Chapter 2232

Su Xiao had just entered the banquet hall when the Dragon Hunting Spider stepped forward; seeing this, Su Xiao took out a piece of dry, withered bark.

The Dragon Hunting Spider swung its carapace legs, snatched the dry bark, and tossed it into its mouth; it was clearly somewhat dissatisfied, but this also counted as Su Xiao passing the first round of the trial.

Su Xiao and Nita were seated at the banquet table, while Mond stood in the fountain pool by the wall, washing the bloodstains from his body.

At that moment, a spatial fluctuation surged, and Dillin suddenly appeared in midair before falling to the ground.

At this time, Dillin's red robe was already torn to shreds, one of her eyes had turned pitch black, and her skin was covered in bloodstains.

Her trembling arm rose, bringing a small vial to her lips.

Hiss~

After Dillin drew a long breath of the gas from the metal vial, the twisted darkness within her was stripped away.

"Ha, hahaha, trying to kill me? Dream on. I'm merely a dead person."

Dillin walked step by step to the edge of the pool and collapsed directly into the water; her blood was diluted by the clear water. Dillin had a slight mysophobia, stemming from childhood experiences.

After all, it was only the first round of the trial; if one couldn't even endure this, they wouldn't qualify to advance from the first stage of the Power Struggle War. However, Nita was an exception—she had survived this long because of her cooperation with Su Xiao.

From Nita's attempt to lure away Axe Brother, it was clear she was genuinely cooperating with Su Xiao.

All combatants had now gathered; Anna's eyes opened, her slender fingers lightly tapped the banquet table, and a crystalline white light appeared upon all combatants.

Su Xiao looked at the white fluorescence on his arm—this energy had a strong healing effect, though he had no wounds.

Su Xiao rose from the sofa and also sat at the banquet table; just as he sat down, heavy footsteps came from the direction of the Golden Gate.

Fourteen Axe Brothers walked toward Su Xiao; ultimately, they all stood behind his chair, boiling killing intent undisguised. But this was the banquet hall—if not all combatants had gathered, they could not even enter here. Now, it was clearly impossible to attack Su Xiao.

Dillin, seated beside Su Xiao, silently rose, moved to a farther seat, and sat down without a word.

Anna sat in the seat of honor, Su Xiao sat opposite her, with a round banquet table between them; behind Su Xiao stood fourteen Axe Brothers, staring tiger-like.

Even without heads, the Axe Brothers stood four meters tall, each wielding a massive bone-cleaving axe stained with blood and gore; their aura was formidable, as one could imagine.

On either side of the Pain Queen Anna sat Mond, Su Xiao, Nita, and Dillin; the atmosphere fell into a somewhat eerie silence.

At first glance, Su Xiao, with the group of Axe Brothers behind him, resembled the host of a death game.

"These... are all your summoned beasts?!"

Mond slightly tilted his head, gazing at the Axe Brothers behind Su Xiao one by one.

"You could understand it that way."

"Then why do I feel like they want to cleave you?"

Mond rubbed the sawn-off horn on his head.

"Perhaps this is loyalty."

"Ah?"

Mond was completely dumbfounded.

On the surface, Mond indeed looked dazed, but earlier he had subtly inquired whether Su Xiao needed assistance, to which Su Xiao had politely declined.

Dealing with the Axe Brothers required only avoidance—this was the cost: gaining three Shadow Stones, permanently increasing luck by two points. There would never be a free lunch from the sky; while Su Xiao reaped great benefits, he also had to bear the corresponding risks.

"Being able to enter the banquet hall already signifies you have the qualification to continue participating in the Death Game. In the subsequent trials, you only need to find the 'Forgotten Dominoes' to complete the Death Game and proceed to the third stage of the Power Struggle War's trial."

Upon saying this, the Pain Queen Anna's words paused.

"As your reward for completing the Death Game, you may choose any collectible you need in the 'Final Place'."

As Anna's words fell, a section of the innermost wall of the banquet hall turned into gray mist; clearly, entering this gray mist would initiate the subsequent trials.

The gray mist on the wall spread, and judging by the trend, it would soon fill the banquet hall. Time was short—Su Xiao could not wait for the Axe Brothers' pursuit status to be lifted.

