There was one thing Shu had to admit: using Binding right off the bat was an extremely foolish move.
The consequences of using one of his few game-ending moves against an enemy with unknown information were already clear. His past combat experiences had taught him how agonizing it was to have his trump card countered.
Thinking back to his earlier exchanges with Gu Chu, his reaction time to his attacks had indeed been gradually shortening, from being easily defeated at the beginning to being able to launch some pathetic counterattacks later on.
This feeling of constantly adapting and breaking through in battle reminded Shu of some unpleasant memories.
That was the first time he had truly defeated a powerful enemy with his own hands. For him, the battle with the Victor had almost defined his current fighting style, which was to test the waters carefully before delivering a killing blow.
Before that, his battle with the Lava Emperor was because he didn't have the ability to end it directly. After that, his defeat to Evolution was because he hadn't gathered enough information.
And this time, Shu had actually tested Gu Chu, but he was still thrown off by his own impatience, foolishly giving away the trump card of Binding...
So what was the mentality of those people who clamored to go all out from the start? Did they really not consider the possibility of their ultimate move being countered?
An opponent who could be instantly killed with an ultimate move didn't need an ultimate move... They weren't like those desperate madmen, who would embrace a you-die-I-die mentality at the slightest disagreement, betting that the opponent was a fool... who was the fool?
Another golden spear flew up from below. This time, Shu directly dodged it and his expression became a little more grave.
The spears he had just fired had already dissipated, and this one was created by Gu Chu himself and shot at him.
Compared to trying to injure him, what Shu could feel from this spear was more of a provocation.
"Don't you have any new tricks?"
That was probably the meaning... The other party already had the ability to mock him like this in a restricted environment.
Shu let out a light breath and forcibly suppressed the trace of impatience in his heart.
The other party was a Herrscher... a Herrscher with unknown powers. No matter what, he was not someone to be underestimated.
The power of Sight and a large part of his Honkai energy were left with Kiana and the others along with his scepter. He was already not at his full strength.
Even though he still had an overwhelming advantage in his fight with Gu Chu, it was almost completely given away by this wave. The two of them were now almost on the same level.
His advantage was minimal. Every step he took next had to maintain this trace of advantage and expand it.
And the most important thing right now was to figure out what Gu Chu's power was...
Shu calmed his mind, and a Judgment of Shamash appeared in his hand. This was the power he had used before.
According to preliminary deductions, the other party's power was somewhat similar to Evolution's, but compared to Evolution's control over external objects, the other party was more skilled in self-mastery.
And the biggest difference between the other party and Evolution was... Evolution couldn't immunize itself to Binding. Evolution could only guarantee that it still had the strongest physical body in a restricted environment.
This was the reason why Shu hadn't used the power of Binding on Evolution back then. To compete with Evolution in terms of physical strength... he wasn't that overconfident.
Gu Chu's physical strength was not as strong as Evolution's back then. Shu was very clear about this. So the other party's power should be in the aspect of "adaptation"...
Or perhaps...
Shu, who was suspended above Gu Chu, started with a zero-frame move. A fully charged Judgment of Shamash smashed down on Gu Chu's head. The tyrannical force directly crushed the spear that Gu Chu had condensed in his hand and engulfed his figure.
And the next moment, a figure jumped out of the flames. After flipping a few times in the air, he landed steadily, then got up and patted off the flames on his body.
The next moment, he quickly condensed a golden spear in his hand. After waving it in a circle in front of him, he suddenly thrust it diagonally upwards.
And Shu's next attack was like he had deliberately run into it. The blade of the Judgment of Shamash accurately landed on the tip of the spear that Gu Chu had pointed out.
The surging flames were cut off. Shu's pupils shrank fiercely. Almost without thinking, he released the Judgment of Shamash in his hand and instantly opened a distance of nearly a hundred meters from Gu Chu.
The moment Shu let go and retreated, a few golden chains with sharp spear tips stabbed at his position. If Shu hadn't retreated quickly, he would have been tied up like the abandoned Judgment of Shamash by those golden chains.
