San Tian Liang Jue
Chapter 169 The Protagonist's Advance (14)
The fist moved, a flash of crimson light. This attack was lethal, and Feng Bujue seemed to be facing certain death.
K3 had directly seized his opponent and was aiming right for the face. He didn't care whether Feng Bujue had dodged the finger flick earlier through his own skill. This time, there was no way the kid could avoid it again.
*Bang!* K3’s fist actually struck something hard, and when the energy surrounding the fist collided with the object, a burst of light appeared.
Feng Bujue didn't feel any impact on his head. For some reason, the [Casey Jones Mask] automatically switched to its display state, appearing on his face.
A second later, a series of cracking sounds rang out. The hockey mask on Feng Bujue’s face was covered in cracks and quickly turned into countless data fragments before dissolving into dust.
[Your equipment, "Casey Jones Mask," has been destroyed.]
[Your Fighting Specialization bonus has disappeared, currently at E rank.]
The system's prompts announced these two very bad pieces of news.
Feng Bujue was caught off guard by this sudden and unusual situation, thinking, “Equipment can be destroyed!”
Feng Bujue had miscalculated this time. He hadn't expected that, in this kind of inescapable life-or-death situation, the protagonist halo's method of forcibly saving the player… was to trigger some kind of principle of "equivalent exchange."
Right now, it was just broken equipment. If he allowed K3 to continue launching various fatal attacks with this foolproof method, the halo would further upgrade this method of transferring losses, such as forcibly consuming the survival value replenishment agents in his bag, or transferring the damage to other teammates in the script.
K3 was slightly surprised to find that his opponent was still alive, but he didn't hesitate. He used both fists, quickly throwing a series of jabs at Feng Bujue’s torso. In an instant, there were multiple overlapping fist shadows, but K3’s fists all struck an invisible barrier, and the force was dissipated by a transparent medium.
This time it wasn't the effect of the protagonist halo, but the merit of the [Echo Armor]. The reason the sound barrier didn't work when Feng Bujue was blasted away earlier was because the Echo Armor’s sound barrier enveloped the outer layer of the player's body, and Feng Bujue had been impacted while in close contact with the opponent. But now, the sound barrier was triggered normally. Facing this kind of high-speed, multi-point attack, the sound barrier had a very significant defensive effect.
K3’s jabs, which increased speed and attack points, would naturally have their power greatly reduced, to the point that they couldn't even break through the Echo Armor's defense.
If K3 had simply thrown another heavy punch, Feng Bujue would still have had to rely on the protagonist halo to defend. But he changed his attack method, wanting to test Feng Bujue with it, but unexpectedly backfired, making Feng Bujue’s defensive methods even more difficult to grasp.
“The finger flick aimed at the head deviated from the target for unknown reasons, and the close-range heavy blow was resolved by the suddenly appearing mask. It’s impossible to determine from the data flow whether he used any sensory interference skills. It doesn't look like an active defense skill either…” In these few seconds, K3's logic program was deducing what Feng Bujue had done. “The high-speed jabs at the torso, the attack points covering all the internal organs, joints, bones, diaphragm, and other parts. If his reaction speed is indeed very fast, he should have made a conditioned reflex response, dodging… and if his strength is in defense, then this round of attacks can also determine his weaknesses.”
“But… he didn't make a defensive action, nor did he dodge. A set of data appeared without warning, blocking my attack, and only when my fist reached a certain distance from his body surface did the defensive barrier appear, precisely blocking the point of impact of the fist. Is this a skill or the effect of equipment…”
“Although the ‘light’ on this kid is more dazzling than that of ordinary level 18 players, his combat power is definitely not as good as those two GMs, and the one next to him named Meng Jingchan is also stronger than him. Why… why can’t I kill him?”
K3’s series of thoughts flashed through his mind in a very short time. As an AI, his field of thought was quite limited, but his speed of considering problems was definitely not slow.
Seeing that the attack was ineffective, he decisively decided to use a stronger move to solve the enemy.
The crimson dragon tattoo on his right arm burst out with intense light. Even through his sleeves, the texture of the dragon's body could be clearly seen. A shocking aura bloomed, like a pair of invisible hands, pressing down on Feng Bujue’s shoulders, making him unable to move.
“You’re more troublesome than I thought…” K3 still had a cold smile on his face. “I want to see how long you can last.”
K3's fighting style was simple, direct, and overbearing. Since the previous attacks were useless, he strengthened the moves, and if that was still useless, he used even stronger moves… and so on, constantly increasing the destructive power. So far, no one had ever forced him to go all out. In past battles, as K3’s combat power gradually increased, his opponents had to keep up with the intensity. But… including Vairu, all the monsters, players, and GMs who died at the hands of K3-Akagane… when facing this opponent who became stronger the more he fought, none of them had lasted through his move, "Akagane Dragon Fist Blaze."
