Just as he changed direction, Mengxiong seemed to have a soul, flickering several times in mid-air before reappearing in front of Gu Tao.
"Junior brother, you've lost," Mengxiong said.
As Gu Tao was about to be pierced by Mengxiong, a shadow suddenly appeared behind him. Xin Chen's figure, like an arrow released from its quiver, turned palm into fist, and punched Gu Tao's exoskeleton.
Gu Tao felt nothing but numbness throughout his body, then he flew backward like a cannonball, and his vision interface showed a notification of a destructive attack.
"Activate Annihilation Mode!"
As Gu Tao began to brake while flying backward, the immense kinetic energy still made him crash through a building. And just as he was about to collide with a terrified fleeing pedestrian, he finally activated the armor's slaughter mode.
His body, which seemed impossible to stop, came to an instant halt less than a meter from the woman with a look of despair, and he turned to tip his hat in apology, even though he wasn't wearing one.
After this small gesture, Gu Tao vanished from the spot and appeared directly in front of Xin Chen, who stood with his hands behind his back in mid-air, and Mengxiong floated beside him, both looking extraordinarily dignified.
"Junior brother, that was well done just now," Xin Chen said.
"I don't need your lessons." Dismissing his arm blade and shield, Gu Tao's armor, now in Annihilation Mode, turned the color of a boiled lobster, a fiery red from top to bottom, "Let's go again!"
"Junior brother..."
Before Xin Chen could finish his sentence, his eyes suddenly widened, and he bolted backward three steps, narrowly dodging Gu Tao's strike. But while his stance was still unsteady, the second, third, and fourth attacks followed in quick succession.
Xin Chen kept dodging and counterattacking, but now Gu Tao seemed like a completely different person from before. The disdainful expression on Xin Chen's face disappeared, replaced by a look of gravity and respect.
"Five Thunder Curse!"
A bolt of lightning struck Gu Tao, but it did not cause even a 0.1-second pause; Gu Tao did not bother with Mengxiong's slash and started lashing out at Xin Chen like a madman.
"Junior brother, your malevolence is too strong," Xin Chen narrowed his eyes, bouncing off Gu Tao's fist and shooting away, with an ethereal air, "Your anger has reduced your combat strength by thirty percent, you are no match for your senior brother."
Having said that, Xin Chen used an almost undefendable move, blinked into existence behind Gu Tao, placing his hand on his armor. Gu Tao, although he reacted, was too late.
"Explode!"
The severe energy reaction turned Gu Tao into a human cannonball flying into the sky. Although his armor was undamaged, the feeling of being thrown around was really unpleasant...
But this time, Xin Chen showed no mercy. With his double-handed sword gesture, the originally single Mengxiong suddenly turned into thousands of sword shadows, enveloping the airborne Gu Tao like a spinning blender.
"Junior brother, let go of your malevolence!" Xin Chen's voice seemed to come from the heavens, "Otherwise, you can't win against your senior brother."
"Pah!" Gu Tao's armor was scarred all over, looking pitiful, but the actual damage was not significant. He flipped over, increasing the thruster power, and forcibly broke out of the Sword Array's encirclement, "I said, I'll show you the power of technology!"
The armor in mid-air suddenly disassembled, and Gu Tao fell gracefully before another set of brand-new armor enveloped his body. The disassembled armor, like iron filings to a magnet, flew towards Gu Tao. After the two sets of armor combined, Gu Tao stood before Xin Chen transformed into a heavy-armored warrior.
Xin Chen also seemed to be breathing heavily, but still stood with his hands behind his back. However, the small beads of sweat on the tip of his nose couldn't be concealed no matter what.
"Junior brother, impressive," Xin Chen said.
"Spare me the talk." Gu Tao's armor with its sixteen pairs of compound eyes flashed with a fearsome light, the heavy armor gleaming, "Annihilation Mode Two, activate."