The dense aura of binding on them made Shu's senses stop for a moment. It was only by timely erupting another wave of binding power to counteract it that he was able to avoid the subsequent attacks.
Gu Chu withdrew the spear in his hand and did not continue to pursue Shu. He just stood there and looked at Shu with a hint of mockery.
Shu stared at the golden chains, his heart full of disbelief.
Those were also Judas's chains... but he hadn't used this move before... why could the other party also replicate it?
Could it be that the other party's ability was not imitation? Or did it also have some deductive ability?
Imitation plus deduction... facing such an ability, could he still use abilities that the other party had never seen before?
Of course he could, but it had to be a one-hit kill. If he couldn't...
A cluster of flames ignited, and Shu's heart completely sank.
"Judgment of Shamash..." Gu Chu looked at the flame giant sword in his hand. The scorching high temperature distorted the air around him, making everything Shu could see distorted. "What a good name."
Gu Chu waved the Judgment of Shamash in his hand at Shu, and in his other hand, he still held the golden spear.
The golden chains did not disappear with the appearance of the Judgment of Shamash, but continued to circle around Gu Chu, coordinating with his every move.
At the same time, Shu also saw a few familiar longswords appear beside Gu Chu.
Judgment of Shamash, Oath of Judah, and the liberated Xuanyuan Sword...
Gu Chu held three Divine Keys in his hand and stood opposite Shu.
He couldn't use new abilities anymore.
Shu thought so, and also raised his hand, grabbing a cluster of sunlight that had fallen beside him.
The Judgment of Shamash ignited again, a golden cross landed behind him, and a golden longsword landed in his left hand, forming a scene of remote opposition with Gu Chu.
Since he couldn't use brand new abilities, it was already very clear what to do now.
Isn't it just a comparison of stats... Shu had never been afraid of anyone in terms of stats!
On the vast desert, two figures with flame tails quickly collided.
Firelight and golden light intertwined and erupted in an instant.
Gu Chu used his Judgment of Shamash greatsword like a rapier. The moment the two met, Gu Chu's Judgment of Shamash greatsword stabbed at Shu's face from a tricky angle.
At the same time, the long spear in Gu Chu's other hand also stabbed at Shu's abdomen, and the few longswords had also circled behind Shu, about to attack.
But Shu just raised the Judgment of Shamash in his hand. Ignoring Gu Chu's attacks from various angles, he just slashed down with great force.
The instantly erupting flames easily engulfed Gu Chu's sword edge, dispelled the golden light of binding, and also completely extinguished the cluster of flames that was about to erupt.
The smile on Gu Chu's face froze for a moment. The next moment, all his attacks were shattered. The Judgment of Shamash and the long spear both turned into fragments and were sent flying by Shu's sword.
And before he could stabilize his body from the pathetic tumble, his peripheral vision caught the pursuing Shu.
Can't block it!
Gu Chu's heart tightened. He ignored his balance and pushed off the ground to send himself flying.
He did dodge Shu's pursuit, but this did not mean that Shu's attack was over.
The third slash shot towards Gu Chu, who had thrown himself into the air. Seeing that the flames were about to engulf him, the Honkai energy in Gu Chu's body suddenly moved.
The next moment, Gu Chu suddenly flew sideways, dodging Shu's third attack at an extremely close distance.
But the fourth attack was impossible to dodge!
A golden spear accurately pierced Gu Chu's glabella, and his body was sent flying by a powerful kick from Shu.
With that kick, Shu could even hear the sound of Gu Chu's bones shattering.
But Shu would not stop there. He would continue to pursue!
Gu Chu's eyes, which had been scattered by the spear, suddenly focused on Shu. Then, his body twisted into a strange posture like a string puppet.
It was as if a string was tied to his body, and now someone had pulled that string to pull him out of Shu's attack range.
This didn't seem like an ability he had used.
