161: Chapter 161 Phoenix and Phoenix: The Ultimate Clash Between [Redemption] and [Collapse]

The moment the transparent beam merged into the forehead of the golden giant eagle, the entire [Place of Honkai Beginning] was shrouded in golden light.

The half-person-sized [Eagle of Soul Redemption] suddenly flapped its wings, and the golden skeleton composed of [Redemption] energy crackled. The giant eagle's body rapidly stretched and grew within the light—three half-meter-long golden crest feathers emerged from the top of its head, their tips gleaming with a liquid gold luster, as if inlaid with tiny stars; its wingspan surged from less than a meter to two meters, with feathers layered upon layers, each one possessing a crystal-like texture; the tail feathers extended to twice the body length, their ends covered in golden patterns resembling pupils.

"How is this an eagle..." Sugar gazed up at the divine bird in the sky, her eyes wide. The dim light of the [wishing star lamp] grew bright as it absorbed the surrounding golden light particles. "This is clearly a Phoenix!"

"You are right." Zhang Hao's voice was filled with unconcealable excitement. He raised his hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead, watching the golden shadow soaring against the black canopy. "After being strengthened by the [world will Origin], the [Eagle of Soul Redemption] has evolved into the [Phoenix of Redemption]!"

The [Phoenix of Redemption] seemed to understand the call and let out a clear, bright cry. The golden sound wave of energy dispersed the black mist formed by the [Honkai Power] in the air.

The golden light particles drifting around the [Phoenix of Redemption] fell like spring rain. When they landed on Zhao Hu, who had blood seeping from the corner of his mouth, not only did his wounds heal instantly, but his exhausted stamina and energy were also restored; when they fell onto the head of the mentally listless Lin Wan, the black patterns on the wings of [Qingyu] rapidly faded, and the elemental particles around her became brighter; even the black powder on the periphery of the defense circle turned into golden dust upon contacting the golden light particles, merging into the air—that was proof that the [Collapse Sparrow own] had been completely [Redemption]-ed.

Even more shocking was that the thousands of golden [Soul] light particles inside the [soul gourd] began to stir collectively, flying out from the mouth of the gourd like a golden tide rushing toward the [Phoenix of Redemption]. As for those [Soul] light particles that had broken through the defense circle and condensed into black serpents, the moment they touched the golden light particles, their black shells shattered with a roar, revealing the golden [Soul] light particles inside that had been saved by the pure [Redemption] ability. Cries rose and fell from all the golden [Soul] light particles.

"Are they... transforming?" Walker widened his eyes, watching a huge black serpent disassemble and reorganize within the golden light, eventually turning into palm-sized golden little eagles that flapped their wings and flew toward the [Phoenix of Redemption] in the sky. Within a few short seconds, all the black [Soul] light particles that had broken through the defense line completed their transformation and merged with the golden [Soul] light particles that had flown out of the [soul gourd] and also transformed into palm-sized golden little eagles. A million [Eagle of Soul Redemption] flew around the [Phoenix of Redemption], forming a huge golden ring with a diameter of one hundred meters.

The sound of a million eagles flapping their wings stacked together, trembling the platform of the [Place of Honkai Beginning] like thunder. Golden light particles danced across the sky, rapidly dyeing the black platform that served as the final stage of the "opera" into gold. The Hosts of the four teams stopped their attacks one after another, looking up at this spectacular scene. Their tense nerves finally relaxed—they knew that the scales of victory had completely tipped.

"They are merely native life forms from some weak [Dream Mission World], just ants enslaved by the [world will]!" Klaps's voice, filled with disgust, broke the awe. Because golden light particles were drifting toward her black throne and the final stage of the opera was being "polluted" by gold, she bit her scarlet lips, her eyes under the mask full of anger and disdain. "Even if the Souls of ants are touched by the light of the [world will Origin], what kind of waves can they possibly stir up?"

Before she finished speaking, the ten-meter-long black wings behind her suddenly flapped vigorously. The strong wind raised was like a blade, tearing apart all the golden light particles that had drifted nearby. The [Honkai Power] escaping from the black cracks in the sky poured down like a Torrent, all rushing into Klaps's body, forming a giant egg with huge black wings.

"Everyone, strengthen your defenses and prepare to withstand the impact!" Zhang Hao's [Eye of Logic] instantly analyzed the danger. "Everyone, retreat to your respective vehicles! Compress the defense circle! Defend with all your might!"

The Hosts of the four teams responded immediately. Sha Luoluo's sandstorm tornado contracted into a defensive barrier, and Flora's metal vines wove into an airtight giant net. Just as they completed their defense, Klaps's transformation was also complete—a pitch-black giant bird with a wingspan of over five meters appeared in the sky. Its feathers were covered with black-purple Honkai patterns that squirmed like living things; its scarlet beak was as sharp as a knife, and its eyes were pure black, emitting a suffocating pressure.

