Chapter 30: Wolf Cavalry Captain

Chapter 30: Wolf Cavalry Captain

The group exited the grand cathedral and headed east. The cathedral was not far from the Wolf Tomb, closer than the Holy Ten Cathedral.
The reason Su Xiao had gone to the Holy Ten Cathedral first was to find the Moonlight Maidservant. Having a healer inside the cathedral gave him more confidence when fighting strong enemies. Even if he suffered severe injuries after a hard-won victory, he could recover quickly afterward without losing his qualification to explore the Dead Silence City.
Although he hadn't found the Moonlight Maidservant, he had found the Gray Maidservant. To be honest, if he could choose between the two, Su Xiao would pick the Gray Maidservant. This would eliminate many worries.
Walking along a side street, Su Xiao gazed into the distance. Near the central area of the inner city, a cylindrical black tower stood tall. Compared to other towers in the inner city, this one was like a crane among chickens, at least 150 meters high.
Even from a distance, Su Xiao could sense the crisis emanating from this "Main Tower." It felt like something was locking onto him from afar, but without any direct malice.
This Main Tower was the dividing line of the inner city. Beyond this line was the rear district, where the "Treatment Center," "Foul Land," "Atonement Hall," and "Supreme Sanctuary" were all located.
Su Xiao was currently in the front district. The entity inside the Main Tower hadn't attacked him from a distance, but he wasn't sure if stepping into the rear district would provoke it.
After settling the score with the Wolf Cavalry and surviving, he planned to climb the Main Tower first to see the situation at the top, then proceed to the rear district.
For Su Xiao, there were six important locations in the entire inner city: the Grand Cathedral, the Holy Ten Cathedral, the Wolf Tomb, the Foul Land, the Atonement Hall, and the Supreme Sanctuary.
The Grand Cathedral was a safe zone. The Holy Ten Cathedral and Wolf Tomb needed no further explanation. The key were the last three places.
The Foul Land was where the First Saintess resided, the Atonement Hall was the lair of the Sin Collective, and the final Supreme Sanctuary was the deepest part of the Dead Silence City, where everything would come to an end.
If possible, Su Xiao would go to the Foul Land and Atonement Hall first, rather than fighting the Wolf Cavalry to the death now. The problem was that the concentration of Dead Silence energy in those two places was very high.
According to Su Xiao's knowledge, the Foul Land required at least level 8 protection to enter safely, while the Atonement Hall needed level 10 to 12 protection.
The most extreme was the Supreme Sanctuary. Based on the Archbishop's description, Su Xiao estimated that at least level 40, or even higher, protection was needed to enter safely.
Su Xiao had never considered himself a chosen one, nor did he think that what others couldn't do, he could definitely do. In his view, every previous Chosen One who came to the Dead Silence City was no simple figure. They were either the strongest of their era, leaders or heroes, or world children who could bear heavy responsibilities and act decisively, even to extremes.
These people became Chosen Ones and came to the Dead Silence City, but without exception, they all failed. More importantly, members of the old church like the Archbishop, the Saint Priest, the Old Monster, and the Steel Apostle had all been Chosen Ones.
Thinking differently, the Saint Choir and the Wolf Cavalry might also have been Chosen Ones. They suffered a crushing defeat but survived, making different choices from the Archbishop and others. Instead of leaving the Dead Silence City, they stayed here, becoming trials for future Chosen Ones.
Even the First Saintess might have been a former Chosen One. In the High Wall City, although the Saintess lineage still had some status, their reputation had always been poor, especially the First Saintess.
If the Saintess lineage weren't descendants of the Saint Priest, their fate would have been worse. The First Saintess, as the founder of the Saintess lineage, was recorded by the "Saint Scar Academy" as someone who sought immortality.
After that, the "Saint Scar Academy" imprisoned the First Saintess, using her secondary divine blood to seal the entrance to the Dead Silence City.
After arriving at the Dead Silence City's inner city and understanding the situation, Su Xiao found the "Saint Scar Academy's" slander against the First Saintess utterly absurd.
In the Dead Silence City, immortality didn't need to be sought. Not to mention the upper members of the old church, but church knights, Death People, Tree Erosion, and others all had immortality characteristics. Here, immortality wasn't something to pursue; it was rampant, sending chills down one's spine.
More intriguingly, there were many strong beings in the Gloomy Continent, but very few gods existed here. Only the Eternal Life God and the Sin God were present, and the Sin God was lured here by the academic faction. Otherwise, only the Eternal Life God remained.
