Dudarev's sniper bullet had a sound all its own. Martin whipped his head toward the noise, both hands slicing through the air—whoosh, whoosh! Two sizzling blue bolts tore toward Dudarev's hiding spot. Boom! The lightning shattered the boulder above Dudarev's head into flying rubble.
Dudarev and his two mercenary bodyguards bolted from under the rocks, scared out of their wits. Martin spotted them instantly. With a wicked grin, he sprang forward, hands flashing—two blue streaks blasted from his palms, sending both bodyguards flying. One corpse slammed into Dudarev, knocking him flat on his face.
Martin swaggered over, lightning crackling in his hands—snap, crackle, pop! He was ready to fry Dudarev like a bug and send him straight to hell.
He loomed over Dudarev, eyes gleaming with mischief, like a cat toying with a mouse. He stomped Dudarev’s belly with his boot, then raised his glowing blue palms and aimed for Dudarev’s head. Dudarev’s eyes bulged in terror, throat locked tight—he couldn’t even scream. In despair, he squeezed his eyes shut, bracing for the reaper’s call.
Bang! Suddenly, a crisp sniper shot rang out. Martin shuddered—his right shoulder was pierced, blood spurting from the wound. Furious, he couldn’t believe a bullet had penetrated his prized, supposedly invincible lightning shield. He spun around and saw, beneath a nearby boulder, Colonel Hank Han holding a PSG Semi-Automatic Sniper Rifle and staring at him nervously.
"Well, well! You actually managed to break through my lightning shield. Not bad! Let’s see what else you’ve got!" Martin clutched his bleeding right shoulder, gritting his teeth as he strode toward Colonel Han.
Colonel Han instantly felt a murderous aura heading his way and tensed up. The bullet that pierced Martin’s shoulder was a 50,000 RMB Extreme Frost Armor-Piercing round—he’d planned to blow Martin’s head off, but Martin got lucky and raised his arm just as Han pulled the trigger, so it only hit his shoulder.
Han swung his sniper rifle at Martin, but Martin slapped it aside, blasting it to pieces with a terrifying bolt of lightning. Han immediately drew a pistol from his waist—Bang! Bang! Bang!—and fired at Martin, but the bullets bounced off his lightning shield. Martin was already right in front of him.
"Die, you freak!" Han roared, whipping out a "Tiger" combat knife from his boot and lunging at Martin, aiming straight for his throat.
Martin sneered with contempt, not even bothering to dodge. He simply extended his left hand—a flash of blue lightning! Crack! Han let out a muffled groan as his body was blasted backward into the pile of rocks, bruised and battered. If Han hadn’t trained in hard qigong, Martin’s attack would have killed him outright!
Bang! Bang! Bang! Dudarev fired his golden Desert Eagle at Martin’s back, but the bullets couldn’t get through the lightning shield surrounding Martin. Without even turning around, Martin flicked his hand behind him—crack! An arc of electricity struck Dudarev’s massive frame, sending him flying five or six meters. He rolled on the ground, coughing up blood, nearly knocked out cold.
"Heh heh—you two really don’t know your limits! Want to die? I’ll grant your wish right now!" Martin sneered, raising both hands to strike, ready to send Han and Dudarev straight to the afterlife.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Suddenly, streaks of blue light slashed down from the sky—thunderbolts crashing onto Martin’s body! His pupils shrank as he raised both hands to block, but the impact still sent him flying five or six meters. The shock nearly crushed his organs, and his thin face twisted in pain.
"An Esper! The enemy’s got an Esper too?!" Martin’s heart raced. He knew only an Esper could unleash thunder like that, and he nervously scanned his surroundings.
Just then, a young Chinese man stepped out from a nearby ravine. Martin squinted at him and, in clumsy Mandarin, blurted, "Oh! So you’re a Chinese Esper! Hmph, and you can control lightning too? What’s your beef with me?"
The newcomer was none other than Shawn Young. He ignored Martin’s bluster, channeling all his Celestial Essence, ready to strike first. After watching the earlier fight, Shawn knew Martin’s lightning powers and speed were formidable. If Martin got the drop on him, Shawn wasn’t confident he could win.
Seeing Shawn Young approach in silence, Martin felt a chill—he’d burned through a lot of his lightning energy in the previous fight. Still, he sensed an overwhelming killing intent coming his way. He knew he was facing the strongest opponent of his life! Time to go all out. With a roar, Martin flipped his palms and pushed his power to the max.
But Shawn Young was ready. He attacked first, chanting rapidly: "Heaven’s thunder, earth’s fire! Five Thunder Gods! True Martial Sovereign! Electric light, thunder shakes the heavens—strike!" Forming the Diamond Seal with both hands, he pushed toward Martin. Instantly, the sky darkened, thunder rumbling overhead.
Martin’s face twisted. He roared, mustering his full strength, crossing his palms—two streaks of blue light shot at Shawn Young, one high, one low. But Shawn calmly formed the Seal of Supreme Clarity, and a green glow enveloped him. The blue lights struck the green shield, erupting in dazzling fireballs. When the smoke cleared, Martin was stunned—his killer move hadn’t fazed the young Chinese Esper at all!
Martin’s face went ashen. Without thinking, he turned to run. Shawn Young sneered, forming a sword gesture and pointing at Martin’s back. "Command!" Instantly, massive bolts of lightning crashed down from above, all targeting Martin’s thin frame. "Ahhh—" Martin instinctively raised his hands, hoping to absorb the natural lightning with his powers. Too bad he was dreaming!
Boom! Boom! Martin was blasted into the air like a broken kite, then slammed to the ground, his clothes shredded to rags. He spat out mouthfuls of black blood, eyes wide, limbs twitching violently. With a final gasp, he died! The JSOC lightning Esper, who’d lived by thunder all his life, died by his own element—a bitter irony.
Shawn Young withdrew his power, dispelling the spell. He walked up to Martin’s corpse, wrinkling his nose at the charred, smoking body, the wide open mouth and glaring eyes—dead and unwilling to rest. The stench of burnt flesh and hair made Shawn gag. He marveled at the sheer power of the Celestial Five Thunders Spell from the Celestial Thunder Society! Still, he knew he’d gotten lucky—if Martin hadn’t burned so much energy earlier, Shawn probably wouldn’t have stood a chance.