Heroes Return

The collisions continued unabated, and the fall of the Guixu Sword became extremely slow.

Ultimately, before the god, Guixu still pierced the god's body. However, immediately after piercing the god's body, Guixu's sword light was deflected. The god was not seriously injured, but almost simultaneously, Ling's figure appeared in front of the god and thrust his sword towards the god's chest.

"Haa, haa, haa!" With Lin Jie's heavy breathing, a terrifying divine power rushed towards him.

In the blink of an eye, Lin Jie was covered in injuries, and his grip on the Gui Xu was almost loosened. However, the moment he realized this, Lin Jie tightened his grip on the Gui Xu and flew into the sky despite the damage caused by the burst of divine power.

It's unclear how high the two flew. They finally stopped in the sky. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, a human city appeared suspended in the air before them.

After the burst of divine power ended, both Lin Jie and the gods fell towards the city that Lin Jie had created.

Right before the eyes of the gods, Guixu vanished. To be precise, because Lin Jie's power had weakened, Guixu had returned to its original place.

In fact, after such a long and continuous battle, Lin Jie no longer had the strength to continue using the Returning Void Sword Technique. But even so, it was enough.

"You've won, Lin Jie. Or rather, Zero." God looked calmly at Lin Jie: "It seems I still couldn't convince you in the end. I could have spared you from the consequences of bringing such a great disaster to the world and given you a happy ending, but it seems I ultimately couldn't do it."

"Hey, what do you mean by that? Ever since I obtained the Void, my future has been unpredictable."

"It's not a prophecy based on power! It's just that I know what you're looking for, so this is the inevitable conclusion I've drawn." The god lying on the ground, constantly dissipating, said calmly, "I'm about to disappear. This space can only last for half an hour at most. Remember to leave on time."

"Sigh, how should I put it? Maybe we have different ideas, but I can't help but dislike you." Lin Jie said helplessly, looking at the god. However, the next second, a fist struck the exhausted Lin Jie directly, sending him flying.

"Yeah, but you probably hate me, right? Hahahaha! Now, it's finally our turn."

Chapter 76

With this punch, Lin Jie was sent flying, crashing through several buildings before finally coming to a stop.

"Ivan!" Struggling to his feet from the ruins, Lin Jie looked into the distance. There, Ivan was walking towards them, but unlike Lin Jie, he was wearing a powerful, enchanted suit of armor. It was Ivan, the one in armor, who had punched Lin Jie earlier, sending him flying.

However, the original Ivan could not have possessed such great power.

“You know what? I knew from the very beginning that you would win! I firmly believed from the start that you would be the one to win in the end. Because you are Zero! You cannot be defeated by a so-called powerful being! How could Zero be defeated by a powerful enemy? That's impossible! Even this god cannot defeat you!” As he walked, Ivan said to Zero in front of him, “But are you satisfied with this game? We wagered the fate of the world on a game of chess, and now, it's finally time for the two of us to face off, isn't it? I've been waiting for this moment for a long time.”

The moment the words left his mouth, Ivan was once again in front of Zero, punching him squarely in the face as he regained his footing. Almost instantly, Zero was sent flying again. Almost simultaneously, Ivan flashed back to Zero's side, kicking him once more. He sent Zero flying again, then punched him in the stomach mid-air. A series of terrifying punches followed, all landing on Zero's body. A terrifying explosion, a result of the internal attack, even resounded in the air!

"Zero? Where's your sword? Where's your signature weapon?" With a series of attacks, Ivan pinned Zero to the ground: "Hahahaha! I've been waiting for this moment for so long! I've finally tested your limits! I've finally found your weakest point! Without a doubt, now is the time to truly kill you, isn't it? It's fantastic! Hahahahaha! It's fantastic! For days on end, you've been tirelessly fighting across the world, facing off against the strongest army of the gods. At the same time, you've faced attacks from dozens of main gods! And you've protected the innocent! Hahahahaha! It's truly magnificent, you're truly magnificent! After winning the battle, even though you were exhausted, you didn't even bother to rest before rushing over to engage in another extremely fierce battle with the so-called strongest being in the world! Even you, you've finally reached your limit, haven't you? Even you, you've finally lost the strength to fight back, haven't you? Hahahahaha! How does it feel to be thoroughly beaten by this weakling?"

As Evan spoke, he threw another punch at Zero.

But this time, Zero caught his fist. The next second, however, a terrifying magical power erupted from the fist, blasting it away. In the blink of an eye, Zero was sent flying again. Ivan then rushed forward once more.

"Now, this is the moment of intense anticipation and bittersweetness." Zero said, grabbing Zero's hood. "I can finally know who you are!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Ivan took off the hood. Then, without doing anything else, Ivan calmly put the hood back on.

