Chapter 42: Intelligence Suppression
The distance between Su Xiao and the Twisted One closed rapidly. When it reached two meters, Su Xiao swung his blade forward in a slash.
The Dragon-Slashing Flash let out a whimpering sound as it cut through the air. Facing this fierce strike, the Twisted One showed no concern at all, directly pouncing at Su Xiao, intending to withstand his slash and knock him to the ground.
Su Xiao abruptly halted in place. While slashing forward, he leaped backward.
With a tearing sound, like ripping cloth, the Dragon-Slashing Flash cut across the Twisted One's forearm. Skin and flesh were torn open, but the bone was not damaged. Against previous enemies, Su Xiao would have already severed the forearm with a single slash.
The sensation of the cut traveled from the blade's hilt to Su Xiao's hand. This slash felt like cutting into an extremely tough piece of rubber—the deeper the cut, the stronger the resistance.
Clang~
The blade rang crisply, followed by a loud boom. Mud splattered as the Twisted One pounced on empty air, with Su Xiao in mid-backward leap.
Although it missed, the Twisted One bared its full mouth of sharp teeth. It was clearly not as dull-witted as it appeared.
A large clump of mud flew toward Su Xiao, carrying immense kinetic energy, nearly matching the power of a shotgun blast.
Su Xiao vanished from his spot. The next moment, the Twisted One felt a chill on the back of its neck, followed by a stabbing pain. In its aberrant beast state, the Twisted One had a sense of pain, but this was not a bad thing—pain served as the most basic warning.
A large claw with a fishy smell swung backward. Su Xiao stepped on the Twisted One's nape and agilely leaped away.
Su Xiao landed, flicking the blood off his blade. He seemed to be suppressing the Twisted One, but he knew clearly that if this monster caught him, without the Dragon Shadow Flash ability, survival would be difficult. The previous moment had been very close.
He made a feint slash with his long blade, and a blade aura shot out. The charging Twisted One paid it no mind, directly colliding with the blade aura.
Boom!
Su Xiao sidestepped away as the Twisted One pounced on empty air again. While airborne, Su Xiao swung his blade repeatedly, sending over a dozen blade auras to block the charging Twisted One.
After three consecutive missed pounces, the Twisted One's upper body was covered in wounds. Su Xiao took the chance to check its remaining health—still at 82%. This was only because the Dragon-Slashing Flash was exceptionally sharp; otherwise, who knew how long it would take to cut it down.
The Twisted One spat out the mud from its mouth, its fanged grin twisting into a strange angle. It seemed to be smiling—clearly, this monster enjoyed the feeling of battle.
Su Xiao's peripheral vision glanced at a distant broken wall. Amu was hiding up there, but it couldn't reveal itself yet. First, it wouldn't help much in the fight—against the Twisted One, it wasn't about whether it could withstand the attacks. Second, it was to prevent other contractors from interfering.
The muscles on the Twisted One's body rippled as it slowly hunched its body. Seeing this movement, Su Xiao felt his hair stand on end.
Boom!
Like a cannonball exploding beneath its feet, the Twisted One pounced at Su Xiao for the fourth time. Unlike the previous three times, its pouncing speed suddenly increased dramatically, leaving a blurry afterimage.
Skill 7, Pounce (Active, Lv.40): Usable in aberrant beast state. The Twisted One recklessly pounces at the enemy, gaining a surge in charge speed for a short time. Using this ability consumes 6% of maximum health. If health is insufficient, the Twisted One will die.
Su Xiao immediately sidestepped. With a thud, the Twisted One nearly pinned him to the ground. However, after missing for the fourth time, the Twisted One made a move—it took a deep breath.
"ROAR!!"
Layers of sound waves spread out. Su Xiao's ears rang, and dense afterimages appeared before his eyes.
In the instant before his consciousness blurred, Su Xiao formed an energy shield beside him, preventing the Twisted One from grabbing him.
The world before Su Xiao's eyes became colorful. The previous sound wave was a physical control effect, equivalent to a heavy object striking his head, causing a stun effect. Even a Blade Master could not negate this.
When the afterimages before Su Xiao's eyes faded somewhat, a sharp pain came from his ribs. An irresistible force appeared, followed by a feeling of weightlessness.
Su Xiao flew backward with a whoosh. When he regained clarity, his entire skeleton felt like it was about to fall apart. He was lying in a dirt pit, and the smell of fresh soil around him indicated that this pit was freshly plowed by his body.
