Chapter 31: A Nearly Unstoppable Ability
A blade wheel was sent flying by Su Xiao as he cleaved it away. The hand gripping Dragon-Slaying Flash felt somewhat numb. The power of these blade wheels was immense; if one struck his torso, it wouldn't just leave a wound—it would likely cleave him in two.
No sooner had Su Xiao sent the first blade wheel flying than a second came hurtling toward him.
*Whoosh!*
A piercing whine rushed toward him. The gale force from the high-speed rotation of the blade wheel ruffled Su Xiao's black hair. He was about to sidestep when a crisis sensation that made his hair stand on end flared up.
He couldn't dodge. There was no way to evade.
This was the warning from his Instinct ability, and it was extremely intense. Su Xiao's right foot, which had just lifted, slammed back down onto the ground. The muscles in his arm gripping Dragon-Slashing Flash bulged.
The blade wheel was almost upon him in an instant. Striking forward with his blade was clearly too late.
A jagged energy shield materialized in front of Su Xiao. Its strength was only around 200 points, but its surface was highly irregular, with holes in some places.
The blade wheel slashed into the energy shield. With a crisp crack, the shield shattered, but the uneven surface altered the wheel's flight trajectory.
*Swoosh~*
The green blade wheel was deflected at an angle. Just as Su Xiao was about to charge forward, a whistling sound came from above his head—it was the blade wheel he had sent flying earlier.
Su Xiao held Dragon-Slashing Flash horizontally above him. The impact struck.
*Clang!*
Sparks flew. The blade wheel was sent flying again, and Su Xiao's right arm was now noticeably numb.
No sooner had he deflected one blade wheel than the one previously knocked away by the energy shield came at him again. Dunk Nick could control the flight path of these things.
Su Xiao pushed off the ground and leaped to the right, but the blade wheel arced through the air, tracking him relentlessly.
Su Xiao's long blade slashed forward, the edge cutting through the air. Dragon-Slashing Flash carried a mournful whine as it struck the blade wheel.
*Boom!*
A thunderous sound echoed across the courtyard. The green blade wheel shot away with a *swoosh*, quickly disappearing from Su Xiao's line of sight.
Su Xiao's calves were buried in the dirt. As he tried to pull his legs free, the blade wheel he had deflected earlier came at him again.
Dunk Nick's goal wasn't to hit Su Xiao with the blade wheels. He knew that was nearly impossible. The wheels were fast, but not so fast that Su Xiao couldn't block or counter them.
As for dodging the blade wheels' attacks, that was even less reliable. Dunk Nick could control their flight paths. Once Su Xiao made an evasive move, Dunk Nick would immediately alter the trajectory. In principle, the risk of dodging was far greater than deflecting or blocking.
Dunk Nick's aim was to force Su Xiao to block or deflect the blade wheels. The impact was tremendous. After just one block and two deflections, Su Xiao's sword arm was already going numb, and his shoulder ached.
If this continued, after deflecting more than ten blade wheels, Su Xiao might not even be able to hold his sword. Even if his right arm didn't fracture, it would be completely exhausted. That was Dunk Nick's tactic. He wasn't afraid of close combat with Su Xiao, but he wanted to wear down Su Xiao's stamina before engaging.
Dunk Nick's combat experience was worlds apart from Yierduo's. This old man had spent his life fighting all kinds of enemies.
Su Xiao held Dragon-Slashing Flash level in front of him, his right hand gripping the hilt, his left hand pressing against the spine of the blade.
*Clang.*
The blade wheel was deflected. Because the previous wheel had been sent too far, Dunk Nick could no longer control it.
Green light particles flickered in Dunk Nick's hands. Two crescent-shaped long daggers appeared. He took a deep breath and threw the two curved blades.
*Swoosh~*
The moment the two curved blades left his hands, green light particles surged again in Dunk Nick's palms, forming two new curved blades.
One after another, curved blades were thrown from Dunk Nick's hands. This old man was like he was on drugs. In less than two seconds, he had thrown sixteen curved blades. After high-speed rotation, these blades generated immense kinetic energy, forming blade wheels about two meters in diameter.
*Hum...*
A total of seventeen blade wheels converged on Su Xiao from all directions. It was obvious that Dunk Nick was unleashing his ultimate move. Being inside the royal capital, he dared not drag out the fight with Su Xiao.
Su Xiao hadn't activated "Demon Hunting Hour" earlier because he held the terrain advantage. Being inside the Iron Hand's mansion, his opponent wouldn't dare fight a war of attrition. He would have to go all out, and going all out would create openings.
Seventeen blade wheels flew toward Su Xiao, forming an encirclement. There was no doubt that Dunk Nick was stronger than Su Xiao—significantly so.
Once a body attribute reached 80 points, every single point difference became very apparent. Although combat wasn't just about comparing attributes, physical attributes were the foundation of everything.
In terms of physical attributes, Dunk Nick's Strength and Agility both reached 90 points. While his combat experience wasn't vastly superior to Su Xiao's, it was definitely greater.
As for abilities, Dunk Nick's skills were either at level 40 or two low-level abilities—all exclusive or ultimate abilities that were hard to improve.
Su Xiao had guessed earlier that Dunk Nick was stronger than him, but he needed practical verification. Some enemies' abilities seemed powerful but were actually just for show.
After the fight, Su Xiao found that the blade wheels Dunk Nick threw were nearly unstoppable. They were powerful, fast, impossible to dodge, and defending against them caused shock damage. Unless he used his Counter Shield to tank them, but how long could that last? The impact from tanking would also injure him.
The dense blade wheels flew toward Su Xiao. For some reason, Su Xiao closed his eyes.
*Clang, clang...*
Blade wheels slashed through, leaving over a dozen crisscrossing trenches on the courtyard ground. Dust flew everywhere.
Dunk Nick, controlling the blade wheels, frowned. Not only could he manipulate the wheels, but he could also sense the tactile feedback of their strikes through "Undead Force: Heart Net."
"No sensation of hitting a solid body."
Dunk Nick leaped back a few steps, feeling something was off.
The dust gradually cleared. A figure stood within the haze. Pale blue mist drifted from this figure—it was evaporated mana.
Su Xiao walked out from the dust. His body was wrapped in a hazy layer of pale blue mist. The blue mist slowly dissipated, and a blue light flickered in the center of his black pupils.
"One hundred seconds."
Su Xiao exhaled a puff of blue mist. He could clearly feel that some limit of his body had been temporarily broken. He could now use any ability he had mastered without restriction.
*Hum.*
Over a dozen blade wheels slashed toward Su Xiao. He stood still, and three layers of Counter Shields appeared around him.
*Bang! Bang! Bang!*
The green blade wheels struck the Counter Shields. Five wheels were deflected, and the first layer of Counter Shields shattered.
Su Xiao extended his hand, and three more layers of Counter Shields formed around him.
With a *crash*, all the Counter Shields around Su Xiao expanded. Hundreds of hexagonal shields swirled around him, protecting him within.
Seeing this, Dunk Nick in the distance was visibly stunned. He had already judged the defensive power of the Counter Shields. For such a high-defense ability, this guy could release so many layers at once? And judging by his calm expression, the mana cost seemed low?
In truth, the mana cost of the Counter Shields was very high. It was just that, for Su Xiao at this moment, the cost of a few shields was nearly negligible.