145: Zhang Lei unleashing his full power

Just as everyone was preparing to board the apollo fighter jets one by one to evacuate this dangerous area—

"Lì—!!!"

A crane's cry, even clearer and more resonant than before, yet containing supreme majesty and boundless energy, suddenly exploded from the high heavens like a thunderclap from the nine skies! The sound pierced through the clouds, causing everyone's blood to churn and their ears to ring incessantly!

Everyone looked up in horror to see a massive shadow tearing through the sea of clouds at an incredible speed, diving down! It was the very Cloud Top Immortal Crane that had previously destroyed the Yun Zai-25 transport plane with a single strike! At this moment, it seemed to have been drawn by the scent of blood and energy fluctuations below, or perhaps it simply viewed these two "iron birds" as provocateurs invading its airspace!

Its wings stretched out, literally blotting out the sun. The edges of its pure white wings flowed with a pale blue water-patterned brilliance, and every flap brought forth whistling gales and dense water vapor! Its extraordinary, divine posture formed a stark contrast with the terrifying pressure it emitted; it was like a celestial bird descending to the mortal realm, yet it carried the destructive aura of a prehistoric behemoth!

"Enemy attack! Maximum alert!" The pilots of the two apollo fighter jets reacted with lightning speed, shouting almost instinctively! Under the exquisite control of the Gravitational Field Modulation Engines and High-Energy Particle Thrusters, the massive fighter jets completed tactical maneuvers in an instant, moving with unbelievable agility as their noses swung around violently!

The "Helios" 30mm Electromagnetic Railgun turrets on the bellies of the jets quickly locked onto the target, emitting a heart-palpitating charging hum!

"Dong dong dong dong dong—!!!"

In the next instant, two thick tongues of fire erupted violently! The high-explosive armor-piercing shell belts, accelerated electromagnetically, were like two scorching whips of death, tearing through the sky at several times the speed of sound and accurately lashing toward the giant crane! The barrage was so dense it almost formed a continuous net of light!

However, the Cloud Top Immortal Crane didn't even try to dodge! It let out an elegant, soft cry, and its massive wings simply gave a seemingly gentle flap forward!

Boom!

Water-attribute energy as boundless as a sea tide instantly condensed in front of it, transforming into a giant water curtain dozens of meters wide, incredibly thick, and constantly flowing and rotating! The water curtain appeared a deep azure, and within it, countless turbulent whirlpools seemed to surge endlessly!

The depleted uranium armor-piercing shells, powerful enough to tear through the armor of a main battle tank, crashed into this seemingly soft water curtain only to sink as if into an endless quagmire! Their kinetic energy was rapidly attenuated and deflected by layers of flowing water; the warheads quickly twisted and deformed, and finally, they were powerlessly swallowed and crushed by the water curtain, only stirring up circles of violent ripples and a sky full of steaming white mist! Hundreds of shells failed to penetrate this seemingly weak water barrier!

"Reporting to Commander! The Helios railguns cannot break the defense! The target's defense far exceeds estimates! Requesting authorization to use the Plasma Beam Cannon to completely destroy the target!" The urgent and tense voices of the two captains rang out in Zhang Lei's communicator almost simultaneously, their tones filled with shock and a trace of undetectable fear. They knew the power of the plasma cannon, but they also understood its massive energy consumption and would not use it unless absolutely necessary.

But at this moment, Zhang Lei was not tense at all; instead, he felt a long-lost, shivering sense of excitement surge through his body like an electric current! He could clearly sense that the strength of this Cloud Top Immortal Crane definitely surpassed that of the Lava Vajra Corpse King from before! Back when he fought the Corpse King, he hadn't yet broken through to the third tier and needed to rely on his teammates' help. Today, he was in perfect condition and his strength had greatly increased; he precisely needed an opponent of sufficient weight to test his own power and hone his latest enlightened killing move!

"No need! All units, retreat immediately! Maintain a safe distance and stay on alert!" Zhang Lei's voice came through the communicator, carrying an unquestionable decisiveness and... a trace of uncontrollable fanaticism. "This fellow... I'll handle it!"

