A change took place not to Zhang Dong’s being like when Wang Long combined with his soul beast but to the white beat-up armor. Instead of combining together into a singular being, Bahamut could enhance the prepared armament that was his full body suit.

All the scratches and dents on the silver piece of armor started mending themselves and changing color. Long gone was the bright silvery hue, it was replaced by a fully golden armor covered in scales. The change in design didn’t only consist of it going from silvery white to golden, it also came with an increase in size.

First of all, there was a set of large metallic wings on Zhang Dong’s back. Each one with a silvery claw at the end. The whole armor looked more like a mechanical suit similar to the golems that he came in contact with in the other world. Its source of power was just Bahamut instead and together with Zhang Dong it was boosted even further.

His familiar was more similar to a summoned spirit and he was actually a mix of spiritual energy and mana. Through some experimentation, Zhang Dong discovered this strange equipment-enhancing effect. The only requirement was that he needed to make the weapon or armor that Bahamut would inhabit. With the correct materials, the treasures would be boosted to a previously inconceivable degree.

Thus on one side stood a mix of man and creature with a face full of distortions. On the other side, there was Zhang Dong whose whole body was draped in shiny metal. The draconic features were noticeable on both and depicted the difference between light and dark quite well.

“I’ll tear you limb from limb and that tin can won’t save you!”

“Quite boisterous for someone that just tried to run away, you can still give up, just destroy your dantian and I’ll let you live.”

“Screw off! Do you really think I’ll believe that?”

Wang Long roared like a beast while producing a breath made out of deathly fog and acid. Yet Zhang Dong didn’t shy away from confronting his enemy directly. The dragon's power armor was equipped with full protection against all poison and corrosive effects.

These deadly techniques that demonic cultivators were proud of were why they usually won against orthodox opponents. During a battle, it would slowly erode away on the enemy making them lose a large chunk of their combat skills. The longer the fight lasted the more likely it was for the demonic fighter to win however, when this type of attack was rendered useless then things could quickly be reversed.

The giant sword that Wang Long previously wielded started glowing with purple energy. Yet even when he was swinging it around Zhang Dong utilized his new suit to fully dodge those swings. There were exhaust vents coming out of those wings that allowed him to move in various patterns that his enemy wasn’t used to.

The two masters had pulled out some of their trump cards in this battle that had only lasted for about ten minutes. Volcanic ash exploded everywhere as the two tumbled into the opening that was already mostly destroyed. Yet even when they were submerged by the magma inside none of them was even taking any damage. It was more of a hot bath than anything else and even when they tumbled through it they could survive.

Another wave of destruction filled the land as a catastrophic chain reaction occurred. As Wang Long and Zhang Dong were clashing in the lava it started a chaotic burst of energy. The magma burst out from the ground and started destroying the demon city. The Chaos Sect’s main area began to be flooded from the underground and whoever was hiding there had to evacuate. The entire place was getting destroyed and it wasn’t looking great for the demonic cultivators.

Back and forth they went but slowly the battle shifted in favor of the United Element Sect. Without a strong leader to hold them in check some of the demonic cultivators took the chance to escape. While this was the minority it did start to affect the morale of the troops that began trying to withdraw into their main sect area or into the flying castle. Even though the protective shields were mostly gone there were still large cannons and beasts they could command to protect them.

“Y-you, why did you have to ruin everything? This was supposed to be my story, I am the main hero, not you!”

“You really need to do something about that superiority complex… or is it just narcissism? Do you think that you can just walk all over everyone without any repercussions?”

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“Those are not people, I am the only real person there… that’s right, you’re probably just one of them, after I kill you, the world will belong to me and I’ll be able to do anything that I want, this is just a test!”

Zhang Dong frowned as he looked at the person that was supposedly from his home world. It was clear that he had made up his mind about this place and was unwilling to listen to anyone. Perhaps he thought that he had already died and this was some kind of reward for his troubles? Did he think that if he won this competition of strength that he would achieve true freedom and live as a god?

