Chapter 26: Successful Breakthrough
Whoosh~
A whistling sound of breaking wind came from behind Su Xiao. His pupils contracted sharply. Intuition told him that turning around now would be too late.
A Counter Shield formed around Su Xiao. The moment it took shape, the bone spear struck it.
Thud!
A deafening sound spread out. Su Xiao's ears rang with a buzzing noise. A wave of air pressure expanded behind him, accompanied by an irresistible, immense force.
Su Xiao's body was launched forward at extreme speed, as if a high-speed train had slammed into his back.
Bang.
Su Xiao crashed into a room within the main offering hall. This wasn't the end; he immediately burst out from the other side of the building. Even so, his momentum didn't stop, and he continued flying forward uncontrollably.
Bang, bang...
After smashing through three buildings, Su Xiao landed in a flowerbed. Dirt and grass clippings splashed several meters high. His forward momentum finally ceased, and the flowerbed fell into dead silence.
At the gate leading from the Dharma Hall to the main offering hall area, the grudge servant leader slumped to the ground. The right half of his body was now withered and shriveled. Even so, he still ordered nearby ordinary grudge servants to help him stand, staring into the distance at the flowerbed where Su Xiao had landed.
"Sir, the intruder should be dead."
"I hope so."
The grudge servant leader stared intently at that flowerbed. He was terrified that the enemy hadn't died, because he couldn't enter the main offering hall area—that was his master's command.
"Hah!"
The honey badger paced at the broken gate, seemingly wanting to charge in and pursue Su Xiao. Just as all the grudge servants were fixated on the flowerbed, a hand reached out from within it.
Despite the full-body protection of the Counter Shield, Su Xiao was still dazed from the impact. If not for the Counter Shield's defense, his flesh and blood body absolutely couldn't have withstood that blow. That bone spear earlier could have even instantly killed a Heroic Spirit.
His back was burning with pain, and his entire skeleton felt like it was about to fall apart. Though his condition was poor, Su Xiao needed to shake off the pursuers as quickly as possible, or he would be dead for sure.
When Su Xiao stood up, preparing to delve deeper into the main offering hall area, he noticed that the grudge servants were only watching him from a distance, not a single one stepping into the main offering hall area.
Seeing this, Su Xiao immediately guessed what was going on. First, there was something in the main offering hall area that the grudge servants feared. Second, it was the grudge servant leader's command.
Su Xiao leaned toward the latter, because the honey badger's front paw had already crossed that gate, stepping into the main offering hall area.
"Sharp Tooth, what are you doing? Are you trying to..."
"Hah!"
The honey badger turned to the grudge servant leader and bared its teeth, while both front paws entered the main offering hall area.
"You..."
While the grudge servant leader and the honey badger were locked in a standoff, the ordinary grudge servants weren't idle. They used their exoskeletons to generate various throwing weapons and hurled them at Su Xiao.
The Counter Shield floating around Su Xiao clanged and clattered as it was struck. At times like this, the advantage of strong defense became apparent.
Ignoring the grudge servants, Su Xiao quickly moved deeper into the main offering hall area.
Seeing Su Xiao rapidly retreating, the honey badger, which had been pacing at the entrance, grew enraged. It recklessly charged into the main offering hall area, chasing after Su Xiao.
"So you dare defy the master's command..."
A bone spear grew from the grudge servant leader's left hand. Nearly exhausted, his entire body's muscles bulged.
The honey badger, which had been sprinting after Su Xiao, stopped and turned its head to look at the grudge servant leader.
Whoosh~
A bone spear, carrying a terrifying whistling sound, flew toward the honey badger.
Boom!
Stone fragments flew everywhere. The bone spear struck the ground beside the honey badger, blasting a large crater. Gravel scraped past the honey badger's fur.
The grudge servant leader staggered a few steps before crashing to the ground with a thud. The master's will was not to be disobeyed, but there was nothing he could do about "missing the shot."
