The Almighty Ring

“Get your head in the game, boy!” Bison growled before he landed a clean physical punch on Jiang Fei’s face. To say that he was pulling his punches was fair since Bison had yet to infuse his explosive power behind his fist. Even so, Jiang Fei was clearly not ready for it. The punch, albeit not delivered at full power, sent him flying for a good distance before he hit the ground, skidding against the soft grass.

When his vision returned, he began to see double. The dizziness of the highest magnitude put Jiang Fei on the verge of regurgitating all of his breakfasts from last week. Jiang Fei struggled, but after he spat out a mouthful of blood, he felt better and managed to set himself straight.

Although the voice in his head had a sense of temptation, it was causing him to lose consciousness. It was similar to the feeling of inhaling a lungful of chloroform. He was unable to focus properly in the fight, much less try to get Omnisurge to deliver constant power to himself. It fluctuated up and down faster than the world’s wildest roller coaster.

Thankfully, after being punched in the face, the painful and powerful concussion to the head managed to pull Jiang Fei back to reality. Even though the current dizziness he felt dancing in his head was killing him, it was 100% caused by Bison’s punch, not the irritating voice in his head. At least, for now, he could focus on the battle and get it over with.

Despite temporarily solving his worst problem, Jiang Fei had to suffer through another. Physically, he was breaking all over like a rotten wooden hut after a hailstorm. Bison’s surging power could be felt reverberating down to his rattling bones. Even so, Jiang Fei was not going to give up. Such a noun had been removed from his dictionary. The muscles all over his body were screaming, begging even, for Jiang Fei to stop. His bones, albeit still intact, were on the verge of shattering like pieces of glass. Nonetheless, he was going to fight. Acknowledging his will to fight, Omnisurge burst with power, granting Jiang Fei a surge of potent strength that increased his overall combat level.

The energy that was already crackling around Jiang Fei buzzed about like an exposed tesla coil at maximum output. His current combat level was now over 8,000,000.

“Fascinating.” Bison hummed. Instead of feeling intimidated, Bison chuckled when he saw how Jiang Fei only grew stronger after he took damage.

Bison was a veteran in Ausvia, and he had survived more battles than he could even remember. As such, he had encountered other races that shared the same ability as Jiang Fei; the kind that could grow stronger and stronger in a fight. If one did not deliver a lethal blow, a blow that was meant to kill, the opponent would only continue to increase in strength as long as he or she was still breathing.

That being said, Bison was still able to remain calm because Jiang Fei was still weaker than him even after his power boost. The gap of power was still significant enough to grant Bison a higher stance. Plus, since he knew about Jiang Fei’s “growth rate”, he wanted to end the fight soon. The longer the fight was dragged out, the worse it would be for himself.

“I’ve had enough games. It is time for me to end you!” Bison roared. He cast aside all thoughts of exchanging blows. The next hit he delivered would be the strongest one.

“Come at me!” Jiang Fei shouted as he gave up his sword stances. He threw his gauntlet aside and charged toward Bison with a simple charging punch. With overwhelming power coursing through his veins, Jiang Fei had obtained power he never had. However, with power came ruthlessness. Jiang Fei’s mind was drowning in the thought of killing, where logic was discarded.

Blow after blow, punch after punch, Jiang Fei still refused to go down. The battle had gotten so intense that Jiang Fei kept on bleeding. At this point, Jiang Fei’s combat level was reaching 8,500,000, and Bison was starting to worry. Even though he was able to land blow after blow and take none from Jiang Fei, Bison was still unable to truly defeat Jiang Fei.

Sadly, if Jiang Fei was still in a clear state of mind to properly assess the battle properly, he would be able to defeat Bison with a few accurately executed refined martial skills. Alas, the mind could only contain so much consciousness before the intent to kill muffled logic. The stronger he was, or rather, the more power Omnisurge fed him, the more obsessed he became over killing Bison. Right then, he was still conscious to a certain extent, but once his consciousness became drunk in power, he could reach a level where he would be unable to distinguish allies from enemies.

