Book 10, Baruch – Chapter 15, The Fierce Battle Against Osenno
Black draconic scales. Fierce, sharp spikes. They all quickly emerged, covering Linley’s entire body as he Dragonformed. The blue robe that had been covering Linley’s body was torn to shreds by the ferocious battle-qi, and pieces of it fluttered around Linley.
“Go!” Linley’s dark golden eyes stared at Osenno.
Instantly, those countless pieces of blue cloth suddenly shot towards Osenno like arrows. As they did, Bebe, who had been directly behind Linley, suddenly disappeared, crossing those hundred meters...
In just the blink of an eye.
The half-meter long Bebe suddenly appeared in front of Osenno. “Shkreeee!” The ear-piercing screech tore through the skies, while at the same time, Bebe’s sharp claws transformed into a fierce storm which tore down towards Osenno.
“Crackle.”
Osenno’s body immediately exploded with a black flame which emanated from within his body. The black fire surrounded his fist, which clashed directly against Bebe’s sharp claws. “Bang!” “Bang!” Eardrum-rupturing collision sounds could be heard repeatedly.
“Swish!” Osenno quickly retreated a hundred meters in an instant.
Bebe stared angrily at Osenno. “Osenno, if you are so tough, don’t run.” Just as Osenno opened his mouth and was about to speak, a tempest suddenly appeared in front of him, while at the same time, a scale-covered draconic claw slashed through the air, chopping towards him like a sharp blade.
Osenno once more dodged backwards.
Only now did Linley reveal himself fully. Standing in mid-air, the azurish-black energy surrounding him, he said, “Osenno, why do you keep on retreating? Didn’t you say that you were going to kill me?” Linley’s voice was very low. His eyes flashing like cold daggers, he was a heart-shaking sight.
“Boss, those black flames Osenno uses are very powerful. But they shouldn’t be able to break your Pulseguard Defense.” Bebe’s voice rang out in Linley’s mind.
“I know. Osenno hasn’t used his best techniques yet.” Linley was very careful.
With a flip of his hand, Osenno retrieved a pitch-black, narrow and long sword. Osenno stared coldly at Linley and Bebe, the man and his magical beast. “Just now, I wanted to see how strong you were. Indeed...you are worthy of me drawing my blade.”
Linley and Bebe on one side. Osenno on the other. Staring at each other.
The citizens of the prefectural city of Sherry stared with bated breath at this battle, the likes of which Sherry had never seen since its founding.
“Let’s go.” Linley’s voice rang out in Bebe’s mind, and the two of them almost simultaneously charged towards Osenno. The adamantine heavy sword in Linley’s hand radiated with azurish light, chopping down agilely at Osenno.
Seeing Bebe and Linley charge towards him, Osenno instantly came to a judgment: “This magical beast called Bebe is even faster than me. This Linley is a hair faster than me as well. Our intelligence was wrong?”
Linley’s body seemed to drift forward gently as though it was very slow, but also as though it was very fast. It was extremely bizarre.
The deeper his insights into the Elemental Laws of the Wind had become, the faster Linley had become as well.
Bebe was the first to arrive in front of Osenno. Osenno just stood there in mid-air, not moving at all, allowing Bebe to claw at him. But the black katana in Osenno’s hands suddenly flashed, then chopped down against Bebe’s claws.
“Clang!”
A metallic ringing sound. Osenno’s body was sent flying back nearly a hundred meters, but Bebe stood there, not moving at all.
“Bebe.” Linley had a bad feeling.
“Boss, be careful. His katana attacks contain a spiritual attack.” Bebe warned him. “Just then, my head went dizzy for a moment.”
Linley grew nervous. Spiritual attack?
However, from what Linley could tell, this Osenno was a Warrior Saint. Most likely, his spiritual energy wasn’t too powerful. This was much like Olivier, who despite being capable of spiritual attacks, only had the spiritual energy of a magus of the eighth rank. Thus, his spiritual attack wasn’t too dangerous to people with powerful souls.
