Wen Lie forced himself to muster some energy and shouted, "God Anubis, I am here to negotiate terms."
"Oh? Someone is calling my name, God Anubis? Do you know me?"
A dog-headed figure, invisible to ordinary people, materialized behind Wen Lie. To be exact, it had the head of a jackal, the body of a muscular man, and wore a helmet, bearing a striking resemblance to Anubis.
The dizzy feeling in Wen Lie's head lessened slightly, and he immediately said, "You are the Stand of a swordsman from five hundred years ago. After the swordsman died, his Stand attached itself to the sword. Am I right?"
Stand: God Anubis cried out loudly, "That's right! Ever since Chaka-Khan Salai died, I've been drifting endlessly through the hands of different people. Decades ago, because I hacked a few people to pieces, I got stuffed into a box. That feeling of being sealed away was just awful! I never want to go into a box again! Absolutely not!"
Wen Lie said, "Then become his subordinate. As my partner, we will take you out of this warehouse."
Wen Lie turned his head toward Zheng Zha, and Stand: God Anubis looked at Zheng Zha as well, its dog-like face wearing a very bizarre expression.
"You're joking, right? I'm already free. Why would I go serve as someone else's subordinate? I could take control of your body right now and walk right out of this warehouse, as effortlessly as taking a crap after a bad meal. No one can stop me!"
"What kind of gross metaphor is that?"
Wen Lie forced himself to ignore the metaphor used by Stand: God Anubis and proposed a duel.
"The weak submit to the strong—that was the prevailing rule in the era you lived in, wasn't it? If you can defeat this man beside me, then you are free. If you lose to him, he becomes your master. How about it?"
"Oh! Excellent proposal. You really get it, kid."
As the words fell, the power of Stand: God Anubis rapidly eroded Wen Lie's brain.
Wen Lie's mind gradually grew hazy, just like dumpling filling freshly salted and roughly kneaded back and forth by a mother's hands—how could he possibly retain any self-control under such conditions?
Soon, a purple light flared in those eyes.
He was no longer Wen Lie, or at least, no longer the original Wen Lie.
Stand User Wen Lie swapped the long sword and scabbard in his hands, turned to face Zheng Zha, and the corners of the young man's mouth curled upward into a grin that belonged solely to a fighter.
The master of Stand: God Anubis was both a swordsman and a fighter, just as the ability of Stand: God Anubis was born for battle.
Zheng Zha fully sensed the fighting intent radiating from Stand User Wen Lie. He glanced at Zhao Yinkong, who proactively retreated to the wall. Her presence vanished almost entirely, her body seeming to merge with the shadows so completely that even someone looking right at her would overlook her.
"I am God Anubis, the Stand of the card hinting at the Lord of the Underworld and guardian of the graveyard. Human, will you become my master or a ghost beneath my blade? Show me what you've got."
Stand User Wen Lie held the long sword vertically in front of him, the curved blade pointing straight at Zheng Zha, his gaze sharp and fixed on his opponent.
"My name is Zheng Zha, his captain."
Zheng Zha took an ordinary-looking black dagger from his Spatial Ring, met the eyes of Stand User Wen Lie, and his gaze went blank.
He didn't know how strong Wen Lie was in this state, nor was he in the habit of going all out right from the start.
However, since Stand: God Anubis appeared to be some kind of master swordsman, he—an office worker who had never practiced any martial arts—had no choice but to activate the First Order Genesis Lock to fight.
Stand User Wen Lie showed no courtesy, slashing at Zheng Zha without hesitation. The blade was fierce and intimidating, though lacking in subtlety, the attack was direct and straightforward.
Zheng Zha gripped his dagger and met Stand User Wen Lie blade-to-blade. As the dagger swept past, the flat of the blade vibrated slightly, striking the very tip of the long sword.
A spark flew, and the dagger and long sword parted instantly. The long sword slashed toward Zheng Zha like a gale wind. Zheng Zha thrust his dagger forward, the tip of his blade pressing against the edge of the long sword, before twisting his arm and bringing the edge of the dagger down against the side of the long sword, deflecting it away.
Such incredible strength!
Zheng Zha was certain Wen Lie was merely an ordinary human, but wielding that sword, Wen Lie's strength was not inferior to his own—in fact, it was even slightly greater.
There was just one thing: he couldn't sense any trace of Wen Lie having turned into a master swordsman.
His technique was even worse than his own; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to use a dagger to counter a long sword while neutralizing a powerful attack with inferior strength.
"Oh, you're a master of the dagger. It's rare to see a warrior using that kind of weapon."
Stand User Wen Lie chatted with Zheng Zha while continuing to slash.
Stand: God Anubis was naturally a chatterbox, and having been locked up in the warehouse for decades, it seized every opening now to talk.
"This dagger is truly sharp, tougher and sharper than my body. Is the technology for forging weapons already this advanced nowadays? What an extravagance to use such amazing tech to forge a dagger."
Stand User Wen Lie's talking did nothing to hinder his attacks. Wielding the long sword with B-rank power and speed, he unleashed a continuous storm of attacks.
Though the swordsmanship lacked finesse and resembled that of an amateur, it mastered the three core elements of speed, precision, and ruthlessness; every single strike aimed directly at Zheng Zha's vitals.
Zheng Zha tightened his grip on the dagger and swung his arm to meet the blade of Stand User Wen Lie. The dagger, only about thirty centimeters long, was roughly five times shorter than Stand User Wen Lie's long sword, making the parries incredibly perilous. Every single clash of steel came down to a hair's breadth from danger.
However, the only gap between the two weapons was length; in terms of hardness and sharpness, Zheng Zha's dagger was no worse than the long sword.
The high-vibration particle-cutting dagger, worth over 600 reward points, vibrated at high speed when swung, possessing a sharpness capable of slicing alloy like a cake.
In God's Dimension, the cost-performance ratio of technological weapons was simply off the charts.
After exchanging more than twenty blows with Stand User Wen Lie, Zheng Zha, operating under the state of the First Order Genesis Lock, steadily suppressed him.
Stand: God Anubis grew somewhat anxious.
Is this guy really human? How can he be this strong?
And what on earth is he using?!
The ability of Stand: God Anubis was to memorize an enemy's strength, speed, and moves, but Zheng Zha's strength and speed both fell below those of Stand: God Anubis, leaving no need to record them.
As for technique—Zheng Zha simply didn't have any.
Once the First Order Genesis Lock was unlocked, information that was previously impossible to perceive in detail passively flooded the mind. Even if consciousness could not react in time, the body would naturally execute corresponding movements based on that information.
Millimeter-precise control, millisecond-level pre-emptive reactions, the preliminary reading of others' brainwaves, and a nervous reflex sufficient to track the trajectory of a bullet, along with predictive capabilities great enough to dodge a silenced pistol.
All of this could be achieved through bodily instinct alone once the First Order Genesis Lock was opened.
How was instinct supposed to be memorized? That style of combat was entirely suited to the present moment, impossible to repurpose for the next fight.