novelhk Page 139
Page 139
The muscles, honed through countless efforts and sweat, are as strong as steel, with each muscle having extremely smooth and beautiful lines. The back muscles, in particular, have an erector spinae that resembles a transverse section of the abdominal muscles, creating a strong sense of separation.
As Gao Kui drew his sword and extended his arm, the muscles in his back instantly came to life. The teres minor muscle became the "eyeball," the infraspinatus and teres major muscles became the "upper and lower eye sockets," the latissimus dorsi muscle became the "eye bags," and the erector spinae, upper and lower trapezius, and triceps brachii muscles became the lips, brow bone, nasal bone, and ear bone.
The entire back muscle group together forms a face that looks like a devil, ferocious and terrifying, which is known as "ghost back"!
Yuan Zhisheng's eyes almost popped out of their sockets. He inexplicably felt that the other side was so powerful that he was afraid he couldn't handle it. Gao Kui's highly artistic "appearance" put a lot of psychological pressure on Yuan Zhisheng.
As we all know, whether it's games, novels, animations, or comics, in order to create an atmosphere and highlight a person's strength, more dramatic and artistic elements are often added during the creation process.
For example, the opening names of new characters in the "Thunderbolt" series, the white doves and endless bullets in John Woo's films, the killer basketball in "The Prince of Tennis," and the ridiculously powerful grenades in Hollywood movies...
Those are all artistic creations; none of them exist in reality.
Gao Kui's simple act of undressing and drawing his sword presents two artistic phenomena that defy common sense: the one-click undressing in "Yakuza" and Yujiro Hanma's demon back in "Baki".
He was like a character straight out of a novel or anime, so unrealistic that it put a lot of pressure on Genji.
In an attempt to regain the upper hand, Genjiro followed suit, slowly removing his trench coat, unbuttoning his shirt one button at a time, and finally tossing the clothes aside. He then picked up his long sword again, and the iron-gray scales that had retreated beneath his skin reappeared, covering his entire torso.
The elevator doors opened and closed again, and Erii stepped into the elevator.
Feeling that he had regained some ground and had no more worries, Genji spoke first, saying, "Actually, we were both a little impulsive just now."
Regardless, it is true that our Snake Clan was at fault first. Violence will not solve the problem; it will only exacerbate our conflict. Why don't we temporarily set aside our prejudices and work together to resolve the issue?
"You are not joking at this moment, are you?"
Gao Kui coldly took the IWC watch from his wrist, glanced at the time, threw it onto his clothes, and said, "At least 40 minutes have passed since I stormed into this building."
In the past forty minutes, it wasn't just me searching Genji Heavy Industries; it was also people from your Snake Clan. With so many of you, wasn't 40 minutes enough for you to find a girl in the building?
But even after you returned, those incompetent men under you still haven't given me an explanation that's enough for me to settle things peacefully. It's not that I don't want to set aside my prejudices and rationally resolve the issue, but rather that I've already given you enough patience and time to do so.
Frankly, I have no expectations of you anymore.
Yuan Zhisheng was speechless, and scratched his head while grimacing.
On the surface, the Snake-Headed Eight Families seem innocent. It's highly likely that the ones who attacked Aso Makoto were the Demon Clan. There are probably many traitors lurking within the family as well. It was the Demon Clan who smeared them, leaving them with no choice but to grit their teeth and swallow their anger.
In reality, the Snake Clan was not innocent.
The family was completely infiltrated by the Ghost Clan, leaving them utterly blind to intelligence. Throughout the entire battle, they were led by the nose by the Ghost Clan, and both their pre-battle preparations and post-battle responses were disastrous.
Those who don't know the situation might think that the Snake Clan was the one nearly wiped out more than a decade ago. With the clan managed to fall into such a state, no matter what fate befell them, it wouldn't be unjust.
"Looking at it from another angle, isn't having no answer also a pretty good answer?"
