Chapter 252

Chapter 252: Chapter 249: "I Extend a High Tower Invitation to You"Boom!"

Ming’an kicked the white monster trying to break through his defensive line back a few steps. Their strength values were not too different, so the kick didn’t send the monster off the bridge.

He gripped his sword, a flash of light burst forth, and the Sword of Yarman in his hand seemed to come to life, emitting several inches of bright, frosty glow from the blade’s edge.

After all, the Sword of Yarman was a Purple Grade weapon.

Its hardness, sharpness, were among the best in bladed weapons, and the true damage it inflicted could ignore all damage buff reductions, making it the highest level of damage determination. Against players, it was like the Grim Reaper itself, almost always sealing their fate with a single slash.

But against these thick-skinned white monsters, the true damage it carried felt somewhat insufficient.

When cutting through their bodies, which were like white rocks, it was as though it encountered some resistance, struggling to inflict effective lethal damage.

Previously, Su Ming’an hadn’t really fought full-force in the few instances he’d been through, with the few fights he had occurring in the Fourth World.

In the Fifth World, his journey had consisted mainly of being protectively nursed by Hui Shuhang and Dan Shuang, or slicing through players like they were vegetables, barely encountering any enemies—those he did encounter were of the Holy Initiation sort, almost always sending him to his death.

Along the way, he mainly relied on the narrative and clues to pass through, rarely engaging in combat. When he did face other players, it was usually a one-sided crush, rarely a fight of equals.

Even in this world if Lin Jiang hadn’t died, but actually fought him, the outcome wouldn’t change. With a combat power gap of over six hundred, Lin Jiang stood little chance against him.

However, when facing these endlessly surging NPCs like a tidal wave, he felt real pressure for the first time.

...Pressure from combat.

He had a vague feeling that something was wrong with the story line he was following; the difficulty shouldn’t be this high.

...But he could only kill Xia Luoyang first to see if any clues dropped before he could further determine if his route had gone awry.

Su Ming’an quickly sidestepped and ran deeper into the forest, not daring to face Xia Luoyang’s bullets. If it weren’t for his sixth sense from his high Mentality Points saving him just now, his body would have already died, and the mission to protect Shuhang would have been declared a failure.

Shuhang was himself; he had to ensure his own safety. His original body could not die—this instance didn’t allow for the thought of restarting with a clone in combat.

"Whoosh—!"

The bullet whizzed past his cheek. Su Ming’an dove forward, landing behind a large tree whose thick trunk could just block the bullets for him.

...Indeed, he didn’t expect Xia Luoyang to fight using a gun attack.

After facing Flax’s boss battle, he thought Xia Luoyang would use some sort of mental contamination skill to torment him, something like halos or spells, but instead, the guy directly went for the gun.

Without his check, Ming wouldn’t last long on that side.

Leaning against the tree trunk, he immediately began a five-second state change.

Since Xia Luoyang wasn’t attacking with sanity-lowering abilities, it was best for him to switch to a Bright State.

Although this would cause his Mentality Points to drop, and hallucinations would follow in rapid succession, it was still better than the small physique of the Shadow State, which lacked Spatial Displacement. With a mere 3 points in Agility, the Shadow State would turn him into an easy target, with even a master of outlining with gunfire capable of blowing him up.

In actual combat, Su Ming’an finally felt the neglected flaw in himself.

It was manageable when facing players, who typically got killed by Spatial Vibration before they could get close, but against these tough-skinned NPC hordes, both his states seemed feeble.

Developing too extremly in one direction was also a problem.

If he could further evolve his occupation... might a skill like state fusion emerge?

As he pondered, a series of "pop pop pop" sounds came from behind him. Tree bark burst near his ears, and without looking, he knew Xia Luoyang was still on the pursuit.

As soon as the five seconds elapsed, he immediately sprang out.

"You there—I issue you a High Tower Invitation!"

He immediately shouted at a white monster that had already broken through the defenses.

The white monster did not respond, his eyes were vacant, no longer capable of replying.

The moment after Ming’an finished shouting, he immediately felt an extremely dangerous prickling sensation, as if he would die in the next second, with no space to dodge.

Xia Luoyang’s shooting from a distance was precisely to keep him out of the battlefield, to let Ming’an be besieged to death first, then deal with him afterward.

When he ran out from behind the tree trunk, Xia Luoyang naturally wouldn’t miss the opportunity.

