell out of here!"
His fierce command shattered the soldiers' will. Witnessing Xiao Feng's overwhelming might—three Level Nine espers felled in under a minute—left them dazed and defeated in spirit.
These three had been Sam's personal bodyguards—carefully handpicked over years from the elite of Level Nine espers worldwide, provided with the finest treatment to ensure his safety. Without them, Sam might have been killed countless times.
Yet here they lay, all ruthlessly dispatched by Xiao Feng's indomitable force.
Far away, Zeus stared in stunned silence. He knew the stature of these men—Sam's trusted guardians—and while he understood Sam had many such protectors, he never imagined Xiao Feng could obliterate them all so swiftly. Reality shattered his expectations utterly.
Turning to the equally astonished commander beside him, Zeus commanded, "Open fire! Target the short-haired youth—fire at will!"
The commander's hands trembled as he grasped the headset and relayed the order.
The remaining Alliance soldiers exchanged uncertain glances before raising their rifles and aiming at Xiao Feng.
Pandora had already reduced the armored vehicles to scrap; the only combatants left standing were soldiers and a handful of armed helicopters.
As the helicopters targeted Xiao Feng, a volley of miniature missiles streaked toward them. Earth Dog unleashed the last of his missiles without hesitation, igniting explosions that shattered the aircraft amidst the soldiers' gunfire.
A hailstorm of bullets—dozens strong—rushed toward Xiao Feng like a meteor shower. Yet mere meters from his body, the projectiles abruptly halted in midair.
The fusion of Xiao Feng's metal manipulation and evolved psychic power granted him an otherworldly dominion—he controlled the speeding bullets effortlessly.
As Zeus gaped in disbelief, a mature female voice sounded beside him: "I've arrived..."