Chapter 361: Chaos Sage
These people appeared extremely abruptly. Kaito Shirogane's [Mantra] (Heart Net) had no perception whatsoever. Only after realizing their appearance did heartbeats, breathing, and even some fragmented thoughts of these people appear in his Mantra.
Kaito scanned around but didn't see [Sage] mentioned in the data. However, this ability to completely shield his perception was probably the ability to manipulate cognition mentioned by [Red Dust] and [Sylar].
The opponent's ability was more like turning the world into some kind of 'stage play.' He could decide when and who or what appeared on stage.
Other things, even right before your eyes, couldn't be seen.
Because he first perceived these people when they attacked and cut [Soul Sorcerer · Xelo] in half, Kaito guessed Sage's manipulation ability also had certain limitations.
Either the distance had to be close enough, or the energy fluctuations and killing intent during combat couldn't be concealed. In short, this wasn't an ability that allowed one to be killed silently without notice.
Kaito's thoughts moved quickly. Even with a naginata held against his neck, he remained unaffected.
The man holding the naginata sensed this and pressed the blade down. The cold edge touched Kaito's skin.
"Mercenary Tao, don't think that just because you defeated a few mass-produced Title Level Reincarnators, you can truly call the wind and summon rain in this world..."
The man sported a black pompadour rolled back. His face was chiseled, height exceeding two meters, muscles robust. Holding the end of the three-meter-long naginata with one hand showed he possessed considerable strength and control.
Before him, a short red-haired boy about 1.6 meters tall looked up at Kaito indifferently. A voluptuous woman stood sideways, body slightly bent, right hand hovering over the sword hilt at her waist, sharp killing intent permeating the surroundings.
On the other side, a blond woman wearing black and white knight armor stood front and center, holding a large purple-red shield with both hands, blocking Kaito with a serious expression. Beside her, a man in a loose T-shirt wore multiple silver ornaments all over his body, with rings emitting lightning on the middle fingers of both hands.
"Be careful. You might get hurt."
Kaito raised his hand to press on the naginata blade while sizing up the members of [Chaos Sage].
As a standard elite Reincarnator team, apart from the powerful leader, almost every team member was an elite Reincarnator capable of holding their own.
All members being [Strong] tier was the most basic requirement.
Personnel configuration and ability enhancements were very comprehensive.
Moreover, under the resource inclination of the Great Assembly, these people's basic abilities and specializations would be raised to around Lv7, entering high rank and obtaining at least two chances for [Deepening] to choose traits.
It could be said that even without [Sage] taking action, these people were enough to crush many teams of Title Level Reincarnators.
They didn't regard ordinary Title Level Reincarnators as big shots. From their team's perspective, those who couldn't wait to find some quantifiable Space titles after crossing the Second Limit and entering the Third Ladder, spending a large amount of Singularities to enter the so-called [Title Level], were all fools.
Wasting resources aside, falsely high evaluations could easily lead to encountering unmatched enemies. The only benefit was merely being able to enter some high-resource worlds in advance.
The man codenamed [Archimedes] looked at Mercenary Tao playfully. Frankly speaking, Mercenary Tao was indeed a capable Reincarnator. The rumors in the Space were not exaggerated. In less than a minute, he crushed Xelo's team overwhelmingly.
Much faster than Archimedes himself three worlds ago, when he was tormented by Xelo's Fullbring for a long time.
But now, three worlds later, he had obtained the ability to kill Xelo instantly—although it was a sneak attack. And right now, it wasn't a duel with Mercenary Tao. This madman violated the [Iron Rules]. Lord Sage and [Tang Sanzang] had resolved to kill him completely.
"Relax. My hand is very steady; I won't easily cut open your neck~"
Archimedes' tone carried a hint of teasing.
Except for [Red Queen] holding the shield in a defensive stance, the others all had smiles on their faces.
Kaito raised an eyebrow. He pinched the naginata blade, lifting it bit by bit. Looking at Archimedes' expression, he grinned, then wiped his thumb directly on the naginata blade.
Whoosh!
[Brilliant Flame] ignited instantly on Archimedes.
As Archimedes' skin burned with pain, the naginata pressed down instantly. Red Queen lowered her shield to the ground, and golden holy light lit up.
In the next moment, Brilliant Flame extinguished. Archimedes only had some curly hair and slightly burnt black-and-white uniform. The wounds on his skin had already healed.
