Chapter 381

The power granted by the No. 20 Flame Astronomical Switch left Ruyue Xian Tairan exhilarated; it was the second switch he had obtained capable of completely altering Fourze's style.

This power is entirely different in style from the Power Switch; having learned from the Power Switch's precedent, Ruyue Xian Tairan readily accepted and mastered this violent power.

On the wide plaza paved with stone slabs, Jiang Xia stood in the shadow of the stairs that ran from top to bottom.

Here, where sunlight cannot reach, the sliced sunlight illuminated half of his face, revealing a smooth chin.

In the battle between the knight and the monster before him, his eyes, like deep pool water, quietly watched their fight.

The battle wasn't complicated; a flame-formed dragon continually danced in midair, and at the moment Fourze's gun trigger was pulled, omnipresent cosmic energy constructed a vortex-like shape, accompanied by extremely high temperature, bombarding Pegasus's body.

However, this attack is sufficient against ordinary Star Disciples, but Pegasus is different; as soon as the attack arrives, the light emitted by the extraterrestrial stars on its body directly halts the flame-constructed vortex.

"Such tricks have no effect on me. Pegasus's wings, like a sculpture, fling open, bearing wind and air waves pressing against Ruyue Xian Tairan, who continues to use jet flames; amid the roar of fire, the attack is entirely reflected back at Fourze."

As a Cancer candidate, even when cosmic energy is scarce, it can still display Pegasus's special ability; likewise, it has sensed that it is continually breaking its limits.

Hooves slammed onto the ground; Pegasus's body moves at high speed; the cosmic energy of Tianzhichuan High School serves as nourishment for its evolution; each bodily transformation leaves a crimson trace around, like a brush freely painting on paper.

Jiang Xia, standing in the shadow, silently counted down; the Cancer starlight began to shine on Pegasus's body, the red in his eyes deepening further; he was merely a dispassionate observer, except that in the awakening process of the Twelve Constellations, no one would die, nor would anyone be injured, only a perfect happy ending.

After Pegasus's wanton attack continued for sufficient time, the light on its body began to gradually concentrate, from an initial faint glow to a continuous sheet; that energy undulation enveloped the plaza.

Golden lightning suddenly gathered on Pegasus's body; this is the evolution light of the Star Disciples; under the invisible air wave, even the stone slabs paved on the ground were shattered.

And Shooting Star Sakuta, who had followed the switch's guidance all the way, at the moment he saw the dazzling star on Pegasus's body, the warm yellow starlight directly filled his eyes.

Joy is no longer enough to describe his feelings; it is an ecstasy beyond words.

This is what he painstakingly sought after, surpassing the last time, having a probability to evolve into a special Star Disciple of the Twelve Constellations.

According to the current probability, he actually has a one-in-eight chance to witness the birth of Aries at this moment; how could he not be excited?

However, the premise is that the Star Disciple's evolution will not be interrupted by the obtrusive Fourze.

Feeling this power, Ruyue Xian Tairan suddenly sensed that something was amiss; this power, even before awakening, had already caused such severe consequences; if it truly awakened and became an executive, its combat strength would be immeasurable.

There is still a chance.

Ruyue Xian Tairan stared at the invisible air wave, instantly switched the switch in his hand; the Flame Switch's power was not obvious, so he needed to change his approach and use a head-on technique.

Exactly, that is the most classic combination: the Rocket Switch plus the Drill Switch used in Fourze's Ultimate Smash.

Ruyue Xian Tairan leapt into the air with that rotating bright-yellow drill, bringing great power to bear on Pegasus, which could not move temporarily due to its evolution; he seized the opponent's opening and then exerted his full strength.

Shooting Star Sakuta gazed at the empty plaza, then rushed toward the shadow behind the stairs; his identity must not be known to others—this is a mandatory order from Mr. Tachibana.

If his identity were exposed, he might lose this crucial power.

Wearing a yellow-brown Hoshisei uniform, Shooting Star Sakuta stood in the shadow, and from behind he produced a device with a blue casing shaped like a comet.

"Meteor, Ready?"

Jiang Xia briefly sized up the transforming Shooting Star Sakuta, did not intervene; he knew what the other was thinking, but it was meaningless.

Because he is looking for Aries, or more precisely, the ability of the Aries Star Disciple to activate and suspend brain cells; activation can awaken vegetative people from coma, while suspension is the opposite.

