Chapter 32: Demon Hunting Hour
Su Xiao and Dunk Nick were about twenty meters apart. With the blade wheels blocking the way, it had been difficult for Su Xiao to cross that distance before.
The longsword in Su Xiao's hand pointed diagonally at the ground, his body leaning slightly forward.
Whoosh~
A gentle breeze blew past, and Dunk Nick's pupils rapidly contracted because... Su Xiao had already appeared less than two meters in front of him!
"How is this..."
Pfft!
Blood splattered as a forearm gripping a green energy dagger flew into the air. The muscles on Dunk Nick's face twitched as he felt the death energy within him being rapidly devoured and annihilated.
That slash was originally aimed at Dunk Nick's neck. If it had been anyone else, they would have been decapitated by that sudden strike. But Dunk Nick's combat experience was too seasoned; at the critical moment, he sacrificed his arm to survive.
"Devouring Annihilation Blade."
Dunk Nick's remaining right arm tensed as dozens of small blade wheels appeared in his palm. He swung his arm forward, sending those dozens of small blade wheels slashing toward Su Xiao.
Hum~
The small blade wheels instantly appeared before Su Xiao, and five layers of energy shields with 600 points of strength materialized.
Crack, crack...
Those blade wheels pierced through the energy shields, their sharpness terrifying. However, Su Xiao was no longer behind those five energy shields.
The Dragon Shadow Flash ability activated. Su Xiao penetrated space, appearing directly beside Dunk Nick, his longsword slashing toward Dunk Nick's face.
Dunk Nick immediately manifested an energy dagger shaped like an animal claw, curved into a reverse hook.
Ding!
Dagger fragments flew as Dragon-Slaying Flash was blocked by the dagger in Dunk Nick's hand, a small piece of the dagger's edge chipping off.
Dunk Nick was stronger than Su Xiao. He pushed the dagger forward, intending to force Su Xiao back.
If it came to a direct contest of strength, Su Xiao would certainly be pushed back. But he had no intention of wrestling with Dunk Nick.
Dunk Nick suddenly felt his hand meet empty air. Su Xiao had vanished before him. All his strength was pushing forward, causing him to immediately lose his balance.
However, Dunk Nick was a veteran death-attribute powerhouse. He quickly shifted his center of gravity to his heels, trying to stabilize himself.
"Damn it."
Dunk Nick, struggling to maintain his balance, sighed. The next moment, an icy sensation touched his neck.
Clang.
A spray of blood droplets burst into the air as a head flew high.
[You have killed Executioner Dunk Nick.]
[Dunk Nick is an important figure of the Necromancer Clan. Obtained World Source 3.1%. Total World Source obtained: 4.7%.]
[Tip: World Source is extremely difficult to obtain in Primordial Worlds.]
[Your talent 'Soul Devourer' has activated. Permanently increased Mana by 30 points. Current maximum Mana: 4190 points.]
[You have obtained Death Spirit Chest (Rare Chest-type item).]
...
After decapitating Dunk Nick with one slash, Su Xiao stumbled forward a few steps.
"Cough, cough, cough..."
Su Xiao crouched on the ground, coughing dryly, a trace of blood spattering from his mouth.
After activating 'Demon Hunting Hour,' within 100 seconds, all abilities Su Xiao had mastered had no cooldown and no cost. Therefore, he could continuously activate Azure Steel Shadow Energy + use Counter Shield and Dragon Shadow Flash without restriction.
This was an incredibly overpowered ability. As seen from those three slashes just now, Dunk Nick, who was stronger than Su Xiao, was decapitated in three strikes. It wasn't a mistake in Dunk Nick's combat; it was that Su Xiao, continuously using Dragon Shadow Flash, was too elusive.
Su Xiao first appeared in front of Dunk Nick, then 0.3 seconds later beside him, and 0.12 seconds later behind him. Dunk Nick was already very strong, managing to withstand two of Su Xiao's slashes in that extremely short time. As for the third slash, due to losing his balance, he had no chance to block it. Even if he had, there would have been a fourth, a fifth.
In that brief 0.7 seconds, Su Xiao had used the Dragon Shadow Flash ability 12 times consecutively, activated six Counter Shields with 600 points of strength, and five energy shields with 600 points of strength.
Using these abilities indeed had no cost, but the "no cost" only applied to energy, not to Su Xiao's body. Such an ability simply didn't exist.
Dragon Shadow Flash's speed of penetrating space could rank in the top three among spatial abilities. When penetrating space, Su Xiao's body endured considerable strain. Occasionally penetrating space was fine, but continuous penetration caused the burden to multiply.
This wasn't a limitation of 'Demon Hunting Hour,' but rather whether Su Xiao's body could withstand it. If his body could endure it, he could indeed penetrate space without restraint.
However, with Su Xiao's 87 points of Stamina attribute (Demon Hunting King adds 3 points of True Stamina), he already felt significant strain after using Dragon Shadow Flash five times consecutively. If Su Xiao's Stamina attribute were below 30 points, even a single space penetration would shatter him to pieces.
Crouching on the ground, Su Xiao's breathing gradually steadied. This was his first time using the 'Demon Hunting Hour' ability, essentially exploring its capabilities.
Based on this experience, Su Xiao concluded that he couldn't penetrate space more than five times in an instant. After five instantaneous penetrations, he should rest for about 1 to 3 seconds, or else risk severe exhaustion.
