Yes, Madam Prime Minister

Page 368

The next instant, the frenzied battle engulfed the already devastated coniferous forest and snowfield, which had been ravaged by dozens of natural disasters.

Neither "Ronan" nor the combined Roddy intended to unleash any area-of-effect attacks; both aimed to concentrate their power into a single point and use it all to destroy the opponent.

Even so, the residual impact force and the aftershocks from the weapon collisions were enough to devastate the ground in just a few seconds, crushing everything into sand.

As the battle progressed, the area affected by the sandstorm expanded until it exceeded the reach of the aftershocks.

More than ten seconds later, this vast coniferous forest had formed an irregular desert several kilometers in diameter, centered on the battle site.

At the same time, the scattered Seres people stopped fleeing and watched the battle from a distance of nearly ten kilometers in the air. Several of them treated Lu Mingyue, Bai Tianhe, and Wangyou Sanren while watching the battle.

From this distance, the naked eye could not see "Ronan" and the combined Roddy at all, and even their auras could not be clearly perceived. They could only feel the aftershocks of the violent collision of forces, which, even after traveling nearly ten kilometers, still caused their own defensive membranes to tremble.

As a seventh-tier being, as someone standing at the pinnacle, they had never experienced, no, never even considered, that a battle they couldn't intervene in could exist.

Here, in the center of the battle, although both sides appear unharmed, they are actually quite badly injured.

Ronan in his Phoenix form is truly superior to the seventh rank. If he were not in his combined form, Dinia alone would not be able to fight back and would only be beaten one-sidedly. No matter how much magic or life force he had, he could not withstand it.

In combined form, and with the traction technique, Combined Roddy can dodge most attacks and launch counterattacks.

On the other hand, Ronan's condition was getting worse and worse. His mana and vitality were not as good as the combined Roddy. He had suffered a lot of damage and consumed a lot of power in the previous battle against seventeen seventh-level opponents.

In less than a minute, he had already begun to fall into a disadvantageous position.

At that moment, Ronan suddenly unleashed the accumulated damage as a shockwave, stunning the target. Then, it grabbed Dinia's head with one claw, its fiery wings flapping wildly as it slammed into the ground like a comet crashing to earth. The ground trembled violently as if an earthquake had struck, and countless grains of sand were pushed aside like water being churned by a boulder, forming a huge crater. Ronan continued to exert force, causing the crater to deepen and expand.

"Die!"

Chapter 852 Unexpected, Even More Unexpected, Extremely Similar Targets

Ronandinia had been avoiding being caught by "Ronan" because they had previously seen that even top-tier superhumans from Seris who had been caught by his fiery claws had failed to break free.

Logically speaking, even if a seventh-level person does not have a teleportation ability, it is not particularly difficult for them to instantly shift positions to break free from constraints under this state of "harmony between man and nature".

The fact that they failed to do so only demonstrates that Ronan's grappling technique possesses extremely strong suppressive power, making it impossible for the opponent to shift positions.

Now, facts have proven this point; the free movement within Dinia's territory is simply unusable.

"You are too arrogant."

Ronan growled fiercely, his eyes filled with malice. He would never let go, because his opponent was already on guard, only relaxing his guard for a moment after gaining the upper hand, which Ronan seized upon. There was no chance that such an attack would succeed again.

Just when "Ronan" thought he had succeeded, a familiar aura surged out. Before he could react, the feeling of burning Dinia's head to a crisp and then crushing it into ashes was gone.

The combined Roddy escaped because Ronan had just used the Demon Transformation skill to slightly purify the negative effects. This small amount of purification was enough for Dinia to cast a spell to teleport away and break free from the opponent's grasp and lock.

"It's actually a demonic transformation."

Ronan was also quite surprised. This was a special technique that he had figured out on his own, and he had not yet begun to teach it to others. Apart from himself, only a few close confidants knew this move, so it was impossible for it to be passed on to Ronan.

Ronan, through Dinia's words once again, said, "Surprised? It just means you're too inexperienced and underestimate others. Of all the things that matter, timing, location, and people, you lacked the most important element: people."

Exhaling a scorching breath, "Ronan" lifted the phoenix helmet and threw it aside, revealing the same face. "As expected of a civil servant, extremely good at spouting correct nonsense."