The next moment, a dark shadow loomed overhead. Su Xiao raised his hand and slapped the dirt beneath him, using the reaction force to leap out of the pit.
Boom!
The Twisted One crashed into the dirt pit, letting out an angry low growl. A pool of blood gradually formed beneath its feet.
"Huff~"
Su Xiao let out a long breath, looking down at his side. Four claw marks appeared, with some skin and flesh torn away. Nearby skin was covered with a crystal layer.
A bottle of Ancient Secret Medicine appeared in Su Xiao's hand. He crushed the crystal vial directly, letting the liquid drip onto the wound. Although the recovery effect was not obvious, it at least stopped the pain. A green light entered Su Xiao's body—it was Bubu Wang, hidden in the shadows, giving him a heal.
He checked the Twisted One's health—still less than 70%. This was already fast. As long as it dropped below 25%, Su Xiao would win. As for the Twisted One's ability to fight to the death, it seemed impressive, but against Su Xiao, who had a killing ability, that ability was useless.
Although Su Xiao had nearly been killed by the Twisted One's pounce, the risk in the subsequent battle was greatly reduced.
After confirming that no major organs were severely damaged, Su Xiao rushed to the Twisted One in a few steps.
Clang.
The long blade directly aimed at the Twisted One's throat. The Twisted One blocked with one arm while its other claw aimed at Su Xiao's face.
Su Xiao suddenly released the Dragon-Slashing Flash, letting it flip in midair with the hilt facing the Twisted One. He sidestepped, circling to the Twisted One's side, and leaped up.
The Twisted One seemed a bit confused, but it instinctively grabbed the hilt of the Dragon-Slashing Flash, intending to slash Su Xiao. However, the next moment, it froze in place. If Su Xiao were fighting the Sinful One, the opponent would never touch the Dragon-Slashing Flash—this was clearly a trap.
"ROAR!!"
The Twisted One let out a pained roar, with large amounts of bloodshot eyes appearing in its eyes. After the Dragon-Slashing Flash completed its blade awakening, not just anyone could hold it. The blade demon spirit inside the blade was originally called the Demon Blade Energy.
Leaping in midair, a pale blue crystal layer covered Su Xiao's hands. He delivered a rapid series of punches to the Twisted One's head.
Actually, Su Xiao didn't want to jump, but the Twisted One was three and a half meters tall. If he didn't jump, he couldn't reach its head.
After taking over a dozen punches, the Twisted One was clearly stunned. By instinct, it released the Dragon-Slashing Flash from its grip.
Su Xiao hooked his finger, and the Dragon-Slashing Flash flew back into his hand. He thrust the long blade forward.
Pfft!
The blade tip pierced the Twisted One's neck, sinking in a good distance. At the same time, Su Xiao took out a test tube containing a small amount of dark green liquid.
Su Xiao threw the test tube at the Twisted One, then pulled out his blade and leaped back.
The test tube shattered, and the green liquid inside splashed onto the Twisted One's chest. With a whoosh, green flames ignited—it was the [Underworld Flame: Hades], but only a small amount.
The confusion in the Twisted One's eyes disappeared. The next moment, it let out a miserable scream, rolling on the ground and trying to change forms. The pain of being burned by Hades was not something that could be endured by willpower alone.
Taking this opportunity, Su Xiao stepped forward and slashed the Twisted One over a dozen times. Blood flew everywhere. The Twisted One failed to change forms, but it endured Su Xiao's slashes and bit at his chest and abdomen. Retreating was no longer possible.
With a crack, fragments of the crystal layer flew. The Twisted One's large mouth clamped onto Su Xiao's chest and abdomen, but Su Xiao's chest and abdomen were already covered with a crystal layer.
At this moment, Su Xiao's eyes showed a fierce light. He pressed one hand on the Twisted One's head while the Dragon-Slashing Flash in his other hand pressed against the Twisted One's neck.
With a swish, the blade cut open the throat. The Twisted One, unable to bear the burning of Hades, swung its body to throw Su Xiao off and began burrowing into the dirt.
The initial burning state of Hades was not inextinguishable, but its power could not be underestimated. When the Twisted One crawled out of the dirt, a gleaming blade met it head-on.
Blood splattered. The Twisted One's body stiffened, and the light in its eyes quickly faded. It was killed by the Demon Blade ability.
[The Hunter has defeated the secondary overlord creature: Twisted One.]
[Detected that the Hunter independently killed the Twisted One. You have obtained 100 Soul Coins. You may purchase any desired rewards from the following seven options.]