180: The trap of law, the struggle of will

"Continue."

Lin Mo's voice betrayed no emotionalfluctuation, as if the instantaneous clash just now, that fatal blow capable of making any ace pilot regret on the spot, was nothing more than a normal data exchange to him.

But only he knew that at that moment, a fine layer of cold sweat had seeped from his back.

Gu Zhixia's growth rate completely exceeded his expectations.

She wasn't just stronger.

More importantly, she was integrating the three vastly different lightning laws into her already perfected combat techniques in an almost instinctive way.

Fast, precise, ruthless.

Plus... the unreasonable power of law.

The current Gu Zhixia was like a Damocles sword poisoned by the gods, dangerous and deadly.

He looked at the 'Thunder Dragon' suspended silently in the distance, elegant in posture yet radiating immense pressure, and for the first time, a pure warrior's flame ignited in his dark golden pupils.

Interesting.

Now this is interesting.

He no longer passively defended, but chose to attack actively!

Boom!

Behind fire god, the thrusters, like volcanic vents, roared, and the entire mech transformed into a crimson meteor carrying the power to incinerate all things, shooting straight out!

But this time, he did not choose a linear advance.

During the high-speed movement, fire god's arms suddenly spread open, and two massive fireballs, each over a hundred meters in diameter and composed of pure molten energy, were violently flung from its palms!

That was not a simple energy attack.

The two fireballs disintegrated with a boom the moment they left its hands, turning into billions of drops of burning molten rain, covering a large, vast area of airspace, forming a viscous, scorching, constantly churning sea of lava!

Any object entering this area would instantly be coated, slowed, scorched, and eventually melted into its most basic particles by the terrifying high temperature.

This was fire god's domain skill — "Molten Purgatory"!

Lin Mo's objective was clear.

He wanted to use absolute, large-scale field control to restrict 'Thunder Dragon's' elusive, unreasonable mobility.

He wanted to force Gu Zhixia into a positional battle with him!

"Naive!"

Gu Zhixia scoffed with disdain.

Facing the encroaching sea of lava, she not only didn't slow down but pushed 'Thunder Dragon's' thruster power to the maximum!

'Thunder Dragon's' three-colored dragon wings behind it glowed brightly, and streaks of blue electric light, like living snakes, wildly spread along the mech's surface, finally converging at the very front of the mech.

Hum—!

A diamond-shaped energy shield, composed of pure "Conductive Lightning" and emitting a ghostly blue light, instantly unfolded in front of the mech!

Blue represented the most extreme "conduction" and "deflection" properties within the law of thunder.

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle—!

'Thunder Dragon' plunged headfirst into the sea of lava!

The terrifying lava, capable of melting super-alloy armor, upon contact with the blue shield, seemed to encounter an absolutely smooth mirror surface, and was deflected and slid away to both sides at an almost perfect angle by that strange conductive force!

The 'Thunder Dragon' was like an icebreaker, forcefully plowing a straight, absolutely safe blue channel through that crimson inferno!

"It's useless." Gu Zhixia's voice was filled with absolute confidence, "In the face of absolute speed, your clumsy moves are just a waste of energy."

"Is that so?"

Lin Mo's voice, however, at this moment, revealed a peculiar calm.

Just as 'Thunder Dragon' was about to burst out of the sea of lava.

That sea of lava, which had originally only emitted high temperatures, suddenly underwent a strange change!

Every splashing drop of lava suddenly lit up with a dazzling, golden light within it, like the core of a star!

Immediately after—

Boom!!!!

The entire sea of lava was instantly detonated!

This was not a simple explosion, but the domain detonation of another law mastered by fire god — "Great Sun Golden Flame"!

In an instant, this pure white virtual space seemed to be stuffed with an exploding supernova!

Devastating light and heat formed an annular shockwave capable of devouring everything, wildly spreading outwards from within!

And the 'Thunder Dragon', located at the very center of the explosion, undoubtedly bore the most terrifying damage!

"A trap?!"

Gu Zhixia's pupils suddenly constricted.

She finally understood that Lin Mo hadn't intended to limit her speed from the very beginning!

That sea of lava, from start to finish, was a disguise! A perfect bait designed to make her willingly crash into it!

[Warning! Warning! Energy shield overloaded! Mech outer armor temperature exceeds critical value! Multiple sensors malfunctioning!]

Inside the cockpit, red alarm lights flashed wildly, and a piercing buzzing sound almost tore through her eardrums.

Through the panoramic viewport, outside was a vast expanse of white, a destructive light where nothing could be seen.

The 'Thunder Dragon' was like a small boat about to capsize in a Category 12 storm, violently pitching and trembling!

"Damn it! This insidious bastard!" Gu Zhixia bit her silver teeth fiercely.

She admitted that she had been a bit careless due to the surge in her power.