"Aren't you a civil servant?" Ronan retorted.

“It’s not like that anymore.” As he spoke, Ronan’s Flame Claw Gauntlets and Claw Boots shattered, and the flames on his body subsided, instead gathering all of them on his wings as he swiftly attacked.

Faster, more than twice as fast as before.

After a flurry of attacks, "Ronan" regained the upper hand and suppressed the combined Roddy.

However, Ronan and Dinia did not feel the slightest tension or worry. Indeed, the opponent was faster, and they had taken more damage in the same amount of time than before. But the opponent's defense had decreased, and a successful counterattack would cause him even more damage.

Blood transfusion?

This is the thing Dinia fears the least.

Gradually, Ronan's speed began to decrease.

Just then, the rebound was launched again, once again stunning the combined Roddy. However, "Ronan" did not take advantage of the situation. Instead, he retreated hundreds of meters away in an instant, stood in place, and took a long breath.

With a snap, the combined Roddy shattered and exploded, the aftershocks even creating a crater in the sand on the ground.

The combined Roddy appeared behind "Ronan," saying, "Tch, didn't fall for it."

At this moment, Ronan looked to be in very bad shape. Apart from his pair of flamboyant fiery wings, he was covered in gray spots all over his body, arms, fingers, and even his face. These spots looked like the grayish-white color of burnt charcoal.

Ronan didn't respond, but muttered to himself, "It seems I can't deal with you on my own."

Dinia's eyes widened instantly, and he launched an attack without hesitation. Just then, Ronan also moved. He was still in a state where all the flames were on his wings, and his movement speed exceeded that of the combined Rodi.

At the same time, the skull armor cracked open, and the blonde Candice flew towards "Ronan".

Despite their combined efforts, Roddy was ultimately unable to prevent the two from merging.

After merging, Ronan's appearance was revealed. The flames on his wings disappeared, and "Ronan" was covered by a set of flame plate armor without a helmet. His hair was like rising flames, and his eyebrows turned fiery gold. He was wielding a longsword and a battle axe. Most importantly, his gray spots had completely disappeared, his magic power had surged, and even his physical condition had greatly improved.

"Self-healing and regeneration?" Dinia asked. There was no need for doubt, because she was the most sensitive person in the world to this power. If she felt it was true, then it must be.

Ronan, with his battle axe slung over his shoulder and his longsword pointed at Dinia, said, "Now, Phoenix and Fire Phoenix."

At the same time, the sword in Dinia's hand quickly turned red as the power of corrosive parasitism was added, while the warhammer turned black. Although it could not be imbued with pure destructive power, it still possessed the power of dark corruption.

"Come."

A new round of clashes has begun.

From this moment on, the fighting styles of both sides became extremely similar.

Both ignore conventional magical defenses, inflicting damage while directly depleting the opponent's magic power and life force. Dinia uses parasitic absorption, while "Ronan" uses direct burning.

At the same time, it constantly and frantically draws life force from the outside world to regenerate at super speed. Candice is the power of Phoenix plus the magic of the demon spirit, while Dinia is the combination of the original species and her own magic. The methods are different, but the effects are similar.

With a similar combat mode, the battle directly turned into a close-quarters fight with constant high-speed collisions.

This triggered wave after wave of sandstorms that rose into the sky.

After a sustained burst of attacks, the battle entered a rhythm that was sometimes slow and sometimes fast. When it was fast, there were thousands of blows in an instant, and all that could be heard was the roar of the explosions and the aftershocks. When it was slow, the two sides could fight and talk at the same time.

"I'm a little curious, what is your goal?" asked Ronan, in his fused phoenix form.

“The goal?” Ronan paused for a moment before speaking, “To start a small revolution in this country, and then to give all mankind the possibility of having talents. In the end, of course, we must find a way to prevent this world from going to its end.”

Ronan casually swung his axe. "Our goals have many similarities."

Dinia cleaved the flames with her sword, and Ronan said, "It's only similar. I will not become the ruler of this country. I will definitely step down when the time comes. Because I will eventually step down, there will be far less trouble. As for you, there is no turning back now. When a puppeteer manipulates hundreds or thousands of marionettes at the same time, it is hard to say whether the person is controlling the puppets or being controlled by the puppets."

