Chapter 34: Formidable Enemy
Lan Jue drew two energy guns from the holsters on his waist. These two energy guns resembled pistols, but their barrels were slightly longer.
Blue light patterns ran across the two energy guns, clearly indicating they were no ordinary items.
Lan Jue held both guns, but instead of aiming at Su Xiao, he pointed them at the ground between them.
"What's underground? Snakes? No, some kind of bomb. Not a bad tactic."
Lan Jue pulled the triggers. Two spherical energy projectiles left the muzzles. The energy projectiles were extremely fast and continuously expanded in size. By the time they had flown over ten meters, they had grown to the size of basketballs, becoming two plasma orbs.
Bang. Bang.
The two plasma orbs struck the ground and exploded. Mud splattered, and a crater about three meters in diameter was blasted into the earth. Blue plasma spread across the surface.
Boom!
Another explosion sounded from underground. A dazzling burst of flames surged up. Judging by the appearance of the flames, it looked very much like Su Xiao's special-grade alchemy bombs.
A stone blown away by the explosion whizzed past Su Xiao's ear. He had originally planned to use an alchemy bomb to detonate the mechanical bees near Lan Jue, but now it seemed that method wouldn't work. Lan Jue's perception was very strong.
"Not charging in? You're a melee fighter."
Lan Jue spoke with a provocative tone, his energy guns aimed at Su Xiao.
Su Xiao wasn't about to rush in recklessly. Now wasn't the right time to charge forward. Beneath the soil at Lan Jue's feet, at least a hundred unknown summoned creatures were lurking. Moreover, several hundred explosive mechanical bees were hovering around Lan Jue.
But if he couldn't engage in melee combat and had to rely on ranged abilities for an exchange of fire, Su Xiao might not be a match for Lan Jue, after all, the latter specialized in long-range combat.
Since the battle had already begun, Lan Jue naturally wouldn't hold back. His fingers continuously pulled the triggers.
Bang, bang, bang...
Basketball-sized plasma orbs flew toward Su Xiao. These plasma orbs were no slower than ordinary sniper rifle bullets.
Although the plasma orbs were fast, Su Xiao was even faster. While the plasma orbs were still in flight, he had already sidestepped.
Watching Su Xiao leap sideways, Lan Jue didn't stop firing. Instead, he aimed his guns at the sky and pulled the triggers repeatedly.
Bang, bang, bang...
Over a dozen plasma orbs shot into the air. The energy in Lan Jue's guns was depleted.
"Command: Rapid."
An invisible wave spread out from Lan Jue. When this wave touched the mechanical bees, the red light in their compound eyes became more pronounced.
Buzz~
Several hundred mechanical bees flew toward Su Xiao. Their flight speed was at least several times faster than before.
A large swarm of mechanical bees flew at Su Xiao. To make matters worse, the plasma orbs Lan Jue had fired earlier had a tracking function.
In front of Su Xiao were several hundred rapidly approaching mechanical bees. On his flanks were 14 plasma orbs. Above him, 16 plasma orbs were arcing down in a parabolic trajectory.
Su Xiao took out three special-grade alchemy bombs and tossed them into the swarm of mechanical bees, detonating them simultaneously.
Boom!
The power of three special-grade alchemy bombs exploding at once was predictable. A large swath of flames engulfed the mechanical bees, detonating these already explosive creatures.
The dense explosions merged into a continuous roar, like firecrackers set off during the New Year. Just as Su Xiao dealt with the swarm of mechanical bees, the plasma orbs from his flanks and above flew in.
A 80-point strength energy shield appeared beside Su Xiao. He wanted to test the power of these plasma orbs.
Severing the energy link with the shield, Su Xiao pushed his palm forward, sending the energy shield horizontally toward the plasma orbs on his flank.
Bang!
The energy shield collided with one of the plasma orbs. The orb exploded, turning into a large amount of plasma that enveloped the shield. The 80-point strength energy shield gradually shattered.
Not only that, but the plasma drifted in the air, releasing a large amount of electric current.
Su Xiao was surprised to find that the attack power of these plasma orbs wasn't too strong. Lan Jue had fired a total of 30 plasma orbs. If he used his counter shield to withstand them, he should be able to endure the remaining 29.
Even so, Su Xiao didn't plan to tank the plasma orbs. The true function of the plasma orbs might not be attack, but rather releasing a strong electric current to paralyze the enemy. This was a highly controlling ability that could track enemies, making it very troublesome.
Fortunately, after the plasma orbs left their linear ballistic trajectory, their flight speed slowed somewhat while tracking enemies. With Su Xiao's speed, he could completely shake them off.
Su Xiao charged straight at Lan Jue. He had a feeling that the mechanical summons underground weren't very active, as if they were still in the activation phase.
Lan Jue stood his ground, showing no intention of dodging. Instead, he snapped his fingers.
With a snap, as Lan Jue snapped his fingers, several hundred mechanical fireflies appeared beside him.
