173: Chess and Sword Battle

Although there was no way to withstand Ya Bao's attack, it was possible to prevent the attack from hitting.

This was the most confident decision made by the well-read and exceptionally wise Wu Mian, after a brief yet deep period of thought.

Compared to his usual external battles and internal team competitions, Wu Mian faced his teammate with utmost focus and spirit.

On the other side, Ya Bao also showed unprecedented concentration and seriousness.

It should be known that as the Da Jie Tou of the team, her obsession with victory and defeat was beyond ordinary imagination.

Moreover, this battle was not an ordinary contest, but a peak showdown representing two completely different domains: swordsmanship and chess.

Therefore, Ya Bao had every reason not to lose this match, no matter what.

With a 'whoosh', Ya Bao swung her bone sword, and an incomparably sharp sword qi instantly tore through the air.

However, this strike did not hit its target.

But Ya Bao was not discouraged and immediately unleashed another swift sword strike.

The same sword qi, with even greater speed, whistled past, as if to rip apart all obstacles in its path.

At the same time, the powerful sword qi directly pushed away the surrounding air, emitting a sharp, piercing sound.

Just then, Wu Mian had already quickly taken two steps and prepared his counter-strategy.

He unhesitatingly unleashed — Mental Chess Pieces combined with Mental Burst.

Wu Mian intended to repeat the tactic, replicating his previous successful strategy.

However, to everyone's surprise, when the first mental power explosion occurred, the originally aggressive sword qi, as if encountering its nemesis, instantly vanished without a trace.

Not only that, the immense energy generated by the explosion also caused violent vibrations in the surrounding air, sweeping outwards like surging waves.

As the terrifying cutting force was about to engulf Wu Mian, in the nick of time, he narrowly changed the range of the Han Border, barely escaping.

So that's how it was! Just as Ya Bao was about to unleash her incredibly powerful second sword, she quietly shifted her petite body, cleverly changing her position.

This subtle movement seemed insignificant, but it was enough to influence the battle — the area where the explosion was originally expected to occur was precisely determined to be outside the box!

At the same time, the precious sword in Ya Bao's hand instantly transformed its shape; the originally thick and solid Sword Spine transformed into an incomparably sharp Sword Edge in the blink of an eye.

This sudden change caused Wu Mian, who was observing from the side, to be startled, secretly lamenting that he was, after all, too careless.

It should be known that this Ya Bao was the pet beast contracted by his master (the old schemer), so how could she easily do something meaningless?

However, this could not really be blamed on Wu Mian. After all, it was hard for anyone to imagine that sword qi, which looked exactly the same, could be released in two completely different ways.

Unless one had an overpowered cheat like Li Wen, who could have foreseen the subtleties within?

Although after Ya Bao successfully switched her sword qi, it was no longer possible to stop her with explosions, it was not entirely impossible to contend with her using his own powerful domain strength.

Wu Mian's six Mental Chess Pieces were properly arranged.

Immediately after, he unhesitatingly made these pieces instantly begin to converge.

This time, Wu Mian did not intend to repeat his old trick, using the “lure into a trap” tactic again.

The reason was simple: now that Ya Bao had mastered sharp sword qi, her fighting style had transformed from a close-combat warrior into a formidable ranged warrior.

Trying to lure her to a specific location would likely be extremely difficult, almost a fool's errand.

Ya Bao's health might be thick, but he wasn't stupid. When the six Mental Chess Pieces struck like lightning in unison, his first reaction was naturally to quickly dodge.

However, Wu Mian's meticulously planned scheme had just begun to unfold.

The moment Ya Bao was about to move, Wu Mian decisively activated the Mental Weaving Skill.

This attack did not cause massive damage, but it was precisely this brief moment of pause that gave the enemy an opportunity.

At that moment, the force of the first wave of explosions fiercely struck Ya Bao.

After suffering this sudden blow, the subsequent six waves of damage came crashing down on Ya Bao like surging ocean waves, one after another, leaving him no escape.

Ya Bao was involuntarily trapped in place, forced to endure round after round of continuous explosions.

Li Wen, who was observing from the side, took all of this in.

Just as the fifth wave of explosions occurred, Ya Bao's Rejuvenation Skill was finally triggered. Although Ya Bao's defense was far from the indestructible Serpent Stone Statue, he fortunately had a very generous amount of health to support him.

Amidst the swirling smoke, a sharp sword qi shimmering with black light suddenly appeared without warning, and shot towards its target with astonishing speed.

However, Wu Mian seemed to have already anticipated this situation.

He immediately unleashed the Mirror Image Substitute Skill, successfully blocking this fierce attack.

However, although this substitute temporarily defused the crisis, the substitute was also instantly shattered by the powerful attack, dissolving into specks of light in the air.

Next, something unexpected happened: another sword flew out, its momentum even more exaggerated than the previous one.

Wu Mian, at this point, had no other choice but to struggle to resist using the barrier between the Chu River Han Border.

As a result, yet another sword appeared, this one even more ridiculously powerful, directly sweeping away the smoke on the field and rushing towards Wu Mian.

Li Wen, with quick eyes and hands, directly recalled Wu Mian, but the field suffered. As Li Wen had predicted, the protective shield shattered, and holes appeared in the walls.

Li Wen: It's ruined, all ruined.

∠( ᐛ 」∠)_

Sigh, my wallet is gone, I've given up.