Though Nolan was cautious and methodical, he wasn't so risk-averse as to lack the courage to join the battlefield when the odds were in his favor.
After all, his personal strength wasn't inferior to that of the Lumine's Sword God. If they fought together, there was no way they couldn't defeat the Thunder Manifestation!
"I'm going to get closer to assist my avatar. Be ready to cover me at a moment's notice," Nolan said to Lumine and Paimon.
By "cover," he meant staying alert and prepared to use Interstellar Travel to teleport him back if necessary. No matter how bold or confident he was, ensuring a fallback plan was just basic prudence.
"Huh? You're going to fight that really strong monster too?"
Paimon fiddled with the floating crown above her head, her voice tinged with concern.
"Yeah, it seems like just my avatar isn't enough," Nolan explained briefly.
"Alright then, but be careful," Paimon said with a nod. Lumine rested her hand on her hip and also gave a slight nod to show her agreement.
Once everything was ready, Nolan unfurled his Wind Glider and used his command over Anemo to propel himself toward the thunderstorm zone.
With the sea breeze aiding him, he needed only a bit of Anemo manipulation to travel swiftly.
Within ten minutes, he had reached the edges of the thunderstorm zone. The cold wind and fine rain stung his face, leaving a tingling numbness—a side effect of the overabundance of electro energy in the atmosphere.
Nolan called upon Anemo to create a barrier around himself, warding off the elemental interference. Though the numbness wouldn't have significantly hindered him, it could still distract him and slightly slow his reflexes.
Five more minutes passed before he arrived at the battlefield where his Lumine's Sword God was engaged with the Thunder Manifestation.
By this time, the golden shield of his sword avatar had been shattered by relentless lightning strikes. It was now evading attacks while countering with golden sword energy, trying to keep the Thunder Manifestation at bay.
The Thunder Manifestation, wary of the avatar's space-piercing and damaging sword energy, kept moving at high speed, never allowing the Lumine's Sword God a clear shot.
However, the sword energy from the Lumine's Sword God had been enhanced with the tracking properties of Divine Archery. If the Thunder Manifestation made even one mistake, it would be hit.
Nolan hadn't yet activated this tracking feature, though—it required an initial lock-on to the target, which the Thunder Manifestation's incredible speed made nearly impossible.
Under normal circumstances, the space-piercing and near-perfect accuracy of his sword strikes rendered tracking redundant. Now that he needed it, the sheer velocity of the Thunder Manifestation was preventing him from utilizing it effectively.
Luck was not on his side.
The moment Nolan entered the battlefield, the delicate balance shifted dramatically.
The Thunder Manifestation immediately sensed his presence and responded by unleashing a barrage of lightning bolts at him. The strikes moved with such speed they truly resembled lightning—there was no way for Nolan to evade them all.
"Zzzzzt!"
The electro attacks hit Nolan squarely, one after another.
But instead of causing any harm, they were absorbed by the Battery Body. The body, already near full capacity, consumed the incoming energy and quickly overflowed.
The excess electro energy was then mitigated by Nolan's innate ability, Elemental Immunity, which nullified a large portion of it.
Here's how the damage mitigation was calculated:
First, when facing enemies of the same level or lower, any elemental damage inflicted on Nolan is reduced by a percentage equal to his level.
At his current level of 86, he can mitigate 86% of incoming elemental damage.
If the enemy is at a higher level, the mitigation effect is reduced. The reduction is calculated as the difference between his level and the enemy's level.
The Thunder Manifestation is level 91. Subtracting Nolan's level of 86 gives a difference of 5 levels.
This means the mitigation effect is reduced by 5%, leaving him with 81% mitigation against the Thunder Manifestation's electro attacks.
Thus, only 19% of the original damage gets through. If he activates Negative Balance, the remaining damage would be split into eight portions, reducing the effective damage he personally takes to less than 3% of the original attack.
However, Nolan chose not to activate _Negative Balance in this battle.
The main reason was that teammates like Sucrose, who were only around level 40, would also bear a portion of the redistributed damage.
While less than 3% damage might seem negligible, when coming from a level 91 Thunder Manifestation, it was still more than Sucrose or others at her level could handle.
Negative Balance was better suited for low-level allies to use when facing weaker enemies. For Nolan, whose opponents were far stronger, it wasn't worth the risk of collateral harm to his teammates.
Besides, with his high elemental resistance and defense, he could shrug off the remaining damage without any need for redistribution. Whether he used Negative Balance or not made no practical difference to him.
He couldn't help but think it was unfortunate that they weren't in Liyue. If they were, his title effect would further reduce damage by an additional 10%.
As the electro energy struck him, his bones tingled with a familiar numbness, though it didn't hurt. It reminded him of the time he was punished by Lisa for failing to return library books on time.
While his body felt slightly numb, his mind remained sharp and focused.
The Thunder Manifestation, having unleashed its full force upon him, briefly slowed its flight—a subtle pause in its otherwise unrelenting speed.
Nolan seized the opportunity.
He summoned several semi-transparent threads in the air, wrapping them tightly around the Thunder Manifestation. Its wings were bound so securely that it resembled a mummy, with barely a scrap of its body left exposed.
However, even with all the threads combined, their total strength amounted to only 30 tons—nowhere near enough to truly restrain the Thunder Manifestation.
It would only take the creature a moment to break free.
But a moment was all Nolan needed.
The Lumine's Sword God had already begun charging an attack the instant the Thunder Manifestation targeted him.
Sharp intent, spatial displacement, splitting, tracking, perfect accuracy—all the extraordinary traits of the Sword Deity were activated simultaneously.
A massive, radiant golden sword formed in the skies, sharp and imposing, as if forged from divine will itself. It descended like a meteor, piercing through the dark storm clouds.
Lightning coiled around the golden sword, and even the atmosphere trembled at its descent.
The storm clouds split apart, leaving a massive hole in the sky. The move—Nolan's ultimate technique for the Sword God—was called Supreme Sword God's Divine Wrath.
In an instant, the massive golden sword seemed to skip a frame, teleporting across a short distance before plunging directly into the Thunder Manifestation, which had just broken free of its bonds.
The sword drove the creature straight into the sea.
The ocean roared, waves surging as both the atmosphere and the seabed quaked under the impact.
Even the ceaseless thunderstorm faltered for a few seconds, as though stunned into silence.
Moments later, the golden sword dissipated, leaving only Nolan and the radiant Lumine's Sword God standing tall in the sky.
[Defeated Ą Powerful Enemy, Obtained 92,035 Adventure EXP.]
(End of Chapter)
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