Chapter 45: An Unbreakable Defense?
On the ice, Gluttony was surrounded by the cursed people. He wasn't afraid of this kind of human wave tactic when the numbers were within a few thousand, but if there were too many enemies, he would have no choice but to flee.
With a crackling sound, the tip of the spike lance in Gluttony's hand pressed against the ice, sending a few shards flying. This signaled the start of the battle.
"Kill him!"
The Hangman was the first to rush forward, its eyes fixed on Gluttony's spike lance, ready to grab the long spear with its grip strength when the enemy swung it at him.
The wind pressure howled as Gluttony spun the spike lance in his hand, executing a 360° sweep. An iron-black ring appeared around him.
'Ring Lock.'
The iron-black ring around Gluttony solidified, and the Hangman abruptly stopped. It felt as if it had been cast in steel, completely unable to move.
With a *puff*, like popping a balloon, the 2.5-meter-long spike lance in Gluttony's hand pierced through the Hangman's chest.
'Lance Knight: Quake Press.'
Gluttony gripped the lance shaft with both hands, the spike lance still impaling the Hangman, and swung it to the other side.
*Thump!*
Like a cannonball hitting the ground, shattered ice flew everywhere as the upper half of the Hangman's body was sent flying. The lower half of its chest was completely shattered, turning into dirt-like matter.
Gluttony was strong, but his speed was a weakness. After he swung this lance, the surrounding cursed people had already charged forward. Various weapons slashed or smashed heavily into Gluttony, and several booming sounds followed in succession.
'Lance Knight: Immovable.'
Amidst the chaotic attacks, Gluttony held the spike lance like a flag, both hands gripping it with the tip pointing toward the sky.
Under the relentless assault, Gluttony stood like a mountain, his body not even trembling. His aura grew stronger and stronger—he was absorbing the attacks landing on him.
'Lance Knight: Vengeance!'
The butt of Gluttony's spike lance slammed into the ground. Almost simultaneously, cursed people like Amang, Ghost Shadow, and Sea Fury all retreated.
*Thump!*
An iron-black shockwave radiated from Gluttony, centered on him. Nearly thirty cursed people around him turned into dust, scattering in the air.
'Lance Knight: Battle Intent.'
With a *clang*, Gluttony pointed his spike lance forward. He slightly lowered his body, turning into a blur as he charged out.
*Puff.*
The spike lance pierced through the abdomen of the cursed person Sea Fury. But that wasn't the end. Gluttony's charge was nearly unstoppable. After the lance pierced several more cursed people, he carved a path across the ice.
"Ha!"
A cursed person over two meters tall let out a fierce shout, swinging a full-power side punch that slammed into Gluttony's metal helmet with a dull *thump*.
Gluttony's charging momentum gradually slowed and finally stopped. The surrounding cursed people rushed in.
Same old routine—Gluttony gripped the spike lance with both hands, tip pointing skyward, 'Lance Knight: Immovable.'
Lance Knight: Immovable helped Gluttony negate a high amount of damage, and combined with his damage reflection ability, the damage he actually took was very low.
After absorbing a certain amount of damage, Gluttony would use 'Lance Knight: Vengeance,' converting the injuries he had just absorbed into shockwave damage that ignored defense. The more damage he had just taken, the stronger the power of 'Lance Knight: Vengeance.' He had once used this move to instantly kill an eighth-rank tank-type contractor.
*Thump!*
The iron-black shockwave spread, shattering another twenty-plus cursed people around him. At this rate, under the suppression of the Silent Domain and with Gluttony's own combat power, he really might be able to single-handedly take on 800 cursed people.
In reality, Gluttony wasn't having an easy time. Every time a cursed person attacked him, he took 120 points of True Damage, a type of energy called 'Soul-Burning Force.'
If just one or two had this ability, Gluttony wouldn't care. But all the cursed people had it—that was a bit hard to handle.
When enemies used magic damage, dark erosion damage, or mental damage, Gluttony would just smile slightly and reflect 85.7% of it back, letting the enemy feel the pain.
But Gluttony was very afraid of True Damage. This damage judgment, which broke through the ceiling of tiers, he couldn't reflect it. He could only endure it head-on.
