Lord of Prayer-Chapter 203 - 155: A Chainsaw is Also a Tachi

IN,STANT,RE,PLICATION!

The moment the Iaijutsu Slash was unleashed—so textbook it was flawless—Dixie was plunged into such a state of disbelief that he temporarily forgot his own injuries.

How could this be!

This move was one of the Secret Skills mastered by that Demon instructor at the Omega Training Camp. Each training camp session had a thousand cadets, but out of those thousand, fewer than five would be taught this technique. Those who truly mastered it were even rarer.

To learn it, one needed talent, hard work, and luck—not one could be missing.

In the last three training camp sessions, Dixie was the only newcomer to have mastered "Secret Skill: Iaijutsu Slash" and "My Style Secret Technique." His talent and hard work were recognized by the Demon instructor and many legion commanders, and he was seen as having a promising future.

And yet, just a second ago, the incomprehensible had happened.

The enemy had actually used "Secret Skill: Iaijutsu Slash"!

What horrified Dixie most was that Zhou Chen's Secret Skill: Iaijutsu Slash wasn't a perfect replica of his own; in fact, it was completely different in its power application and countless other details.

Because he used a tachi, while Zhou Chen used a chainsaw.

The two weapons didn't match in any way—not in length, width, or weight—except that they could both be used to kill people. You had to understand, the instructors at the Omega Training Camp tailored their teaching and training for each cadet. They considered everything—arm span, height, body type, preferred weapon, even behavioral habits—to refine every last detail. As a result, the combat techniques each cadet learned were a perfect fit for them.

Simply put, they were custom-tailored.

If the technique were stolen and copied by someone else, they would only be able to learn its superficial aspects, never grasping its essence. A rote imitation would feel incredibly awkward, wrong in every way, and riddled with flaws—let alone when adapted for a completely different kind of weapon.

But Zhou Chen performed the Secret Skill: Iaijutsu Slash as if he had undergone the same rigorous training. It was a perfect fit for him and his weapon. There wasn't a single flaw in the details of his Essence application or power techniques; he was performing at the same level as Dixie, directly grasping the essence of the skill.

Unbelievable!

'A Forbidden Object? A replication-type Extraordinary Ability? Or does he just have an incredible learning capacity?' Countless thoughts flashed through Dixie's mind as he quickly calmed himself. He clutched his chest, where the saw blade had slashed him open. It was a bloody wound that had nearly disemboweled him.

He hastily pulled a small red vial from his waist and poured the Alchemy Potion inside all over the wound. The special Omega Healing Potion took effect instantly, and the ghastly tear in his flesh began to heal at a visible rate.

At the same time, a mass of pale Spiritual Flame invaded his Sea of Silver, burning his spiritual consciousness and bringing a piercing, agonizing pain.

The silvery-white ocean immediately began to churn violently, raising boundless waves that extinguished the invading Spiritual Fire.

As a top graduate of the Omega Training Camp, Dixie's will had long been trained to be as tough as steel. He had an extremely high resistance to Spiritual Attacks, so this strange Spiritual Fire only gave him a slight headache.

"Are you a member of Omega?" Dixie steadied himself, his gaze dark as he stared at Zhou Chen.

There was no answer—only the loud roar of an explosion and a figure whistling toward him at high speed.

The explosive force from "Burst" provided terrifying kinetic energy, augmented by "My Style Secret Technique: Gale Step." In an instant, the saw blade, wreathed in pale flames, was right upon him, swinging down without mercy.

The Soul-Burning Fire burned brilliantly, and waves of pale flame spread out with unstoppable momentum.

CLANG!

Dixie raised his Tachi: Water Scenery to block. Steel clashed against steel. The high-speed saw blade bit into the sword, sending a shower of sparks flying and emitting a sharp, metallic screech.

Essence surged, and the blade of Water Scenery rippled with concentric tidal waves, blocking the advancing wall of fire.

The saw blade lifted and swung down again, carrying a wave of pale fire. One, two, three times—the frenzied chain of attacks kicked up a hurricane, an offensive that rained down like a sudden storm: vertical chops, horizontal sweeps, reverse cuts...

