Chapter 45: Deathmatch
Su Xiao disengaged from his Space Penetration state, and Baha emerged from the alternate space as well. As for Amu, the 'Minotaur' never dodged an enemy's attack. That said, Amu was well aware of his own limits—he simply couldn't dodge in the first place.
"Boss, how about summoning the Butcher? I feel like the First King has gotten twice as strong compared to before."
"The Butcher can't tell friend from foe."
"Fuck~, forgot about that."
Baha spread his wings. At this point, there was no choice but to go all out.
Su Xiao lowered his body slightly, took a slow breath, and then shot forward.
Clang, clang, clang.
As he charged, three intersecting blade arcs shot toward the First King. After a few steps, Su Xiao executed a sudden thrust.
With a whoosh, a massive flaming chain swept toward him from the front. Su Xiao charged straight through it, ignoring the searing pain across his entire body, and thrust his blade toward the First King's head.
Clang!
The long blade was blocked by a palm-wide greatsword. The First King stomped the ground, and a ring of flames spread outward.
The flame ring swept over Su Xiao, and in the next instant, the high-temperature crystal layer covering his body peeled off.
Clang! Clang!
After two exchanges of blows, Su Xiao's tense heart eased slightly. The First King's strength still surpassed his own, but thanks to the reduction from his previous perfect parries, it was only a few points higher—no longer a complete crushing force.
The effects of the Wild Beast Potion had worn off without any discomfort. It could only be said that anything from the Honor Shop was top-tier.
The First King's attack pattern had changed. Every swing of his sword now generated a flaming slash chain spanning over ten meters, looking incredibly imposing. Combined with his now fully upright posture, his aura was completely different.
This transformation seemed to reflect his life. When the fight began, he was hunched over, his swordsmanship wild and erratic, like a beast wandering aimlessly. But after the Source Power within him fully awakened, he straightened his back, and his weapon was empowered by 'Source Flame,' signifying that he now bore responsibility and conviction.
If the Tianba Clan were experts in developing Source Power, then the First King, Edri Dewin, was the only one in this world who could truly wield and possess it. He guarded the Source Power, and the Source Power acknowledged him.
All fire-attribute Source Power recognized only Edri Dewin. The Tarin Royal Family could only borrow this power through Edri Dewin's blood as a medium; there was no other way. Otherwise, like Chief, they would be corroded to death by the fire-attribute Source Power.
Even with Edri Dewin's blood as a medium, the Tarin Royal Family had to make tremendous sacrifices, such as nourishing the Source Power with their own life force. Even then, improper use could lead to instant death.
Why did the Tianba Clan hold Edri Dewin in such high regard? This was the reason. The Source Transformation they had struggled so hard to solve simply didn't exist for Edri Dewin. He could even undergo Source Awakening and overload his Source Power, which kept him from dying to the passage of time.
"Edri Dewin."
The First King spoke in a deep, rumbling voice. He held his greatsword vertically before him, its surface burning with dark red flames. His other hand was behind his back, and his entire suit of armor pulsed slowly.
"Law Annihilation, Bai Ye."
Su Xiao pointed his long blade diagonally at the ground, flexing his slightly sore left arm.
The First King and Su Xiao charged at each other. Greatsword clashed against long blade, flames and pale blue electric arcs scattering in all directions.
At the foot of the Lava Mountain, Liu was looking up at the summit. Though she couldn't see exactly what was happening there, streaks of flaming chains and blade arcs continued unabated.
The Giant King sat behind Liu, repeatedly trying to stand up but always sitting back down.
Atop the Lava Mountain.
With a deafening clang, Su Xiao was knocked back by the First King's slash. His breathing had become erratic, and his blood felt like it was about to ignite. His health had dropped to 27%, burned away by the flame's true damage. The First King's flames weren't just scorching—they were corrosive.
Amu, wielding the Dragonheart Axe, was getting pummeled. Seizing the opportunity, Su Xiao took a bottle of [Honor Revival Potion] from his storage space. He pressed his thumb against the bottle's mouth, and the micro-injection needle pierced his thumb tip. Within moments, the potion took effect.
Su Xiao stepped forward, rushing behind Amu. He grabbed Amu's arm with one hand, spun his body, and hurled Amu away.
Clang!
Su Xiao's blade blocked the First King's greatsword. Flames surged toward him, impossible to avoid.
A tremendous force traveled up Su Xiao's arm. The power-reduction effect of his perfect parry was about to fade. If he couldn't defeat the First King before then, he would die here today.
Su Xiao had one chance now, but the First King's defense was absurdly strong. Among all the formidable enemies he had faced so far, the First King had the highest defense and survivability, especially after his Source Awakening, which had doubled his defensive capabilities.
It had to be said, it was fortunate that Azure Steel Shadow's true damage was high enough; otherwise, the fight wouldn't have lasted this long.
The long blade and greatsword pressed against each other. The overwhelming force forced Su Xiao to take a step back. As his left foot landed, he was somewhat 'unlucky'—he stepped on a small pebble.
Crack~
The pebble was crushed to powder under Su Xiao's foot. Almost simultaneously, the First King's massive boot kicked out.
Boom!
It seemed like karma for kicking too many people had finally caught up. The First King's kick landed squarely on Su Xiao's chest. He stumbled back two steps before crouching down, his left arm raised in defense, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth.
