Sacrifice

Seeing the effect of the magic equipment card in his hand, a gleam flashed through Xiao Wen's eyes, and excitement appeared on his face.

For him, his greatest frustration had been his inability to damage the Cyclops before him. The Sword of Lightning's unique defense-piercing effect undoubtedly made up for that flaw.

"Roar!"

In the distance, the Cyclops let out an enraged roar. It gripped a tree trunk in one hand, its eye filled with fury.

The next moment, the tree trunk swung down from above, hurtling toward Xiao Wen's head.

Xiao Wen narrowed his eyes and shifted his feet across the ground. Stepping through the Seven Stars, his body flickered in and out of sight, making it impossible to tell where he would place his next step.

The Cyclops brought the club down from the air, dropping straight toward Xiao Wen below as sharp gusts of wind howled past his ears.

Xiao Wen frowned. Even though he possessed the Sword of Lightning's defense-piercing effect and could ignore the enemy's defense, he still hesitated when facing this strike.

Would the Sword of Lightning really work against the Cyclops?

There was no retreat. He could only try!

With that thought, Xiao Wen sidestepped, narrowly avoiding the enemy's attack.

At the same time, he raised the greatsword in his hand and swung it down with a whoosh. Amid flashing lights, the Sword of Lightning struck directly at the Cyclops's ankle.

Health -1378.

A bright red damage number rose above the Cyclops's head, and joy appeared on Xiao Wen's face.

The Sword of Lightning, combined with his own attack, dealt over thirteen hundred damage.

Though that damage was still a far cry from the Cyclops's total health.

That was not a problem for Xiao Wen.

As long as he could deal damage, as long as he could pierce its defense, he was confident he could wear it down to death!

However, Xiao Wen did not let that make him complacent.

More than anyone, he knew that even if he could deal damage, it did not change the weaknesses in his other attributes.

With his current health and defense, he absolutely could not let the Cyclops hit him.

Even a scratch would instantly empty his health bar.

With its ankle slashed, the Cyclops's attacks immediately became far more violent. Blow after blow crashed down from above toward Xiao Wen. Completely focused, Xiao Wen kept dodging across the ground like a nimble little insect. Every time the Cyclops's attack was about to land, Xiao Wen could seemingly predict its trajectory and move away in advance.

Such skill was undeniably formidable.

Health -1378.

Health -1378.

Xiao Wen's attacks grew faster and faster. Whenever the enraged Cyclops attacked, he launched a counterattack at the same time, perfectly seizing the fraction-of-a-second stiffening window on its body as an opening to strike back.

Its health bar gradually fell. When it was down to less than two thousand health, the madness in the Cyclops's eye slowly faded, replaced by a trace of fear.

It tried to pull away and escape.

But how could Xiao Wen possibly let it have its way?

The Sword of Lightning swung even faster in his hand, seeking to empty the Cyclops's health before it could flee.

He dashed forward, planted one foot on the ground, shifted his ankle, braced against the earth, bent his knee, then suddenly straightened it. Xiao Wen shot into the air, rushing toward the Cyclops's kneecap. He circled behind its knee and thrust out his sword, making another damage number appear.

"Just one more hit."

Landing on the ground, Xiao Wen raised a hand to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead and muttered softly.

Suppressing the Cyclops just now had not come without a price.

At the very least, in such an intense battle, he had remained utterly focused without daring to relax in the slightest, consuming a tremendous amount of mental energy.

Just as Xiao Wen was preparing to deliver the final blow, he suddenly noticed that the light in the surrounding sky had dimmed considerably.

Looking up, he saw strands of light being drawn into the eyeball atop the Cyclops's head as though they had taken physical form. Waves of murky black light flickered and gathered before its eye.

At that moment, Xiao Wen felt as if he had been targeted by an abyssal beast, and an indescribable discomfort spread throughout his body.

It was an extreme sense of danger, surging from every part of his body.

"It's here! Abyssal Gaze!"

Xiao Wen wanted to dodge, wanted to avoid its edge, but suddenly discovered that he could not move his body at all. He could not even blink.

Damn! This guy's talent skill is way too absurd. Its suppression can actually seal my ability to move!

Xiao Wen muttered inwardly as drops of cold sweat continuously emerged on his forehead. He desperately fought to regain control of his body, hoping to evade before the attack arrived.

But it was ultimately futile.

Locked onto by the Cyclops's skill, Xiao Wen had no way to dodge. He could only watch helplessly as a beam of black light surged from the Cyclops's eye and flew toward him.

Abyssal Gaze!

Just as Xiao Wen felt a chill run down his back and thought he was doomed, a black shadow swept past him, trailing pale green flames as it charged toward the black light of Abyssal Gaze.

Boom!

A tremendous collision rang out, echoing and shaking his ears. Xiao Wen narrowed his eyes, and it felt as if his heart had twitched.

He saw it. That black shadow was the Bewitching Fox he had summoned earlier.

At the critical moment, the Bewitching Fox had used its own life to block the fatal blow for Xiao Wen.

As the aftermath dispersed, the Bewitching Fox's figure vanished from before him, leaving behind only a stone statue.

Xiao Wen lowered his head and looked at the card in his hand that had sealed the Bewitching Fox.

With a bang, the card exploded, turning into specks of light that fell to the ground.

At that moment, Xiao Wen knew that the Bewitching Fox could never be revived again.

"Don't worry. I won't let you die for nothing. Cyclops, I'll definitely finish it with my own hands."

A fierce glint flashed through Xiao Wen's eyes. He suddenly lunged forward, charging before the Cyclops. The Cyclops tried to block him, but after using Abyssal Gaze, its reaction speed had clearly slowed considerably.

It might not have been able to block Xiao Wen's attacks even at full strength, so how could it do so now?

It could only watch helplessly as Xiao Wen's longsword slashed toward it, cutting across its body and emptying the last sliver of its health bar.

Player experience +32514.

Ding! Congratulations, player Halfway Through the Mortal World, you have reached Level 8.

A notification caught Xiao Wen's attention. Seeing the extra attribute points, he added all of them to Strength without hesitation.

After assigning the attribute points, Xiao Wen's gaze returned to where the Cyclops's corpse lay.

There was no equipment or Medicine Bottle, only a gray ball of light floating on the ground.

"Has my luck run out? Killing an elite monster only gave me this little?"

Xiao Wen muttered as he picked up the ball of light from the ground.

"Ritual Material: Sacrifice I?"