Chapter 207

It's the same familiar feeling, but the skill lies in its simplicity. Hayasaka knows exactly how the other party will deal with him, yet he still falls into a panic every time they meet.

The Ghost Shooter, with her combined Gun-Kata, possessed both physical immunity and extreme agility; however, she was unable to retaliate with her gun, and was doing her utmost just to dodge the raging storm.

The building was demolished, the walls were torn apart, and the flaming blades drew ever closer, slicing through the energy-bound body.

The monster wouldn't suspect a thing...

Hayasaka gritted her teeth. A normal person would have been on guard against her surroundings long ago if they saw her acting so out of character, but Adam wouldn't; his eyes were only on the prey in front of him.

It's unstoppable.

The axe sliced across the shoulder, and the ghost's body began to burn. The pain, etched into the soul, made dodging even slower.

But the girl showed no sign of retreating, nor did she even toll a Death Knell. As her bloodline skill reached its Limit, gravity began to pull at her body, gradually bringing her agile movements to a standstill.

"Die!"

Adam didn't think about any conspiracy; he just swung his battle axe down in a wide arc. Hayasaka Ai didn't block or fight back; she just lay sprawled on the ground.

Call out--

A blood-red arrow flew from afar, leaving a straight afterimage on the cratered street. A long sword grazed Hayasaka Ai's forehead, slashed into Adam's left shoulder, and lodged in his sternum.

Pain, pain unlike anything I've ever experienced before.

Adam was momentarily stunned, then fixed his gaze on the road ahead, his expression shifting from anger to delight.

"Okay, you've finally come out!!"

Chapter Thirty-Eight: Do You Deserve to Kill Me!? (7.5K)

The timing was perfect.

Taking advantage of Adam's complete focus on the battle, Yuki hid behind Hayasaka beforehand, unleashing all his abilities before launching his Demon Martial Arts.

The sword strike was swift; Yuki wasn't even afraid of accidentally killing Hayasaka. The sword strike was heavy, severing Adam's steel-like bones and penetrating his chest cavity.

It's so hard.

Yuki's hands went numb from the shock; this was definitely not the hardness of human bones. When he looked up again, his bald-headed head was first surprised, then excited, as his dented battle axe swept down at his waist.

Yuki preemptively extended his left hand and pressed the cold muzzle of the gun against his chest.

Bang!

At point-blank range, the shrapnel blasted Adam's massive body away. He plunged his halberd into the ground, forcibly stopping his retreating body.

"What other tricks do you have up your sleeve? I'll wait until you've used them all." Half of Adam's face was blasted away, revealing his 'Terminator'-like head.

Adam was blown up, shot, and slashed by swords, his body covered in wounds. He had just been hit by a full-power Soul Shotgun.

But he showed no signs of being near death, no, not even signs of exhaustion; on the contrary, he was even more ferocious and terrifying.

Like a cyborg? How is it possible to forcibly implant all the Chaos Item into a body?

The Devil's Vision swept over the other man; the blazing Soul Flame indicated he was alive, and then—

Thump!

The sound was still echoing in my ears when the fist was already upon me.

Supersonic speed?!

Yuki instinctively raised his sword to parry, only to feel a jolt in his wrist and the concrete pavement beneath his feet suddenly sink. When he came to his senses, he was already standing in the middle of a large pit.

The bald man in front of him had a ferocious expression. He slammed his iron fists into the blade, then stretched his face towards Yuki, the orange-red light of the Thermal-Melting Plasma illuminating his entire body.

It's even faster now.

Yuki's pupils contracted, and he suddenly released the hilt of his sword, took a step forward, and slammed his elbow into Adam's chin.

Combat Technique: Rising Dragon.

Bang--Whoosh--

As the massive head tilted back, the plasma ball soared into the sky. Yuki flicked his toe, catching the falling longsword. He grasped it in his right hand and Lightness slashed at Adam's neck. With a 'clang,' the blade struck Adam's raised knee.

Something's wrong. This monster is definitely not right.

The knee strike nearly made him drop the knife, and he quickly used the force to step back, taking another careful look at Adam.

