64: Tanya VS Zhang Lei (2)

The battle was on the verge of breaking out; the two figures, like two streaks of light, collided fiercely once again!

This time, Zhang Lei actually took the initiative to abandon the long-range advantage of his elemental attacks, choosing to engage Tanya in close-quarters combat, fist against fist!

However, as soon as they clashed, Zhang Lei felt immense pressure. Tanya's title of "Valkyrie" was definitely not unearned!

Her physical techniques were exquisite and had already reached the pinnacle!

Although Zhang Lei had a slight edge in absolute strength and defense, Tanya's moves were like an antelope hanging by its horns—leaving no trace.

Her movements were fast, accurate, and ruthless; every strike was tricky and vicious, containing subtle changes in force. She could always neutralize Zhang Lei's heavy, powerful attacks with minimal movement and seize the fleeting openings to launch fierce counterattacks.

Her flexibility was even more astonishing, allowing her body to perform all sorts of incredible, twisting dodges.

The more they fought, the more alarmed Zhang Lei became. Under Tanya's storm-like onslaught, he was forced to retreat repeatedly, appearing quite disheveled while blocking and dodging, completely suppressed by her rhythm.

There were even a few shallow dents left on his Ice-Fire Armor from Tanya's fists and feet!

"Impressive!" Zhang Lei praised inwardly.

Although these few dozen exchanges of physical combat put him at a disadvantage, they also opened his eyes.

Tanya's combat techniques, which fused the essence of countless real battles and simplified the complex, were like a top-tier textbook, giving him new reflections on his past combat style that relied too heavily on strength and serving as an excellent "sparring" effect.

Seeing that it was difficult to win through pure physical techniques, Zhang Lei's eyes narrowed: "That's enough!"

He suddenly took a step back to create distance, his hands rapidly forming mysterious mudras in front of his chest!

The air instantly became scorching and violent!

With a low shout from him, a huge flame magic circle lit up beneath his feet!

In the center of the circle, a hideous fire dragon made of pure flames roared and soared into the sky!

With a ferocious dragon head and sharp dragon claws, carrying the terrifying momentum to burn everything, it opened its massive maw and lunged down to bite at Tanya!

The temperature of the entire training ground soared rapidly!

"Finally getting serious!" A sharp glint exploded in Tanya's eyes; far from being afraid, her fighting spirit boiled over!

Her hands flashed to her waist like lightning!

"Clang! Clang!"

Two clear metallic rings!

That pair of sci-fi style war god dual pistols instantly transformed and extended, turning into two slender combat blades about half a meter long, shining with blinding golden light all over!

The blade bodies flowed with a luster like liquid metal, and the edges exuded a heart-stopping cutting aura—this was Tanya's trump card, the war god blade!

Facing the engulfing fire dragon, Tanya advanced instead of retreating!

Her slender body sank slightly, her waist twisted, and the strength of her entire body poured into her right arm!

The golden war god blade sliced through the air, tearing out a dazzling crescent-shaped blade aura!

"Electromagnetic wave cutting—Slash!"

With Tanya's sharp cry, that golden blade aura was not a simple physical slash!

At the edges of the blade aura, the visible space seemed to twist and ionize, with a layer of high-frequency oscillating electromagnetic energy field attached to it!

"Sshh—Boom!!!"

It was like a hot knife cutting through butter!

That blade aura, fused with the power of high-frequency electromagnetic cutting, sliced into the dragon's head without any obstruction!

The violent flame energy, upon encountering that high-frequency oscillating electromagnetic field, was instantly torn, decomposed, and annihilated!

The massive fire dragon was split in half from head to tail, turning into a sky full of out-of-control sparks and turbulence, scattering with a roar!

"It broke through?!" Everyone on the sidelines gasped.

Lord Zhang Lei's terrifying fire spell had actually been slashed open head-on!

Tanya, having broken through the fire dragon, did not stop for a moment!

The dual blades spun in her hands, the liquid metal flowed, and they instantly transformed back into the dual pistol form!

Her figure flickered, turning into a ghostly red shadow once again, attempting to repeat her old trick, using her speed and the negative effects of the war god dual pistols to wear Zhang Lei down!

"This move is useless against me." A confident arc curved onto the corner of Zhang Lei's mouth.