The corner of Dixie's eye twitched, his pupils trembling violently.

'That familiar opening move...'

—My Style Secret Technique: Turbulent Sword Dance!

The more one slashed, the more terrifying the power that accumulated in the weapon. However, this secret technique was only complete when paired with the inherent skill of the Tachi: Water Scenery. It made opponents feel as if they were in the deep sea facing an irresistible squall, an immersive illusion that lasted until a devastating tsunami crushed them.

In Zhou Chen's hands, this Secret Technique had been completely demonically altered. His opponent wasn't facing a tsunami, but a massive inferno.

A boundless, raging inferno that blotted out the sky.

In Dixie's eyes, waves of fire rolled before him. Pillars of flame erupted into the air, wreathed in countless fiery licks. Molten slurry flew about wildly as the conflagration swept over everything, the roaring flames like a blazing hellscape.

Unlike the oppressive feeling of the ocean, this destructive power was more direct, more terrifying.

The burning saw blade chopped down. The Tachi: Water Scenery let out a sorrowful cry, unable to bear the strain, and a few nicks appeared on its edge.

Zhou Chen gave a low shout and slashed again with fluid grace. A piercing clang erupted as a tremendous force rippled outward.

Dixie swung his tachi to meet the blow head-on. The skin on his arms burst open inch by inch, blood streaming out. He clenched his jaw, the joints in his legs creaking as he withstood the Strange Power.

His face flushed red and the veins on his body bulged. He felt like he was about to suffocate. Zhou Chen's assault was relentless and aggressive as fire, filled with a savage threat that gave him no room to breathe.

As a master of the Turbulent Sword Dance Secret Technique, Dixie knew he couldn't let himself be drawn into Zhou Chen's rhythm. He decisively held his breath, flexed every muscle in his body, and frantically gathered Essence into his blade.

Immediately after, the radiant Essence condensed into a single beam. The flash of the blade was like a bolt of white silk as he slashed out horizontally.

And then... and then there was nothing.

His slash only struck the ball of pale fire left in his place, splitting it in two.

PAT. A High-Explosive Alchemical Bomb dropped to the ground.

A vein throbbed on Dixie's temple. 'Does this guy's Displacement Skill have no limits?'

Without a second thought, a roar sounded from beneath his feet. Dirt flew as he shot away like a black shadow, distancing himself from the flames and the high-explosive bomb.

BOOM!

It exploded on the spot, sending scalding hot dirt flying and kicking up a cloud of smoke and dust.

Covered in dust and suffering from large burns, Dixie charged toward Old Yang, who was entangled with his two teammates, wanting to finish him off first.

But in the next instant, with a flash of firelight, Zhou Chen appeared before him, his eyes stern and cold.

Both men executed Secret Skill: Iaijutsu Slash at the same time. Two sharp flashes of light, like bolts of white silk, collided abruptly.

—Secret Skill: Iaijutsu Slash, and hidden within it, My Style Secret Technique: Rock-Breaking Force!

Metal clanged, a long, sonorous vibration ringing out. With a BANG, Dixie's arms exploded. Flesh and blood flew everywhere, revealing stark white bone. The injuries he had sustained moments ago put him at a slight disadvantage in the exchange, and the Rock-Breaking Force mercilessly destroyed both his arms.

At that moment, the Bloodthirsty Chainsaw abruptly stopped spinning. Zhou Chen used its teeth to catch the nicked Water Scenery Blade Body and gave it a sharp twist. With a crisp snap, the weapon that had accompanied Dixie for several years broke in two.

Then, a flash of black light streaked out.

The Cursed Blade stabbed into Dixie's body with a SQUELCH.

The purest form of a disastrous curse spread through his flesh and blood. Dixie retreated explosively without hesitation, all thoughts of fighting gone as he fled toward the Barrier's exit.

BANG!