Genjiro fully embraced the spirit of Ah Q, saying, "At least Miss Aso is still missing and her fate is unknown, rather than appearing before you in the form of a corpse."
"Does that mean I can only take action after seeing a real corpse? Until then, am I just going to be treated like an ordinary person with no power or influence, and be casually dealt with by the Snake Clan?!"
Gao Kui was furious, his honey-gold eyes practically spitting fire.
Is it possible that Aso Makoto is dead? Yes, and the possibility is not small. With each room searched, the possibility tilts a little more in that direction.
This is one of the reasons why Gao Kui is becoming increasingly anxious. He had never dared to face it before, but now Yuan Zhisheng has brought this possibility to the forefront.
After being monitored, Ryoma Genichiro covered his face, unable to bear the sight, and decided that he must find an opportunity to teach Genji what emotional intelligence and the art of speaking are.
This young master is good in every way. He is sincere and responsible, and he is a first-rate friend. The only flaw is that he is too rigid and rational in handling many issues, and his emotional intelligence is too low.
If there is a future.
“Of course not.” Genjiro paused slightly, then belatedly realized he had said the wrong thing again, and quickly tried to correct himself: “What I meant was…”
What you mean is no longer important.
Gao Kui asked expressionlessly, "The Snake-Headed Eight Families, can't they function without you?"
"Of course not. Father is the real patriarch, and I am just the young master. Even if Father and I are not here, there are still the Longma family head and the others. They are all very capable people."
"How long do you think you can hold me off?" Gao Kui asked another question.
"Who knows? Maybe an hour, maybe two hours... or how long can you hold me off?" Yuan Zhisheng retorted defiantly.
Even though he had fully realized the flaws of the Northern Qi prince, Yuan Zhisheng still did not think that he was bound to lose.
Immortality does not equate to eternity; only with the sword in hand can the Northern Qi prince be nearly immortal. Without the sword, or if the [Longinus] is destroyed, the Northern Qi prince will lose his immortality.
Yuan Zhisheng felt that his chances of winning against Gao Kui were about 50/50, and he might even be able to defeat Gao Kui in a one-on-one fight.
"You see, why do we need to put aside disputes and prejudices to solve problems?"
Gao Kui slightly bent over, holding a knife in one hand and pulling out the White Ivory from his lower back with the other. His ghostly features began to distort, like a cheetah locking onto its prey and ready to charge at any moment.
“We’ll do our thing, and they’ll do theirs, until they find the truth, or until one of us falls. I sincerely hope that the head of the Snake Clan is as capable as you say.”
Yuan Zhisheng understood Gao Kui's eyes. At this moment, the Northern Qi prince was determined to kill him and make him pay with his life.
How childish, how emotional!
Genjiro was always a rational person, rational to the point of being rigid. The dead are dead, and it's meaningless to apologize or kill as many people as possible to accompany them in death. Besides, Aso Makoto might not even be dead now.
Yuan Zhisheng had different opinions on the same issue, but ultimately didn't voice his views. He just had low emotional intelligence, not that he was truly stupid.
If the prince of Northern Qi is further angered, he might actually blow up the entire building without a second thought.
A series of crackling sounds came from beneath the iron-gray scales covering his chest. Genji adjusted his skeleton again, using the bones in his chest cavity to assemble a bone armor to protect his vital internal organs.
Then, Genjiro also lowered his waist, hunching over, the tip of the spider-cutting knife trembling slightly, his whole person like a demon crawling out of the bottom of hell, exuding a cold and sticky murderous aura.
The killing intent wasn't directed at Gao Kui, but at the knife in his hand. Whether he wanted to suppress Gao Kui and quell the conflict, or kill the Northern Qi prince to put an end to this conflict, Longinus's immortality was a problem that Genjiro had to solve.
"Ho!"
Like a thunderous roar, the domain of the Word of Power: Yin Flow instantly opened, and Gao Kui strode towards Yuan Zhisheng, several sharp air currents swirling around the blade.
