Chapter 40: Fierce Battle
As his body surged forward, Su Xiao thrust the long blade in his hand forward.
This was merely a probe. The Grand President’s overall attributes were slightly higher, and his technical abilities were a full grade above.
Su Xiao wasn’t without a chance to win. His passive skills were stronger than the Grand President’s.
Comparing data could only give a rough estimate of strength; the outcome of a battle still depended on on-the-spot performance.
Su Xiao thrust his blade forward. The Grand President didn’t dodge or evade, instead crossing two rapiers in front of him. The gap where the two rapiers crossed perfectly caught Su Xiao’s incoming thrust.
The long blade in his hand continued to thrust forward, but the Grand President raised his crossed rapiers high.
With a crackling sound, the weapons scraped against each other, producing a harsh noise. Su Xiao’s blade was deflected, slanting past the Grand President’s head.
Such a basic mistake shouldn’t have been made by Su Xiao. He had done it intentionally.
Zzzz.
The sound of a metal wire contracting came through. The Realm Severing Thread had already been set around the Grand President. Once tightened, the Grand President would have no escape.
The Grand President sensed the Realm Severing Thread and knew that dodging was now impossible. He immediately crouched down, thrusting the two rapiers in his hands into the ground on either side of his body.
Zzzz.
The Realm Severing Thread tightened against the two rapiers. The gap between the rapiers allowed the Grand President to evade the Realm Severing Thread.
Just as he dealt with the Realm Severing Thread, the Grand President noticed something rolling toward his feet—a round, white ball.
Without a second thought, the Grand President leaped into the air. While airborne, he drew two more rapiers from his waist.
Boom!
The Alchemy Bomb exploded. Flames surged toward him, and the Grand President clearly felt the scorching heat on his face.
On the other side of the explosive flames, Su Xiao took a deep breath, held it, and charged headfirst into the fire.
With a whoosh, Su Xiao burst through the flames, closing in on the Grand President.
Getting close to the Grand President was simple enough—the man was also a melee fighter.
Dragon-Slaying Flash cut through the air with a whimper as Su Xiao slashed toward the Grand President’s head.
This was Su Xiao’s usual style—he liked to aim for the enemy’s head, torso, and such.
The wind pressure was fierce. The edge of Dragon-Slaying Flash gave off a piercing gleam. It wasn’t light; it was the sheer sharpness of the blade—what could be called an intimidating edge.
The Grand President raised his rapier to block.
Ding.
Dragon-Slaying Flash’s sharpness took effect. The rapier in the Grand President’s hand snapped.
Having a weapon broken in battle was fatal for a melee fighter. Although the Grand President had prepared six rapiers in total, breaking a sword mid-combat still came at a cost.
Su Xiao held the long blade with both hands—one hand bare, the other wrapped in a metal gauntlet—giving off a cold, aesthetic blend of iron and flesh.
After cutting through the Grand President’s rapier with one slash, Su Xiao’s gaze sharpened. He immediately attacked the Grand President’s left side, as the rapier in that hand was now broken.
A blade aura flashed. A large chunk of muscle was sliced from the Grand President’s shoulder. The slash had been aimed at his head, but he had twisted his body to dodge.
Cyan Steel Shadow Energy invaded the Grand President’s body through the wound. The Grand President let out a muffled groan.
Just as Su Xiao landed that blow, the Grand President’s rapier struck as well.
A piercing thrust.
The rapier pierced through Su Xiao’s collarbone, going straight through his body.
Feeling the cold touch at his collarbone and the familiar numbness, Su Xiao knew he was injured.
The Grand President dragged the rapier, trying to widen the wound at Su Xiao’s collarbone.
This was a move Su Xiao often used himself, so he naturally knew how to counter it.
His left hand, wrapped in the metal gauntlet, slapped toward the rapier. The Grand President immediately tried to pull back, but it was too late.
Ding.
The rapier snapped. A third of it remained embedded in Su Xiao’s collarbone.
Both were injured, yet neither let out even half a scream. At most, they gave a muffled groan after being hit.
After one exchange, Su Xiao and the Grand President faced off, neither moving.
They weren’t resting. One round of combat hadn’t drained much stamina. The reason they stopped was that others had arrived.
Su Xiao turned his head to look at the corridor beside him. Several men and women stood there, all unfamiliar faces. He immediately realized these were Contractors.
The Contractors’ faces were blank. What they had just witnessed nearly blew their minds.
To them, the Grand President was a super big boss. But now, this super big boss was in a one-on-one fight with some Contractor, and what’s more, they were evenly matched, locked in a stalemate.
Su Xiao grabbed the rapier embedded in his collarbone and slowly pulled it out. Blood gushed forth, staining his clothes.
The defense of the [Lan Kai Windbreaker] wasn’t weak, but it wasn’t armor. Though it was Dark Purple quality, it couldn’t fully block the Grand President’s thrust.
With other Contractors nearby, Su Xiao naturally wouldn’t continue to fight the Grand President to the death. He needed to deal with these Contractors first.
“This… seems a bit bad.”
“Boss, what do we do?”
“Do you even need to ask? Run!”
The Contractors turned and fled. Their earlier idea of reaping the benefits from the sidelines vanished into thin air.
Soon, the Contractors had run far away. Su Xiao looked at the Grand President.
“Continue.”
Ignoring the bleeding wound, Su Xiao charged straight at the Grand President.
The Grand President charged toward him as well. The two clashed in close combat.
Ding, ding…
The crisp sound of weapons colliding rang out continuously. Sparks flew between them. The long blade and rapiers left white streaks in the air.
The Grand President’s rapier had been broken once, so he no longer clashed head-on with Su Xiao’s slashes. Each time their weapons met, he would slightly reduce his force.
Even so, the rapier in the Grand President’s hand became riddled with notches. After dozens of exchanges, the rapier was unrecognizable—more like a saw than a sword.
Seeing this, the Grand President made a decision: end it quickly.
He clashed swords with Su Xiao once more. A shockwave of air spread outward, showing the force of their strikes.
The ground beneath Su Xiao’s feet cracked extensively. He pressed his long blade forward. The enemy’s weapon was on its last legs, but the enemy could still switch weapons.
With a crack, one of the Grand President’s rapiers developed large cracks along its blade, on the verge of breaking.
The Grand President slashed forward with his sword. Su Xiao immediately met it with his blade.
Ding.
The Grand President’s weapon broke again, but he had been prepared for it.
As the rapier snapped, the Grand President kicked toward Su Xiao’s lower abdomen.
The kick was fast and fierce, with an exceptionally tricky angle. If it landed, Su Xiao’s intestines would be ruptured.
Su Xiao bent one leg and placed it in front of his abdomen. He didn’t think about it; it was pure instinct.
Bang.
The Grand President’s kick landed on Su Xiao’s shin. Su Xiao was sent flying back several meters before landing steadily.
Though his calf was a bit numb, he hadn’t taken that kick for nothing.
A trail of blood ran down the Grand President’s cheek. A deep cut appeared on his scalp, even revealing the white bone of his skull through the wound.
“What a thrilling battle.”
Blood stained the Grand President’s white shirt. He let out a light laugh, but the smile vanished in an instant. After his identity was exposed, the Grand President rarely showed any change in expression.
Flicking the blood off Dragon-Slashing Flash, Su Xiao found the key to victory after fighting the Grand President: the enemy’s weapon was inferior.
Dragon-Slashing Flash had been forged at great expense. For a melee fighter, a good weapon was crucial.