Chapter 029: Extreme Battle - 5

Although he still didn't fully grasp the mystery behind it, his opponent's reaction made Bai Yuxi realize that the "old axe" he had seized, despite its shabby appearance, was clearly far more formidable than the opponent's pair of refined metal gauntlets. This emboldened him, and he launched his attack with even less restraint.

Bai Yuxi's wild, sweeping offensive forced the middle-aged team leader into a frantic scramble, dodging here and there. Yet, his reckless assault also exposed him to several heavy blows from the metal gauntlets worn by his adversary. Protected by a robust super-activity shield and the excellent defensive armor he wore, Bai Yuxi suffered no significant harm. However, he sensed that his super-activity shield was slightly weakened under the opponent's strikes, which made him wary and compelled him to pull back a bit, no longer daring to take the attacks head-on without evasion.

What Bai Yuxi did not know was that energy clashes between exceptional individuals produced a certain "cancellation effect." Though the middle-aged leader's attacks diminished Bai Yuxi's shield, the energy expended by his opponent was several times greater than Bai Yuxi’s own!

It must be understood that the "energy particle density" within warriors of different ranks varies greatly. Low-level warriors attempting to "cancel out" the energy attacks unleashed by high-level warriors must consume exponentially greater amounts of their own extraordinary energy.

Theoretically, the opponent, as a level 4 warrior with an energy level around 6,400 degrees, was contending with Bai Yuxi, whose energy had soared to 544,000 degrees. Even if the middle-aged leader burned through all his reserves for an all-out strike against Bai Yuxi, without considering Bai Yuxi’s armor or the resilience of his body, he could at most inflict 6,400 "damage points."

But the crux was, the "energy particle density" difference between the two was an astonishing 85-fold! It is well known that when objects of differing densities collide, even if their volumes are identical, it is always the less dense that suffers injury.

Therefore, the damage caused by the middle-aged leader’s life-risking attacks must be divided by the 85-fold density gap to roughly calculate the "damage points" inflicted upon Bai Yuxi. 544,000 divided by 6,400, minus armor defense and physical resilience—what remains? Furthermore, the leader dared not recklessly exhaust his energy under such circumstances. Thus, the harm he could inflict on Bai Yuxi barely registered in the single digits, which, given Bai Yuxi’s formidable defenses, was virtually negligible.

The reason Bai Yuxi could sense the depletion of his super-activity shield was not because the leader’s attacks were particularly powerful but rather due to the special material of those metal gauntlets, which amplified the force of his blows, and the unique destructive effect X-weapons had on super-activity shields.

Though "amplification" sounds impressive, these so-called X-equipment weapons and armor made of special materials simply possess unique "energy conduction" and "energy resistance" properties concerning extraordinary energy. The higher an X-weapon's energy conduction, the greater the destructive power and penetration it achieves at the same energy output. Conversely, the higher an X-armor's energy resistance, the less damage and the greater resilience it provides at equal energy impact.

If the energy output exceeds the X-equipment’s conduction threshold, not only does it fail to amplify the damage, but it also causes the equipment itself to collapse structurally! This explains why, when Bai Yuxi used Maya’s low-conduction short sword against the Blackfire Society member’s war blade, despite his superior energy output, the two weapons shattered together—a mutual destruction.

Similarly, the X-weapons wielded by super-limit warriors must not have too low a conduction rate—it would hinder their power; nor too high, which would rapidly drain their energy. Thus, the ideal X-equipment matches the warrior’s own level, a matter entangled with numerous extraordinary scientific theories, which cannot be explained in detail here.

Though Bai Yuxi did not understand these principles, recalling the leader’s involuntary utterance—“original X-weapon”—when he saw the old axe in his hand, and noting how his opponent never dared let his weapon touch the axe, Bai Yuxi naturally realized there was a "quality gap" between their equipment.

The disparity in their energy levels was already immense; now, with Bai Yuxi’s weapon far superior, the middle-aged leader’s gauntlets were utterly suppressed. If Bai Yuxi’s attacks had any technique at all, instead of resembling a street thug’s brawl, the Blackfire Society’s leader would long since have been chopped to pieces, minced like dumpling filling.

Even so, Bai Yuxi’s overwhelming energy advantage drove the middle-aged leader to the brink of desperation. After several narrow escapes from being hacked, the leader broke out in angry, frightened roar, risking mutual destruction as he swung his fist to knock aside the incoming axe. As his metal gauntlet shattered, he dropped his shoulder and lunged fiercely at Bai Yuxi’s chest!

Bai Yuxi, his weapon knocked aside, had no time to block and instinctively withdrew, chest tucked in. Yet the leader did not truly follow through with the collision—instead, he spun aside in a rolling tumble, seizing the moment to break away from Bai Yuxi’s side!

A feint?

Fooled and frustrated, Bai Yuxi was about to give chase when several orange beams flashed toward him, nearly smashing into his face!

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

He jerked his head aside on instinct, nearly twisting his neck, and the explosive blast wave from behind hurled Bai Yuxi through the air!

Both enemy and ally alike were caught in the explosive gale, tossed about like leaves in a storm, landing sprawled and battered across the ground!

In such a confined barrier space, to unleash four powerful blaze spheres for an indiscriminate assault on both sides—the Blackfire Society's middle-aged leader was ruthless not only toward others but toward himself as well!

Even more astonishing, his hands torn and bleeding from the shattered gauntlets, the leader ignored his wounds and, as the explosion sent ripples of energy through the now flickering, unstable barrier, he swung his fist and hammered at it with all his might!