"Ronan" looked at the face that resembled his own and said, "You have lost your ideals."

"When have I ever done that? Do you?" Ronan retorted, swinging his sword.

"Ronan" pierced through the sword's edge, "There wasn't one before." The subtext was that there is one now.

Ronan sighed. "But in any case, our goals are too similar, and this country is not suitable for two voices to coexist."

Ronan's eyes hardened again. "Indeed, so we can only have one."

Before the words were even finished, the fierce battle resumed, then slowed down after a while, and they started talking while fighting again.

The two Ronans talked a lot, starting with politics, then supernatural powers, and later their different life experiences. Before they knew it, they were talking about the customs and traditions of different countries around the world, and strange and wonderful stories.

If they weren't the same person, they would become friends.

Chapter 853 Spectators, Admit the Gap, a Stalemate is Equal to Defeat: Ronan

From the moment the seventeen members of Seris engaged "Ronan" to the moment they had to choose to scatter and retreat, to the moment two of them died and one of them lost their mobility, it seemed that a lot had happened in between, but in fact, less than fifteen minutes had passed in total.

They started as the winter sun and ended as the winter sun.

Meanwhile, the combined Ronan and Dinia had been fighting the combined "Ronan" and Candice for several hours, from noon until evening.

In the far north, winter nights are long and days are short; by evening, it is completely dark.

At this moment, the faces of the seventeen top-tier superhumans from Seris who were watching the battle from several kilometers away were very unpleasant, not because of the battle situation, but because they themselves were in pain.

The battle between the combined entities constantly draws upon the magical energy that exists yet does not exist in the surrounding space. Almost every time the two sides switch from a slow pace to a fast pace, a vacuum of spiritual energy is suddenly created, which will cause the magical energy from the outer perimeter to surge wildly towards the location of the two sides, thus forming a magical vortex covering an area of ​​tens of kilometers.

This is an unprecedented phenomenon. Being in the vortex of magic, even at the seventh level, feels like a mortal being constantly assaulted by wind and rain. It's not so much pain as a persistent discomfort.

“If they are still in this stalemate by dawn, we can take action.” The speaker was Ning Bolin, who was recognized as the First Scholar and the organizer of this operation.

The so-called action was not to help Ronan and Dinia, as the intensity of the conflict was such that they couldn't intervene at all; forcing their way in would only make things worse. Instead, it was for these people, whose strength had been greatly restored, to take advantage of the stalemate between the two sides to eliminate the other rebel leaders.

The reason they waited until dawn was not because they intended to wait until they were fully recovered, but because if the stalemate could continue for another ten hours or so, it would mean that the rebel leader really had no way to change the situation or break the deadlock, and the combined Roddy could keep him here for several more days and nights without any problem.

If they leave now as soon as they see the battle reach a stalemate, something unexpected might happen, and the enemy could turn the tables, suppress the combined Roddy, and then turn around and chase after them.

“Mr. He Guang is right,” Xu Shuji echoed.

Bolin was the other person's courtesy name, and Mr. Guang was his pseudonym. The two didn't have much of a relationship, so Xu Shuji used his pseudonym to address him. People who were close to him would call him Brother Zhongyu, just like Ronan greeted Liu Menglong as Brother Menglong.

The others remained silent, which was considered a silent expression of agreement.

At this moment, everyone had different thoughts.

The three Taoist priests were quite disappointed. They had come hoping to glimpse the method to break through the seventh-order limit. Although their lightning, fire, and flowers had all successfully entered Ronan's body, the duration was too short. If it had lasted longer, they would have been able to draw Ronan's soul image in the back of their minds. Even if they couldn't see the secret in a short time, they would at least have a reference point and a direction. Even if they themselves died, one day a successor would use this to break through to the seventh order.

"Alas, what a pity."

"It was ultimately a miscalculation."

"I never thought that I, a Daoist, would one day realize that I am mediocre in talent and lack strength."

The five scholars and four warriors were both relieved and somewhat helpless. They were relieved that their mission to exorcise the demon and protect the righteous had failed, and one of them had even died, but someone came and brought him back to life, and they were even able to fight the rebel leader to a standstill. They were helpless because the rebel leader was a foreigner, as were Ronan and Dinia, and Ronan even looked exactly like the rebel leader.

How can one not feel helpless in this situation?

