46 Superquark Locke

The Gale Sword Technique is a skill that commands the wind through the sword, and at its core lies the Way of Wind and profound swordsmanship. Although Jos had acquired the theoretical knowledge of both from the system, he was unable to put them into practice without a sword in hand.

It was a set effect painstakingly assembled after nearly a hundred consecutive draws, yet, without a sword, it was utterly useless. While such a thing might sound absurd, upon reflection, it was perfectly in keeping with the system's nature.

In the past, Jos would have been so frustrated that he could barely contain himself, cursing the system for three days straight before his anger subsided.

“But now…” Jos eyed the abilities displayed on the system panel and sneered, “I’m a completely different person than I used to be!”

He focused his energy into his lower abdomen, exerted force, and something shot out from his body—not what one might expect, but rather… Well, that description is perhaps not quite right.

Jos gazed at the cylindrical object, radiating dazzling golden light and rising straight from his abdomen. With a cold sneer, he gave a sharp tug and pulled it out.

“What on earth did you just pull out?!” Blackie couldn’t help but comment, staring at the gleaming item in Jos’s hand.

“Surprised, aren’t you? This is my Heavenly Cloud [beep]! Take this, Apocalypse!” Jos raised the blade forged purely from light, pointing it at Apocalypse in the distance and declared a challenge in a booming voice.

“Hey?! Wait, wait, where are you all running off to???”

For reasons unknown, after exchanging a glance, Apocalypse and Laura tacitly shifted the battlefield, fighting as they moved further away from Jos.

“Ha! You’re getting fired up, huh? Try my chain E!” Seeing that the three were nearly a hundred meters away, Jos leaned forward and dashed after them in a flash.

[Name: Teammate’s Question Mark Can’t Catch Me]
[Rarity: SR]
[Effect: Rush toward any enemy within sight; the speed and distance of your dash are proportional to the enemy’s power (the stronger they are, the faster you dash!).]
[ps: As long as you E fast enough, no one can catch you.]

While the Wind Boy’s suit provided the Gale Sword Technique, its four constituent skills were anything but ornamental!

No doubt, even in his weakened state, Apocalypse’s combat strength started at a hundred Eagles, so Jos’s charge was so swift it defied comprehension—even he barely registered it before arriving right in front of Apocalypse.

Fortunately, Jos wasn’t the only one caught off guard. Apocalypse was even more bewildered, as Jos was the one actively using his skill, giving him the advantage this time!

With a sudden lift of his empty left hand, Jos unleashed a barrage of kitchenware—led by the Jade Dragon Pot and including the oven and rice cooker—hurling them straight at Apocalypse’s head.

Whether this scene was aesthetically pleasing was debatable, but its ability to distract was certainly unparalleled.

“Hassagi!!!”

With a furious roar, Jos’s right hand shot forth the sword of light like a viper, striking at Apocalypse’s head with a straightforward thrust!

With the thrust, a razor-sharp whirlwind formed, expanding the attack’s range and power by more than thirty percent.

[Name: Hassagi]
[Rarity: SR]
[Effect: With a roar, instantly thrust your sword forward carrying a tornado; the louder your shout, the stronger the tornado!]

Though Apocalypse managed to deflect the golden blade with a sand-and-psychic attack, Jos’s thrust still struck his right shoulder, and the fierce bladed whirlwind instantly tore a massive hole in his body!

“Troublesome… insect.”

Apocalypse raised his wrist, and the sand on the ground instantly wrapped around the ankles of Jos and his companions, solidifying into a metallic substance.

This immobilized the trio, and Apocalypse, no longer daring to underestimate them, manipulated several sand threads, sending them shooting toward each of the three.

The sand, under Apocalypse’s control, was more powerful than bullets; if it hit, Jos and his companions would all be riddled like sieves… though perhaps that wasn’t such a problem?

One of them had extraordinary self-healing abilities, with a skull made of adamantium—whether the sand could penetrate it was another question.

Another was liquid; what difference would it make if it struck?

“What the hell?!” Jos was startled.

As the sand threads closed in, he spun his sword of light, and a visible wall of wind swept forth, cleaving through the air!

[Name: Face the Gale]
[Rarity: SR]
[Effect: Usable only when you are the most likely to die in your team; command the wind with your sword to cut forth a wall that can block most projectiles.]

With the emergence of the wind wall, the bullet-like sand threads were scattered by the swirling currents, falling harmlessly as yellow sand, and the deadly crisis vanished without a trace.

This unexpected move caused Apocalypse to pause briefly, but by the time he remembered to attack again, it was too late.

Jos and his companions broke free and launched relentless attacks, leaving Apocalypse no room to retaliate.

Though the trio wasn’t as powerful as the team led by Phoenix, Apocalypse was also far weaker than during that period.

Unlike the X-Men, who let Apocalypse recover much of his power, Jos and his team had found him right as he awoke—and given him a rude awakening with hundreds of kilograms of C4.

No matter how strong Apocalypse’s regenerative abilities, he was not a mutant specialized in this field, so his recovery had its limits.

Plus, with none of his Four Horsemen found, this was, historically, Apocalypse at his weakest.

On Jos’s side, Venom was the flagship of the symbiote family, X-23 was Wolverine’s successor—both top-tier fighters, far superior to the likes of Beast and Mystique, who were little more than extras in the battle against Apocalypse.

As for Jos, he was formidable indeed; if shamelessness were a power, he’d be Alpha-class—among the strongest mutants.

But beyond that, the Heavenly Cloud Sword was a terrifying weapon against Apocalypse, and as Jos grew ever more proficient with the Gale Sword Technique, the balance of battle shifted in their favor.

“Ahhhh!!!” Apocalypse’s body was repeatedly torn apart, blood and flesh flying everywhere, and all he could do was howl in agony.

In an instant, as Blackie’s hands transformed into hammers and sent Apocalypse flying, Jos’s form blurred into a phantom, slashing at Apocalypse a dozen times.

[Name: If You Don’t Knock Me Up, How Can I Go Big?]
[Rarity: SSR]
[Effect: When an enemy within attack range is knocked airborne by something other than you or themselves, you can unleash a furious head-chopping wind combo.]

“This blow will end it!”

With a thunderous shout, Jos brought down his golden sword, imbued with unrivaled might, upon Apocalypse in a decisive strike!