Chapter 54: Hello
"I, we're going to deal with that?"
Veroni's voice trembled as she spoke, looking at Su Xiao with a pleading gaze.
"That's right. Do you have any suggestions?"
Su Xiao's tone was calm. Although he wasn't sure if they could win, if he didn't even dare to try, he wouldn't have risked entering Dead Silence City, this damned place with its "simple and honest folk."
"My suggestion is to run right now. Living is more important."
"Mm, I accept your opinion."
"Really?"
Veroni's eyes welled up. In all their time cooperating, this was the first time Su Xiao had accepted her suggestion.
"Fake."
"You're so mean. Can't you at least comfort me?"
Veroni clasped her hands together and began to block out nearby sounds. She seemed cowardly throughout the journey, but in truth, this girl had a fierce streak hidden deep in her bones.
Su Xiao signaled everyone to step back. He alone walked toward the main entrance of the Birth Hall, while Amu and Bubu Wang ran off into the distance, doing who knows what.
Standing before the main door, the Black King inside the Birth Hall was only a few dozen meters away from Su Xiao. The eyes beneath the crown armor opened—pupils as black as if they could devour everything, set in grayish-white sclera.
"Hello."
Su Xiao flicked his arm, and with a clatter, a transparent chain appeared in his hand. This chain had no weight at all and was at most as thick as a pinky finger.
After aiming, Su Xiao tossed the transparent chain toward the Black King.
Crack, crack, crack...
Thick iron chains inside the Birth Hall began snapping one by one. The ground within a kilometer radius trembled, as if an earthquake were about to strike.
The transparent chain flew in front of the Black King and suddenly extended, wrapping around him in an instant. This item was called [Soul Shackles], a very precious consumable.
[Soul Shackles]
Origin: Ghost Continent
Quality: Epic
Type: Consumable
Effect: Ignores judgment. The soul chain will imprison an enemy for 15–20 seconds. The physical nature of the soul chain is extremely fragile. If attacked externally, the enemy will break free from the soul imprisonment state.
Note: If the enemy is imprisoned for more than 14 seconds, they will suffer permanent soul-level damage, a permanent 50% reduction in maximum health, and be weakened for 30 seconds.
Theoretically, [Soul Shackles] cannot be broken free from on its own unless destroyed by external force. Even a child wielding a wooden stick could shatter [Soul Shackles], but if the bound one tried to break free through brute strength, they might as well go back to sleep.
The collapsing iron chains inside the Birth Hall stopped. [Soul Shackles] formed a square formation around the Black King, the soul chains floating in midair.
The Black King slowly raised his arm, and the surrounding soul chains creaked. Although this thing was theoretically unbreakable, the Black King was far too powerful. Who knew if something unexpected might happen.
1 second, 2 seconds—time crawled to a suffocating pace. As long as it exceeded 14 seconds, the Black King would suffer permanent soul-level damage, a permanent 50% reduction in maximum health, and be weakened for 30 seconds.
If successful, Su Xiao had many more tricks waiting for the Black King. If that barrage still didn't kill him, then Su Xiao had nothing left to say. He had never suddenly awakened hidden power in battle, nor could he. If he could defeat an enemy, he killed them; if he couldn't, he died. Simple and brutal.
Crack, crack...
The soul chains stretched taut, but as an Epic-grade one-time consumable, its effect was several times stronger than Epic-grade equipment. One was a disposable item used once and gone, the other a permanent item. At the same rank, the intensity of their abilities naturally differed greatly.
11 seconds, 12 seconds, 13 seconds, 14 seconds—success!
Clatter, clatter...
The soul chains rapidly tightened, squeezing the armor on the Black King with a grinding sound.
[Prompt: The enemy has entered a weakened state. Duration: 30 seconds.]
Heavy footsteps came from behind Su Xiao. Amu, covered in magma, was holding an Apollo—Su Xiao's last Apollo.
[Soul Shackles] could imprison the enemy for a total of 20 seconds. Before using [Soul Shackles], Su Xiao had already given Bubu Wang an Apollo because he ran faster.
Bubu Wang activated the Apollo two kilometers away. Five seconds after activation, Su Xiao used [Soul Shackles]. The Apollo's detonation time was 25 seconds, while [Soul Shackles]'s imprisonment time was 20 seconds.
As Su Xiao used [Soul Shackles], Bubu Wang grabbed the Apollo in his mouth and sprinted toward the Birth Hall. As the Apollo gradually activated, its temperature grew higher and higher, which was why Amu needed to take over—he was slower than Bubu Wang, but he was immune to high temperatures.
Activation from two kilometers away, combined with the binding of [Soul Shackles], made it impossible for the Black King to avoid the Apollo. By the time he sensed the Apollo's danger, he was already restrained.
The Apollo's temperature became increasingly terrifying, but Amu, who had eaten the Magma Fruit, didn't care at all. As long as he wasn't caught in the Solar Flame, he would be fine.
Amu charged to the front of the Birth Hall, tossed the Apollo inside, and ran back without looking back.
Five seconds later.
Boom!
A dull explosion came from behind. Su Xiao stopped in his tracks. Surprisingly, the Apollo's explosion hadn't destroyed the Birth Hall. Although he didn't know why, this was a good thing. In a nearly sealed environment, the Apollo's power would be even more terrifying.
Su Xiao looked toward the Birth Hall. This towering structure had been dyed golden. Solar Flame surged from the dozens of windows and the main entrance, the immense pressure turning the flames into pillars.
Seeing this, Su Xiao turned and rushed back to the front of the Birth Hall.
Before the battle even began, the Black King had taken a severe beating. [Soul Shackles] directly reduced his maximum health by 50% and weakened him for 30 seconds.
Just as he entered the weakened state, the Apollo arrived, exploding right in his face. Combined with the sealed environment, the Black King's weakening was unimaginable.
At this moment, the Birth Hall was a blazing red, making it impossible to see what was happening inside.
After waiting several minutes, the Solar Flame inside dissipated, but the interior was still scorching red. Magma dripped from the main entrance.
As the tank, Amu led the way, charging into the Birth Hall. Two seconds later.
Boom!
Amu flew out sideways, rolling more than a dozen times before stopping. Most of his body had been blasted away, but fortunately, he was in his magma form, so the damage was limited.
Amu had been kicked out by the Black King. As a tank, he was furious, but he could only be furious. He really couldn't beat the Black King.
"Amu, cool it down."
Hearing this, Amu switched attributes. His skin changed from dark to pale yellow. He slammed both hands on the ground, and ice spread into the Birth Hall.
In just a few seconds, the Birth Hall was frozen into a massive ice block. Amu's ice energy was depleted, and he switched back to his magma form.
Su Xiao kicked through the ice wall at the main entrance of the Birth Hall. A puff of steam burst out with a hiss. The steam was only warm, indicating that the temperature inside was no longer high.
Within the swirling steam, a tall figure stood there holding a cross-shaped greatsword, as if it would never fall.