Chapter 1549: How strong is the enemy?

North American War Zone, 43 kilometers outside the valley.

"Zhang Tie, what is your Rule Ability?"

"You mean this kid can also serve as a Fourth Stage?!"

On the eve of the great battle.

Ron looked curiously at Zhang Tie, whose body reeked of blood but showed no apparent injury.

No, it's not that he wasn't injured; it's that Zhang Tie's healing ability is terrifyingly strong, and the previous battle didn't do much to this bear.

Killing two and repelling three—this record is simply outrageous.

Moreover, he personally saw that when Zhang Tie first killed those two Fourth Stage beings, they hadn't helped yet.

All that was there was the little dwarf beside the bear, the kid named Gao Tian.

I heard he was first in this trial?

"Damage Reflect, I can withstand."

"What, you kid also want to try me?"

Zhang Tie forced a simple, honest smile.

He could tell that Ron and the others were very nervous.

Everyone knows more enemies will come later; although our side isn't weak either, battles at the Fourth Stage level are something Ron, Ter, and the others have hardly experienced.

Taking advantage of the eve of the great battle, we can only ease the tension in our hearts through communication.

As they spoke, Zhang Tie gave a hehe laugh and patted Gao Tian on the shoulder:

"As for this kid Gao Tian, you guys had better protect him well."

"Give him a chance, and he could instantly defeat all of you!"

With a twitch on the face where Zhang Tie had slapped him, Gao Tian, pale-faced, looked at the other Fourth Stage beings while continuously gulping down recovery props exchanged for prestige.

"No, I'm not as strong as Brother Zhang said... Actually, the later battles will still have to rely on all of you.."

"Even against Fourth Stage enemies, we still need everyone; I'm just assisting."

Gao Tian gave a bitter laugh; Zhang Tie could see these Fourth Stage beings were nervous, and he couldn't fail to notice.

In order to keep these Fourth Stage beings helping them, he naturally knew he had to give these people some confidence.

To restore his mental energy, he could only keep drinking the exchanged potions one after another.

Such extravagance made Ron and the others look on with envy.

"Damage Reflect, plus a Rule-level Instant Kill?"

"No wonder.."

"Don't worry, having said that I owe Lin An a favor, we will naturally fight to the very last moment! In fact, I'm really looking forward to the upcoming battle!"

He could also tell that the two Fourth Stage beings who died earlier weren't true Fourth Stage.

After a simple calculation, Zhang Tie's actual combat power should be about the same as his.

Yeah, right, they should be about the same.

After all, this bear can only take hits; trying to kill him would be impossible to catch up.

As for the other kid... his talent is terrifying, but he needs teammates to cooperate, and he's still not as good as these Fourth Stage beings.

As if unwilling to lose face, as a proud Fourth Stage, Ron couldn't help but generate a wind blade with his bare hands:

"Like this, everyone introduce your Rule so we can coordinate later in battle!"

"My Rule Power is Speed Breakthrough! I can amplify any ability I control and generate, boosting it to ten times my own speed! If something is already faster than me, the boost isn't as great, but theoretically it can also break through thirty times the speed of sound!"

His expression was arrogant.

Ron, as if feeling sentimental, put away his wind blade:

"If I remember correctly, Lin An also had a talent for speed back then, right? He survived the Alien Species' pursuit, and I heard you guys previously fought Fourth Stage beings."

"I don't know how Lin An's speed is; if he weren't like this now, I'd really like to discuss with him how to apply Rules."

Attack relies on speed to carry kinetic energy, defense relies on extremely high-speed bursts to evade.

With the two combined, this is also Ron's confidence in surpassing Lin An.

Of course, it's also his confidence to continue participating in the fight.

Returning favors is returning favors; if he can't win, running away should be no problem. In terms of speed, it's unlikely anyone could beat a Fourth Stage Elementary.

Noticing Zhang Tie's expression after hearing that, Ron smirked inwardly; it seemed the bear understood he was actually strong too.

But Ron didn't know that Zhang Tie's heart was in a strange state at that moment.

