Chapter 70: Amu's Daily Beating
The moment he blocked Dragon-Slaying Flash, Rogesh's left hand clenched. With Su Xiao's combat experience, he naturally wouldn't let an enemy seize his blade.
The long knife slid across Rogesh's palm. Su Xiao slightly lowered his posture and delivered several rapid slashes.
Clang, clang, clang...
Streaks of pale blue cut marks traced across Rogesh's body, even sparking briefly. These slashes were all blocked by an instantly formed dark barrier.
A fist-sized black sphere detached from Rogesh's palm and floated above him. The sphere's surface was riddled with holes—this was the Dark Core, the medium for Rogesh's various abilities. No, that wasn't quite accurate; it was more like an amplifier that enhanced the effects of his powers.
The moment the Dark Core appeared, Su Xiao felt a heavy pressure descending from above. Pitch-black soul energy surged toward him from the front.
With a thunderous crash, Su Xiao was engulfed in soul energy. Not only was there immense pressure around him, but his perception was also blocked. His vision went pitch black, and even sound disappeared.
A binding sensation came from all over Su Xiao's body, as if countless dark hands were gripping him. He didn't move. Though his external perception was sealed, his instinct ability's crisis warning was still active.
A faint stinging sensation appeared on Su Xiao's chest—that was where the enemy intended to strike.
'Blade Path Sword: Extreme.'
Clang!
A pale blue cut mark swept through. With a tearing sound, the long knife seemed to slice through high-density iron sand, leaving a trail of blood before the enemy ahead retreated.
Outside the pitch-black soul energy, Rogesh stepped back several paces. A bloody gash appeared on his chest. At this moment, he wasn't entirely non-human. Healing this wound would take some time—not long, but not short either. The stronger the body, the greater the cost of recovery.
Inside the pitch-black soul energy, Su Xiao stomped his foot on the ground. Cyan Steel Shadow energy surged along the earth, dispersing the surrounding soul energy.
As light returned to Su Xiao's vision, he immediately closed his eyes. Even with his constitution, emerging from absolute darkness and immediately facing blinding light was too much for his eyes to handle.
Dozens of meters away, Rogesh's hand erupted with intense light. This was a reaction caused by water vapor, ozone, and decomposed soul energy. Don't forget, Rogesh's hobby was reading all kinds of books—he wasn't someone who suddenly gained power without knowing how to use it.
Spatial fluctuations appeared behind Rogesh. Baha's claws aimed straight for the back of his neck. Just as the claw tips were about to pierce Rogesh's nape, a heavy pressure descended on Baha.
Bang!
Baha was slammed to the ground. A sword formed of soul energy stabbed down from above. A few drops of blood appeared, then Baha vanished, successfully entering the alternate space.
Inside the alternate space, Baha's bones felt like they were about to fall apart. The corrosive power of soul energy was too strong. If it didn't have spatial abilities, it would likely be done for.
'Blade Path Sword: Azure Demon.'
A cyan-blue slash cut through the air, heading straight for Rogesh's neck. A translucent dark barrier appeared before him.
"Moo!"
Amu charged in with an ice shield in its left hand and Dragonheart Axe in its right. Reaching Rogesh, it swung the axe down.
Clang! The Dragonheart Axe was blocked by soul energy. Rogesh's right hand turned pitch black, claws sprouting from his fingertips. He formed his hand into a blade and stabbed toward Amu's ice shield.
Inside the alternate space, Baha saw this. If the battle weren't so intense, it would have laughed out loud.
Crack!
Rogesh's hand pierced into the ice shield. Due to the difference in strength, Amu nearly fell to one knee.
Boom! A rebound shockwave erupted from the ice shield. Fine cracks spread across Rogesh's entire right arm, all the way to his shoulder.
Rogesh stepped back two paces. After glancing at his fractured right arm, he waved his hand. Amu flew sideways like a cannonball, crashing intimately into the rock wall.
Just as Rogesh was about to eliminate Amu, he sensed a very strong crisis.
'Blade Path Sword: Flow.'
An ethereal wind scar swept through. The dark barrier appeared. If it were Su Xiao's ordinary slash, the dark barrier could block it, but the cut of 'Blade Path Sword: Flow' couldn't be stopped.
After a piercing cutting sound, blood splattered across Rogesh's chest. He retreated half a step.
'Dark: Force Pressure.'
Rogesh pointed at Su Xiao from a distance. Su Xiao, in the midst of high-speed charging, abruptly stopped. His feet sank into the rock layer, his entire calves nearly submerged before he stabilized himself.
A whistling sound came from the left. Crystal layer crawled over Su Xiao's body. His left arm bent to shield his face, his center of gravity shifting leftward—he was actually meeting the enemy's unknown attack head-on.
A dark arm over two meters thick had formed a fist, hurtling toward Su Xiao's left. Not only did Su Xiao not dodge, he leaned slightly to the left.
Boom! Stone fragments flew from under Su Xiao's feet. His legs plowed through the rock as the dark giant fist pushed him to the right.
When Su Xiao stopped, he was only half a meter away from a 'spike board' made of soul energy on his right. The board was covered in black spikes, each three meters long with razor-sharp tips.
Puddles of water began to flow back. Blood dripped from Su Xiao's chin. He lowered his eyelids, staring at Rogesh in the distance. So far, he hadn't found the enemy's weakness.
Su Xiao felt like all his bones were about to fall apart. Every part of his body ached. He reached out with one hand toward the dark giant fist on his left, gathering Cyan Steel Shadow energy in his palm.
Crack! The dark giant fist shattered under Su Xiao's grip. He noticed something: after Rogesh shaped an attack with soul energy, the construct's attack power and defense were absurdly strong, but this wasn't without a weakness. For example, with this dark arm, after Rogesh formed it, he could only control it for a short time before losing command.
Rogesh sacrificed the control time of his soul energy constructs to enhance precision, attack power, and defense.
From start to finish, Su Xiao had been suppressed. It was time to counterattack. He needed an opportunity.
Su Xiao used his index finger to dab two drops of blood from his chin and flicked them into the puddle at his feet. Baha and Amu simultaneously noticed Su Xiao's action. No communication was needed—they already understood his intent.
Baha feigned an attack while Amu charged head-on, buying Su Xiao a chance to get close to the enemy.
Baha appeared behind Rogesh, very decisively, and then got wrecked.
Bang!
Baha slammed into the rock wall behind Rogesh. Four dark spikes pinned it to the wall, one nearly piercing its skull.
"Moo!"
Cold air radiated. Amu's attack was straightforward. It raised the Dragonheart Axe high. It wasn't really there to attack—its job was to take a beating. With its immense survivability, it was built to be more durable.
A black shockwave spread, ignoring the ice shield. Amu's body froze. A pitch-black hand stabbed through the hole in the ice shield.
Pfft.
Rogesh's right hand pierced into Amu's throat, going straight through. Not only that, soul energy surged around Amu, enveloping it, corroding its body with a sizzling sound. Vulnerable areas like wrists and ankles exposed white bone.
'Blade Path Sword: Extreme!'
Swish! A cold light swept through, severing Rogesh's right arm in one slash.
Amu collapsed to the ground with half of Rogesh's arm. Su Xiao stepped onto Amu's chest. Cyan Steel Shadow energy surged, devouring the soul energy on Amu's surface. It was time to counterattack.