Chapter 160: Is it better to strengthen defenses, or simply have faith in Preservation?

One Punch World——

……How is that possible?! She, she—how did she survive?

Inside the Hero Association headquarters, the Alloy Black Light with bandages wrapped around his eyes stared in shock.

The explosion that just occurred in the light curtain burned the eyes of nearly 90% of the heroes; afterward, according to Child Emperor's data calculations, that was energy only producible by an asteroid explosion.

——But that's not the point; the point is that Phantasy lightly compressed this energy in her hand, as if playing with an exquisite glass ball, casually handling it, releasing in just a few seconds the energy that would normally take billions of years for a planet's destruction to fully release.

In short……Child Emperor did not publicly release the later calculations; he just sat alone staring at the long string of numbers on the screen for a long time.

The blast's light likewise burned Black Light's eyes, but fortunately the Hero Association's medical technology is highly developed; an S-rank hero like him had his lens repaired in under ten minutes.

But the next second, when he saw Star leading the people out of the steam, Black Light's dropped jaw almost smashed through the ground.

Why?!

Why？baby？Why？

Obviously she doesn't have shiny, strong muscles like mine, so why can she withstand an explosion capable of turning a person to dust?

It's fine if it's just Star herself……but why are her train crew and Jing Yuan also completely unharmed, each and every one of them?!

Could……could it be that the training method I've always believed in is wrong? The key to obtaining near-perfect defense actually isn't training one's muscles?

Black Light trembled violently all over.

It felt as if something he had been painstakingly building had quietly collapsed……

Similarly, in the medical room treating eyes, Atomic Samurai saw Alloy Black Light, went over to greet him but got no response; upon approaching, he discovered this big guy had lifeless eyes, trembling all over, completely looking like someone who'd been struck down.

"Well… is it because of Star?" Atomic Samurai guessed instantly; after all, when he saw Miruki's divine technique, he felt that his decades of sword training had been wasted, his expression no better than Black Light's.

Therefore, he is willing to offer a bit of advice as a senior.

"If you want near-perfect defensive power, Black Light, you might as well have faith in that……" Atomic Samurai pointed to the faint light of Preservation on Star's body, "Preservation……if He could glance at you."

——

""Everything in the universe will end in 【Destruction】, 【Abundance】 and 【Hunt】 are no exception……""

""The shattered star shell peels off into millions of burning embers, turning the entire Jianmu Xuan root into a sheet of boiling lava. However, within this lava a region remains shrouded in white steam, and when the steam gradually dissipates……""

""——The Flame Spear appears!""

""Well said, then what about Preservation?"" Star raised her right hand with the long spear, the tip pointing at Phantasy's brow.

"Perhaps the Hunt's emissary drew too much attention, until now the Sovereign of Annihilation finally noticed the unique aura on Star's body—it isn't the Hunt's fang, but……a glance from Preservation!"

"A hint of miscalculation-induced irritation crept up Phantasy's brow; at this very moment, her appearance is undergoing rapid change."

"Her bluish-gray skin gradually turns purplish-white, the corners of her black lips slightly lift, a sinister charm arises spontaneously. But the only thing unchanged is that, after connecting with Jianmu, she constantly emanates vibrant vitality."

"With a light sweep of her big hand holding the fan, countless black mystic lotuses burst from the ground, almost turning the entire secret realm into a black flower garden exclusive to her."

Teyvat——

""Her Abundance aura has grown stronger; sigh……this is good, at least it can help us recover a little.""

""Inside the Narukami Shrine, Yae Miko is having the wounded shrine maidens close their eyes, face the light curtain, and collectively feel the gift from Abundance.""

""But seeing the unsettling purple form on the light curtain, Miko again dares not let the shrine maidens face it directly……what if the other side detonates another star? That would be adding injury to injury for ordinary people.""

""If that move doesn't work on Star, she probably won't use it again." Shadow said calmly beside her, ""As an emissary of Destruction, she should choose other more effective combat methods.""

""Miko looked at the vast expanse of blooming mystic lotuses in the secret realm and shook her head: ""This move has already been countered by Star and company, right? As long as they act on the Jianmu Xuan root, no amount of mystic lotuses will help.""

""Not necessarily."" Shadow keenly sensed something, ""These mystic lotuses……are completely different from last time.""

""——Life-devouring!""

""As the lotus petals open one by one, the azure-hued flower buds all reveal themselves before everyone.""

""Almost at the moment of blooming, Star suddenly felt her vitality rapidly draining away, being continuously sucked by these buds!""

""Under Preservation's protection, Star's burst would have left only minor scorch marks on her skin, but as her vitality drains, these scorch marks show a faint tendency to expand.""

""Cough cough, Star……"" In the blink of an eye, Xiao San Yue could no longer support herself and dropped to one knee.

""Seeing the situation turn bad, Wart hurriedly used a simulated black hole to destroy the Jianmu Xuan root, but this time his attack yielded no results.""

""Look closely, Main, the root system of these mystic lotuses seems not to come from Jianmu, but……from Phantasy!""

""Following the direction indicated by Nanjieta's voice, Main then saw behind Phantasy countless root tendrils like tentacles connected to the ground.""

""The mystic lotuses generated by Phantasy herself not only carry Abundance's endless vitality but also possess Destruction's power……that's why they can directly damage the bodies of Star and company.""

""A bead of cold sweat slid from Nanjieta's forehead: ""Even if everyone damages seven or eight of the mystic lotuses, it's useless; Abundance can directly regenerate, and the vitality the lotuses suck away can nourish Phantasy in return……truly a clever and cunning method.""

""Damn it! Think of a plan quickly! Jing Yuan! Where's the Divine Monarch? Please, Divine Monarch, save us!""

""Seeing Jing Yuan in the light curtain also being drained by the mystic lotuses and struggling to hold on, Main was anxious but helpless. If her ""pumpkin"" could provide remote support through the light curtain, she would have already aimed at Phantasy's head and fired.""

""Wait a moment, Main.""

""Tazmi's voice suddenly interrupted the discussion; he pointed to his own ears: ""You……have you heard any sound?"""

"""Sound?"" Main was completely puzzled, shaking her head repeatedly: ""What sound?"""

""Tazmi's expression grew grave as he spoke word by word:""

""……Dragon's roar!""