Chapter 85: Unknown Ability
The falling snowflakes in the sky dissipated, the snow stopped, and the sobbing wind fell silent.
Blood Qi and Black Flame eroded each other at the peak, each occupying half the area. At the boundary between Blood Qi and Black Flame, a long blade and a Black Flame Sword pressed against each other.
Crack, crack, crack~
The edges of the two weapons scraped against each other. Strangely, the Black Flame Sword in Hugh's hand had a tangible feel, not as ethereal as an energy weapon.
With a booming sound, both Blood Qi and Black Flame dissipated. Su Xiao and Hugh each stepped back a few paces.
Wisps of Black Flame clung to Su Xiao. This Black Flame could penetrate external armor, directly burning the body and soul.
[Tip: You have been affected by 'Soul Scorch.' Soul Strength is being judged. If the judgment fails, this Soul Scorch will deal 5600 points of Soul Damage, with a low probability of instant death.]
[Soul Strength judgment passed. You will take 2450 points of Soul Damage (Soul Strength has reduced 3150 points of Soul Damage).]
[Blade Grandmaster·Lv.20 Ultimate Ability·Soul Blade (Passive) has been triggered. You will negate 50% of Soul Damage. You have taken 1225 points of Soul Damage.]
...
Hugh's Black Flame was quite formidable, capable of dealing Soul Damage. Even with Su Xiao's Soul Strength as high as 210 points, he could only negate just over half. Fortunately, the instant death effect was not triggered.
Apart from the negation from Soul Strength, the Blade Grandmaster's Soul Blade ability negated 50% of the Soul Damage. Yet even so, the power of the Black Flame was still strong.
Hugh specialized in the soul, and he only cultivated the soul. If not for facing Su Xiao, who had a talent for enhancing Soul Strength, the power of the Black Flame would not have been reduced to this extent.
To some degree, Soul Damage was only slightly less formidable than True Damage in terms of judgment. Most people had no resistance to it.
For example, Mond. When he faced Hugh, he was like a tank without armor or ability bonuses. It was easy to imagine how badly he was beaten.
The Black Flame on Su Xiao's body extinguished, and the pain originating from the soul subsided. Su Xiao was severely burned by the Black Flame, and Hugh was not much better off.
"Hoo~"
Hugh exhaled faint Blood Qi from his mouth. His face was covered in red lines, and a red gleam shone from his eyes.
Drip, drop.
Blood dripped from Hugh's left hand. He had been wounded by the Blood Beast. The killing intent in his heart was nearly boiling over, influenced by the Blood Qi. Unable to judge calmly in battle, his strength was at least 30% weaker.
A dozen wisps of Black Flame burned on the ground near Su Xiao. Steam rose up, only to be blown away by the cold wind.
The red gleam in Hugh's eyes gradually faded. His Black Flame Giant had just dissipated and would need at least 2 to 3 minutes to reform, providing Hugh with a ranged attack method.
On his arm, Black Flame dripped like molten wax. Just as a few patches of Black Flame hit the ground, Hugh pushed off with his foot and charged straight at Su Xiao.
Hugh's speed was not too fast. Sensing Hugh charging head-on, Su Xiao's eyes showed a hint of confusion as his mind raced.
From his observation, Hugh seemed to have temporarily acquired a technique-type swordsmanship ability. This kind of temporary technique ability might work against other types of enemies, but charging in for close combat with him was clearly somewhat reckless.
Su Xiao didn't think Hugh was a reckless person. For him to charge in like this directly, he definitely had some kind of reliance.
The Black Flame Sword left a trail of flame in the air, slashing straight at Su Xiao's head.
Clang!
The long blade slashed toward Hugh's neck. Dragon-Slaying Flash's speed was much faster than the Black Flame Sword. Continuing as things were, before Hugh could injure Su Xiao, Su Xiao would have already cut off Hugh's head.
Just as the blade edge was about to slash the skin on Hugh's neck, it suddenly stopped. It wasn't that Su Xiao held back, but that his entire body had lost sensation. This feeling was as if something had bound his soul.
Pfft.
A few drops of blood splattered. The tip of the Black Flame Sword slashed across Su Xiao's cheek. The wound wasn't deep, but the pain was particularly intense.
