Chapter 547: Chapter 277: Sword of Lingering Radiant Flames (Part 2)
Thoughts flashed through the mind in an instant.
Turning around, facing the priest corpse of Xia Nan, its pair of focusless solidified snake eyes did not look at the uninvited guest who intruded into the chapel but only stared blankly at the ground before it.
This creates a particularly strong sense of bewilderment, as if it had not noticed the intruder’s presence.
But if you were truly deceived by it, in the next second, that seemingly slender and fragile hand, as if it were a dry branch yet harder than steel, would pierce through your chest and crush your heart.
“Boom!”
Cracks abruptly appeared on the thick dusty marble floor of the chapel.
A fierce wind roared, stirring the mist, and the withered figure vanished in an instant.
Remaining alert at all times, Xia Nan’s keen perception allowed him to detect the danger in the moment the opponent exerted force to retreat.
Aung—
A wolf’s howl echoed like a murmur, as the large, distorted shadow of a black wolf leaped lightly and swiftly to the side.
“Bang rumble!”
It was the sound of the ground collapsing and debris flying.
The tattered priest robe swung vehemently due to the air currents, and the withered and lean figure stood at the spot where Xia Nan had just been.
The figure swayed as blankly as before, but beneath its feet, the chapel floor had already turned to powder and sunk inward.
Supported by the full-level [Teeth Hunting], Xia Nan jumped to dodge, and as his gaze swept over the exaggerated marks left by the opponent, he couldn’t help but feel surprised.
Its strength far exceeded any enemy he had encountered in Grey Valley, surpassing ordinary professionals with exaggerated combat abilities.
Perhaps tense and thus more cautious, but at this moment, there was no fear in his heart.
Only following the instinct formed from the combination of this body with his soul and memories.
The flame-wreathed wooden sword transformed in mid-air, and the fiery fangs surrounding the black wolf descended swiftly and explosively!
Buzz—
[Teeth Hunting] drives [Vortex Slash], the two lv5 battle skills blend and merge, and the [Chopping Master] specialty quietly takes effect, providing the most basic and versatile damage boost.
Strength, agility, constitution… various attributes were exerted to their fullest, and the precise muscle control allowed all the strength to converge instantly to a point and pour out with the sword blade.
“Sizzle!”
Accompanied by the “sizzling” sound of flames burning flesh, the dull sound of flesh being torn echoed faintly within the chapel.
Unfortunately, the piece spinning into the air, scorched by the intense flames, was not the dry corpse’s head with dark green snake scales that Xia Nan imagined, but merely an ordinary piece of flesh from its chest, which did not affect its movements.
Facing Xia Nan’s slash, the priest corpse once again demonstrated the exaggerated characteristics of its non-human body.
Although Xia Nan’s timing couldn’t have been more precise, utilizing the rigid moment when one’s old strength is exhausted and new strength isn’t yet born.
Yet its shriveled body seemed not to follow human movement rules, exerting force again to swiftly turn to the side, converting a fatal blow into just an ordinary minor injury that did not affect its combat ability.
The brain spun rapidly.
The wolf’s howl reverberated between the walls, not yet fully dissipated, before it rang out again.
The black wolf leaped, jumped back, taking Xia Nan’s body backward with it.
[Tidal Shaping] activated silently, as sturdy boots firmly planted on the ground.
“Tap.”
The scorched flesh fell to the ground.
The wooden sword in hand remained fiercely heated, and Xia Nan’s gaze toward the priest corpse grew increasingly serious.
Even after just one round of engagement, he perceived combat abilities far exceeding his expectations in the opponent.
Having not used any profound combat techniques, its sheer physical qualities alone were troublesome enough.
More crucially, the [Night Mother’s Gaze], which invariably succeeded upon acquisition and caused fear and chilling under the influence of its wolf howl, had no effect on this corpse, seemingly immune to all forms of mental attacks.
Fortunately, the [Green Pine] Wooden Sword had a special Yang Flame damage bonus, considering the observed battle situations between the adventurer team and other corpses earlier, Xia Nan even suspected that the opponent had far superior physical defense ability.
