Ultimate collision, paramount confrontation.

The moment the twin blades and the long halberd met, neither could deflect the force; they could only meet head-on.

At the instant of impact, a scorching wind rose sharply, and battle prowess exploded.

When the moves were exhausted, the one forced back was…

"Ugh—" Accompanied by a groan, Juan Meng Huan spat out a mouthful of bright red blood, his body flying backward, momentarily losing his balance.

However, he adjusted quickly, and before his opponent's attack could fully dissipate, Juan Meng Huan had already shifted his weight back to the ground, regaining his stance.

"As expected… it's still a bit of a struggle…" Juan Meng Huan thought to himself, "The difference in raw strength is too great; even if I can block, I can't avoid injury…"

Before he could think further, Date Makoto's pursuit had already arrived.

Surging rage transformed into murderous attacks, bearing down on him.

Juan Meng Huan had no choice; since he hadn't fallen, he had to… fight again!

Boom—

Another head-on collision of energy and weapons.

Faced with that overwhelming attack, Juan Meng Huan spurred his divine power again, wielding [Chong Lou] to once more contend with his opponent head-on.

Blade and halberd were silent, yet their clash shook the heavens and the earth.

The war god was speechless, yet his strength startled ghosts and gods.

This time, the one who was repelled was still Juan Meng Huan, but his feet didn't leave the ground again; he merely retreated several steps and steadied himself with his halberd, halting his momentum.

"This guy… he can really take a beating…" Date Makoto, seeing his opponent withstand two blows, grew increasingly frustrated and immediately changed his stance.

In that instant, his figure transformed into two, then four, then countless… Layers upon layers of afterimages instantly surrounded Juan Meng Huan.

"He's starting to use his speed advantage…" Juan Meng Huan coldly surveyed his surroundings, his long halberd slightly raised, waiting in anticipation, "But these are ultimately just 'afterimages,' not 'clones.' There's only one true body, so there's still only one line of attack…"

As he pondered, Date Makoto made his move.

Suddenly, among the many afterimages, a figure located to Juan Meng Huan's side flashed, the blade's edge chilling, its light darting through the wind.

And Juan Meng Huan, who was looking in another direction at this moment, also moved at the same time as Date attacked!

He raised his arm and swung it back, letting the halberd's blade fall along his shoulder, diagonally downward; the angle, speed, and force… were just enough for him to block the incoming blade.

Clang—

The short weapons clashed again, the resounding impact echoing through the sky.

This time, because Date had expended force on creating the afterimages, the power of his blade was somewhat reduced, so Juan Meng Huan remained standing, unmoved, after blocking the attack.

"Ah—" The next second, Date roared, furiously wielding his arms, and a flurry of blades descended.

Juan Meng Huan turned his head and twisted his waist, using his body to transform his moves, employing the principles of "spin, sweep, slow, pause," retreating as he fought, gradually gaining the upper hand.

"Why!" Date Makoto roared incessantly as he attacked wildly, "I clearly attacked from outside your line of sight, why can you still block it!"

"Haven't you heard… 'Those who can only strike what they see are merely second-rate martial artists (By Kuroki Gensai)'…" Juan Meng Huan's tone unconsciously became relaxed and calm, "In the end… your killing intent is so heavy, creating afterimages is meaningless…"

As he spoke, he turned and spun, drawing his halberd horizontally; after this change of move, he switched from defense to offense, charging back toward his opponent's twin blades.

"Damn it… damn it!" Date Makoto, unable to break through after a long assault, was already consumed by anxiety and anger, and what bewildered him even more was… in this clearly mismatched contest, Juan Meng Huan not only showed no signs of defeat but even seemed to be growing stronger as he fought.

In fact, not only Date Makoto, but even Juan Meng Huan himself didn't know why.

Only… from just now, Juan Meng Huan vaguely felt that—the [Chong Lou] in his hand seemed to be getting lighter and easier to use…

"Die! Just die already!" As the offense and defense turned into a mutual assault, Date Makoto's murderous intent and madness reached a new peak.

As his killing shout fell, an ultimate move abruptly arose.

Suddenly! The tentacle-like energy around his body finally materialized from the ethereal into a substance that could physically attack.

"[Beep—]" Juan Meng Huan, upon seeing this, blurted out, "Damn it!" He had never expected that in this situation, Date Makoto could push his combat power to a higher level and launch such a bizarre attack.

In desperation, Juan Meng Huan immediately spurred his battle essence, urging his divine power again!

Bang bang bang bang…

At that moment, strange moves arrived, and wild dust obscured the sky, the sound of tentacles striking the ground rising and falling incessantly.

In the space of a breath, more than a dozen huge energy tentacles bent and enveloped him, like a peeled, flower-shaped orange peel… "wrapping" Juan Meng Huan, covering his entire body.

Date Makoto himself was also enclosed within the range of this "energy ball"; in this confined space, the black and white twin blades in his hands relentlessly advanced like a swarm of bees, abandoning all techniques, yet still ferociously unmatched.