The honey badger nodded at the grudge servant leader, then turned and charged in the direction Su Xiao had disappeared. Today, only one of it and the intruder would survive. Even God couldn't save the other—the honey badger said so.
In the central courtyard of the main offering hall area, Su Xiao arrived here and was momentarily unsure where to go. The mission information was too vague; he needed to find the exact location of the Soul Lamp on his own.
The good news was that the courtyard in the main offering hall area was eerily quiet, with no trace of enemies.
Just then, footsteps came from behind Su Xiao. He turned his head and saw that the honey badger had already caught up.
The honey badger performed a tail-whip emergency stop not far from Su Xiao, baring its full mouth of sharp teeth.
Su Xiao and the honey badger stared at each other for a few seconds, then both charged at the other simultaneously.
Based on Su Xiao's guess, the honey badger should be on the same level as the grudge servant leader. The grudge servant leader was in charge of the Great King Hall area, while the honey badger was responsible for guarding the Dharma Hall.
The Counter Shield floated beside Su Xiao. The honey badger, about the size of a leopard, had its entire body covered in exoskeleton. Its exoskeleton was different from ordinary grudge creatures—it was black and wrapped around its whole body, leaving only its eyes exposed.
Strangely, there was one piece of white exoskeleton on the honey badger: on top of its head.
Su Xiao closed in on the honey badger. Dragon-Slaying Flash slashed forward, drawing a pale golden arc in midair. This strike was extremely fast and aimed directly at the honey badger's head.
The honey badger was startled by this lightning-fast slash and quickly lowered its head.
Ding.
A piece of white exoskeleton was sliced off—the very piece on top of the honey badger's head. To make matters worse, the white fur on its head was also cut off, truly making it a "flat-top."
An ordinary honey badger, only the size of a medium dog, would dare to fight fierce animals like lions or hyenas, let alone one that had become a grudge creature.
This honey badger was not only large but also had formidable stats, at least not weaker than Su Xiao.
The long blade swept past. Though it nearly took off its head, the honey badger didn't care at all and bit straight at Su Xiao.
The Counter Shield immediately met the attack. The honey badger clamped down on the shield.
With a crack, the honey badger actually bit off a chunk of the Counter Shield. Seeing this, Su Xiao was visibly surprised.
There was no doubt that the honey badger's bite force was terrifying. A Counter Shield with 400 points of strength had been bitten through. If that landed on muscle or bone, the outcome would be disastrous.
Su Xiao became more alert. He sidestepped and began to face off against the honey badger.
The honey badger spat out the broken piece of the Counter Shield, reached up with its paw to touch its head, and realized that its iconic white fur had been shaved flat. It began to tremble with rage.
"Hah!"
The honey badger bared its teeth at Su Xiao, staring intently at Dragon-Slaying Flash.
Su Xiao didn't waste words with the honey badger. He needed to find the Soul Lamp as soon as possible to complete his talent awakening mission.
The honey badger extended its claws, pushed off the ground, and charged straight at Su Xiao.
Su Xiao took two steps back. He didn't want to be bitten by this thing—if it bit off his hand or foot, things would get troublesome.
When the honey badger was within two meters, Su Xiao made a probing slash. He planned to first force the honey badger back. If it dodged his strike, he already had the next few attacks in mind.
Just as the long blade was about to slash at the honey badger's neck, something unexpected happened. The honey badger turned its head and bit down on the blade of Dragon-Slaying Flash, intending to snap it in two. Unfortunately, Dragon-Slaying Flash, reinforced to +12, was extremely tough. Realizing this, the honey badger curled its entire body into a ball, wrapping around the blade like a sphere.
Su Xiao was stunned. What kind of move was this?
After a moment's hesitation, Su Xiao swung his blade toward the ground, intending to cut the honey badger, which was biting the sword, in half.
Boom!
Dragon-Slaying Flash smashed a large crater into the ground. When the dust settled, the honey badger was still clinging to the blade, unharmed, like a black ring wrapped around Dragon-Slaying Flash.