Without the blessing of immortality, Longinus is just an ordinary alloy longsword produced by the Equipment Department. Its quality is only considered excellent in the field of non-alchemy weapons. If it were to actually fight against super hybrids or true dragons, it would only be a hack-and-slash game.
By wrapping the airflow channels around the blade, Longinus can greatly increase his threat to Genjiro.
The remaining dozens of high-speed airflow channels coiled around Gao Kui's body, transforming into a "sword energy armor" that combined offense and defense. The flowing "sword energy" resembled snakes coiling around Gao Kui's body, with more than a dozen sword energies flying out every moment, working in conjunction with the long sword in Gao Kui's hand to attack Yuan Zhisheng's vitals.
Genjiro had nowhere to dodge, nor could he avoid it. He could only swing his Spider Cutter and clash with the sword energy attacking him and Longinus.
Sword energy crisscrossed, blade light clashed, and the collision of longswords and sword energy produced a series of crisp sounds, bursting out dazzling sparks—it was truly beautiful.
It was another battle that was both highly artistic and dramatic.
Real close combat is actually quite ugly. The sword that kills is always very fast. There are not many movements or clashes between the weapons. Both sides hold long swords and cautiously probe each other. Once they catch the other's carelessness, they swing their swords. The blade either slices across the throat or pierces the chest. The wind blows through the wound and makes a nice sound. Then the battle is over. It's faster than a man with premature ejaculation.
However, there were too many airflow channels attacking Genji, and without dealing with Longinus, he couldn't inflict effective damage on Gao Kui. For various reasons, Genji was pushed to make this close-quarters battle more exciting than the action sequences in a martial arts film.
Amidst the crisscrossing sword energy, Yuan Zhisheng felt increasingly strained, both physically and mentally: he discovered that Gao Kui had changed his fighting strategy.
Instead of the strategy of trading blows to kill the enemy as quickly and as much as possible, they adopted the fighting style of normal people: killing as many enemies as possible while protecting themselves from harm.
Of course, it's not really normal, as a typical hybrid can't maintain and precisely control such powerful words of power all the time.
Dozens of high-speed air currents, combined with the longsword Longinus, wove together a net, turning Genjiro into a caged bird. No matter how proud and arrogant he was, or how much he wanted to soar through the sky, he could only move within the limited area that Gao Kui had demarcated for him.
The Spider Slash flowed like a dragon, and the fastest blade tip, leveraging the momentum, even created a sonic boom at one point. Even though Genji was already at that speed, he could only passively parry, occasionally launching counterattacks against Gao Kui, only to be dodged or forced to withdraw by Gao Kui's sword energy.
The battle between the two super hybrids remained evenly matched, shifting from a situation where they were both hurting each other to one where neither could harm the other.
Yuan Zhisheng realized that he had underestimated the prince of Northern Qi.
In the new round of battle, Gao Kui's immortality only served as a deterrent, fundamentally limiting Yuan Zhisheng's moves and preventing him from using sword techniques that couldn't deal damage.
In this respect, Gao Kui still has the advantage; the immortality granted by Longinus still plays a deterrent role.
However, Gao Kui also gave up an alchemical weapon. From the second round onwards, Gao Kui did not fire a single shot. This loss was enough to offset the hidden advantage brought by immortality.
Even so, Genjiro still couldn't do anything to Gao Kui, and his impression of Gao Kui was refreshed: even without [Longinus], the prince of Northern Qi was still a super hybrid.
His S-rank physical attributes, near-limitless mental strength, and superb skills—though unorthodox, they were still on par with his—meant that even if the Northern Qi prince abandoned his immortality, he could still contend with him.
Don't forget, Genjiro had taken drugs beforehand. Without that bottle of the "Prototype Potion," the Japanese Emperor would probably have been beaten to his knees long ago.