Su Xiao stepped toward the gray mist, and the fourteen Axe Brothers behind him strode forward in unison.

Just as he reached the gray mist, Su Xiao placed his hand on the hilt of his knife at his waist; just as he was about to draw it, a heavy pressure appeared all over his body—drawing weapons was prohibited in the banquet hall, meaning he could not take advantage of the Axe Brothers being restrained to eliminate them.

Su Xiao signaled for Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Bubu Wang to enter the gray mist first, to test the Axe Brothers' pursuit priority.

Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Bubu Wang rushed into the gray mist; the fourteen Axe Brothers behind Su Xiao did not move—this indicated that Su Xiao's pursuit priority was the highest.

Bahah also entered the gray mist; Su Xiao waited over ten seconds, then charged into the gray mist.

Boom!

The booming sound exploded within the banquet hall, the gray mist twisted, and all fourteen Axe Brothers charged into the gray mist.

Within the hazy gray mist, Su Xiao had just rushed out over ten meters when the surrounding mist dissipated, revealing a row of wooden houses ahead.

A howling sound came from behind Su Xiao; a large axe flew past his side, directly chopping into the front wooden house, wood chips flying—this axe pierced straight through the house and vanished into the distant darkness.

Su Xiao did not pause for a single step, charging straight forward; although everything ahead was unknown, the Axe Brothers were pursuing from behind.

Su Xiao had previously noticed that the Axe Brothers' speed was not particularly fast—of course, this was only in terms of their overall combat strength.

Engaging the Axe Brothers in melee was utterly impossible; even a seventh-rank contractor would be chopped to pieces by them.

Wind howled in his ears as Su Xiao charged forward; suddenly he leapt, and in the next instant, a large axe spun toward him, sweeping past beneath his feet.

Boom!

A heavy object crashed down before Su Xiao—it was an Axe Brother, thrown by another Axe Brother.

As this Axe Brother hit the ground, the iron chains on its body shattered inch by inch, the great maw on its torso opened wide, and it lunged directly at Su Xiao to bite—this bite was so fast there was almost no room to dodge.

Bang!

After the horrifying biting sound, the Axe Brother bit nothing but air; Su Xiao disengaged from the spatial penetration state, standing on the Axe Brother's spine, legs bent, leaping out like a shell fired from a cannon.

Just as Su Xiao leapt a few meters, a large axe came chopping down toward his head.

Su Xiao forcibly entered the spatial penetration state; the incoming axe penetrated his head and torso, finally slanting out from his waist—fortunately, Su Xiao was in the spatial penetration state, allowing him to nearly completely avoid physical attacks.

The axe chopped into the ground like it had struck a bomb, and the surrounding soil was blasted upward by the impact.

At this moment, Su Xiao faced an Axe Brother head-on; a crystalline layer rapidly wrapped around his right arm, his right arm bent, fist clenched, and he punched toward the Axe Brother's flank.

As for why he struck the flank, the height difference was significant—the Axe Brothers were four meters tall.

With a bang, the shockwave spread; the crystalline layer on Su Xiao's right arm exploded, while the Axe Brother merely leaned back slightly—and that was all.

Taking this opportunity, Su Xiao rushed toward the distance.

Just after rushing out a few dozen meters, another large axe spun and flew toward him; Su Xiao dodged sideways, and a streak of blood spurted onto his shoulder.

With a thud, Su Xiao fell to the ground, the smell of earth entering his nostrils, his pupils rapidly constricting because his entire body was numb—not from energy or mental control, but from being shocked numb by a force.

A black shadow pressed down from above; as Su Xiao lay on the ground, blue light flickered in his eyes, and he suddenly shifted sideways several meters without warning, as if being dragged.

The axe cleaved down, mud striking Su Xiao's face, a sharp pain coming from his cheek, and he narrowed his eyes.

Su Xiao was flung into the air by the impact, suspended midair, the numbness throughout his body quickly fading; taking this chance, he clenched his right hand into a fist.

The exile detachment clinging to various parts of Su Xiao's body returned to his cuffs; he had just barely escaped.