Chapter 38: Survivability
Su Xiao lay on the battlefield, surrounded by soldiers locked in mutual slaughter.
The war drums grew increasingly urgent. The Imperial Army's advantage became clear as they drove the tribal forces down the stone slope.
Within the Imperial soldiers' ranks, several hundred black-armored soldiers stood out conspicuously. They gathered together, forming a human wall within the crowd.
"Cough, cough, cough..."
Dry coughing came from within the human wall. Legion Commander Carlos sat on a corpse. With each cough, blood gushed from his mouth.
Beneath Carlos sat a troll corpse. This troll had blue skin all over, and even in death, it radiated a chilling cold.
This troll was the chieftain of the troll clan in the Black Earth War Zone. Enemies called him the Troll Sage, while acquaintances called him Frost.
"Amster, you sure ran fast."
Carlos pressed one hand against the bloody hole in his abdomen. The wound looked as if it had been gouged by a bull's horn.
Ten minutes ago, the Minotaur Amster, together with Frost Troll, had engaged Carlos. The result was one dead and two wounded. Amster had fled after having one of his horns severed.
"Are you alright?"
A female voice came from beside Carlos. It was an invisible Night Elf.
"I'm fine. Those two think they can kill me? In the Black Earth War Zone, unless Bert Dorn himself comes, no one else can take my life."
Carlos picked up the horn from the ground.
"This thing isn't bad. I remember your father has a grudge against Amster. After the war ends, give this to your father."
Carlos stuffed the half-severed horn into his chest pocket, then pulled out a glass bottle. He looked toward the empty air beside him, where an invisible Night Elf stood.
"That Goblin runt really knows how to scheme. Going through all that trouble to deliver this bottle of alchemical potion into your hands. Maybe he was waiting for me to drink it when I was injured. No wonder the Troll Sage and Amster dared to come kill me."
The potion in Carlos's hand slipped and fell to the ground. As it landed, Carlos's war boot stomped down with a crack, crushing it.
"That was very expensive. Even if it's unusable, it could have been sold back to the Tribal Alliance. Most methods can't detect anything wrong with that potion."
The Night Elf spoke, a hint of reproach in her tone.
"This came from Douglas? No wonder. His childhood sweetheart was taken by another man. Wanting to poison the other party is only natural."
Carlos's eyelids drooped as he stared blankly at the potion seeping into the soil.
"Douglas is dead."
The female Night Elf spoke.
"What?"
Carlos was somewhat surprised.
"He died by my hand. And he was never my childhood sweetheart. That was just his own delusion. All Night Elf children grow up together. By his logic, I'd have at least a hundred childhood sweethearts."
The female Night Elf, the Night Elf Princess, her voice turned icy.
"Truly ruthless."
Carlos seemed to understand the saying "the most venomous is a woman's heart." The rumors were right—he did have an affair with the Night Elf Princess.
"Darling, do you have a problem with that?"
The Night Elf Princess's voice was gentle, but Carlos felt no warmth.
"Let's not discuss this now. The battle situation is excellent. Soon the tribal forces will collapse. We need to prepare for pursuit, at least drive them far from the Black Earth Fortress."
Carlos stood up and pulled his knight sword from the soil where it was embedded. The sword was at least a palm-width wide, very heavy, with a sharp edge perfect for cleaving enemies.
The once pristine blade of the knight sword was slightly reddened. This color came from prolonged cleaving of enemies. When the sword was driven forcefully into enemy bodies, day after day, blood would seep into the blade from repeated impacts. Over time, this created a blade that was both gleaming bright and faintly red.
If Carlos died in battle and someone else used this sword, if that user's willpower wasn't strong enough, they might have their mind affected by the blood energy within. After all, Carlos had used this sword to kill enemies for nearly twenty years. Countless tribal soldiers had died beneath this blade.
"Occupying our Black Earth Fortress—now you'll taste what it's like to be invaded."
Carlos looked toward the rear of the battlefield. From a great distance, he could see his vice officer commanding the battle from a high vantage point.
"Rona is good. Very suitable to succeed the position of Legion Commander."
