Chapter 76: Rooftop Battle, Mithril Armor

On the rooftop, Fang Shi stood holding his sword, the wind from the high building forming a vortex that swirled around him, blowing the hair on his forehead.

Beneath his feet, the corpses of otherworldly creatures and humans covered the roof, blood staining every inch of the tiles red.

The thick scent of blood lingered at the tip of his nose, refusing to dissipate.

After half an hour of slaughter, Fang Shi had finally cleared all the otherworldly creatures from the building and reached the rooftop.

The horrors along the way were enough to make an ordinary person suffer from post-traumatic stress syndrome.

But for Fang Shi, it was like the wind on the rooftop.

Though strong, it could only swirl around the surface of his body, insufficient to penetrate his mind and body.

It was not that he was heartless, but the apocalypse was simply this cruel.

Those who could not adapt were eliminated long ago, hiding safely behind the strong ever after.

Becoming a commoner, producing supplies day after day.

Until the day the strong could no longer offer protection.

Fang Shi, whether before his rebirth or after, did not belong to such people.

In this life, he would even more so master his own destiny.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

His long sword slashed through the air, severing three arrows at their middles.

Fang Shi turned his body, looking up at the sky.

A fire-feathered human clad in silver-blue armor hovered twenty meters in the air.

He stood three meters tall, holding a jade-white longbow.

The string on the bow still trembled, emitting a buzzing sound.

Fang Shi said calmly, "Lu Xiusi, it is actually you."

"Eh?" Lu Xiusi asked in confusion, "You know me?"

Fang Shi certainly knew Lu Xiusi; he was a king of one of the nine clans of the fire-feathered humans.

He was a godly archer roaming the skies, whose arrows never missed their mark.

He specialized in sniping the strong among humans.

The draw weight of the longbow in his hand alone reached 800 pounds.

With the addition of magic, the speed of the arrows had already broken the sound barrier.

Plus his special shooting techniques, making him almost impossible to resist.

Moreover, as a king of the fire-feathered human race, he naturally did not fight alone.

In the eyes of Fang Shi, who possessed profound intuition, the magical auras on Lu Xiusi's Body's Method were simply dense and numerous.

Various BUFFs were bestowed upon him, not at all inferior to those on Zhao Wensong and Luo Xiu.

Even because of the level factor of magic-based classes.

The BUFF bonuses on Lu Xiusi's Body's Method were even stronger.

In contrast, the magical auras on Fang Shi's Body's Method were pitifully sparse.

One look showed he was a lonely wanderer.

It was not that Fang Shi refused to let Luo Song's people bestow buffs, but the duration of spells is limited.

Having fought all the way up, the duration had long since expired.

How could he compare to Lu Xiusi?

Fang Shi mocked, "I do not only know you; I also know people like Amy and Matthew."

"You kings, why not stay safely at home and come out to take risks?"

"If you accidentally die on Blue Star, your wives and children will belong to others."

Although the fire-feathered humans had a king within, their system was still like the nomadic tribes on Blue Star.

After a king died, the strongest in the tribe would take his place and inherit his wives and daughters.

Lu Xiusi showed no reaction to Fang Shi's mockery.

Or rather, their mindsets differed, and he simply did not care about such things.

He nodded and said, "It seems the Promised Land also has some understanding of the Aeterna World."

"Every race, at the moment of life and death, will inevitably give birth to miracles."

"You are one of these miracles, no wonder you could kill so many of my kin."

"However, your miracle ends today; I will extinguish it."

Fang Shi chuckled, "You must also have the ability to do so."

"But I am curious, why must you attack Blue Star at all costs?"

"Is it not good to stay well in the Aeterna World?"

"You also understand,"

"even with your strength, attacking Blue Star is not without cost."

"Do you not care about the casualties of these kin?"

"Aeterna is not a kind place; with such heavy losses, can you still survive this winter?"

Lu Xiusi said, "What you say is indeed correct, but precisely because Aeterna is not a kind place."

"Therefore, we must conquer the Promised Land; as long as we succeed, we can safely survive this winter."

Fang Shi asked, "Are you willing to pay the price of near-annihilation of the clan?"

Lu Xiusi said coldly, "Willing; as long as there are clan members left, we can continue to breed."

"No matter how many die or are injured, exchanging for a safe place, everything is worth it."

Fang Shi added, "After you occupy Ancheng, there will be no new spatial gates, correct?"

"No new monsters descending? How will you defend yourselves then?"

Lu Xiusi sneered, "Naturally there won't be. We have the protection of the Gods, so we will not suffer divine punishment."

Fang Shi scoffed, "Gods? Gods that let you suffer countless casualties, Gods that couldn't even protect the Aeterna World?"