"Maximum thirty times? Accelerate external objects? Compared to Lin Dui?"

"Well, when Lin Dui just broke through to Fourth Stage, it seemed his max was twenty times? That's indeed faster than Lin Dui, but Lin Dui himself can accelerate to that extent."

Just knowing that Lin An escaped from the Alien Species World back here, and surely caused destruction to that Alien Species World.

In Zhang Tie's heart, Lin An is at least a Fourth Stage Intermediate, even possibly Advanced!

"Compared to Lin Dui? He's still far behind."

"I am the Blood War Rule: the more injured I am, the higher the enhancement ratio. At most, triple all-attribute enhancement. Of course, at that peak I'm also almost dead."

"This person beside me is Tolstoy, and he's also our Soviet... uh... currently the strongest!"

Noticing the intent to compare strength, Ter smiled, gave a brief self-introduction, then solemnly introduced Zhang Tie to the blond youth behind him.

Tol, a mix of Yugoslav and Northern European blood, before Lin An revealed his identity, in the Soviet War Zone, some actually thought he was stronger than Ren.

After all, Ren was still in the "dungeon" back then, preparing to break through to Fourth Stage.

"Power Representative, Bear God Rule, White Bear."

"You can understand it as using the mythic system to summon power one level above me to strengthen myself."

After being introduced by Ter, Tol, who had come from the Soviet, was somewhat aloof.

He only saw him nod at Zhang Tie, then calmly pointed toward the distant mountain.

Your ability is actually somewhat like mine. However, you turned into a special kind of bear, while I summon at least a mid‑Fourth Stage bonus!

Have you seen that mountain? I can shatter it with a single palm strike! In my ultimate state, I can unleash nearly 50% of mid‑Fourth Stage power!

You probably haven't seen this kind of power before, right? Lin An's power should be a bit weaker than yours.

To be honest, I was really looking forward to fighting Lin An, but...

Being fellow Fourth Stage cultivators, we naturally have a competitive mindset.

As Tuo'er spoke, he carried a faint air of arrogance, even a hint of hostility.

Before becoming a Fourth Stage, he had always been under the so‑called name 'Lei En'.

To be honest, he always felt those honors should have been his! He was just a bit slow, and his performance in the Third Stage wasn't outstanding!

Lin An's past record doesn't mean anything.

What's so great about being rank one in the world during the Third Stage? The Fourth Stage is where true powerhouses begin!

Listening to Tuo'er inevitably compare himself with Lin Dui, Zhang Tie furrowed his brows and didn't know what to say.

He naturally realized that all the Fourth Stage cultivators present had a mindset of comparing themselves with Lin An.

Half a mid‑Fourth Stage? Shatter a mountain with one palm?

Lin Dui, when he first became a Fourth Stage, was already able to do this.

All right, we're just introducing our abilities; there's no need to fight or not fight.

It seems the smell of gunpowder is strong, or rather, every Awakened One can't help but take the former Lin An as their target.

In the Soviet theater, another Fourth Stage with a kindly appearance hurried to break the siege:

"I follow the elementalization rule; I can turn into an ice element. In that state, ordinary physical attacks do little damage to me, and my defense can increase greatly."

"I've noticed that the fugitives you speak of seem to have some limitations in their Fourth Stage abilities."

"In the upcoming battle, I can act as a meat shield alongside Brother Zhang Tie, and I can also control the enemy."

"You're all so strong; even if another six or seven Fourth Stages showed up, it shouldn't be a big problem."

"Ten would be no problem!"

"If they're still just the Fourth Stage from before, I alone could handle two early‑Fourth Stage opponents!"

Tuo'er looked somewhat dissatisfied at the good‑natured person in his own team.

They were helping Lin An, and Lin An even played them for fools!

If Lin An weren't in his current sorry state, lacking even the qualification to fight him, he would definitely challenge him first—to prove who is truly number one!

This is the glory of all of Soviet Russia!

"Um, everyone."

"Perhaps... later a mid‑Fourth Stage might appear; the situation might not be so good."