Shu stopped. Seven consecutive Heavenly Fire strikes were a considerable burden for him. Of course, it wasn't the consumption, but his body was a bit "overheated." If he continued, his body might also be damaged.
Shu no longer pursued, and Gu Chu also showed a state of being spent. He landed on the sand and rolled twice powerlessly, finally burying his face in the sand.
Shu landed. The next moment, a distorted and leaky, wanton laugh erupted from Gu Chu's mouth.
"Hahahaha—!" Gu Chu's hand, which had been twisted into nine joints, quickly recovered under Shu's gaze. Then he propped himself up on the ground and pushed his tattered and twisted body up.
He laughed wildly, full of mockery, but also with a look of admiration.
"Not bad... this is it!" Gu Chu laughed loudly, and raised his hand at Shu while his body was still recovering. "Shu..."
"Bang—!!"
The suddenly approaching Shu completely shattered Gu Chu's words. Shu needed to rest, but it didn't mean that his rest time would be long enough for Gu Chu to finish a whole sentence.
But this time, the once again sent flying Gu Chu just rolled in the air for a while, and his figure suddenly stopped in mid-air. Then it was an extremely anti-human turn, and he thrust a spear at Shu.
The angle of this thrust was extremely tricky, just bypassing all of Shu's defenses and going straight for his eyes.
This sharp and sudden counterattack was enough to catch many people off guard, but Gu Chu's opponent was Shu.
Just as Shu himself had worried, the one who attacked first was the one who was passive. Gu Chu's back thrust was an attack that had abandoned all defense and evasion and was aimed at a head-on confrontation.
Although it was sharp and had a do-or-die momentum, it was also the end of its strength and would collapse at the first touch.
Shu didn't just have one Judgment of Shamash!
Gu Chu's counterattack was once again easily shattered by Shu. But just as Shu was about to give Gu Chu a zero-distance Judgment of Shamash, the sound of shattering in his hand made him stunned for a moment.
Then he quickly looked at Gu Chu's other hand. As expected, another golden spear was rapidly dissipating in his hand.
It was this hidden long spear that had shattered Shu's Judgment of Shamash.
The tattered face of Gu Chu showed him a smug smile. The next moment, a plain but powerful punch landed squarely on his face. Shu could still feel the feedback of the bones breaking.
Seeing that Gu Chu's body was about to be sent flying again, this time Shu kindly reached out to grab him, and then gave his face another full-power punch.
What followed was a storm of crazy attacks, with the intention of directly crushing Gu Chu with brute force.
Gu Chu wanted to recover, but even with his recovery ability at full throttle, he could only barely keep up with Shu's destruction.
He wanted to block Shu's crazy offensive, but he couldn't keep up in terms of speed or strength...
If he raised his hand, Shu's attack would reach him first. With a surrounding defense, Shu's attack could also accurately find a loophole and give him another heavy blow.
Can't block it... can't block it!
This was not a gap in skill, but a pure numerical gap!
He couldn't keep up with Shu's movements!
...
No... he could... he could definitely keep up with the other party's speed... it was just that he couldn't do it. He didn't have the hardware to do it...
...
Then let's think about it from another direction... He couldn't react to Shu's attacks that were beyond his hardware's range. Then could he predict them?
—No, he couldn't. His movements were too slow, so slow that his predictions would be captured by Shu, who would then switch his attack direction and bypass his predictions.
...Was there really no way? He only had one core. Even if Shu wasn't at his full strength, it wasn't something he could touch with just one core. So he absolutely couldn't cross this hurdle in terms of stats...
...
...This was probably what he wanted, the so-called desperate situation... it was really desperate enough...
But it wasn't enough... because there might not be no way forward!
"Clap!"
The violent offensive suddenly stopped. Shu's expression froze, looking at his fist being grabbed by Gu Chu in disbelief.
How did he...
"Thirty-six thousand eight hundred and ninety-two layers of predictive deduction..." Gu Chu raised his head, and a hint of surprise appeared in his recovered eyeball.
"I've collected... all of your attack trajectories!!"