A gunshot rang out from the side. Old Yang had pulled out his gun and finished off one of the assassins. The other assassin, covered in blood and littered with dagger cuts, saw that the situation was hopeless. Losing all will to fight, he threw down a smoke bomb and vanished into the white smoke.

"Don't chase them. They're definitely going to regroup with their main force. It's too dangerous to follow," Old Yang called out to stop Zhou Chen, a strange look in his eyes. "That move is a Secret Skill from the Demon instructor at the Omega Training Camp... Speaking of which, how can you use Iaijutsu Slash with a chainsaw? It's a completely different weapon from a tachi!"

"Who says a chainsaw can't be a tachi? As long as you have a tachi in your heart, even a machine gun can be a tachi!"

Zhou Chen spouted this outrageous theory, swung the chainsaw through the air a couple of times to flick off the bloodstains, and stored it in his backpack.

He squinted slightly, watching the hazy figures of Dixie and his companion hastily fleeing outside the Barrier.

Dixie had been hit by the Cursed Blade and would be extremely unlucky for a while. Zhou Chen wasn't sure to what extent, but combined with the disastrous curse eroding his body, Dixie was probably in for a world of hurt. If he didn't receive treatment soon, it wasn't impossible that he would just die.

"..."

Old Yang was rendered speechless by this outrageous theory. He expertly began to loot the corpse, deftly stripping it of its wallet and Alchemy Potions in a few quick motions before shooting and shattering the Barrier's signpost.

The Barrier dissipated. The tourists who saw the scene couldn't help but gasp in alarm. Blood, a corpse, blast marks, and a burning field of tulips—in an instant, screams rose one after another from the crowd as chaos erupted.

"Let's go, quick," Old Yang said in a low voice. He and Zhou Chen quickly fled the scene of the crime to avoid being tracked down and asked for compensation.

—Every single tulip here was worth a fortune. One could only imagine the value of an entire field.

「Meanwhile.」

The heavily injured Dixie was fleeing toward their stronghold with his companion. A thick aura of the Curse swirled around him.

Suddenly, Dixie tripped on flat ground and stumbled. As luck would have it, there was a sharp stone on the ground, and his face slammed right into it.

"Aargh!" a pained scream rang out.

Dixie scrambled up in agony. The sharp stone had pierced his right eye, which was now streaming blood, drawing screams and cries of alarm from the passersby.

"Hurry, let's go!" he snarled, gritting his teeth against the intense pain. He urged his stunned companion to leave quickly, lest the other two catch up to them.

But they hadn't gotten far when a runaway truck came barreling from the left side of an intersection. Dixie and his companion were fleeing at a speed that was no less than that of the out-of-control vehicle.

Because it was an intersection with a blind spot, the two of them didn't spot the runaway truck right away.

And so, Dixie, who was running the fastest, collided with the truck. With a tremendous crash, the front of the truck shattered, sending debris flying. The tires screeched as they scraped against the pavement.

Under the immense force of the impact, Dixie was sent flying backward like a cannonball.

His companion hurried after him, only to see Dixie had been knocked into a demolition site. He rolled and bounced along the dusty ground for a long distance before coming to a stop, completely covered in dust.

Just as his companion was about to run forward and help him up, the construction workers began to shout in terror. The moment the companion looked up, the massive wrecking ball used for demolition came crashing down, landing squarely on Dixie below.

CRASH!

The ground shook, kicking up a sky-full of dust.

The companion's heart lurched violently.

Silence.

In the long silence, the surviving Omega assassin felt as if he'd been plunged into an icy cavern, and he shivered uncontrollably. The second-place cadet from the training camp, a promising prodigy of Omega's new generation, had died a miserable death—and in such a farcical way...

'What in the world was that curse?'

Amidst the immense sense of absurdity, there was also a flicker of unspeakable relief.

'Thank god... thank god I wasn't the one fighting the guy with the chainsaw...'

「Five minutes later.」

Miss A looked at Dixie, who had been turned into a meat patty in the crater, and couldn't help but frown.

"The opponent is very strong. Contact the Blood Race."

"A situation like this... is going to cost extra."