Chapter 77: The Great Battle

"Gigantification!"

A guttural roar ripped from the Tiger Deacon's throat as a torrent of psionic energy erupted from his body. His already formidable tiger-man form began to swell with grotesque speed. Bones elongated with sickening cracks, muscles tore and expanded, and his entire being rapidly grew. This was his trump card, a powerful psionic skill awakened after breaking through to Rank Four, consuming a vast amount of his Aura to dramatically increase his own size. This time, the Tiger Deacon had increased his size by a full eight times. His transformed tiger form, with the addition of his tail, was now a colossal four meters tall and equally as long. His monstrous size now matched the Way Big that Ethan had transformed into.

However, the transformation had also exhausted nearly two-thirds of his psionic energy reserves. In such a massive physique, every single action required an immense consumption of Aura just to maintain his form. On the other side, Ethan was facing the same predicament. Way Big's colossal physique and unbelievably powerful stats caused his own psionic energy to drain at an astonishing rate. At most, he calculated, he could only maintain this form for about three minutes. He didn't even dare risk using his powerful cosmic light ray skill, knowing it would likely drain him instantly.

The Tiger Deacon was in the same boat. In his gigantified state, he could no longer use his other, more nuanced psionic skills. The reason was simple: with the expansion of his body, the power—and energy cost—of his skills would also increase exponentially, far beyond what his remaining reserves could afford.

Therefore, the two behemoths tacitly chose to engage in brutal, close-quarters combat. The scene had now become a real-life version of a titanic Kaiju battle, a clash of giants that shook the very foundations of the mountain. It was a pity that there was no one on this remote island of rock and shadow to film the epic confrontation.

The Tiger Deacon's claws and fangs were brutally sharp, but because of his overly huge, artificially expanded body, his control over it seemed clumsy, his movements powerful but ponderous. In contrast, although the Way Big that Ethan had transformed into was a lower psionic rank, its natural body type was slightly larger, and the To'kustar race's own various physical stats were astonishingly, almost unfairly, high. Not only that, Way Big also had sharp, blade-like protrusions on both arms, which served as powerful, innate weapons.

More importantly, after Ethan transformed, he himself had completely become Way Big, his mind perfectly in sync with the colossal body. Therefore, whether it was his control of this form or his use of its abilities, he was much more skilled and fluid than the Tiger Deacon. In this fierce battle, the two giants fought, seemingly evenly matched, and for a moment, it was hard to tell who had the upper hand.

At the same time, on the chaotic battlefield below, Agent Croft and Agent Sterling were once again engaged in a deadly fight with the two remaining Rank Three masters of the Evolution Cult. And Marcus and Seraphina had picked up their own weapons and were locked in a desperate battle with the other Rank One apostles. Originally, due to the falling rocks from Ethan's transformation, the Evolution Cult had already suffered a heavy blow, with devastating casualties. There were almost no uninjured cultists left among their lower ranks.

However, due to the protective shields of Agent Croft and Agent Sterling, Marcus and Seraphina had not been harmed at all. Now, the situation was clearly, decisively, in their favor.

"Amplify!" Marcus, who possessed an absolute advantage in raw physical strength, was knocking out the Rank One pipsqueaks one by one. Anyone who took a direct punch from him would, without exception, immediately lose their ability to move. If they were unlucky enough to be hit by the sharp spikes on his psionic gauntlets, they would die on the spot. Seraphina, not to be outdone, wielded her two jagged rock sabers with divine skill, moving nimbly like a whirlwind of death through the enemy's panicked encirclement. Coupled with the powerful protection of her layered armor, the enemy simply could not break through her defense and would instead be grievously wounded by her sharp sabers.

The scene was extremely fierce and chaotic. Not far away, a large batch of military patrol teams were already rushing over. Mayor Everett Thorne and General Valerius were also about to arrive. At this moment, the red light on Ethan's chest was already blinking with alarming speed.

The Tiger Deacon laughed, a grating, triumphant sound. "Hahahaha! Brat, you're out of steam, aren't you? What I said before is still valid. Obediently come with me, and you'll be spared the suffering of the flesh."

Ethan didn't speak. He just punched him in the head. A giant, yellowed tiger tooth cracked and broke off, tumbling through the air. As luck would have it, it landed right on the air-type psionicist who was still locked in a desperate battle with Agent Croft.

"Aah!!!" The sharp, massive tiger tooth pierced his body, impaling him and ending his life instantly.

Agent Croft stared, bewildered. Huh??? He didn't know what was going on, but it seemed he had just gotten very lucky. That tiger tooth, along with the now-dead air-type psionicist, fell to the ground. The psionic energy holding his enhanced form together vanished. His body deflated, shrinking back to its normal size, but it was just meat now. The man was dead. Next up, for Croft and Sterling, was a two-on-one fight against the last Rank Three cultist.

Ethan, as Way Big, taunted, his voice a deep rumble, "Was my luck too good, or was someone on your team just too unlucky?"

The Tiger Deacon gritted his remaining teeth. "Brat, don't get cocky!" A shimmering, cold light glowed on his right claw. "Sharp Claw!" Enraged, he no longer cared about the massive consumption of his remaining psionic energy and directly activated his psionic skill. With the buff from his Aura, his right claw became even sharper, and there was even a faint, deadly icy chill emanating from it. In the next second, like a bolt of lightning, the Tiger Deacon suddenly leaped up, attacking Ethan with immense power and speed, his right claw shaped like a deadly hook.

Ethan crossed his massive arms, intending to block this desperate blow. But his opponent's strength was beyond his imagination. Ethan was knocked to the ground by this one powerful blow. Two deep, bloody scratches on his arms looked terrifying and were constantly bleeding. While Ethan was down, the Tiger Deacon rushed forward, pressed down on his massive body, and continuously attacked him with both claws. The sharp claws continuously left deep, gouging scratches on his body.

Ethan naturally wouldn't just watch himself being attacked without doing anything. He fiercely propped up his head with both hands, using all his strength to lift his upper body up a little. Just this little bit of space was enough for the Tiger Deacon's head to no longer be able to reach Ethan's neck. Then Ethan freed one hand, clenched it into a colossal fist, and continuously, brutally, hit his opponent's face. The Tiger Deacon was in immense pain and had no choice but to get off Ethan. Ethan performed a kip-up to stand, a move that was absurd for his size. The violent shockwave from his movement almost made the people on the ground below lose their footing.

He used the sharp, blade-like protrusions on his back to leave a large gash on the Tiger Deacon's body. These protrusions were incredibly sharp and could be used as powerful hand sabers.

"Sharp Fangs!" Three sharp, remaining fangs on the Tiger Deacon's mouth gleamed with a cold, desperate light. There should have been four, but one had been knocked out by Ethan just now. Even so, this was a genuine Rank Two psionic skill, definitely much stronger than the sharp claws from before. Ethan wanted to dodge, but the old tiger's explosive power was too strong, and it rushed in front of him in an instant. Just as its mouth was about to bite Ethan's shoulder, a bite that could definitely pierce his shoulder and cripple his arm, at this critical, life-or-death moment…

"Fist!"

A massive, glowing fist formed from pure psionic energy slammed into the Tiger Deacon's head from the side. Not only did it send his massive body flying sideways, but it also broke another one of his giant teeth. Now, the Tiger Deacon only had the upper left and lower right two large canine teeth left. General Valerius landed heavily on the ground, kicking up a huge cloud of dust.

"Damn it, kid," he roared, looking up at the battling giants. "Took you long enough to make a mess this big!"