Chapter 29: Dark Metal Domain
Inside the half-collapsed basement, Su Xiao and Stan faced off, while Naloy stood at the entrance of the basement.
Nearly all members of the Blood Gate in the Holy Grail World had been wiped out, leaving only Stan and Naloy. Yet Stan did not appear enraged; it seemed even if the sky fell, he could accept it calmly.
It must be said that Su Xiao had not defeated a complete Blood Gate, as they lacked the brain of the team—someone like Qing Yan, that super old schemer. Stan's intelligence was not low, but he was similar to Su Xiao, a martial powerhouse, and still had some gap compared to those super old schemers.
However, no factor could make up for the fact of Blood Gate's defeat. Besides, Stan still had a chance. As long as he killed Su Xiao, this major threat, he could return to Reincarnation Paradise and consider regrouping. Of course, this was also very difficult. Blood Gate had many enemies, and given the current state of the Blood Gate Adventure Group, many hostile adventure groups would surely come to retaliate.
The basement was dead silent. Su Xiao stood still, holding his longsword, because he could afford to wait. Once Amu arrived, he could help block either Stan or Naloy, and Su Xiao could kill the other in a short time.
Su Xiao could wait, but Stan and Naloy clearly could not. Black-gold energy surged from Stan's body, and several metal armor plates detached from his chest, emitting an invisible pulse.
When this pulse swept over Su Xiao, he felt a stinging sensation on his skin. Invisible gravitational forces surged from all directions, pulling at his body as if trying to tear him apart.
[Tip: The Hunter has been affected by the Dark Metal Domain.]
[Strength attribute check in progress... Check passed.]
[Agility attribute check in progress... Check passed.]
[Stamina attribute check in progress... Check failed (The enemy possesses high-rank Stamina attribute check ability).]
[You have suffered the debuff effect of the Dark Metal Domain: Movement speed reduced by 30%, external healing effects reduced by 50%, and you take 240 points of Dark Gravity Turbulence True Damage per minute.]
[Due to the influence of Dark Gravity Turbulence, your physical defense is temporarily reduced by 29 points.]
[Due to the Dark Gravity Field, there is a 5% chance of triggering Gravity Stun effect when moving. This control effect is a physical control, which cannot be negated by Blade Grandmaster. Control time: 0.3 to 1.6 seconds.]
...
Gravity and gravitational force appeared around Su Xiao simultaneously. One moment, it felt like a mountain pressing on his shoulders; the next, gravitational forces pulled at his body. This abrupt shift made Su Xiao very uncomfortable.
Upon sensing the gravity, Su Xiao immediately thought of Iron Rat. This ability was very similar to Iron Rat's, no, it should be an enhanced version. Or rather, Stan lent this ability to Iron Rat through those metal armor plates, not an ability attached to Iron Rat's arm shield.
One of Stan's actions confirmed Su Xiao's speculation. He waved his hand, and a metal armor plate flew toward Naloy. After the plate stuck to Naloy's chest, she became immune to the effects of Dark Gravity and Dark Gravitational Force.
Stan's ability was to control Dark Gravity and Dark Gravitational Force, forming a large-scale debuff + kill zone. 240 points of True Damage per minute was already a terrifying effect, especially since Stan only needed to stand there.
Stan's ability was not about strengthening himself; Su Xiao had long thought of this. Large range, applicable to various situations, controllable, able to weaken enemies, and capable of defense—these were the most desirable abilities for team leaders.
As the Dark Metal Domain activated, Naloy also underwent a drastic transformation. Her lower body turned into a spider form, with a massive abdomen and eight sharp, emerald-green armored legs that looked like they were forged from alloy.
At this moment, Naloy's upper body was human, and her lower body was a spider, but Su Xiao always felt that the spider-shaped lower body was not Naloy's true form, but some kind of alloy armor.
Ding, ding, ding...
Naloy's armored legs struck the ground, producing a crisp sound. Wherever she passed, wisps of green smoke rose from the floor, and a pungent acidic smell spread—this was definitely a potent acid poison.
Stan and Naloy directly unleashed their ultimate moves, completing the process almost instantly, with no possibility of interruption.
Pale blue energy drifted around Su Xiao's body. He now had 100 seconds to kill these two; Demon Hunting Hour had been activated.
Clearly, the three had just met and immediately exchanged ultimate moves, with no probing at all.
Whoosh! Naloy streaked across like a green shadow, appearing before Su Xiao in an instant. Such speed was unattainable even with a True Attribute of 99 points.
Two green armored legs raised, striking at Su Xiao like two sharp alloy fangs.
Boom! A loud crash erupted from Su Xiao's previous position, sending broken stones flying. Holding his longsword, Su Xiao had already vanished from that spot. When he reappeared, he was standing on Naloy's spider abdomen behind her.
The longsword silently cut through the air, slashing toward Naloy's nape. Naloy sensed the danger, but this strike was too fast and too sudden.
Just as the blade was about to strike Naloy's nape, a pitch-black fist formed from Dark Gravity appeared, roughly the size of a millstone, smashing down from above toward Su Xiao.
Su Xiao had two choices: use the Dragon Shadow Flash ability to escape, or endure this punch and decapitate Naloy in one strike.
After a split-second decision, Su Xiao vanished. The pitch-black Dark Gravity fist stopped just before Naloy's spider abdomen.
Naloy was somewhat disappointed, and Stan narrowed his eyes. This kind of coordination between the two of them had once killed countless powerful enemies.
Su Xiao used the Dragon Shadow Flash ability to tear through space, appearing in front of Naloy. Naloy's eyelid twitched, and she cursed inwardly, "This guy is way too agile."
Pfft!
Blood splattered. Under Naloy's astonished gaze, Su Xiao appeared beside her again and slashed off her right arm.
Seeing this, Stan slowly lifted his foot and stepped forward. His foot sank deep into the ground, reaching up to his knee.
Boom!
With this step, the ground within half a kilometer shook. A powerful gravity descended from above the Dark Metal Domain, like an invisible heavenly lid smashing down on Su Xiao.
Spatial fluctuations appeared around Su Xiao. He paused briefly while penetrating space, dodging the indiscriminate attack from above.
At this moment, Stan could only be described as immovable as a mountain. Each step he took caused indiscriminate attacks within the domain, except for allies with Dark Metal armor plates attached.
Su Xiao never approached Stan. The reason was simple: the Dark Gravity and Dark Gravitational Force near Stan repelled each other, distorting the air. Approaching him now was not wise; killing Naloy first was the best choice.
"Stan, find a way to trap him."
Naloy covered her severed arm with one hand, a fierce glint in her eyes.
Stan said nothing. He also wanted to trap Su Xiao, but Su Xiao's spatial movement was nearly seamless; he couldn't even track his whereabouts.
Just as Naloy shouted, Su Xiao silently appeared behind her and slashed down.
Clang! Naloy's true body separated from the spider abdomen below. Sure enough, this thing was a lightweight mecha, not Naloy's true form.
Midair, Naloy hooked her fingers, and the spider-shaped light mecha quickly disassembled. All eight armored legs stabbed toward Su Xiao simultaneously.
Pfft!
The longsword cut into Naloy's chest, breaking through muscle and bone, severing many internal organs. But Naloy was no pushover. The separated spider armor ejected several strands of silk, wrapping around her waist and pulling her back a short distance, preventing her from being cut in two.