"This is the grand finale form I prepared for the final chapter of the opera—the [Honkai Phoenix]!" The black giant bird opened its beak, and Klaps's mocking voice came through. "Your [Phoenix of Redemption], in front of my [Honkai Phoenix], is nothing more than a gold-plated common bird!"

It flapped its wings violently, and the black mist rushed toward the golden ring like a tide, colliding violently with the golden light particles of the [Phoenix of Redemption]. The "hissing" sound of energy clashing was extremely piercing. The golden light particles and the black mist dissolved each other, forming an energy barrier intertwined with gold and black in the air. But the power of the [Honkai Phoenix] was clearly superior; the barrier kept pushing toward the golden ring, and the cries of the million little eagles began to be mixed with pain.

"[Phoenix of Redemption]!" Sugar shouted anxiously. The [wishing star lamp] erupted with blinding light again. "My wish is—that the [Phoenix of Redemption] can win!", Sugar suddenly fainted and slumped onto the cloud floor of the [Seven-Colored Cloud]. After the [wishing star lamp] shot all its stardust toward the [Phoenix of Redemption], it also gently fell into Sugar's arms, nearly extinguished.

A massive amount of stardust rushed into the transparent circular gem formed by the [world will Origin] on the forehead of the [Phoenix of Redemption]. Its crest feathers became even more dazzling, and strong light erupted from the pupil patterns on its tail feathers. The [Phoenix of Redemption] let out a cry that shook the heavens and earth. The golden light particles erupted violently, and the [Eagle of Soul Redemption] that formed the golden ring suddenly shrank into a ring of light, encasing the three half-meter-long golden crest feathers of the [Phoenix of Redemption] within the ring. In just an instant, it forced back the surging black mist by several meters.

But the power of Klaps's [Honkai Phoenix] form was still increasing. More and more [Honkai Power] surged from the black cracks in the sky, and its size and pressure were still slowly increasing.

"Is this the secret weapon of the jesters? I thought you had some real skill?" Klaps's mocking voice sounded again. The [Honkai Phoenix] suddenly folded its wings and shot straight toward the chest of the [Phoenix of Redemption] like a bullet fired from a chamber.

"Bang—!" With a deafening boom, the golden and black energy shockwave instantly spread. The defense circle, which had been strengthened and shrunk by the four teams, shook violently. Most of the yellow sand of the sandstorm barrier was scattered, several vines of the metal giant net snapped, and the defense circle as a whole contracted inward by half a meter. The faces of the four women maintaining the defense circle instantly turned deathly pale. Zhang Hao used the [Person of Numerology] Talent to quickly supply the shared energy source composed of everyone's [causal threads] to the four women with all his might. With the assistance of Gummy's [Soothing Fluctuation] Talent and the Dream Spirit [Unicorn], he quickly soothed the mental trauma caused to the four women by the energy impact just now.

The [Phoenix of Redemption] was knocked back a hundred meters like a kite with a broken string. Although the feathers on its chest were stained with specks of black [Honkai Power], they were dispersed in an instant by its immense [Redemption] energy. Only the transparent circular gem formed by the [world will Origin] on its forehead dimmed slightly.

"Zhang Hao!" Sun Miaomiao exclaimed. She could clearly feel the pain in the [Phoenix of Redemption]'s [Soul]—this was the ability she gained after the [Person of Change] resonated with the [Origin].

Zhang Hao's face also instantly turned pale. His [Person of Logic] Talent operated rapidly, and the Silver Star on his shoulder also fully activated the [All-Knowing Eye (Pseudo)], contributing massive computing power to Zhang Hao. "Even after modifying the underlying Logic of the [soul virus], and utilizing multiple Host Talents resonating with the [Origin], plus the final strengthening from the [world will Origin], can we still not crush this [Herrscher of the Honkai]? No! The energy Rank is both A-Rank; the problem lies with the user. Is the [Honkai Variant] [Soul] constituting the [Phoenix of Redemption] still not powerful enough?" Zhang Hao muttered to himself.

"Final strike! Let's have a perfect curtain call! [Honkai Breath]!" Klaps in the [Honkai Phoenix] form opened her scarlet beak. The black [Honkai Power] repeatedly compressed and rotated within it, finally condensing into a black laser that shot straight out with a tremor like an 'opera aria'. The [Phoenix of Redemption] also sensed a fatal threat. It looked up and let out a long cry. The [world will Origin] gem on its forehead lit up again. The cries of a million little eagles issued from the small golden ring above its head, intertwining with its cry to form a tangible golden sound wave, which swept toward the [Honkai Phoenix].

The ultimate collision of gold and black, the final duel between [Redemption] and [Honkai], at this moment, was on the verge of breaking out.