C95 Time For Warmup!

Chen Guo wouldn't shy away from a monster that matched his own strength.

But with a current battle capacity of 700,000 against Arieti's 1,000,000, he was outmatched by a full 300,000.

Moreover, the stats of a legendary creature always surpassed those of regular monsters. Chen Guo wouldn't be slain in one blow like Avril, but he wouldn't come out unscathed either. He didn't want to die; even with a resurrection item at his disposal, coming back to life wasn't without its costs.

Fight if possible, flee if not – that was Chen Guo's creed.

The hot-blooded youth had long since perished. Hadn't everyone seen Chen Guo using the Flying Thunder God Art to keep the Demon War God at bay, without a single objection from the group?

"Despicable humans. When I said ten minutes, I meant ten minutes of direct combat, not this evasive circling," Arieti declared. "Without my consent, merely running down the clock is pointless."

"Are you serious?" Chen Guo asked.

"Try me if you doubt," Arieti responded.

Chen Guo felt a pang of frustration.

He had thought that simply using the Flying Thunder God Art to evade the Demon War God Arieti would suffice. He hadn't expected this brazen Arieti to dismiss such tactics, demanding a head-on confrontation.

Is there no justice? No law?

The group looked troubled; Arieti was formidable. Having felled Avril with a single strike, they lacked the confidence to face him for ten minutes.

After a moment's thought, Chen Guo remembered the Heaven Level talent he had just acquired: Deep Blue!

Deep Blue could convert any extraordinary item into freely assignable attribute points – a potent Heaven Level talent indeed.

Most people struggled to use Deep Blue due to a lack of extraordinary items, which were highly valuable. Essentially, it meant trading wealth for power – a game not everyone could afford to play.

But Chen Guo had no shortage of extraordinary items. He had opened thousands of chests, amassing a veritable mountain of unused extraordinary treasures.

If he converted all those unused, mountainous piles of extraordinary items into attribute points, his strength would skyrocket in no time, making surpassing Arieti a walk in the park.

He just needed time!

With a sly grin, Chen Guo taunted, "So, Arieti, you're itching for a direct confrontation? Let me put it bluntly—I don't need backup. I can take you down solo and leave you whimpering like a beaten dog!"

Chen Guo was clearly goading him.

Arieti, pride wounded, bellowed with rage, "Mortal, you've provoked me! If you're so confident that you can go toe-to-toe with me and leave me like a dog, then bring it on! Let's see who ends up the dog in this fight!"

Chen Guo replied coolly, "No problem, but I like to warm up before a brawl. Give me two minutes to get ready, and I'll have you licking your wounds! Are you brave enough to grant me those two minutes?"

Arieti sneered, "Two minutes? I'll give you ten, and I won't lay a finger on you during that time. But once those ten minutes are up, you'd better walk the walk, or I'll beseech the Demon King to sever the very fabric of space, leaving you with nowhere to hide!"

Chen Guo feigned concern, "But what if you dishonorably strike during my warm-up? Nowadays, too many young folks lack integrity. The martial world's ethics are in shambles... Alas, the decline of morals, the erosion of virtue, the ancient heart is long lost..."

Fuming, Arieti retorted, "Do you really think we demons stoop as low as you humans? I give you my word as a servant of the Demon King—I will not ambush you while you warm up!"

Arieti was at his wit's end.

His speed was unrivaled among demons, yet he found himself embarrassingly outpaced by Chen Guo's unorthodox Flying Thunder God Art, dragged around like a dog on a leash.

This couldn't go on.

Arieti was acutely aware that the eyes of the mighty Demon King, along with every demon in the Evil Energy Army, were upon this spectacle. Even deities from across the realms had turned their gaze to this clash.

As the Demon War God of the Evil Energy Army, even though it was merely his avatar present, failing to handle a few mortals within half a day would be a disgrace seen throughout the myriad worlds.

He had the power to beseech the Demon King to sever the very fabric of space and render Chen Guo's Flying Thunder God Art useless. Yet, as a Demon War God, resorting to such a plea without just cause would be akin to a child running to their parents at the start of a game.

Where would his dignity lie then?

To avoid being outmaneuvered by Chen Guo, Arieti consented to a warm-up period and struck a verbal pact with him.

Should Chen Guo back out of the challenge, he'd have ample justification to invoke the Demon King's intervention. It would still be somewhat humiliating, but it was preferable to the outright shame of calling for parental backup.

"You're refreshingly candid for a demon. Alright then, I'll get ready!" Chen Guo recognized the gravity of invoking the Demon King's name; Arieti's oath meant no surprise attacks were coming. Halting the Flying Thunder God Art, he declared, "Once I'm warmed up, I'll take you down solo!"

The onlookers cast anxious glances at Chen Guo.

"Boss Guangcheng, you're being rash. Together, we might stand a chance, but you going solo? That's a no-win situation," Lei Kun lamented, scratching his head. "We're in a tight spot. We could've used the Flying Thunder God Art to buy time, but after a ten-minute warm-up, he'll sever space, and we'll be out of options."

"We're stuck between a rock and a hard place. Arieti doesn't buy into our stalling tactics. All we're doing is draining our mana without any real benefit," Avril fretted. "When it comes down to it, our strength just doesn't measure up."

Puluo chimed in, "We're out of moves. Is this where our epic journey comes to a halt?"

The group was on edge, all in the same precarious boat. If Chen Guo fell in the one-on-one fight, they'd all share his fate.

As legends, they possessed items of resurrection, but what difference did it make to die once or twice?

"You all seem to lack faith in me," Chen Guo said with a light smile.

Lin Dong responded, "Boss, you're the strongest among us, but Arieti boasts a million in combat power and the stats of a mythical being. You're at 700,000. Unless you hit the million mark, how can you hope to defeat him?"

Chen Guo waved dismissively and reassured, "Relax. Just enjoy the show—I never engage in a fight I'm not sure I can win."

All eyes turned to him, tinged with astonishment. Could Chen Guo really have a strategy to take on Arieti, the aberrant Demon War God before them?