Chapter 61: Chapter Twenty-Nine: Different Paths

Su Xiao narrowed his eyes; the Qiyuezhe before him was now dangerous.

“Huh~.”

A low growl emerged from the Queen’s throat as she crouched on the ground, her body wrapped in a dark red energy.

This energy had no stable form, like a loose cloak.

The knight’s sword the Queen had drawn was now discarded beside her.

The Queen’s original plan was to drink the liquid to boost her stats, then close in for melee and kill Su Xiao with her enhanced attributes.

Unfortunately, the Queen’s luck ran out—she failed the roll and fell into a confused state.

From her blood-red bestial eyes, it was clear she had lost her sanity.

Su Xiao was now the closest to the Queen, so she naturally fixated on him.

Sharp bony claws had grown on the Queen’s long fingers, and four canine fangs protruded.

Through prior reconnaissance, Su Xiao learned the Queen’s strength was 16, agility 15, and her vitality too high to detect.

Her strength was three points higher than his, agility two points higher—manageable.

Su Xiao took a deep breath, his gaze locked on the half-bestial Queen.

“Roar!!”

Another threatening roar rang out; though she’d lost her reason, the Queen’s animal instincts sensed Su Xiao was no easy target.

In the Cannibal World, Su Xiao had never feared a one-on-one fight—he’d dared to stand toe-to-toe with Kozuki Izumi, let alone a drugged Qiyuezhe .

He’d spent vast amounts of Paradise Coins in the [Training Ground], summoning Keng Shilang’s mirror image to greatly improve his swordsmanship.

More importantly, he’d absorbed Keng Shilang’s combat techniques—he’d trained in swordsmanship for three years before entering the Paradise, and already had battle experience.

After Keng Shilang’s instruction, his combat experience grew even richer.

Most Qiyuezhe spent Paradise Coins on gear or skills; Su Xiao spent them to gain combat techniques.

“Come on, little fox.”

For some reason, the Queen now gave off the impression of having turned into a fox.

“Kill… you!”

The Queen spoke each word slowly—whether from instinct or lingering consciousness, it was unclear.

Su Xiao stood his ground, choosing not to strike first; she lost 3% of her HP per second, and he had plenty of time.

A green light shot from the roadside and sank into the Queen’s body; her rapidly draining HP bar rose noticeably.

“Heh~. Let’s see how long you can hold out.”

Su Xiao began circling the Queen, ever vigilant against her attacks.

After a few seconds, the Queen seemed to realize her life was draining fast; she kicked off the ground and charged toward Su Xiao.

A red blur flashed past—when the Queen reappeared, she was already before Su Xiao.

Su Xiao’s pupils contracted; his right arm tensed as he slashed at the Queen.

“Sssss.”

The sharp Dragon-Slice cleaved like a blade across a tire’s surface, only slicing through the outermost muscle tissue of the Queen’s arm.

This vitality?? Indeed, she wasn’t weak—according to Su Xiao’s calculation, the Queen’s vitality was 24 points.

Earlier, when the Queen used [Mithril Chains], the Paradise had warned: “The caster’s vitality is 2.33 times yours.”

Su Xiao’s vitality was 6 points; 6 times 2.33 equals 13.98, and attribute values were typically rounded—so the Queen’s vitality was 14.

After drinking the unknown liquid, the Queen’s three attributes increased by 10—meaning her current vitality was now 24.

Once vitality exceeded 20 points, a startling change occurred: the sharp Dragon-Slice struggled even to break through her defense.

Though the Queen’s arm was wounded by Su Xiao’s strike, the wound stopped bleeding within seconds and showed signs of healing.

“Sssss~.”

A wisp of green smoke rose from the wound, and the Queen’s injury sealed shut.

Seeing this astonishing change, Su Xiao’s lip twitched—her recovery was monstrous.

After being wounded, the Queen froze in place, as if thinking.

Her blood-red bestial eyes trembled; two seconds later, the red faded from her gaze, and clarity returned.

“This damn blood—finally cleared the vitality attribute check.”