“My spiritual energy has reached the ninth rank. I should be able to take it.” Not hesitating at all, Linley once more struck out with his adamantine heavy sword, while Bebe, shaking his head a few times, let out another screech and charged towards Osenno.
Osenno’s body flickered as he actually moved forward to face Linley.
“Whoosh.” The adamantine heavy sword flowed gracefully through the air, slashing down at Osenno in an instant. Osenno’s black katana seemed to pierce through space itself, coming at an incomparably monstrous speed as it chopped against Linley’s adamantine heavy sword.
The adamantine heavy sword and the black katana clashed...
Linley’s body was sent flying backwards, and he shook his head in pain.
“Rumble...” A bizarre, terrifying vibration had passed through the black katana and attacked Osenno. It had pierced straight through Osenno’s protective layer of infernal black flames and directly attacked Osenno’s internal organs. Those terrifying, powerful vibrations caused all of Osenno’s organs to shudder.
“Urgh.” Osenno spat out a mouthful of blood.
Osenno stared at Linley in disbelief. He didn’t expect that he would have suffered a serious injury in just his first exchange of blows with Linley.
“If this happens another time, I probably won’t be able to take it. This Linley’s attack is too bizarre and too terrifying. My defenses are useless.” Osenno now realized how terrifying Linley was. “I didn’t expect that I would have to use my ultimate technique to deal with Linley.”
Only now did Linley’s head feel a bit better.
“What a terrifying spiritual attack.” Linley’s heart shook. “It didn’t just attack, it also possessed an illusionary, mesmerizing power.”
“Die!” Bebe charged fiercely at Osenno, the tips of his sharp fangs biting down at Osenno, but Bebe actually passed straight through Osenno. ‘Osenno’ was still in his original position.
“Two of them.”
Linley stared in astonishment. At this moment, there were two ‘Osennos’ standing in mid-air. And they definitely weren’t illusions. Both were real!
“Dopplegangers?” Linley couldn’t believe it.
The two Osennos suddenly moved, transforming into four Osennos. This was totally different from Olivier’s technique, which relied on high speed movement to create illusions. All of these four Osennos were real. Linley’s spiritual energy could detect all four of these Osennos and sense their auras.
“This...what in the world is this?” Linley couldn’t dare believe it.
The four Osennos stood in mid-air, staring coldly at Linley. The four Osennos each said one phrase at a time. “Linley, you really do have some skill. You forced me to use this technique. Just then, you saw that when you attack me, you will find that my body is illusory, but when I attack you, you will find...that my body is real. In other words, I can attack you, but you can’t attack me. Your death is...inevitable.”
The four Osennos all flew towards Linley at high speed.
“Die!” Linley flew at high speed towards one of them, but suddenly, Linley utilized his adamantine heavy sword to chop at a different one.
Profound Truths of the Earth – 150 Layered Waves.
However, it was as though he had hit nothing but air. Linley’s adamantine heavy sword passed straight through this ‘Osenno’, not having harmed him at all. But then, this ‘Osenno’ suddenly chopped towards Linley, and Linley quickly used his adamantine heavy sword to block.
“Bang!”
Linley was knocked flying back, and his head felt dizzy yet again.
“How is this possible? How can someone possibly have such a freakish ability?” Linley didn’t dare to believe it. Even when dealing with Fain or Desri, Linley hadn’t had such a hopeless feeling. He couldn’t attack his opponent, but the opponent could easily attack him? What the hell was this?
“Osenno, don’t believe your own lies.”
Bebe’s voice rang out. Linley turned to look at Bebe. Bebe’s little eyes were staring at Osenno. “Others are unable to attack you? If four people simultaneously attacked your four bodies, tell me...would they be able to attack you?” Bebe seemed to be quite familiar with this technique.
All four Osennos were wielding that black katana.
“It seems you understand this technique?” Osenno laughed coldly.