"Tch, it's the most likely guess, how boring!" Ivan muttered casually before turning to Zero. "After all these years, this time, I can finally have my turn! I'm weak, I have no real power. You're strong, with incredible luck. I've watched you create miracles and grow stronger, while I, limited, can only remain weak. But I've never felt sad about being weak. On the contrary, it makes me happy! Because only when I'm weak do I face challenges, and only when I'm weak do I feel a sense of accomplishment when I win. Overthrowing superiors is always what humans love most!"

As for me, now that I'm so weak, I finally have the chance to give you a good beating! So farewell! Zero! I finally won! Ahahahahahahaha!!

With a maniacal laugh, Ivan unleashed terrifying energy from his hands. At Ivan's request, the antimatter reactor, powerful enough to destroy the entire world, was installed as the core of his armor. With this burst of immense power, Ivan finally had the chance to fight Zero head-on.

As the antimatter reactor on Ivan's arm erupted, terrifying antimatter blasted towards Zero. But as the antimatter that had pierced through the entire platform vanished, Zero's figure had already disappeared into the massive crater.

"Looks like I've finally won this time..." Before Evan could finish speaking, a fist slammed into him, accompanied by a loud bang. The defensive force field of Evan's armor suddenly erupted. But even so, Evan was still blasted dozens of meters away by Lin Jie's punch.

"Sorry, this isn't the first time I've encountered someone beating up the weak." Staggering to the spot, Zero now looked like a broken and battered person. But that punch just now still felt solid. "I never underestimate the weak, because even the weak can do many things I can't, right? Although I can't hate God, conversely, I can't like you either!"

"You're finally willing to talk to me? Hahahaha!" Hearing Zero's words, Ivan's face still wore a nearly maniacal smile of joy: "But I really like you! Because you've never disappointed me when it comes to strength. Hahahaha! But this is more like it. If you were killed by me without even a chance to fight back, it would be too boring! This is what's interesting!"

As Evan spoke, he reappeared beside Zero and threw a punch at him. Almost simultaneously, Zero grabbed Evan's arm, but the next second, a powerful force erupted from the armor, sending Zero flying as he prepared for his next attack. Without a word, Evan chased after him and threw a punch at Zero at lightning speed.

In that instant, Zero struck out and grabbed Ivan's fist once more, then threw a punch directly at Ivan. Almost simultaneously, an energy sword appeared in Ivan's other hand and slashed down towards Zero's head.

The punch struck Ivan directly, sending him flying once more. However, at the same time, a horrific wound appeared on his chest.

There was no time to pay attention to the sky above; Zero threw a punch straight ahead. Ivan was already charging towards him.

With a maniacal grin, Ivan's attacks were completely haphazard, showing utter disregard for his own life. He simply laughed maniacally as he tried every possible method to attack Zero, hoping to inflict fatal damage.

At this moment, both men were risking their lives, and their goal was surprisingly the same: to kill each other!

"Hahahaha! Yes, that's it, bring out your killing intent! Zero! Come and kill me! Or be killed by me! This battle will be our final game. Hahahaha! This time I'm using the real me, not a clone, not a double, and not an alt. This time I didn't leave before the plan was complete, nor did I try to escape! This time I stand face to face with you! Ahahahaha! Come and try to kill me! Ten years! You've never truly killed me once! And I've never truly won against you once! Hahahaha! This game will finally come to an end today."

"I never intended to play any games with you!" Zero's voice rang out. "You're a criminal, and I'm killing criminals!"

"But you still participated! Hahaha! Chatting with you was great! Although this is our first chat, it might also be our last." As Ivan spoke, the high-powered energy source on his armor erupted, unleashing a furious barrage towards Zero. Accompanied by the sweeping and tilting of antimatter energy, Lin Jie found himself unable to dodge for a moment.

However, this did not deter Lin Jie from continuing the fight. Almost instantly, the Drumming Gang appeared before Lin Jie, transforming into a massive pillar to directly absorb the antimatter attack. The moment the energy attack ceased, Lin Jie stepped forward again, throwing a punch at Ivan, while Ivan simultaneously threw a punch at Zero. Their fists collided, and this time, Zero was once again sent flying.

Having endured so many battles, Lin Jie's strength had been weakened to the extreme. Ivan had been waiting for this moment from the very beginning. But facing such a troublesome Ivan, Lin Jie didn't waste any words; he simply flipped himself up from the ground. This time, Lin Jie had made his decision. It was time to settle things with Ivan.

Guixu was unusable due to its depleted power, and the Four Swords of Zhuxian were also nearly exhausted in the battle with the gods and were temporarily unusable as well. Lin Jie still had many weapons, but most of them were beyond his current strength to wield. However, this was not a problem for Lin Jie.

