Chapter 78: Final Battle?
On the fourth day of the Ten Strongest Tournament, early morning.
The piled snow in front of the cave entrance was pushed aside as Su Xiao walked out from inside, breathing in the cold air. He moved his left arm; the ancient secret medicine combined with Bubu Wang's ice aura had allowed his injuries to heal, and a night's rest had also contributed significantly.
A blizzard pressed in from behind. Judging by the distance, it would arrive in at most half an hour. At this point, the blizzard zone was already extremely dangerous; once caught within it, survival was nearly impossible.
Starting from the third day, the blizzard's advance speed had been increasing rapidly. Until they reached the peak mountain range, the threat of the blizzard would not be lifted.
Su Xiao's team resumed their journey. Currently, four people had been eliminated, three of whom were set up by Su Xiao (Yamu), while the other two had simply perished at his hands.
After traveling for two hours, Su Xiao emerged from the Frost Forest. He encountered no danger along the way, not even seeing a single living creature.
Leaving the Frost Forest, Su Xiao saw a winding mountain range ahead. He took out a high-powered telescope, but due to the falling snow in the distance, he could only vaguely make out a mountain peak—one that soared straight into the sky.
Just as Su Xiao was about to put away the telescope, a scorching red afterimage flashed across his field of vision.
Tap~
A loud echo resounded through the mountain range. Because of the distance, the sound Su Xiao heard was like the crack of a whip.
Some participants were fighting in the distance. Including Su Xiao himself, there were six participants remaining: the Void Team of Hugh and Quanyu, the duo of Nameless Saint and Afuni, and the lone survivors were the Demon Clan's Mond and Su Xiao.
It wasn't that Su Xiao refused to ally with Mond; he simply hadn't encountered him. The ideal outcome was for him and Mond to join forces, eliminate the others first, and then settle the score between themselves.
Determining the general direction of the battle, Su Xiao moved at full speed, rushing forward. The only one who could keep up with his speed was Baha; Bubu Wang, Amu, and Beini were trailing behind.
...
Inside a canyon at the foot of the peak mountain range.
Snowflakes drifted down from the sky as black flames and demonic flames melted the accumulated snow in the surrounding area.
Mond stood in front of a rock face. Embedded in his sturdy torso were two half-meter-long feathers and a spear made of black flames. The intense heat corroded his flesh, causing a sizzling sound.
"Hey, this guy is way too tough, isn't he? Do all Demon Clan have this kind of constitution? Feather Clan, how do you even fight against the Demon Clan?"
Nameless Saint crouched on a large boulder, with Afuni behind him holding a small folding fan.
"Not exactly. Mond is a pure-blood battle demon. In terms of defense, he's definitely the strongest among his peers. Be careful—the more injured Mond gets, the stronger he becomes. I've fought him many times."
Quanyu stood in mid-air. If you looked closely, you could see transparent threads beneath his feet.
"I suggest we keep ganging up on him. Reincarnation Paradise's Bai Ye already has four Overlord Medals. I've heard that the Law Destroyers and the Demon Clan are allies. If those two join forces, it'll be troublesome."
Afuni spoke with a smile, still wearing that annoying grin.
As for the last person, it was Hugh from Arcane Eternal Star. He hadn't spoken at all, black flames rising from his body.
Hugh and Quanyu had indeed joined forces, and Su Xiao's guess about Nameless Saint and Afuni teaming up was also correct.
At this moment, the four of them were besieging Mond. Needless to say, they planned to eliminate Mond and Su Xiao first, to prevent Su Xiao and Mond from forming an alliance that would create a three-way standoff.
Fortunately, the one being ganged up on was Mond. Anyone else would have collapsed by now.
Below the rock face, Mond grabbed the black flame spear embedded in his chest with one hand. Just as he tried to pull it out, his vision blurred. The thing had pierced his soul; if he yanked it out forcefully, he wouldn't be able to continue fighting.
This was Hugh's terrifying aspect. Other spellcasters focused on mana or mental strength, some on physical training, but Hugh was on a higher level—he cultivated the soul.
