Chapter 50: Derived Ability: Conquest
Maple leaves fluttered, dark clouds churned in the sky.
Rumble...
A thunderclap exploded, a bolt of lightning struck down, splitting a thick maple tree in two. Broken branches and scattered leaves flew everywhere as flames crackled against the scorched trunk.
The lightning was like nature's fury, but Su Xiao and Iron Feather King, locked in a standoff, didn't even twitch an eyelid. A moment's distraction would mean utter ruin.
The Apostle's Eye floated overhead, transmitting the detected data to Su Xiao.
[Comparing both parties' intelligence attributes... Comparison complete. Due to interference from Abyssal Serpent, only 92% of the enemy's data obtained.]
Name: Iron Feather King
Category: Human
Health: 100%
Battle Soul Power: 15300/15300 points
Source Energy: 76000/76000 (Self-sealed by Iron Feather King)
Strength: 145 (True Attribute)
Agility: 139 (True Attribute)
Stamina: 150 (True Attribute)
Intelligence: 107
Charm: 119 (True Attribute)
Skill 1, War King (Passive, LV.72): Health +29000 points, ignores all control effects of Seventh Rank or below.
Skill 2, Spear Grandmaster (Basic Skill, Lv.43): Increases spear-type weapon attack power by 615%, neural reflex speed +103%, dynamic vision +117%, attacks have a strong armor-piercing effect.
Skill 3, Spear Grandmaster Lv.10 Derived Ability: Overlord: When determining strength, additionally increases correction effect by 16 points. When the weapon penetrates an enemy, it deals massive true damage.
Skill 4, Spear Grandmaster Lv.20 Derived Ability: Undying: If Iron Feather King falls into a dying state, he ignores the debuffs caused by that state, and his spear's lethality doubles, lasting 27 seconds.
Skill 5, Spear Grandmaster Lv.30 Derived Ability: Spear Slaughter: Each time an enemy unit is killed, recover 1~650 health points.
Skill 6, Spear Grandmaster Lv.40 Derived Ability: Conquest: If Iron Feather King is on a battlefield, for every 10 enemy units killed, temporarily increase 1 point of Strength attribute, 1 point of Agility attribute, and 1 point of Stamina attribute.
Tip: True Strength attribute can be increased by a maximum of 35 additional points.
Tip: True Agility attribute can be increased by a maximum of 21 additional points.
Tip: True Stamina attribute can be increased by a maximum of 27 additional points.
Tip: This effect lasts 10 minutes to 12 hours (depending on kill situation).
Tip: This Spear Grandmaster derived ability is unique to Iron Feather King.
Skill 7, Battle Soul·Vertical (Ultimate Ability, Lv.37): ???
Skill 8, Self-Developed Blade-Spear Abilities (27 total): Detailed data on such abilities cannot be detected, 18 passive types, 9 active types.
...
Su Xiao now understood why the Northern Alliance feared Iron Feather King so much. Even without being on a battlefield, Iron Feather King was already the strongest in this world. A Lv.43 Spear Grandmaster, plus 27 self-developed abilities, fully demonstrated his combat power.
Furthermore, the control immunity of the War King ability and the Spear Grandmaster Lv.30 derived ability, Spear Slaughter, meant that surrounding Iron Feather King was useless.
If it were just that, the Northern Alliance wouldn't be so afraid. But Iron Feather King's Spear Grandmaster Lv.40 derived ability, Conquest, allowed him to unleash terrifying combat power on the battlefield.
As the number of kills increased, Iron Feather King's True Strength would reach 180 points, True Agility 170 points, and True Stamina 177 points.
What did that mean? Saying that Iron Feather King could sweep down a large group with a single spear thrust on the battlefield was no exaggeration. Coupled with his self-developed blade-spear techniques, one could easily imagine how terrifying he was on the battlefield.
Fortunately, this wasn't a battlefield. Iron Feather King's "Conquest" ability couldn't be activated here. Otherwise, Su Xiao would have no chance at all, as his Strength, Agility, and Stamina attributes would all be crushed.
But even without the "Conquest" effect, Iron Feather King was still powerful. A Lv.43 Grandmaster ability wasn't just for show. The good news was that Iron Feather King's Grandmaster ability was more suited for the battlefield, while Su Xiao often dealt with powerful individuals. Each had their advantages.
The lightning-struck maple tree burned fiercely, a wisp of black smoke rising, drifting diagonally upward.