"What use are such Gods? In our Hua Country, they would have been dragged out and paraded through the streets long ago."

"Just like a Dragon King who doesn't bring rain during a drought; you have to whip him ten or eight times before he obeys."

Lu Xiusi's face darkened. "Do not slander my Lord."

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

In a short span, Lu Xiusi's bow trembled repeatedly, and five arrows were fired simultaneously.

Their speeds varied, forming a blockade that sealed off all of Fang Shi's retreat paths.

Moreover, this was not the end.

A figure suddenly materialized in the sky, chanting words of power.

A spell's magical light shot toward Fang Shi, arriving before the arrows despite being fired later, striking Fang Shi.

Spell Ascension—Human Paralysis!

The target will be paralyzed and frozen in place.

Their senses and breathing remain normal, but they cannot perform any action, not even speaking.

Flying humans will fall immediately; swimming humans will drown.

As a spell developed specifically against humans, it possesses an extremely high difficulty to resist.

Boom!

Tiles shattered, blood splattered, and a small crater appeared on the solid concrete ground.

Fang Shi launched into the air, leaping ten meters high, his steps precisely landing on the path of the incoming arrows.

He stepped firmly on the arrows, using them as leverage to leap again.

He moved against the sky, charging straight at Lu Xiusi.

Lu Xiusi was surprised by Fang Shi's performance. This technique sounds simple, but is actually extremely difficult.

Arrows exceeding the speed of sound are fast in themselves; moreover, one must accurately judge their trajectory in such a short time.

No wonder he could slaughter his subordinates; with such ability, he is indeed remarkable.

But that is all there is to it. Lu Xiusi was not the least bit panicked.

His earlier conversation with Fang Shi was partly to distract him.

This allowed the Priest hiding nearby to successfully cast a spell.

Of course, failure would not matter.

A seasoned warrior should consider the consequences of failure and have a corresponding contingency plan.

Although Fang Shi's speed was fast, it was not un-dodgeable for Lu Xiusi.

If he successfully dodged, Fang Shi would lose his point of leverage.

He would inevitably lose his balance, exposing a massive opening.

At that point, Lu Xiusi could easily pick him off with his bow.

But Lu Xiusi simply did not want to dodge; he felt Fang Shi was not worthy of his dodging.

He was the King among the Fire-Winged People, with a Life Level reaching 9.

His physical constitution was incomparable to ordinary Fire-Winged People, and he had the Priest's Buff bonuses on his body.

If he still needed to dodge under such circumstances, Lu Xiusi felt he could abdicate his throne.

Clang!

The long sword and the long bow collided, sparking a few sparks.

Lu Xiusi did not use another weapon, but struck with the long bow in his hand.

This long bow, crafted from the bones of a legendary beast, was indeed unrivaled in toughness.

Despite such a violent impact, with wind elements swirling around the long sword,

the jade-white bow body bore no marks whatsoever.

Instead, this strike slammed Fang Shi down toward the ground.

Lu Xiusi used the recoil to retreat, drew his bow to full tension, and shot at Fang Shi.

He did not believe Fang Shi could dodge this time; there was nowhere in the air to gain leverage.

No matter how great your skills, you cannot maneuver or shift position.

You can only endure it directly.

At the same time, the Fire-Winged Priest hiding nearby completed the Second Casting.

Instant Spell—Dispel Magic!

The Fire-Winged Priest sensed magical power surging within Fang Shi.

He decisively used Dispel Magic to interrupt Fang Shi's casting.

Even the abilities of a Magical Item could be dispelled by this spell.

Leaving Fang Shi no chance to fight back.

Yet, even facing such a critical situation, the falling Fang Shi showed no panic.

His expression was calm, a smile on his face, as if he possessed full confidence.

Earlier, while chatting with Lu Xiusi, he had already sensed someone nearby casting a spell.

He also understood Lu Xiusi's intentions, but did this not align with Fang Shi's own wishes?

Fang Shi, having grown to this point, is no longer a small figure struggling on the razor's edge of life and death.

He desires even more to understand the deep secrets of the apocalypse.

Unfortunately, Lu Xiusi reveals not a single hint.

He speaks of the East and West, which Fang Shi already knows; he does not know if Lu Xiusi truly does not understand or simply refuses to speak.

The confidence that allows Fang Shi to act this way lies in the newly acquired specialty, Arcane Intuition.

Before this, with Fang Shi's perception and spell identification, he could indeed detect someone casting spells in secret.

But he absolutely could not, as he can now, easily identify exactly what spell it is.

Unless that caster was casting face-to-face before Fang Shi.

But after gaining Arcane Intuition, Fang Shi is even more sensitive to the flow of magic power.