Almost in the blink of an eye, a massive, edgeless greatsword appeared in Lin Jie's hand. Facing the approaching Ivan, Lin Jie swept the sword outwards, one strike after another. In the blink of an eye, Ivan was sent flying.

"While I can somewhat understand how you feel, you still can't win this time! And this time, I'm going to completely destroy you!" Zero's icy voice rang out once more. But at that moment, the bladeless greatsword had already left his hand.

"I'm sure to win this time! Hahahaha!" Ivan, who had been knocked away, bounced up again and used the power of his armor to fly towards Zero, crashing directly into him. The two of them flew out of the air.

Chapter 77

As they were both launched into the air, they continued their frenzied battle mid-air. This time, both Zero and Ivan were fighting with all their might, or rather, trying their best to kill each other.

As heroes of justice, they share a special code: never kill criminals out of anger; those criminals should be handed over to the courts for a fair trial. This has always been their axiom. But for Zero, the great hero who just saved the world, he might not be considered a qualified hero, because he is now trying to kill someone. He is trying to kill a criminal.

In fact, although he's still being called a hero now, Zero still won't consider himself a superhero by then. And if there's anyone in this world he could kill without any psychological burden, without facing condemnation or leaving a dark past, then that person is undoubtedly the one right in front of him.

Ivan!

From the director of a charitable orphanage at the beginning, to the core research institute of the World Brain Domain Technology, to this madman now, Zero has no idea what Ivan has been through. But one thing Zero is very clear about: no matter what Ivan has been through, given what he has done now, he deserves to die.

The number of superhumans who have died directly or indirectly at Ivan's hands has already reached three digits, not to mention countless ordinary people, including the elderly, children, and women. Ivan has killed almost everyone from all walks of life. And Ivan's reasons for killing these people are not like those of most criminals, who kill for profit or some special ideal.

Ivan doesn't care about profit, nor does he have any ideals. He kills so many people simply for fun, and his reason for choosing to become such a horrific criminal is related to Zero. His greatest pleasure is playing games with Zero, and he constantly tries to defeat Zero. Since Zero is a hero, then he is a criminal. Since Zero is so powerful, he refuses any opportunity to change his body, because he wants to defeat the strongest Zero as a weakling!

Who said criminals are destined to fail? Who said the strong will always win?

Ivan never believed in any of this; in his eyes, it was just a difference in game difficulty. Since it was just a game, he believed he would definitely find a way to beat it.

Now, amidst this intense clash, Ivan has finally found a way to clear the level.

He has finally gotten the chance to kill Zero, and for this chance, Ivan is willing to give up everything, because nothing brings him more pleasure than getting this opportunity.

The moment the two landed, Ivan's knee struck Zero in the face, sending him flying once again.

"This feels amazing, this feels absolutely amazing!" Just as Ivan was getting excited, a Green Dragon Crescent Blade flew towards him. Faced with this incredibly fast strike, Ivan had no chance to react at all. Fortunately, the energy barrier formed by the continuous flow of energy from his armor blocked the incoming Green Dragon Crescent Blade. Zero also rushed over. While grabbing the Green Dragon Crescent Blade, he abruptly sheathed the blade and then slashed down fiercely at Ivan.

Faced with this attack, Ivan directly blocked it with the armor on his arm. After a sound of metal clashing, the energy armor on Ivan's arm shattered.

However, Ivan's punch simultaneously struck Zero's face, sending him flying. The Green Dragon Crescent Blade also slipped from his grasp at that moment.

This time, Ivan charged straight at Zero's face, his other armored fist relentlessly pounding into Zero's face. Each punch caused the surrounding ground to crumble. But Ivan didn't stop.

"That's so satisfying! This is so incredibly satisfying! It's amazing! It's absolutely amazing!" With a maniacal grin, Ivan's attacks grew increasingly ferocious. However, Ivan's final strike was blocked by Zero's arm, and then Zero kicked Ivan high into the air. The instant Ivan crashed to the ground, Zero pounced on him, unleashing a barrage of punches.

While being attacked, Ivan laughed maniacally and excitedly.

"Fantastic! This moment is absolutely fantastic! Hahahaha!" Even while being attacked, Ivan remained unusually excited. Accompanied by Ivan's maniacal laughter, the antimatter energy cannon on his armor was once again switched to maximum output, blasting directly at Zero. Zero, however, rolled off Ivan, dodging the attack after a few somersaults on the ground nearby.

When Evan stood up again, he noticed that his armor was almost entirely covered in cracks and blood. Lin Jie's fist was now a bloody mess.

