Xu Gaoyuan had no time to enjoy the shock.
The moment he landed, he shifted his foot, his body glided sideways like a ghost, and the heavy wind from his broadsword, with a horizontal slash, struck the waist of the longsword wielder closest to him, who was still in shock.
“Ugh!” The longsword wielder screamed, staggering backward.
“Focus fire on him!” The attackers finally reacted, and the closest longspear wielder to Xu Gaoyuan roared, his longspear piercing towards Xu Gaoyuan’s back like a venomous dragon.
The other two ranged attackers immediately switched targets, arrows and crossbow bolts whistling through the air.
“Hmph!” Xu Gaoyuan’s eyes sharpened, as if he had returned to his youth, fighting in life-and-death arenas.
He seemed to have eyes in the back of his head; the instant the longspear struck, his body spun sharply, his broadsword not retracting, but rather using the momentum of the spin to instantly change from a horizontal slash to a charged attack.
“Clang!”
The broadsword’s charged attack directly broke through the opponent’s normal attack, another counter-attack.
This series of fluid counterattacks once again sent a massive shock through the attackers; this movement, this reaction, was anything but ordinary.
“He’s a master, be careful!” Someone exclaimed.
“Don’t panic! He’s just one person, control him!” A hint of ruthlessness flashed in the eyes of the Adventurer holding another longsword, and a strange purple light suddenly erupted from his body.
The longsword pierced towards Xu Gaoyuan at a tricky angle, clearly intending to use a control skill to restrict his movements.
Xu Gaoyuan’s pupils contracted slightly; the opponent’s move carried a clear aura of insidious restraint.
Blocking it might lead to being controlled, and the space to dodge was compressed.
In the nick of time, a hint of determination flashed in Xu Gaoyuan’s eyes.
He suddenly plunged the broadsword in his hand into the ground in front of him, while letting out a low, deep shout:
“Kunlun Art!”
Buzz!
At the same time, an invisible purple energy appeared above his head, rapidly spreading outwards with himself as the center.
This was precisely Ning Hongye’s ultimate move 【Crimson Lotus Unleashed: Unrestrained】!
Its effect was to disable magic.
The purple restraining force instantly destroyed the control skill launched by the enemy, and not only that, but several of the closest enemies were also bound by this purple light.
“Good opportunity!”
Yue Shan finally fully recovered from his shock, roaring with wild joy.
Xu Gaoyuan’s divine move, 【Kunlun Art】 plus 【Crimson Lotus Unleashed: Unrestrained】, not only nullified the opponent’s ultimate, but also instantly disrupted the enemy’s formation, creating valuable breathing room and counterattack space for him and Aodachi Girl.
“Kill!” Aodachi Girl’s eyes also blazed with astonishing brilliance, her suppressed fury and power instantly unleashed.
She let out a delicate cry, her figure transforming into a crimson blade light, rushing straight towards the broadsword brute who had been sent flying by Xu Gaoyuan and was just struggling to get back up.
Her tachi, with a shrill whistling sound, unleashed a deadly combo.
Yue Shan, moreover, was like a fierce tiger descending the mountain; he shook his longspear, and golden True Qi condensed again. Although not as mighty as the ultimate skill 【Sweeping Thousand Armies】, its momentum was like a rainbow, fiercely stabbing towards the longspear wielder who had not yet found his footing.
The tide of battle instantly turned!
Xu Gaoyuan pulled the broadsword from the ground, looking at the fragmented and disrupted enemies before him, a feeling of indescribable heroism surging in his chest.
The passion of a forty-year-old man completely ignited at this moment.
His gaze was like lightning, locking onto the longsword wielder who had just failed to cast his control skill and was now looking surprised and uncertain. A cold arc formed at the corner of his mouth.
“It’s time to end this.”
He muttered softly, raising his broadsword.
The blade light reflected the leaping crimson flames.
Carrying a hearty fighting spirit, it slashed down fiercely.
The battle, amidst the rampant crimson flames and the desperate wails of the enemies, drew to a close.
When the last attacker turned into a soul form and fled, only heavy breathing and blood dripping from weapons remained in the stone cave.
Yue Shan leaned on his longspear, looking at the messy ground and the disappearing soul light spots of the pursued enemies, then at the figure standing in the lingering crimson flames, slowly sheathing his blade.
His lips moved, all the previous harsh taunts now stuck in his throat, eventually turning into a mutter filled with disbelief and a hint of awe:
“...Damn, he’s a master!”
Aodachi Girl beside him also silently sheathed her tachi, her gaze complex as it fell on Xu Gaoyuan. In her eyes, the previous disdain had long vanished, replaced by solemnity and a hint of inquiry.
The three remained silent for a moment, ultimately saying nothing, only quietly beginning to loot.
Collecting spoils of war.
Xu Gaoyuan felt the surging power within him gradually calm, accompanied by an indescribable sense of exhaustion and exhilaration.
He glanced at the broadsword in his hand, its blade covered with new nicks, as if it could shatter at any moment. He casually discarded it, bending down to pick up a blue-glowing longsword dropped by an enemy on the ground, clearly of better quality.
It felt slightly heavy in his hand, the sword body like a clear autumn stream.
He performed a sword flourish, his movements fluid and natural, carrying a rhythm refined over many years.
“Hmph.” Xu Gaoyuan let out a soft snort, a response to Yue Shan’s belated “master.” He walked to where the broadsword brute, whom he had first sent flying, had dissipated. A decent quality armor had dropped there.
He bent down to pick it up, his movements unhurried.
“What are you still standing around for?” Xu Gaoyuan’s voice carried a deliberately feigned indifference, yet couldn’t hide a hint of triumph, “After you’re done looting, get into the circle. You were cursing so happily just now, don’t let yourselves get surrounded again later.”
Yue Shan and Aodachi Girl exchanged glances, neither speaking further, silently and quickly clearing the battlefield.
The previous estrangement and disdain were completely shattered by that stunning swordsmanship in this bloody stone cave battle.
Xu Gaoyuan, no, at this moment it should be Vice President Xu in Ning Hongye’s skin, felt the subtle changes in his two teammates’ attitudes in their silence, as well as the cool touch of the new sword in his hand.
The long-lost self-confidence of a strong individual was, at this moment, gradually reviving on this cruel land called Jukuzhou Island, accompanied by the smell of gunpowder and blood.
He looked up at the sky outside the stone cave, gradually encroached upon by the dark domain, and the corner of his mouth beneath his eye mask curved into an arc full of fighting spirit, one he didn’t even notice himself.
This Dungeon...
It’s damn exciting!
Like Xu Gaoyuan, countless Adventurers found something called ‘chivalry’ in this Dungeon.
Perhaps it wasn’t ‘chivalry’ in the grand sense.
But it certainly allowed countless Adventurers to experience what it means to ‘strike and miss, then flee a thousand li.’
And what the ultimate gamble is in the clash of swords and blades.
A true man roams the world.
He should be carefree and joyful.
The exhilaration derived from walking this land of Jukuzhou Island and gambling between life and death is indescribable, only feeling utterly invigorating.
