Chapter 39: A Difficult Opponent
A booming sound came from within the office, a sharp short axe cleaving through the space above Su Xiao's head, severing a few strands of black hair.
As Su Xiao ducked, he kicked out toward Buck's lower abdomen. Buck had just retreated when a blade aura came flying straight at him.
Ding!
The blade aura was shattered by the axe blade, dissipating into the air.
"Hoo~"
Su Xiao let out a long breath, his breathing slightly rapid. Fighting an enemy like Buck consumed a great deal of stamina. Each time he blocked those two short axes, he was knocked back several steps. After repeated exchanges, the organs in his chest cavity began to ache dully.
Buck wasn't faring well either. His body was covered in bloody gashes. Dragon-Slaying Flash was far too sharp; a light cut would leave a wound deep enough to reach the bone, and a strike with normal force would sever whatever it hit.
Su Xiao and Buck locked eyes. Just as they were about to clash again, the ground beneath their feet suddenly shook. This wasn't the first time.
With a thunderous crash, large sections of the concrete floor shattered and fell downward.
At this point, the Saint Liam Fortress had its underground second floor through the above-ground fourth floor reduced to hollow shells. The fifth floor's height had dropped by at least three meters, which was fatal for the building's structure.
The concrete layer beneath Su Xiao's feet cracked extensively. He leaped toward a relatively intact landing spot. In an instant, most of the surrounding floor slabs collapsed.
When the ground stopped shaking, only a two-meter-wide strip of footing remained in the office. Both Su Xiao and Buck stood on it, meeting in a narrow passage.
An orange-red glow shone up from below. Su Xiao looked down to see a drop of several dozen meters, supported only by a twisted framework of rebar and steel. At the very bottom was a pool of magma, produced by the smelting of metal and rock. Standing at such a height would make anyone with acrophobia go weak in the knees instantly.
A cloud of gray smoke floated above the magma, toxic gases from the explosions on the second underground floor. Due to Apollo's detonation, the oxygen below was extremely thin.
With a clatter, a chunk of concrete fell from Su Xiao's footing, plunging into the semi-liquid magma below.
Waves of heat rose from beneath. Su Xiao dashed forward, careful not to exert too much force on his footing; losing it would be troublesome.
Buck seemed aware of this as well, slowing his advance.
Sparks flew as the long blade cut through the air. The fight continued.
Outside the rear of the fortress, a man wearing goggles and a leather jacket clung to the wall.
"Are these two idiots crazy? Still going at it."
Through the window, the leather-clad man witnessed the battle on the fifth floor. He was a contractor from Apocalypse Paradise, appearing on the battlefield to scavenge for easy gains.
Initially, he had planned to wait until Su Xiao and Buck were both worn out, but after witnessing their almost savage combat, he abandoned any such thoughts and prepared to retreat.
"Sigh, having to fight lunatics like these later on... life is hopeless."
The leather-clad man released his rope and quickly slid down the fortress.
Inside the fortress, on the one-meter-wide footing, Su Xiao flicked his blade open across Buck's shoulder, then slammed the hilt of his sword against the oncoming axe blade.
Bang!
Su Xiao stumbled back a few steps, steadied himself, and wiped the blood from his face.
Buck glanced at Su Xiao, pondered for a moment, then took a deep breath.
Boom.
The footing beneath Buck's feet shattered, and he fell toward the magma below.
Realm Severing Thread shot out from Su Xiao's sleeve, embedding itself into the ground beneath his feet, and he also leaped from the footing.
Zzzz~
The reel spun rapidly as Su Xiao descended, slashing out a blade aura toward Buck, who was also falling.
Midair, Buck couldn't unleash an axe aura, so he could only cross his two short axes in front of him.
Just as Buck was about to plunge into the magma, the muscles on his right arm bulged, and he hurled one of his short axes.
A piercing whistle rushed toward Su Xiao. He tilted his body, and the rapidly spinning short axe flew past.
Just as the axe was about to embed itself in the wall, it curved in an arc and came slashing back at him. This was Buck's ability: Spinning Axe Throw (Exclusive Ability).
Clang!
The short axe didn't hit Su Xiao, but its handle struck the Realm Severing Thread.
With the thread hit, Su Xiao swung sideways in midair. Before his trajectory shifted, five blade auras detached from Dragon-Slaying Flash's edge, slashing toward Buck's right side, which was now unarmed.
Blood splattered. Though Buck shattered three of the blade auras, two struck him—one opened his chest, and the other nearly split his thigh open.
Just as Buck was about to fall into the magma, he grabbed a nearby rebar frame, which had been heated red-hot by the magma.
Steam rose as Buck swung his body out, finally leaping into a partially collapsed underground passage. Buck had extremely high combat intelligence, unafraid of death in battle, but he always remembered that his goal wasn't to fight Su Xiao to the death—it was to block him.
In terms of injuries, Buck had lost, but in terms of objective, Buck had won.
Su Xiao's fingers worked the reel, stopping his descent. Five meters below him was the dark red magma.
"Buck."
Su Xiao didn't pursue further. Entering the narrow underground passage would give Buck, wielding short axes, a natural advantage. Their previous fight had been evenly matched—whoever showed a flaw first would die. But in the narrow passage, Buck's win rate would be seventy percent.
The Realm Severing Thread tightened, pulling Su Xiao back to the footing on the fifth floor. He looked around and quickly found the secret passage through which the Divine Envoy Dubois had escaped.
Leaping into the passage, he found a metal climbing ladder inside, the entire passage somewhat twisted.
Su Xiao climbed the metal ladder, squeezed through a gap in the protruding concrete, and emerged on top of the fortress.
On top of the fortress was a short asphalt runway, marked with scorched tire tracks. It was a one-way airstrip; taking off was risky, and landing was nearly impossible. This world hadn't yet developed helicopters.
Just as Su Xiao was about to leave, he noticed a series of carvings on the asphalt—text in the Geya Alliance language, meaning: Already riding under the plane.
Su Xiao took out a tracker. A green dot on it indicated the little assistant's vital signs. Somehow, she had managed to avoid being frozen by the high-altitude cold air currents.
Given the little assistant's resourcefulness, if she could capture Dubois, she wouldn't risk riding under the plane.
Though Su Xiao hadn't seen Dubois himself, the clues were clear enough. He just needed to track the little assistant's location.
Just as Su Xiao was about to leave the fortress top, he felt the structure beneath him begin to tilt. This nearly hollow fortress couldn't hold out any longer. Even with an external rebar structure, without the internal concrete support, the steel layer couldn't bear the weight.
Creak, creak, creak...
The harsh grinding of metal grew piercing. Gunfire on the battlefield below the fortress had thinned considerably. Most soldiers were watching the Saint Liam Fortress slowly topple.
The Geya Alliance soldiers were excited, while the Sun Kingdom soldiers were filled with despair. Under the watch of both sides, the Saint Liam Fortress collapsed with a thunderous roar!
A deafening crash followed, and a towering cloud of dust surged up, shrouding most of the battlefield.
Inside a concrete trench of the Sun Kingdom.
Boom!
A pale blue sphere crashed into the trench. The soldiers nearby, holding rifles, froze for an instant.
Bang, bang, bang...
Several gunshots rang out in quick succession, and the nearby soldiers all fell. The Counter Shield dissipated, and Su Xiao vaulted out of the trench, charging into the territory of the Sun Kingdom.