Chapter 164: Admit Defeat
As the White Queen raised her hand, a shield made completely of diamond suddenly expanded outward from the tip of her middle finger, covering a 3-meter-wide area around her. It formed a dome-shaped diamond shield.
Following her warning, those nearby quickly moved closer, just enough to fit inside the shield.
Actually, many of the spectators didn't truly fear the giant magma fists falling from the sky.
Take Juggernaut, for example—he could just stand there and take it. The fists likely couldn't even break through his defense.
Or the Red Devil—he could teleport away in seconds, easily avoiding the attack.
Clarice was the same. She could open a portal at any moment and leave. While her portal range wasn't as limitless as Red Devil's, sending herself several kilometers away was easy—and those magma fists clearly couldn't reach that far.
However, not everyone had a way to deal with such a wide-range attack—like Costa, the only normal human among the core members...
He didn't need to be directly hit. Just the shockwave would be enough to seriously hurt him.
That's why White Queen's action made perfect sense. Even Juggernaut didn't argue—he quietly stepped into the diamond shield.
Through the transparent shield, they could still see the fight happening in the distance.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
The giant magma fists crashed down like falling missiles, bombarding the entire area. The ground trembled non-stop!
One of the fists landed near the spectators, sending lava splashing in all directions toward them.
But with the diamond shield protecting them, the lava couldn't cause any harm.
Even though the space inside the shield was a bit crowded, it was still much better than the hellish battlefield outside.
Longshot wasn't so lucky.
He wasn't like Juggernaut, with high offense and defense, nor could he teleport away like Red Devil or Clarice.
While his physical abilities were much stronger than an average person's, getting hit by one of those magma fists would be devastating. The sheer force alone would be bad enough, not to mention the intense heat of the lava.
So he didn't dare let his guard down. He dodged quickly, using his probability manipulation to boost his chances of evading the attacks.
It was a struggle—and he looked a bit messy—but he could still hang on for now.
But would Raymond just stand by and let him keep dodging?
The answer was clear—While Longshot was busy dodging the magma fists, Raymond suddenly made his move!
He completely ignored the flying chunks of lava, and the fists still falling from the sky. None of it could hurt him anyway.
Longshot had to dodge—but Raymond didn't!
With this huge advantage, he instantly appeared behind Longshot!
If this had been an attack from the Tao Pai Pai sub-personality, Longshot could've used his probability powers to dodge, maybe even strike back.
At that moment, Longshot was forced into a dead-end surrounded by falling magma fists and lava fragments—there was nowhere left to run.
If he dodged, even if he escaped Raymond, the flying lava would hit him.
This kind of large-scale, area-wide attack was exactly the kind of situation where his powers were least effective.
It was like trying to avoid a rain of arrows—no matter how fast or precise you are, you're still bound to get hit.
And Longshot was no exception.
"Admitting defeat?"
Raymond had already placed a hand on Longshot's shoulder. There was nowhere left to escape.
"This time, I lose…" Longshot admitted without hesitation.
Because he knew—if this had been a real fight to the death, he'd already be dead.
If Raymond had turned the hand on his shoulder into magma, Longshot wouldn't have survived.
His strength had never been direct head-on fights.
If backed into a corner where he had to fight head-on, he was on the same level as the weaker core members like Carl and the others.
Even the Gambit and Red Devil could easily crush him—let alone Raymond.
Soon, the magma fists stopped falling, leaving the ground battered and full of craters.
Only then did the White Queen dismiss the diamond shield.
The Red Devil appeared beside them first and said with a grin, "Dr. Raymond, you weren't this wild the last time I saw you fight…"
The Gambit followed, using his metal baton to leap through the air and land beside Longshot.
"Hey, old buddy, now you finally know how it feels to get completely overpowered. Exciting, right?"
"Don't rush off after the banquet," Longshot replied seriously, ignoring the teasing. "Let's go another round. And if you disappear again, don't blame me for showing up while you're 'working' next time."
The smile on Gambit's face froze.
Longshot's words brought back a memory he didn't want to remember…
As the top thief in the powered world, he had pulled off countless heists and almost never failed.
It wasn't about money—he just had a habit of collecting rare treasures. Whenever he saw something precious, he couldn't resist taking it.
Because of that, he was not only wanted by several governments but had also made enemies of many powerful groups.
Like the vampires in Europe. With their ancient history, they had lots of rare treasures.
Even though he knew they were dangerous, he couldn't help himself.
As a result, at least three vampire clans had placed bounties on him—and not small ones.
Still, with his skills, he usually got away safely.
Except for a few times… when things got truly dangerous.
One of those times was when he skipped out on a duel with Longshot. So Longshot decided to show up right in the middle of one of his heists and "spar" with him.
Because of that, his target caught him in the act and chased him for days.
If Longshot hadn't shown up again to save him, he probably would've been captured.
No doubt, Longshot had done that on purpose.
Maybe not to get him caught—but it had definitely messed him up.
Now Longshot was challenging him again… and the smile on his face looked more like a grimace.
"Come on, let's head back to the castle. We can talk it over with a drink," Red Devil stepped in with a grin, breaking the tension.
Whoosh—
A cloud of red mist appeared—and the four of them vanished from the spot.
After sending Raymond and the others back, Red Devil made a few more trips to bring everyone else back to the castle.
The banquet continued.
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