These fireflies circled around Lan Jue, forming a web of light around him. Eventually, the hundreds of fireflies froze in midair, with light connecting them. Four layers of fluorescent shields formed around Lan Jue.
"Command: Guard."
The moment Lan Jue finished speaking, Su Xiao had already charged to within a few meters of him.
The four fluorescent shields formed by the fireflies flickered, becoming thicker and more solid.
Su Xiao raised his long blade high. He had only a short window to attack Lan Jue, as the 29 plasma orbs behind him were closing in.
The long blade tore through the air. The Azure Steel Shadow energy on the blade was activated to its peak.
The blade struck the fluorescent shield.
Zzzt!
Sparks flew high. Dragon-Slaying Flash directly shattered the first layer of the fluorescent shield and then slashed into the second layer.
Bang!
Like a flashbang exploding, the second layer of the fluorescent shield shattered. Su Xiao's vision went completely white, and a burning sensation hit his eyes. But his slash didn't stop.
Whoosh!
A high-pitched sound wave struck him. This was the effect triggered when the third layer of the fluorescent shield broke.
Crack.
The fourth layer of the shield was cut through. Although Su Xiao couldn't see or hear, he knew that Dragon-Slaying Flash's attack trajectory was correct.
Lan Jue's mouth twitched. Although he had anticipated that Su Xiao's melee combat ability was strong, it still exceeded his expectations.
"Command: Substitution."
The long blade fell, cutting through many small creatures.
Boom!
The shockwave of an explosion hit Su Xiao. Protected by his counter shield, he was only knocked back.
Su Xiao's vision gradually recovered, and the ringing in his ears faded. The moment he recovered, he leaped to the side.
Whoosh~
Over twenty plasma orbs flew past Su Xiao. The tracking ability of these things was disgustingly persistent. Wherever Su Xiao went, these plasma orbs followed.
With his vision restored, Su Xiao looked around and found that Lan Jue was already several dozen meters away.
A piece of Lan Jue's leather jacket was torn at the shoulder, revealing a very shallow scratch on his skin. At that moment, Lan Jue's brow twitched, clearly affected by the erosion of the Azure Steel Shadow ability.
The Azure Steel Shadow ability was just that domineering. As long as Su Xiao injured the enemy, even if it was just a scratch, the Azure Steel Shadow energy would take the opportunity to invade the enemy's body.
After taking a hit from Su Xiao, Lan Jue had 160 mana points devoured by the Azure Steel Shadow energy and suffered 240 points of true damage. Moreover, his body felt somewhat stiff, which was the soul electrocution effect of the Azure Steel Shadow being triggered. He had been paralyzed for 0.7 seconds.
If Lan Jue hadn't swapped positions with a mechanical summon the moment he was hit, once Su Xiao recovered his vision and hearing, a few more slashes would likely have kept him controlled until he was hacked to death. It would have been too frustrating to die without even using most of his abilities.
"Only a 12% chance? Was I just unlucky, or are the triggering mechanisms for the three control effects independent after being hit?"
Lan Jue had previously investigated Su Xiao's information, so he had a general understanding of the Azure Steel Shadow ability. He had detected three of Su Xiao's skills: Azure Steel Shadow, Blade Master, and Absolute Magic Resistance. Therefore, he knew about Su Xiao's melee combat ability and survivability.
Several hundred mechanical dragonflies appeared beside Lan Jue. This guy was different from ordinary summoners. Ordinary summoners summoned a few, at most a dozen. Lan Jue summoned them in the hundreds, and underground, many mechanical insect summons were still hidden.
After summoning several hundred mechanical dragonflies, Lan Jue lifted his leather jacket, revealing a metal arrow hanging on his belt.
This metal arrow was entirely black, with a sound sensor at its tail end.
"Whew~"
Lan Jue actually started whistling. As he whistled, the metal arrow broke free from its leather quiver and floated beside him, its sharp tip aimed at Su Xiao.
Lan Jue's previous attacks were just probing and collecting data on Su Xiao's movement habits and speed, which were then transmitted to this metal arrow through a neural conduction system.
After completing a series of tedious prerequisites, this metal arrow's speed was three to five times faster than Su Xiao's movement speed.
"Whew~"
The whistle sounded again. The metal arrow shot toward Su Xiao with a whoosh.
Lan Jue's abilities were very comprehensive. High stamina gave him decent survivability, and his agility attribute allowed him to handle melee combat without being as helpless as an ordinary summoner.
The plasma orbs were responsible for tracking, harassment, and finally discharging electricity to paralyze the enemy, making it easier for the metal arrow to pierce vital points. The mechanical summons integrated attack, defense, control, and short-distance position swapping.
Among his many abilities, the metal arrow was Lan Jue's main attack method. It also fell under the category of summons, and its attack power and penetration were enhanced by Lan Jue's "Summoning Master" skill. Its power was extremely astonishing, and it almost completely ignored the enemy's shield-type defenses.