"Heh!"
Baha suddenly appeared to the right of the First King's head. In his claws, he held a bomb shaped like an octopus trap, which he slammed onto the First King's head.
With a click, the Magnetic Storm Hunter clamped shut, enveloping half of the First King's head. Bubu Wang, lying in ambush in the distance, activated the bomb. This explosive had high Charm attributes and would inflict magnetic true damage.
With a thunderous roar, the Magnetic Storm Hunter detonated. Baha felt a surge of satisfaction, but it lasted only 0.5 seconds before a sharp pain shot through his chest.
Pfft.
The First King's greatsword pierced straight through Baha's body and stabbed into the ground.
Boom!
A ring of flames spread outward. Baha was flung out of the flames. If he hadn't pierced through space at the critical moment, he would have been half-dead.
Baha hit the ground, completely drained. His health plummeted like a waterfall: 12%, 8%, 3%.
A streak of cold light flew over and embedded itself into the wound on Baha's chest. It was a slender crystal spike, hollow at the tip, with a cylindrical potion bottle attached to the base. The medicinal liquid flowed through the crystal spike into Baha's body, rapidly restoring his health: 30%, 70%, 100%. Such a powerful potion could only be the [Honor Revival Potion (Sixth Rank)].
Baha had nearly died, but he had created an opportunity. For Su Xiao, that was enough.
He activated Dragon Shadow Flash and appeared in front of the First King. If one looked closely, they would notice that Su Xiao's blade had widened slightly, as if something was clinging to it.
A single upward slash cut straight through the First King's chest. The wound was so deep that the First King's heart, the size of a plate, was clearly visible. Inside that heart lay the fire-attribute Source Crystal.
After being cut open, the First King stood frozen in place, his armor surging. He wasn't unwilling to move—he simply couldn't.
Why was Su Xiao's slash so powerful? This was Azure Shadow King. Su Xiao never used his abilities rigidly.
After activating Azure Steel Shadow, each successful burn of the enemy's internal energy would awaken a Law-Destroying Blade invisible to the enemy, up to a maximum of five.
These Law-Destroying Blades had a crystalline texture. Su Xiao had long harbored an idea: could he fuse these five blades together and then have the fused blade cling to Dragon-Slaying Flash?
The result was that Su Xiao succeeded. Each Law-Destroying Blade could deal 1950 points of true damage. By fusing five together and attaching them to Dragon-Slaying Flash, that single slash delivered 9750 points of true damage, with an extremely high chance of triggering Azure Steel Shadow's paralysis effect.
The First King was struck by Su Xiao's slash, losing all mobility. Su Xiao didn't stop attacking for a single moment.
Blood energy erupted from Su Xiao's center. He raised his left arm, and a crystal layer formed over his hand. All the blood energy converged toward his left hand, eventually forming a nearly solid spear.
'Blood Beast: Hunting Spear.'
Pfft!
The blood spear pierced through the First King's open chest, penetrated his heart, and then exploded.
Boom! The blood energy detonated, pushing Su Xiao backward.
Within the exploding blood energy, a pair of dark red eyes stared at Su Xiao. Despite such severe injuries, the First King still hadn't fallen, and his combat power hadn't diminished much.
A flash of residual light swept past. Blood splattered from the left side of Su Xiao's body. Even though he twisted his body desperately, the First King's greatsword still severed his entire left arm and left lower leg.
Su Xiao collapsed to the ground. His entire left arm and half of his lower leg lay nearby. Source Power spread, causing indescribable pain, but he gritted his teeth and endured it through sheer willpower.
The First King stepped forward, raising his greatsword high with his right hand. Without hesitation, he swung it down toward Su Xiao's throat. Su Xiao forcibly activated Dragon Shadow Flash, but the forced activation was much slower than normal.
"Moo!!"
A roar came from behind the First King. Cold air surged as Amu leaped high into the air, both hands gripping the Dragonheart Axe. The axe was raised above his head, and ice crystals formed on the heart at the axe's center.
With a swoosh, everything around seemed to freeze. The Dragonheart Axe brought a trail of blood as it struck the ground, sending out a shockwave that cracked the earth inch by inch.
An arm holding a greatsword flew into the air. To withstand Azure Shadow King and Blood Beast, the First King had gathered all his 'fluid armor' to his chest. Amu's leaping axe strike, using the Dragonheart Axe, severed the First King's right arm that held the sword.
With that single axe blow, all the pent-up frustration in Amu's heart vanished. Whether it was drifting at sea in the previous world or being lectured by the Tianba Clan before, all the gloom was released with this strike.
'Blade Path Sword: Demon Blade Scythe.'
At some point, Su Xiao had crouched on the First King's shoulder. In his hand, Dragon-Slashing Flash surged with dark blue smoke, pressed against the First King's neck.
With a pull of the blade, Su Xiao, gripping Dragon-Slashing Flash, transformed into a Death God's scythe. Everything around him seemed like an ink painting. The scythe's blade hooked around the First King's neck, and with a single 'scythe' pull, the First King's head was severed. The Death God holding the demon scythe... grinned.
Su Xiao landed. His left lower leg, formed from crystal and banishment, touched the ground. He flicked Dragon-Slashing Flash, now wreathed in dark blue smoke, and a semicircular trail of blood splattered onto the ground.
The First King had been slain!