He didn't even move his feet, merely shifting his consciousness slightly!

"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Every bullet Tanya fired, coated with slowing and paralyzing energy, was precisely intercepted when it was half a meter away from Zhang Lei's body by layers of ice membranes that appeared out of thin air, thin as cicada wings yet incredibly tough!

The bullets crashed into the ice membranes, their kinetic energy rapidly consumed as if they had fallen into a thick swamp, finally falling powerlessly to the ground with a clatter.

"It's over!" Red and blue light flashed in Zhang Lei's eyes.

His speed was actually far superior to Tanya's! It was just that he hadn't fully unleashed it during the previous physical combat!

Blazing flames erupted violently from the soles of his feet! Boom! With a loud explosion, a small pit was blasted into the ground!

With the help of this violent propulsion, Zhang Lei's body disappeared from its spot as if teleporting!

Tanya only felt her vision blur, and a wave of scorching wind pressure hit her face!

Zhang Lei's figure appeared like a ghost beside her, precisely predicting and blocking all her evasion routes!

His right leg was raised high, the entire leg wrapped in crimson flames compressed to the extreme, like a red-hot branding iron!

"Fierce Flame Kick!"

The kick, with the momentum of a thunderbolt, slammed fiercely into the arms Tanya had hurriedly raised!

"Bang—!"

A collision sound even more violent than before rang out!

Tanya felt as if she had been hit by a high-speed tank; her arm guards instantly deformed, and an irresistible massive force came through, sending her flying backward like a kite with a broken string!

This time, Zhang Lei did not let her hit the wall.

The Ice-Fire wings behind his back instantly unfolded, and with a gentle flap, he chased after the flying Tanya like an arrow released from a bow.

The moment Tanya was about to land, he wrapped his arms around her, catching her steadily with a gentle and gentlemanly motion.

Lying in Zhang Lei's arms, Tanya gasped slightly, looking at the firm face with a gentle smile so close to her, her eyes complex.

A moment later, she gently broke free and landed, standing straight. The liquid metal combat armor on her body receded like a tide, turning from solid to ethereal, and finally vanished, revealing the capable urban lady attire she wore underneath, though her face was slightly pale.

She put away the war god dual pistols (which had already reverted to pistol form), gave a crisp and neat military salute to Zhang Lei and also to Jiang Xin on the sidelines, and said frankly: "Thank you. I lost, and I accept it wholeheartedly."

This demeanor also won the respect of many soldiers.

Zhang Lei retracted his wings and armor, walked up to Jiang Xin, and praised sincerely: "Brother Jiang, this pretty girl is really something! In the whole army, aside from me, I'm afraid no one can really suppress her. Even if that kid Chen Hao puts on his precious destroyer mech..."

He paused, recalling the unstoppable electromagnetic cutting power when Tanya's war god blade sliced through the fire dragon, and added with a serious expression, "I even have a hunch that her pair of golden blades could probably cut through the destroyer's armor plating as easily as cutting paper. Her threat level is very high."

Jiang Xin nodded with satisfaction, looking at the figure in the field who had returned to regular clothes yet remained eye-catching: "Of course she's impressive, she is 'Valkyrie' Tanya, a legendary hero in the Red Alert world."

Immediately, he changed the subject and said solemnly: "Brother Lei, I plan to set off as soon as possible to Lujiang Urban Area to establish a new base. As for County, I will leave it to the five of them—Li Hong, Yang Wen, Shen Nan, Chen Xiao, and Lin Yufei—to hold the fort. Also, bring the two capable individuals who awakened among the survivors—Muscle King Wang Kun and Iron Fist Gold Dragon—to the urban area as well."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Lei's eyes sharpened, and he immediately got into character: "Good! The situation in the urban area is complex; bringing power-types and close-combat experts like Wang Kun and Gold Dragon will certainly be very useful. With Li Hong coordinating the base, plus Yang Wen, Shen Nan, Chen Xiao, and Lin Yufei, there shouldn't be any problem holding County and the surrounding counties while continuing to develop. When do we set off?"

His gaze also turned towards the direction of the northern Lujiang Urban Area.

...

(As mentioned previously, these are Evolvers who awakened among the survivors.)