Chapter 30: Forbidden Zone of Life
The hexagonal energy shield revolved around Su Xiao, this move named 'Counter Shield' could last for another 4 minutes.
Given Su Xiao's current combat consumption, the Counter Shield could be activated for a total of 20 minutes. The remaining mana needed to be converted into Cyan Steel Shadow energy to empower his blade.
If he continuously empowered his blade with Cyan Steel Shadow energy, his mana would clearly be insufficient. Therefore, Su Xiao only activated Cyan Steel Shadow at necessary moments, and for most of the time, his blade carried no such enhancement.
Even so, his mana was still barely enough. As for mana recovery potions, Su Xiao had tried to purchase them before, but that depended on luck. When the Trade Market had stock, he had no money; when he had money, there was no stock—a truly frustrating situation.
Su Xiao withdrew the Cyan Steel Shadow energy clinging to his blade. Activating Cyan Steel Shadow when unable to strike the enemy was pointless.
Not far away, Feitan had hidden behind that umbrella again. He dared not attack recklessly now. Having taken two slashes from Su Xiao, nearly a tenth of his Nen energy had been devoured. If he were struck more than ten times, he would be unable to use his ultimate move, and the outcome would be decided.
Su Xiao didn't know how much Nen energy Feitan had left, but his own mana was running low.
The current situation was: whoever ran out of energy first would die. The two were evenly matched in close combat, each struggling to gain the upper hand, though Su Xiao held the advantage.
"It seems we underestimated the gangsters."
Feitan's shirt was soaked through with blood. Though his injuries weren't severe, the wounds on his abdomen and neck wouldn't stop bleeding.
Su Xiao rarely spoke during battle, so the moment Feitan opened his mouth, he charged forward.
"Tch."
Watching Su Xiao rush at him, Feitan was at a loss. Those dozens of floating energy shields were giving him a headache.
Feitan's narrow eyes narrowed further. After a moment of hesitation, he decided not to clash head-on with Su Xiao.
The situation had shifted. Earlier, Feitan had been chasing Su Xiao, with Su Xiao on the defensive. Now, Su Xiao was driving Feitan all over the place.
Clang.
Blade aura slashed through, and the sound of air explosions echoed continuously in the basement.
By now, the basement had become a forbidden zone of life. But one gangster watching from the upper floor with a gun accidentally fell through a hole in the ceiling.
"Pull me up!"
The gangster's face was pale with terror. Before the others could rescue him, he felt his arm go numb.
He instinctively raised his right hand to his face—his palm was gone, and a jet of blood sprayed out.
"Ah..."
A short scream was cut short. After a few crisp sounds of weapons clashing, the gangster was chopped into over a dozen pieces.
This horrifying scene stunned the other gangsters, who quickly moved away from the hole.
Clang!
Several blade auras spread outward—Su Xiao's missed strikes aimed at Feitan.
A female contractor recording the battle with a blue equipment flinched, the blade aura grazing just over her head, even scattering her hair.
"What the hell? I'm just recording, I'll blur the faces—that's professional ethics."
The professionally dressed female contractor hesitated, wondering whether to stay on the battlefield. It was more dangerous than she had imagined.
She often recorded other contractors' battles, but to avoid exposing too much privacy, she always blurred the footage to prevent making enemies by revealing identities.
Now she hesitated. Between obtaining a valuable battle recording and her life, she naturally chose to flee.
Not only this contractor left; others quickly exited as well. Everyone knew Feitan's ultimate move was terrifying.
Boom! Boom!
Su Xiao and Feitan clashed in a melee. Su Xiao's long blade slashed forward, and Feitan had no choice but to block.
Ding.
Due to the difference in strength, Feitan stumbled, leaving an opening in his lower stance.
Su Xiao raised his foot and kicked straight toward Feitan's chest. If the kick landed, Feitan would be severely injured, with multiple ribs broken and piercing his internal organs.
Just as the kick was about to land, Su Xiao suddenly stopped his attack, using force to push Feitan back with Dragon-Slaying Flash.
It was only an opportunity to severely wound Feitan, but he gave it up without hesitation. Was he showing mercy? Of course not.
According to the information Su Xiao had gathered, Feitan's ultimate move grew stronger the more injured he was.
Moreover, Su Xiao speculated that there were limits to how Feitan's injuries enhanced his ultimate move. For example, self-inflicted wounds wouldn't work, nor would damage from teammates.
Whether teammate damage worked was unknown, but self-harm definitely wouldn't—otherwise, Feitan wouldn't have offered himself up for Su Xiao to kick, risking death.
The two faced off a few meters apart. Feitan looked at Su Xiao with suspicion. He had deliberately left that opening, but his enemy hadn't attacked.
"Strange."
Feitan glanced at Su Xiao's blade, replaying the previous battle in his mind.
"It seems I guessed right. The reason you can devour Nen energy isn't because you hit me, but because when you wound me with that sword, a blue energy invades my body. Only slashes carry that energy, right? Attacks with limbs don't?"
Feitan muttered to himself, analyzing Su Xiao's abilities.
"No, that's not right. Since the sword can carry that ability, limbs probably can too. The key is causing wounds. Without a wound, that blue energy can't enter the body.
Also, that annoying energy shield is about to disappear. It's much fainter than before and starting to flicker. This ability doesn't last long and must consume a lot."
Feitan's analytical ability was terrifying. In just a few minutes of combat, he had roughly figured out Su Xiao's two main abilities and was formulating countermeasures.
While Feitan analyzed Su Xiao's abilities, Su Xiao was also analyzing Feitan's.
First, Feitan's endurance was considerable, suggesting his total Nen energy was vast. It was unlikely to drain it all with Cyan Steel Shadow energy.
Thus, the only way to defeat Feitan was to find an opportunity to kill him in one strike, never giving him a chance to be severely injured—he didn't want to be roasted.
Second, Feitan was too fast. This basement was a good battlefield, limiting Feitan's mobility.
But one thing to note: if Feitan unleashed his ultimate move, he had to leave immediately. This semi-enclosed environment would drastically amplify the power of Feitan's ultimate.
Both had devised strategies to kill the other, a process taking no more than 10 seconds.
"Time is running out."
Feitan took the initiative to charge at Su Xiao, surprising him. The 10-minute mark was approaching, and his Counter Shield was about to disappear. Feitan should have noticed this—dragging things out would be the best strategy.
When something was abnormal, there was a reason. Feitan's target might not be him.
Scanning his surroundings, Su Xiao saw through the hole in the ceiling the gangsters above, their faces filled with terror as they watched the battle.
Seeing the guns in their hands, Su Xiao's pupils contracted sharply.