Chapter 1217: Battle
"You didn't meet in the instance?" Xu Huo raised an eyebrow.
Players entering an instance might have lost the escape card of a ticket, but getting them to obey wasn't easy, especially since these few had no injuries and weren't a temporary team put together on the spot.
"In that case, you must have been caught with leverage outside the instance long ago." He smiled slightly. "That being the case, convincing you to reveal information about that thread-using player is probably impossible."
His words, or perhaps his smile, seemed to strike a nerve in the bald-headed player. The massive figure shot forward instantly, charging at Xu Huo just like before!
His speed was fast, but not difficult to track. Xu Huo moved back, simultaneously deploying "All Things Want to Cut Everything" at the spot where he had stood a moment earlier, waiting for the bald-headed player charging at full speed to deliver himself.
The bald-headed player had already experienced the power of the tangent line earlier, so instead of using a prop to force a confrontation, he nimbly circled around from the side, caught up to the retreating Xu Huo, leaped into the air, and punched toward his left cheek!
This attack should have been assisted by a prop. Even when they were still half a meter apart, Xu Huo could feel the heat beneath his fist!
He didn't widen the distance too much, only stepping back two paces before covering the passage with "Weighted Life."
The bald-headed player, who had been leaping, was pulled back to the ground by gravity, his fist naturally veering off course. After smashing the ground in front of Xu Huo's feet, he was pinned in place by "Light Sandwich," then hit by "Divine Slap."
But this combination only pushed him back two steps, not even breaking through his defense barrier.
"My turn!" The bald-headed player snorted after steadying himself, then suddenly raised a large shield as tall as a man. However, this shield wasn't a defense prop but an attack prop. He stepped back twice, then accelerated and hurled the shield!
The shield flew toward Xu Huo's position, emitting a mist-like barrier that instantly expanded several meters. It reached him before the shield did, pressing him against the maze wall!
At the same time, the buzz-cut player, wearing a pair of exaggerated flower-shaped gloves, pressed them against the maze wall. Ripples like water waves appeared on the previously calm maze wall, surging from all directions toward Xu Huo's position.
The barrier formed by "Inviolable Domain" first collided with the maze wall, immediately caught by the writhing plants and pulled toward the interior of the maze wall.
Pushed from the front, pulled from behind—in the blink of an eye, half of Xu Huo's body was already embedded in the maze wall. His gaze shifted from the bald-headed player in front to the buzz-cut player a bit farther away, and he used "Identity Swap" to exchange their positions.
In an instant, he moved from inside the maze wall to where the buzz-cut player had been standing, while the buzz-cut player took his place and was pressed into the maze wall!
With the person in front suddenly changing, both the bald-headed player and the buzz-cut player immediately withdrew their attacks, but the latter was still swallowed by the maze wall. The sound of plant branches breaking could be faintly heard from within, but the person didn't come out.
Seeing his companion trapped, the bald-headed player's face darkened. Instead of attacking the maze wall, he made a throat-grabbing gesture at Xu Huo from a distance, then yanked his hand back toward himself.
Xu Huo went along with the motion, and as he neared the bald-headed player, he threw out "Restraining Collar," then clasped his hands together—but the collar failed to close from both sides, because as it approached the bald-headed player's throat, the axe that suddenly appeared in his hand chopped it down!
"Did you think you were the only one with a B-grade prop!" The bald-headed player charged at Xu Huo again, wielding two giant axes in each hand, wildly smashing them against his defense barrier!
A B-grade prop wasn't enough to break through the "Inviolable Domain" barrier, but it forced Xu Huo to retreat repeatedly. Even at close range, some unexpected small props were basically useless, because the defense prop's barrier alone limited the conditions needed to use them. So he threw out "Speed Injury Ice Ball."
The "Speed Injury Ice Ball" looked like an ice bead. It could automatically bounce and attack the opponent, freezing an area of about one square meter upon impact. If it hit a person, they couldn't even thaw out for a while.
As the ice bead flew out, Xu Huo used the tangent line to lift the double axes, then drew his blade to break through the bald-headed player's defense barrier, following up with the prop "Backstab."
"Backstab" was a sneak attack prop, colorless and formless, only attacking the player from behind. So when Xu Huo kicked toward the bald-headed player's face, he instinctively stepped back, right into the prop's attack. Even through the close-fitting defense prop, a clear sound of bone cracking could be heard!
"Bang! Bang!" Two more dull thuds followed. The bald-headed player's movements were slightly hindered by the prop's sneak attack, and he was hit squarely by the ice ball, freezing both his legs!
Taking this opportunity, Xu Huo raised his long blade and slashed down toward his brow!
"Catch the blade with both hands!" The bald-headed player couldn't move quickly with his legs frozen. He seemed unwilling to flee, simply standing there with an attitude of "go ahead and try."
And indeed, he did catch Xu Huo's blade. The vertically slashed "Cake Slice" was blocked in midair by him. The cutting surface formed by the long blade didn't fully expand either, only slicing off a small piece of his ear as he turned his head.
After drawing blood, the bald-headed player's raised hands suddenly clasped together, then swung forcefully to one side!
Xu Huo's blade was pulled by an invisible force, and as the bald-headed player moved, he was dragged along by the blade and slammed into the maze wall. Just as he was about to hit the maze wall, the previously closed branches suddenly parted. The buzz-cut player, his face covered in wounds, emerged from inside, reaching out to grab his legs!
Xu Huo manipulated space rays to create several layers of barriers, blocking him, then used his head as a stepping stone to push away from the maze wall again, turning back to strike at the bald-headed player.
In that brief moment, the bald-headed player's legs had already recovered. He flexed his arms, picked up the two axes, and charged at Xu Huo!
The next half minute was a high-speed clash of one blade against two axes. In terms of both strength and speed, Xu Huo didn't fall behind during that half-minute duel!
Thirty seconds later, the bald-headed player retreated on time, pulling back several dozen meters before saying to Xu Huo, "I underestimated you... Could you be a cannibal player too!"
Xu Huo flicked his long blade, looking at him calmly. "You're not lightly injured, are you? You used a prop to restore your strength for thirty seconds. I wonder if you can withstand the next thirty seconds!"
Before he finished speaking, he initiated the attack himself, just like the bald-headed player earlier, intent on overpowering his opponent with sheer force, disdainful of using props.
This time, the bald-headed player indeed showed weakness. He retreated while throwing props forward, but Xu Huo took a space passage, not only avoiding the props but also easily reaching behind him as his speed dropped.