Chapter 1467 Commence
Rui and Ieyasu considered the terms of the battle. Both of them had come to learn much in the past four years or so. However, that did not mean the battle was symmetric.
For one, Rui spent a lot of time mastering assassination techniques. Those techniques were much harder to apply in combat. He didn't know what Ieyasu had accomplished in the past four years, but surely it was more directly relevant to combat than the things Rui had been focusing on.
"Does upgrading techniques count?" Rui asked. "Hmm..." Master Zeamer considered the question. "Alright, techniques upgraded in the past four years will be allowed."
That made it much more palatable. It meant that Rui could use his upgraded Godspeed technique in addition to the Hypnomatrix. Perhaps the most rational decision would be to inform them that he had focused on assassinations for a good chunk of the past four years, but he decided against it.
He was truly confident in the progress that he had made with mental techniques. "Can I use techniques that I've copied in the past four years?" Ieyasu asked. "Of course," The Hypnomaster declared. "You copy technique principles and mechanisms before recreating your opponent's technique by understanding the principles by reading their mind and replicating those principles by virtue of already having mastered the principles of all orthodox Martial Art fields. It would not violate the terms of this battle."
This was quite a beneficial ruling for Ieyasu, it meant that he was quite suited for the terms of this battle.
Neither side had any more questions.
"Hohoho..." Master Zeamer put some distance between himself and the two with an eager and excited smile. "Take your stances."
Both sides took neutral non-commital stances. Their eyes narrowed as their focus sharpened. The air grew taut, wrung by the force of their minds.
A maelstrom of pressure brewed in the atmosphere.
Doom and calamity struck the hearts of the few sentient creatures in the bizarre ecosystem of the clouds.
The cloud hornets inside the cloud grew agitated, panicking in fear of the unseen threats.
"Begin," Master Zeamer's voice cut through everything, commencing the battle.
BADUMP!
And that was enough.
BAM!!
Rui landed an immensely powerful on the man's abdomen, flinging him away. The man grimaced, choking. Not just because Rui landed a powerful clean blow, but also because his breathing technique had been disrupted.
His eyes widened.
His breathing technique had been disrupted?
BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM!
Ieyasu gritted his teeth, balling up as he resisted Rui's onslaught. Rui refused to give him even a moment to psychologically acclimatize to the effects of Breathing Crucifix.
Attack after attack, Rui bombarded him with a flurry of attacks. Each attack weaved through his guard, aiming to strike a vital. Each attack demanded his attention. Ieyasu could barely focus on the bizarre breathing impediment that he had been hit with.
Yet the truth was clear.
Rui had activated a technique that attacked his breathing. It had crippled breathing, making it more laborious, and also had effectively sealed off all breathing techniques.
WHOOSH!
'Poison...?' Ieyasu wondered, dodging a blow from Rui, before narrowing his eyes. 'No... under these circumstances, it can only be one thing.'
A hypnotic technique. Ieyasu's eyes narrowed. He knew that Rui's mind was extraordinarily powerful, so much so that simply trying to read all the conscious cognition that Rui exposed inside that absurdly giant palace in his head had strained his mind. It had been like trying to read a book by skimming through its pages in a few seconds.
What would happen if such a powerful mind mastered hypnosis?
'It may very well become an unstoppable force. A force of mind.' Ieyasu gritted his teeth as he struggled with all his might to dispel the effects of Breathing Crucifix. While decisively inferior to Rui's, his mind was not ordinary either. He employed all the anti-hypnosis training he had gone through, he was determined to break out of this spell.nove1b1n