A large cloud of sparks was blown by the wind toward Su Xiao. Just as they were about to touch him, the longsword in his hand slashed forward.
'Blade Path: Azure Demon.'
Clang!
An azure-blue blade aura shot through the air, arriving in front of Iron Feather King at super-high speed. Against an ordinary enemy facing such a fast Azure Demon, their first thought would be to dodge. Even if they couldn't evade completely, they would try to avoid vital spots.
But Iron Feather King showed no sign of dodging. The hooked-blade spear in his hand spun, the metal shaft resting on his shoulder.
With a crackling sound, the horizontal blade on the spear hooked onto Azure Demon, directly altering its flight path.
Iron Feather King gripped the spear with both hands, flicking the hooked blade, sending Azure Demon back.
Su Xiao, who was charging forward, sidestepped, dodging Azure Demon while his longsword slashed upward.
Just as Su Xiao was about to strike, Iron Feather King stepped forward, causing Su Xiao's pupils to slightly contract. His instinct's warning reached its limit. His current position was extremely dangerous!
Leveraging the momentum from deflecting Azure Demon, Iron Feather King swung his hooked-blade spear forward with a whoosh. The movement was grand and sweeping—this was his fighting style.
'Blade Path: Blood Blade.'
Blood-red feathers surged around Su Xiao, and he vanished instantly.
Boom!
The hooked-blade spear struck down, maple leaves scattering in all directions. The ground where the blade embedded cracked open widely.
Despite missing the strike, Iron Feather King remained calm. He pulled back his hooked-blade spear, quickly releasing the shaft, letting it slide down his palm. When his hands tightened again, he had grasped the middle section of the shaft.
Clang!
Sparks flew as the longsword struck the end of the hooked-blade spear's shaft. Iron Feather King pushed the shaft, and Su Xiao immediately felt a tremendous force transmitted through his blade.
Su Xiao's body leaned back slightly as the force from the blade entered him. The clothes on his back bulged, and several tears ripped open in his long leather coat.
With a rumble, a massive crater appeared behind Su Xiao. He had successfully deflected the force.
As the crater exploded, Su Xiao kicked forward, aiming for Iron Feather King's abdomen.
Bang!
Iron Feather King staggered back a few steps, lowering his body slightly. One hand was in front of him, while the other, holding the hooked-blade spear, was behind.
Seizing the opportunity, Su Xiao quickly slashed three times.
'Blade Path: Absolute Nether.'
The world around suddenly turned pitch black. In Iron Feather King's eyes, only three slashing marks remained, rushing toward him.
Space itself seemed to distort. The three blue slashing marks in Iron Feather King's eyes suddenly split apart, becoming a large barrage of slashes.
As the barrage of slashes came, Iron Feather King wielded his blade-spear with one hand, sweeping the hooked-blade spear horizontally. Mid-swing, his other hand also gripped the shaft, dramatically increasing the momentum of the hooked-blade spear.
Boom! All the slashes were shattered. The hooked-blade spear grazed across Su Xiao's chest. The epic-grade long leather coat was instantly breached, and a wound spanning his chest appeared. Fortunately, it wasn't deep.
Having his blade technique broken, getting injured was inevitable. If it weren't for Su Xiao's rich combat experience, that spear blade would have taken his head off.
The saying "an inch longer, an inch stronger" wasn't without reason. But if Su Xiao could break through the hooked-blade spear's sweep, he would have the advantage, as the hooked-blade spear was a long weapon. At close range, it was more often used for blocking with the shaft.
Just as Su Xiao was hit by the spear, Iron Feather King's eyes narrowed slightly, exuding an imposing aura without anger. His hooked-blade spear first swept horizontally, then slashed vertically, attacking Su Xiao like a storm.
The hooked-blade spear swept past Su Xiao's neck, but he remained unharmed. He was in a state of Space Penetration.
Seeing this, Iron Feather King lifted his right foot and stomped the ground. A shockwave spread. In an instant, he judged that Su Xiao had used a spatial ability and would appear behind him.
This was how battles between technique masters worked. In an instant, they could determine what the enemy intended to do, even exploiting the flaw when the enemy's move ended to deliver a fatal blow.
In this brief exchange, Su Xiao had tried five times to cut off Iron Feather King's head, but each time, Iron Feather King saw through it. Conversely, Iron Feather King had tried four times to cleave Su Xiao in two with his hooked-blade spear, but Su Xiao also countered each attempt.
Amid the dazzling competition of techniques, killing intent was hidden. Victory or defeat truly was a matter of an instant.