Gluttony knew his own weaknesses well. He was most afraid of a few types: 1. Enemies with high speed and the ability to deal massive True Damage. 2. Enemies with a bunch of passive abilities that could negate the suppression of the Silent Domain. 3. Enemies whose attacks had control effects with a very high trigger rate.
Interestingly, the Three Brothers of National Football were very effective against Gluttony. Almost every one of their hammer strikes caused stun. As for damage reflection, consider three Holy Knights who could heal each other, especially with Life Link and Life Sharing.
If Gluttony fought the Three Brothers of National Football, once he got stunned, the three brothers would turn into blacksmiths, hammering away relentlessly. This was a cross-tier counter. Of course, it was still very hard for the Three Brothers of National Football to kill Gluttony—the foundation of an eighth-rank contractor was there.
*Clang, clang, clang...*
One sailor's knife after another chopped into Gluttony. He blocked with one hand in front of his face. After enduring the fatigue from using 'Lance Knight: Vengeance,' he gripped the spike lance with both hands and executed a spinning sweep.
*Bang, bang...*
Two cursed people were hit by the spike lance, their bodies covered in cracks as they flew backward.
'Lance Knight: Pierce.'
Gluttony turned into a blur. Spiral wind patterns appeared on his spike lance as he thrust straight at Ghost Shadow.
Ghost Shadow had just been swept back, and with all its abilities sealed, it could only raise its hooked dagger in front of itself. It knew very well that it couldn't block this strike.
A sound of air being torn came from above. A foot stomped down on the front section of the spike lance. This wasn't a contest of brute force but a use of the momentum from Gluttony's thrust.
*Boom!*
The shockwave, mixed with ice mist, spread. Su Xiao, who had descended from above, stood with one foot on the spike lance. The lance was driven diagonally into the ice, and a large crack spread across the surface.
"Fall back."
As soon as Su Xiao spoke, all the surrounding cursed people retreated, stopping only after they were far away, outside the range of the Silent Domain.
"I've been looking for you for a long time."
Gluttony pulled the spike lance out of the ice and took a few steps back.
"Arcane Eternal Star is offering a bounty on you with Black Maple Tree branches—3100 grams of Black Maple Tree branches. I was tempted... and it cost me my partner."
Gluttony's voice was a bit low. He had always been troubled by Firefly's death. It had been so hard to finally get a teammate.
"3100 grams? Damn it, Arcane Eternal Star these..."
Baha started spewing profanities. It had guessed that Arcane Eternal Star was using Black Maple Tree branches as bait, but it hadn't expected them to offer so little. In its opinion, it should have been at least ten jin.
"Brother, let me tell you something. Something big."
Baha was ready to launch a psychological attack. All kinds of provocative words were brewing in its mind. It was going to give the enemy a verbal therapy session.
"Are you going to mock my stupidity?"
"That's just your style. Not worth mocking. What I want to tell you is that the person who hired you isn't a big shot in Arcane Eternal Star. Just a disciple of Sefeiliya. That woman in the white robe. She was on the Sunken Ship Island before. She's the one who hired you. This has nothing to do with Sefeiliya at all.
Can Sefeiliya take out 3100 grams of Black Maple Tree branches? That female spellcaster named Aiwa absolutely cannot. One Black Maple Tree, shared by the entire Arcane Eternal Star. The second and third-tier spellcasters don't even get enough. Can Aiwa, a fourth-tier spellcaster, get 3100 grams of Black Maple Tree branches?"
Baha sighed and continued:
"You've been tricked. You waited so long in the Demon Sea World for nothing, and you lost your teammate for nothing. Now that your employer is dead, isn't the contract void? Surprised? Unexpected? Exciting? Your brain must be buzzing, huh?"
"Full of nonsense!"
Gluttony sneered. He seemed not to believe it, but deep down, he knew that what the dead bird said was true. But today, he absolutely couldn't admit it. It was too stupid—so stupid that even he felt a bit mentally exhausted.
Baha's words were very effective. Gluttony's mindset shifted. The unstoppable aura from before faded a bit. The verbal therapy was working.