Chapter 65: Deadly Little Fists
Thump, thump, thump...
Rose swung her fists, each punch leaving afterimages, every blow landing on Amu's head, dazing the bull-headed creature.
Compared to the battered Amu, the perpetrator Rose was even more speechless. She had lost count of how many times she had hammered this Minotaur. Setting aside the abnormal effects attached to her attacks, her Strength attribute of 83 points alone was enough to shatter any third-rank summoned creature.
Amu was a bull of a different breed; its mission was to take a beating. Even if Rose were to hammer it for dozens of punches, or even wield her Demon Scythe, as long as she didn't hit a vital spot, she couldn't finish it off quickly.
Rose now desperately wanted to gang up on Su Xiao with the 'Blood Puppet,' but unfortunately, Amu had inflicted a Frost effect on her. She absolutely wouldn't approach Su Xiao while slowed down.
Comparing Su Xiao and Rose, Rose had the edge in Strength, while Su Xiao held the advantage in Speed.
"Annoying bull."
Rose threw a full-force uppercut, smashing directly into Amu's jaw.
Bang!
Amu's head snapped back, blood spraying from its nose as it staggered back a few steps. That punch was heavy, but Amu just wiped its nose and charged headlong at Rose again.
"Tch."
Rose sidestepped Amu's somewhat clumsy fist, grabbed its arm with both hands, and executed a shoulder throw, slamming Amu to the ground.
With a thunderous crash, Amu lay on its back. Before it could get up, Rose leaped into the air and stomped down on its head.
"Crimson Lotus."
Another boom echoed as Amu's head was driven deep into the ground.
Amu's body twitched, its raised arms falling limply.
"Finally dealt with."
Rose let out a long sigh, her face slightly pale. Her moves looked ordinary, but in reality, this was one of her ultimate techniques, only usable in her transformed state.
Amu's survivability was too strong. For an enemy, Amu was like a sticky piece of toffee—impossible to kill, impossible to shake off.
Would Amu be resolved so easily? Of course not.
At this moment, Amu was merely stunned unconscious, not dead. Its vital signs were barely healthy. Nourished by the Ice Goddess's aura, it would recover in no time.
Amu's arm twitched, and in its unconscious state, it stood up.
"This..."
Rose saw Amu's dull, lifeless eyes. It was clearly unconscious, needing at least a few minutes to wake up.
In truth, Amu was indeed unconscious, but Bubu Wang had taken over its control.
Around the corner, Bubu Wang sniffled, tears welling in its eyes. Its punched dog face was numb and sore; it feared it might be disfigured.
Under Bubu Wang's control, Amu raised its big hand and subconsciously touched its cheek.
"Moo!"
'Amu' roared and charged several steps to Rose.
"What the hell?"
Rose threw a punch straight at Amu's face. The blow was heavy and powerful, nearly knocking the 400-plus-pound Amu onto its rear.
But that couldn't stop the enraged 'Amu'—no, it couldn't stop the enraged Bubu Wang.
With Rose held back by Amu, Su Xiao was also unable to break free for the moment. The two Bloody Phantoms he faced were utterly disgusting.
These two Bloody Phantoms had almost no defense. Given the sharpness of Dragon-Slaying Flash and the destructive power of Azure Steel Shadow, they should have been dispersed long ago.
Yet that wasn't the case. Su Xiao was still locked in combat with the two Bloody Phantoms. Moreover, two threads connected him to them.
Whenever Su Xiao was about to disperse a Bloody Phantom, his Health Points would drop by about 10% in a short time.
Thus, the two Bloody Phantoms were nearly impossible to disperse. In other words, as long as Su Xiao's Health Points were above a certain threshold, he couldn't destroy them.
Not only that, but the Bloody Phantoms' attack power was formidable. After all, they wielded Rose's two Demon Scythes. Noticing this, Su Xiao made a gesture to Bubu Wang, who was hiding in the shadows.
Bubu Wang immediately understood Su Xiao's intent. The Amu it controlled spread its arms wide.
Crack, crack, crack...
Ice crystals climbed over Rose's body, instantly turning her into an ice sculpture.
Crack!
A chunk of ice shattered. The ice sculpture encasing Rose was covered in cracks, indicating she could break free in a short time.
Amu turned and charged at Su Xiao. Su Xiao used his sword hilt to knock away one Bloody Phantom, while Amu rammed into the other. Seizing the opportunity, Su Xiao broke free and rushed straight at Rose.
Having Amu hold off the two Bloody Phantoms while Su Xiao dealt with an unarmed Rose—that was the correct choice.
When Su Xiao was ten meters from the Bloody Phantoms, the two blood threads on him snapped and instead attached to Amu's body.
Su Xiao was almost instantly in front of Rose. She had already broken free of the ice crystals, her body radiating cold air. Her speed had noticeably decreased, and she still retained Amu's Frost effect.
Frost (Passive): On attack, can inflict a Frost effect on the enemy, reducing their movement speed by 10% for 3 seconds.
Note: This effect can stack, up to 10 layers. Stacking increases duration; the speed reduction remains at 10%.
Note: Each stack of Frost doubles the duration, up to a maximum of 25 minutes and 36 seconds.
...
At this moment, Rose had 10 layers of Frost on her. However, because Amu had activated its ultimate ability, 'Winter's Wrath,' forcibly freezing her, the Frost effect's duration was reduced. What should have lasted 25 minutes and 36 seconds now lasted at most about 5 minutes.
The moment Su Xiao reached Rose, his longsword slashed toward her neck.
"Solidify!"
Rose shouted. Su Xiao suddenly stopped in place as strands of blood threads tightly bound him.
With a snap, a few blood threads broke. This wasn't a skill-based control but a physical restraint effect. If his Strength attribute was high enough, he could forcibly break free.
Due to Su Xiao's immense strength, the blood threads snapped one by one. But in close combat, such a pause could be fatal.
Rose stepped forward, her right arm bent, fist clenched. A blood-red light enveloped her small fist as she punched toward Su Xiao's head.
Thud!
The entire underground base shook. An invisible shockwave spread outward, causing large cracks to appear on the walls.
Rose held her punching stance in front of Su Xiao. Her fist hadn't hit his head but had struck a light blue energy shield—a shield with 600 points of durability.
Crack.
Cracks appeared on the shield, showing the punch's power. But the fist pressed against the shield trembled.
Understandably, Rose's punch was like an ordinary person hitting a wooden board. Regardless of its destructive force, at least her right hand was numb.
The energy shield suddenly exploded, shattering like glass and spraying toward Rose.
Rose raised her arms to block, her clothes getting cut in several places.
A longsword silently slashed toward Rose's neck. This was Su Xiao's fighting style—striking at vital points whenever possible.
Rose sensed the blade through her Blood Web. The Blood Web was somewhat similar to Instinct, but it could not only sense but also use the blood threads that had bound Su Xiao earlier as another application.
Rose knew she couldn't let Su Xiao's blade hit her directly. She arched her upper body backward. Though she was Strength-type, her body was incredibly flexible.
The longsword grazed past the tip of Rose's nose, sending a chill down her spine. She immediately judged that Su Xiao was faster than her.
Rose continued arching backward. Just as she was about to fall flat on her back, she planted one hand on the ground.
Her five pale fingers pierced the stone slab. Shifting her center of gravity to that arm, she bent it first, then suddenly pushed off.
With a thunderous roar, Rose, who had nearly fallen flat, suddenly shot forward, her legs together, kicking toward Su Xiao's throat.
Su Xiao hadn't expected an attack from this angle. If he tried to make a similar move, not only might he fail to hit the enemy, but his arms and cervical spine would likely be broken by his own force.