The scholars and warriors of Seris are not blindly arrogant, especially those who stand at the top. But precisely because they are not blindly arrogant, they cannot comfort themselves with some kind of spiritual victory, like some foolish mortals, by saying that the other side was just lucky, that foreigners were like this hundreds of years ago, and that Seris is just temporarily lagging behind.

Putting aside their own cultivation level, magical strength, and total magical power, just Ronan's skill in dodging his opponent's attacks shows that the Westerners have surpassed the Seres in terms of basic magical application skills. They don't believe that Ronan's performance was a sudden flash of inspiration; they firmly believe that it is the fruit of civilization.

They were right. Ronan's evasion technique, the Traction Technique, is a combination of magic and fluid mechanics. To use it, one needs a certain mathematical foundation. To use it to Ronan's level, one must first learn partial differential equations. And to use it to the level that the combined Roddy is at now, no matter how good one's math is, it's useless. First, one needs hardware like Dinia.

In any case, scholars like academicians and warriors could only admit that they had been surpassed by foreigners.

“After I go back, I want to add some things to the basic teaching,”

"We must first introduce Western mathematics."

"You're all thinking too far ahead. Let's go back first. If they are defeated by the rebel leader, we may not all be able to return."

The three women had very mixed feelings.

There aren't many female superhumans in Seris, and the proportion of women among the top is even smaller, with only four in total. They came here with a sense of pride, but while it's not exactly shameful—even though Lu Mingyue died once, it's not her fault—it certainly can't be said that they brought glory either, since none of the three had any outstanding performances.

"Actually, even if we have outstanding performances, it won't change anything."

"Let's start a school."

“I think there should be co-educational schools. Competition leads to real progress; otherwise, most of them will just be good marriage candidates who attract wealthy families.”

Among the crowd, only Zhao Zhen'e was worried, because in his view, no matter which side won in the end, the Zhao family's empire was in danger of collapsing. Most of the Seres people, including the higher-ups, did not know about what Ronan had done in Foshan, as well as some ideas that he seemed to have inadvertently conveyed. However, a small number of people did know about it, and Zhao Zhen'e not only knew about it, but also understood it clearly.

"Forget it, it's better for him to win than for the rebel leader to win. As for the Zhao family, it's enough that most of them can avoid being purged."

Zhao Zhen'e had long been disappointed with the court and the late king, so there was no question of disappointment with the current one.

On the other side, the battle continued, and once again it went from slow to fast, becoming intense.

In terms of damage exchange ratio alone, Ronan and Candice have a slight advantage.

But in reality, they are already at a huge disadvantage, because that slight advantage may take three, five, or even six or seven days to accumulate into a qualitative change and bring them a real advantage.

Even if they only fought for three more days, they would have already lost completely, because if the stalemate continued, it would be sending a message to the Seris watching from afar that they could not get rid of Ronan and Dinia's entanglement, and the seventeen Seris would feel free to attack their other subordinates.

If his subordinates die and scatter, even if he wins in the end, he will still lose.

"The situation must be changed."

Ronan had been thinking about this for a long time. In fact, every time the pace slowed down and they chatted, he was thinking about new tactics and then using them to launch a surprise attack. But after more than a hundred attempts, he still hadn't achieved any results.

He and Ronan were even more unbreakable than those taught by the same master, because they were, in some ways, the same person.

Chapter 854 Differences, Further Improvement, and Another Stalemate

Ronan wasn't in a hurry at all. For him and Dinia, maintaining the current state of "unbreakable moves" most of the time and "trading damage" occasionally was just fine.

Perhaps the other "Ronan" thought that if this continued for another two or three days, he would gain the upper hand, but that was impossible, because both Ronan and Dinia were constantly improving. Both of them rarely experienced this kind of high-intensity battle where they had to maintain extreme focus at all times, yet still had no advantage and were in constant danger.

Ronan and Dinia are gradually pushing their "hardware performance" to its limits.

Ronan had already pushed his "hardware" to its limit, and Candice's consciousness, which merged with him, clearly did not affect the merged body. Unlike the merged Roddy, where one was the main attacker and the other the main defender, Candice was merely a piece of hardware with improved performance.

Therefore, if the status quo is maintained, the stalemate will last for at least five days.

"Ok?"