But, this was not enough!

To defeat her with this level of attack?

Far from enough!

"Give me... Suppression—!!!"

Under her roaring will, that core, most untamed, dark purple divine thunder representing "Annihilation," was for the first time, actively and completely released by her!

Hum—

An indescribable aura of absolute stillness, as if capable of freezing space-time itself, erupted with the 'Thunder Dragon' mech at its center!

That raging destructive storm, composed of "Great Sun Golden Flame," seemed to hit a pause button the moment it came into contact with this aura.

Light ceased to flow.

Heat lost its temperature.

The concept of "violence" was forcibly stripped from the violent energy.

Everything was sinking towards the ultimate point of "nothingness."

In just one second.

That supernova explosion, capable of destroying a small fleet, was so silently and completely wiped away from the conceptual level by that unreasonable "Annihilation" law.

In the vast white space, only a 'Thunder Dragon' remained, its body wreathed in dark purple lightning, like a demon god returned from the nine hells, wielding ultimate destruction and death.

The communication channel was silent.

Gu Zhixia's chest heaved violently, her forehead covered in fine beads of sweat.

That momentary clash of laws had consumed her will far more terrifyingly than a simple battle.

"It's not over yet!"

She didn't pause for a moment; the instant she nullified the explosion, she pinpointed fire god's location!

The crimson mech was outside the explosion radius, seemingly experiencing a subtle, almost imperceptible stiffness due to the terrifying clash of laws just now.

Now was the time!

The 'Thunder Dragon's' right arm glowed brightly!

The ferocious dragon spear, formed from materialized law, which had once pierced the core of a thunder dragon in the forbidden zone of the gods with a single strike, once again slowly condensed into shape in her hand!

Only this time, the spear tip was no longer wreathed in golden, blue, and purple flowing light.

Instead, it was pure, condensed to the extreme, and made the soul tremble... dark purple!

"Star Piercing Spear..."

"Annihilation Style!"

Whoosh—!

No sound, no light.

That purple stream of light, composed purely of the "Annihilation" law, appeared instantly before fire god's chest, transcending causality and ignoring distance!

It's over!

A flicker of Victory passed through Gu Zhixia's eyes.

This spear strike incorporated her deepest understanding of the "Annihilation" law.

It would not destroy anything on a physical level.

It would only completely erase the target's "existence"!

However, just as that purple stream of light was about to hit its target.

fire god, the mech whose combat style had always been "fierce" and "violent," made a move that Gu Zhixia completely couldn't comprehend.

It did not dodge, nor did it block.

It simply extended its right hand.

Then, it actively met that Annihilation Spear capable of erasing everything!

"Is he crazy?!" Gu Zhixia's mind went blank.

The next second, a scene she would never forget happened.

In fire god's hand, at some point, something had appeared.

It wasn't a weapon, nor was it a shield.

It was... an energy core, like a seed, emitting a soft emerald green light, composed of countless complex Life runes.

The World Tree's... Primal Core?!

The Annihilation Spear accurately struck that emerald green "seed."

As expected, the singularity of law that devoured everything did not appear.

The power of Annihilation, representing "end" and "death," upon contact with the seed, was like ice and snow meeting the blazing sun, or a weary bird finally returning to its nest.

It was gently, completely... enveloped, neutralized, and dissolved by the endless power of law, representing "beginning" and "Life."

[Warning: Simulation combat ended.]

[Winner: fire god.]

A cold electronic voice rang in Gu Zhixia's ears.

She stared blankly at the emerald green "seed," which slowly dissipated into nothingness after dissolving her strongest attack.

She lost?

She actually lost?

The cockpit hatch slowly opened, pulling her back to reality from that pure white virtual space.

She walked out of the simulation pod in a daze and immediately saw Lin Mo, who had been waiting outside.

His face was a few shades paler than usual; clearly, the high-intensity law confrontation just now was not without cost to him.

"Why?" Gu Zhixia's voice held a tremor she herself hadn't noticed.

"All things are interdependent and mutually restrictive." Lin Mo's tone remained calm, "The end of Annihilation is new Life. The end of death is also the beginning of Life. This is the most fundamental law of the universe, and your power is no exception."

He walked up to Gu Zhixia, reached out, and gently wiped a bead of sweat from her temple.

This sudden, intimate gesture made Gu Zhixia's body stiffen abruptly, and her cheeks instantly flushed uncontrollably.

"Your power is very strong, strong enough to threaten any existence in this starfield." Lin Mo withdrew his hand, looking into her eyes, and said seriously, "But you are only 'using' it, not 'understanding' it."

"You treat it like an unbreakable hammer, trying to smash everything that stands in your way with it."

"But it is, in fact, a key."

"A key... that allows you to glimpse a higher-dimensional landscape."