Chapter 29: I Surrender
A one-armed man sat on the steps before the old church, his eyes somewhat dazed. The only remaining arm was studded with blue crystal fragments.
"Kukulin."
The one-armed man struggled to his feet. He was Tree Wolf.
Su Xiao leaped down from the high wall and looked Tree Wolf up and down. The other man was also off, but hadn't completely lost consciousness yet.
"Finally... you're here. As expected of you, right on time."
Tree Wolf smiled, his breathing growing rapid and his pupils gradually contracting. He seemed to be suppressing something inside him.
"She's at the very back. Before dawn, kill... her. Be careful, Earth Dragon·Tamen. Hurry, go inside. After I'm eroded, I might... become very strong... Ah!!"
Tree Wolf let out a miserable howl, his body beginning to tremble. The fabric at the shoulder of his severed arm bulged, and with a tearing sound, dozens of tentacles burst through the cloth, intertwining to form a massive arm several times larger than his entire body.
"Hold him off until you die."
Su Xiao continued forward without even glancing at Tree Wolf, who had already transformed into a monster. The man who had been following behind him drew the longsword at his waist. This man was Old Holy King's trusted subordinate, King's Sword·Xiusite.
"Die like a warrior, Tree Wolf."
Xiusite wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, but he respected all opponents. Unfortunately, his opponent this time was a monster that had lost its personality and consciousness.
"Roar!"
Tree Wolf charged forward in a few steps, his massive right arm smashing down.
Boom!
The ground within half a kilometer trembled. Layer upon layer of shockwaves spread outward, and blue flames erupted at the center of the impact.
Xiusite was sent flying backward by the blast wave, crashing through several walls before landing on a pile of rubble. He sat there, staring in stunned disbelief at Tree Wolf. Now he understood Su Xiao's earlier words: "Hold him off until you die."
"Grrr, grrr, grrr..."
Tree Wolf let out a threatening growl from his throat. He hadn't lied—after being eroded, he really was that strong.
Xiusite spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva and switched from a one-handed grip to a two-handed grip on his sword.
While Tree Wolf and Xiusite clashed, Su Xiao had already pushed open the main door of the old church and casually closed it behind him, lest the monster Tree Wolf had become change targets and suddenly charge in.
Inside the church, long benches were sparsely arranged, covered in a thick layer of dust. A stone statue of a goddess stood at the far end, its surface covered in cracks.
A man as sturdy as a small mountain sat beneath the statue. He was bare-chested, and a trident at least three meters long was thrust into the ground beside him.
The trident looked incredibly heavy. The black marble floor nearby, unable to bear its weight, was already covered in cracks and showed signs of sinking.
The mountain-like man was Earth Dragon·Tamen. His pupils were dark gold and vertical, like those of a dragon race.
Tamen picked up a large piece of cooked beast meat and stuffed it into his mouth, bones and all. He was clearly human, but his aura was even stronger than Tree Wolf's after erosion.
Crunch, crunch...
Tamen easily crushed the bones in his mouth. He didn't speak, simply grabbing the trident beside him and standing up. When he was seated, it was one thing, but when he stood, he was at least three and a half meters tall.
Su Xiao tilted his head slightly, looking up at the towering enemy before him. The opponent's True Strength attribute was as high as 135 points, with Long Weapon Grandmastery at Lv.29. Even more deadly was an ability called Earth Dragon Force—any enemy with lower strength than him would have their blocks broken outright, and attacks ignored defense.
Su Xiao's strength was lower than Tamen's, and this seemingly bulky fellow was no slouch in technique either.
Clang~
Without a word, Su Xiao drew Dragon-Slaying Flash, the tip of the blade angled toward the ground. The atmosphere grew heavy.
Tamen remained silent as well. His muscles bulged, veins protruding, as he gripped the trident with both hands, its tips aimed at Su Xiao.
A faint stinging sensation came from Su Xiao's chest.
Bang!
A thunderclap-like crack rang out. The trident thrust past Su Xiao's chest, grazing it. If he hadn't sidestepped, it would have pierced through his body, killing him instantly.
What Imperial Three Strongmen? Compared to Su Xiao and Tamen, King's Sword·Xiusite was practically the shame of the trio.