“Of course. Don’t forget. I am a darkness-element magical beast.” Bebe’s body suddenly flickered, and then split into two as well. The two Bebe’s stood there in mid-air. Osenno was stunned as well, and Linley was also awestruck.
The Barker brothers were watching all this from below.
“What the hell?” Hazer looked at Gates.
Gates shook his head, lost. “This battle isn’t one in which the likes of us can get involved in. Let’s just watch.”
Linley flew towards the two Bebe’s, while Bebe said to Linley, “Boss, there is a relatively basic darkness-style attack known as the ‘Stealthwalk Technique’. Once the Stealthwalk Technique reaches an extremely high level, it can be transformed into the Shadowshape Technique. The Shadowshape Technique causes one’s body to merge with the shadows themselves. However...there is a level even beyond the Shadowshape technique which is known as...the Shadowshape Doppleganger Technique. This is something which only Saints can train in.”
“However, Osenno’s Shadowshape Doppleganger Technique is more powerful than mine!” Bebe said.
“So this is known as the ‘Shadowshape Doppleganger Technique’?” Osenno frowned.
“You didn’t know?” Bebe looked at Osenno.
Osenno was silent. In truth, while Osenno had been training in the Elemental Laws of Darkness, he slowly managed to develop this ‘Doppleganger Technique’. As for its name, he had casually decided to simply call it the ‘Doppleganger Technique’.
Shadowshape Doppleganger Technique.
The basic underpinning of the Shadowshape Doppleganger Technique was to create a shadow from another shadow, and then allow the real body to change position at any time from amongst the shadow-bodies.
Just then, when Linley had attacked one of the dopplegangers, Osenno had switched places with one of his other shadows, and then when he attacked Linley, he had switched back.
This technique was very powerful, but in the face of the Godrealm technique of Deities, it was still useless.
“Bebe, when did you learn this technique?” Linley asked mentally.
“Darkness-elemental magical beasts are born knowing some darkness-style spells and special attacks. Only upon reaching the Saint-level was I capable of utilizing this Shadowshape Doppleganger Technique. Unfortunately, I’m not as good at it as Osenno.” Bebe said resignedly. Magical beasts were born with some special, magical skills. The more powerful the beast, the more powerful the magic.
Linley secretly sighed as well.
“And so what if you know it? You will still die!” The four Osennos moved at the same time. The target...Linley! The four Osennos attacked together, and Linley quickly flew back...one against four, how could he fight them? He could block one, but the real body would then be in one of the other three.
If he fought head on, he would definitely lose!
“Shkreee!” As Linley retreated, the two Bebes screeched fiercely as they charged forward.
The two Bebes were freakishly fast. The two Bebes engaged in a wild battle against those four Osennos, but since Osenno could choose between those four shadow dopplegangers, he could dodge much more easily than Bebe.
“Bang!” The two Bebes flew back.
“Bebe, quick, come over to me. Listen to my order.” Linley was currently standing in one of the streets of the prefectural city of Sherry. Standing on the ground, his head was upraised as he stared at Osenno in mid-air, quietly awaiting Osenno to come over.
Bebe was somewhat puzzled, but he still flew over towards Linley at high speed.
“Boss, what do you want to do?” Bebe asked suspiciously.
But when Bebe heard Linley’s mental response, his eyes instantly lit up, and he once more scurried atop Linley’s shoulders. Linley and Bebe just stood there on the ground, staring up at the four Osennos, not afraid at all.
“Hrm? What trick do you have up your sleeves?”
Seeing how confident Linley was, Osenno was rather suspicious. But when he scanned the area with his spiritual energy, he found that Linley and Bebe didn’t have any backup at all, nor were there any apparent traps. In addition, for someone like him, an expert who trained in the Shadowshape Doppleganger Technique, how could he be afraid of a trap?
“Hrmph.” Osenno sneered coldly. No longer hesitating, the four Osennos simultaneously charged down towards Linley!