Child of Destiny

Boom!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

A series of intense explosions overwhelmed the entire battlefield as the sides of Empyrean Talons and God’s Paradise clashed against each other.

They were no longer holding anything back and started throwing their powerful moves one after another.

Neither side backed down before the challenge and bravely gave their all in the battle.

Whether it was a powerful move, skills, techniques, or anything else, everything was thrown toward the opposing side with the thought of destroying the opposition.

The Empyrean Talons had shown their true might. They showcased not only their best offensive prowess but also their seamless understanding of one another and unrivaled coordination.

The teamwork that the Monster Trio had shown earlier had already far surpassed the standard understanding of everyone about the words ‘teamwork’ and ‘coordination’.

What they had shown was the bond of a brotherhood that only very few people could understand.

Now that Cloe, the Gentle Goddess, was added to the equation, things took another interesting turn.

Her understanding of the three was no less than what the three had with one another. She did not need to hear what they wanted since she could already provide what they needed in certain situations.

Her coordination with them was also out of this world, assisting them with everything to perfection.

The live audience and online viewers have already been shocked by the trio, but she further shocked everyone when she finally showcased her true capabilities.

Even though most of the top experts watching the battle knew that it was the product of her understanding of the trio and her amazing abilities as the top healer within the game, they still could not help from be amazed by her.

Her situational and environmental awareness was at the peak of the game, so when it was added with her complete understanding of this group of monsters, the result was something that could even scare most people.

As for Alice, all she needed was to repeatedly fire her spells through the void gates without knowing the situation on the side of the main battlefield.

Given that Shin and the others had already trained on this map along with the members of the Slayers Adventurer Team, their experience and understanding of this special feature had already surpassed the basic standards that everyone could see.

This combination of skills, spells, and techniques that the Empyrean Talons were showing would most likely be the new standard of team battles in the future, particularly when it came to understanding one another, their perfect coordination, and the utilization of the special features of the map.

…

On the other hand, the side of God’s Paradise was showing everyone the current standard of a ‘team’ that everyone was familiar with.

Aside from their strong understanding of each other and trust with one another, they were also showing everyone their steadiness in battle and perseverance to hold their ground.

The wise men always said that victory was not an instant success. But it was a combination of multiple factors such as patience and hard work, perseverance and determination, and courage to face whatever the outcome, and enjoyment of the entire process.

This was the mantra or maxim that God’s Paradise had told everyone in every battle they faced. It was even often mentioned by Ashra and Lia whenever they accepted an interview before.

They live up to this maxim throughout their journey in the virtual world, which has made them the current defending champions of the United Cup.

They were once again reminding everyone that they were the current holder of this title.

The mindset of every member of their team never bent in front of any adversary. It was even proven when they faced the strongest lineup of the Titan Guild during the previous United Cup.

Despite the amazing coordination of their current opponents and the overwhelming power that the opposing side was showing them, their members never backed down and continued to persevere and show everyone what they were truly capable of.

Their teamwork and formation might not be as amazing and complicated as the opposition’s, but their steady mind and complete trust with one another helped them to face all the attempts of the Empyrean Talons and respond to them accordingly.

They repeatedly survived the dangerous predicaments and steadily countered from time to time.

…

One of the tactics that God’s Paradise used was to use large-scale and destructive spells and skills, attempting to destroy the surrounding void gates through collateral damage.

These void gates were quite sturdy due to the ancient and advanced runes protecting them, so destroying them would take quite a lot of effort before they got distorted, much less destroyed.

Through the collateral damage that their skills and spells to the surroundings, most of the surrounding void gates started to get unstable and became no different from a ticking time bomb.

Some of the more unstable ones even exploded, sending powerful and destructive shockwaves in every direction, which also further affected the surrounding void gates and made them even more unstable.

This alleviated the pressure coming from the void gates for God’s Paradise, particularly Lia and Keir, who shouldered the most pressure.

The two of them never dared to let their guards down, nor dared to make a slight misstep, since it could lead to serious consequences later.

