Chapter 25: Tougher Than a Tank
Inside the underground space, roughly a thousand square meters in size, dozens of stone pillars stood tall. The fire lamps on the walls blazed fiercely, their special fuel emitting a white flame that illuminated the underground space as bright as day.
Zachariah stared intently at Su Xiao. Setting everything else aside, just the sheer hatred in his gaze showed that Su Xiao had maxed out his aggro. Noticing this, Sha's lips curled up, and she subtly signaled Lilith with her eyes.
The Demon War Scythe flipped in Lilith's hands as she and Sha slowly advanced, forming an encirclement around Zachariah from both sides.
Though Zachariah was so furious his soul felt like it was leaving his body, he hadn't lost his mind. Sha was clearly no pushover, and the even bigger problem was the pure-blooded Demon Clan member. Even though this was a life-or-death battle, if she actually died here, the Ancestor faction would definitely be uprooted.
In the end, Zachariah's gaze settled on Su Xiao. This bastard was the most hateful of all. No matter what, he had to kill the scoundrel who blew up his ancestral grave first—that was the key.
However, Zachariah's eyes occasionally drifted toward Lilith. The reason was simple: if he could capture Lilith alive, today's situation would take a turn. At least he'd have the leverage to negotiate with the Demon Clan.
Leaving aside Zachariah's mental state, the goals of Su Xiao, Sha, and Lilith were much purer: kill Zachariah, then each accomplish their own objectives.
Su Xiao drew D·Assassin, released the safety, and aimed the muzzle at Zachariah.
Seeing Su Xiao draw his gun, Zachariah froze for an instant, then seemed to realize something. He crouched low, lunging at his prey like a lion.
Pfft, pfft, pfft.
Su Xiao fired three shots in quick succession, stepping back as he pulled the trigger.
Zachariah grunted as the bullets hit him. Two lodged in his arm, one in his shoulder. His muscles rippled, and the special bullets from D·Assassin were squeezed out of his flesh, clattering to the ground.
Just then, a ghostly figure appeared behind Zachariah—it was Sha. Her arms reached out to embrace him, moving swiftly yet gently.
To be honest, Su Xiao had been hugged by Sha like this no less than a hundred times. The initial experience of that hug wasn't bad, but as for what followed... he only remembered the pain in his neck and spine.
Sensing Sha's slow embrace from behind, cold sweat burst out on Zachariah's back. He was certain that if that hug landed, he'd either die or be skinned alive.
Zachariah's body surface rippled as green veins burst through his skin, shooting out in all directions like thousands of arrows.
Sha hadn't expected Zachariah to have such a move. She immediately curled up and leaped backward to minimize the area under attack.
A series of metallic clangs rang out as Lilith, wielding her war scythe, sliced through several green veins heading toward Sha.
Pop, pop, pop, pop, pop.
Five bursts of blood mist exploded. Su Xiao fired five shots, all headshots. But Zachariah just cracked his neck, seemingly unfazed by fatal damage.
[Comparing intelligence attributes... Comparison complete. Your intelligence attribute is 1.35 times the enemy's. Obtained 100% of enemy data.]
Data as follows:
Name: Zachariah
Category: Soul Undead
Health: 95.7%
Mana: 2800 points
Strength: 102 (True Attribute)
Agility: 99 (True Attribute)
Stamina: 110 (True Attribute)
Intelligence: 73
Charm: 28
Skill 1, Soul Dead (Passive, Lv.60): Health +12,000 points, Physical Defense +58 points, Immune to 27% of all damage (if taking soul damage, damage increased by 100%).
Skill 2, Void Race (Passive, Lv.45): Health +7,500 points, Adapts to most harsh environments and can survive long-term in them.
Skill 3, Collective Consciousness (Passive, Lv.50): Due to implanting living soul vines in his body, all internal organs have gained independent consciousness. Fragile organs like the heart can dodge at critical moments and participate in combat when needed.
Skill 4, Shout (Active, Lv.42): Zachariah emits a soul-shaking roar. Using this ability consumes 5% of maximum health.
Skill 5, Soft Tissue Armor (Passive, Lv.57): The soft tissue beneath Zachariah's skin has evolved into a plant form. Physical Defense +67 points, Health +5,800 points, and greatly reduces damage from ranged attacks.
Skill 6, Primordial Breath (Passive, Lv.53): When Zachariah's health falls below 40%, he enters plant form. Overall defense increased by 50%, health recovery rate increased by 300%.
Skill 7, Blood Bite (Active, Lv.40): Zachariah can release blood to form a blood mouth that bites enemies. Each attack deals 270 points + Strength attribute × 0.9 + 120 points of soul true damage. After successfully biting an enemy, Zachariah recovers 80% of the damage dealt as health.
Skill 8, Plant Monarch (Passive, Lv.70): Soul Undead can undergo a third evolution/mutation. This ability is awaiting activation.
After reviewing Zachariah's data, Su Xiao's expression turned grim. A stamina attribute of 110 points, plus six survival-oriented abilities, meant that Zachariah was a monster with a boss template, main tank equipment, and skills. His attack power wasn't too strong—just releasing blood to form a blood mouth to bite enemies—but his survivability...
Su Xiao had shot Zachariah in the head five times with D·Assassin, taking off less than 4.3% of his health. Each headshot dealt less than 1% of his total HP. Such absurd defense came mainly from Zachariah's immense physical defense and his health pool of at least 30,000 points. One shot only caused a splash of blood—nothing more.
What made it worse was that this guy only got tougher the more he was hit. Once his health dropped below 40%, his physical defense doubled and his health recovery rate increased by 300%. If that were all, Su Xiao could accept it, but what really gave him a headache was that if Zachariah wanted, he could still evolve or mutate once more.
Su Xiao sent Zachariah's data to Sha. As for why he didn't send it to Lilith—simple, she might not understand it, and distracting her would be counterproductive.
Sha had just landed and wiped the blood from her neck. Seeing the data Su Xiao sent, she looked puzzled. She understood the data but lacked reference values. When Su Xiao sent Lilith's data as a reference, Sha's expression turned grim.
"That troublesome?"
Sha flexed her fingers, speaking to Su Xiao through the wireless earpiece.
"Very troublesome. If possible, we need to take him down in one coordinated assault so he never gets back up. A war of attrition will kill us all."
Though Su Xiao was wary of Zachariah's survivability, he still had a trump card. If Zachariah's health dropped below 25%, Dragon-Slaying Flash could finish him in one strike. The execution effect of the Demon Blade ability was no joke.
"You say it so easily. I'm the one taking the beating here."
Sha muttered, but it was just a complaint. When she and Lilith engaged Zachariah in melee, if Su Xiao also chose close combat, their coordination would clash. Having someone at mid-range to pin Zachariah down was crucial.
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