This attack, which combined "imprisonment" and "forced killing," was very similar to Uncle Trash's [Cardboard Box Kill]. For players who used long weapons, this was undoubtedly fatal; therefore, even though the move was not yet finished, the audience had already lit a stick of incense for Juan Meng Huan in their hearts.

But!

After that breath had passed, a streak of bloody light pierced through the outer wall of the energy ball, soaring through the clouds, its vast power intimidating the heavens.

Then came the second, the third…

Beams of blood-colored light pierced through all sides, penetrating in all directions, bursting out of the ball, and exploding with a deafening roar.

Amidst the scattered energy radiance, two figures leaped out in two directions, steadying themselves almost simultaneously.

"Hoo…" On one side was Juan Meng Huan, exhaling a long breath; he now had many more wounds on his body, and his armor was stained blood red.

"Why… why aren't you dead yet!" On the other side, Date Makoto, who was entirely silver-white, was now also stained red, and… some of that red was his own blood.

"Probably because you've become weaker," Juan Meng Huan said, tilting his head slightly and spitting a mouthful of blood onto the shaft of [Chong Lou].

Clearly, he had already noticed… that even his own blood, as long as it touched [Chong Lou], would be absorbed and transformed into even greater power.

"Nonsense!" Date Makoto, hearing this, exclaimed in shock and anger, "How could I possibly…" But before he could finish his sentence, the left side of his face suddenly burst open like a cracked porcelain bowl… revealing a long, narrow fissure.

"What?" Date himself was startled by this scene; his pale pupils quickly shifted, instinctively turning toward the cracked area on his face.

"So even you didn't know…" Juan Meng Huan calmly continued, "That thing called 'Shumomaru' actually has very serious flaws."

"Flaws…" Date Makoto repeated those two words in a questioning tone, continuing, "Impossible… I clearly tested it…"

"Indeed, it can greatly enhance your physical skills," Juan Meng Huan interrupted before the other could finish, "But this enhancement… comes at a price." He paused and then added, "In Thriller Paradise, apart from causal abilities and soulforce, which are completely one's own power, other skills or items that can significantly multiply a player's inherent combat power are basically accompanied by costs and risks… that 'Shumomaru' of yours will be no exception."

"I told you there are no flaws! Stop trying to confuse me!" As Date Makoto spoke, he picked up his twin blades again, shrinking the distance between them.

The long blade slashed vertically, the short blade chopped horizontally, and the sharp blade energy was released simultaneously.

Seeing this, Juan Meng Huan shook his head and sighed softly, spurring his divine power again; with a movement of his halberd, he struck fear into the approaching enemy.

By this strike, Date Makoto's energy and power were already at a disadvantage; his blade hadn't even touched the opponent's weapon before he was forced back by the pressure that was as heavy as Mount Song.

"This… no… it can't be!" Although he was still muttering these words, Date's feet were no longer under his control.

At this moment, no matter how much he tried to convince himself, he could no longer deny the fact that the comparison of strength had been reversed; moreover, the "cracks" on his body were becoming more and more numerous in these few short seconds.

"'Shumomaru' can indeed forcibly draw out your potential, but it will also drain you at a rapid pace," Juan Meng Huan knew he had already won, so he wasn't in a hurry to attack; instead, he continued, "The principle is like adding fuel to a nineteenth-century piston engine—the faster you run, the faster you burn; after using Shumomaru, your body becomes the Henrietta speeding across the sea (from *Around the World in Eighty Days*), burning coal, then furniture, then the deck, then the masts, the sails, the hull, the bulkheads… finally, it becomes an empty shell with only iron skin left."

"I don't understand anything you're saying!" Date couldn't listen to the other's words; his response was… to grit his teeth and, dragging his body that was disintegrating from the inside, take another step forward.

"I admire this persistence, but some things can't be rushed… I hope this failure will allow you to grow." After saying this, Juan Meng Huan raised his long halberd, spurred his divine power again and again, and gave his opponent the final blow.

…………

White light appeared, and the outcome was decided.

This "vice-general battle" was not only a crucial battle for [Trash Alliance] to eliminate [Sengoku], but also Juan Meng Huan's "ascension to godhood battle."

After this battle, [Juan Meng Huan] finally went from "first-rate" to "super-first-rate," becoming someone whom people regarded as being on the same level as those strongest monsters.

Of course, in the present moment, the focus of everyone's attention was still… another seeded team had been eliminated.

[Sengoku]'s S3 journey came to an abrupt end after this fourth-round focus battle.

Although they were eliminated quite early and lost with a score of three to one, in terms of the content of their matches, they didn't leave in disgrace; it could even be said that they lost honorably.

What people saw and knew was pretty much all this…

But behind this match, there were some things that people didn't know, such as: Within the [Sengoku] team, apart from [Imagawa Yoshi] and [Date Makoto], the other five were all candidates on whom the people from Paradise had placed bets. [Sengoku]'s elimination also meant that the bets of five bettors… had come to an end here.