"Boom!"
In the mist-shrouded pocket dimension, two bursts of aura suddenly erupted, instantly entering a state of sharp confrontation as they violently collided.
Both auras originated from the fluctuations of Sacred Gears. One was golden, overflowing with a holy atmosphere; the other was white, filled with the breath of nature. The moment they clashed, a fierce conflict ensued, whipping up a surging airwave that caused the entire pocket dimension to tremble.
"Swish!"
Leo took the opportunity to unfurl his eight wings, slowly rising into mid-air. As he drew closer, the sky above his head grew increasingly oppressive, eventually transforming into a scene of dense, dark clouds crackling with thunder and lightning.
This terrifying scene—as if the momentum of the entire heavens and the world itself was pressing down—made Cao Cao, a mere human with only a spear in his hand, tremble with excitement.
"Is this the power of 'Zenith Thunder Prison'? Truly worthy of being the Sacred Gear closest to the spear in my hand!"
In Cao Cao's eyes, his fighting spirit transformed into a scorching flame, which was released alongside the fluctuations of holy power from the True Longinus.
"Take this first!"
The tip of the Holy Spear, which Cao Cao held high toward the sky, suddenly opened. An incredible surge of holy energy gathered within and was released all at once.
"Boom!"
Instantly, a holy aura transformed into a torrent of light, resembling a vortex capable of destroying everything. It vaporized the atmosphere as it surged toward Leo in the high altitude.
This was the world's purest and most powerful holy power. When released, it could wipe out even existences that lacked demonic nature in a single sweep. If it appeared in a city, it would likely demolish several skyscrapers in an instant; its power was truly staggering.
Leo naturally had no desire to be touched by this holy power capable of instantly incinerating his very existence. Therefore, without hesitation, he manipulated the sky, calling down a massive bolt of lightning that roared to meet the incoming holy torrent.
"Rumble!!!"
The lightning and the flood of light collided in mid-air instantly. It was like Mars hitting Earth; first, a terrifying explosion erupted, followed immediately by a staggering shockwave that completely cleared the mist within a several-kilometer radius.
"Boom—Boom—Boom—"
The roaring continued as thick bolts of lightning incessantly descended from the sky, striking toward Cao Cao on the ground.
As a human with a fragile physical body, Cao Cao similarly had no wish to be touched by the force representing nature's most terrifying power. Thus, he continuously raised the Holy Spear, releasing holy auras and firing torrents of light to counter and intercept the incoming lightning.
"Let's see how you handle this!"
Leo did not want to stand by and watch Cao Cao escape danger. He immediately channeled the power of "Zenith Thunder Prison," causing the earth to quake.
In an instant, mountains crumbled and the ground split. The entire pocket dimension seemed to vibrate, and the terrain was completely reshaped.
Cao Cao felt the sky pressing down on him one moment, and in the next, the earth began to bulge. Not only was the ground beneath his feet constantly collapsing, but mudslides like tidal waves appeared in some places, while overwhelming dust storms erupted in others, causing his expression to shift.
Seeing the ground beneath him completely disintegrated and surrounded by countless surges of sand, rock, and mud, Cao Cao leapt into the air without a second thought, breaking free from the constraints of the earth.
But Leo seemed to be waiting for exactly that. Seeing him jump, Leo immediately manipulated the atmosphere to whip up a storm, blasting it toward him without a word.
"Bang!"
Cao Cao only had time to raise the Holy Spear in front of him before the storm struck, blowing him back violently.
"Haha! It really feels like I'm fighting the world itself!"
Despite the unfavorable situation, Cao Cao laughed heartily. He suddenly spun the Holy Spear, aiming it behind himself, and released a burst of holy aura to propel himself forward.
No path to heaven and no gate to the earth—for an ordinary human, this was undoubtedly a desperate situation.
Yet Cao Cao seemed to be relishing this predicament, or perhaps he enjoyed the grand feat of challenging an insurmountable victory with a fragile human body. With a wild smile on his face, his body turned into a meteor under the propulsion of the holy aura, charging straight at Leo.
Leo took the opportunity to release several massive fireballs. Like miniature suns, they blasted toward Cao Cao in rapid succession. Surprisingly, Cao Cao relied solely on the rhythmic dancing of the Holy Spear to shatter the incoming fireballs one by one, piercing through the waves of fire to continue his assault on Leo.
"What a sharp spear—"
This time, it was Leo's turn for his expression to change. The look in his eyes as he watched the Holy Spear in Cao Cao's hand grew increasingly solemn.
Generally, the biggest difference between a Longinus and a normal Sacred Gear isn't the magnitude of power, but the variety of abilities. A normal Sacred Gear usually possesses only one ability unless under special circumstances. However, a Longinus can possess multiple abilities, and each can be paired to create an effect where one plus one is greater than two. This is the hallmark of a Longinus.