The First Saintess possessed secondary divine blood, a fact even the academic faction acknowledged. In other words, the First Saintess was a demigod.
Since the First Saintess, this demigod, fell silent, the Chosen One faction had been suppressed to the ground, with no new Chosen Ones appearing for centuries.
Thus, the First Saintess's status couldn't be measured within the Healing Church. As for her strength, as a demigod, she might have been the strongest among the four powerhouses of the Dead Silence City.
The Saint Choir and Wolf Cavalry were indeed the combat pillars of the Healing Church, but the First Saintess might have ranked among the top three in the entire Gloomy Continent during the Age of Gods, surpassing the two combat pillars of the Healing Church.
If even a demigod like the First Saintess couldn't achieve this, the potential risks and difficulty were far from simple. If Su Xiao followed the same path as other Chosen Ones, he would likely meet his end here as well.
Su Xiao temporarily set a goal: before heading to the "Supreme Sanctuary," he must uncover the secrets of "Dead Silence Energy," "Primordial Source," and "Source Stone."
Lost in thought, Su Xiao had already entered the area of the Wolf Tomb. He could clearly feel that the surrounding natural light had brightened slightly. The walls and ground were covered in cracks. A full moon hung in the gray sky, its light no longer pure but still brightening the area somewhat.
The further he went, the more bones littered the ground. Eventually, the streets were paved with skeletons, mostly of Death People or Tree Erosion. They had been killed by a heavy, sharp weapon.
It was hard to imagine how many Death People had attacked back then, and how powerful the Wolf Cavalry guarding this place must have been to withstand such a number of Death People and Tree Erosion.
Behind Su Xiao, Gulu walked with growing regret. Seeing such a quantity of Death People skeletons, she naturally guessed the Wolf Cavalry were not to be trifled with. But finding an excuse to slip away was never her style. Since things had come to this, she had to grit her teeth and continue.
After passing the bone-covered street, the buildings abruptly ended. A circular high wall made of piled bones appeared ahead. The bones, once white, had been stained pitch black, with sludge-like cold substances filling the gaps.
This circular wall was about ten meters high. Arriving here, Su Xiao felt a sense of familiarity. He walked through the only gap in the wall.
The scene before him was vast. This thousand-square-meter circular arena was covered in patches of black stains. The aura of the Abyss hit him head-on, but fortunately, it was only remnants of the Abyss, not a direct invasion.
In the center of the open space surrounded by the circular wall stood a tall tomb. In front of the tomb was a several-meter-high stone tablet, covered in ancient script from the Age of Gods. To be precise, this was both the "Wolf Tomb" and not.
Beneath this stone tablet, covered in black erosion marks, sat a figure in full-body armor. Although he wore full-body armor, the meticulously crafted armor didn't look cumbersome but had a unique, powerful aesthetic.
It could be seen that this armor was originally silver, symbolizing moonlight, but due to Abyss erosion, it now appeared silver-black with an uneven surface.
This was the last Wolf Cavalry. He sat with his head bowed, a greatsword inserted before him. The greatsword was also pitted and scarred by Abyss energy, and at the end of the guard was the Source Stone Su Xiao was looking for.
Su Xiao stopped a dozen meters in front of the stone tablet. After seeing this Wolf Cavalry, who had inherited the power of the Silver Moon Wolf, he understood some things. The most crucial was the mission, or pursuit, of the Silver Moon Wolves.
If the Law Destruction were elemental guardians, or elemental wardens, then the Silver Moon Wolves were the wardens of the Abyss. Any world being invaded by the Abyss was where they needed to go.
Previously, in the Alliance Star, Su Xiao had seen a Silver Moon Wolf. When he saw it, it was already heavily eroded by the Abyss.
The reason that Silver Moon Wolf had fallen to such a state was that it couldn't close the Abyss passage that appeared in that world. It could only suppress it with its own body, and over time, it was eroded by the Abyss.
This reminded Su Xiao of something. The origin of the Black Maple Tree in the Law Destruction faction was due to opening an Abyss passage and obtaining the Black Maple Tree sapling.
If the ancestral Law Destroyers could open passages to the Abyss, they could certainly close them. Thinking this way, many things became explainable.
For example, while various worlds avoided the Abyss, the major powers of the Void dared to actively open Abyss passages because the Law Destroyers had the ability to close them. Later, when Arcane Eternal Star opened Abyss passages, they likely stole this method.
