Chapter 1819: That Looks Painful
Brother Lou was hardly a clever man, and having just had a wave of nutrients drained by the mutated plant he himself raised, he was a bit slower than the other two. By the time he realized he was trapped by a space barrier and under mental interference, "Holder's Demise," "All Things Want to Cut Everything," and the black blade were already upon him. He had no room to dodge, and even if he did, the materialized spiritual power had already spread across the floor of this spiritual space, ready to end his life at any moment.
Deng Xiahei calling out Xu Huo's nickname had no effect on him. The black blade slid smoothly through Brother Lou's neck, and before the blood could even flow, Xu Huo was already in front of Deng Xiahei.
Facing this man directly, Deng Xiahei finally felt the oppressive pressure a genius player could bring. He hastily opened a defensive item while saying, "Wait! I'm just passing through here too. I have no intention of being your enemy!"
There were plenty of people who used blades in the game. Deng Xiahei hadn't thought about it at first, but when he saw the real person, he realized—the same black blade, a C-grade player, a Super Evolver—how could it be such a coincidence!
The man before him was none other than the passerby who had nearly turned D03 Wormhole Point Zone 019 upside down over a C-grade instance. Even though he had changed his appearance, his basic traits remained the same. Even if someone wanted to impersonate him, they couldn't pull it off!
"Is that so?" Xu Huo showed no mercy. The black blade sliced straight through the opponent's defensive item. Deng Xiahei, aided by a support item, dodged and retreated at lightning speed, but his arm was still cut. After putting some distance between them, he said, "I truly admire your character. I have no connection with these people... Since they're your enemies, I'm willing to lend you a hand!"
As he finished speaking, he indeed turned his weapon and used an item to attack Ao Quan.
However, during the exchange between him and Xu Huo, Ao Quan hadn't been idle. He made a throwing motion forward, and Xu Huo's legs were immediately sealed by an invisible force. Both feet felt frozen to the ground, completely immovable.
"Haha! Brother! Thanks to you!" Ao Quan laughed as he looked at Deng Xiahei, giving him another chance to switch sides.
But Deng Xiahei completely ignored his overture. With a grim face, he intercepted Ao Quan, standing firmly on Xu Huo's side without a moment's hesitation!
Ao Quan's expression changed. He clenched his right hand in the air, then swept it back. A small tornado formed inside the room, directly sucking Deng Xiahei into it.
That wasn't an ordinary tornado. It contained items Ao Quan was using in tandem, so even a single touch left Deng Xiahei with several more wounds. By the time he broke free from the tornado, Ao Quan had already closed in with incredible speed. Their items clashed head-on, and Deng Xiahei was sent flying.
He flew straight toward Xu Huo. Ao Quan pursued without pause, simultaneously shooting out a long blade as thin as a hair. Two meters long, it threaded between the three of them, aimed directly at Deng Xiahei's heart, intending to skewer both him and Xu Huo in one go.
Deng Xiahei steadied himself, clearly not planning to expose Xu Huo. But Xu Huo didn't seem willing to let him take the hit either. Opening a spiritual gate, he flung Deng Xiahei to the other side of the room, casually pulled the tangent in the air, and sliced the incoming thin blade into scallion segments. Then he turned to face Ao Quan, who had already reached him.
Seeing Xu Huo standing still with no intention of moving, Ao Quan's face flashed with both wariness and anger. He spread his arms and swept them forward. Two tornadoes, each laced with blades, flanked Xu Huo from left and right, while two short knives flew in from front and back.
The items had almost completely sealed off Xu Huo's escape routes. Ao Quan knew a bit about Mental Evolution—the so-called ability to open doors and travel through space at will was essentially passing through matter under the protection of spiritual power. Going through walls or the ground worked the same way. But a person couldn't vanish from thin air. So as long as he blocked the path with items Xu Huo couldn't pass through, he wouldn't be able to escape! His reasoning was sound, but the next second, the man before him suddenly disappeared. And in that instant, he felt a chill on the back of his neck.
The black blade scraped against a metal item, producing a sharp screech. Ao Quan barely dodged the fatal blow thanks to his item. Before the item's effect wore off, he spun around and threw a punch at Xu Huo's temple!
The blow was naturally blocked by a defense barrier, but Ao Quan had learned from Brother Lou about the barrier's three-second limit. After a few close-quarters exchanges, he circled behind Xu Huo and tried the same trick again.
The barrier caught his fist and vanished instantly. Xu Huo raised his blade to block Ao Quan's arm, but unexpectedly, Ao Quan's fingernails began to grow at a visible rate!
Dodging the nails aimed at his face, Xu Huo kicked the man away. Ao Quan used the momentum to retreat, but still managed to leave a wound on Xu Huo's hand.
Xu Huo didn't pursue. Instead, he glanced at the blackening wound. "So this is your goal?"
Ao Quan's smile widened. He raised his long, sharp nails to his lips and licked them, feigning intoxication. "Didn't expect to find a Super Evolver in a place like Zone 010, did you? It might not have the flashiness of Mental Evolution or Space Evolution, but it sure comes in handy at critical moments. The poison on these nails can take down a whale in ten seconds. A player... probably about the same."
Deng Xiahei, who had long since withdrawn from the fight, looked at Xu Huo's face.
Xu Huo's expression didn't change. He didn't even glance at the wound a second time. He said to Ao Quan, "Look to your left."
Ao Quan reflexively turned his head, and was immediately pierced through the eye by materialized spiritual power.
"Tsk..." Deng Xiahei made a snide remark. "That looks painful."
Ao Quan reacted quickly enough. Even with one eye burst, he managed to escape. His item greatly increased his speed, so in the blink of an eye, he was outside. Seeing Xu Huo follow him out with no signs of poisoning, he was both shocked and furious. Using his item's speed, he flickered like a ghost behind Xu Huo!
Cannibal Players had the advantage in speed and physical strength, and he was a B-grade player to boot. How could Xu Huo let him get the upper hand? He pulled out items like "Starfall," "Snow Dagger," and "Fireworks"—items that could both defend and attack—one after another. Want a close-quarters fight? Not a chance.
One man stood in the middle watching, while the other ran around outside. After repeated failed attempts to get close to Xu Huo, Ao Quan realized he was only wasting his stamina. He immediately called for the remaining C-grade players to help, as if he intended to fight Xu Huo to the death.
Knowing Ao Quan was about to flee, Xu Huo was about to make his move when he heard Deng Xiahei mutter, "Scratch-off ticket." Ao Quan, whose defense barrier had just been blown away, was struck by a force that scraped from his shoulder down to his tailbone—literally scraped. Half his chest and abdomen were gouged out on the spot, and he died instantly.
With Ao Quan dead, the other C-grade players could only stare blankly, unsure whether to run or stay. Then they saw their newly joined, extremely irritable "partner" flash a smile at the player who had killed their way into the safe zone and say in a light tone, "I guess I got lucky. Just give me any one item as a cut!"
Some people die, but not completely...