"Long?!" Domon called after seeing his attacker.
"Please stay back, Master Domon. I don't want to hurt your old bones," Long said. His words were polite, but his tone was very condescending.
"You, insolent punk! I'm going to teach you some manners!" Freddie yelled as he lunged. His fingers whipped forward using praying mantis style.
"Wait! Don't underestimate him!" Domon called.
Freddie had heard about Long, but he had never fought him before. He didn't believe this youngster was as troublesome as everyone said. Without access to skills, veteran martial artists like them should be able to teach these game-freak youngsters a thing or two.
Long also came forward. He moved his arms in a circular motion. A long eastern dragon materialized following his arm movement. The dragon swept forward with a force that shoved Freddie's two arms aside. Long's palm then pushed forward, landing squarely on Freddie's chest.
*PANG!*
Freddie was sent flying back as if cannonball. He crashed into his guildmates and toppled over.
"You have improved again," Domon praised. At the same time, His glaive's blade was as if multiplying into several blades that came slashing from various confusing angles. It was his Soul Pursuit Hurricane which had been modified to increase its lethality.
Despite Long's patronizing attitude, he didn't look down on Domon's attack. He moved back as his two arms, strengthened by the iron hand technique, blocked Domon's glaives.
Not all the blades from Domon's Soul Pursuit Hurricane were real. Some were mere illusions. This in turn increased the difficulty for Long to block. He couldn't differentiate between the real and fake. All the blades had Domon's mana signature. When he blocked the fake one, he lost momentum because he expected a resistant force but there was none. This opened him up and Domon's real blade managed to stab into his side.
However, the blade was stopped by an invisible wall one inch before Long's body.
"Iron shirt," Domon muttered. He released one hand from his glaive. That free hand formed into a palm and struck the bladeless end of the glaive. The drive provided additional energy for the glaive to thrust forward, piercing Long's defensive mana.
But the brief pause provided by the Iron Shirt gave Long enough time to respond. His body swiveled and dodged the glaive's thrust.
Following that swivel, Long's leg whipped toward Domon's head. Domon put one arm beside his head just as Long's feet arrived. Domon managed to block the lightning-fast kick, but Long had the strength of two classes. The impact sent Domon reeling back.
In a fraction of a second after Long's kick hit Domon's arm, his other leg whipped in the opposite direction. This second kick collided with Leavemealone's fist. The impact sent the two tumbling back.
After Long separated Leavemealone from the others, Leavemealone was beset by many opponents. Even though he underwent a similar situation as Red Death, he fared better. This was because of several factors.
Leavemealone's equipment was slightly better. He wore two legendary armor. His unique-grade weapon was also better than a normal unique weapon because his was a growth weapon like Jack's. Moreover, the Battle Monk class was more equipped to fight multiple opponents compared to Assassin which was mostly a hit-and-run class. Last but not least, his martial arts expertise was better.
The multiple opponents who ganged up on him were now down on the floor. More were advancing but the break allowed him to come to Domon's aid.
Long wasn't an opponent who left his back vulnerable, though. He sensed Leavemealone's attack and responded appropriately.
"You modified Twin Dragon Strikes into kicks. Impressive," Domon commented on Long's kicks just now. He positioned himself opposite Leavemealone so the two of them could pin Long in the middle.
"I would love to play with you two but I have a task to complete," Long uttered.
The muscles on his body bulged unnaturally. It was his Muscle Tendon Transformation. He then punched in Leavemealone's direction. Nine miniature suns appeared and revolved around his arm as he punched forward.
Despite the fierceness of Long's Nine Yang Scorching Fist, Leavemealone didn't back away. His two fingers stabbed forward as cold energy gathered at the tip of those fingers. This cold energy then expanded and rotated rapidly.
Long's back was exposed to Domon as he punched toward Leavemealone. Domon wasn't someone who enjoyed hitting his opponent's back, but this was a battle. He couldn't let his principle risk his disciple's safety. He stabbed using One Word Thrust.
His thrust was again stopped by Long's Iron Shirt. The Iron Shirt this time was even more solid because of the enhanced power from the Muscle Tendon Transformation, but Domon was prepared. He again used one palm and smashed the bladeless end of his glaive. This time, his palm smashed using the martial art Penetrating Wave Palm, his martial art that could bypass defense.
The penetrative energy from his palm was transferred to the other end of the glaive. The glaive's blade vibrated as the penetrative energy passed through it. The energy made contact with Long's Iron Shirt. Like a piece of hot iron, the glaive pierced through, stabbing Long on his back.
The stab hit Long's vital part, but Long didn't seem to care. His fist that carried the nine suns continued onward. These nine suns collided with the giant black drill from Nine Yin Abyssal Finger. The hot and cold energies were pressed against one another. The pressure was too high. The two energies reached a critical mass and exploded.
The other players who saw the explosion were startled. Nobody had been able to use any game skill or tool. What could have caused that massive explosion?
Leavemealone and Long were thrown away by the explosion. Due to the force, Long was thrown back into Domon's glaive. The stab went in deeper and he suffered additional damage.
As for Leavemealone, he was thrown into the enemy's midst.
In the exchange just now, even though the Nine Yang Exploding Fist and Nine Yin Abyssal Finger were considered the same level of martial arts, the power of their wielders was not. Long's two classes' stats were higher than Leavemealone's even with the boost from the Runestone of Combat. Therefore, Leavemealone was thrown further. Leavemealone also felt his head spinning from the impact.
When he landed, he couldn't immediately react. Being in the enemy's midst with that condition was fatal. The enemies didn't waste any time. They used their number and pressed against Leavemealone's body while one of them used a runic rope to bind him.