Following this line of thought, Su Xiao seemed to understand why the spellcasters of the Void dared to recklessly devour elemental power without worrying about elemental imbalance leading to an Abyss invasion of the Void.
Su Xiao never considered his enemies fools. Now it seemed that the spellcasters' devouring of natural elements had likely already caused Abyss passages to appear in the Void, but before the Abyss energy could invade, the spellcasters closed them, allowing them to continue devouring elemental power with impunity.
From another perspective, wasn't this drinking poison to quench thirst? Continuously devouring natural elements would cause Abyss passages to appear randomly in the Void, each time larger and harder to close.
When the day finally came that the spellcasters couldn't close the massive Abyss passage, the Void would face a vast invasion of Abyss energy. By then, the passage would be so large that even initial resistance would be difficult.
Undoubtedly, the spellcasters knew this. But why did they continue devouring natural elements? The reason was simple: their power came from this. Earlier, in the High Wall City, a hundred spellcasters had stunned the siege force that gathered 90% of the city's combat power. It wasn't a matter of being unable to fight; it was that they simply couldn't fight at all.
With such power, would the spellcasters really give it up? Or rather, dared they give it up? Having been the strongest overlords of the Void for so many years, the enemies lurking in the shadows that they couldn't eliminate were countless.
If Arcane Eternal Star showed even a hint of weakness, the first to strike wouldn't be those enemies, but major Void powers like the Demon Clan, Feather Clan, and Star Clan.
Thus, Arcane Eternal Star's stance was clear: stopping the devouring of elemental power was impossible. Even if the Abyss invaded, they wouldn't stop.
The ancestral Law Destroyers could close Abyss passages, and later this method was obtained by Arcane Eternal Star, indicating it was likely related to natural elements.
There was no such thing as unconditional friendship. The reason the Law Destroyers allied with the Silver Moon Wolves was this. The Silver Moon Wolves fought against the Abyss for generations, but they were alone. Only after allying with the Law Destroyers did they truly become Abyss wardens.
The Law Destroyers helped the Silver Moon Wolves close the Abyss passages they found, while the Silver Moon Wolves helped the Law Destroyers track ancient gods and enemies who devoured elements. Thus, the alliance was formalized.
However, initially, the ancestral Law Destroyers didn't have good intentions. When they first saw the Silver Moon Wolves, their first thought was, "This big dog can be ridden." Later, they didn't ride them because the Silver Moon Wolves would be very unhappy when ridden. If slightly displeased, they would turn their heads and bite the Law Destroyer on the back, specifically targeting the calf, biting down to the bone. It was especially vicious.
If you looked at the calves of the first few generations of Law Destroyers, they were basically covered in Silver Moon Wolf bite marks. Only then did they dare not ride them; they really got bitten. After long-term cooperation, they finally signed a blood oath.
Now, the Wolf Cavalry a dozen meters in front of Su Xiao had inherited the power of the Silver Moon Wolf, even the wolf blood. This was why Su Xiao's subordinate, Lady Marina, had a trace of wolf blood in her.
If the Saint Choir was established to fight the Dead Silence, then the Wolf Cavalry was established to guard the Abyss passage here. That's right, the large tomb behind this Wolf Cavalry was a cover. The sealed Abyss passage inside was the key. Without a complete method to close the Abyss passage, the surrounding area had become like this.
Behind, at the entrance of the circular wall, Gulu saw Su Xiao had reached the Wolf Tomb. She stepped inside. The moment she entered, the Wolf Cavalry beneath the stone tablet opened his eyes.
Threads of black smoke drifted from this Wolf Cavalry. As he stood up from the ground, he grasped the greatsword with one hand.
"Roar!!"
The Wolf Cavalry let out a beast-like roar. His nearly two-meter-tall figure had his tattered cape flying behind him. Fortunately, this Wolf Cavalry captain had no sanity.
The Saint Choir and Wolf Cavalry were equally famous because of their similar status within the Holy Healing Church, not because of similar overall strength. The Wolf Cavalry usually had 15 members, with one captain.
In a one-on-one fight, the Wolf Cavalry captain could easily defeat any Saint Choir member. Only when the thirty members of the Saint Choir merged into one could they compete with the captain.
Now, the other members had perished, leaving only the captain. Compared to other powerhouses in the Dead Silence City, he was not only eroded by the Dead Silence but also constantly invaded by the Abyss.
