Chapter 89: Tide Hunter, Danger!
Upon seeing the information on the Supreme Insect, Su Xiao knew that this was the most resilient enemy he had ever encountered, bar none.
Not to mention that the Supreme Insect had three abilities that massively increased its health, its two recovery abilities alone were enough to make one feel a sense of helplessness.
First, the Supreme Insect recovered 5 health points for every 1 point of Abyss Power it consumed. Additionally, it recovered 5% of its maximum health per second. This meant that even if it were gravely wounded and near death, its health would be fully restored after 20 seconds.
The Supreme Insect, which had been mostly eliminated by the Moon Wolf before and had since recovered somewhat, already possessed such combat power. One could imagine how strong it was at its peak.
From the Supreme Insect's multiple abilities that enhanced survivability, one could infer why the Moon Wolf had failed to completely eliminate it back then. Presumably, the Supreme Insect's survivability back then was absolutely monstrous.
If the Supreme Insect were only tough to kill, that would be manageable. The key issue was that its offensive capabilities were equally formidable. Its weapon, the Deformed Blade: Hatred, was already powerful enough. On top of that, the Supreme Insect had honed abilities over long battles that were specifically tailored to the Deformed Blade: Hatred.
Furthermore, it was known that the Supreme Insect had two major killing moves: one was an instant single-target kill, and the other was a large-scale Insect Domain.
There was another very troublesome matter: the Supreme Insect's True Strength attribute was 235 points, while Su Xiao's Strength attribute was 219 points. While combat wasn't purely about comparing physical attributes, this was the most intuitive representation of strength. A 16-point gap in True Strength was more than enough to create a strength suppression.
Of course, the crushing judgment that terrified many contractors wasn't a particularly fatal issue for Technique-type fighters. When fighting the Moon Wolf earlier, Su Xiao had been under strength suppression the entire time, yet he could still clash head-on with the Moon Wolf. That was the advantage of being a Technique-type—as long as the gap in physical attributes wasn't too extreme, one could still fight back.
The blood energy around Su Xiao gradually dissipated. Continuing to compete in aura strength was a waste of stamina. Aura wasn't generated infinitely; it consumed stamina.
Dark clouds churned in the sky. On the rock platform below, Su Xiao and the Supreme Insect faced off. The nearly 30-meter-high circular tree wall around the arena blocked the roars and explosions from the island, where another battle was raging: Mechanism members + Eclipse Organization members versus the highly aberrant parasitic insect warriors.
A gust of wind carrying withered leaves swept by. The nearly four-meter-tall Supreme Insect narrowed its eyes. Its golden-red pupils, combined with the interlocking golden rings on its forehead, gave it an air of pride tinged with coldness.
The Supreme Insect and Su Xiao locked eyes. A thunderclap rang out at that moment. With the roar, the rock ground beneath Su Xiao and the Supreme Insect cracked. Because of the thunder's cover, the cracking of the ground seemed to make no sound.
The thunder faded.
Clang!
The long blade clashed with the Deformed Blade: Hatred. Sparks flew from the point of impact, and a shockwave spread outward, instantly clearing the sparse raindrops falling in the surrounding air.
The blades scraped against each other, producing a sound like scratching glass.
A tremendous force continuously came from Su Xiao's hands. The muscles throughout his body began to ache and swell—a sign that he was about to be overwhelmed. That was what strength suppression felt like. As for a perfect counter, he needed to hold on. When he had executed two perfect counters against the Moon Wolf earlier, his waist had nearly snapped.
Thump. Thump.
Two arrows, one after the other, struck the Supreme Insect's shoulder. Tide Hunter had originally aimed for the chest, but the Supreme Insect twisted its body, and the arrows only hit its shoulder.
Even for the Supreme Insect, being hit by two of Tide Hunter's arrows was painful. It bared its full set of sharp teeth, and the tentacles on its back writhed wildly.
The moment the Supreme Insect was hit, Su Xiao leaned back slightly. Sensing this change, the Supreme Insect immediately pressed down harder with the Deformed Blade: Hatred, trying to continue suppressing Su Xiao with its strength.
'Opportunity!'
Su Xiao exerted force throughout his body. Power rose from the ground, passed through the soles of his feet, traveled up his legs, gathered in his lower back, and then, using his lower back as the center of power, two streams of force spread to his arms. The flow of power in his upper body resembled a V-shape.
'Perfect Counter.'
Su Xiao's arms exerted force. One hand gripped the hilt, the other braced the spine of the blade.
Bang! A burst of air exploded between Su Xiao and the Supreme Insect. The towering Supreme Insect staggered back two steps, disbelief in its eyes. The feeling of weakened strength throughout its body prevented it from immediately counterattacking.
Su Xiao didn't attack either. Although it was a good time to press the advantage, his waist was nearly broken from forcing the Supreme Insect back.