And even more easily, even without seeing it with his own eyes.

Relying on this perception, he can also analyze what spell it is.

After determining that this spell is Human Hold Person.

Fang Shi simply did not dodge or evade; with his own force resistance, it was already difficult for him to be hit.

Moreover, the saving throw for Human Hold Person is Will.

This is even more Fang Shi's strong suit.

He possesses Iron Will II; basically, all first-tier casters using spells that affect Will.

Fang Shi can basically pass the saving throw.

Stepping on the arrow and leaping through the air afterwards was not a mindless act.

First, it was to make Lu Xiusi and the others lower their guard.

Second, it was to lure the Fire-Feathered Human Priest nearby into casting a spell.

The spell fluctuation on Fang Shi's Body's Method came from the Summoning Ring.

After the Fire-Feathered Human Priest cast Dispel Magic, he directly threw the ring toward the spell ray.

Only then did he truly begin casting.

【Bai He Sword Art (Perfected)】

In an instant, Fang Shi, who was in mid-air, vanished, turning into a formless wind.

Passing through the arrows, he blew toward Lu Xiusi.

In a mere instant, he crossed the distance between the two.

This is the wonder of Bai He Sword Art: the body merges with the wind.

It is true wind.

Except for some extreme physical attacks and supernatural powers.

Ordinary physical attacks simply cannot harm Fang Shi; most importantly, he can also ride the wind to fly.

Truly a divine technique combining offense and defense.

This is the true reason this spell costs 4 points of magic power.

Burning the lute and boiling the crane!

Lu Xiusi did not react at all.

After casting Bai He Sword Art, all of Fang Shi's movements became twice as fast.

Exceeding the critical threshold of Lu Xiusi's reaction speed.

This is why Fang Shi stepped on the arrows and walked.

If he did not shorten the relative distance between himself and Lu Xiusi.

Lu Xiusi would have reacted, thus possibly making a countermeasure.

Moreover, not casting it during the first attack was also to avoid the enemy having any measures.

For this, Fang Shi even consumed some magic power to test.

The facts proved that, except for Dispel Magic.

Lu Xiusi's group had no other means whatsoever.

Even though there were countless spell auras on their bodies, they were all passive spells buffing themselves.

No Anti-Magic Field, Contingency, or similar spells.

The gale, like a sharp blade, directly took Lu Xiusi's head.

"You have dealt 11 points of damage to the target."

"You have dealt 12 points of damage to the target."

"You have dealt 10 points of damage to the target."

"Target dead."

"Extracting target soul energy, you gain 630 experience points, 63 survival points."

After killing Lu Xiusi, the gale did not stop at all, but instead rolled toward the Fire-Feathered Human Priest.

"Ah!"

Accompanied by a scream of agony, the Fire-Feathered Human Priest died right there.

"You have dealt 20 points of damage to the target."

"You have dealt 15 points of damage to the target."

"Target eliminated."

"Extracting target's soul energy. You gain 432 Experience Points and 43.2 Survival Points."

Hah!

Fang Shi returned to the rooftop, dispelled the spell, and restored his form.

He still held Lu Xiusi's armor and longbow in his hand.

For a moment, he fell into deep thought.

Was Lu Xiusi weak?

Not at all. The instant Fang Shi engaged him just now,

he perceived that the opponent's strength was at least equivalent to 30 points.

That was 2 points higher than Fang Shi after Activate Second Layer.

The Fire Feather Man also possessed innate spell resistance, plus all kinds of buffs stacked to the max.

At this stage, he was practically an invincible existence; even some weaker second-tier creatures could put up a fight.

Moreover, Fang Shi noticed that the blue-silver armor on Lu Xiusi's body actually contained mithril.

This was a metal harder than diamond.

Diamond has a Mohs hardness of 10; mithril is 20.

This is not a difference of merely double.

Ordinary human skin is 1.5; steel is 5.

Yet even if human skin improved tenfold, it still wouldn't catch up to steel.

Thus, armor made of mithril was extremely sturdy; 100% pure mithril armor was practically a quasi-divine artifact.

Even armor with some mithril added was formidable.

During Fang Shi's attack just now, he managed to leave only a single scratch.

If not for the gaps existing between the armor plates,

Lu Xiusi would have been even more invincible.

No wonder he brought almost no subordinates. Anyone with this equipment and strength would have such boldness.

Moreover, for safety's sake, Lu Xiusi had maxed out his buffs and even brought a priest along.

Had Lu Xiusi been even more cautious and brought a whole group, this battle would absolutely not have been so easy.

Unfortunately, there are no "ifs" in reality.

Once dead, one is dead; there is no second chance.

"Wait! There's something wrong with this longbow!"