At the entrance of the circular wall, Gulu looked at the Wolf Cavalry captain before the stone tablet. She felt her heartbeat slow down, and her scalp went completely numb. The last time she felt this way was when she went to the Abyss Dragon Depths in the Void.
Pfft!
Blood splattered. Gulu only felt a chill in her chest and abdomen, followed by corrosive pain. Not only that, her body uncontrollably rose.
The Wolf Cavalry captain, who had been before the stone tablet, was now in front of Gulu. He held the greatsword with one hand, piercing through Gulu's abdomen and lifting her with it.
This wasn't because Gulu was unlucky. Due to the blood oath between the Law Destroyers and the Silver Moon Wolves, although the Wolf Cavalry captain had lost his sanity to the Abyss invasion, in his perception, Su Xiao wasn't entirely an enemy.
This was why Su Xiao had been able to approach within a dozen meters of the Wolf Cavalry without incident, while Gulu, who had just stepped into the circular wall's range, had alarmed the Wolf Cavalry.
"Cough, cough~"
Gulu felt weak all over, blood dripping from her chin. She had a feeling she was about to die here. Being nearly one-shotted at the start of battle gave her an unreal feeling.
Just as Gulu was about to use a life-saving measure, an irresistible force struck. The Wolf Cavalry thrust the greatsword toward the ground.
Boom!
The ground exploded, black-blue liquid splattering everywhere. Among it, Gulu's body became semi-transparent, and the necklace around her neck quickly shattered.
Gulu landed in a half-crouch, sliding backward along the ground. She covered her side with one hand. The wound on her abdomen was severe, showing black-blue, and was still eroding outward.
"White Night, hold him off, and I'll take the chance to..."
Before Gulu could finish, she realized the empty arena now only had her and the Wolf Cavalry captain. To an outsider, it would look like she was dueling him alone.
At this moment, several images flashed through Gulu's mind. First, when they entered the Dead Silence City, Su Xiao encountered Zuiyasi, then decisively retreated into a building and closed the door. That teammate-selling was both natural and smooth.
"Esteemed... uncle, what if I said I came to pay respects to the Moon Wolf? Would you believe me?"
Gulu tried to communicate with the Wolf Cavalry. In response, the Wolf Cavalry's greatsword came.
Whoosh! The sound of breaking wind came. Gulu immediately leaped backward while attempting to conceal herself.
Bang!
The Wolf Cavalry, with his metal-armored left hand, punched the air, blasting the trying-to-hide Gulu out.
'Extreme Blade.'
While leaping backward, Gulu clasped her hands together. Over a dozen short blades hidden on her body flew out, instantly merging into a beam of strong light that stabbed toward the Wolf Cavalry's head.
Crack! The strong light suddenly extinguished. Gulu's ultimate technique was caught by the Wolf Cavalry's bare hand, then crushed with a snap.
Witnessing this, Gulu almost left this beautiful world. Those were three Immortal-rank short blades and eight Holy Spirit-rank short blades, all highly enhanced weapons.
They say ultimate moves are just scratches, but Gulu's situation was that she hadn't even scratched. Her ultimate ability was crushed barehanded by the enemy.
"Gulu, well done."
Baha appeared, black mist wafting from him. He had clearly been to a place rich in Abyss energy.
When fighting strong enemies, Su Xiao never had a habit of selling out teammates. He had just used Baha's alternate space to enter the tall tomb at the center of the arena.
Su Xiao had never dealt with a Wolf Cavalry eroded by the Abyss, but he had dealt with a Moon Wolf eroded by it. Plus, in the previous world, his deadly battle with the Nether Emperor, who was also a powerhouse eroded by the Abyss.
When fighting Abyss powerhouses, the first point was to cut off their connection to the Abyss passage. Otherwise, they truly couldn't be killed.
Earlier, after entering the underground tomb, Su Xiao saw the sealed Abyss passage. His solution was to partially break the seal from the outside and throw the "Primordial Mask" inside.
For the "Primordial Mask," Abyss energy was its most desired thing. It would absorb large amounts of Abyss energy, naturally cutting off the connection between the Abyss passage and the Wolf Cavalry captain.
How the Wolf Cavalry of centuries ago tested Chosen Ones, Su Xiao didn't know. But the current Wolf Cavalry captain was definitely not a trial for Chosen Ones. Having lost his sanity, he would kill every living thing in sight.
