Chapter 55: Ferocious
Su Xiao, the Old Divine Stick, and Amu walked into the Birth Hall, while Bubu Wang provided an aura at the edge of the battlefield. Veronica was outside the door; she dared not enter, fearing she might be casually killed by the Black King and die unjustly.
"Good luck."
Veronica spoke, fulfilling her only role, commonly known as a cheerleader.
As Su Xiao and the other two slowly advanced, the atmosphere shifted, becoming deadly and tense.
Crack... crack...
A crisp sound came from the metal as the Black King's armor cracked. After being scorched by Solar Flame and then exposed to low temperatures, transitioning from extreme heat to extreme cold, the fact that the armor hadn't exploded was a testament to its incredible durability.
Clang~
Su Xiao drew the longsword from his waist, slightly crouched his body, and charged straight at the Black King.
"Don't rush in alone..."
Before the Old Divine Stick could finish his sentence.
"Roar!!"
A deafening beastly roar echoed as the Blood Beast instantly formed and lunged directly at the Black King.
Without any visible movement from the Black King, the black sword in his hand slashed forward, a pure black blade aura cutting toward the Blood Beast.
With a tearing sound, the blade aura passed through the Blood Beast's neck, severing its head. But the Blood Beast was not a living creature.
Boom!
Blood energy exploded, and the shockwave spread outward. Bubu Wang, watching from the edge of the battlefield, was slammed against the wall by the shockwave.
The smell of blood permeated the Birth Hall, and the steam inside instantly dissipated, pushed out of the hall.
When the Blood Beast dissipated, the Black King was in a kneeling position on one knee, holding his sword with one hand, the blade thrust into the ground. Black blood dripped from beneath the chin guard of his helmet.
The Black King was surrounded by fragments of armor. The shoulder guards on both sides were nearly completely shattered, and cracks could be seen in other parts as well. After taking the Blood Beast's pounce, he was clearly worse for wear.
Su Xiao exhaled a breath of blood energy. Against the Black King, he opened with a direct ultimate move.
Bang!
A sonic boom rang out, and the Black King vanished.
A whistling sound of wind came from behind Su Xiao. He immediately activated the Dragon Shadow Flash ability, but his entire body suddenly went numb, unable to move even a finger.
The black sword slashed down. The ground in front of Su Xiao seemed to be rigged with explosives; with one swing, a large section of the ground directly exploded.
The longsword passed through Su Xiao's torso. If this strike had hit, Su Xiao's chances of survival would have been very low. However, in the critical moment, he activated the Dragon Shadow Flash ability. Although he couldn't move an inch due to the numbness, he had entered a spatial penetration state, so the sword passed through his body without harming him.
Stone fragments flew, stinging Su Xiao's face. The Black King was right behind him. The good news was that his body had regained sensation.
Tap, tap, tap.
Rapid footsteps sounded as the Old Divine Stick, wielding his sawtooth blade, rushed to the Black King's side. He gripped the wooden handle with both hands and swung the blade at the Black King's neck.
Just as the sawtooth blade was about to strike the Black King's neck, the Black King suddenly released the sword's hilt. The black sword flew upward, and the next moment, the Black King grabbed the blade, using the hilt to block at his neck.
Clang! Sparks flew up more than ten meters high as the sawtooth blade struck the hilt. The Old Divine Stick's hands tingled.
The Black King was not a mindless monster. He retained his combat abilities from life, combined with the powerful body and abilities granted by Dead Silence City, making his combat prowess terrifying.
The Black King pulled his hand back, creating a dazzling blur of afterimages. By the time the Old Divine Stick regained his senses, the Black King had already re-gripped the hilt. The black sword thrust downward, pinning the sawtooth blade to the ground.
A black shadow appeared before the Old Divine Stick, moving so fast that he didn't even have time to form the thought of dodging.
Bang!
The Black King's metal-booted foot kicked the Old Divine Stick in the face. The Old Divine Stick broke through a layer of air, crashing into the ice layer on the far wall, leaving a trail of blood in the air.
Magma surged as Amu arrived. But the next moment, an arm flew up. Amu quickly followed the Old Divine Stick's fate, struck on the head by the Black King's sword hilt and sent flying backward.
While flying through the air, Amu felt a drowning sensation, as if all the moisture in its body was rushing to its head.
The Black King had knocked away the Old Divine Stick and Amu in less than two seconds, but Su Xiao was not idle.
The moment Amu flew out, Su Xiao was already standing behind the Black King. The Wood Spirit clung to his calf, and his kinetic combat boots were fully activated. He delivered a side kick to the Black King's waist.
Thud! The Black King staggered a few steps sideways, and a dent could be seen in the armor at his waist.
After activating Wood Spirit + Kinetic Combat Boots, this was the first time Su Xiao hadn't sent an enemy flying. When he kicked the Black King, it felt like he was kicking a towering mountain that reached the sky. The mountain was unaffected, but his leg nearly broke.