A bullet smeared with green liquid headed straight for Su Ming’an’s forehead, and as always, he could not dodge it, his movements could never be faster than a bullet.

Ming’an did not attempt to dodge.

He stared at the white monster in front of him who was raising an electric baton, just within reach, and in his hand appeared an iron rod of white quality.

He did not care about the bullet that would claim his life, as if he hadn’t realized that there were bullets in the air, and the iron rod struck directly towards the white monster.

Xia Luoyang’s face already showed a smile.

However, a white shield suddenly rose up around Su Ming’an.

It rose extremely swiftly, not leaving the slightest gap.

The oncoming bullet hit the shield without creating even a ripple.

The shiny silver bullet fell to the ground, gradually sinking into a puddle.

Ming’an, holding the iron rod, sidestepped to dodge the electric baton sparking with blue electricity.

He no longer cared about the other enemies, nor Xia Luoyang’s sniper fire from afar.

In front of him, a transparent screen lit up:

Ming’an had already understood the bug in this invitation skill.

Its effect was far more than just summoning one person for a one-on-one battle with him.

Once he had designated an invitation, aside from the targeted enemy, any skills from other enemies could not harm him, including Xia Luoyang’s sniper fire.

When the invitation was established and the white shield rose, he and the white monster in front of him entered an isolated battlefield, where other people could only watch, unable to intervene.

He quickly communicated the tactic to Ming, who immediately issued a High Tower Invitation to one person, and then another white shield rose promptly.

In the surging tide of white monsters, two shields were now alight.

Xia Luoyang stood at the other end of the cliff, cradling his gun, all bullets blocked by these two shields. Both his real body and clone were within the invitations, and he couldn’t harm either of them.

"...Quite an interesting ability, divide and conquer," he smiled and took a step forward.

He was indeed useless at the moment, like an outsider isolated from the battle.

"...But in a relay battle like this, how long can you hold out?" he discarded the mirrorless sniper rifle that was out of bullets, and wiped away the fresh blood from the recoil.

He drew a handgun, stepped onto the suspension bridge, and holding onto the iron cables at his side, moved forward.

In his view, a full twenty monsters were waiting for the fighting within the two shields to end.

"Suzune, where are you going?"

In the damp cave, Dong Xue finally managed to clear a space to sit, and was about to find something to start a fire with when she noticed the little girl named Suzune heading outside.

"Don’t go out yet, the rain outside is too heavy, let’s get changed into dry clothes," Dong Xue immediately stepped forward and quickly caught up to the short-legged Suzune.

Her clothes clung tightly to her body, the water droplets almost soaking her through. Her black hair was damp and stuck to the sides of her face, making her look as if she had been soaked in water.

Suzune was no exception, when she walked out, her legs were half-submerged in a puddle.

Dong Xue approached, wanting to stop her, but Suzune pushed her away with one swift move.

"Suzune, don’t be willful, it’s raining heavily outside, you could get sick..." Dong Xue thought the little girl acted out of a childish nature, having been repressed for too long and was still in a bad mood after her escape.

Her tone was very gentle and patient as she shook out a slightly small dry piece of clothing, hoping to help Suzune, who was soaked all over, change into it.

"...Scram."

Suzune said.

"Ah...?" Dong Xue was stunned.

She was still shaking the piece of clothing in her hands, the sound of the fabric rustling with each shake, and she thought she had heard wrong.

"Suzune, what did you say?"

"Scram."

The frail little girl slowly turned her head, her eyes filled with a cold light.

Dong Xue froze on the spot.

It was only now that she realized, this thin, frail girl who always appeared submissive had a hidden sharpness in the depths of her eyes.

She looked like a beast eyeing a human, the enormity of that predatory creature gave Dong Xue an instant sensation of speechlessness.

Suzune just stared at Dong Xue with a warning glance, after which she ignored her and continued walking.

The storm carried by the wind raked through Suzune’s black hair, but the rain could no longer reach her as her soaked clothes started to dry gradually.

Water droplets slid off her arms and, after taking a few steps, Suzune was enveloped in a space unaffected by the raging storm.

Dong Xue didn’t understand what had gotten into Suzune, but she was afraid.

Afraid of the formidable presence that had suddenly erupted from the small frame of the other person.

She stayed immobile, her clothes falling into the rainwater, her feet rooted to the ground, not daring to follow.