The Queen’s current state triggered a check every 10 seconds; if she passed, she regained consciousness.

“Ye Zi, don’t hide—come out. As long as I’m alive, he can’t touch you.”

Between the Queen and Su Xiao hung the [Mithril Chains]; Ye Zi stepped out from the alley.

Ye Zi had an excellent figure—though not voluptuous, even somewhat flat-chested, her delicate face and natural aura gave her a unique charm.

The Queen walked to the knight’s sword on the ground, stomped the hilt, and the sword leapt into her hand.

“Ye Zi, cast ‘Sacred’ on me, then execute Plan C.”

At the Queen’s command, Ye Zi clasped her hands before her, releasing a flood of green light particles.

The particles gathered above her head, forming two small birds—one green, one blue.

The two vivid elemental birds flapped their wings and flew to the Queen’s head, each occupying one side, circling her in a perfect ring.

As the birds flew, emerald and azure light particles drifted down, seeping into the Queen’s body.

The Queen’s HP, which had dropped to one-fifth, surged rapidly; within three seconds, she was fully restored—and no longer losing HP.

It wasn’t that her temporary passive had vanished—it was that her current healing rate now exceeded 3% per second.

“This feeling of power… is intoxicating.”

The Queen smiled seductively, tilting her head toward Su Xiao.

“Are you ready to die now?”

The Queen’s confident smile seemed to pronounce Su Xiao’s death sentence.

Su Xiao visibly faltered, then let out a bitter laugh.

“You think suddenly boosting your stats makes you my match?”

If the Queen’s strength or agility had exceeded 20 points, Su Xiao might have been outmatched—such stats could create crushing dominance.

But the Queen’s vitality exceeded 20—not because vitality was weak, but because her temporary passive caused percentage-based HP loss, nullifying the benefit of high vitality.

Now, aside from slightly higher strength and agility, the Queen posed little real threat to Su Xiao—so long as he watched for those undetected skills.

In Su Xiao’s view, a shield warrior wielding a sword against him was laughable.

Did she think his [Sword Mastery: Lv.3] was just for show?

Most of Su Xiao’s gains from the Pirate World had been invested in [Sword Mastery].

The Dragon-Slice let out a clear hum as Su Xiao closed the distance, determined to show her what real combat was.

His long blade sliced toward the Queen’s head with a howling wind; instinctively, she raised her knight’s sword to block.

“Ding.”

A sharp clang rang out—sparks flew between blade and sword; the Queen had blocked Su Xiao’s strike, giving her a boost of confidence.

But then, suddenly, searing pain erupted in her abdomen, and her body involuntarily flew backward.

Mid-air, she felt a burning sensation on her face—her cheek had been slashed.

“Bang.”

The Queen rolled twice on the hard pavement, then sprang to her feet, eyes dazed—she had no idea what had just happened.

Su Xiao flicked the blood from his Dragon-Slice, the blade angled toward the ground.

“Your melee skill? You dare fight me up close? Combat isn’t about hiding behind a shield—you can’t fight without it.”

The Queen was stunned by Su Xiao’s combo; she still didn’t understand why she’d been flung back.

She swallowed hard, then realized: the gap between her and this man wasn’t in stats or skills—it was in combat experience.

“That HP recovery ability—I don’t believe it’ll last. When it fades, that’s when you die.”

Su Xiao’s words darkened the Queen’s expression; the truth was undeniable.

“I don’t believe you can dodge this sword strike.”

The Queen stood upright, gripping her knight’s sword with one hand, raising it high toward the sky.

“Holy Sword Slash.”

The Queen cried out with full Qishi —this was her only powerful offensive technique, reserved for emergencies, and now finally used.

The night wind stirred the Queen’s long hair—but after her cry, nothing happened.

Unbeknownst to her, her MP had dropped to just 6 points—she could no longer cast skills; [Qinggangying] had burned through most of her MP.

Now, the Queen standing with her sword raised to the sky gave Su Xiao a distinctly otaku vibe.