Carlos's words were shocking. He had only been Legion Commander for a few days, yet he was already considering the issue of succession.
"Can you... no longer suppress it?"
The Night Elf Princess's voice choked with emotion.
"Don't you dare cry!"
Carlos roared in a low voice. A blood-red light flickered in his right eye. At this moment, Carlos was like a demon from hell.
"Remember, even if I die, don't cry in front of my corpse."
The red light in Carlos's right eye faded, and his aura returned to normal. He turned and walked toward the rear of the Imperial Army.
Drip, drop, drip, drop...
Crystal-clear teardrops fell. The Night Elf Princess was full of tears. She stared blankly at Carlos's retreating figure. This powerful man she loved was going to die. He had at most three months to live.
"There must be a way. There must be."
The Night Elf Princess's red lips pressed together. Her beautiful appearance concealed her ruthlessness. Sometimes, when women go crazy, they become terrifying creatures.
"Within two months, if that half-breed Goblin can't come up with a solution, I'll dismember him and bury the pieces."
Nicolas Caesar, who was at the rear of the Imperial Army, had no idea that a woman had set her sights on him. If he couldn't find a way to cure Carlos, this soon-to-be-widowed female elf would go mad.
Female Night Elves had a trait: once they found the one they loved, there was no such thing as breaking up. In the cognition of female Night Elves, there was only widowhood, not separation. Beautiful flowers often have thorns. Female Night Elves were even more ruthless—they came with a lifelong "binding" function. Want to unbind? Fine, go die. Once you're dead, you're unbound.
...
Su Xiao stood up from among the dense crowd of soldiers. He was now surrounded by Imperial soldiers charging forward. There was no longer any need to play dead.
He looked down at the wound on his chest. After suffering a severe penetrating injury, the regenerative power of Potion No. 1 manifested. The arm-thick bloody hole had stopped bleeding. A thin layer of flesh covered the hole, and it seemed it would mostly recover in no time.
As for the internal organ injuries, Potion No. 1's effect on restoring internal organs far exceeded its effect on muscles and bones. Su Xiao's liver, which had been pierced through more than half, had already begun to heal.
Su Xiao took a deep breath. There was still a faint pain in his chest cavity, but fortunately, it was no longer serious. This was the benefit of strong survivability.
If comparing survivability, Su Xiao's survivability was no weaker than the main tank of an adventure group. Although he didn't equip a shield, he had a Counter Shield.
In terms of Stamina attribute, Su Xiao wasn't much lower than those main tanks. As for Health Points quantity, although Health Points were digitized as percentages, through calculations and summaries by many contractors, there was a rough way to calculate Health Points.
Generally, 1 point of Stamina attribute could increase Health Points by about 10 to 13 points. When comparing Health Points, Su Xiao might be higher than most main tanks.
The Spirit Shadow Constitution skill caused a change in how Su Xiao stored Mana Points. Most contractors stored their Mana Points in their brains. Su Xiao was different—his Mana Points were stored in various body tissues like blood, muscles, and bones.
This special way of storing Mana Points caused his Mana Points to have a nourishing effect on his Health Points. The Spirit Shadow Constitution skill greatly increased Su Xiao's Health Points, with the increase being 30% of his total Mana Points.
Su Xiao's current Mana Points cap was 2610 points, which increased his Health Points by a full 783 points. With such a quantity of Health Points, as long as he wasn't hit in a vital spot, even if his chest was pierced through, or even if he was cut in half, he could hold on for a long time.
Confronting enemies head-on was Su Xiao's consistent fighting style, which required strong survivability to support.
The benefit of strong survivability was evident at this moment. After resting for a while, Su Xiao had already recovered some combat capability. If Lanjue knew about Su Xiao's current situation, he would definitely roll his eyes in anger.
PS: (Went drinking with friends, got a bit dizzy. Although I had already written before going out, I need to revise and check carefully before uploading. This state is clearly not suitable. One chapter today, definitely five chapters tomorrow. Dear readers, consider today's as two chapters saved up. I really don't want to revise and check chapters in this state.)