Chapter 56: The Greatsword of Kings
Inside the bedchamber of Rose Palace.
Ice had sealed the bedchamber, where the once-luxurious furnishings had been eroded into dust by death force. Now, only three people remained in the room: Su Xiao and the two sisters of the Penier Family.
Penier Carros hunched her body, her nearly shattered black robe hanging in tatters. She held a greatsword over three meters long, with silver-gray flames climbing along its blade. Being struck by this weapon was no simple slashing wound.
Amu had been gravely wounded after only five strikes. Carros’s strength was terrifying, and combined with the death flames on her sword, her lethality was astonishing.
Carros’s younger sister, Camilla, was currently clinging to Carros’s back. She appeared frail, unable even to walk on her own, yet she was extremely dangerous. Her ability belonged to the life system, and accelerating plant growth was likely just a secondary power. The real trouble was that anyone injured by her would experience life force depletion, leading to irreversible arborification.
The arborification process was incredibly fast. If this ability affected the head or heart, death would almost certainly occur instantly.
Barefoot, Carros paced slowly sideways, her gaze locked on Su Xiao. There was no longer any hysteria in her eyes.
Su Xiao stood still, making no move to attack first. The enemy’s abilities were troublesome, and their strength far surpassed his own. He needed to “perfectly counter” the enemy at least three more times, temporarily reducing their true strength attribute by 15 points, before he could fight on equal footing. The Carros sisters were no longer the easy targets they had been.
The Apostle’s Eye floated behind Su Xiao, beginning to scan the Carros sisters’ data.
[Comparing intelligence attributes... Comparison complete. Our intelligence attribute is 1.98 times that of the enemy. Due to the influence of the Penier Family’s Kings, only 71.5% of the enemy’s data can be detected.]
Name: God Devourer·Penier Sisters
Category: Human/Deity
Health: 98.7% (Penier Carros)
Health: 100% (Penier Camilla)
Divine Energy (Death): 27280/29000 points
Divine Energy (Life): 35900/37500 points
Strength: 173 (True Attribute)
Agility: 168 (True Attribute)
Stamina: 170 (True Attribute)
Intelligence: 80 (True Attribute, in conversion state)
Charm: 3
Skill 1, Devour Gods (Passive, Lv.70): Health +54000 points. Immune to all control effects. Has acquired death and life characteristics.
Skill 2, Greatsword of Kings (Active, Lv.72): ???
Skill 3, Death Flame·Ring Burst (Passive, Lv.65): If Carros uses the Greatsword of Kings to stab an enemy, it will trigger a Death Flame·Ring Burst effect, dealing damage equal to 18% of the enemy’s maximum health + 520 to 1900 points (determined by strength attribute difference).
Tip: If Carros stabs the Greatsword of Kings into the ground, Death Flame·Ring Burst will cause a strong knockback effect, accompanied by a low-intensity damage effect.
Skill 4, Revival·Overdraw (Passive, Lv.70): All of Camilla’s attacks will carry a healing effect. This healing effect will exceed the cell’s tolerance limit, causing irreversible arborification in a very short time.
Skill 5, Penier Secret Art (Passive, X): ???
Skill 6, Kings·Burnout (Passive, X): Burns one’s own soul as a cost to awaken the Kings of the Penier Family, thereby awakening the combat instincts in the bloodline.
Soul burned: 0.18% (When the soul is completely burned, the user will become a mindless beast, with combat power exceeding the limits of this world).
Skill 7, Kings·Greatsword Instinct (Passive, Lv.43): ???
Skill 8, Kings·Massive Body (Passive, X): ???
???
Skill 12, Kings·World Force (Ultimate Ability, Lv.30): ???
...
Seeing the data on the Carros sisters, Su Xiao realized that the Kings of the Penier Family were different from what he had imagined. He had thought they were like the Alien Kings, passing down combat memories through generations, but that was not the case.
The Kings of the Penier Family were less a collection of consciousnesses and more of a bloodline ability, granting combat instincts for a limited time at the cost of burning one’s soul.
