Chapter 13: Technique Type
The cold wind subsided, and snowflakes slowly fell. Nearly 200 Transcendents from the Eclipse Organization surrounded Su Xiao, with Walworth at their head.
Walworth held a dangerous object—a very thin, small snake that usually disguised itself as a ring. When activated, it appeared as if made of metal.
Facing this encirclement, Su Xiao showed no fear. Even without mastering the Blade Domain, he could handle such a perilous situation. The passive effect of Azure Shadow King he possessed allowed him to absorb the soul energy of enemies at the same rank upon killing them, restoring his own mana.
Combined with Undying Shadow, when consuming the Azure Steel Shadow energy within his body, it triggered a vitality activation phenomenon, thereby restoring his own health. In other words, as long as Su Xiao’s cellular energy wasn’t depleted, his chances of dying in battle were very low.
Having so many Transcendents encircle Su Xiao was not a wise choice. To kill him, sending several high-tier combatants to gang up on him would have been far more effective.
Pairs of eyes watched Su Xiao from all around. Most Eclipse Organization members held medium or short weapons, such as expandable and retractable metal staffs, or folding hook-blade knives with wooden handles. When not extended, these were only about half a meter long. Many more held gear crossbows, whose bolts were connected to steel cables.
It was normal for Eclipse Organization members to choose such weapons. They usually fought against dangerous objects; combat between humans was something they only experienced occasionally.
Click, click~
One by one, the wooden-handled hook-blade knives snapped open. These people held their main weapon in their right hand, while their left hand either held a gear crossbow or a short-barreled gun as thick as an arm. This weapon’s principle was similar to a shotgun, using a mixture of crystal and blue gunpowder as propellant.
This hybrid explosive had immense kinetic energy. Its drawback was that the kinetic energy was too strong—no known metal could withstand it. So, a thicker barrel was designed to release the energy through a massive caliber, using scatter shot. While losing accuracy, it increased the attack area, blasting a wide swath with a single shot.
“Attack.”
Walworth, outside the encirclement, let out a loud shout. Almost simultaneously, all the Eclipse members around Su Xiao dropped to one knee, leaning their upper bodies sideways, nearly prostrate on the ground. They raised their short shotguns, the muzzles slightly tilted upward. Though the posture was awkward, it prevented them from hitting their comrades across from them.
Bang, bang, bang…
Grayish-blue smoke spread, and large patches of glowing red metal fragments flew toward Su Xiao. These scatter shots not only had immense penetrating power but also, due to the crystal + blue gunpowder mixture burning, were imbued with high temperatures, giving them a certain degree of fire-attribute attack. Fire had an indelible mark in the history of combating dangerous objects.
The sound of tearing air came from all directions. Su Xiao slightly lowered his body without dodging. He held the sword hilt with one hand, the long blade still sheathed.
Rice-sized metal fragments passed through various parts of Su Xiao’s body. He had entered a state of Space Penetration, needing no evasive action for 2 seconds.
When the last glowing red metal fragment passed through Su Xiao’s shoulder, he had completed his buildup and exited the Space Penetration state.
The surrounding Eclipse members, seeing that the short shotguns were ineffective, charged up from the ground and rushed toward Su Xiao. They didn’t swarm chaotically but advanced in echelon formations, showing considerable experience in group combat.
‘Blade Path Sword: Super·Ring Break.’
Clang!
The Ring Break, unleashed after 1.7 seconds of buildup, was incomparable to before. A ring-shaped slashing aura over 20 centimeters wide spread outward, its speed also greatly increased.
Among the Eclipse members charging from all sides, more than half leaped forward, while others lowered their bodies in a sliding stance. These weren’t mere underlings; they had extensive experience dealing with dangerous objects and, under Kingsley’s charisma, were willing to risk their lives for the Eclipse Organization.
Pfft!
Blood splattered. Over a dozen Eclipse members who hadn’t dodged in time were struck by the Ring Break. Some had blood spurting from their abdomens, their intestines spilling out as they ran. Others, whose bodies weren’t strong enough, were instantly cut in half.
Cries of agony and curses filled the air. A one-eyed burly man with an eyepatch rushed behind Su Xiao. The metal short rod in his hand snapped open, transforming into a angular round hammer. He swung his arm in a full arc, smashing the hammer toward the back of Su Xiao’s head.
The sound of wind came from behind. Su Xiao made as if to leap backward, nearly pressing against the one-eyed burly man behind him. He held Dragon-Slaying Flash horizontally above his shoulder, the blade edge facing upward.
Swish~
The blade of Dragon-Slaying Flash sliced through the burly man’s right arm, which was holding the weapon. The blade was so sharp that, relying solely on the downward force of the man’s arm, it severed his arm at the upper arm. As the blade left his arm, it slightly pulled at his skin, revealing a brutal yet violent beauty.
Due to inertia, the one-eyed burly man’s arm, still gripping the round hammer, flew in front of Su Xiao and crashed toward the ground. Su Xiao kicked forward.
Bang!
Su Xiao kicked the round hammer away, smashing the head of a staff-wielding woman ahead. The headless body of the staff woman stumbled forward a few steps before falling. The short shotgun in her left hand also flew out, heading toward Su Xiao.