Su Xiao had confirmed one thing: this battle wouldn't last long. It would end within ten minutes, or this would be his grave. The enemy's attack power was ridiculously unreasonable.
Earlier, the Wolf Cavalry's sword strike, hitting a secondary vital point, had blown up three of Gulu's life-saving rings. Although the assassin's physique wasn't great, one-shotting Gulu two and a half times was too exaggerated. Otherwise, Gulu wouldn't have been scared into saying, "I came to pay respects to the Moon Wolf."
Although he couldn't detect the enemy's data, Su Xiao was basically sure that the enemy's development was similar to his: stacking passives, with active abilities basically being charge + ultimate.
Su Xiao raised his hand to signal Gulu, who was diagonally behind him, to retreat. She could find an opportunity later; no need to fight head-on.
Seeing this, Gulu, whose heart was bleeding, took out backup weapons and entered concealment.
Su Xiao's longsword pointed diagonally at the ground. He stared at the enemy before him. The death perception coming at him, along with the pressure from the enemy's sword edge, made Su Xiao feel his blood gradually boiling. He unbuttoned his long coat.
Even though the Wild Hunt Night was an Immortal-rank +10 defensive equipment, under the Wolf Cavalry's sword, an Immortal-rank leather armor was just a layer of paper. +10 enhancement was like folding paper.
Throwing the Wild Hunt Night aside, Su Xiao walked step by step toward the Wolf Cavalry. But in the next instant, he felt a black-blue pressure coming at him, as if thousands of starving wolf souls were charging.
Pfft!
Blood wounds suddenly appeared all over Su Xiao, as if cut by an invisible sword a dozen times. His health dropped sharply.
A faint sound of breaking wind came. Su Xiao raised his sword to block. Clang! The captain's greatsword, eroded by the Abyss, struck down.
Dark shockwaves spread outward. Gulu, in concealment, saw her health suddenly drop a small chunk. She was dumbfounded. This was just the shockwave from the Wolf Cavalry's slash. If she took that sword head-on...
Boom!!
The gray rock ground beneath Su Xiao cracked, the fissures spreading a hundred meters around him. His longsword clashed with the descending Wolf Sword, the blade and edge grinding against each other, making a scraping sound.
Su Xiao held the sword handle with his right hand, his crystal-layer-wrapped left hand pressing against the sword's spine. His arms began to go numb. Blocking the Wolf Cavalry head-on was harder than blocking the Old Knight's Overlord Sword.
With a rumble, Su Xiao was sent flying by the subsequent force of the Wolf Cavalry's sword momentum. Wolf Sword Art was like this: when attacking groups, it was sharp and agile; when facing a single enemy, it was like a cornered beast, not retreating a step but cutting the enemy back.
Clang! Clang!
Su Xiao blocked repeatedly. By the second block, the force from the greatsword traveled through his arms, assaulting his internal organs, nearly sending him flying again.
Wolf Sword Art was unpretentious but incredibly powerful. It was a simple and pure strength. More terrifyingly, Wolf Sword Art grew stronger with each slash. If the first slash had a power of 10, the second reached at least 13 to 15, the third broke 20, and by the fourth...
Su Xiao lowered his stance. The greatsword cut through space, leaving a black mark above him. Then the Wolf Cavalry swung his arm back and slashed.
Boom!!
The sword edge almost brushed past Su Xiao's shoulder, cutting into the ground beside him. He prepared to side-kick the greatsword away, but the Wolf Cavalry turned the sword's edge toward Su Xiao's incoming foot.
Not only that, but the Wolf Cavalry had a follow-up move. He gripped the sword with both hands and lifted it.
Zheng~
The greatsword slashed past Su Xiao's face. Such simple sword techniques, yet their lethality was anything but low.
The fifth slash missed. The Wolf Cavalry flipped the greatsword, holding it in reverse, and stabbed it into the ground.
Boom! A black pillar of light erupted from beneath Su Xiao. He leaped sideways to evade, but his left arm was still caught by the black light. The flesh on his left arm instantly became riddled with holes, exposing the bone.
Crackling~
Crystal layer spread over Su Xiao's left arm. Banishment and Spirit Shadow Thread merged into it, using crystal to fill the missing flesh.
Mid-leap, Su Xiao raised his left hand, pointing at the charging Wolf Cavalry. But the next moment, the Wolf Cavalry disappeared and appeared behind him. This feeling was too familiar. The Wolf Cavalry also had space-penetrating abilities.
