Chapter 72: World·Stagnation
"Hey, Nameless Captain."
Baha circled above, ready to start drawing aggro.
"You…"
Clang!
A black slashing mark flew past, nearly giving Baha a buzzcut. It was only thanks to its quick reflexes that its head didn't fall off, resulting in an instant death.
"You… are impressive."
Baha swallowed the provocative words it had been brewing. In truth, it didn't have much to say anyway. When it first heard of the Nameless One, Baha had felt a measure of respect.
Aside from his self-developed sword techniques and an ultimate ability, the Nameless One had no other active skills. Unlike the Fallen Deity, whose Sinful Flame spawned all kinds of abilities.
Even so, the Nameless One's strength was undeniable. The blade in his hand was almost unstoppable. The only thing that could block that broadsword was Dragon-Slaying Flash.
Or rather, relying on the Holy Spirit-ranked Dragon-Slaying Flash to block it head-on would also risk breaking the blade. But with Su Xiao's Blade Grandmaster skill added, that risk was eliminated.
On the deck, Su Xiao charged forward at high speed, the wind whistling past his ears. He had only taken two steps when the Nameless One ahead of him also moved.
In the blink of an eye, Dragon-Slaying Flash clashed with the broadsword.
Clang!
The ringing of metal echoed. Su Xiao's left foot stepped back, pressing into the deck. Large cracks immediately spread across the planks, and splinters exploded from the impact force.
A tremendous force came through his hand. Su Xiao's body leaned back slightly, the muscles on his right arm bulging a little. Perfect Counter succeeded—he had parried the blow.
Su Xiao's body began to lean forward, his right arm exerting force. A strange power traveled along Dragon-Slaying Flash, spread onto the broadsword, and finally surged into the Nameless One's body.
Boom!
A shockwave exploded. The Nameless One took a large step back, a flicker of brief surprise seeming to pass through his eyes.
The effect of Perfect Counter was simple: after successfully parrying an enemy's attack, a counter-parry could be triggered, creating a force rebound effect. This slightly knocked the enemy back while temporarily reducing their Strength attribute by 5 points. The effect lasted 6 minutes and could stack up to three times. Each stack doubled the duration.
Seizing the opportunity from Perfect Counter, Su Xiao's long blade slashed repeatedly. He knew in his heart that he needed to successfully counter the enemy at least three times before he had a chance of winning.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Blades clashed, sparks flying. Su Xiao's first strike aimed for the enemy's neck, the second for his head, and the third for the top of his skull.
After three rapid consecutive slashes, the blood in Su Xiao's body felt as if it were about to boil. His state had reached its peak.
'Blade Path: Slay.'
Blood energy gathered on Dragon-Slashing Flash. With a whoosh, a blood-colored chain was slashed out, enveloping the Nameless One. The moment he made this strike, Su Xiao knew something was wrong.
'Slaughter: Obliterating Light.'
A slash met the blood-colored chain head-on. Su Xiao only felt a chill across his chest. The splattering blood almost blocked his own vision.
A slash mark crossed Su Xiao's chest, from his left shoulder to his right waist. The wound was deep enough to reach the bone, and the bleeding was horrifically heavy. His heart had been jolted, causing a brief contraction.
'Blade Path: Extreme!'
With blood spraying from his chest, Su Xiao made a horizontal slash. A crisp clang reached his ears. Judging by the feel of the strike, it had been blocked.
'Blade Path Sword: Time.'
Everything around him slowed down. The Nameless One, two meters away, was already leaping backward in midair. A Blade Grandmaster's reaction speed was no joke.
Su Xiao stepped forward, and the surroundings suddenly turned pitch black.
'Blade Path: Absolute Darkness.'
'World: Torrential Tremor.'
The Nameless One, leaping backward at low altitude, swung his long blade. A large amount of seawater was flung out, all of it surging toward Su Xiao.
If hit by this, he would definitely die!
This thought flashed through Su Xiao's mind. As he leaped, he thrust his long blade into the deck.
With a tearing sound, the seawater surged beneath Su Xiao. This was no water current—it was layer upon layer of slashes overlapping each other. At first glance, it looked like seawater, but once the "seawater" washed over someone, they would be instantly sliced into thousands of thin sheets.
As Su Xiao leaped, he stomped on the hilt of Dragon-Slashing Flash, boosting his height further. At the same time, he pulled on the Realm Severing Thread to yank the blade up.
