Chapter 407: General Ren Nora vs General Sylvari Charr! [1]

Though he never asked, for a long time since learning about the true nature of the "Glitch", Leon had wondered how Ren Nora would fare against the other C Rank Ascended of the world in a battle.

And finally, he was about to get front row view to see the outcome of a true C Rank battle, though he didn’t expect to be in this much pain when it happened.

The moment Sylvari spat on his face, Ren Nora already knew that negotiations had broken down and since then, his ADE was already secretly churning inside of him, awaiting the attack.

And finally, it happened.

CRKSH!

Reality fractured when the Odachi moved as a large spherical shaped tear was cut through reality!

The tear was rapidly repairing itself, but by then Ren Nora already moved.

A pair of pitch-black daggers appeared in the General’s hands.

He unsheathed both black daggers with such speed that they seemed to materialize out of nowhere into his grasp with lightning speed.

And by the time the Odachi got to him, he already positioned both black daggers in a perfect cross guard above him as...

KABOOOOMMMMMMMM!

It was that same familiar harrowing force that Leon had been on the receiving end of countless times already in the past 1 minute as Sylvari’s great plasma Odachi hit with the force of a thousand mountains!

But this time, his target was not overpowered nor was he overwhelmed.

This time, his target was not flung away by the sheer power of his swing as Ren Nora stood his ground, calmly absolving the vibration and shockwave of the Odachi’s swing.

The moment the momentum died completely, barely a fraction of a second later, Ren Nora’s right hand lashed out as the black dagger on his right hand slithered out like a snake, aimed right at Sylvari’s neck!

General Sylvari’s gray eyes narrowed.

Ren Nora was far faster than he expected, he faster than him!

The dagger closed in at such speed to his neck that he couldn’t react, and when his already damaged energy shield flared to life, the deadly blade of the black dagger cut through it like a hot knife through butter.

General Sylvari’s brain instantly geared into overdrive the moment his shield shattered as he entered a state of absolute battle clarity.

’I can’t dodge...’ he realized.

So instead of trying to dodge, he attacked.

Neural Tyrant!

BZZZZZ!

Ren Nora’s right hand shuddered, instantly slowing down.

In the end, without the ChronoSystem’s sacrifice, Leon would have forfeited his life in less than 10 seconds of his clash with General Sylvari simply because of this ability, the ultimate ability of C Rank Mindbreakers, Neural Tyrants.

Unlike the process of trying to subjugate a D Rank Ascended which Sylvari could do in less than 20 seconds at the right circumstances, Sylvari estimated that he needed at least 2 minutes to subjugate a C Rank Ascended.

But before full subjugation, in C Rank Mindbreaker terms, there’s a term called partial subjugation.

Afterall, subjugation with Neyral Tyrant is not instantaneous. It’s a process.

Partial subjugation of any target kicks in within less than a fraction of a second, and no matter who the target is, he/she will instantly feel the insidious weight and influence of an invader in his mind.

This insidious effect was what Ren Nora felt and it was what divided his attention and made his hand slow down, giving Sylvari the chance to escape.

But Sylvari didn’t actually escape.

Instead, he doubled down with fury as with his sharp mechanical teeth, he chomped down on the black dagger, grabbing it with his teeth and stopping it in its tracks with his mechanical jaw, then his gray eyes ignited with furious green light.

Psionic Assault!

Mind Distortion!

Neural Burn!

He went for a full-on 3-pronged assault!

And unlike Leon whom the ChronoSystem’s sacrifice gave Stalwart, Ren Nora didn’t have Stalwart meaning he was not immune to mental damage.

The full weight of a C Rank Neural Tyrant’s mind assault slammed into his head like the weight of an endless ocean water slamming against a dam.

BAM...!

For a brief moment, Ren Nora’s eyes glazed over as he suffered harrowing mental damage that affected his soul.

Ren Nora became disoriented. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Seeing this and having expected it at the same time, General Sylvari’s gray eyes glinted ominously as tightening his grip on the great plasma Odachi, he took a step and swung the great plasma blade at Ren Nora’s neck to sever his head in one devastating attack!

Leon who was watching everything from a distance widened his eyes in horror as the blade of the Odachi dug into Ren Nora’s neck!

But it was just a nick, it didn’t cut all the way through because the next moment the General disappeared.

Ghost-in-the-Machine!

The survival instincts of a C Rank NetRunner kicked in and even while disoriented, when his body felt threatened it instinctively escaped to the psionic realm.

But in this battle, Ren Nora was not the only one who had access to the psionic realm because the moment he moved, General Sylvari also moved.

Neural Projection!

This time, instead of simply hopping from place to place through the psionic network, General Sylvari embraced the psionic realm and dove into the embrace of its endless quantum depths.

Instantly, the world changed in the perception of the General, turning into what seemed like an endless black sea or void filled with billions of data streams and networks like threads in different neon colors.

He found Ren Nora almost immediately.

In the black abyss of the quantum realm, the neon green streams forming the silhouette of the Freegrid General were particularly eye-catching.

But following the ’Glitch’ into the psionic realm was not a very wise decision.

In fact, it was a trap!

BZZZZ!

Ren Nora’s entire psionic body within the quantum realm suddenly ignited with violent neon green light- ADE, then a shockwave erupted from his body.

Quantum Dictator!

At D Rank, unlike Mindbreakers who have practical skills to dominate any opponent and pose a threat, D Rank NetRunners of the Code Phantom Specialization only have access to abilities that can only be used on electronics and the psionic realm.

They don’t have tangible abilities to damage enemies outside the psionic realm. But the law of equivalent exchange meant that for what they sacrificed in reality, they gained 10 fold in the psionic realm.

Ghost-in-the-Machine enables Code Phantom NetRunners to merge with data streams in the psionic realm and travel unseen.

If Ren Nora wanted, the moment he entered the psionic realm, he could have hid himself from his enemy but he deliberately didn’t do this.

And in the throes of battle, General Sylvari forgot to note this vital point.

While Ghost-in-the-Machine enabled him merge with data streams and travel unseen, Quantum Dictator gave Ren Nora the ability to control digital sensors and electronics. Not just control but manipulate and dictate.

But that was only in reality.

In the quantum realm, every single data stream that entered here, including NetRunners were all quantified as quantum beings and in essence quantum sensors.

Afterall, that was how they could see and navigate through the endless void of the quantum realm.

And by becoming a digital sensor within the psionic realm, General Sylvari just made himself vulnerable to Ren Nora.

The effects of Quantum Dictator hit Sylvari like a sharp blade!

All of a sudden, the General’s body felt weak as Ren Nora dictated over him and willed him to be weak, defective and sick.

All of a sudden, General Sylvari Charr felt his body moving forward rapidly against his will and before he could react, Ren Nora hit him.

It was one punch but it was the punch from a ’Glitch’ in his home ground, heavily augmented by his environment, dictated and augmented by Quantum Dictator to obliterate the target in a single blow!

It hit and Sylvari lost consciousness.

KABOOMMMMMM!!!