“Have you had enough?!” Bison belted out in between breaths. He was getting tired. Even after landing one devastating blow after another and sending Jiang Fei flying back and forth, he was still standing.

Blood was dripping down to Jiang Fei’s feet, and some had even dyed his eyes red. The lightsaber in his hands had not been properly used as Jiang Fei merely swatted it about. Jiang Fei’s combat level continued to be on the rise, and it was almost breaking pass 9,000,000. However, Jiang Fei’s current state was menacing. The crimson rage in his eyes, the dried up blood that dyed his battered body, as well as the crackling and buzzing energy around him… Jiang Fei could now be described as the incarnation of the god of war!

“Confound it! Who is this brat?! How is he so strong?!” Bison muttered worriedly. At the start of the fight, Bison had acknowledged the fact that Jiang Fei was nothing but an above-average fighter, but halfway through, Bison could not help but change his opinion. Bison felt the power that was growing in Jiang Fei and could not shake the solidifying notion of him losing!

At that moment, in spite of losing his normal self, Jiang Fei was not becoming easier to fight. On the contrary, Jiang Fei had become so strong that he was already on par with Bison, combat level wise. Killing Jiang Fei right then would be near impossible, and if the fight carried on, it would be out of the question for Bison to defeat him. In the worst-case scenario, Bison would be killed.

Panicking, Bison could not help but think of an escape route. If he escaped, he would be throwing his honor and good name down the gutter. He would, with definite certainty, become a laughing stock in all of Tallgeese. But if he chose to stand his ground, to fight Jiang Fei and bring the fight to its conclusion, he would have to use a certain trump card, which he was confident would kill Jiang Fei. He had to pay a certain price for it, though.

There was one problem. Should Bison be willing to pay the price and use said trump card at the critical moment, Bison would emerge victorious. However, the other three leaders may not congratulate him for it. Instead, Bison was pretty sure that they would march in and take both his and Jiang Fei’s head.

“How did it turn out this way…” Bison sighed, still conflicted about his decision. Everything was out of his control, and the only aspect he still had command over was the decision to use his secret weapon.

Due to the uncertainty he was having, Bison’s attacks gradually became weaker and reduced in frequency. Unbeknownst to both Bison and Jiang Fei, Bison had just stopped short of the critical breaking point in Jiang Fei’s growth.

Prior to Bison’s “retreat”, Jiang Fei was sustaining a great deal of pressure and stress from him. His mind was in a mess, and he was only fighting based on instinct. All of his move sets were messy and out of order, unpredictable yet inefficient.

Jiang Fei may have been wearing a luxurious battlesuit, it had sustained too much damage. It was at the point where its external cosmetic appeal had been chaffed away. If Jiang Fei was his normal self, he would have recalled the days when he hung out with Han Tianyu. That rich f*cker would have discarded the battlesuit and replaced it with another even if it only sustained a single scratch.

While Bison was still delivering lethal attacks on Jiang Fei, the limiter in his genes was gradually being moved. Even though Jiang Fei himself was not aware of it, his body was experiencing a shift in power state. But, just as it reached a breaking point, Bison was clouded with uncertainty and reduced his attack rate. That caused Jiang Fei to feel less pressured, which gradually made Jiang Fei’s body “give up” on breaking its limit.

However, while the limiter was closed, Omnisurge still worked perfectly. By the time Bison started to show signs of hesitation and pulled his punches, Jiang Fei’s combat level had pretty much gone beyond 9,000,000.

“Hnngg!”

“Aarrghhh!”

Two fists, packed with the explosive force of hydrogen bombs, collided with each other. Jiang Fei had been blown back every single time without fail. Yet, this time, Bison was blown off his feet despite weighing at least four times Jiang Fei’s weight.

Panic was clearly reflected in his narrow eyes. He was shaken to the core when it dawned on him that Jiang Fei was no longer on par with him; he was stronger.

“Dammit!” Bison muttered as he slapped himself in the face. At that point, he realized he needed to focus.