Chapter 416: The End, Fireworks Bloom

Boundless power surged with the expansion of muscles; the viscous air was compressed and exploded with a shrill wail.

The arm, thicker than an adult's waist, was like a blue-grey pile driver, transforming into a blurred afterimage as it crashed down.

"Bang!!!"

An explosive, thunderous sound detonated within the spacious cavern!

The solid rock floor was shattered into fragments in an instant, sending countless tiny shards spraying outward.

It is no exaggeration to say that if ninety percent of the residents of Shoal Bay were struck head-on by this punch, they would instantly be reduced to mincemeat, exploding like a blood mist.

Even the adventurers in the Association, unless they specialized in defense or had a sufficiently high professional level, would find it difficult to withstand this blow.

Xia Nan could not, either.

Defensive capability had always been his weakness; to some extent, this was also the reason why his armor's scrap rate was far higher than that of adventurers of the same level.

In high-intensity battles that matched his actual combat power, to compensate for this shortcoming, he could only rely on more expensive and sturdier armor to increase his margin for error.

With his rich combat experience, he naturally could not use his own weakness to clash head-on with the enemy's strength.

As the two highest of his six attribute dimensions, this was vividly reflected at this moment.

His 12 points of Perception allowed Xia Nan to sense the suddenly condensing killing intent even before the Shashou threw its punch, and he made a precise prediction based on the subtle movements of the opponent's waist, abdomen, and arm muscles.

His 11 points of Agility allowed him, once he had sensed it, to drive his body with extremely fast reaction speed to exert force and dodge.

The result of the combination of the two was that the Shashou's punch, which appeared powerful and indeed was, could only land uselessly on the ground.

And the black-grey wolf tooth followed closely behind, stabbing out from the side.

"Swoosh."

The enchanted straight sword, forged with exotic silver ingots as the main material combined with high-quality auxiliary materials at a cost of four-digit gold coins, was sharp enough—even without activating the Remaining Fire state—to pierce into that thick, tough, and solid skin in a relatively easy manner under the force of his powerful strike.

Blood seeped out, and the scarlet blood beads seemed to be pulled by some invisible force, flying out from the wound like tiny satellites, circling in the air around the sword blade.

Hum—

The sword light flashed.

The pitch-black figure disappeared from the spot amidst a wolf's howl.

Only a long, thin wound extending from the wrist to the shoulder remained on the Shashou's right arm.

For this monster with an exaggerated physical constitution, this could not be called an injury.

However, by controlling its muscle contractions, it could stop the bleeding within a few breaths, and it would not take many minutes for the wound to heal and scab over.

But what if there were five, or even ten, wounds of this degree?

No matter how robust the body was or how much the recovery ability exceeded the ordinary, it ultimately had not reached the level of "Transcendence."

When wound after wound accumulated, it would eventually achieve a qualitative change through quantitative change, forming a serious injury sufficient to affect its actual combat capability.

Looking from afar, in the center of the dimly lit, spacious cavern, the Shashou, covered in tiny wounds and dripping with blood, roared as it stood in place, like prey that was about to be exhausted and was putting up a desperate struggle.

And the true hunter, that pitch-black Winter Wolf with swaying mane, paced lightly in the shadows nearby, looking for an opportunity to bite through the prey's neck with its wolf teeth.

He still had the three remaining uses of Gravity Etching.

Xia Nan had a very clear understanding of the situation on the field.

The Shashou before him looked covered in blood, but in reality, it was still only a minor injury, not yet accumulated to a sufficient degree.

He still needed to remain vigilant.

Otherwise, if he were hit even once by that fist, which could be called a siege hammer, the situation would immediately reverse.

His choice of strategy could be said to be very correct.

Facing such a clumsy and powerful enemy, utilizing his own advantages in mobility and agility to maneuver and drag the fight out could almost be said to be the wisest tactic.

But on the other hand, Xia Nan also knew that if he continued in this form, the duration of the battle would be significantly prolonged.

Regarding this, he indeed had some concerns.

His pitch-black eyes turned slightly, his gaze sweeping over the quiet pool of water behind the Shashou.

It was not a dungeon boss from the games of his past life that would definitely fight you to the end once the group started.