Su Ming’an tilted his head to dodge the electric baton, the pain shooting past his ear.

He quickly advanced, taking advantage of the moment his adversary hadn’t yet retracted their arm, instantaneously closing in on the pale figure before him, his iron rod swiftly reaching the person’s throat with the sharpened end thrusting forward, feeling a sensation of resistance.

When the Sword of Yarman pierced an enemy’s throat, he hadn’t felt any resistance, as the blade would pass through like slicing tofu.

But when his weapon switched to a common-quality iron rod, penetrating the other’s throat wasn’t so easy.

From behind him came the crackling sound of electricity and the white figure’s other hand lashed towards his shoulder. Su Ming’an clenched his teeth, choosing not to retreat. Being so close to his opponent, turning away would allow him to be fiercely grappled; he had no way out.

He gripped the iron rod firmly with both hands and thrust with all his strength.

A massive amount of blood sprayed from the enemy’s throat, the red liquid instantly covering his face, with some mixing with the rainwater to blur his vision, the hot and cold streams crisscrossing in his eyes causing bursts of pain, but he dared not blink.

As the iron rod pierced through the enemy’s throat, the massive hand wrapped in a white glove also landed on his shoulder – a crisp "crack" sound was followed by an intense pain radiating from his right shoulder.

The right shoulder was crushed, at the very least it was fractured.

His Health Points bar plummeted instantaneously, and it seemed some kind of movement-restricting debuff appeared as well. But all he did was immediately push forward in a fall.

The throat pierced, the white monster lost its last bit of strength.

The squeeze that had crushed Su Ming’an’s shoulder was the white monster’s final attack.

"Zzzt—"

The stun baton fell to the ground, and the deep blue electricity flowed through the puddles, turning them into dangerous traps.

Ming’an pushed the white monster forward, collapsing to the ground, gasping for air as he slowly withdrew the iron rod in his hand.

The High Tower Invitation was about to end, and the white shield would soon fall. He was about to face another attack from a white monster in its prime.

He took out a second Strengthener and injected it into his neck, his Health Points slowly recovering.

At this moment, their defensive line had not been completely breached. The High Tower Invitation had only lasted about three seconds when Ming’an had killed the white monster opposite him and turned to face the others. On the iron chain bridge, there were still around eleven or twelve white monsters crowded.

... plus a Xia Luoyang.

The moment Ming’an saw Xia Luoyang step onto the iron chain bridge, he immediately became alert. Under these circumstances, he absolutely could not beat Xia Luoyang at his peak. If he could exploit the terrain to kill the enemy, then he would use the terrain to his advantage, not allowing the enemy to take advantage of the chaos to get past.

"—Break the bridge!"

Ming’an immediately issued the order to Ming.

Occupying the bridgehead was for gaining more experience, but it was better to withdraw early when one could no longer cope.

The Strengthener was taking effect, but his right shoulder still hurt. Even though the label on the drug stated it would restore 500 Health Points, some injuries couldn’t be quantified by data. The pain of a broken bone came in waves, and his entire arm felt somewhat numb.

Ming’an moved his right arm and felt that it was not very responsive, so he immediately switched the iron rod to his left hand.

Bright State offered Sixth Level Combat Mastery, Swordsmanship Mastery, and Blade Mastery. Although the iron rod didn’t align perfectly with these three specializations, it could still somewhat drive his body to attack.

Wielding a weapon with his left hand wasn’t an issue; it was just a matter of switching hands.

Ming’an stood on the corpse of the white monster, holding the iron rod, watching the two white monsters that had broken through Ming’s defenses rush towards him.

"I send you an invitation to the High Tower..."

"Whoosh—!"

Filled with a sense of crisis, Ming’an swung the iron rod quickly, only to feel a numbness in his arm.

"Bang!"

A burst of blood exploded before his eyes.

The bullet, deflected by the iron rod, grazed his left chest and penetrated through his right, splattering flesh and blood.

This was a large-caliber bullet, the impact of which caused his entire body to stagger backward uncontrollably.

He sucked in air but involuntarily spat out specks of blood. His hand felt along the right side of his body and touched upon a large gash, warm blood flowing unstoppably through his fingers.

The cold rainwater hit his face as his vision turned blood red.

Enduring the pain, he quickly finished the words that he hadn’t yet completed, "... invitation."