Chapter 80: Stay the Fuck Away from Me
The Nameless Saint was bewildered, but he didn't turn his spearhead towards Afuni. He had signed a contract with Afuni through the Apocalypse Paradise; if Afuni betrayed him, the Nameless Saint wouldn't even need to lift a finger.
More importantly, the buff state Afuni had bestowed on the Nameless Saint was still active, which spoke volumes.
"This is a debuff. Every 25 seconds, I have to heal either you or him, or I'll die instantly!"
Afuni's voice sounded in the Nameless Saint's ear; they were communicating through a micro-communicator.
After being attached, Afuni received a notification: every 25 seconds, she would face an instant death judgment. Only by healing her own side or the enemy could she temporarily pass this judgment. After 5 minutes, this debuff would disappear.
If she timed it right, within five minutes, after using her healing ability 12 to 13 times, the Blood Feather would detach from her.
Hearing Afuni's words, the Nameless Saint frowned deeply. It was unlikely Afuni was lying. Under normal circumstances, if Afuni healed an enemy, the contract's penalty would kill her outright in a short time. Yet now, Afuni was still maintaining the contract state.
"Then heal me."
The Nameless Saint stared at Su Xiao ahead, golden lightning surging from the cross-spear in his hands.
"Are you sure? My situation... is very wrong."
Although Afuni didn't know what would happen after healing the Nameless Saint, her instincts told her something was off. If healing an ally had no penalty, then this debuff was far too weak.
"Of course, use your weakest ability to try."
"Alright."
Afuni's slender fingers tapped lightly in front of her. The air where her fingertips touched rippled like water.
Ripple~
A shallow blue water energy surged over the Nameless Saint's body. At first, he felt a cool sensation, as if the water element clinging to his skin was cleansing him. But the next moment, intense pain struck.
[You have received the healing effect of 'Misty Spring'.]
[Warning: This buff has been interfered with by an unknown ability, its nature has changed. You take 270 points of true water damage, and for the next 10 seconds, you will take 10 points of true damage per second.]
Inside the kinetic armor, the Nameless Saint nearly spat out a mouthful of blood. This healing effect was too damn real—so real it turned into true damage.
"Don't heal me! Stay the fuck away from me!"
The Nameless Saint was furious. Healing the enemy was one thing—he could understand that due to circumstances—but when Afuni healed him, he found the healing was poisonous.
Being yelled at by the Nameless Saint, Afuni looked pitiful. Of course, she couldn't continue healing the Nameless Saint; if he died, she wouldn't fare well either.
Clang.
The Nameless Saint was knocked back by Su Xiao's slash, a cut mark appearing on the chest of his kinetic armor.
As a sixth-rank contractor, Afuni wasn't stupid. Her mind raced, and she quickly thought of a method. She took a seed from her storage space and tossed it to the ground.
Pink vines grew rapidly, forming a huge bud. The bud bloomed, and a humanoid summon knelt at the center of the petals. It was a plant life, a temporary summon Afuni had summoned using an item.
Afuni's idea was that the temporary summon was also an ally, so she could have it tank the true damage from healing.
Admittedly, Afuni's thinking was clear and her imagination was considerable. After all, anyone participating in the Top Ten Strongest Battle couldn't be stupid.
Afuni's method was indeed feasible. The only problem was that, while under the Blood Feather's attachment, if she healed her own summon, the summon's loyalty would drop at an alarming rate. If loyalty got too low, what the temporary summon would do was anyone's guess.
Afuni temporarily solved the problem of the Blood Feather's attachment. Although she wouldn't be aiding the enemy in the short term, she also couldn't help the Nameless Saint.
Without Afuni as a troublesome teammate, the Nameless Saint's pressure decreased sharply.
Boom!
The Nameless Saint crashed into the mountain wall, creating a human-shaped crater. His brief exchange with Afuni, coupled with the Blood Feather's interference, had put him on the defensive.
'Liquid oxygen, burn!'
The Nameless Saint extended one arm forward, and the sound of loading ammunition came from the kinetic armor.
With a roar, a finger-thick compressed flame line shot out, heading straight for Su Xiao.
Facing this flame attack, Su Xiao naturally wouldn't take it head-on. As he charged forward, he sidestepped. Just as he dodged the blue-white flame line, the Nameless Saint, a dozen meters away, moved his arm.
Hum~
The flame line followed the Nameless Saint's arm movement, chasing closely behind Su Xiao. After 3 seconds, the blue-white flame line thinned and dissipated. The Nameless Saint bent his arm and clenched his fist, an empty shell casing ejecting from the kinetic armor's arm.
A long blade slashed toward him. Wearing kinetic armor, the Nameless Saint wasn't afraid. He gripped the cross-spear with both hands and met the incoming blade.
The crisp sound of metal clashing rang out incessantly, golden lightning surging.
'Blade Path Sword: Extreme.'
Su Xiao's seemingly ordinary diagonal slash caught the Nameless Saint off guard. By the time he realized something was wrong, it was too late. A piece of armor on his shoulder was sliced off, sparks flying.
The Nameless Saint's movements paused, and he held the cross-spear horizontally in front of him.
Su Xiao delivered a straight kick. With a bang, a section of the kinetic armor's abdomen dented inward. The Nameless Saint staggered back two steps, his body involuntarily bending forward.
Slashing wasn't very effective against the kinetic armor. After kicking the enemy into a staggered state, Su Xiao's right arm muscles bulged as he thrust his blade forward with full force.
Crack!
The long blade pierced through the kinetic armor's chest, emerging from the back, the tip stained with blood.
The sound of loading ammunition came from inside the kinetic armor. The Nameless Saint extended his palm forward, aiming at Su Xiao.
Because the Nameless Saint was wearing kinetic armor, the numbness from being kicked into a stagger was greatly reduced. In battle, having money was indeed an advantage.
Bang! A spiral bullet shot from the Nameless Saint's palm, directly piercing Su Xiao's left shoulder. The Nameless Saint had only two of these bullets, Holy Spirit-grade ammunition obtained through ore trading, specifically used to deal with top-tier sixth-rank bosses.
Flesh exploded from the back of Su Xiao's shoulder, but he didn't care. Pulling out his long blade, he stabbed toward the kinetic armor's neck. As for why he didn't aim for the head, the helmet was clearly the hardest part.
Pfft.
The blade only sank in a short distance before Su Xiao felt a burst of flame rushing toward him. A crystal layer quickly formed on his body, and a shockwave pushed him back.
The impact spread, sending broken stones flying in the surrounding area. Su Xiao was sent flying by the flame, flipping mid-air before landing in a crouch. His boots scraped across the ground for several meters before he stopped.
Su Xiao's left hand lost sensation. He tapped the Black King Bracer on his left arm with the hilt of his blade. The bracer quickly opened and fell to the ground.
On the back of Su Xiao's left hand, a gray mark appeared. Starting from this mark, his left hand had turned ashen white. The skin cracked and withered, the cracks rapidly spreading up his forearm.
Su Xiao pressed the edge of Dragon-Slaying Flash against his left elbow and, with a flick of the blade, severed his left forearm. This arm couldn't be saved; if he didn't cut it off, the cracks would spread throughout his body.
For Su Xiao, losing a left forearm wasn't a big deal. After returning to Reincarnation Paradise, he could restore it at a certain cost.