The wind pressure stirred Su Xiao's black hair. His blood seemed to boil. He hadn't felt this kind of pressure in a long time—not since his battle with the Black King.
'Blade Path Sword: Time.'
Thud.
A shockwave spread. Tamen's speed suddenly slowed. The bear-pelt-wearing giant narrowed his eyes and took a deep breath.
"Ha!"
Like a thunderclap, Su Xiao's ears rang, and his forward step faltered.
Tamen raised the trident above his head, his arms straining. A sweeping strike covered a dozen meters ahead. The wind pressure howled, and the airflow inside the entire church was stirred up.
Bang!
The stone slabs on the floor shattered. The effect of Blade Path Sword: Time was swept away.
With a deafening clang, Su Xiao was sent flying backward.
Tamen was about to pursue when he felt a stinging pain in his shoulder. A deep, bone-reaching slash appeared on his shoulder. Before blood could gush out, the muscles on both sides of the wound tightened, forcibly closing it.
Su Xiao flew back over a dozen meters before landing. He thrust Dragon-Slaying Flash into the ground, dragging a long gash across the floor as he stabilized himself.
After the initial exchange, Su Xiao confirmed that in a contest of endurance, he was completely outmatched.
Having determined this, Su Xiao drew the scabbard at his waist and sheathed his longsword. Nearly 3,000 points of Cyan Steel Shadow Energy clung to the blade within the scabbard.
The entire sword turned dark blue, including Su Xiao's right forearm gripping the hilt. The shattered form of Banishment floated around him.
Su Xiao assumed a draw-cutting stance. Seeing this, Tamen, who had been about to charge, halted, his expression turning grave. A heavy, earthy yellow light clung to the trident, and the ground around him rumbled as it sank a significant amount.
In his draw-cutting stance, Su Xiao's right hand gripped the hilt tightly, and white mist slowly exhaled from his mouth.
'Shadow Severance'
Clang.
The sharp ring of the slash carried far. Su Xiao's entire form turned into a blue afterimage.
"Die!"
Tamen roared. The sweeping trident transformed into a massive dark golden chain, meeting the oncoming blue afterimage.
Crack, crack, crack...
The blade and trident scraped against each other, producing a sound loud enough to rupture eardrums. The ground beneath Tamen's feet was instantly shattered.
Su Xiao and Tamen passed each other by a hair's breadth. Su Xiao crashed into the goddess statue with a boom, sending broken stones flying. A diagonal wound crossed his chest, deep enough in places to reveal his organs.
Su Xiao rose from the ground, sheathing his longsword. Shadow Severance, second stage: Sever!
With a tearing sound, a slash appeared on Tamen's abdomen. The wound wasn't deep, but Tamen froze in place.
Centered on that slash, countless cutting rays appeared, forming a dense, spherical mass of slashes that enveloped Tamen. Blood splattered everywhere.
The slashes lasted nearly 30 seconds before dissipating. By then, Tamen had become a blood-soaked figure, not a single patch of intact skin on his body.
Blood dripped from the corner of Su Xiao's mouth. He was severely injured—that last strike had nearly killed him outright. But he had won.
Tamen, his eyes blazing with murderous intent, turned around. Just as he was about to charge at Su Xiao, his hand gripping the trident went numb. The trident clattered to the ground, gouging out a large pit.
Pfft.
A dark blue spike thrust out from Tamen's chest. The powerful man grabbed the spike, intending to pull it out directly, but in the next moment, spike after spike pierced through his body, turning him into a porcupine. He could no longer hold on and dropped to one knee.
With a crackling sound, Tamen's upper body shattered. Flesh and blood sprayed everywhere. The shattered form of Banishment, no longer empowered by Dragon Shadow Flash, returned to its original color, drifting back to Su Xiao's side and attaching itself to his sleeve cuff.
"If you think you're stronger than him, you can fight me."
Su Xiao didn't bother checking the rewards for killing Tamen. He was heavily wounded, but it was enough to deal with Moon Goddess.
The small door at the back of the church was pushed open, and Moon Goddess stepped out. She hesitated for a moment, then decided to throw down the dagger in her hand in surrender. After all, this might allow her to die with some dignity.