Su Xiao bent his left arm and struck backward with his elbow. With a boom, it hit the side ribs of the burly man behind him. The one-eyed man winced in pain, his eyes nearly bulging as he instinctively hunched over and lowered his head.
As the one-eyed man lowered his head, Su Xiao pressed his left index and middle fingers together. He thrust both fingers up from under the man’s chin, into his skull. His fingertips even touched the warm brain matter.
Using a single-arm over-the-shoulder throw motion, Su Xiao flung the one-eyed burly man in front of him. Two folding hook-blades slashed down, cutting into the burly man’s back. Not only that, but a large spread of scatter shot also blasted into the man’s body, blocking all attacks from the side for Su Xiao.
Su Xiao withdrew his two fingers from the man’s head. His left hand grabbed a flying short shotgun—the one that had slipped from the staff woman’s hand after her death.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Su Xiao slashed a few times, cutting through the incoming folding hook-blades and retractable staffs. He aimed the short shotgun in his left hand at an empty spot and pulled the trigger.
Bang!
Blood and shattered skull fragments splattered. A transparent figure quickly materialized in the air, its head blown apart. Carried by the scatter shot’s kinetic energy, it tumbled backward.
Walworth, outside the encirclement, witnessed all of this. The corners of his eyes twitched violently. The battle had just begun, and already a swath of his people had fallen.
Walworth knew he could no longer watch from the sidelines. He had to join the melee; otherwise, even if they wore out the Execution Agency’s Legion Commander, over ninety percent of their people would die.
Just as Walworth was about to charge into the crowd, a bone-chilling sense of crisis appeared around him. He pushed off the ground, leaping backward over the cracked earth.
Clang, clang, clang…
Pale blue slashing marks appeared in the air. Cut marks emerged all over Walworth’s body. These slashes appeared extremely suddenly, leaving him no chance to dodge.
Walworth landed. He raised one hand to shield himself, blood soaking through his tattered clothes. The pupils in his eyes trembled. What… was that?
Not just Walworth, but all the Eclipse members around Su Xiao were covered in slashing marks. Though the Blade Domain had only lasted 1 second, many enemies were wounded. Some, whose organs were slashed, dropped to one knee, spitting out a mouthful of blood.
The long blade slashed. After cutting off a head, Su Xiao leaped into the air. He had just activated the Blade Domain for an instant. Since there weren’t too many enemies around, and he could activate the Blade Domain for 3 seconds, he only used 1 second.
The Blade Domain was an ultimate-level ability derived from Blade Grandmaster. It didn’t really have a cooldown concept—as long as his body could withstand it, he could continue using it. To be safe, within 2 to 3 days, he could activate the Blade Domain for at most about 3 seconds. As he gradually adapted to this ability, the activation time would grow longer.
The Blade Domain could still be activated for 2 more seconds. Su Xiao, having leaped, crashed heavily to the ground. The Eclipse members within his perception range had increased. The long blade in his hand let out a crisp ring, a blue gleam appeared in his eyes, and he activated the Blade Domain again.
With Su Xiao at the center, a semicircular domain appeared around him, 100 meters in diameter. Pale blue slashing marks appeared everywhere within the domain, each flashing and disappearing, leaving only gradually fading black marks in the air. This was caused by the space being cut open, making the Blade Domain look exceptionally spectacular.
It was worth noting that among Su Xiao’s many abilities, the Blade Domain was definitely the peak of visual appeal. As for Blade Path Sword: Extreme, his strongest close-combat slash, it looked no different from a normal chop. A straight kick didn’t have much visual appeal either—it really was just a straight kick.
Clang, clang, clang…
Blood and severed limbs splattered. Su Xiao’s left hand clenched in the air. A large portion of the Azure Steel Shadow energy in his body was consumed. Crystalline shards appeared around him and shot outward.
Most of the hundreds of crystalline shards missed their targets. After flying to the edge of the Blade Domain, all the shards stopped, resonating with each other to form a circular chain of blades.
Su Xiao clenched his left fist. With a swish, the surrounding blade chain converged toward him at the center, creating a cutting effect that pulled inward.
Bodies, bloody and mangled, some even cut in half, fell to the ground. The smell of blood spread through the falling snow. The blade chain around Su Xiao, stained with blood, dissipated.
“Cough, cough…”
Walworth covered his mouth with one hand, dry coughing. Blood seeped through the gaps between his fingers. His combat style leaned toward the ranged type, killing enemies with poisonous blood arrows, blood spikes, blood spears, and similar attacks. In layman’s terms, he was a Transcendent ranged shooter. The reason he hadn’t acted earlier was that he was accumulating the blood of his fallen comrades to unleash his strongest ability and severely wound Su Xiao.
If given the chance, this guy could indeed do it. Walworth was extreme—his survivability was average, about the level of an Eighth Rank elite unit, but his attack power was terrifyingly strong, especially when wielding the dangerous object: Snake Ring.
As someone with horrifying attack power but average survivability, Walworth found this battle utterly frustrating. Before he could even strike, he nearly died from Su Xiao’s area-of-effect ability.
“Retreat!”
Walworth let out a loud shout and turned to flee. The surviving Eclipse members, as if granted amnesty, scattered in all directions, leaving only a few treasure chests on the ground.