The monster was tattered, revealing metallic-looking bones, and at least six Chaos Item of Transcendental Grade or higher level could be identified.

The plasma cannon in its mouth, the gravity generator in its left hand, the flamethrower in its right hand, the propulsion nozzle on its back, the incredibly hard steel frame, and the Eye of Fear that can unleash Mental Impact.

This is an item-focused player, but he transferred all the items to himself. However, here's the problem:

What about the side effects? How come it gets stronger the more you fight it?

He didn't need to ask, and Adam wouldn't answer; the latter simply pressed down, covering Yuki with his massive body.

"Lower your head."

Yuki immediately crouched down, revealing Hayasaka Ai behind him, who was holding guns in both hands. Adam had been too fast, and she had barely managed to catch him.

Absolute Lethality Mode...

Earth-Shattering Shockwave.

Before the Death Knell tolled, Adam stomped his right foot hard, white ripples swept across the ground, and the Earth Collapse within hundreds of meters.

The earth rippled with waves, making it impossible for Hayasaka Ai to aim, Yuki also struggled to maintain his footing, as a massive shadow enveloped him.

Concept Enhancement. Soul Mantle.

Concept Enhancement. Visual capture.

Just as Yuki solidified the released soul energy and enhanced his dynamic vision, Adam chose to go all out.

Massacre Mode.

He grew even more excited and frenzied, as if determined to seize this hard-won opportunity and defeat this cunning man—

Thoroughly, completely torn apart!

Battle axes, halberds, knee strikes, elbow strikes—the dense barrage of attacks was beyond the reach of dynamic vision. All that could be seen in front of Yuki were afterimages as he retreated continuously while desperately parrying.

Bang bang bang bang...

The continuous bombardment resounded, Hayasaka Ai, holding the Death Knell, moved with it, but she couldn't pull the trigger no matter what she did.

The two became entangled, and then moved too fast. In the blink of an eye, they went from the middle of the road to the residential building next to it. In the blink of an eye, the five-story building had been demolished to pieces, and the intertwined afterimages returned to the road, with car wreckage and other debris flying everywhere.

Players below the Transcendental Grade level have difficulty even getting close. Hayasaka Ai can't even see the attack trajectory, and can only vaguely sense that Yuki is falling behind.

It's more than just a disadvantage; Yuki is struggling to hold on, facing dozens of high-frequency attacks every second.

His solidified soul energy was shattered, his hands, which were used to parry with his knife, were numb, and it was impossible for him to create distance. The Gravity Aura kept him firmly next to Adam, and all he could see were afterimages of the attacks.

Fortunately, Adam had taken a knife to his left shoulder, which slowed his axe swings. With the help of his Regenerative Tail, he could barely hold on. Yuki was more focused on the fatal attack.

Clang.

As the longsword was deflected by the knee, leaving the opening wide open, Adam's battle axe came crashing down on his head.

"Kaguya!"

Yuki a low roar, and an ice-blue arrow flew from afar. Such speed and such entanglement could only be interfered with by the causal law of 'True Shot, Sure Hit'.

"Don't bother me!!"

Having finally managed to finish off his opponent, Adam was furious. He leaned out, opened his mouth, put the arrow in his mouth, and crushed it with a 'crunch'.

The attached icy energy spread out, freezing half of its body. Through the ice, Adam saw Yuki retreating at full speed, his eyes wide with rage.

Don't even think about escaping!

He'd had enough of those grueling tactics. With a sudden burst of energy, he tore through the ice, a long trail of flame erupting from his back, and instantly gave chase, stretching his body—

Swish.

The battle axe swept over Yuki's head as he crouched down, followed by a whip kick that struck the bullseye.

Bang!

All his muscles swelled up, and his face instantly turned red. Yuki felt as if he had been hit solidly by a dump truck, and he flew up like a ball.

Right arm fracture, regenerated.

As the scenery flashed by, still in mid-air, with its long trail of flame, the enemy, who was a hundred meters away, instantly appeared in front of him and thrust his halberd fiercely at him.

Without time to think, he stepped on the air, and the solidified soul energy acted like a staircase, allowing him to change direction continuously.