For "Zenith Thunder Prison," its abilities were typically twofold: one was the control of weather, and the other was the control of natural attributes. When combined, it was as if one could manipulate the power of all nature to attack an enemy, easily inciting natural disasters.
As the strongest Sacred Gear ranked higher than "Zenith Thunder Prison," the Holy Spear's abilities were not only no fewer but actually more numerous.
Leo remembered that the Holy Spear had three primary traits. First was a spearhead of peerless sharpness with immense piercing capability, able to break through any obstacle. Second was a spear shaft that could freely extend or retract, allowing for attacks on enemies at any position. The third was a holy power that possessed an ultimate suppressive effect against races like Devils; even a glancing blow could inflict a fatal wound.
Therefore, even against the natural disasters summoned by "Zenith Thunder Prison," Cao Cao could break through with the spear in his hand. Using the spear tip to pierce fireballs and scatter lightning was nothing more than a standard maneuver for him.
"In that case—"
Leo spread his hands, allowing countless fireballs to form around him. "I want to see just how many attacks your spear can break through!"
With that, Leo released the fireballs surrounding him without hesitation, turning them into a dazzling meteor shower of flames that blanketed Cao Cao.
"No matter how many come, I'll break through them all and show you!"
Cao Cao's eyes were filled with fighting spirit. Instead of retreating, he pressed forward. The Holy Spear in his hand had become a blur of afterimages, sending out bursts of spear light to meet the incoming fireballs.
"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"
In the next second, the explosions of the fireballs echoed through the high altitude of the pocket dimension. Explosive flames and gusts of wind erupted continuously, shaking the atmosphere.
Cao Cao brandished the Holy Spear like a madman. His speed grew faster and faster, and the spear light became more explosive. He truly relied on the long spear in his hand to intercept and crush every single one of the countless fireballs.
"Shit!"
Seeing this, Leo couldn't help but curse under his breath. He truly hadn't expected Cao Cao to be capable of such a feat.
His spear techniques had reached a level of divine mastery. Perhaps they weren't like Miyamoto Musashi's blades, which could subdue even time and space, but in terms of pure technical skill, he was not inferior in the slightest.
As a human, though Cao Cao was a descendant of a hero with a special bloodline that made his physique surpass ordinary people, his defensive power obviously couldn't compare to non-human species. Under such circumstances, he had apparently honed incredible spear techniques and combat skills to compensate for the weakness of being human.
Leo had known this for a long time; it was evident from his performance in the original story. Cao Cao was a hyper-technical warrior. However, he had truly not expected the man's technique to be this powerful.
Seeing that Cao Cao had nearly reached him, Leo didn't stop to think. He immediately flapped the devil wings on his back, turning into an afterimage as he retreated violently.
"Don't think you can run!"
Seeing this, Cao Cao directly extended the Holy Spear. The spearhead turned into a flash of light once more, piercing through the sky like a shooting star toward Leo.
As Leo retreated, he dared not be the least bit negligent. He instantly condensed an iceberg and a mountain of rock in front of him to act as shields.
"Boom!"
The spearhead, turned into a flash of light, instantly pierced through the iceberg that appeared first. Immediately after, it pierced through the rock mountain behind it. Having lunged through both peaks, it continued toward Leo with unabated momentum.
But by this time, Leo had already changed direction, narrowly avoiding the sharp spearhead. He then lunged forward and grabbed the shaft of the Holy Spear, causing a massive cluster of lightning to erupt from his palm. The electricity surged down the shaft, rapidly conducting toward Cao Cao.
"Do you want me to let go of the Holy Spear?"
Cao Cao had already reached the position of the pierced iceberg and was standing upon it. Holding the extended spear with one hand, he made a loud declaration.
"That won't do! For a weak human like me, if I lose the Sacred Gear I was born with, I won't be able to be your opponent anymore!"
As his voice fell, Cao Cao caused the shaft of the Holy Spear to ignite with a golden aura, releasing its holy power.
"Bang!"
The golden fluctuation instantly scattered the flowing lightning and caused Leo's palm, which was still gripping the shaft, to emit a sizzling, burning sound.
"Tch—"
Leo felt a surge of sharp pain in his palm. He quickly let go of the spear and clicked his tongue in frustration. "This holy power is really a cheat."
In just that short moment, Leo felt his palm go numb, as if it had been entirely burnt away; he could no longer feel its existence at all. He had no doubt that if he touched it for much longer, his entire arm would be purified into nonexistence.
"Fighting against the Holy Spear requires even more caution."
Having confirmed this, Leo re-energized the power of "Zenith Thunder Prison," causing the sky to rumble and heave.
Standing atop the rock mountain, Cao Cao watched the scene and murmured with anticipation:
"Come on, show me more."