Chapter 561: Level 49 Sub-King
Xu Wuyi said nothing.
Jialou was right. Using large-scale Flame attacks to clear the area was indeed restricted here, or it might affect the 17th Division’s troops and the recovery team.
But—
"I don’t need Flame to kill you."
The moment the words left his mouth, Xu Wuyi moved.
He didn’t charge forward. Instead, he stomped his right foot on the ground.
BZZZZ—
The Gravity Field, with a radius of 350 meters, changed abruptly.
This time, it wasn’t a simple suppression or pull, but a "differentiation."
With Xu Wuyi at the center, the Gravity Field was divided into hundreds of micro-zones, the direction and magnitude of Gravity in each changing in real time.
One second, it was five times the normal Gravity pulling down; the next, it was twice the pull to the left; the second after that, it became three times the upward lift...
Jialou had just prepared to flap his wings and ascend when he felt his body sink, as if his wings were being yanked down by an invisible hand.
He immediately adjusted his Energy output, forcibly stabilizing himself. But then, a pulling force came from his left, tugging him sideways.
It wasn’t a constant, unchanging force, but a chaotic Gravity Field that ebbed and flowed like the tide, its direction ever-shifting!
"Pathetic tricks."
Jialou let out a cold snort. He beat his wings fiercely, and a dark red, blood-colored light spread from their base to their tips.
He actually endured the chaotic shifts of the Gravity Field, forcing his way through. His body shot toward Xu Wuyi like a blood-red meteor!
He slashed with his Curved Saber.
There was nothing fancy about the strike—only pure speed and power.
Wherever the blade passed, the chaotic Gravity Field was forcibly torn apart by the bloody light, and the air let out a piercing shriek.
Xu Wuyi didn’t meet it head-on.
He used Quicksand Step again, his figure shifting sideways like a phantom as he thrust his spear, the tip precisely striking the flat of the Curved Saber.
CLANG!
Amidst the explosive clang of metal, Xu Wuyi used the momentum to retreat. Jialou, however, felt a strange vibration travel through his saber. It wasn’t recoil, but a subtle yet dense change in weight transmitted from the spear tip!
It was like a drop of water that, in the instant it struck the saber, had its weight suddenly increase from being as light as a feather to as heavy as a mountain, only to return to normal within a thousandth of a second.
This bizarre change in force caused a subtle disruption in Jialou’s otherwise perfect rhythm of attack.
And it was this subtle flaw that Xu Wuyi seized.
His retreating figure came to an abrupt halt and shot forward.
He thrust his spear, its tip leaving seven dark-gold afterimages in the air, each one aimed at a different one of Jialou’s vital points.
Jialou’s vertical pupils contracted. He swung his Curved Saber rapidly, the light of the blade weaving a blood-red barrier before him.
CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG!
The seven clashes rang out almost simultaneously.
Jialou blocked all seven Spear Thrusts, but with each one he parried, the changes in weight from his saber grew even stranger.
At times, it was as heavy as a mountain, making his wrist go numb; at others, it was as light as nothing, causing his strike to miss its mark; and still other times, it carried a rotational pull, trying to divert his Saber Momentum.
He had never encountered this style of combat before.
It wasn’t about overwhelming power or superior speed, but a manipulation of the very essence of "force."
"You..." Jialou retreated three steps to create distance, his vertical pupils fixed on Xu Wuyi. "Your Gravity Manipulation... it’s different from what the intel said."
Xu Wuyi stood with his spear, the illusion of a great marsh swirling slowly within his dark-gold pupils.
"People are always improving."
Before his voice had faded, he attacked again.
This time, he didn’t use his spear.
Instead, he raised his left hand and made a grasping motion with his fingers.
In his sea of consciousness, the "breathing" of the dark-gold marsh suddenly intensified, the scope of its contractions and expansions widening.
The Power of his Heart Image surged forth, condensing and undergoing Compression above his palm.
A single drop of water.
It was dark gold, the size of a pinprick, and it floated three inches above his palm.
There was no leaking Energy Fluctuation, no heat, no light—only a heart-pounding sense of "presence."
Jialou’s instincts were screaming alarms.
Danger!
Extreme danger!
The Mental Realm of "heaviness" contained within that Water Drop made even him, a level 49 Sub-King, feel a bone-deep chill.
"This is..." Jialou tightened his grip on his Curved Saber as blood-red light condensed on the blade.
"Water Drop," Xu Wuyi answered calmly. "Your critique is welcome."
He flicked his finger.
The Water Drop vanished.
No, it didn’t vanish—it had just reached the pinnacle of speed!
The instant it left his finger, it broke the sound barrier, tracing a faint, dark-gold trajectory through the air as it shot straight for the spot between Jialou’s eyebrows!
Jialou roared, slashing his Curved Saber horizontally. The blood-red light materialized into a tangible blade of energy, chopping toward the Water Drop.
He was confident that with his level 49 power, he could shatter any attack.
The blade of energy collided with the Water Drop.
There was no explosion, no shockwave.
Only a soft "PFFT," like a needle piercing leather.
The blood-red blade of energy snapped in the middle.
It wasn’t shattered, but "pierced."
With inconceivable Penetration Power, the Water Drop shot straight through the condensed blade of energy, its speed undiminished, and continued toward Jialou!
Jialou’s expression changed drastically. He flapped his wings frantically, his body dodging sharply to the side.
But he was still half a step too slow.
The Water Drop grazed past his left shoulder.
His dark-silver light armor was sliced open with a smooth gash, as if it were made of paper. The skin, muscle, and bone beneath were pierced in the same instant, leaving a pinprick-sized hole.
There was no blood.
The cellular tissue around the hole had been crushed and annihilated by the extreme "weight" in the instant of penetration, not even giving the blood a chance to seep out.
Jialou let out a muffled groan as a sharp pain shot through his left shoulder. He looked down. The edge of the hole was as smooth as a mirror, as if it had been cut by the most precise laser.
What was more terrifying was that a strange power was spreading from the wound throughout his body. It wasn’t Energy corrosion, but an infiltration of "weight."
He felt the left side of his body growing heavier and heavier, as if every single cell had been filled with lead.
"What is this..." Jialou gritted his teeth. Blood-red light erupted from his body as he tried to dispel the strange power.
But it was no use.
The infiltration of weight was a physical effect, something that Energy defenses could hardly block completely.
Xu Wuyi gave him no chance to breathe.
The first Water Drop had barely passed when his left hand made another grasping motion.
The second drop formed.
Jialou’s pupils shrank abruptly.
’One drop is already this troublesome. If another one comes...’
He couldn’t afford to defend passively any longer.
"Blood Sacrifice: Burning Wings!"
Jialou roared, and the grayish-white wings on his back suddenly ignited with dark-red Flame.
It wasn’t a real Flame, but a temporary burst of power gained by burning his Life Energy.
His aura surged once more, nearly touching the threshold of level 50.
The blood-red light on his Curved Saber was so thick it looked solid. Jialou took a step, and his figure split into nine afterimages, attacking Xu Wuyi from different directions simultaneously!
Nine slashes of light sealed off all escape routes.
This was one of his ultimate techniques, "Nine Shadows Slash." He had once used this move to severely injure three human Quasi-Grandmasters at the same time.
Xu Wuyi watched the nine approaching slashes, his expression as calm as ever.