Chapter 3059: Challenge
As soon as the barrier was attacked, it immediately activated its attack mode. A streak of white light shot down from the sky at extreme speed. Before the player who had crashed into the barrier could even fall, they were blown into a massive cloud of blood mist while still mid-air, leaving not even their accessories behind!
This single glance confirmed for Xu Huo and the others that the barrier's lockdown intensity in the Bear Hug Zone far exceeded that of the Fang Snake Zone. To pass through the barrier, they could only go through cities like Little Bear City.
The gate of Little Bear City didn't have any special checkpoints set up, only a transparent light screen in the middle. Walking through it meant successfully deducting points.
Xu Huo and his five companions each had 100 points deducted. But they hadn't expected that as soon as they entered Little Bear City, light screens immediately popped up in front of Zhang Mi, Mag, and Ding Xiang:
"Player Tomorrow Skip Breakfast challenges player Zhang Mi."
"Player Hans challenges player Mag."
"Player Wangyue challenges player Ding Xiang."
Zhang Mi and Mag's expressions shifted slightly. This was a situation they hadn't encountered when they entered Little Bear City last time.
"You weren't challenged when you came in last time?" Ding Xiang couldn't help but ask.
"No." In fact, they hadn't been challenged by anyone the entire time, and they had only wandered around a small area before leaving again, because they needed to purchase enough supplies to move on to the next zone, which required more points.
People who could enter Little Bear City all had plenty of points, and they had to fight to the death, making this far more dangerous than the killing in the Bear Hug Zone.
Shortly after the light screens appeared, three other players, also bearing light screens, walked out.
They had indeed chosen their opponents well. Zhang Mi and the others were severely injured. Even if they had disguised themselves, experienced players could still spot the flaws at a glance, easily distinguishing them from Xu Huo, Old Duan, and Yilan standing nearby.
"Don't worry." Xu Huo patted Zhang Mi on the shoulder, pointing to the challenge map on his own interface. The map was marked according to the players' positions, with each icon displaying the player's name. He was referring to "Tomorrow Skip Breakfast," who was currently moving. "If you die, I'll definitely avenge you."
His points were relatively high, so this statement carried some weight. While it might not save Zhang Mi, if other players thought about pressing their advantage, they would have to consider whether Xu Huo truly had the ability and resolve to seek revenge.
But Xu Huo didn't intend to waste time. Rather than waiting for others to test him, it was better to take the initiative. So he casually tapped a player on the interface map to issue a challenge.
"Player Xu Zhi challenges player Gray."
The chosen Gray stood up with a smirk, walking over while saying, "Picking me? Tough luck for you."
The two challengers were less than a hundred meters apart when the challenge arena activated. The lockdown barrier suddenly lit up, completely isolating the challengers from the outside world.
Zhang Mi and the others had already started. Among the three, Zhang Mi was in the worst shape, falling behind almost from the very first exchange. Although Mag had lost an arm, she was used to fighting with instruments. As long as she could create some distance, she still had a chance to win.
Before entering, Xu Huo had reasonably distributed some instruments to them. Whether they lived or died was up to their own skill.
Withdrawing his gaze, Xu Huo was met with three high-speed shuttles flying toward him. Instead of retreating, he blocked the attack with a defense barrier, simultaneously launching six hidden weapons at Gray, which were also blocked by his defense barrier.
The advantage of instruments over items was that they could be used repeatedly over a long period until they broke down. However, they were susceptible to interference, and certain targeted jamming instruments could instantly render them useless.
Trapped on a hundred-meter arena, such a small space made it impossible for a jamming instrument to only disrupt the opponent's instruments without affecting one's own. Under normal circumstances, most people wouldn't resort to such a mutually destructive tactic. But Gray, seeing Xu Huo effortlessly dodging the irregular shuttles ricocheting off the lockdown barrier and then repeatedly activating instruments to aid his combat, judged that Xu Huo's strength lay in using instruments. So he grabbed the pendant around his neck and pressed it firmly.
A slight shockwave spread out. The shuttles and hidden weapons both failed and fell to the ground, along with the defense barriers covering both of them.
"A single-use instrument. You're getting off easy," Gray said, tossing the necklace aside. He pulled out a metal whip from behind and lashed it through the air toward Xu Huo.
The dull, oppressive sound of a heavy object swinging at high speed tore through the air, landing a vicious strike on a barrier raised by space rays. The barrier shattered, and Xu Huo, standing behind it, was knocked back several steps. Before he could react, a second whip strike came sweeping in!
"Bang!" The second whip slammed into the ground, leaving a deep groove in its wake. At the same time, Gray rapidly closed in from the other side, following Xu Huo's retreating direction. Two short blades flew from his sleeve, aimed at Xu Huo's eyes and heart!
Xu Huo seemed a bit overwhelmed, hurriedly raising a space barrier to block the short blades. But he hadn't expected Gray to be so aggressive, actually ramming his body into the barrier. The opponent relied on his superior physical strength, and indeed, Xu Huo was knocked back several more steps. Before he could steady himself, the whip came flying again!
He leaped into the air to dodge this attack, but the next second, he was met with Gray's suddenly enlarged grinning face.
Xu Huo smiled back at him. With a "shing," space rays controlled the long blade as it slid out of its sheath. A cold light cut through the space between them, striking Gray's arm!
Gray's protective item blocked it, preventing his arm from being severed, but it still left a gash.
"Is that all you've got..." Gray pulled back, but as he spoke, he saw the wound turning black. He glared at the man opposite him with shock and anger. "You used poison!"
Xu Huo raised his arm, and the long blade, controlled by space rays, landed steadily in his hand. The blade's edge was stained with a faint, barely noticeable green, along with a bit of blood.
"The method doesn't matter. Achieving the goal is what counts." He spun the blade, and the next second, he flashed behind Gray, not giving him any time to take an antidote.
The clashing sounds of the metal whip and long blade came thick and fast. Even though Gray had a slight advantage in physical strength and speed, Xu Huo's space evolution made up for the gap. Gray struggled to cope with the relentless attacks, and even the antidote he carried was shredded by space rays—this level of space evolution, even if it couldn't severely wound an opponent, was more than sufficient as support when used skillfully.
After just two or three minutes of this, the poison on Gray began to affect his mobility. But in close-quarters combat between A-rank players, even the slightest lapse could determine life or death. So, just as Gray used his metal whip to entangle the long blade, a small space ray blade sliced open his carotid artery. As he instinctively reached for his neck, several more space ray blades severed his hands and feet. Before he could even fall to his knees, the long blade pierced through his heart from behind.