Chapter 25: Skills
Su Xiao leaped down from the rooftop, landing steadily before walking toward Ani.
Although using the "Three-Dimensional Maneuver Gear" could speed up travel, Su Xiao wasn't accustomed to fighting while flying through the air. He felt more comfortable with his feet on the ground.
With no leverage in midair, and at most using the "Three-Dimensional Maneuver Gear" to change direction, his slashing power was greatly reduced.
Overall, the "Three-Dimensional Maneuver Gear" was decent for running away, but adapting to its combat style couldn't be achieved with just a single skill—it required a massive amount of practice time.
After noticing Su Xiao had deactivated the "Three-Dimensional Maneuver Gear," the Female Titan began backing away slowly, facing him. Eren had already blocked one entrance, and she couldn't let him seal off the other two. She needed to stop him and take him away as quickly as possible.
Ani controlled the Female Titan, gathering power in her legs as her gaze flicked toward Eren in the distance.
Boom!
Mud erupted beneath the Female Titan's feet as she sidestepped, shifting her position away from Su Xiao, then preparing to sprint at full speed.
Ani knew that once she got running, that man would never catch her. Not only had he already deactivated the "Three-Dimensional Maneuver Gear," but the gas inside it was very limited. Without gas, the gear was just scrap metal.
Ani's sidestep was fast, but Su Xiao was faster.
In a few strides, he reached the Female Titan's feet. Before she could steady herself, Su Xiao raised his blade and slashed through her Achilles tendon.
With one tendon severed, the Female Titan's attempt to start running faltered, and she nearly fell again.
The Female Titan's running speed was indeed impressive, but before she got moving, her mobility was slow. That massive body needed to build up forward momentum to accelerate.
Su Xiao, on the other hand, was the opposite—he excelled at instantaneous bursts of speed. In a long-distance race, he would definitely lose to the Female Titan.
An awkward scene unfolded: under Su Xiao's blockade, the Female Titan simply couldn't get running.
Inside the Female Titan, Ani immediately realized this. If things continued like this, she would die here today.
She even doubted whether her ultimate trump card could defend against that blade. If it couldn't, her fate would be like a lab rat—dissected and sliced open.
At that thought, the killing intent in Ani's eyes surged. Though her remaining lifespan was short, she still wanted to see her family again, to see her father.
Clenching both fists in front of her, standing on one leg with the other foot poised, the Female Titan assumed her signature combat stance.
Compared to the Female Titan's fourteen-meter height, Su Xiao, at just 1.8 meters, seemed very small.
But a large build didn't mean strength, as the Female Titan was now proving.
The Female Titan hunched her upper body, her fists facing the ground. This combat stance felt awkward for Ani inside—the enemy was simply "too small."
Sensing the Female Titan's posture, Su Xiao began to sidestep, circling around her.
The Female Titan dared not turn her back to Su Xiao, so she rotated to follow his movements.
After completing half a circle, Su Xiao suddenly accelerated his steps. The Female Titan quickly sped up her rotation as well. Just then, Su Xiao's steps came to an abrupt halt, and he lunged toward the Female Titan with a sidestep.
His change of direction was utterly unpredictable. The Female Titan was too late to turn.
In three strides, Su Xiao reached the Female Titan's feet. Gripping the Dragon-Slaying Flash, he slashed out.
Pfft.
The blade swept through, severing the Female Titan's entire lower leg.
The Female Titan's body offered no resistance against the Dragon-Slaying Flash's edge. As long as the angle was right, there was nothing it couldn't cut.
With one leg severed, the Female Titan struggled to stabilize herself, but her massive body was too heavy. She uncontrollably toppled over.
The Female Titan wasn't entirely defenseless, though. As she fell, both fists slammed down toward Su Xiao.
Boom!
Her fists crashed down, kicking up dust and debris. The ground was gouged with two half-meter-deep craters.
Su Xiao was engulfed in a cloud of dust, his vision blocked. All he could see was a yellow haze, but he didn't panic. Instead, he closed his eyes.
