Chapter 26: Blood and Blade
After running a few steps, Li realized something was wrong. Her short little legs simply couldn't create enough distance; she would be caught within three seconds at most.
"Li, we can't escape. They'll chase us to the death like this."
Lilith gripped her neck with one hand as blood seeped through her fingers. She had already lost feeling from the pain. The Azure Steel Shadow energy had numbed half her body.
Just as Li stopped, a long blade slashed toward her face.
"Crystal Barrier."
Li extended both hands in front of her, and over a dozen transparent barriers materialized before her.
Su Xiao gripped his sword with both hands and brought it down with all his might.
Crack. Crack. Crack...
The slash descended, and the dozen-plus transparent barriers shattered like paper.
Ding!
The Dragon-Slashing Flash stopped before one transparent barrier—the very last one.
With a cracking sound, large fissures spread across the barrier. Li's body trembled as she took small, stumbling steps backward.
"Blood Feast."
A female voice came from beside him, accompanied by several whistling sounds of something cutting through the air.
Whoosh, whoosh...
Several thin blood-red needles flew past Su Xiao's side. Though he tried his best to dodge, one needle pierced his shoulder.
Acid, numbness, swelling, and pain intermingled. Veins bulged on Su Xiao's forehead. His left shoulder went numb, and his arm hung limply.
[You have been afflicted by 'Blood Toxin.' Physique attribute check in progress...]
[Check failed. Blood Toxin takes effect. You take 30 damage per second for 5 seconds, with an additional limb crippling status.]
His health plummeted. If not for the Spirit Shadow Constitution's bonus, he would have been severely wounded after 5 seconds.
The Spirit Shadow Constitution greatly enhanced his survivability, so this counted as only a light injury.
As foreign energy invaded his body, the Azure Steel Shadow energy within him instantly went berserk. Over 20% of his mana converted into Azure Steel Shadow energy in an instant. Like a lion whose territory had been invaded, the Azure Steel Shadow energy surged toward the Blood Toxin with savage ferocity.
The moment the Azure Steel Shadow energy contacted the Blood Toxin, the toxin crumbled instantly. It was either devoured or expelled from his body. Within a few seconds at most, the Blood Toxin would be completely cleansed.
Watching Su Xiao standing still, Lilith sneered. Her enemy had been hit by her Blood Toxin. Even if he didn't die, he'd be half-crippled. And since the hit landed near a limb, it would cause limb crippling.
"His left arm is useless. Li, use the combo technique..."
Lilith stopped mid-sentence, her beautiful eyes wide with disbelief.
"How is the Blood Toxin not working?"
No wonder Lilith was so shocked. At that moment, Su Xiao was testing his left arm.
He made a fist. Since his fingers were wrapped in metal, each clench produced a cracking sound.
Though his left arm was still a bit numb, it had at least regained some feeling. It would return to normal soon.
If not for the Azure Steel Shadow energy cleansing the Blood Toxin in time, he would have been left with only one arm in the Pirate World.
The Blood Toxin's destructive power was not to be underestimated. Not only did it deal abnormally high damage, but it also cut off blood circulation in the area it struck.
Su Xiao had been hit in the left shoulder, so the blood circulation in his left arm was completely sealed. His arm would have necrotized before long.
Fortunately, the Blood Toxin had been cleared, and the blood circulation in his left arm returned to normal.
Su Xiao stood still, glancing at Li, then at the completely naked woman.
After the initial exchange, Su Xiao realized that Li's role was control + perception + trapping. She had almost no offensive ability, but in sacrificing attack power, her survivability was extremely high.
As for the naked woman, she used blood to form various weapons for combat. The weapons she created were very sharp, and each attack carried Blood Toxin—quite troublesome.
However, Su Xiao keenly noticed one thing. Although the naked woman had been cut into over a dozen pieces earlier without dying, when he slashed her neck just now, she hadn't used that blood-transformation ability to dodge or heal. Blood was still gushing from the wound.
This showed that the blood-transformation ability was the naked woman's trump card, and she could no longer use it.
If that was the case, the priority target was the naked woman, not Li, who had no attack power but extremely high survivability.
Even if Li would harass him while he killed the naked woman, that was still much better than tanking the enemy's attacks to kill a defensive contractor.
Having made up his mind, Su Xiao shifted his gaze to Lilith. Seeing this, Li was overjoyed inside.
"Yes, go after her. I'm very hard to kill."
Li stepped back, preparing to abandon Lilith and flee alone.
"Li, if I die, someone will go to TJ Province, G City to kill a certain person. You should know who I mean, right?"
Hearing Lilith's veiled threat, Li's face turned pale, and her lips trembled.
"You... investigated me."
"Fight with me, or we all die."
The enemy was having internal strife. Su Xiao wouldn't waste such an opportunity. The naked woman was the best target.
Su Xiao rushed toward Lilith. With a flip of his left hand, an Alchemy Bomb appeared.
He hurled the Alchemy Bomb with all his strength. Lilith's attention immediately focused on it.
The Alchemy Bomb flew past Lilith's side, and she immediately covered her head and retreated.
The bomb flew by without exploding.
A whistling sound came from in front of Lilith, but half her attention was still on the Alchemy Bomb.
Boom! The Alchemy Bomb exploded. The powerful shockwave sent Lilith stumbling back several steps.
Pfft.
A stabbing pain came from Lilith's chest. A long blade had pierced straight through it.
Just then, Su Xiao's movements stopped. A thin layer of ice formed on his body's surface. It wasn't actually ice but a kind of crystal. A warning appeared from Reincarnation Paradise.
[You have been affected by 'Crystal Frost Freeze.' Intelligence, Physique, and Strength attribute checks in progress...]
[Intelligence attribute check passed. Strength attribute check passed. Physique attribute check failed! You will be immobilized for 2 to 3 seconds.]
Crack, crack, crack.
The crystal spread up to Su Xiao's waist and stopped, encasing his lower body. He was trapped in place.
Su Xiao glanced at Lilith, whose chest was pierced by the Dragon-Slashing Flash, and abandoned the idea of using 'Mithril Burn' to break the control. It was no longer necessary.
Lilith had faced a dead end just now. First, internal strife broke out in her team. Then Su Xiao threw the bomb while charging at her himself.
If she defended against the bomb, she would take Su Xiao's slash. If she defended against Su Xiao, she would be caught in the explosion.
"I don't accept this! I still have abilities I haven't used..."
Lilith's body began to go limp. Because the Dragon-Slashing Flash had pierced her chest, she didn't fall.
Her heart had been pierced. Lilith had suffered a fatal wound. Combined with the Dragon-Slashing Flash's overwhelming attack power, she was dead for sure.
Su Xiao was rarely caught in a control effect, but unfortunately, it was too late. His specialty was dealing with contractors.
Lilith fell to the ground with a thud. She still had several decent abilities she hadn't used. Unfortunately, she would never get the chance. In battle, life and death were decided in an instant. It wasn't like in movies where enemies traded ultimate moves. A single small mistake could be fatal.
With one enemy dealt with, Su Xiao turned his gaze to the remaining opponent. The enemy was already scurrying away on her short little legs into the distance.