Spitting out blood, Evan charged at Zero once more, completely oblivious to the fact that his armor was crumbling and falling off.

The battle between the two men continued.

Why are you so persistent with me?

"You think you're the strongest one?!" Ivan laughed as he answered Zero's question.

"Is it really worth it for you to do this? You should know that even if you win against me now, you won't have a good ending." Zero couldn't help but wonder at this moment.

"Are you an idiot? You should have known this already, right?" Hearing the other person's words, Ivan revealed a mocking tone: "Being able to do whatever you want to do, to do whatever you want without any moral constraints. That kind of happiness! Do you understand?"

"I'm sorry, but at least none of my children have the idea of ​​killing ordinary people."

"What you have, everyone has had in their minds, but boring rationality becomes their shackles. And it is precisely because of these boring shackles that the word 'magnanimity' exists in the world!" As Ivan spoke, the material energy cannons on his body erupted once again, continuously spraying Zero: "And this time, the victor will be me! Hahahaha!"

Amidst the laughter, Zero had already circled behind Ivan and kicked him in the waist. In that instant, Ivan's armor shattered. But the next second, Lin Jie was also pierced through the side by an energy sword.

"We've played this game so many times! This time, it's time I won, isn't it?" Ivan, his armor mostly damaged, strode towards Zero, who was bleeding profusely, wielding his energy sword. He staggered, his face pale, and blood trickling from his mouth. Clearly, Zero's barrage of attacks had taken its toll on Ivan.

Even so, Ivan still stood in front of Zero, this time looking down at him.

"Sorry, you can't win!" Seeing Ivan's sword slash down at him, Zero managed to dodge to the side with difficulty, and in the next instant, his arm grabbed Ivan's arm.

With a snap, Zero broke Ivan's arm, which was gripping the energy sword. But even with the broken bone and dislocated joint, Zero was surprised to find that Ivan was still smiling. He was still smiling so happily, an almost pathological smile. His hand was still tightly gripping the energy sword.

Seeing this, Zero didn't waste any words and knocked Ivan to the ground with a single punch. In this state, almost every movement Zero made was tearing open several horrific wounds on his body. If an ordinary person suffered such severe injuries, they wouldn't have survived.

"Hahaha! Who said that? Didn't I already checkmate you this time? Now we'll see who gets killed first. This feeling of gambling with your life is just amazing." Hearing Zero's words, Ivan was filled with excitement, and his antimatter energy erupted towards Zero once again.

Zero could only move his body with difficulty, but it seemed unlikely he could dodge the attack. However, Ivan's armor was almost completely damaged, rendering him utterly powerless. The recoil propelled him away, causing the cannon fire to veer off course and graz past Lin Jie. Even so, it still left a horrific wound on Lin Jie's body.

Ivan was thrown out by the recoil, crashing through a wall and into a building, his energy sword falling from his hand.

Zero picked up the energy sword from Ivan's hand and walked into the building.

Upon entering the building, Ivan surprisingly managed to stand up with difficulty. At the same time, an energy gun had appeared in his other hand, seemingly out of nowhere.

As the energy gun was aimed at Zero, Zero threw his energy sword, which struck the gun directly. Immediately afterward, Zero charged forward with all his might and punched Ivan in the face.

As the punch landed on Ivan, Zero also fell to the ground.

"Hahahaha! It's time for the second round!" Ivan picked up the energy sword that was stuck in the energy gun again, dragged his twisted and deformed other arm, and stood up with difficulty once again. On the other side, Zero also struggled to stand up.

By now, both of them had reached their limits. Their stamina and the injuries they had sustained were almost completely exhausted. But even so, they both stood up and charged at each other once more.

Because they all knew that if anyone didn't stand up, there was only one fate for him: death!

The final clash: Zero and Ivan! The final collision of two legends from the same era, yet there was no earth-shattering battle. Instead, an unusual calm prevailed.

"I really want to win this time!" Slammed against a pillar once more, Ivan weakly raised his hand and stabbed Zero in the leg as he approached. The blow sent Zero sprawling to the ground. The next second, Zero rolled a considerable distance. In truth, even lifting his energy sword was now nearly impossible for Ivan.

"You could never win from the start," Zero said firmly.

"Why are you so convinced that I can't win?"

“Because you’re a criminal.” After saying this, Zero lunged at Ivan again. Seeing Ivan raise his hand, Zero had already slammed down on him. Before Ivan could even raise his energy sword, Zero had already pinned him down on the arm.

"Just because I'm a criminal?"

"Yes, because you're a criminal." He seized the energy from Ivan's hand. Zero struggled to sit up, and after several attempts, he finally managed to sit up, leaning against the wall like Ivan. However, the energy sword in Ivan's hand was already in Lin Jie's grasp.