Although Dragon Shadow Flash had limitations, it wasn't a limitation of the 'Demon Hunting Hour' ability itself, but rather of Su Xiao's body. As his Stamina attribute gradually increased, the burden of using Dragon Shadow Flash during 'Demon Hunting Hour' would lessen over time.
After obtaining the 'Demon Hunting King' Gold Set, Su Xiao had been considering how to maximize the 100 seconds of 'Demon Hunting Hour.'
His initial idea was to activate Counter Shield + Azure Steel Shadow, then use Dragon Shadow Flash to close the distance, followed by continuously using Dragon Shadow Flash to change positions, making it impossible for enemies to defend against slashes from all directions.
Practical combat proved this tactic very effective and powerful, as evidenced by Dunk Nick's head on the ground.
Compared to close combat with enemies, Su Xiao had another idea regarding the attack form of Counter Shield.
Previously in the War World, Su Xiao had changed the form of Counter Shield into a blade shape. That was the attack form of Counter Shield, and he had been developing this ability.
The attack form of Counter Shield was practical, but its only drawback was the enormous consumption. To shoot out a weapon formed by Counter Shield, Su Xiao needed to sever the energy connection with the Counter Shield; otherwise, it would share the same gravity as him. Severing the energy connection consumed 600 points of Mana, which was too extravagant. This was a previously insurmountable problem unless in a large-scale melee.
Now this problem was solved. During 'Demon Hunting Hour,' as long as Su Xiao's body could withstand it, he could use Counter Shield almost without limit.
Pieces of hexagonal Counter Shields appeared around Su Xiao. When the number reached 500, he stopped generating them and began changing their shapes.
The 500 hexagonal Counter Shields gradually softened, merged, compressed, and compressed again. After compressing the special-state Azure Steel Shadow Energy to a terrifying concentration, shaping began. This energy was molded into a cylindrical form.
Crack, crack, crack...
Terrifying compression sounds came from within that cylindrical energy. Su Xiao's eyes twitched. As the creator of this thing, he actually felt an urge to turn and flee.
Crack, crack...
Compression completed. The dissolved 500 Counter Shields formed a crude lance, about five centimeters thick and three meters long, its surface covered in cracks, highly unstable.
After a moment's hesitation, Su Xiao reached out and grabbed the lance. He tried gently swinging the energy lance, causing ripples in the surrounding air.
"Amu!"
Su Xiao shouted. In the distance, Amu, who was fighting a Necromancer, immediately understood.
"Moo!"
Amu roared as cold air surged from its body. The Necromancer it was fighting was instantly covered in large ice crystals. This was Amu's ultimate ability, 'Fierce Winter's Wrath.'
The Necromancer wielding a broad-bladed short sword was frozen solid, forming an ice sculpture. After freezing the enemy, Amu turned and fled.
Su Xiao took a few deep breaths. Developing an ability like 'Demon Hunting Hour' was impossible during normal times. This was the best opportunity.
Su Xiao stomped the ground, took a few running steps, stopped, and hurled the energy lance with all his might, severing the energy link with it.
Bang!
A sharp sound of air being split spread. Su Xiao immediately leaped backward.
The energy lance tore through layers of ripples in the air, stabbing straight toward the frozen Necromancer.
This Necromancer was struggling to break free from the ice's binding, panic in his eyes. Half a minute ago, he had witnessed Dunk Nick's 'inexplicable' death. He had already wanted to flee then, but Amu had held him back.
"Kya! (Necromancer language: No!)"
This Necromancer naturally sensed how terrifying the incoming energy lance was. If hit by this thing, he might not even leave ashes behind.
The energy lance rapidly stabbed toward the Necromancer. When it was ten meters away, the cracks on its surface became more pronounced.
Seeing this, Su Xiao clasped his hands together, remotely manipulating the energy lance. This thing was too unstable. From the current situation, it might explode before even hitting the Necromancer.
The energy lance began to expand. The compressed Azure Steel Shadow Energy inside quickly reverted to its initial form, those hexagonal Counter Shields.
"Not good."
Su Xiao immediately threw himself to the ground, signaling Bubu Wang and Amu to find cover at once.
Boom!
An explosion sounded. A shockwave spread, filled with hexagonal Counter Shields shooting in all directions.
Whoosh~
Several Counter Shields flew over Su Xiao's head. He immediately dispelled them, causing the hundreds of Counter Shields carrying terrifying kinetic energy to vanish.
A few seconds later, everything fell silent. At the edge of the wall, the soil trembled as a dog head emerged from the dirt. It was Bubu Wang, wearing a 'terrified expression.'
Su Xiao stood up from the ground. He swore to the heavens that he would never use this move again. Although its attack range was large, it was indiscriminate, and the explosion time and form were basically uncontrollable.
In Su Xiao's expectation, this thing would explode in its compressed form. But things turned out differently; the energy lance exploded and directly reverted to Counter Shield form.
Developing abilities was like this. Not every attempt succeeded. But after this failure, the prototype of some technique in Su Xiao's mind gradually took shape.
Although the technique development wasn't very successful, that frozen Necromancer had been riddled with holes by the Counter Shields and had lost all signs of life.
Su Xiao deactivated the 'Demon Hunting Hour' ability. Based on the situation of this battle, 'Demon Hunting Hour' had performed much better than expected. If not for mastering this ability, today might have been Su Xiao's death day.
Su Xiao picked up the [Death Spirit Chest] and Dunk Nick's head from the ground. The [Death Spirit Chest] was a relatively rare chest-type item, and opening it would yield considerable rewards. As for Dunk Nick's head, its use was also significant. Taking it to the old king would net a substantial sum.