Chapter 52: Third Stage
Blade aura crisscrossed, bone tails whipped through the air leaving afterimages, metal clashed against metal, sparks scattering in all directions.
Su Xiao slashed while retreating. His strength was slightly inferior to the Abyss King, and his speed was even less optimistic. After breaking through the attribute limit, it was practically a different concept altogether. Fortunately, the Shadow Burn state had greatly enhanced Su Xiao's speed.
Rubble flew through the air, stones striking Su Xiao's body like bullets. He paid them no mind, focusing entirely on the three bone tails continuously lashing at him from the front. A single moment of error could cost him his head.
The Abyss King possessed more than just brute strength and speed. After several exchanges, Su Xiao realized the Abyss King was also highly skilled in techniques. Those three bone tails were its weapons, carrying the accumulated experience of 37 generations, allowing the Abyss Kings to develop a unique technique of their own.
Clang!
Su Xiao cleaved apart a bone tail thrusting straight at him. The force of his slash drove the Abyss King's left foot into the stone floor.
A flaw.
Su Xiao delivered a straight kick, completely ignoring the bone tail that had already reached his ear.
Bang!
Su Xiao's kick landed squarely on the Abyss King's lower abdomen. A flicker of confusion appeared in its eyes—such exquisite technique was causing it to show an expression for the first time.
Before its body went numb, the Abyss King's three bone tails coiled up. These four-meter-long tails wrapped around its entire body, forming a protective barrier.
Su Xiao didn't press the attack. Instead, he leaped back repeatedly. The Abyss King was no mere sixth-rank final boss—this creature was seventh-rank. While not quite a major seventh-rank boss, it was definitely upper-mid tier. After awakening the Azure Shadow King, Su Xiao's combat power ranked around mid-tier seventh-rank, especially since he hadn't yet broken through the 150-point attribute barrier.
Su Xiao pulled a piece of parchment from his chest, crushed it, and tossed it to the ground.
A strange scene unfolded. The ground touched by the parchment fragments seemed to liquefy, the pieces sinking into the liquid surface before it returned to normal.
The Abyss King's three bone tails unfurled as it recovered from its numbness. Su Xiao's failure to attack during that opening puzzled it. It could sense the sharpness of its enemy's blade. If struck three consecutive times on the same spot, its inherited tails would be damaged, and once damaged, being severed wouldn't be far off.
The Abyss King stomped the ground, cracks spreading across the stone. Nothing unexpected happened.
The blue light in Su Xiao's eyes dimmed slightly. A disobedient presence had been suppressed, waiting for an opportunity to strike.
This battle wasn't necessarily lost. If given an opening, Su Xiao could absolutely use his blade to behead the Abyss King. This was the advantage of mastering techniques and forging the Dragon-Slaying Flash. Even when facing a stronger enemy, his win rate never dropped to zero—unless his slashes couldn't break through their defenses.
Su Xiao had already cut off the Abyss King's head once. Blade Grandmaster Lv.42, plus the Holy Spirit-ranked +12 Dragon-Slaying Flash, remained his most effective means of killing.
The Banishment on Su Xiao's sleeve detached, shrinking to the size of a dust particle. This was his trump card. It had already entered the enemy's body once, so the enemy would certainly guard against it. This time, splitting the Banishment wasn't meant to invade the enemy's body—it was the key to victory.
Su Xiao was going to gamble, gamble with his life. Otherwise, he had no chance of winning. None at all.
The blood in his veins seemed to boil. After awakening the Azure Shadow King, Su Xiao felt this sensation for the first time in this world.
Life or death would be decided within the next thirty seconds.
Su Xiao raised his right arm holding the blade, the long sword held horizontally before him. A dozen meters away, the Abyss King's three bone tails aimed at Su Xiao. It could sense the change in its enemy's aura—like a bloodthirsty beast grinning savagely.
Boom!
Su Xiao charged forward. Half a second after he moved, the ground where he'd been standing caved into a massive crater.
"Blade Path Sword: Blood Blade."
Crimson feathers drifted through the air. The Abyss King's ten fingers curled into claws, its slit pupils contracting. Two crossed bone tails suddenly blocked in front of it.
Clang!
The long blade was stopped by the crossed tails. Even the "Blade Path Sword: Blood Blade," which carried the power of a finishing move, couldn't sever them.