Swish! The greatsword slashed through Su Xiao's neck. He had already entered Space Penetration, successfully evading the fatal blow.
The moment Su Xiao landed, blue light shone from the center of his eyes.
'Blade Path Sword: Extreme.'
Clang!!
The longsword and greatsword clashed. Shockwaves spread. The next moment, the entire ground of the empty arena exploded. Moreover, the strong impact from the clash shattered the surrounding circular wall, sending bone fragments scattering like flower petals.
Among this was Gulu, who had a few blood wounds and tears in her eyes. She wasn't scared or sad; those wouldn't bring her to tears. She was too frustrated. Just by hiding at the edge looking for an opportunity, she had nearly died.
What frustrated her more was that the two fighting at the center of the arena weren't using recovery items, but she, at the edge looking for an opportunity, had already gulped down several potions.
Blood Qi and darkness erupted simultaneously, eroding each other and shattering the surrounding buildings.
When everything settled, blood dripped from the tip of the Dragon-Slaying Flash. It was Su Xiao's own blood. He charged a few steps to the front of the Wolf Cavalry and slashed down heavily.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Su Xiao struck down blow after blow. He temporarily changed his combat style, adopting a stance of immovable as a mountain, swift as thunder, repeatedly cutting the Wolf Cavalry back. Although with each slash, the cracks on his right arm deepened, and more blood flowed.
After a dozen slashes, when the Wolf Cavalry had retreated two steps, Su Xiao's entire right arm was stained red with his own blood. He had found the method to counter Wolf Sword Art: maintain constant pressure. If he let the enemy build momentum, the enemy would enter full Overlord Slash + ridiculously strong cutting power.
When fighting the Old Knight before, the Old Knight would enter Overlord Slash after attacking. The Wolf Cavalry was different. His first two slashes didn't have the Overlord Slash effect. By the third slash, he entered a state similar to the Old Knight's Overlord Slash. By the fourth slash, he entered a sustained strong Overlord state.
Clang! Sparks flew. The Wolf Cavalry captain raised his sword to block Su Xiao's heavy slash. Su Xiao knew the situation was bad.
The moment the Wolf Cavalry blocked Su Xiao's heavy slash, his momentum surged.
Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang...
Su Xiao blocked repeatedly. The weapons clashed, sparks flying. He was pushed back, his feet plowing through rubble.
The Wolf Cavalry slashed so many times that his greatsword began to emit black smoke. He gave off an unstoppable aura, as if nothing could repel him.
Crystal layer spread over Su Xiao's calves and feet. Facing the slashing Wolf Cavalry, he delivered a straight kick.
Thud!!
An air blast spread. Su Xiao's kick landed on the Wolf Cavalry's abdomen. But the Wolf Cavalry, now in a strong Overlord state, didn't retreat a step. The ground behind him exploded, a fan-shaped trench blasted by the penetrating force, bottomless.
After this kick, Su Xiao used the recoil to leap backward. He didn't rely on the crystal layer on his calves. The shinbone had cracked, and he needed the crystal layer to prevent further cracking.
'Blood Smoke Cannon.'
A straight beam of Blood Qi shot out. The charging Wolf Cavalry, as if foreseeing it, tilted his head to barely dodge while swinging his sword back.
Pfft.
Baha was cleaved in two. Although it looked gruesome, only one wing was cut off, along with a small part of his torso.
Baha disappeared using space ability. He didn't retreat but appeared before the Wolf Cavalry, his eagle claws aiming for the Wolf Cavalry's throat.
Sizzle! Baha's claws tore through the metal scales, leaving three deep wounds on the Wolf Cavalry's neck. But this was his last attack. The sword strike he had taken, though not fatal, had brought him close to death.
Black smoke gathered on the Wolf Cavalry's hand, about to grab Baha. Just as Baha prepared to teleport away, the space around him twisted, causing his space jump to fail.
Pfft.
The longsword pierced through the Wolf Cavalry's arm, entering from behind the elbow and exiting through the palm. The only chance in this battle was that the Wolf Cavalry's defense wasn't extremely abnormal.
Baha fell freely. Before hitting the ground, he disappeared. Bubu Wang had risked coming to rescue.
If observed closely, the Dragon-Slaying Flash in Su Xiao's hand had a crimson blade, covered in high-concentration Blood Qi.
'Blade Path Sword: Blood Explosion.'
