Confrontation

Alex realized how dangerous his situation was and dared not waste a second. Red light suddenly flared around him, the brilliant crimson rays like sharp cutting blades, slicing the entire diamond into countless fragments in the span of a breath. The instant he escaped the diamond prison, Alex hastily summoned another ten steel balls and formed a thick layer of energy protection around himself. Only then did he relax slightly.

Teleportation had now failed. Having lost his lifesaving trump card, Alex became even more cautious, and his expression turned solemn.

Mandarin, on the other hand, remained completely at ease. Aside from this Electromagnetic Wave, he made no unnecessary moves, as though he had Alex completely figured out. In truth, he did.

Alex understood that as well. Just like in the dark space earlier, without Teleportation, he would likely have been in real danger.

"Last chance, Alex. Choose wisely!" Mandarin smiled faintly, his gaze toward Alex carrying a touch more pride.

Alex was furious inside. With a cold snort, he made the first move. Bowing and scraping or sitting around waiting to die had never been Alex’s style. Taking the initiative might still offer him a sliver of hope.

The Red Impact Beam under Energy Control took the lead, while the ten steel balls hid behind it, ready to strike at any moment.

Alex’s Red Impact Beams had originally always traveled in straight lines at incredible speed, but under his Energy Control, they moved like a swimming dragon, performing all manner of maneuvers in the air as they drifted toward Mandarin.

With ten magic rings on him, most attacks could not harm Mandarin. Alex could only seek victory through surprise, and the wandering Red Impact Beam was one such feint.

Mandarin remained unmoved. Watching the dragon-like red beam slowly approach, the corners of his mouth rose slightly, and amusement showed in his calm eyes.

When the dragon-like Red Impact Beam came within less than a meter of Mandarin, a whirlwind abruptly rose beneath his feet. Carried by the powerful gale, Mandarin’s body slowly lifted into the air, lightly evading the Red Impact Beam.

Alex could have controlled the Red Impact Beam to continue pursuing Mandarin, but he knew this kind of attack would never work. Rather than waste time, he loosened his control and let it shoot straight ahead until it vanished into the distance.

"Giving up so soon?" The moment Alex made his choice, Mandarin’s voice rang out, casual yet filled with undisguised mockery.

"It’s still early!" Alex shot back, firing three Red Impact Beams in rapid succession without deliberately controlling them.

The three Impact Beams flew toward Mandarin in a triangular formation. Mandarin remained unhurried, only moving when they drew near. The ring on his left thumb flashed white, and the three Impact Beams suddenly changed direction, reflecting back with lightning speed and striking Alex in an instant.

After the three Impact Beams vanished, Mandarin seemed to remember something and said with an annoyed expression, "I forgot—you can absorb energy!"

The blatant mockery and humiliation made Alex burn with rage. He forcibly suppressed the anger in his heart and snorted coldly. His body flashed forward, wind rising beneath his feet, and he appeared before Mandarin in an instant, throwing a punch at his face.

Mandarin was startled at first, but then sneered. He raised his left arm slightly and easily knocked Alex’s fist aside.

Mandarin had just been about to taunt him when an intense pain suddenly came from his back. Without a second thought, he activated his rings. A whirlwind and a powerful pushing force sent him dozens of meters away in an instant.

Seeing Mandarin react so swiftly, Alex was somewhat disappointed. But when he glanced at the steel ball stained with a faint trace of blood, his tightly drawn face immediately relaxed, and a smile quietly appeared. At least my efforts weren’t wasted!

Feeling the injury on his back, Mandarin secretly channeled his strength to stop the wound from bleeding. When he turned to look at Alex, there was more hatred in his eyes. He had actually been injured by Alex through carelessness. It made Mandarin unusually furious, as though a god had been humiliated by a mortal.

"Alex, your time to die has come!" Mandarin’s expression suddenly calmed. He stared at Alex for a long while before speaking each word distinctly.

Alex shrugged indifferently, but secretly prepared to fight for his life. Injuring Mandarin once had been luck. With Mandarin now on guard, succeeding again would be impossible.

However, during their recent exchange, Alex had suddenly thought of a way to deal with Mandarin. The inspiration had also come from a movie.

In the movie, an officer threatened Sebastian Shaw with a grenade. Before the officer could detonate it, Sebastian Shaw voluntarily pulled out the grenade’s safety pin. Sebastian Shaw absorbed the energy from its explosion, then lightly tapped the officer on the forehead. The officer became like a paper figure in flames, turning to ash and disappearing in an instant.

Mandarin was no ordinary person, and the energy from a single grenade might not be enough to hurt him. But Alex had no shortage of energy. There would eventually come a time when Mandarin’s body burst from energy overload.

The only concern was that before Mandarin could no longer endure the energy filling his body, Alex had to keep himself alive while constantly making contact with Mandarin.

While Alex was considering his strategy, Mandarin began to act as well.

As expected, the dark space descended first, just as Mandarin had done before.

With one prior experience, Alex quickly adapted. At once, he laid down layer upon layer of Energy Shields. He had experienced the power of Cutting Beams firsthand.

Not only that, Alex split the ten steel balls into countless tiny metal particles and scattered them around him. It was a technique he had learned from Tashim. On the one hand, it allowed him to judge Mandarin’s location and movements. On the other, it could guard against attacks that Energy Sense could not detect, such as Cutting Beams.

After setting up his defenses, Alex began preparing his means of attack.

Within the dark space, Alex’s attacks were greatly restricted. Moreover, to avoid damaging his own defenses, he converted all his attacks into close-range techniques. The Red Impact Beam, for example, became a red swimming dragon circling around his body, ready to strike the moment Mandarin dared approach.

Time passed bit by bit, yet Alex never received an attack from Mandarin. There was not even a trace of Mandarin anywhere within his sensing range, including among the metal particles. It was as though he had vanished completely.

"What’s going on?" Alex was somewhat surprised. He did not believe Mandarin had truly disappeared, but why had Mandarin still not attacked? Was he preparing something?

As Alex remained cautiously on guard, he racked his brain. Then, as he thought, a sudden pain struck his head. He instantly understood Mandarin’s plan. He was trying to wear down Alex’s mental strength this way!

Maintaining focus for a long time while controlling the metal particles and Energy Shields was an enormous test of Alex’s mind, and it consumed a great deal of Psionic Power as well. If this continued, something would definitely go wrong!