The enemy before him, upon sensing that its own physical strength was being continuously weakened while it could do nothing to Xia Nan, had every possibility of fleeing.

The pool was right next to it, and considering the terrain of the seaside grotto, its depths most likely connected to the open sea outside.

If it ran away then, what should he do?

Chase it?

How to chase?

Rashly entering the water was complete suicide.

Facing this type of shark-like monster, in the water, his greatest advantage in mobility could not be exerted at all.

The opponent didn't even need any complex tactics; like how Xia Nan was currently dealing with the Shashou by dragging it so it couldn't return to the surface, after a long time, he himself would fall into a faint due to lack of oxygen.

In this situation, if the monster before him wanted to escape, he really had no way to stop it.

And with Xia Nan's personality, if he really let such an enemy, who had clearly shown hostility toward him and even fought him, escape...

He definitely wouldn't be able to sleep tonight.

You must pull up the weeds by the roots!

And this was precisely the reason why he had specifically kept 【Gravity Etching】.

Xia Nan was looking for the key to breaking the deadlock within the seemingly steady war of attrition.

Once he found that sufficiently fatal weakness on the opponent... he would not hesitate.

Dong-long—

The lute music continued.

In reality, the number of battles the Halfling Alton and Xia Nan had cooperated in was not many.

After the Kalanfur incident, from Xia Nan learning 【Tooth Hunting】 and 【Gravity Control】 to obtaining his professional level, and up to the current lv3, the other party had not participated at all.

Over a year had passed, and his combat style and actual combat power had undergone earth-shaking changes.

But unexpectedly, based on their identical judgment of the situation on the field and their quick understanding of each other's combat methods, they needed no communication; the two of them displayed an extraordinary tacit understanding at this moment.

The lute music echoing between the rock walls changed continuously, gradually transitioning from the initial impassioned type to a light and brisk one.

While calming the burning fighting spirit in Xia Nan's heart, it made his thinking clearer, and the speed at which he maneuvered 【Tooth Hunting】 became a few points more agile.

This was precisely Alton's agile adjustment to the bonus effects of his own lute music after realizing that Xia Nan did not intend to attack head-on but was maneuvering and dragging the fight out in the surroundings.

The melodious and brisk lute music was the perfect BGM for Xia Nan to assist in combat, but to the monster's ears, it was annoying noise that made its heart increasingly chaotic.

A pair of lightless fish eyes suddenly looked toward the Halfling's direction, and amidst a wild roar, it charged straight toward Alton's position.

The wolf's howl sounded at almost the same time.

Constantly paying attention to the monster's movements, how could Xia Nan miss this opportunity?

The grey-black straight sword condensed ochre-red energy on its surface, arriving later but reaching first, wanting to block the opponent's attempt to cut into the back row while causing sufficient damage.

The next second, the 【Ember Meteor】 straight sword had already slashed down with a perfect arc of light.

"Hum-Boom!"

The force field energy suddenly exploded, transforming into an ochre-red energy sword light under the blessing of 【Spinning Slash】, slashing straight at the Shashou's heart.

The blue-grey, rough skin was torn apart instantly, revealing the solid muscles beneath.

Being in the middle of its charge, the Shashou had no room to dodge and was struck solidly on the back by the sword.

In an instant, the bonus effects of 【Spinning Slash】, 【Gravity Etching】, and 【Heavy Tide】 erupted simultaneously, plus the "+5% Slashing Damage" and "+10% Psychic Damage" attached to the 【Ember Meteor】 straight sword itself.

This caused the monster's shark-like dorsal fin to be shaved off by a third on the spot, and a hideous wound deep enough to see bone was torn into its spine.

It was an undoubted serious injury!

But it was precisely the intense pain and the feeling of weakness from the rapid loss of vitality brought about by such a wound that further stimulated the monster's ferocity.

Its fish eyes turned red, and the fierce aura peculiar to beasts permeated the air.

It roared wildly, its figure suddenly expanding by a circle, shaking off Xia Nan who intended to take advantage of the victory to pursue.

At the same time, its speed soared by another notch as it charged wildly toward the little guy's direction. ===== CHAPTER 417 =====