Initially, Hugh was so weak that people talked about him, even secretly mocked him. However, there was no dramatic face-slapping plot later on. Those who had once talked about or mocked Hugh, upon truly getting to know him, secretly felt guilty. One person even died covering Hugh's retreat while exploring a ruin.
This was about social dynamics. No one would be hostile to others for no reason. Dignity was earned through ability and conduct, not given by others. Hugh firmly believed this.
No one had decreed that on Arcane Eternal Star, one could only cultivate spellcaster abilities. Hugh was a prime example. At first glance, he seemed like a fire-type spellcaster, but he wasn't. He only had magic patterns on his left arm. His core combat ability was black flames—flames that could burn the soul. Weak as hell in the early stages, but growing stronger over time.
This was very effective against Mond. Mond only had a strong physique; he wasn't completely defenseless against soul-based attacks, but he wasn't proficient either.
Mond was so heavily injured that over 60% of his wounds came from Hugh, another 30% from Nameless Saint. As for Quanyu, he knew Mond best, having fought him multiple times on the battlefield, so he often seized opportunities to suppress Mond's outbursts.
Afuni had fully transformed into a healer. Internally, she was in despair. Among the remaining participants, she was the weakest, unable to defeat anyone.
"Don't let him get to the brink of death—that's when he's strongest. If he won't hand over the Overlord Medal, kill him right here."
Quanyu had the greatest personal grudge against Mond. The Demon Clan and Feather Clan were at war, and Quanyu's close friend had died at Mond's hands, his head torn off by Mond. How could Quanyu not hate him?
Quanyu knew this was a war between clans, and some things were unavoidable. But his close friend was dead—the one he had played with in the Cherry Wind Forest as a child, the one he had urinated and played in the mud with. A month and a half ago, that friend had died just a few dozen meters away from him, his head torn off by the demon before him.
Quanyu's fists clenched until they cracked. He had tried his best not to let personal grudges affect this siege, as it would make him impulsive and lose his judgment.
"Feather Clan sissy, that blue-haired one from a month and a half ago was your friend, right? I remember the look you gave me when I tore off his head."
Mond grinned, revealing blood-stained teeth.
"His name was Tanu. A cheerful, kind-hearted Feather Clan..."
"Quan, calm down."
Hugh, usually lazy, broke his norm and interrupted Quanyu's words. A small giant made of black flames stood behind him, about five meters tall, holding a white flame bow with the string drawn. The arrow was formed from black flames, nearly three meters long.
"You want this thing? Simple. Kill me, and it's yours."
Mond knew that handing over the Overlord Medal would spare his life, but that would mean surrender. He would rather die standing than live kneeling. That was his stubborn nature.
Mond tossed the Overlord Medal into his mouth, swallowed it with a gulp. Today, he was almost certainly going to die, so he didn't care what happened to the medal in his stomach.
"Fool."
Quanyu stomped on the threads beneath his feet, leaving a few black feathers in place as he suddenly appeared in front of Mond.
'Feather Realm.'
Black feathers materialized around them. Transparent threads anchored to these feathers, wrapping around the area and binding Mond.
Bang.
Two muffled sounds occurred almost simultaneously. The moment Mond broke free from the thread bindings, a black flame arrow shot toward him. Having just escaped the restraints, Mond had no chance to dodge.
'Blade Path: Azure Demon.'
Clang!
The blade cut through the air, slicing through the black flame arrow before cleaving into the mountain face opposite. One slash, two cuts. Azure Demon could only attack in a straight line, but on that line, no one of the same rank could match it.
Su Xiao had arrived two minutes ago. After assessing the situation, he decided to join in.
The crunching sound of footsteps on snow came closer. Su Xiao, holding his long blade, walked in from the canyon's edge, followed by Amu and Baha.
Aside from Su Xiao, all the other participants had gathered here. Naturally, he wouldn't miss out.
The Ten Strongest Tournament hadn't even reached the fifth day—just the morning of the fourth—and all participants had arrived.