Since his sight was impaired, he would rely on his "Heart Eye" to perceive.
Eyes shut, he sensed his surroundings: the wind flowing, specks of dust drifting in the air.
Whoosh. A current of air came from his left.
The attack was aimed above his shoulder. Su Xiao made a quick judgment in his mind.
He tilted his body to the side. A partially crystallized Titan leg brushed past just above his head, the accompanying wind pressure ruffling his hair.
Without visual confirmation, he had sensed the enemy's attack in advance. This realization opened a new door for Su Xiao.
It turned out that, just as Sasaki Kojiro had said, combat didn't rely solely on the eyes.
The dust settled, and Su Xiao still stood before the Female Titan, eyes closed.
The Female Titan was now semi-paralyzed, steam rising from the severed stump of her leg as it slowly regenerated.
Seeing Su Xiao standing before her with closed eyes, Ani inside the Female Titan was baffled. Fighting a Titan without the "Three-Dimensional Maneuver Gear" was already bizarre enough, and now this guy was closing his eyes?
But this was an opportunity. The kneeling Female Titan raised her fist and hammered it down at Su Xiao.
The massive fist, carrying wind pressure, smashed toward Su Xiao. He held the Dragon-Slaying Flash, its tip angled toward the ground, showing no intention of striking.
Above and to the left—the attack from the Female Titan's fist.
In Su Xiao's perception, the descending fist seemed to slow down, as if in slow motion. He had already predicted the trajectory of the Female Titan's next attack.
He sidestepped two paces. The Female Titan's attack landed.
Boom!
The stone slabs on the ground shattered, sending fragments flying toward Su Xiao.
He swung his long blade in rapid succession, cutting through or deflecting the small stones.
The impact from the fist hitting the ground sent a shockwave that rustled Su Xiao's clothes.
Su Xiao gained a new understanding of the "Heart Eye" skill and began to form some conjectures about the skills learned in Reincarnation Paradise.
Perhaps the skills learned in Reincarnation Paradise were like seeds. Upgrading them in the Paradise was like watering those seeds, helping them take root and sprout quickly.
After that, contractors didn't fully comprehend the skill immediately. They needed to gradually understand it through combat.
What he needed to do wasn't to rigidly use the learned skill, but to deeply grasp it in battle.
After learning a skill, contractors had a basic understanding of it. What the skill's creator achieved in ten or twenty years, he could reach by fully comprehending that skill in combat. That was the power of Reincarnation Paradise.
Su Xiao had roughly understood the "Heart Eye" skill and would soon master it completely.
However, there were exceptions among skills. The skills of the Law Destruction Faction didn't fall into this category. Once learned, those skills felt more like instincts—mastered perfectly upon learning, and even open to deep development.
...
After two consecutive attacks were dodged, Ani inside the Female Titan couldn't believe it. She began wildly hammering at Su Xiao with both fists.
Boom. Boom, boom...
The ground in front of the Female Titan was shattered into pieces. Amidst the wreckage, Su Xiao effortlessly evaded her attacks.
After about two minutes of frantic pounding, even Ani inside the Female Titan was panting.
A breeze swept away the dust, revealing Su Xiao's figure.
Not even a corner of his clothes was torn. He stood calmly before the Female Titan, composed.
"Pretty sharp attacks. A few of them I almost couldn't dodge."
Seeing Su Xiao completely unharmed, the Female Titan's pupils contracted sharply.
Her body had fully regenerated, and Ani immediately controlled the Female Titan to get up and flee.
Fighting such a monster was impossible for a human. She couldn't even land a hit on him.
A flash of gleaming blade light passed by. Half of the Female Titan's foot was sliced off, and with a crash, she toppled to the ground again.
On the surrounding rooftops, members of the Training Corps had their mouths slightly agape. Some recruits didn't even notice their blades slipping from their hands.
The scene they were witnessing was mind-shattering. They had never imagined a human could be this powerful.