Chapter 57: The Big Boss Beaten Dizzy by Technique
The King's Greatsword swung toward Su Xiao's back, its sharp blade slicing through the air with a chilling whimper.
Su Xiao paid no attention to the King's Greatsword. A crystal layer formed on his left arm and armpit as he gripped his longsword and slashed upward.
Pfft.
Blood burst across Karos's chest. Her ten fingers stabbed into the ground as she shook her head, unable to comprehend what had just happened.
With a thunderous boom, an emerald-green beam struck the King's Greatsword, sending it flying away.
Karos indeed hadn't seen what happened, but her younger sister, Kamela, on her back, had seen it clearly.
Rewinding time to 1.7 seconds ago: When Su Xiao was surrounded by attacks from front and back, he first formed a crystal layer on his left arm and armpit. Simultaneously, he slashed a blade aura forward.
The blade aura struck Karos's chest, slowing her pouncing motion for an instant. Seizing this opportunity, Su Xiao immediately sidestepped, leaned forward, raised his left arm, and aimed his armpit at the incoming King's Greatsword.
As the greatsword descended, Su Xiao clamped his left arm shut, trapping the King's Greatsword in his armpit. To ensure success, he had previously formed a crystal layer on his left arm and armpit.
Was that all? Of course not. While clamping the King's Greatsword with his armpit, Su Xiao used the sword's momentum to flip his body midair, using the 20-centimeter-wide King's Greatsword to block the emerald-green beam Kamela had fired at him.
The King's Greatsword spun midair and clanged as it embedded diagonally into the ground. Su Xiao stepped on the sword's tip with one foot and its guard with the other, the shattered crystal layer falling from his left arm.
"What... just happened?"
Karos didn't care about her bleeding chest; she stared fixedly at Su Xiao.
"Something... quite terrifying happened."
Kamela spoke in a low voice, her gaze toward Su Xiao now filled with fear. She wondered if they could truly win against such a monster.
Ignoring her sister's thoughts, Karos extended her right hand and pulled her arm back. The King's Greatsword ignited with silver-gray flames as it lifted from the ground and flew toward her.
Su Xiao landed midair without stopping Karos from reclaiming her sword. He waited for the moment she grasped the King's Greatsword.
As Karos gripped the greatsword, she was about to charge forward when a numbness spread from her arm.
With a crackling sound, pale blue electric arcs exploded on Karos's hand, climbing along her arm and finally sinking into the wound on her chest.
The sudden pain made Karos pause for an instant. In that very moment, Su Xiao appeared before her.
"Careful!"
Her younger sister, Kamela, shouted softly, extending her palm forward as a blinding green fluorescence flared.
Crack, crack, crack~
A crystal layer formed in front of Su Xiao, and everything touched by the green fluorescence began to turn to wood.
With a snap, Karos shattered the crystal layer with a single swing of her sword. Behind the broken crystals, a longsword awaited.
A tremendous force surged from Su Xiao's hand, and the ground beneath him exploded as if dynamite had been detonated. Yet he didn't retreat a single step. He tightened the muscles in his sword arm and stepped forward.
Boom!
A shockwave spread before Karos. Her sword arm involuntarily lifted, and to her disbelief, she retreated half a step. Worse, a dull ache spread through her entire body, leaving her weak.
The moment Karos stepped back, Su Xiao delivered a straight kick to her shin, sending her crashing to the ground with a thunderous thud.
Zheng~
The longsword slashed across Karos's head. The Holy Spirit-ranked +12 Dragon-Slaying Flash, fully socketed with gems, was incredibly sharp. One cut sliced through half of Karos's skull, blinding both her eyes and severely damaging her brain tissue.
"Ah!!"
Pain jolted Karos. Though she lay on the ground, she swung her greatsword wildly with her long arms, slashing randomly in front of her.
Clang! Clang!
After blocking two strikes, Su Xiao sidestepped. Before he could land, the third strike came.
Every muscle in Su Xiao's body tensed as he raised his longsword to block.
Clang!
He blocked it again. Su Xiao exerted all his strength, leaning forward.
With a bang, a shockwave spread. Karos, already on the ground, rolled backward from the immense force. She spat out a mouthful of blood and tried to push herself up, but Su Xiao was already in front of her.
Another straight kick. Su Xiao struck Karos's chin. If one could observe Karos's muscles with X-ray vision, they would see them tense instantly, then spasm from full tension, and finally relax into numbness.
Su Xiao's kick sent Karos falling backward. Kamela, on her back, let out a pained groan as a blade aura struck.
A stunning scene unfolded: Karos, twice Su Xiao's size, was being beaten and rolled across the ground by him, unable to stand.
"Pfft."
Karos spat out a large mouthful of blood, hunched over as she rose from the ground. Now, she bore at least a dozen slash wounds, the worst being her left arm, nearly severed.
Unless Karos charged at him or exposed a weakness, Su Xiao rarely advanced proactively. Compared to Karos, her sister Kamela was more dangerous. Any part of his body turning to wood would be fatal for a technique-based fighter like him.
The sisters' abilities seemed unremarkable at first glance, but they concealed deadly intent. If Karos pinned him down, Kamela on her back could definitely wound Su Xiao. Once part of his body turned to wood, facing Karos, who could convert speed and strength, he would quickly fall into a disadvantage, leading to more extensive woodification.