Armor clashed as the Black King, wielding his sword with both hands, took several large strides to reach Su Xiao. Su Xiao instinctively raised his longsword horizontally, but then reconsidered. That absolutely wouldn't work. The Black King's strength was terrifying, and his technique was superior. There was no way Su Xiao could block a direct frontal strike from him—no negotiation on that point.
A faint blue light emerged on Su Xiao's body surface. The black sword swung down, but Su Xiao had already vanished from his spot.
'Bone-Piercing Blade.'
Ding!
Dragon-Slaying Flash thrust downward, striking the Black King's crown. The blade was covered in blue patterns; this move was purely for penetration.
At this moment, Su Xiao was standing on the Black King's shoulder. Yes, he had activated Demon Hunting Hour. If he hadn't, one misstep would have him killed in an instant. This tension, pressure, and the taste of blood in his mouth made his eyes glow red.
The longsword penetrated less than a few centimeters before it could go no further. Suddenly, the full-body numbness returned. But with the previous experience, Su Xiao immediately penetrated space.
Bang.
Su Xiao landed more than ten meters behind the Black King, unable to move even a finger. This ability was nearly unstoppable—not mental control, not physical control, but a pure technique. Through vibrations or force penetration at a special frequency, it caused his body to go completely numb.
As soon as Su Xiao hit the ground, the Black King appeared beside him.
Crack, crack, crack...
A crystal layer formed, encasing Su Xiao.
With a shattering sound, the crystal layer was broken by the black sword, revealing fragments of a golden energy shell. This was the secondary invincibility shield from the scabbard. In practice, this thing was only invincible at lower ranks. Against the Black King, it was shattered with one swing.
The Black King raised his right foot and stomped the ground. With that stomp, it felt like the entire world had sunk a notch.
A black shockwave spread. Su Xiao's body had just regained sensation when he was sent flying by the ground-hugging black shockwave. His internal organs burned with a fiery pain, and his left arm, which had been closest to the ground, was covered in fine wounds.
"Slaughter!"
The Old Divine Stick's roar came from above. He had somehow climbed to the top of the Birth Hall and was now leaping down, his sawtooth blade aimed at the Black King's head.
In the critical moment, the Black King turned his head to dodge. The sawtooth blade, glowing with piercing red light, slashed down, cutting more than twenty centimeters into the Black King's shoulder. The Old Divine Stick had activated his ultimate move.
However, the next moment, the Old Divine Stick was sent flying, his entire right arm shattered to pieces, covered in blood.
A massive surge of magma rushed forward, and the Black King's evasive steps faltered as he sensed something more dangerous.
About ten meters away from the Black King, Amu held its hands in front of it, a blazing red magma sphere forming between them. This magma sphere had clearly been refined and compressed.
As Amu pushed its hands forward, a blazing red magma pillar erupted. It was using its fruit ability to simulate a volcanic eruption.
The magma pillar reached the Black King in an instant. The Black King raised his armored hand and pressed it against the pillar.
Boom! Magma splattered everywhere. The Black King took a step back as the super-high-temperature magma began to scorch his right hand.
A black blade aura slashed out, dispersing the magma pillar. A cut appeared on Amu's shoulder. It froze for a moment, and then nearly a third of its right side slowly slid downward, thudding to the ground. Blood gushed out like water. The Black King's slash could not be avoided even by elementalization.
Amu collapsed directly, its condition unknown.
A figure covered in faint blue electric light appeared beside the Black King. The sound of a slash rang out.
Pfft!
A thick right arm flew up. The armor at the break point was already shattered, and this right arm was holding a black sword.
Su Xiao flipped the longsword in his hand and thrust it into the Black King's eye socket.
Clang! The longsword lodged into the Black King's skull. Before Su Xiao could withdraw the blade, a black afterimage struck his chest. Then came a dizzying spin, without even time to activate Dragon Shadow Flash.
Boom!
Ice fragments flew everywhere as Su Xiao crashed into the ice wall and stopped.
Blood seeped from the Black King's eye socket, and beneath his faceplate, a smile appeared.
Su Xiao broke free from the ice layer. About twenty meters away, there was another large ice crater.
"Dead, right?"
Su Xiao wiped the blood from his chin. The Black King's health was only 37%. Victory was in sight; the previous preparations hadn't been in vain.
"Not... dead yet."
The Old Divine Stick, now with only one arm and covered in cuts that reached the bone, broke free from the ice wall.
"Then let's continue."
Su Xiao flicked the black blood off his blade and charged at the Black King alongside the Old Divine Stick. For both of them, as long as they weren't dead, they hadn't lost their combat effectiveness.
"Moo!"
Amu's roar came from behind. The part of its torso that had been cut off was being reattached with something like staples—an emergency treatment done by Bubu Wang.
Amu also charged at the Black King. Everyone in the Birth Hall today was fearless of death.