Red light shone in Su Xiao's eyes. A loud explosion rang out. The Dragon-Slaying Flash, piercing the Wolf Cavalry's arm, detonated, blowing the entire left arm to pieces.
Su Xiao used the shockwave of the Blood Explosion to leap backward. Although this 'Blade Path Sword: Blood Explosion' was incredibly powerful, it was also very damaging to the sword. He could only use it about twice per world. After that, he would go back to Lide for maintenance. If used more than twice in a single world, the Dragon-Slaying Flash's durability would permanently drop, along with other reductions.
Drip, drip~
Blood dripped from Su Xiao's chin. His breathing became rapid, and his vision blurred.
Suddenly, a wolf howl echoed in Su Xiao's ears. After this almost hallucinatory sound, he felt an unprecedented sense of danger. The next moment, the Wolf Cavalry appeared before him. The greatsword in his hand emitted black-blue smoke.
This ability felt too much like Demon Blade, but with some differences. It was certain that this was a killing technique.
Su Xiao's perception field fully opened. His concentration grew more intense. But at that moment, he felt something squeeze in front of him. It was Gulu, suddenly appearing.
Gulu appeared like this, her back less than 10 centimeters from Su Xiao's chest. In this situation, she wasn't Su Xiao's shield but obstructed his counterattack stance.
Gulu extended one hand forward. Golden light bloomed from her palm. The incoming sword pressure blew her hair back. She used the Origin-rank item given to her by the Tuanzhang. Almost simultaneously, golden patterns appeared on herself, Su Xiao, Bubu Wang, and Baha. This was the precious aspect of this item: it greatly reduced damage to marked units, with higher reduction the farther the distance.
As for why the Tuanzhang didn't give this item directly to Su Xiao, he had intended to, but due to the requirement of Lv.75 or above Reincarnation Paradise brand level and a Charm attribute of at least 10 points, the Tuanzhang had Gulu use it instead.
The greatsword, emitting black-blue smoke, clashed with the golden light. Then came a brief silence, only the light intensifying, followed by a deafening roar.
When everything settled, if viewed from above, a crater several kilometers in diameter could be seen. Inside the crater, a twisted black hole hung in midair, covered in large light patterns.
"Cough, cough~. He should be dead this time, right?"
Gulu lay in the crater, not wanting to move a single finger. Her whole body ached. But as soon as she spoke, a hundred meters away, the Wolf Cavalry captain stood up from the rubble, black smoke spreading from him.
"You've got to be kidding me."
Gulu struggled to get up but failed. She could only crawl backward, leaving a trail of blood.
Clack, clack.
The Wolf Cavalry's footsteps grew closer. Gulu felt a sense of "my time is up," but she didn't give up, crawling away from the Wolf Cavalry.
Actually, Gulu had mistaken who it was. The footsteps behind her earlier were from Su Xiao. It was understandable; she was in a severe near-death state.
"..."
Su Xiao stopped in front of Gulu. Gulu looked up, seeing Su Xiao covered in blood, stuffing his liver back into his chest with his bare hands.
In Su Xiao's view, Gulu's behavior was baffling. Instead of crawling away, she was crawling toward the direction the Wolf Cavalry was coming from.
Su Xiao pulled the Spirit Shadow Thread tight, stitching the wound on the side of his chest. Everything looked blurry now. The approaching Wolf Cavalry was just a vague figure, but that was enough.
Su Xiao walked forward. When he felt his balance improve, he charged a few steps to the front of the Wolf Cavalry and slashed down by instinct. As for perception, don't joke; with his current injuries, perception was practically nonexistent.
'Blade Path Sword: Extreme.'
Clang!
The longsword and greatsword clashed. Both Su Xiao and the Wolf Cavalry captain staggered back a few steps.
Su Xiao felt his chest churning. He couldn't help but spit out a large mouthful of blood. After spitting it out, he noticed many black energy threads in the blood on the ground. This meant he was being eroded by Abyss energy. No wonder his condition was so bad, unable even to release perception.
Su Xiao's condition was bad, but the Wolf Cavalry wasn't much better. Black blood dripped from the air holes of his helmet. The Wolf Sword in his hand was riddled with holes, almost like a sword-shaped saw.
"Huff, huff..."
After a few heavy breaths, Su Xiao stepped forward and stabbed his longsword into the Wolf Cavalry captain's chest. Almost simultaneously, he felt a numbness in his chest and abdomen, then the right half of his body went numb. With his remaining strength, he punched with his left fist, pushing the Wolf Cavalry back while staggering back himself.