Su Xiao naturally wouldn't give his enemies such an opportunity. He had never attacked the frail Kamela, fearing it would alert the sisters. There was only one chance: either kill Kamela in a short time or avoid attacking her altogether.
After being slashed by over a dozen blade auras, Karos dared not charge recklessly. She hunched over and circled slowly, lowering her body to signal Kamela to prepare for a decisive strike. They couldn't drag this out any longer; the King's will was beginning to erode her, and her ears felt as noisy as a meeting hall.
Su Xiao flexed his left hand and told Bubu Wang through the team channel to leave the hall as soon as possible. The enemy's next attack would certainly have a wide range.
His guess was correct. His combat experience saved Bubu Wang's life.
"Roar!"
Karos suddenly threw her head back and roared. Kamela pressed her hands against the back of her sister's neck.
A visible shockwave spread, mixed with emerald-green particles. Everything the shockwave touched turned to wood: the ground, the ceiling, and the debris.
Su Xiao raised one arm in front of his face, releasing over half of his Azure Steel Shadow energy outward to coat his body.
With a hum, the shockwave enveloped Su Xiao. Given its speed, dodging was impossible.
The emerald-green particles landed on Su Xiao but were immediately devoured by the Azure Steel Shadow energy. The energy couldn't reverse woodification but could stop it, though at a high cost.
A gust of wind pressure hit Su Xiao's face. This was the moment he had been waiting for.
The longsword and greatsword clashed repeatedly, sending shockwaves up Su Xiao's right arm. He noticed that Karos's strength was no longer as overwhelming as before, having been temporarily reduced by 15 points.
"Now!"
Karos roared. Her sister on her back widened her eyes, pupils contracting to the limit as she stared at Su Xiao.
"Death... Life."
Karos and Kamela's eyes locked onto Su Xiao simultaneously—one with gray-white pupils, the other with emerald green.
Crack, crack, crack~
A substance like gray rock formed on Su Xiao's body. Karos gripped her greatsword with both hands and thrust with all her might.
With a snap, the greatsword pierced through the petrified Su Xiao, running straight through his chest. Seeing this, Karos's face broke into a triumphant smile.
Beside the greatsword's blade, a piece of gray rock popped off, revealing the inside—empty.
'Azure Shadow King.'
Behind the Karos sisters, Su Xiao raised his left arm, fist clenched. A crystal layer instantly covered his entire forearm, making it semi-transparent and pale blue. The veins inside were especially clear, flowing with Azure Steel Shadow energy.
Five 4-meter-long Law-Destroying Blades appeared, piercing Karos's body from all directions, pinning her to the ground. The Azure Shadow King used in an instant wasn't flashy, but it was faster.
Exile detached from Su Xiao's sleeve, forming a hiltless rapier that shot toward Karos's head. Karos, impaled by the five Law-Destroying Blades, strained to lift her head, and Exile barely grazed past her chin.
Exile turned midair, this time aiming for Karos's chest. But Karos pressed her body down, and with a pfft, the Law-Destroying Blades cut deeper into her, barely allowing her to dodge Exile.
Karos clearly sensed that being hit by Exile would have severe consequences.
Exile adjusted again, but after several thrusts, Karos barely dodged each time, filling her with joy—she was finally adapting to this battle.
But sometimes, thinking too much is a mistake. A brief sense of achievement might be a trap set by the enemy. Karos didn't notice that a metal wire was wrapped around Exile's tail.
Exile plunged into the ground, piercing the metal layer beneath the stone slabs. Su Xiao pulled his left arm.
Zing~
The metal wire tightened, binding Karos. It was the Realm Severing Thread coated with Soul Thread.
Karos's eyes bulged. Her flat teeth gritted as she strained her arms, trying to break free from the Realm Severing Thread's restraint.
Blood splattered as the Realm Severing Thread cut into Karos's flesh. Enhanced by Soul Thread, it was beyond her ability to snap.
Su Xiao pulled his left arm, removing the Black King Bracer. A crystal layer formed spikes on the bracer, which Su Xiao stomped into the ground.
He sprinted forward, leaping onto Karos's back in a few steps. A cold gleam flashed on his blade.
At that moment, a sharp pain erupted inside Su Xiao. His health dropped by 50% in an instant! He had been wary of Kamela, but she had been slowly eroding his body with some ability, now fully triggered.
Su Xiao forced the pain aside. In battle, it was kill or be killed. Screaming wouldn't ease the pain, only waste time. In a life-or-death fight, a single moment decided everything.
Three slash marks crossed Kamela's body. Su Xiao didn't look at her again. Instead, he stepped forward on Karos's back, the muscles in his right arm slightly bulging as he raised his longsword for a horizontal slash.
'Blade Path Sword: Extreme.'
Zheng!
A pale blue slash passed through Karos's neck. Her struggling body suddenly stiffened and then stopped moving. The trembling pupils in her eyes froze.
A blood line appeared on Karos's neck. Her massive head thudded to the ground, blood spraying from the severed stump.
"Die with us."
Kamela, already cut to pieces, spoke. Her body rapidly turned to wood as blinding white light erupted.
Boom!
White light engulfed everything. The hall fell silent. Within the light, a pair of bull horns was faintly visible.