At the moment of toggling the switch, he spread his arms, drawing an arc in the air; the comet at the center of the waist-mounted device spun rapidly, and starlight glittered in the vortex.

In space, the sides of that rectangular satellite rapidly opened, and a deep-blue light column shot from the outer-space satellite toward Shooting Star Sakuta on the ground.

Instantly enveloping his body in a huge blue star cluster, like a true meteor dragging a long tail, it lunged at Ruyue Xian Tairan, who was airborne preparing to attack Pegasus; he felt as if struck head-on by a meteorite.

With a piercing spark explosion, Ruyue Xian Tairan, who was about to reach Pegasus, was instantly slammed to the ground by this extraterrestrial meteor, rolling several times before dissipating the impact.

"It actually deflected Fourze's Ultimate Smash—who the heck is this guy?" Ge Xing Xian Wu exclaimed in astonishment.

"Who exactly are you? Could you also be on the Star Disciples' side?" the interrupted Ruyue Xian Tairan questioned, looking at the shadow visible through the blue light sphere.

"Sorry, I need to find the evolved Aries, so until Pegasus finishes evolving, you are my opponents."

As the energy dissipated, a Kamen Rider appeared before several people, his whole body largely black like the night sky, with his right shoulder and head covered by a meteor; he was called Kamen Rider Meteor.

"After Pegasus evolves, it's not Aries but Cancer; you just wasted the chance to exterminate the Star Disciples!" Ruyue Xian Tairan pointed at the changing Pegasus, indignant, now it's too late to stop.

"Success, Cancer." The glowing stars in Jiang Xia's eyes quickly linked together, forming a huge crab pattern.

A dazzling red light burst forth at extreme speed; two crimson pincers extended from the light; as the light faded, Pegasus's crimson armor swelled, becoming thickset; the red, protruding armor almost covered the whole body; the surface bore a winding Cancer constellation pattern, only the chest had silver-white speckled ornamentation.

"What? How do you know the evolution endpoint of the Twelve Constellations?!" Shooting Star Sakuta, seeing the genuine Cancer emerge from Pegasus's shell, shouted directly at Ruyue Xian Tairan.

"We…"

"Ruyue, don't tell him." Ge Xing Xian Wu directly interrupted Ruyue Xian Tairan, turning his head to look at the stranger Kamen Rider who had a belt and astronomical switch, "Do you think I'd tell the enemy information?"

"You!" Shooting Star Sakuta clenched his fists tightly, but ultimately gave up the idea of using force; from Ge Xing Xian Wu's words he knew it would be impossible, so he still had to use his other identity to join the Kamen Rider Corps.

"Is this really my true power?" the Cancer Star Disciple surveyed his current body, laughing wildly.

This is far better than the earlier restrained Pegasus.

"Exactly, this is the power of the Twelve Constellations." a low voice suddenly sounded from behind it.

A cherry-red void instantly opened; behind Cancer suddenly appeared three Star Disciples wearing gold-patterned capes. "Libra, Scorpio, Virgo." Ge Xing Xian Wu gazed solemnly at the enemies emerging from the spatial portal; adding the just-appeared Cancer, there were now four executives deploying simultaneously, this really is trouble.

As for the Scorpio opposite, if they possessed the teacher's level of combat power, they probably couldn't even escape.

"Join us, Cancer." Libra extended his hand proactively; this is someone he personally promoted.

"Oh, so you're executives of the Twelve Constellations? That's actually interesting—who's the leader?"

"That exalted one possesses supreme power; his current order is for us to completely exterminate Fourze." Libra said lightly.

"Interesting, then I'll join."

Upon hearing of exterminating Fourze, Cancer straightaway walked toward the few Kamen Rider Corps members.

Such an action also dimmed Libra's gaze a bit, but he still retracted his outstretched hand; now completing the chairman's task is urgent.

Star Disciple Formation Team—this made Ruyue Xian Tairan and Shooting Star Sakuta's bodies tense up quickly.

Unexpectedly, they would fall into such a dire situation; the four Twelve Constellations are not only executives, but their information is also unknown.

Besides being very familiar with Scorpio's combat style, the other three are unknown in their specific abilities; that is truly what vexes Ge Xing Xian Wu.

"Let's go together, each taking two to beat them down." Shooting Star Sakuta, leaning against Ruyue Xian Tairan, suddenly said.

"Yeah, let's go together."

"The universe—has come!" Ruyue Xian Tairan swung his fist.