The "seawater" surged beneath Su Xiao, carrying a terrifying cutting force. The gunwales on both sides of the Doom Number were sliced into countless pieces. The bow was leveled with the deck, and large quantities of paper-thin wooden fragments flew forward, eventually falling into the sea.
Su Xiao landed from midair. As he touched down, he slashed out Azure Demon.
Azure Demon cut past the Nameless One's side. Blood appeared, slicing off a piece of flesh and clothing from his shoulder.
Su Xiao and the Nameless One landed on the deck almost simultaneously. In terms of blade-drawing speed, Su Xiao was slightly faster.
Dragon-Slashing Flash aimed straight for the Nameless One's neck. The Nameless One chose to ignore Su Xiao's strike. Gripping his broadsword with both hands, he made an upward slash.
The Nameless One had fully awakened. He had already judged that in terms of technique and tactics, he couldn't outmatch the young man before him. His advantage lay in his unstoppable slashes.
"Ha!!"
The Nameless One let out a fierce roar. The shockwave spread with his voice.
Su Xiao's head buzzed again. He changed his slash into a horizontal block, twisting the long blade in his hand into a reverse grip. He held the blade sideways, the tip pointing downward.
Sizzle!
The broadsword, cleaving downward, slid along the edge of Dragon-Slashing Flash. Su Xiao leaned his body toward the broadsword, using his full body weight to push Dragon-Slashing Flash, thereby altering the broadsword's slashing trajectory.
The broadsword chopped into the deck, sending splinters flying. The hull of the Doom Number was now fragile. A slash spread across the deck.
Su Xiao stomped down hard with his right foot, stepping onto the spine of the broadsword. The Nameless One opposite him had a face like a demon, his jaw muscles bulging. He gripped the broadsword's hilt tightly and forcefully pried it upward.
Because Su Xiao was stepping on the broadsword's spine, this prying motion should have sent him flying, causing him to lose balance in midair. But that wasn't what happened.
Su Xiao's right foot shifted. The stomp he had just delivered was an instantaneous burst of force, precisely waiting for the Nameless One to lift the blade upward.
The Nameless One pried at nothing. He was originally a brute-force type, and this missed prying left his chest wide open.
'Blade Path: Absolute Darkness.'
Puff, puff, puff!
Three intersecting slash marks appeared on the Nameless One's chest. The searing pain from Azure Steel Shadow made the veins on his neck bulge. Yet he didn't utter a single groan. Logically, retreating now would be the best choice. But not only did he not retreat, he instead thrust his broadsword downward with both hands.
Thud!
The broadsword stabbed into the deck, like detonating a bomb. The shockwave caught Su Xiao, sending him flying backward.
Su Xiao stabilized himself in a half-crouch, ready for the furious slash that would surely follow. But within his perception range, the Nameless One didn't charge at him. Instead, he leaped straight up.
The Nameless One jumped over ten meters high. Crack! A blue-purple lightning bolt struck down, precisely entering the blade in his hand. Lightning enveloped the broadsword.
The Nameless One began to descend. After shattering the blade aura Su Xiao had slashed at him, he swung his long blade while at low altitude, flinging out a lightning chain.
Crackling.
Lightning enveloped Su Xiao. His whole body felt slightly numb. This lightning was unusual. It slowed his reaction speed while paralyzing his muscles, temporarily reducing his Strength attribute by 7 points for the next 10 seconds. This was fatal. During this time, he couldn't withstand the Nameless One's slashes head-on, or he would be directly broken through and struck on the body.
With arcs of electricity surging over his body, Su Xiao continuously leaped backward. A sound of air being torn came from ahead—it was the Nameless One. His speed had suddenly increased. The lightning he had just absorbed had activated his body's cells, greatly stimulating his reflexes.
Within Su Xiao's perception range, he sensed a blade tearing through the air, heading straight for his head. The slash was aimed at ear level.
Su Xiao ducked. The broadsword swept over his head, cutting off a few strands of black hair. As he leaped backward, he slashed out a light blue blade aura.
'World: Stagnation.'
Within the Nameless One's pitch-black eyes, a few faint lights appeared. These lights were like tiny stars, resonating with each other.
Everything around them came to a complete halt, sealed under a layer of gray. All was still, unable to move an inch—except for the Nameless One.
Su Xiao was currently in a backward-leaping posture. His left foot had left the ground, and the toes of his right foot were touching the deck, about to spring up. In his perception, everything around him was frozen. He could see, he could sense, but he couldn't move at all.
The Nameless One silently raised his long blade and slashed toward Su Xiao's neck.