How should he fight? What advantage does he have?
Using the gap during combat, Xia Nan’s brain worked rapidly, instinctively analyzing the situation on the field.
Firstly, the opponent’s body was exceptionally strong, making it impossible for Xia Nan to leverage his previous advantage in physique over professionals of the same level.
Moreover, immune to control effects, the use of [Teeth Hunting] yielded reduced benefits, merely serving as a displacement-type battle skill now.
It seemed like he was stuck in a deadlock of stalemate, but the actual situation held much more hope.
The existence of [Green Pine] Wooden Sword meant that as long as he could attack a vital spot, he could still chop off the opponent’s head.
Moreover, some cards were still in an unrevealed state.
Apart from the last remaining use of [Destiny Coin], the recovery skill “Spring Vein Purification” of [Tear of Spring Breath] had yet to enter cooldown, and the deflection field of the [Dead Line] ring still had usage opportunities.
“Can fight!”
A resolute glint flashed in Xia Nan’s eyes.
A combat style focusing on high attack and low defense, emphasizing maneuverability and mobility, means giving him just one chance.
One chance to send the sword blade to the opponent’s neck.
He can then tilt the scales of victory completely to his side.
Even if he is truly outmatched, he has means to recover and retreat.
Boom—
The sound of air being ripped apart echoed once more.
The mummy, having endured his fierce slashes and suffered some injuries, required no time to catch its breath and had already initiated another attack on Xia Nan.
The thick fog surged, dust scattered everywhere.
Xia Nan’s vision blurred for a moment, and in the next second, those slender, bony fingers were close at hand.
He could even clearly see the wrinkled texture on the surface of that finger, along with the slippery sheen from scattered snake scales.
“Huh…”
His chest heaved as he breathed.
His eyes narrowed slightly, then snapped open.
Soon, a translucent reddish-brown light screen manifested from the void, enveloping his body.
“Bang!”
The overwhelming force, enough to twist steel, landed on the light shield yet barely made a ripple like a dragonfly skimming a water surface.
The force was consumed by the chaotic yet condensed force field energy, evenly spreading to every part of the oval light screen.
Crackle—
The light shield shattered.
Only barely managed to block one attack from the enemy.
But it also provided Xia Nan with the precious opportunity to swing his sword without hesitation.
The reddish-brown light shield scattered like stars and, before touching the ground, was swept up by the intense blaze, dissolving in the scorching heat waves stirred by the Wooden Sword.
Xia Nan played his first card, using the “Deflection Field” of the Dead Line ring to gain a chance to strike.
The longsword aimed directly at the enemy’s neck.
The mummy would certainly not stand idle, even if it didn’t show any obvious intelligence, acting purely on instinct, it knew to dodge those attacks radiating danger.
Like just now, it attempted to leap back to dodge the attack with a strange form of secondary force.
But at this moment, for some unknown reason, its shriveled, thin body suddenly froze.
An invisible pulling force from the void in front.
As if an invisible hand was tightly grasping it, making it struggle to move.
The strange stiffness caused its already lifeless snake-like vertical pupils to show a hint of bizarre confusion.
Dodge failed.
The Wooden Sword enveloped in intense flames thus embedded into the wound on its neck.
Slid smoothly through.
No blood, nor excess flesh fragments.
Just a thick searing mark, as the shriveled head soared high and rolled weakly away.
Xia Nan took a slight breath, glanced at the opponent’s body to ensure it was completely dead, then stepped towards the altar.
“Hiss…”
Just then, a very faint sound came from behind.
Alertness surged in his heart, and he turned with sword in hand.
He saw the headless mummy’s torso twitching in place in an odd, twisted posture.
The hissing sound coming from deep within its bloody neck wound.
“Pop.”
It was the sound of flesh breaking, like a cicada emerging from its shell.
Under the light of the sword burning brightly once again, a slender, distorted shadow slowly rose and enveloped Xia Nan’s body.
“No, wasn’t there supposed to be a second phase!?”