Now we should discard all thoughts, concentrate all our strength into our fists; no matter what blocks the way, it cannot stop them.

The roaring explosion sound suddenly blasted from the ground; the two people rushed toward the enemy at high speed, each run accompanied by explosions, the scorching feeling filling every part of their bodies, yet they felt no fear.

The source of the continuous explosions was none other than Virgo, which had flown upward and launched an attack; it raised the cherry-red staff in its hand, and the attack generated by distorted gravity formed a ring, swinging toward the two knights meeting for the first time.

The cherry-red attack fell like rain, smoke filled the air, flames shot up; this attack, if it hit even once, could completely rob them of their fighting ability.

Yet under their charge, no attack landed fully on them; the impact exploded at their feet, they bore the flames with their bodies, swinging their fists to attack the enemy.

"Hut!" Kamen Rider Meteor, employing Jeet Kune Do martial arts, dealt a heavy punch to Libra's body, instantly sending it flying several steps.

Moreover, not only his fists, but even more formidable were his legs; in the moment he dodged Scorpio's sweeping claw, he also kicked toward Cancer's body, each motion displaying his martial arts foundation; in the fierce close-quarters combat, various Jeet Kune Do principles were employed to the fullest.

Compared to Shuotian Liuxing's martial arts, Ruyue Xian Tairan is better suited to using various astronomical switches as combat means, continually attaching equipment to his limbs—nails, hammers taking turns.

The Gatling gun and missiles erupted all at once; Fourze's combat style is inherently versatile, and after Jiang Xia's near-harsh training, Ruyue now switches proficiently.

Compared to their fierce battle, Ge Xing Xian Wu, who was constantly doing data analysis nearby, felt uneasy, because the executives had not even reached the point of sustaining serious injuries; most were merely lightly wounded.

Constantly using energy attacks, Virgo, with wings spread and hovering in the air, had expended nothing at all, and it was the least injured—like it was waiting for the enemy to exhaust all stamina before delivering a decisive blow as a hunter.

Scorpio was indeed unexpected; its speed and strength posed little threat to Fourze, and perhaps it was an illusion, as if each of Scorpio's attacks never used full force.

The reason Ge Xing Xian Wu felt something odd was because he had seen Jiang Xia use Scorpio's full-power attack, so he classified it as the same power-conserving type as Virgo.

He did not believe that another Scorpio and Virgo were on their side; such a fantastical notion was snuffed out the moment it entered his mind.

As for the remaining two, one was Libra, continually knocked back by a strange knight using something akin to planetary weapons, and the other was the newly awakened Cancer.

Cancer's right hand suddenly bulged; in Ruyue Xian Tairan's sight, the huge pincer, with enough power to cut through anything, swung toward him like the claw of some ferocious beast—although its appearance bore no special power coating nor an obvious energy projectile trajectory, yet it let Ruyue Xian Tairan sense danger.

This is an intuition honed from many fights; this move is not as simple as it looks, and it very likely threatens his life.

Such a dangerous premonition has saved him many times; when Jiang Xia was about to kill him, he would suddenly become very clear-headed.

Not being clear-headed simply won't do; combat really can get you killed, and he firmly believes this.

So his current choice is either to block it or dodge outright; it is absolutely impossible for him to let this strike land on himself.

"Swish!"

Ruyue Xian Tairan's reaction was lightning-fast; a shield popped out on his right arm, horizontal, directly blocking in front of him, and his whole body instantly lowered.

He chose to block this attack! Because he noticed a brief opening in Cancer's assault, his best option was to block and simultaneously seize the chance to strike back.

At this moment, his speed in switching the astronomical switches increased once more, and he quickly pulled down the switch on the right side of his belt.

The crimson pincer scraped across the shield like scissors; Ruyue Xian Tairan felt it was correct—if this blow truly struck his body, he might literally be split in half.

The shield summoned by the 18th astronomical switch, before Cancer, was like paper—it was instantly sliced by its giant scissors, leaving no feeling of resistance whatsoever.

And that thin red line traced by the swinging pincer went on, directly chopping the stone platform behind him in two.

At the moment Ruyue Xian Tairan's shield was cut, he launched a kick with his whole body, his right foot suddenly encased in a yellow drill.

"RiderDrillKick!"

The continuously rotating drill tip spun wildly on Cancer's chest before it could react, kicking from below upward.

Of course, his combo wasn't over yet.

(End of chapter)