Chapter 1984: Stealing the Kill
The several players besieging Xu Huo were all formidable, equally equipped with A-grade items. There was no absolute distinction between strong and weak when it came to A-grade attack and defense items; their specific effects could only be determined in actual combat. Therefore, neither side in the battle could be certain that their items would definitely work. As a result, during the fight, multiple items were often used consecutively or simultaneously, while also having to consider combat effectiveness. Especially with some defense items, when a defense barrier formed, it could block both outsiders and the user themselves. To use attack items, the deployment and retraction of defense items had to be closely coordinated.
The space barrier didn't hold off those three players for too long, but the brief time difference it bought allowed him to exchange several blows with the other two players. Taking advantage of a gap in one player's defense, he wounded his abdomen with a Space Ray Blade, and while repelling another, he used Space Tangent to temporarily seal off his range of movement.
After stalling these two for the moment, he turned back to deal with the three who had moved up. As both sides' items took effect, they were also accelerating their approach toward each other. However, due to the Shadow Ropes on their feet, their range of movement was very limited. From where the five players had been forced to land, these three were slightly farther from Xu Huo. They had to converge simultaneously to close the distance to within fifty meters. Once within this range, they used items with greater lethality, aiming for a single fatal blow.
These three players from the East District hadn't clustered together themselves, so when they reached the fifty-meter limit, they habitually spread out from their companions to ensure their respective items would take effect without interfering with each other. However, just as Xu Huo stretched the Shadow Rope to its limit, he suddenly vanished from under the encirclement of items!
The attacks of two players missed, and the third's auxiliary item had too large a range. Without the central target, it directly struck a companion diagonally ahead. So, as Xu Huo disappeared, one player had half his body smashed into the ground by the item's effect. Although the defense item prevented him from being seriously injured, both legs were buried underground. Getting up was not as simple as moving through the air. Within this extremely short window of restriction, the vanished Xu Huo appeared behind him.
"How dare you!" Seeing the Black Blade already closing in on their companion, the two opposite players coordinated with another who had just extricated himself from the Space Tangent. Two were responsible for attacking, one for defense. Several invisible forces, including the trapped player's own defense item, simultaneously blocked Xu Huo's blade and forced him to retreat.
With so many defense items blocking the way, they not only protected the East District player but also indirectly protected Xu Huo. So he didn't retreat an inch. After the Black Blade shaved off several layers of defense barriers, he released the Space Tangent. The tangents, capable of rooting themselves in the air, pierced through the different barriers horizontally and vertically, constantly contracting, stretching, and shifting positions. In the blink of an eye, they severed the East District player's head.
Having dealt with this one, Xu Huo didn't pause for a moment. He shifted positions to behind the other two. The thin gleam from the Black Blade knocked both of them, along with their defense barriers, away. In the next instant of his strike, he directly intercepted their movement trajectory. Using an item to interfere with their minds, he effortlessly reaped one of them.
The other ran quite fast, but this wasn't just their battlefield. Everyone was caught in the Masked Youth's net. Before they could regroup, the Shadow Rope under their feet suddenly moved, dragging both of them flying toward the center of the Shadow Net.
The East District players had sent in several waves. Besides those attacking Xu Huo and the Masked Youth, the later waves focused on the resistance led by the Black Hood, as well as the Outer Zone players taking the opportunity to kick someone when they were down. Everyone's judgment of the Shadow Net item was correct. Although this net could trap so many players, the Masked Youth's range of movement was also very limited. While he could temporarily extend the distance by swapping with others, so far, he hadn't killed anyone. Those who died at the center of the net were generally East District players killed by their own people in friendly fire. Once this characteristic was figured out, players could preemptively block his path, forcing him to change direction when using others to swap with himself.
This was equivalent to preparing a cage in advance and waiting for him to walk into it. Whether it was due to the item's limitations or the Masked Youth's insufficient strength, in the subsequent engagements, he failed to successfully kill any player. Instead, he kept pulling people from afar. The several East District players near Xu Huo were pulled away at this moment.
Simultaneously, some East District players in other positions on the Shadow Net were also pulled away. In an instant, the center of the Shadow Net was overcrowded.
"Break the net!" The Blue Jacket, realizing what the Masked Youth intended to do, immediately shouted an order. Several players from the later wave of East District players threw a bladed bracelet onto the ground. Where the bracelet rolled, the Shadow Rope naturally snapped!
Indeed, the Shadow Net was not completely un-counterable. While ordinary items couldn't damage it, high-level spatial items or instruments with attack power could. Xu Huo, with the assistance of the "Cube Space," had also used Space Tangent to cut the Shadow Rope under his feet. The reason the East District players hadn't directly destroyed the Shadow Net from the start was that they wanted to use the Masked Youth's item to harvest a wave of resistance and Outer Zone players. If they revealed their trump card immediately, the Masked Youth might simply retract his item and leave. Now that they had roughly figured out the item's usage limitations, the Masked Youth no longer held the advantage. Naturally, the other side wanted to take the last chance to kill a few people before leaving. The East District players saw this too, which was why they organized this counter.
However, before their items and personnel could be deployed, the Masked Youth had already returned to the center of the Shadow Net. He said to everyone, "Human Dignity!"
A defense barrier rose straight into the sky, completely separating the center of the Shadow Net from the outside. Under the furious gaze of the East District players, the Masked Youth said with slight smugness, "So what if you know how to use the items? I said I wanted entertainment, and no one can stop me..."
But when he turned around to harvest his spoils, he saw an extremely thin line sweep across the air. Accompanied by a small spray of blood, one of the three people fell to the ground—this sneaky intruder had not only managed to cut the Shadow Rope but had also stolen his kill!
Xu Huo stood opposite him, gave a slight smile, and then made a "please" gesture.
Outside, the East District players' attacks grew fiercer. The Masked Youth said, "You've got guts," then turned his gaze to the "chrysalises" before him. However, before he could make a move, the ground suddenly trembled violently. Then, a beam of white light shot from a certain direction in the city, piercing through the defense barrier, the Masked Youth's head, and, passing through a group of people, Xu Huo's throat... (Chapter End)