Yuan Zhisheng's fighting spirit was gradually eroded amidst the interplay of light and shadow and the clash of swords. He had to admit that the Northern Qi prince was truly formidable, and his pure melee combat skills were no less than his own.
And this is what Gao Kui wants to do: to completely defeat Yuan Zhisheng and kill his body and will, so as to atone for his sins.
Chapter 168 The Second Word of Power
The screen was shattered into pieces, and fragments of reinforced concrete and wooden floorboards flew in all directions. The surveillance systems placed in the corners and corridors were naturally not spared either. The long river of sword energy surrounding the two flowed on the top floor of the Genji Heavy Industries building.
To borrow a line from the theme song "Babul" of Yakuza 0, it would be "The dragon dances like the night sky".
The people at Genji Heavy Industries Building were as busy as ants before a rainstorm. Ryoma Genichiro was the queen ant, directing the swarm and Princess Kaguya to search for people all over the world while trying their best to maintain the liaison department.
Gradually, Yuan Zhisheng couldn't hold on any longer. He had great stamina, and after taking the drug, he was even more energetic, more vigorous than when he took Huiren Shenbao tablets.
Compared to Gao Kui, who possessed Longinus, he was a complete man with weak kidneys, and as his physical strength waned, he gradually fell into a disadvantageous position.
At this moment, Genjiro recalled the Cell Saga from Dragon Ball, where Vegeta, after several years of training, successfully transformed into a Super Saiyan and challenged Android 18.
At first, the two were evenly matched, but as their stamina waned, Vegeta gradually became no match for Android 18. In the end, Android 18 kicked him so hard that his arm was broken, leaving him with a chronic injury. He got what he deserved and suffered a good beating.
If this continues, Vegeta will suffer the same fate.
Ancient and solemn words slowly emerged from Genjiro's throat, and the domain of "royal power" expanded outwards from Genjiro, encompassing the entire building.
A series of sickening metallic twisting sounds emanated from the reinforced concrete, and everyone felt their bodies become heavy, as if two or three times their normal weight was pressing down on them, and all the blood in their bodies was flowing downwards.
The building and the members and staff of the Snake Clan within it were not the targets of the royal power. From beginning to end, the royal power was only directed at Gao Kui, and Genji exempted all people and things other than Gao Kui.
Even so, those who were exempted were subjected to two or three times the gravity.
The direct target of the royal power, Gao Kui, was subjected to a gravitational force of at least 40 to 50 times his own weight. This means that Gao Kui was constantly subjected to a unidirectional gravitational force of 50 times his own body weight.
And this unidirectional gravity is not simply pressing down on his shoulders, but is applied from the inside out to every cell and every drop of his blood.
Gao Kui's speed began to slow down; in terms of physical attributes alone, he was far from reaching the level of a super hybrid. Instantaneous G-force wasn't a problem, but maintaining it over a long period, Gao Kui couldn't completely overcome 50 times G-force.
The balance of power began to tip in favor of Genjiro once again.
Gao Kui's sword strikes were no longer sharp, his movement speed and steps became slow, and even the operation of his sword qi armor became disordered. He could no longer maintain his highly concentrated focus.
Genjiro roared, seemingly locked in a fierce battle with Gao Kui, swinging his Spider Slicer at Longinus with each slash. At this moment, all technique was meaningless; what sustained their actions was the most primal desire to kill and the will to fight.
The battlefield shifted from the top floor to the twenty-ninth floor, and then from the twenty-ninth floor to the twenty-eighth floor. The force exerted by Genjiro's violent strike was transmitted to Gao Kui, and then along Gao Kui to the reinforced concrete slab beneath his feet. Combined with the force of Wang Quan, the floor slab could no longer hold, and layer after layer of floor slabs were punched through by the two.
The two did not stay on any floor for long. Several times, before the employees on the floor could react, the floor slab under Gao Kui's feet would be punched through, and the two of them would fall to the next floor.
Finally, the two reached the seventh floor. Below that was an elevated bridge that spanned the entire building.