The combined efforts of Chen Shi Xue and Yun Shui Ying created a seamless synergy, but they found themselves struggling against the offensive power of Feng Yuan and Huo Yuan. Despite their excellent coordination, a gap in their individual strengths remained. Yun Shui Ying's sword danced left and right, its edge condensing sword energy that repelled the wind blades. Speed clashed with speed, but her opponent, Huo Yuan, countered by forming a shield of flames with his sword.
The flame shield met Yun Shui Ying, Huo Yuan's attack striking it with unwavering force. Seizing the moment, Yun Shui Ying swung her sword, a series of continuous sword energies weaving into a net that surged towards Feng Yuan. The opponents were right in front of them, yet these two humans were not engaging them directly, but instead aiding another.
Both Feng Yuan and Huo Yuan were frustrated. This style of fighting was completely unfamiliar. Normally, their opponents would go all out, fighting until the bitter end to decide the victor. Now, they were rendered helpless by the two of them, unable to act. Did they have to switch opponents?
"Feng Yuan, I'll leave this to you. I can't take it anymore."
A furious roar echoed, and a fiery temper, inherent to a fire dragon, flared up. Unable to endure this stifling combat any longer, he immediately demanded a switch. Feng Long nodded. As they swapped positions, Chen Shi Xue and Yun Shui Ying turned their backs, and the opponents were once again as they were before. The two humans stayed glued together, their battle thus remaining in a stalemate.
"This is infuriating!"
The fire dragon opened its maw, terrifying flame energy swirling within. Fire elements continuously gathered, the immense, scorching fluctuations impacting the surrounding space. Huo Yuan clearly had no intention of continuing this drawn-out fight and prepared to unleash his killing move, finding the current situation too frustrating for everyone. The four individuals were of comparable strength, with only slight differences. Though the dragons held a significant advantage over the two humans, this peculiar fighting style rendered them unable to leverage their strengths. Feng Yuan's advantage was speed, but in the face of Qing Feng Jian Ke, speed was rendered equal, making his wind blade attacks completely ineffective.
The fire dragon's attacks were powerful, but the divine fire and the flames canceled each other out, rendering their power equivalent to zero. They could not break through the defense. If this continued, there would be no time for the battle to end. Meanwhile, another battle had already concluded, and the decisive victory would emerge from their two battlefields. All it took was for one person to win.
This was the rule set by Hei Tian. Chen Tian, watching from the sidelines, had great faith in the two of them, believing they would not concede.
"Kid, you're that confident they'll win? They're not like you. Even my clone has a third of my strength."
"I believe in them. Just watch and see."
He smiled faintly, believing in teammates being the most fundamental tenet. If one doesn't believe in their teammates while playing a game, there is no trust. Without trust, the entire team would shatter, and even coordination would cease to exist. Believing in teammates, believing in them, that was his thought.
Chen Shi Xue, behind Yun Shui Ying, felt the power of the fire dragon's move and exclaimed, "I can't withstand this move. You'll have to find a way yourself."
"I know, but be careful. Feng Long is also about to unleash a killing move."
"I'll be careful."
After their brief exchange, they both looked at their opponents. Flames swirled around the fire dragon's mouth, while Feng Long's claws gathered and condensed wind elements, as if preparing to form something. The fire dragon's charging speed was significantly faster than Feng Yuan's, and Huo Yuan attacked first.
A pillar of fire erupted from his mouth, shooting towards Yun Shui Ying's face. Sensing the power of this attack, her scalp tingled. A brand-new weapon appeared in her left hand – a silver longsword. Internally, she thought, 'This is troublesome.'
"It's fine!"
As if the longsword itself had spoken, a phantom flickered on Yun Shui Ying's sword. The sword energy gradually intensified. She raised her sword high with her arm and brought it down, cleaving the pillar of fire down the middle, splitting it into two.
Struggling to hold on, the pillar of fire continued its assault, and the sword never faltered. This battle was about to end.
On Feng Long's side, a wind chime formed from wind elements on his dragon claws, exuding an aura of danger. Chen Shi Xue's entire armor deconstructed and merged with her longsword. The armor enveloped the blade, and flames ignited on the sword, the divine fire unleashed at its maximum power.
Spreading her arms, she formed a gathering stance with her sword. Spinning it around her body, the sword gradually shrunk with each rotation. This was her most powerful move. Whether it could withstand the assault depended on this single strike, the final clash between both sides.
A single move to decide the victor. That was what all four of them thought.
The sword in her hand completely vanished, its whereabouts unknown. Her hands clapped together, and as she pulled them apart, the sword elongated from her palm, appearing in her grip. This sword was completely different from before, possessing a profoundly palpable sense of qualitative change.
Feng Yuan's wind chime swayed, emitting a tinkling sound. With a few more wobbles, it produced a resonance. The sound waves, air currents, and wind elements merged, forming countless wind blade waves that surged forward. She gripped the sword with both hands, and to unleash this move required the full force of her strength; one hand was insufficient.
Holding it with both hands, maximizing the power of her arms, she raised the sword. The crimson blade, like a setting sun, transformed into sword energy and shot towards the tidal wave. The wave was cleaved in two, and the fiery blade continued forward. Seeing this, Feng Yuan accelerated the swaying of the wind chime, making the tidal wave even larger. For a moment, neither side could gain the upper hand.
The battle had now become a war of attrition. Whoever faltered first would lose. However, they knew it was impossible to win against dragons in a contest of endurance. For them to achieve victory, there was only one method, one idea: they moved as one.
Their techniques collided, creating an even more powerful reaction. The longsword merged with the longsword. Chen Shi Xue and Yun Shui Ying's maneuvers cleverly intertwined, forming a new technique. A sky-shattering, fiery sunset, accompanied by starlight, descended from above them.
An explosion resounded, and shockwaves spread. These shockwaves were no weaker than those from Chen Tian's battle with the Black Dragon. Hei Tian, watching from the sidelines, could not believe it. These two human kids had actually done it, achieving victory. What was that move just now?
"Ding!"
A message appeared on the interface before them, clearly displaying that they had created their own combined skill.
Chen Tian silently touched his forehead. Their luck was truly astounding, to the point of telepathically forming a combined skill. The game 'Epoch of Time' was designed with various gameplay mechanics, and combined skills were naturally among them. The creation of a combined skill required both parties to be of one mind, their intentions unified. Without synchronized thoughts, a combined skill could not be forged.
Moreover, the prerequisite for a combined skill was understanding and trusting each other. The two of them had focused their techniques solely on the fire dragon's attack, ignoring the wind element wave, with no prior communication. The appearance of a combined skill was a significant anomaly; it had actually succeeded.
"Kid, it looks like you've won."
Hei Yuan transformed into his true form, his tri-colored body standing before them. The item around his neck flew into his hand, and his figure vanished.
The three felt a sense of disorientation. By the time they regained their senses, they were already standing before a mechanism.