Kaito looked at the disheveled Archimedes, his expression far more playful and arrogant than the other.
"You misunderstood. I was worried that if your blade got any closer, it would hurt you, ha~"
At this moment, Archimedes, Red Queen, [Left Eye], [Zhou Si], and [Indra]—all five clearly perceived Mercenary Tao's undisguised malice and madness.
The opponent seemed to think he could fight the five of them alone?!
"Arrogant."
The woman bending over with her right hand hovering over the sword hilt raised her head for the first time. Her long purple hair was tied behind her head, revealing only her left eye.
Left Eye looked at Kaito indifferently. Killing intent condensed instantly around her. Her right hand trembled.
Hum!
The water-like killing intent disappeared instantly.
Clang!
A crisp sword hum, like a high-pitched phoenix cry, spread for several kilometers.
Water-like sword light lit up in an instant.
Kaito's waist bent instantly as if broken. The [All-Seeing Eyes of God] between his eyebrows could even see the ripples caused by the sword light cutting through layers of air.
Squelch!
The sword light swept over the sedan where [Lily of the Three Section Staff] hid with [Fubuki]. The car body broke instantly and slid down. The sword light submerged into the ground without any explosion. Only moments later was the vibration of the ground collapsing heard.
Kaito stood up. A red pupil imprinted into his view. The red-haired boy [Indra] stared at Kaito indifferently. The muscles on Kaito's legs suddenly twitched spasmodically. His rising movement was disrupted. Caught off guard, he lost his center of gravity, his body seeming about to fall again.
Left Eye had sheathed her blade at some point, reforming the Iaido stance. She drew her sword again.
[Tsubame Gaeshi] (Swallow Reversal)!
The Odachi was unsheathed; three blade lights lit up simultaneously.
But Kaito's muscles bulged instantly. Amidst creaking sounds, the [Perfect Purification] body rapidly changed muscle distribution. His legs thickened by more than a circle, forcibly stopping his body.
Indra just watched this scene quietly. Sure enough, Kaito's thick legs suddenly bled profusely, and his whole person crashed down.
Three blade lights perfectly enveloped Kaito.
Red Queen pressed her right hand on the shield and raised her left hand.
[Strength of Giant]
[Magic Armor]
[Blessing]
Buffs were rapidly applied one after another.
Zhou Si, wearing many silver ARMs, also spread his hands. The [Thunder Eyes] on his fingers opened simultaneously. Thunderclouds rolled rapidly in the sky.
Thunder crackled between his hands. Intense magic power drew down heavenly thunder. He pointed a single hand down at Mercenary Tao.
Kaito's eyes trembled slowly, reflecting everything around him in his heart. Under the effect of [Mantra], even the restless electric charges in the air were completely perceived by him.
The members of [Chaos Sage] cooperated closely. Various abilities activated in an instant. Before he even landed, the cold blade edge had already slashed onto his body.
The moment Brilliant Flame ignited, it was dispelled by the shield-bearing woman.
And that voluptuous woman's Iaido level was probably extremely high. He could feel the stinging pain as the blade shattered [Scales of the Flame Dragon] and Armament Haki.
Sizzle!
Thunder from the sky crashed down with a bang, hitting Kaito directly and causing an explosion.
Archimedes finally took action at this moment. Raising the three-meter-long naginata, he closed his eyes slightly. The image of Mercenary Tao being cut into hundreds of pieces by him instantly appeared in his mind.
In the next moment, his eyes opened.
Squelch squelch!
Amidst flying corpse pieces, Mercenary Tao's body was brutally chopped into fragments.
Seeing this scene from afar, Sage's expression returned to calm and indifferent.
"See? Mercenary Tao is no different from you."
"Even if I don't act, you guys have no chance."
Red Dust was almost strangled to death by psychokinesis at this point. But fearing he couldn't resurrect if he died this time, Red Dust refused to breathe his last, his face turning blue-purple, eyes bulging.
But he still looked at Sage, expelling the little air left to say:
"You will regret it..."
Boom!
Intense Conqueror's Haki erupted with a bang, sweeping over like a hurricane from several kilometers away.
Sage's expression turned cold. He saw a huge phantom appear on that battlefield. Countless malicious intents were emitted continuously, almost accompanying the Conqueror's Haki.
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