Awakening the Kings came at a price. From the sisters’ earlier actions, it seemed that Carros was currently burning her soul. When she had swallowed her sister earlier, it was more like using her as a “spark” to ignite her own soul.
Once Carros’s soul was completely burned, she would become a mindless beast, extremely powerful. Su Xiao could not let that happen. If her combat power exceeded the world’s limits, it might reach the level of an Archbishop.
Hunched over, Carros stopped moving. Her left hand pressed against the ground, her sharp fingertips sinking into the stone slabs. After the King transformation, her body had grown larger.
Boom!
With Carros at the center, the surrounding ground cracked apart, and she vanished from her spot in an instant.
Seeing this, Su Xiao immediately activated Dragon Shadow Flash, phasing through space on the spot.
An air blast expanded. The greatsword pierced through Su Xiao’s head, plunging straight into the ground behind him. Large slabs of stone were torn up by the sword, scattering in all directions.
Carros stabilized herself in a half-crouch, sliding several meters before stopping. She raised her left hand and flicked her index finger against her ear.
With a crack, a stone fragment stuck to Carros’s ear was sent flying, shooting like a cannonball into the ceiling.
Su Xiao emerged from the Dragon Shadow Flash state. Just moments ago, Carros’s speed had suddenly become absurdly fast. Based on that speed, he would believe her true agility attribute was over 180 points.
Su Xiao remained alert, shifting his stance to face Carros. Until he understood the secret behind her sudden speed increase, he would not act rashly. Doing so would likely mean death.
Carros hunched her body again, her large but still feminine left hand pressing against the ground, while her right hand pointed the greatsword forward.
Seeing this posture, Su Xiao knew she was about to charge again, using that overwhelming speed.
Boom!
Debris flew into the air. The moment the fragments rose, Carros had already closed in on Su Xiao, her greatsword aimed straight for his chest.
‘Blade Path Sword: Time.’
Everything around him slowed. Su Xiao slashed diagonally, striking the thrusting greatsword.
Clang! The greatsword was deflected upward, and Carros staggered back.
The instant their blades clashed, Su Xiao realized that Carros’s strength had weakened, and significantly so. Realizing this, he immediately sidestepped.
Thud!
The greatsword slammed into the ground, completely shattering the stone slabs and revealing an iron-gray metal floor beneath. This was Rose Palace, after all, not so easily destroyed.
‘Carros’s speed increases, but her strength decreases. When her strength increases, her speed slows down.’
In an instant, Su Xiao deduced Carros’s ability. As he landed, his longsword had already returned to its sheath.
‘Blade Path Sword: Blood Blade.’
Zheng～
Blood-red feathers drifted through the air. A blood line slashed across Carros’s neck, fleeting and gone in a flash. Blood splattered everywhere as Su Xiao appeared on the other side of Carros.
“Bastard.”
Carros spoke, one hand clutching her throat, the other using the greatsword to support her body.
Camilla, clinging to Carros’s back, raised her hand and pressed it against Carros’s nape. The blood spurting from between Carros’s fingers stopped, and the wound on her neck healed.
Carros seemed furious. She had been unable to defeat Su Xiao before, and now, after “awakening” the Kings, she found she still could not touch him.
In a fit of rage, Carros hurled her greatsword. It spun rapidly, whistling through the air as it flew toward Su Xiao.
Su Xiao sidestepped to dodge. The greatsword whirled past him, but in that moment, he felt the world around him slow down, and a sense of crisis surged.
Flesh erupted from the hilt of the Greatsword of Kings, forming an arm that gripped the blade. It swung down at Su Xiao from behind.
At the same time, Carros leaped into the air, her two large hands reaching for Su Xiao, her sharp claws gleaming coldly. Behind her, her sister Camilla pointed a slender finger forward, sending a beam of emerald light toward Su Xiao.
Front, back, above—three attacks came simultaneously. Su Xiao could feel his blood beginning to boil.