The Villain Is Too Popular

Silence, a deathly silence.

Yunmeng looked at Tendo, who had regained his footing, and the Coral Knight slowly crawling out of the crater. Her red lips were slightly parted, and her eyes were filled with astonishment.

As a seasoned Second-Tier Star Emissary, Yunmeng clearly understood the immense gap that existed between a Second-Tier Star Emissary and a First-Tier Star Emissary.

While 'Second-Tier' merely meant a Star Emissary's basic star energy had reached over 1000 points and their Star Source had completed its 'first awakening,' it couldn't fully represent their true strength.

However, as a standard combat-type Star Emissary, the Coral Knight's maximum star energy value was a full 2100 points, and his Star Source, Sea Thorn Coral, was a standard combat-type Star Source. Therefore, his strength was definitely not weak among Second-Tier Star Emissaries.

But such a formidable Second-Tier Star Emissary was now... completely and undeniably suppressed by Tendo, a First-Tier Star Emissary.

Little Tendo, why is it that every time I think I fully understand you, you always manage to bring me unexpected surprises? Is this because you've always held back from me, or is your progress... already so fast that I can't keep up?

Yunmeng couldn't immediately find an answer to this question.

While Yunmeng was greatly shocked, the Coral Knight, who had briefly recovered, was equally stunned by Tendo's demonstrated strength. He looked at Tendo in the distance, instinctively touching his chest.

At that spot, his proud coral armor had a noticeable dent caused by Tendo. And this wasn't even the most surprising part for him. What truly shocked him was Tendo's first attack.

Because Tendo's first elbow strike was actually able to penetrate his coral armor's protection and directly inflict heavy damage on his physical body. As for the second seemingly grand leg-axe strike, it didn't cause him much damage; the attack was mostly negated by the coral armor. Thinking of the difference between these two times, the Coral Knight had vaguely guessed the reason.

"Tendo, if I'm not mistaken, your vector control should be able to extend at most less than 1 centimeter, right?"

Facing the Coral Knight's guess, Tendo showed no intention of hiding anything.

"Hmm, to be more precise, it's only 9 millimeters."

"No wonder..."

Hearing this, the Coral Knight suddenly understood. So, the reason Tendo's first attack could penetrate his armor and injure him was entirely because the armor's thickness at that time was merely 10 millimeters. And this thickness, for Tendo, who could unleash 'vector control' from a maximum of '9 millimeters' away, meant that the seemingly 10-millimeter-thick coral armor had an effective defensive range of only '1 millimeter.'

Similarly, the reason Tendo's second attack could be negated by his coral armor was because when he faced Tendo's second attack, he unleashed 'Deep Blue Flow - Coral Armor,' which had a thickness of a full 50 millimeters. This resulted in Tendo's vector control being unable to completely pierce it.

Thinking this, the Coral Knight quickly felt he had found a way to counter Tendo's vector control. He stood upright, and the gauntlet on his right hand began to shrink at a visible rate.

In its place, his overall coral began to become thicker and heavier. At the same time, the spear-gauntlet on his left hand extended slightly further, and its overall structure became more flexible. This made the spear-gauntlet look more like the 'tail-stinger' of a marine creature, significantly increasing his attack range.

Seeing the Coral Knight's posture, Tendo immediately understood what he was thinking.

"It seems you believe that by keeping your distance from me, my vector control won't threaten you, but..."

As Tendo spoke, he slowly raised his hand. The next second, a completely black energy sphere, as deep and eerie as a black hole, began to slowly gather at Tendo's fingertips. This was Tendo's signature star energy technique, Black Azure.

Feeling the terrifying fluctuations emanating from the black sphere at Tendo's fingertip, the expression beneath the Coral Knight's helmet instantly turned grim. Because in just an instant, he felt an immense threat from the strange black sphere at Tendo's fingertip. It was as if it wasn't a black sphere at all, but a death warrant.

As the Black Azure at his fingertip completely condensed, Tendo finished the latter half of his sentence.

"...Old man, when did you start thinking I only fought in close combat?"

As his words fell, the 'Black Azure' in Tendo's hand shot out under the Coral Knight's solemn gaze. Not only was the Black Azure astonishingly fast, but the terrifying rotational speed and powerful pulling force it contained directly created an air vortex in the air, similar to what a missile would produce during flight.

In less than a blink of an eye, Tendo's Black Azure transformed into a black arc of light, arriving before the Coral Knight. Looking at this black energy sphere, only the size of a ping-pong ball, the Coral Knight instantly became vigilant, as if facing a formidable enemy. He crossed his arms, and the purple coral on his body grew wildly again, quickly covering his entire body.

Deep Blue Flow - Coral Armor!

But this time, the 'Coral Armor,' which had previously protected him from harm, was completely unable to withstand the terrifying penetrative power of Black Azure.

 Without any particularly dazzling light effects or commotion, when Tendo's Black Azure struck the Coral Knight's Coral Armor, the thick and hard coral armor instantly developed a large number of exaggerated spiderweb-like cracks.

Then, amid a burst of dazzling sparks and grinding sounds, it was completely pierced by Black Azure, which entered the coral armor's interior.

Soon after, a highly penetrative and impactful kinetic energy transferred through the spot where Black Azure struck the Coral Knight, moving all the way to his body, and even his internal organs.

Thud!

A circular imprint suddenly bulged from the Coral Knight's back, as if something invisible had passed straight through his body.

"Pfft!"

The Coral Knight heavily knelt on one knee, a large amount of blood gushing from his mouth. And the crimson blood slowly flowing from the seams of his helmet, upon falling onto the cracked concrete ground, formed fleeting, tragically beautiful dark red blood flowers.

Drip, drop...

Inside the quiet parking lot, the sound of blood drops hitting the ground was not only exceptionally clear but also exceptionally... jarring.

Not far away, Yunmeng looked at the Coral Knight, who was clearly out of commission, her pupils slightly constricted. On the ground behind the Coral Knight, there was a clear five-meter-long trail. This trail was caused by the lingering aftermath of 'Black Azure's' impact after it had pierced through the Coral Knight's body.

If just a residual shockwave could cause such a commotion, there was no need to elaborate on the condition of the Coral Knight, who had been directly hit by Black Azure.

Under Yunmeng's complex gaze, Tendo slowly walked up to the Coral Knight, who had lost most of his combat ability and was kneeling disheveled on the ground. He calmly asked, "How is it, old man? Do you want to continue?"

Hearing Tendo's words, the Coral Knight, who took a long time to recover, slowly raised his head. He looked at Tendo standing before him, silently removed his helmet, revealing his weathered, square-jawed face beneath.

"No need, because... there's no need to continue."

With that, the Coral Knight dispersed his coral armor and put away the fishing spear and large shell shield in his hands. Without the coral armor, he was suddenly in a black suit. He no longer had the rugged, fierce appearance he had during the battle. He was like an elderly, middle-aged butler, exuding politeness and elegance.

However, even though he had already conceded, recalling Tendo's final strike, Black Azure, and where it hit, the Coral Knight couldn't help but ask, "Child, did you just happen to hit my old injury, or were you intentionally aiming there from the very beginning?"

Facing this question, Tendo said noncommittally, "Does it matter?"

The Coral Knight froze, then shook his head with a bitter smile. "Indeed, it doesn't matter, because truly dead people... don't speak."

The Coral Knight's words were calm, but the information they revealed was anything but. Because he was essentially saying that if Tendo hadn't held back earlier, he... would already be a dead man.