Chapter 25: Absolute Disparity
Outside the wooden cabin, black mist surged, while inside, Shangyue and Nita stood and sat respectively, both motionless, as Su Xiao was blocking the doorway.
Nita shifted her gaze toward Shangyue.
"You brought this?"
"Probably... yeah."
Shangyue spoke while slowly stepping back, though she knew that on Twilight Island, it was Nita who had betrayed her, but that no longer mattered.
"If we join forces..."
"Don't dream. He's a greater threat to us than that Demon Clan member, since that Demon Clan member is better at defense."
Nita crouched low, her appearance rapidly changing into a woman with disheveled black hair and a scar on her chin.
Silver liquid metal surged from Nita's ring, forming her weapon—shapeless, but capable of creating most melee weapons.
Nita could not only mimic others' appearances but also their abilities, though there was an upper limit. For example, if her combat power cap was 200, even after mimicking someone else's ability, she couldn't exceed 200.
Different situations caused various abilities to perform differently in combat, which was Nita's advantage. She could mimic abilities that countered her enemy based on who she faced.
But facing Su Xiao standing outside the wooden cabin, Nita had no good countermeasures. She and Shangyue were trapped, and the cabin was this small, so mimicking melee abilities was the only option.
The liquid metal surged in Nita's hand, eventually forming a rapier. This rapier had a blade edge, five centimeters wide near the guard, tapering upward until the tip resembled a sharpened needle with an edge.
"Sometimes being too clever... means you have to die, you..."
Nita stopped mid-sentence, suddenly grabbing Shangyue's hair beside her and headbutting her.
Shangyue was knocked down, utterly bewildered, unable to understand why Nita grabbed her hair and headbutted her. With a great enemy before them, Shangyue thought Nita's move was simply brainless.
"If only I were as foolish as you."
"What the hell..."
"Nothing. Just annoyed with you."
Nita held Shangyue's long hair without pulling, standing behind her, resting her chin on Shangyue's shoulder, and staring at Su Xiao at the door.
Nita was different from Shangyue. Among the same generation of the Feather Clan, Shangyue was a young lady. For this Strongest Warrior Tournament, her mother opposed it, but her father agreed.
Shangyue's mother's view: 'What if my precious daughter dies?'
Shangyue's father's view: 'The Feather Clan doesn't need hothouse flowers.'
Thus, under immense pressure, Shangyue's father sent both her and her brother to participate in the tournament. Who knew if that older brother was still safe?
Unlike Shangyue, the Feather Clan's young lady, Nita had been navigating all kinds of shady places since she was twelve. To survive, she had to be unscrupulous, more cunning, more ruthless, and more cruel than any desperado.
Because of this, Nita's life experience and crisis perception far surpassed Shangyue's.
After leaving Twilight Island and arriving at the Death House, the moment Nita saw Shangyue, she knew something was wrong. When she discovered Su Xiao was also there, she was terrified to the point her scalp tingled.
Demon Clan, Feather Clan, Law Destroyer—Nita sensed something was off, but she dared not speculate further. Because if she guessed any possibility, everyone connected to her would die. Though she couldn't possibly deduce the connections, some things were beyond her reach.
"You're so lucky. I'm jealous."
Nita shoved Shangyue away and moved her left arm as if warming up before battle. In reality, this was a code they had agreed upon in the maze—moving the left arm meant 'flee.'
Su Xiao extinguished the white wax in his hand, tossed it to Bubu Wang, and stepped into the room.
Clang~
The long blade unsheathed. Su Xiao glanced at Shangyue, then fixed his gaze on Nita.
The cabin wasn't large, about sixty square meters, which wouldn't hinder Su Xiao's swordplay.
Currently, Su Xiao's only combat equipment was the Dragon-Slaying Flash, but other participants also had limited gear. For instance, Shangyue only had a feathered robe as a supernatural item, and Nita only had her rapier.
Bang! Su Xiao vanished from his spot, reappearing before Nita in an instant, the long blade slashing downward.
Clang!
Sparks flew as Nita, blocking with both hands on her rapier, nearly dropped to her knees.
Crack, crack, crack...
The blade edges scraped as the long sword pressed down, the edge gradually pushing toward Nita's shoulder, finally sinking into flesh.
"Ah!"
Nita pushed the rapier forward with all her might, but the absolute gap in strength and technique couldn't be bridged by her roar.
Rapid footsteps came from the side. Su Xiao didn't even look. Power surged from his feet as he added force to his blade while delivering a straight kick.
Bang! Nita was kicked flying, crashing into the wooden wall behind her.
'Blade Path Sword: Time.'
The shockwave spread. Shangyue, who had rushed to Su Xiao's side, suddenly slowed down. The black feathers around her slowly thrust forward.
Clang~
The long blade swept through. Shangyue felt a chill on her chest as her black feathered robe was breached, though it absorbed most of the cutting force.
"Void."
Nita, crouched before the wooden wall, pale-faced and struggling to breathe, slapped the ground. Almost simultaneously, a round, chubby creature appeared beside Su Xiao.
This creature was semi-transparent, covered in yellow patterns, with the number '1' written on its round belly.
The moment this creature appeared, Su Xiao felt his hand go empty. The Dragon-Slaying Flash had also become semi-transparent, suspended a meter above the ground.
The Dragon-Slaying Flash had been sent to an alternate space.
Realizing this, Su Xiao's right arm entered a space-penetrating state, grabbing the hilt of the Dragon-Slaying Flash.
Crackle~
Golden arcs of electricity appeared. Su Xiao's right arm went numb, and he exited the space-penetrating state.
Nita had mimicked this form specifically to use this ability against Su Xiao, temporarily rendering him weaponless.
"Now..."
Before Nita could finish, a wind-breaking sound rushed toward her.
Boom!
A fist wrapped in a crystal layer slammed into Nita's chest, blasting her into the wooden wall behind her.
Nita vomited a mouthful of sour liquid, felt the world spin, and then crashed into something.
With a pained cry, Nita sent Shangyue stumbling. Before either could steady themselves, a whimper came from ahead.
Nita's rapier was thrown by Su Xiao, piercing through a wave of air before impaling Nita's abdomen, pinning her to the wall behind.
Cyan Steel Shadow energy surged on Su Xiao's hand. He grabbed the semi-transparent, round creature beside him and squeezed.
Bang!
Like a balloon bursting, the creature was crushed by Su Xiao. It was made of energy, so the Cyan Steel Shadow energy could catch it. Clearly, Nita only knew about the Law Destroyers but not the specifics of their abilities.
Su Xiao raised his right arm. The long blade hummed as the Dragon-Slaying Flash flew back into his hand.
Now their positions had reversed. Su Xiao was inside the cabin, while Shangyue and Nita—one stood at the door, the other was pinned to the wall.
Nita was utterly despairing. Two against one gave them no advantage; instead, they were being crushed. She couldn't see any hope of victory.