Chapter 77: Counterattack
The light in the twins' eyes quickly faded, yet the corners of their mouths curled up. The skin on their chests split open in large patches, activating something hidden within their hearts. This thing was special; only death could unleash its maximum power.
A chilling sense of crisis suddenly emerged. Su Xiao made a move to withdraw his blade and retreat, but he immediately stopped. The sense of crisis was too strong. This should be some kind of large-scale bomb or ability, activated the moment the twins died.
A crystal layer spread along the Dragon-Slaying Flash, enveloping the twins' corpses to form a crystal ball. Su Xiao kicked the crystal ball, sending it flying.
The crystal ball flew diagonally out of the square pit. Just as it rose more than ten meters above the ground, a black-purple light surged from within the crystal ball.
Crack, crack...
Large cracks appeared on the crystal ball, and black-purple light seeped through the cracks. One beam shone on the snow, which instantly evaporated into vapor.
Boom!
The black-purple light exploded. Instead of scattering, it transformed into countless threads that shot toward Su Xiao. Everything in their path, upon contact with these black-purple threads, was instantly vaporized.
This was the price—the cost of fighting and killing the strongest sixth-rank duo from Death Paradise. The twins were powerful, but they didn't consider themselves invincible, so they had prepared this thing to take their enemy down with them.
The black-purple threads surged toward Su Xiao, arriving in a flash.
Su Xiao leaped backward. A black-purple thread reached him, and before it even touched him, a stabbing pain appeared at his brow. If these threads pierced or entangled him, even if he didn't die, the damage he sustained would prevent him from continuing in the Strongest Combat Tournament.
Mid-leap backward, a faint blue light emerged on Su Xiao's surface. He activated Demon Hunting Hour, using its characteristic to trigger Dragon Shadow Flash and penetrate space.
One after another, the black-purple threads passed through Su Xiao. Whether it was an illusion or not, even while penetrating space, he vaguely felt a stinging sensation.
The black-purple threads quickly intertwined, forming a two-headed dragon. It only had an upper torso. After reluctantly glancing at Su Xiao, it dissipated.
Su Xiao landed and deactivated Demon Hunting Hour. Although he had only used Dragon Shadow Flash during Demon Hunting Hour's duration, he had dodged the twins' deathbed counterattack.
Fighting against Paradise powerhouses was like this. Apocalypse Paradise and Holy Light Paradise were fine; the chance of stepping on a landmine after killing an enemy was low. But if the enemy was from Reincarnation Paradise or Death Paradise, one had to be careful. Never get immersed in the joy of victory, or the enemy would drag you into hell.
The reason Su Xiao was so vigilant was simple: he had similar methods. He could hold an Apollo, thrust his mental energy into it, and make it detonate instantly. Moreover, because he completely disregarded stability and controllability, the Apollo's power would increase by one to two times, possibly even more.
As for the exact power, Su Xiao wasn't sure. He had never tried it so far, and he didn't want to.
A blood-colored treasure chest and an Overlord Medal fell from above, landing at Su Xiao's feet.
[You have obtained Overlord Medal ×1.]
[You have obtained Scarlet Chest (Twins).]
[This Scarlet Chest was dropped by the 3rd place in the 6th Rank Paradise Arena. The Hunter can open this chest normally, or consume this chest to challenge the 2nd place in the 6th Rank Paradise Arena.]
[Hint: The challenge opportunity is only once. If the Hunter loses, there will be no gain, and the challenged party will obtain the Scarlet Chest (Twins).]
[Hint: If the Hunter defeats the 2nd place in the 6th Rank Paradise Arena, they will ignore the current ranking and be directly promoted to the 2nd place in the 6th Rank Paradise Arena.]
Not only did the twins drop a Scarlet Chest, but the chest they dropped was also special. As the 3rd place in the 6th Rank Paradise Arena, the chest they dropped could not only be opened but also used as a challenge letter.
After Su Xiao finished the last world, due to time constraints, he didn't participate in the arena. His arena ranking was 31,000.
If he used the chest dropped by the twins as a medium, Su Xiao could challenge the 2nd place in the 6th Rank Arena from his 31,000 ranking. One could imagine how shocked the 2nd place would be upon receiving this matchmaking prompt.
Putting away the twins' chest, Su Xiao spat out blood-tinged saliva. He was heavily injured during the fight with the twins, having endured two "Big Slaps (Twin Chaos)" head-on. Now, his vision was even slightly blurred.
For Su Xiao, the twins were the most troublesome among all the remaining participants. He could only fight them head-on; the twins were too difficult to approach.
[Announcement: Participant Twins (Death Paradise) has been killed. Bai Ye (Reincarnation Paradise) currently holds Overlord Medals ×4.]
Out of a total of ten Overlord Medals, four were now in Su Xiao's hands. Even if he did nothing afterward, as long as he wasn't killed or eliminated, the second place was already secure.
Thinking of the Black Maple Tree Branch reward for second place, Su Xiao felt no joy in the gain. He even felt like voluntarily dropping to the last place (third place). At least he only had one Origin Stone. As for the Black Maple Tree Branch, there was a basket in his exclusive room, available for his use.
The frozen soil at one end of the square pit had been vaporized. Su Xiao walked up the slope and drank a bottle of Ancient Secret Medicine. His injuries eased somewhat, but what he needed most now was rest.
Inside the frost forest, Bubu Wang ran over from a distance. Su Xiao gathered Cyan Steel Shadow Energy on his fingertip and tapped Bubu Wang.
Crackle~
Arcs of electricity surged. Su Xiao had previously confirmed that the frost mark on Bubu Wang was made of energy, something like a passive trigger mark. Anyone who approached that giant tomb would be marked.
The frost mark on Bubu Wang slowly dissipated. The twenty Frost Guards didn't pursue. They weren't completely brainless; after failing to track Bubu Wang, they returned to guard near the giant tomb.
If Su Xiao guessed correctly, beneath that tomb was a hidden high-risk area. If one entered this world normally, they could obtain World Source, and with the support of main quests, if properly planned, they could gain significant benefits from the giant tomb.
Unfortunately, Su Xiao didn't know the origin of that tomb or the story of its owner. In this situation, he could only fight head-on. Given the combat power of the Frost Guards, fighting head-on was suicide.
Su Xiao decided not to get involved with the giant tomb anymore. Soon, the blizzard would converge, and with his injuries, this place was not suitable for staying.
Su Xiao got onto the snow sled. Baha flew above. The reason he hadn't acted all along was to be wary of other participants approaching this area, to prevent the worst-case scenario.
After traveling for about an hour, a low hill over ten meters high appeared ahead. On one side of the hill was a newly dug cave, excavated by Amu and Beini, who had arrived here first.
Su Xiao stood up and walked into the cave. As soon as he entered, Amu sealed four-fifths of the cave entrance with snow. Baha circled above, Beini guarded the rear, while Bubu Wang and Amu sat outside the cave entrance. Now, anyone who dared to approach would be attacked by all four of them.
Leaning against the inner wall of the cave, Su Xiao closed his eyes to rest. When his injuries recovered, he would head toward the Peak Mountain Range. For now, he needed rest.