"It's time!"
A solemn voice echoed from the skies.
Han Yan, Man Tian, Bian, and the Holy Angel observed the fight between Executioner Green and Tyrant from the skies.
He had held on quite well, stalling the Executioner for over a day.
Now things were about to get trippy.
Han Yan summoned an arrow and aimed at Executioner Green.
A karma-based assassination attempt.
Even Bian would die to such an attack without the inner pillars or dongxuan sutra.
There were a myriad of possibilities that could occur, but it all boiled down to two main paths.
Han Yan either stayed alert for the whole day, then shot an arrow.
Or
Executioner Green would react first, although she wasn't supposed to know about the ambush.
Fighting a regressor was such a hassle.
Even with all he had prepared, Bian was not completely certain of victory.
It was do or die.
They could not let her evolve.
...
Green flashed blue, appearing quite far from Tyrant. She took a minute to catch her breath as her battered body recovered.
Tyrant, unfortunately, did not have the ability to heal so rapidly.
His body was covered in shallow cuts, nothing too serious—yet.
The Executioner took in a deep breath, ready to lunge again, when she suddenly paused.
Her green eyes glowed brilliantly like a pair of lightbulbs for a brief instant.
Her rosy complexion paled like that of a flour-covered ghost.
She turned to look at the skies.
"Bian, something has changed!"
Han Yan was the first to notice something was different about the Executioner.
"The football-sized aura that was surrounding her vanished!"
"Shoot!"
Bian and Man Tian rushed forward, while Han Yan pulled the bow taut and released the arrow.
Executioner Green leaned to the left and dashed right.
An arrow embedded itself where she was standing previously.
And so it began.
Tyrant retreated back to the Golden Growler.
Man Tian and Bian flanked Executioner Green from the left and right, trapping her in a pincer attack.
She dashed right, heading for Bian at blistering speed.
He thrust the golden blade forward, aiming for her head.
Executioner Green jumped up, allowing the golden blade to stab through her while her blades went for Bian's head and heart simultaneously.
Everything was happening so fast.
Bian only had time to grab the black katana that was going for his head.
His other hand was attached to the golden blade, which was trapped in Executioner Green, leaving his chest defenseless.
The white longsword seemed to be coated in a weak blue film. This was the power of space, making the edge of the weapon unnaturally sharp.
It went through his armor like butter, only slowing down when it entered his flesh.
His ribcage brought the sword to a stop, but his organs were quivering from the vibration and foreign energy rushing into his system.
Their exchange had happened in one fluid moment, and Bian had almost lost his life.
Man Tian appeared behind her, his metal gauntlet going for her throat.
Executioner Green just scoffed and vanished with a blue light.
Immediately as she reappeared, a ghostly blade was heading for her temple.
She could have used time skip to phase through the attack or countered with her blades.
But this wasn't a normal weapon.
It was a super weapon enhanced by the beast soul of the Nine-Tailed Ghost Fox. A silver double-edged dagger, less than a meter in length, coated with dark smoke.
It was an attack that couldn't be blocked, yet Executioner Green's response was faster than the ambush.
She was emitting a green wave that slowed down her surroundings by five times. Easily avoiding the ghastly blade.
Han Yan received a pommel bash to her eye, too slow to avoid the blow.
She stifled her scream, feeling her eye burst.
Executioner Green turned transparent, disappearing from view just as Man Tian appeared.
An indigo light erupted, drowning everything in the environment.
The silhouette of a woman wielding two swords was made clear.
She jumped away from her opponents, avoiding a pair of smooth hands that appeared from the ground.
Bian jumped out from below and evaluated their situation.
Such calm and calculated responses.
The three of them weren't able to land a hit, yet he and Han Yan were already wounded and bleeding.
"Bian, that aura should have shown how many times she could return. Now that it's gone, this might be the final battle."
Han Yan was right. If his plan really did work, then after the initial ambush, they would keep killing her in different ways.
Acting according to her behavior.
If they really did succeed and brought her to her last life, they wouldn't remember doing so.
But Executioner Green would remember!
She would know their every move.
Only with dynamic application or absolute suppression could they beat her now.
Still, it was a large burden off his shoulders.
If this was the last fight, they could truly go all out.
She couldn't even run because Tyrant was waiting with the Golden Growler, ready to strike her down should she attempt to flee.
"So you've figured it out!"
Executioner Green spat out through gritted teeth. Her eyes were red, with veins spreading across them.
She looked to be on the edge of lunacy.
Suddenly, her powers surged.
Previously, she could only choose to hasten herself or slow her surroundings.
Not anymore!
"OVERCLOCK!"
A green wave spread out from her perpetually, slowing them down fivefold. She maintained this wave while still enhancing herself fivefold.
Weird bubbles appeared in the air. They seemed to mirror different time zones within them.
Time itself seemed to lose all meaning.
Bian couldn't tell the difference between a minute and an hour anymore.
"It doesn't matter if I die. I've seen your faces, and I know what you're capable of."
"As we speak, my other incarnations are heading to your loved ones, bringing an army of Shura with them."
Executioner Green wouldn't truly die here.
This wasn't her real body, after all—it was just a time clone tasked with the important job of increasing her fitness.
All her accumulation would be wasted, which was exactly why she swore to kill at least one of them.
"Don't hold back!"
As soon as Bian said so, the Holy Angel appeared beside Han Yan. The two had a kiss, and a brilliant light appeared.
Wings of burning silver unfurled, their glowing brilliance reflected off a diamond greatsword.
Her damaged eyes recovered and were shining like a pair of suns. A transparent nine-tailed fox appeared and melted into the diamond greatsword.
The contaminated weapon emitted an otherworldly dark smoke, a stark contrast to the light she was exuding.
Bian and Man Tian didn't have such flashy transformations.
Deep within his very essence, three pillars that stretched to infinity were heating up.
Thomp! Thomp!! Thomp!!!
Not one, not two, but all three pillars were operating at once.
[Firing on all cylinders]
Bian heard the voice of the sanctuaries, which was an unexpected surprise.
His body changed from that of flesh to a statue of jade. His perception sped up, matching that of Executioner Green, and his sense of danger was heightened to an unprecedented degree.
Man Tian reached into the world, and the world responded to him.
"The true meaning of Tian is heaven!"
Bang!
His tenth gene lock was blasted open.
He clenched his fist, and the world around his arm imploded.
His every move was followed and backed by the world.
Bian, Han Yan, and Man Tian stood on one side.
Executioner Green stood on the other.
This was his second time against an Executioner.
Yet, Bian didn't feel nervous.
He was quite excited instead.
His companions were strong. They were better than just strength, in fact.
They were reliable.
A king without a kingdom is just a man.