Before Tuo'er could say anything else, Gao Tian beside him gave a wry smile and couldn't help but reveal a bit of the situation.

In his judgment, it is highly likely that a mid‑Fourth Stage will appear among the fugitives.

The number of early‑Fourth Stage cultivators is also likely to be considerable.

This is based on his assessment of the situation during the first descent of the Alien Species.

Knowing how much high‑level power lies hidden in this world, he can only feel relieved that the Alien Species side has not yet unleashed any Fourth Stage power.

If nothing unexpected happens, it should be Brother Lin who broke the door?

On the Alien Species side, no one can get through for the time being.

Otherwise, judging by the power of the previous final descent, their hope is zero!

Not to mention the terrifying existence of the Alien Species Emperor; just those few Overlords, any one of them could instantly kill them!

"A mid‑Fourth Stage!? You're saying there's such a level among these monsters!?"

As the words fell, Tuo'er's face suddenly changed.

Since becoming a Fourth Stage, he has had a mindset of looking down on the apocalypse! The power of a Fourth Stage is the planet's top‑tier combat strength!

But a mid‑Fourth Stage!? If such monsters really exist, the difficulty would be too great!

If such monsters really exist, why haven't we seen them before!?

"The fugitives' side is rather special. Of course, I'm also guessing—I think there might be.."

Although he doesn't really want to dampen morale, Gao Tian clearly knows there are some things he must say.

"What Gao Tian said is correct. However, there's probably no need to worry too much—having those mutant creatures evolve into a mid‑Fourth Stage is no simple matter."

"They also need a suitable vessel."

Standing to the side, Luo En gave a solemn nod, easing the pressure on Gao Tian.

He roughly knows what the fugitives, or rather the Truth Society, are.

However, a mid‑Fourth Stage is probably the limit of those monsters.

At most one, maybe two? Given their limited strength, they might be able to cope, but the pressure is absolutely not small!

As this news came out, the atmosphere suddenly grew heavy.

Not wanting to show weakness, Tuo'er let out an unpleasant grunt and stubbornly turned his gaze to Gao Tian:

"So what if it's a mid‑Fourth Stage!"

"I'm confident I can hold off the opponent! This time, it's Lin An owing me! Hmph, you Long An, including Lin An, should all thank us after this battle!"

"All right! No one owes anyone! Lin An is out of commission; we're all humans, and these monsters are our common enemy!"

"Let's fight! Let the world see the power of us Fourth Stages! Even without Lin An, we still have ourselves!"

Luo En secretly sighed, not wanting this somewhat disunited sentiment to spread, and he couldn't help but take the initiative to boost morale.

Moreover, he couldn't help but silently curse, feeling that the enemies Lin An provoked were simply too strong.

Damn! If there really is an intermediate Fourth Stage showing up, plus a bunch of early Fourth Stage, we're definitely going to lose a few of us here!

An intermediate Fourth Stage... I don't even know how strong it really is.

As the atmosphere grew extremely solemn, nobody felt like talking anymore.

Gao Tian gave a bitter smile and didn't dare to continue speaking.

He knew that, whether it was Tel or Ron and the others, the strongest power they had ever witnessed might just be an early Fourth Stage.

If we tell them the enemy might be unimaginably strong, or rather, it's the situation Lin Dui initially faced.

He had no doubt that everyone's mindset would collapse instantly.

In fact, he could only pray that there was at most one intermediate Fourth Stage...

Or rather, maybe that's all there is?

The fugitives are still considerably weaker than the Alien Species.

But no matter what, he and Zhang Tie, the entirety of Long An, will fight until the very last moment!

Worst case, this life is just being repaid to Lin Ge!

Lin Ge used to be their umbrella, shielding them from wind and rain. This time, it's their turn!

Just as Gao Tian was struggling to adjust his mindset, preparing to face the upcoming life-and-death showdown, a message from Yun Tian suddenly came through.

"Gao Tian, Lin Ge wants you to tell Xiong Hanzi."

"Just give them a light fight; as soon as the enemy appears, retreat immediately back to the valley."

"You... can't possibly stop them."

Gao Tian:?!!!