Before his voice had even faded!

"Boom!!!"

An incredibly scorching aura and an extremely frigid aura erupted from within Zhang Lei's body like a volcanic eruption! Two pairs of massive elemental wings—ice blue and crimson red—suddenly unfurled behind his back, and all four wings beat powerfully at the same time!

A sonic boom cloud exploded! Zhang Lei's figure turned into a streak of red and blue light, soaring upward against the heavens to actively meet the sun-blotting Cloud Top Immortal Crane! His momentum was so great that it seemed as if he, with a mortal body, was challenging the majesty of heaven!

As Zhang Lei soared into the sky, a massive, slowly rotating phantom of a "Water-Fire Dual Polarities" Taiji diagram appeared out of thin air behind him! One half of the Taiji diagram was a leaping, burning golden divine fire that seemed capable of incinerating all things; the other half was a deep, frigid blue profound ice that seemed capable of freezing the soul! Two completely opposite yet harmoniously coexisting terrifying energies reflected each other, emitting a heart-palpitating divine might!

Even from several hundred meters away, the people on the ground could clearly feel the extreme pressure of that world of ice and fire! When it was scorching, it felt like being in a furnace, their skin stinging with pain; when it was frigid, it was like falling into an ice cellar, their very blood threatening to freeze! The two sensations attacked alternately, causing many of the weaker individuals to turn pale and nearly lose their footing.

Ye Anhe looked up, her pretty face filled with shock and fascination. Her red lips were slightly parted, but she couldn't make a sound. She had never seen such a scene; this had already surpassed her understanding of "Superpowers." At this moment, Zhang Lei looked more like a deity from myths and legends! "Is this... is this the true strength of a Third-Tier Expert?" she murmured to herself, her mind reeling.

"Roar—!!!"

A roar that seemed to come from the ancient prehistoric era erupted from the fire eye of the Water-Fire Dual Polarities diagram! Following that, an extraordinarily handsome and peerlessly brave Fire Qilin stepped out from the flames! It was seven or eight meters long and four or five meters high at the shoulder, its entire body composed of pure and violent Qilin Divine Fire. Its scales were distinct, auspicious clouds formed under its hooves, and its entire being radiated an extreme high temperature capable of burning the sky and boiling the sea!

As soon as the Fire Qilin appeared, it aimed directly at the Cloud Top Immortal Crane! It opened its mouth and spat out a massive golden-red Qilin True Fire breath! Wherever the flames passed, the air was extremely distorted and evaporated, emitting crackling explosions! The dense water-attribute energy field around the crane rapidly receded and evaporated before this ultimate divine fire, as if meeting its natural nemesis, producing a "chi-chi" sound as large patches of white mist billowed upward!

"Lì!" The Cloud Top Immortal Crane let out a cry of pain and startled anger; it felt a powerful threat! Its massive wings flapped frantically, and boundless water energy gathered on an unprecedented scale, transforming into a giant spiral water wave over ten meters in diameter, like a roaring water tornado, as it crashed head-on into the Qilin True Fire!

Water and fire, the two elements collided violently in mid-air!

"Boom Rumble—!!!"

A deafening explosion resounded through the world! A terrifying energy shockwave spread outward in a ring, instantly tearing apart and clearing the high-altitude clouds! White mist and flames intertwined and tumbled, as if a small nuclear bomb had been detonated in the air!

However, the Qilin True Fire was clearly superior! After holding out for a few seconds, the violent water tornado was forcibly dried up and incinerated by the endless divine fire! Seizing the opportunity, the Fire Qilin stepped on flaming auspicious clouds and charged toward the crane like a flaming meteor, raising its massive front claw burning with raging divine fire and slamming it down with the force of Mount Tai!

"Bang!!!"

An extremely dull, heavy sound! The Cloud Top Immortal Crane let out a shrill wail, its massive body falling rapidly from the high sky like a struck shuttlecock!

Light exploded in Zhang Lei's eyes; having gained the upper hand, how could he let the enemy off?!

"It's not over yet!" he shouted coldly, the light of the wings on his back intensifying as he chased after the falling crane like an arrow leaving a bow!