A strange scene appeared. Su Xiao had the Wolf Greatsword stuck in his chest and abdomen, while the Wolf Cavalry had the Dragon-Slaying Flash piercing his chest.
Almost simultaneously, Su Xiao and the Wolf Cavalry each grabbed the handle of the other's weapon. Then Su Xiao fell to the ground with a thud, black mist spreading from him. The Wolf Cavalry, with blue arcs of electricity surging over him, also fell with a thud.
Su Xiao propped himself up with one hand. He felt dizzy, his vision reduced to a slit. He cleared his mind, forming crystal layer on his abdomen while using crystal to push against the Wolf Greatsword's guard, forcing it out of his abdomen.
It took over ten seconds for Su Xiao to accomplish what he could easily do before. After the Wolf Greatsword was pushed out, he used his recovered strength to prop himself up, pried the Source Stone from the end of the sword handle, and kicked the Wolf Greatsword far away.
"Huff, huff..."
Su Xiao's vision cleared slightly, like looking through frosted glass. He squinted, pointing his index finger at the Wolf Cavalry a few dozen meters away.
'Blood Smoke Cannon.'
A straight beam of Blood Qi shot out. He didn't know if it hit, but the explosion in the distance was quite loud.
Su Xiao crouched for two seconds to rest, then pointed at the Wolf Cavalry again.
'Blood Smoke Cannon.'
The Blood Qi beam shot out. This time, Su Xiao saw the Wolf Cavalry fall over.
Resting a few more seconds, Su Xiao raised his hand. The Dragon-Slaying Flash flew to him. He grasped it, took out a potion, and drank it. The recovery effect was poor, less than 0.2% health per second. His injuries were too severe. This wasn't a game where a potion could restore health as long as he wasn't dead. When the body's injuries reached a certain level, recovery became extremely poor.
Walking and stopping, it took Su Xiao half a minute to get within a few meters of the Wolf Cavalry. He wanted to slash a 'Blade Path Sword: Flow,' but he could clearly feel that his current body couldn't use such sword techniques.
'Blade Path Sword: Azure Demon.'
Su Xiao slashed out Azure Demon. The blue-green blade light struck the Wolf Cavalry, sending armor fragments flying. The Wolf Cavalry didn't move.
Su Xiao rested another five or six seconds before approaching the Wolf Cavalry. Holding the sword in reverse, he stabbed down toward the Wolf Cavalry's head.
Crack!
The Wolf Cavalry suddenly raised his hand, grabbing the Dragon-Slaying Flash. Space fluctuations appeared. Half-dead Baha clawed at the Wolf Cavalry's arm. Bubu Wang bit toward the Wolf Cavalry.
Bang! Bubu Wang was punched away. Although the Wolf Cavalry was at his last gasp, the punch sent Bubu Wang flying, leaving a trail of blood in the air.
"Die!"
Gulu, crawling over, stabbed down with a dagger in reverse. But in her near-death state, the dagger missed the Wolf Cavalry's ear, stabbing into the rock layer beside it. The scene was both comical and tragic.
"Damn it."
Gulu gritted her teeth, trying to pull out the dagger. What was usually effortless now took all her strength, making her vision go black, yet she couldn't do it.
Crackling~
The Wolf Cavalry held the Dragon-Slaying Flash with one hand. Su Xiao pressed his other hand on the end of the sword handle, using all his remaining strength to push down.
Pfft.
The longsword pierced through the Wolf Cavalry captain's head. His hand holding the sword weakened, eventually falling and hitting the ground.
Su Xiao's world tilted to one side, and he finally collapsed completely. Everything went black, and he fell unconscious with a thud.
"Bubu, retreat."
Baha dragged Gulu toward Su Xiao. Limping, Bubu Wang ran over, carrying Su Xiao and Gulu before entering the alternate space Baha opened.
Only the Wolf Cavalry captain's corpse remained in the crater. He lay there, the Wolf Greatsword stuck beside him.
A wind blew. The Wolf Cavalry's cape, cut off by Su Xiao, was lifted and hung on the Wolf Greatsword's handle. The emblem on it made it look like the former battle flag of the Wolf Cavalry.
The last Wolf Cavalry had been slain.
PS (Update is late, but today's update is ten thousand words. Good night, dear readers.)