Sacrifice I

As Xiao Wen took in the effects of the magic equipment card in his hand, a sharp glint flashed in his eyes, and his face lit up with excitement.

His biggest frustration had been his inability to damage the Cyclops before him, and the Sword of Lightning's unique armor-piercing effect undoubtedly compensated for this deficiency.

"Roar!"

From a distance, the Cyclops let out an enraged roar, gripping a tree trunk in one hand, its eyes filled with fury.

The next moment, the tree trunk swung down from the air, crashing towards Xiao Wen.

Xiao Wen narrowed his eyes, lifted his feet, and shifted on the ground, treading the Big Dipper and making his body flicker in and out of sight, making it impossible to predict his next move.

The Cyclops's club swung down from the air, falling directly towards Xiao Wen, with sharp gusts of wind occasionally whistling past his ears.

Xiao Wen frowned. Even though he now possessed the Sword of Lightning's armor-piercing effect, allowing him to ignore the enemy's defense, he still hesitated when facing this attack.

Would the Sword of Lightning's effect really work on the Cyclops?

With nowhere to retreat, he had to try!

With that thought, Xiao Wen sidestepped, perfectly evading the enemy's attack.

At the same time, he raised his greatsword and then slashed down with a whoosh. Amidst flashes of light, the Sword of Lightning struck directly at the Cyclops's ankle.

HP -1378.

A bright red damage number popped up above the Cyclops's head, and a look of joy appeared on Xiao Wen's face.

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

Although this damage was still far from the Cyclops's total HP.

For Xiao Wen, however, that wasn't an issue.

As long as he could deal damage, as long as he could break through its defense, he was confident he could wear it down and defeat it!

However, Xiao Wen didn't become complacent because of this.

After all, he knew better than anyone that while he could deal damage, it didn't change the shortcomings in his other attributes.

With his current HP and defense, he couldn't afford to be hit by the Cyclops.

Even a minor scratch would instantly deplete his health bar.

With its ankle wounded by a sword strike, the Cyclops's attacks instantly became much more ferocious. It rained down blows, one after another, smashing towards Xiao Wen. Xiao Wen remained fully focused, constantly dodging and responding on the ground, resembling a nimble little bug. Just before each of the Cyclops's attacks landed, Xiao Wen's body seemed to predict its trajectory, moving out of the way.

Such skill was undoubtedly impressive.

HP -1378.

HP -1378.

Xiao Wen's attack speed grew faster. Taking advantage of the moments when the enraged Cyclops was attacking, he counterattacked simultaneously, precisely seizing the brief moments of stun on the Cyclops's body as an opportunity to strike back.

As its health bar dwindled, with less than two thousand HP remaining, the madness in the Cyclops's eyes gradually subsided, replaced by a hint of fear.

It pulled back, attempting to escape from Xiao Wen.

However, would Xiao Wen let it succeed?

The Sword of Lightning in his hand slashed down faster and faster, aiming to deplete its HP before it could escape.

He lunged forward, planting his foot on the ground, shifting his ankle, and bracing himself. Bending his knee, he suddenly straightened it, and Xiao Wen propelled himself upwards, soaring towards the Cyclops's kneecap. He circled around to the back of its kneecap and thrust his sword forward, the damage value reappearing.

"Just one more hit."

Landing on the ground, Xiao Wen raised his hand, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, and muttered to himself.

He hadn't been able to suppress the Cyclops without paying a price.

At the very least, in such an intense battle, he had to remain fully focused, daring not to slacken even for a moment, resulting in immense mental exhaustion.

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

Looking up, he saw strands of light seemingly solidifying and being drawn into the eyeball atop the Cyclops's head. Waves of dim, hazy light flickered, converging before its eye.

At that moment, Xiao Wen felt as if he were being stared at by a colossal abyssal beast, an indescribable discomfort spreading throughout his entire body.

It was an extreme sense of crisis, emanating from every part of his being.

"It's coming! Abyssal Gaze!"

Xiao Wen wanted to dodge, to evade its sharp edge, but he suddenly found that his body was completely unable to move even an inch, unable to even blink.

"Damn it! This guy's innate skill is too overpowered! The suppression it exerts on me can actually lock down my movement!"

Xiao Wen grumbled inwardly, beads of cold sweat continuously forming on his forehead. He desperately tried to regain control of his body, wanting to dodge before the enemy's attack arrived.

However, it was ultimately in vain.

Under the lock of the Cyclops's skill, Xiao Wen was completely unable to dodge. He could only watch helplessly as a dark beam of light erupted from the Cyclops's eyeball and flew towards him.

Abyssal Gaze!

Just as Xiao Wen felt a chill down his spine, believing he couldn't escape this fate, a dark shadow streaked past him, carrying faint green flames, and charged towards the dark beam of the Abyssal Gaze.

Boom!

A massive collision echoed in his ears, and Xiao Wen narrowed his eyes, his heart clenching.

He saw it – the dark shadow was the Bewitching Fox he had summoned earlier.

At the last possible moment, the Bewitching Fox had sacrificed its life to block a fatal blow for Xiao Wen.

As the shockwave dissipated, the Bewitching Fox vanished, leaving behind only a stone statue.

Xiao Wen looked down at the Card containing the Bewitching Fox in his hand.

The Card exploded with a bang, turning into light particles that fell to the ground.

In that moment, Xiao Wen knew there was no possibility of the Bewitching Fox reviving.

"Don't worry, I won't let you die in vain. Cyclops, I will definitely take care of you myself."

A fierce glint flashed in Xiao Wen's eyes as he suddenly attacked, rushing towards the Cyclops. The Cyclops tried to block, but after using the Abyssal Gaze skill, its reaction speed had slowed considerably.

Even at full strength, it might not have been able to block Xiao Wen's attack, so how could it possibly block it now?

It could only watch helplessly as Xiao Wen's long sword slashed down, cutting through its body and clearing the last bit of its health bar.

Player experience points +32514.

Ding! Congratulations to player Halfway Through the Mortal World for leveling up to Level 8.

A notification caught Xiao Wen's attention. Seeing the few extra attribute points, he unhesitatingly added them all to Strength.

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

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

"Have I used up all my luck? Killing an elite monster only gives this much?"

Xiao Wen muttered, picking up the ball of light from the ground.

"Sacrifice Material · [Sacrifice I]?"