After a pause of just over a second, the discomfort in Su Xiao's lower back mostly subsided. He stepped forward and slashed at the Supreme Insect's neck.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The Dragon-Slaying Flash and the Deformed Blade: Hatred clashed three times. The Supreme Insect let out a low roar. Dozens of pale white tentacles on its back all coiled around its right arm, signaling that it had entered berserker mode.
"Roar!"
The Supreme Insect lunged forward and let out a furious roar. Layers of sound waves laced with white threads spread outward, engulfing Su Xiao.
A crackling sound came from all over Su Xiao's body. Centipede-like insects appeared all over him, biting and gnawing wildly. If one's mental fortitude weren't strong enough, encountering such a situation would surely make them scream, losing seven-tenths of their fighting spirit.
In an instant, the upper part of Su Xiao's clothes was chewed to shreds by the centipede insects. He wasn't wearing the [Wild Hunt Night] long leather coat. After being struck by lightning with Kingsley earlier, [Wild Hunt Night] had been severely damaged. Then Su Xiao fought the Moon Wolf, and the damage to [Wild Hunt Night] reached a level that would make Lide curse.
Lide's feelings were secondary. Su Xiao's main concern was that if he wore [Wild Hunt Night] in this battle, the damaged armor's defense was already nearly nonexistent. If it were permanently destroyed, that would be bad. For now, he could still go to Lide to salvage it. One could only say, thank Lide.
In fact, Lide recently had a dream: to chop [Wild Hunt Night] into a thousand pieces, throw it into a furnace, and roar, "I'll repair your damn leg! I'll fund you myself—can you just switch to another type of armor? I'm begging you!"
Centipede insects clung to Su Xiao with their hooked pincers. He tightened his grip on the sword and released blood energy from within his body. The centipede insects hooked onto him were all blasted into fragments by the blood energy, splattering outward as residue and mucus.
Su Xiao tore off his clothes, which were now nearly strips of fabric. A whoosh of wind came—it was the Supreme Insect.
The Supreme Insect leaped high, raising the Deformed Blade: Hatred above its head. As it descended, the Deformed Blade: Hatred came crashing down toward Su Xiao's head, bringing with it a whistling pressure.
Even before being struck, Su Xiao's face stung from the incoming pressure. If he were hit by this, the fight would be over. The Supreme Insect had a combat style similar to his—it also liked to disguise its big moves as normal slashes.
While leaping back, Su Xiao entered a state of Space Penetration.
Boom!!
The Deformed Blade: Hatred in the Supreme Insect's hand slammed into the ground. At the point of impact, a crater appeared first, then cracks spread outward. After these cracks covered a hundred meters around, the Supreme Insect slammed its other hand onto the ground.
With a roar, light red mist erupted from the cracks in the ground. These mists shot up into the sky like thick, wide blades.
After delivering that slash, the Supreme Insect wasn't satisfied. It was already in berserker mode. Dragging the three-meter-long Deformed Blade: Hatred with one hand, it charged straight at Su Xiao.
The Supreme Insect knew that Su Xiao was in a state of Space Penetration, but it didn't care. It swung the Deformed Blade: Hatred wildly at Su Xiao's head.
Boom! Boom! Boom!...
The surroundings felt like an earthquake. Even Tide Hunter in the distance was slightly affected. Baha, who was about to emerge from the alternate space, witnessed the Supreme Insect's berserker-like momentum and silently retreated. In battle, one couldn't be afraid of death, but one also couldn't feed the enemy kills.
Debris flew around Su Xiao. As he exited Space Penetration, he used a move he had prepared.
'Blade Path Sword: Time.'
Thump~
A shockwave spread outward from Su Xiao, heading toward the Supreme Insect. Within the range of 'Time,' everything slowed down.
Boom! The Deformed Blade: Hatred in the Supreme Insect's hand slammed into the ground. Just as it was about to be enveloped by 'Time,' it used the recoil from the slash to leap backward, narrowly dodging the effect of 'Time.'
The Supreme Insect seemed berserk in battle, but it was actually very rational. All the tentacles on its back rapidly dissolved, forming a translucent curtain draped behind it.
Whoosh! The Supreme Insect disappeared from its spot at an unimaginable speed. The next moment, Amu was sent flying by a large mass of thread worms. If it hadn't blocked them, the mass of worms would have reached Tide Hunter.
At that moment, a dozen meters away from Tide Hunter, the Supreme Insect stood with two arrows in its shoulder and three in its chest, charging toward her.
Cold sweat broke out on Tide Hunter's back. Death was so close. She raised her bow and fired an arrow. Even if she were to lose her life in the next second, it wouldn't stop her from giving the enemy another shot. As for dodging, it was impossible—the speed difference was too obvious.
In this critical moment, Baha emerged from the alternate space, swooping through the air while letting out a loud roar: "Protect the main damage dealer!"