Due to this, their concentration was rapidly dropping, making it harder for them to keep up with the intense and rapid pace of the match.

Regardless, the trio of Ashura, Kallavan, and Susanoo lived up to their names as the strongest members of God’s Paradise, matching the opposing side on equal footing.

Their coordination and formations might be inferior compared to what the Monster Trio and Cloe were capable of, but their combination techniques and unified strength were slightly stronger to a certain extent.

The techniques that Shin, Leonard, and Arthur might be very advanced and could be said as one of the strongest Martial Arts and Mentalism Techniques in the real world. But such techniques still had a lot of differences and conflicts when together.

Such powerful skills and techniques far surpassed the most, but they also possessed a stubborn ‘personality’ and a strong sense of ‘individuality’. This was the main reason why combining them was close to impossible.

If not for a great understanding of the Monster Trio of one another, then performing to such a degree would have been even more impossible.

They were using their great understanding of each other, as well as their bond, to link their techniques and such in the battle. This made their coordination close to perfection.

On the other hand, the side of God’s Paradise was taking the opposite route.

Their techniques might look different on the surface, but they all came from the same root. All three of them came from the same homeland, so their techniques would most likely share a certain sense of closeness.

Ashura’s technique, which was one of the attempts to unify ancient cultivation and modern martial arts, was the most advanced among the three methods.

Kavallan was walking the ancient body refining method and the modern external arts, which shared similar roots.

Susanoo’s swordsmanship also came from the so-called sword cultivators of ancient times and the sword practitioners of the current era.

Sharing such roots made it easier for them to create combination techniques compared to the monster trio of the opposing side.

This was their main card to fight Shin and the others in this match, which was also the main reason why they were able to hold their ground up until now.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

“Tsk! Tsk! Their combination techniques are getting stronger over time,” Arthur clicked his tongue repeatedly after blocking another barrage of attacks, protecting Cloe behind him. “It is getting annoying.”

“More like they are slowly digesting the experience in battle and perfecting their techniques through it,” corrected Shin after warding off both attacks that came from Susanoo and Kallavan.

“Aren’t we the same?” said Leonard, returning to the side of the group after annihilating another batch of shadow spawns that were attempting to surround their group.

Since all three of them had just broken through and stabilized their respective realms recently, they had quite a lot of insights and inspirations about combat that they wanted to try.

Due to this, they were unable to fully unleash their peak potential in battle. They were still unable to fully control their respective powers, afraid that it would break the harmony between their coordination once they slip up, and unable to fully control their strength.

Looking around, Cloe quickly informed the group. “The void gates are getting more unstable. Alice will no longer take advantage of them sooner or later.”

“It is fine. It is a part of the plan anyway,” reassured Shin after sweeping his gates in the surroundings.

He then glanced at the time before warning everyone. “Be careful. Ashura will most likely summon the True Golden Immortal any time now. Who knows if they also have the same combination technique or skills like ours?”

“They should have. Have you forgotten about the golden giant that Little Jiang has reported?” said Leonard.

“The one that appeared in the depths of Frozen Kingdom fighting some sort of Ice Golem?” said Cloe.

“These guys have never set foot on the Awakened Continent since the ‘World Metamorphosis Update’ and instead stayed in the Aurora Continent to explore those high-level neutral regions,” said Shin before adding. “They must have discovered something major like us.”

…

On the other side, Ashura and the rest had finally gained some breathing time after the pause of the opposing side.

“Our situation is getting worse,” said Lia as she tried to regulate her breathing as much as she could. She was not only physically exhausted but mentally as well, especially after experiencing the pressure that the Empyrean Talons had put on them.

Sweeping her gaze at the surroundings, she noticed that there were fewer void gates within the area.

“I think it is time to use our Unification Skills,” she suggested, thinking that it was the perfect time for it.

Ashura thought for a moment before nodding. “Susanoo, Kallavan – you two block them for a moment. We will summon the ‘guardian’ now.”

……