Su Xiao leaped backward in midair, making a slashing motion with his long blade.
Clang, clang.
A horizontal and a vertical blade aura formed a cross, slashing straight at Hugh. Hugh lowered his center of gravity, holding the Black Flame Sword horizontally in front of him.
Black Flame splattered everywhere. Hugh was knocked back a few steps before stabilizing himself. His physique was not weak, only slightly inferior to Su Xiao's. While Hugh's soul grew, it also nourished his body.
'The Soul Control time... is too short.'
Hugh's brows were tightly furrowed. He had been setting this up all along. Normally, with this killing move, even if the enemy didn't die, they would at least be severely injured. But today, one of his two strongest abilities had an accident. The enemy broke free in about 0.18 seconds. This could only mean one thing: the enemy's soul was very strong.
A dozen meters away, Su Xiao wiped the blood from his face with his thumb. He hadn't received any prompts just now, nor had he sensed any danger. But he simply couldn't move. Although it was only for an instant, it was still very deadly.
Su Xiao's eyes scanned the surroundings. He didn't see anything suspicious. There were only a few dozen clusters of burning Black Flame on the ground, some about to go out.
Nothing suspicious was detected. Hugh's aura hadn't changed. For now, Su Xiao had to figure out the reason for the sudden numbness in his body, or else there was no way to fight.
Hugh had made too few moves before. Moreover, even when facing Mond, Hugh hadn't gone all out. At least Mond hadn't experienced this sudden body paralysis.
"Bai Ye, guess how I made you lose your mobility? If you can guess, I'll die for you to see."
Hugh said with a smile. He wasn't joking. Before the Black Flame Giant recovered, once Su Xiao cracked this ability that suddenly caused paralysis, Hugh might really be killed on the spot.
As soon as Hugh finished speaking, he charged at Su Xiao again. Su Xiao stood still. He still had two chances to probe: one was to use Dragon Shadow Flash normally, and the other was to forcibly use Dragon Shadow Flash to evade the Black Flame Sword's slash.
Fighting Hugh was like solving a puzzle. Once the puzzle was solved, Hugh wouldn't be so troublesome.
With a whoosh, the Black Flame Sword slashed at Su Xiao. Su Xiao raised his blade to block.
Clang!
The wind pressure spread. This time, Su Xiao didn't feel the numbness. Hugh didn't dare to use that ability continuously either, since the more he used it, the higher the chance Su Xiao would see through it.
The sword edge and blade edge scraped past. After one slash, Hugh actually spun his body, using the recoil of the slash to kick at Su Xiao.
Bubu Wang, watching from the sidelines, was stunned. Even Iron Feather King wouldn't dare to make such a move in front of Su Xiao.
Su Xiao swung his right arm holding the blade downward. The end of the handle slammed into Hugh's calf with a bang. Hugh's body uncontrollably tilted forward.
'Blade Path Sword: Extreme...'
Before the blade technique could be used, Su Xiao's body suddenly went numb. Hugh, taking advantage of his forward tilt, thrust the Black Flame Sword at Su Xiao's chest.
The Black Flame Sword pierced through Su Xiao's chest. No blood appeared. He was in a Space Penetration state.
The thrust missed. Hugh immediately withdrew his sword to block.
The moment Su Xiao's body regained sensation, Hugh sensed a strong crisis.
The long blade and the Black Flame Sword clashed repeatedly. An astonishing scene appeared. Hugh and Su Xiao were evenly matched in close combat. For some reason, Hugh's speed had increased significantly.
Su Xiao knew this wasn't because Hugh had become faster, but because he himself had become slower. Each time he was controlled by the numbness, his speed dropped significantly. Now it had decreased by at least 30%.
This unknown ability could silently paralyze a person. The first paralysis lasted 0.18 seconds, the second 0.52 seconds, and subsequent durations would get longer and longer, showing an increasing trend.
Moreover, this ability had no warning before activation. It was always triggered at critical moments. And after being hit, Su Xiao's speed would greatly decrease. This speed reduction would accumulate, and whether there was a limit was unknown.
PS: (The power came back after midnight. There will be two more chapters later.)