Similarly, Adam couldn't do much Yuki Yuki's all-out defense for a while, but he was persistent and wouldn't let go of the latter.

Yuki landed on the building's rooftop, the thrown battle axe flew past his body. He looked up and saw Adam filling his field of vision.

He raised his halberd high, and without any fancy moves, he simply used the momentum of his fall to deliver a heavy blow. Yuki had no choice but to muster all his strength to strike back.

Clang!!!

Dust billowed, skyscrapers crumbled, Yuki felt as if he had become a nail, hammered into the ground.

Thump, thump, thump.

Floor after floor slab crumbled, Yuki was like a small boat in a raging storm, on the verge of capsizing, yet he remained expressionless, his calm demeanor masking his fear.

The Regenerative Tail.

The torn muscles and cracked bones were quickly repaired, and the pain had long since become numb.

"He's very ferocious, but in the last few minutes, his speed and strength haven't increased. The wound on his left shoulder is definitely affecting his combat effectiveness."

The various details I observed surfaced in my mind, and when compared with the details of the previous battle, one huge difference emerged:

During this time, he was indeed powerless to fight back. The extremely fast-paced close combat meant that, apart from Kaguya occasionally providing cover, no one else could intervene. No, it should be said that Yuki didn't allow them to intervene.

Strange, he became even stronger after being badly injured before. Doesn't he want to kill me?

Yuki raised his head, deflecting the chunks of concrete thrown at him. Before he could catch his breath, his halberd had already pierced through the dust, grazing his shoulder and slashing into the ground. Before he could pull it out, a heavy whip kick followed.

How could that be? This monster used its full strength in every attack, aiming to kill me.

Yuki gritted his teeth, his eyes twitching slightly as he faced the raging killing intent.

Never defending, no, to be precise, only defending and dodging when faced with a threat; otherwise, they always choose to take the hit head-on. Could it be—

The more severely injured this monster is, the fiercer it becomes?

Through firsthand experience, one of the five guesses has become a reality, and Yuki has abandoned any thoughts of counterattack, focusing all his energy on defense.

Only he dares to make such a test. Ordinary players would not passively defend, nor would they want to be turtles. Faced with this storm, they would either flee or fight to the death. Anyone with a normal IQ understands that passive defense is a dead end. Moreover, powerful regeneration skills are a prerequisite; otherwise, as injuries accumulate, they would have been crushed long ago.

But Yuki dared to walk down a path of certain death, even though his soul energy was being consumed rapidly, even though his longsword was blasted with several nicks, and even though he was being beaten into a sorry state.

Gradually, the guesses became more detailed.

Thump.

The fierce downward slash almost brought Yuki to his knees. The brief pause was a good opportunity to counterattack, but Yuki did not draw his spear. Instead, he took the initiative to retreat, letting the torrent of flames sweep past him.

With the embers still burning, Adam stepped into the fire again and kicked Yuki across the street.

"Come and kill me! Come and attack me! Come and slaughter me!"

With the Roar, Adam pressed forward. The target's all-out defense was really hard to break. Even if bones were broken or muscles were cut, they could recover quickly, but he didn't have a good way to break through.

Retreat? That word doesn't exist in Adam's dictionary, and retreating would only lead back to that torturous state. So, only one option remains:

Keep pushing, the goal is almost within reach.

Yuki was indeed nearing his limit. He was covered in injuries and had activated his Regenerative Tail more than ten times. He wasn't some perpetual motion machine; if he hadn't been given an emergency energy boost before the battle, he would have been completely exhausted long ago.

But Yuki was incredibly excited; he was now certain of his guess.

Adam's power is waning; if his hundreds of attacks were charted, they would only reach a brief peak when using Chaos Item.

Tired? Impossible. He's been playing for several days straight; it's impossible for him to be exhausted by now. Injured as well, at least his wound hasn't worsened in the last ten minutes.

Therefore, there is only one truth:

Pain, more accurately, is the pain caused by being attacked.

No wonder those Chaos Item didn't show any side effects. It's not that they didn't have any, but rather that Adam used some means to turn the side effects into benefits.

What a terrifying monster! If he doesn't understand this, wouldn't he be invincible?