"Blade Path Sword: Extreme."
Su Xiao withdrew his blade and struck again. "Extreme" looked identical to a normal slash, but it was the most powerful close-range strike, further amplified by Shadow Burn. The cutting force was unimaginable.
Crack!
Gray-black carapace shattered. Blood splattered from one of the Abyss King's bone tails as the Dragon-Slaying Flash sank a third of the way in before getting stuck.
A black blur flashed past. Su Xiao sidestepped to dodge, but unfortunately, the Abyss King was faster. Even a slight speed advantage could be decisive in a life-or-death battle.
Shattered bone and flesh sprayed outward. Su Xiao's left arm went numb—no, that arm and part of his shoulder had been crushed by the Abyss King's tail. Drops of blood splattered across Su Xiao's face.
Su Xiao took half a step back, appearing to have exhausted his momentum without generating new force. In truth, he was waiting for an opportunity.
"Woof."
Bubu Wang's bark came from behind the Abyss King. The ever-cold Abyss King was startled—it hadn't sensed any presence behind it.
That momentary emotional fluctuation was the opening Su Xiao needed.
The Dragon-Slaying Flash hummed softly. A gleam of cold light appeared at the blade's tip. Su Xiao raised the blade with one arm, lunging forward and thrusting. Leaping at this distance was practically suicide.
Three bone tails instantly struck at Su Xiao from the left, right, and front. The sound of shattering glass rang out as a finger-length hourglass broke behind Su Xiao. This was the [Light Hourglass +13], an item Su Xiao had obtained during the Strongest Warrior Tournament, enhanced using the Watchful Paradise's unique item enhancement technique. Upon use, it generated a protective layer with 86,000 durability points.
Light sand appeared around Su Xiao, shielding him. The first bone tail stabbed into the light sand layer, ripples spreading across its surface as cracks began to form. This showed just how terrifying the bone tail's attack power was.
That momentary obstruction gave Su Xiao his chance. He activated Dragon Shadow Flash, shifting 0.6 meters forward.
The long blade pierced through flesh, directly penetrating the Abyss King's chest. Its body stiffened.
Three bone tails stabbed repeatedly at the light sand layer. Bang! The layer exploded, its 86,000 durability points depleted. This was, after all, only an Epic-ranked item. Its durability had been enhanced high enough, but its toughness was insufficient.
As the light sand layer burst, the light sand surged toward Su Xiao, restoring a portion of his health. This was the benefit of the layer being destroyed—immediate recovery of 8,700 health points.
Su Xiao flew backward. Half a meter into his retreat, a bone tail pierced through his chest, barely grazing his heart.
The moment the bone tail penetrated, it coiled tightly around Su Xiao. If he couldn't break free, he was dead.
Su Xiao forcibly activated Dragon Shadow Flash. After this forced use, its cooldown would temporarily increase to ten minutes.
The bone tail coiled around empty air. But at that moment, the middle of the three tails—the barbed one—struck. This was the Abyss King's trump card.
Space Penetration couldn't evade this tail.
Instinct warned him. Su Xiao was midair with no leverage. Even extending the Realm Severing Thread would be too late. Even in the Space Penetration state, he couldn't dodge.
Su Xiao exited the Space Penetration state. Propulsion came from his right foot as he stomped down, slightly shifting his trajectory. Bubu Wang had leaped up, providing a foothold for Su Xiao in midair.
A cold sensation spread across Su Xiao's neck. A deep gash appeared.
Su Xiao landed. Before the blood gushing from his neck could even fall, he charged forward again. The Abyss King had two hearts. He had pierced one; one remained.
Having one heart pierced, the Abyss King's aura didn't weaken—it grew stronger. It concentrated all its power into its remaining "Inherited Heart." It had deliberately let Su Xiao pierce its first heart, both to focus its strength and to seize the opportunity to kill Su Xiao when the first heart was destroyed.
Bubu Wang's rescue was a stroke of genius. Without that foothold, Su Xiao would have had his throat pierced, triggering a chain reaction that would have led to his death.
The Abyss King's barbed tail could pierce through space itself. Spatial abilities were useless against it. The destruction of its first heart also signified the Abyss King's transition from the second stage to the third stage—the Abyss King's strongest form.