The man before him was a true despot, he didn’t account for anyone's opinion but his own. Zhang Dong at least tried to listen to his people before making the decision. In the future, he hoped to retire and lead a quieter life but for now, he needed to get this issue out of the way. In the last confrontation between the two, his most powerful skill integrated all of his newly gained dao’s was charging up.

A small star formed in his hand and while expanding was then condensed even further. Gravity, light, and lightning were connecting with each other to form something that resembled a real Pulsar. This small neutron star of unimaginable mass would be thrown at his opponent. In this current confrontation, he had the high ground while Wang Long had landed in a ditch filled with lava.

His enemy wouldn’t just let himself be pushed back, above him a giant sphere of black energy was already being made. This wasn’t all, to top it off a figure of a massive black dragon appeared with its mouth in the middle of that sphere. It made it look like this giant creature that was a lot larger than the zombie dragon soul beast was performing a breath attack.

‘He still had this much energy left?’

“It’s too late if you realized, now die!”

Wang Long shouted, the giant black orb exploded while turning into a beam of pitch black ooze. It traveled forward while colliding with the star that Zhang Dong had created. To his surprise, the beam was holding on and the reason for it was the place where they ended up.

He had been fooled, his enemy that didn’t seem so bright had finally used his head. The battle was in the volcano which had a connection to the spirit vein. This same spirit vein was powering Wang Long’s new attack while putting a giant strain on his body. While he would not come out of this without an injury the attack would be indeed boosted by the large amount of corrupt Qi here.

‘Shit…’

His attack was getting pushed back, even when he included Bahamut’s power into it, there was still some missing. Slowly the Pulsar was getting pushed back, if this continued he would surely be devoured by that unholy energy. Before his eyes flashed the faces of his closest family members. For them, he tried to push himself over the edge.

Suddenly the orb of light that he produced started expanding as he injected more and more of his reserves. Yet this only amounted to creating a stalemate but who would be able to last for longer? The person that was almost out of energy or the one that was injecting himself with loads of corrupted Qi?

“Huh?”

Then as he was at his lowest he felt a hand touch his back. He didn’t even need to turn around to know who it was. A gentle type of energy that felt like a warm summer breeze flowed into his body as he felt empowered. This was not all, from the other side another palm landed on his shoulder. The energy it produced was a lot wilder, like an erupting volcano.

“Senior brother, you are not alone!”

“Did you think I’ll let my husband perish?”

Both Huo Qiang and Liena were standing behind him and lending their strength. If he was not in such a situation he would have replied in joy. Holding this technique in place was all that he could do and with the added energy the stalemate was being broken. This was not the end yet, a mass of spiritual energy attacks erupted from behind him.

“Aid the Patriarch!”

“For the sect!”

The golden fortress emerged from the rubble. Its walls were exposed and most of the cannons had been broken in the fight with the demonic castle. Even then the cultivators that were on it lend their energy to assault the one below. He was not alone, everyone that he brought here was with him and lending him strength. Who was he to deny them? As their leader, he had to win.

Wang Long continued to scream as his body trembled. Even as he attempted to absorb more energy his body started rejecting it. He had reached his limit and no one was there to save him. The demonic cultivators that he commanded were long gone and the city was being abandoned.

His kingdom which was gained by conquest was being destroyed by the same exact thing. This was the law of these lands, the one with the biggest fist ruled. Thus when someone appeared who possessed an even greater power, the kingdom would fall and so would their people.

‘Goodbye Wang Long…’

The man before him looked like a monster, he was something that he could have become if he didn’t lose the original system. However, he didn’t know, was this person evil from the beginning or was he just skewed into this caricature of a person by the results of his actions. He would never know as his death was something that needed to happen. With one last push, he forced his neutron star towards his enemy that would go out in a bang.

Slowly the demonic energy was pushed away and the attack collided. A massive explosion akin to a supernova encompassed the entire area. Everything was covered in white light and everything went silent. Even Wang Long’s screams of indignation couldn’t be heard as his body was slowly purified into nothingness. The battle was over and he had won but was this truly the end of it all…