A heavy, mountain-like aura suddenly erupted.
"Die!"
Vice President Xu squeezed a roar from his throat, his arms bulging with muscle, and a heavy chop, filled with power and the might to split mountains and rocks, descended upon the enemy who had just straightened up.
The blade wind howled, stirring up dust on the ground.
Unexpectedly, a red light suddenly emanated from the person opposite him.
Clang!
A crisp sound of metal clashing exploded.
Time seemed to freeze for a moment.
The wild joy on Vice President Xu's face instantly froze, replaced by extreme shock.
He only felt an irresistible force, following the red light, surge up from the blade he held, instantly shattering the strength gathered in his arms, and then violently striking his chest.
"Holy crap!"
Vice President Xu cried out, his sturdy body directly lifting off the ground as he flew backward.
He ended up taking a face-plant.
And it wasn't over yet; the Adventurer opposite, seeing an opportunity, immediately followed up with several consecutive slashes, which Vice President Xu was completely unable to parry.
When he used a normal attack, the opponent used a charged attack; when he charged, a red light would emanate from the opponent's body, counter-shocking him.
In the end, he was literally chopped to death.
The red bar representing his health at the edge of his vision was completely emptied in those few short seconds, turning him into a soul state.
Xu Gaoyuan: "...This guy actually knows how to parry!"
During the previous novice mode, the system had taught some parry techniques, but Xu Gaoyuan listened for a long time without understanding what it meant and didn't bother to practice it. He just thought that in this Dungeon, as long as he knew how to ambush, he would win half the battle.
But now, after being crushed like this, he immediately understood the function of parrying...
Charged attacks counter normal attacks.
But parrying counters charged attacks.
Normal attacks, in turn, counter parry stance.
These three, it turns out, were in a state of mutual counteraction.
Brilliant!
Although Xu Gaoyuan was chopped to death, he couldn't help but exclaim in admiration when he comprehended the true essence of this Dungeon's attack mode.
This made the Dungeon's combat full of a sense of strategy and mind games.
Observation had to be meticulous.
One couldn't blindly make moves.
This was not a Dungeon that competed on who made more moves, but one that competed on who was better at deception, who observed more meticulously, and who was calmer.
Just like the Adventurer in front of Xu Gaoyuan.
He had already understood this point during the novice tutorial, so when he landed, even though he knew Xu Gaoyuan was behind him, he deliberately pretended not to know.
When Xu Gaoyuan initiated a charged attack, he instantly activated his parry stance, directly knocking Xu Gaoyuan away.
This was deception!
A trick to lure the enemy deeper and counter their moves defensively.
Because when a move is countered, there is a momentary stun.
Taking damage also causes a stun.
This allows for combos, dealing higher damage.
And when Xu Gaoyuan, in his desperation, counterattacked with a normal attack, his opponent cleverly used a charged attack to break his move.
Throughout this entire sequence, Xu Gaoyuan was completely outmaneuvered by his opponent.
Every move was calculated...
He had no power to retaliate whatsoever.
After reflecting on the recent battle, Vice President Xu felt that he had suddenly understood.
He lost earlier simply because he didn't fully understand the Dungeon's attack patterns.
He suffered a great loss in that regard.
If he could have another chance, he was certain he could counter his opponent's moves, provided he observed meticulously enough. And thinking back to his younger days... Xu Gaoyuan was also considered a master swordsman, his achievements in swordsmanship were no less than those young strategists in the Strategy Group.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to become this Vice-President.
Inside his body, a certain Adventurer's fire that had dimmed, gradually began to burn.
Xu Gaoyuan felt terrifyingly strong now.
But after burning for a while...
It almost went out.
Because Xu Gaoyuan was now in a soul state, and his opponent clearly had no intention of letting him go, intending to directly disperse his soul.
No matter how Xu Gaoyuan ran, his opponent relentlessly pursued him, intending to finish him off while he was in his soul state.
Fortunately, Xu Gaoyuan's teammates also arrived.
"Damn it." The roar of the 'Yueshan' Adventurer echoed in the soul link, "If you're bad, practice more. You can't even parry. Getting knocked out immediately upon landing is truly something else."
Facing this mocking remark, Xu Gaoyuan couldn't retort.
He remained silent.
As his two teammates arrived, the opponent, knowing he was outnumbered, quickly retreated. Xu Gaoyuan, in his soul state, also quickly followed the system's prompt and ran to find a Soul Altar to revive.
He ran while being verbally abused.
To think of him, Xu Gaoyuan, the dignified Vice-President of Baiye City's Adventurer's Guild, who wasn't always surrounded by people and revered wherever he went?
When had he ever suffered such a great humiliation, being pointed at and called "useless"!
A surge of anger shot straight to his head.
He was so enraged that he almost wanted to immediately quit this damned Dungeon and, upon returning, use his Vice-Presidential authority to make it impossible for these two ignorant brats to take a single step in Baiye City.
But just as the thought of quitting emerged, his mind involuntarily flashed with the magnificent ocean, and the wind whistling in his ears as he freely swung between the cliffs.
And also the heavy, surging power he felt when charging his greatsword, as if it could cleave through anything...
That long-lost, almost extinguished Adventurer's blood, seemed to have truly been reignited with a tiny spark during that brief fall and struggle.
Just run away with his tail between his legs?
Then he would truly become the "useless" person they called him!
"Damn it... when I revive, I will definitely turn Jukuzhou Island upside down." Xu Gaoyuan gritted his teeth, looking at the increasingly close light pillar of the Soul Altar, stuffing the Vice-President's last stubbornness and dignity, along with that rekindled passion, deep into his soul.
His soul plunged into the light pillar of the Soul Altar.
A warm power instantly enveloped him, reshaping his flesh and bones.
The scene before his eyes went from blurry to clear, his body once again felt weight and the flow of air, and Xu Gaoyuan stood once more on the cold, rough ground of the Hundred Refinements Cave.
It was still the sturdy "Ning Hongye" with an eye patch covering her face.
In the Dungeon 【Naraka: Bladepoint】, there is a revival mechanism after death.
Adventurers initially carry a Revival Flower. If they accidentally die, they can use this Revival Flower to revive by going to the nearest Soul Altar within a specified time.
However, during this period, they need to carefully protect their soul body.
They should try not to be targeted by opponents.
Otherwise, if they are chased and attacked, their soul body will also dissipate.
Actually, it's not a big deal if the Revival Flower is used up; there's nothing to feel bad about.
Because after the first Dark Zone, which is the 'poison circle,' expands, the Revival Flower will turn into a red glow and dissipate.
This itself is an item provided at the start for 'error tolerance.'