“Here we go again?” Was Feng Bujue the kind of person who would let the other party blow up two pieces of his equipment? Absolutely impossible.
As soon as K3 raised his arm, Feng Bujue awkwardly turned sideways, stuck out his foot, and used the earth-shattering and tear-jerking divine skill [Spoiled Child's Low Sweep]. This was the last Low Sweep. After this trip, this consumable skill would disappear from Feng Bujue's skill bar.
“Are you kidding me…” Originally, K3’s sentence was a rhetorical question, with a “ma” at the end, but he couldn't finish it. His slightly mocking words came to an abrupt halt because he fell face down…
[Spoiled Child's Low Sweep] was only effective against monsters. Feng Bujue had used it with a trace of luck, but from the actual situation, the system did regard the materialized Derivative as a "monster."
Feng Bujue passed him, flashed behind him, and took out a weapon from his bag. He didn't take out the pipe wrench or the steel knife, but instead took out a more vicious weapon—the folding chair.
Meng Jingchan also arrived on horseback at this moment, looking at K3, who was currently in a faceplant state. He was confident that he had N ways to finish off this Derivative.
“You like to fight so much, huh?” Feng Bujue said, while swinging the [Eighteen Bronze Men's Folding Chair (Number Five)]. “My equipment is gone, my skills are used up…” He said with a rather unhappy tone, “I’ll fight with you until you’re satisfied!”
As soon as the words fell, the folding chair followed. Feng Bujue slammed it against K3’s back, and Meng Jingchan’s sword wasn't idle either. He accurately slashed towards the back of K3’s neck, and it was an attack with a skill effect.
[Name: Sharp Edge]
[Skill Card Attribute: Active Skill, Permanently Mastered]
[Skill Category: Fighting]
[Effect: The power of the next slash is increased by 30% (Must use a bladed weapon to activate this skill. Cooldown time is five minutes).]
[Consumption: 5% of the upper limit of Stamina Value]
[Learning Requirements: Fighting Specialization D, Level 20 or above]
[Remarks: A slash exceeding the limit of power can sometimes change the outcome of a battle.]
This was a mediocre but practical skill. Although it wasn't the title skill of [Cold-Faced Assassin], it was the move that Meng Jingchan used most frequently. Considering its effects, consumption, and learning requirements, this skill seemed very balanced. At higher levels, there should be similar passive skills that could replace it, but before level 30, it was definitely an all-purpose good skill for players with bladed weapons.
That’s why he was called the Cold-Faced Assassin. At the critical moment, he was fast, accurate, and ruthless, and the expression on his face would never have any particularly significant changes. Truly cold-faced, truly an assassin.
*Clang—*
After the sword fell, a strange sound rang out. This could only mean one thing: K3's head was not so easy to chop off.
A red wall of Qi appeared on the surface of K3’s skin. This defensive method was similar to Feng Bujue’s Echo Armor, and it forcibly blocked Meng Jingchan’s sword. K3 wasn't even scratched.
Feng Bujue, wielding the folding chair, aimed at K3’s spine and hammered away, and his strikes were quite vicious. His attacks weren't blocked by any invisible force, but… he didn't hear the crisp sound of bones breaking, nor did he see any blood seeping out from under K3’s clothes. Feng Bujue was just giving someone who practiced Iron Shirt a back massage, and it didn't seem to hurt. He was wondering… if the folding chair didn't have the attribute of being indestructible, it would probably have broken already.
This brief exchange of offense and defense lasted less than ten seconds.
K3 had never suffered such a loss before. Only after he completed the entire "falling" action did he regain the ability to stand up. And during this process, Meng Jingchan and Feng Bujue unceremoniously greeted his neck and spine.
But K3 still endured it. He knew very well that the moment he stood up, he could regain control of the battle. Although the tripping skill just now was hateful, it also proved one thing: these two players did not have any "killing moves"!
K3’s deduction was correct. Indeed, neither Feng Bujue nor Meng Jingchan had mastered any kind of all-or-nothing, powerful active skills (such as the Special Beam Cannon). If they had such moves, those few seconds just now would have been the best and only opportunity to use them.
Unfortunately, they both belonged to players with a fighting style that was easygoing and well-balanced in both offense and defense. Neither of them had ever thought about getting these types of skills, so the scene just now occurred. Meng Jingchan’s attack at least added a buff skill, while Feng Bujue was just doing a normal attack.
It was normal that K3 didn't die. Meng Jingchan’s slash had slightly depleted his Qi shield. As for Feng Bujue, whose Fighting Specialization had already dropped to E, performing a normal attack with something that couldn't even be considered a weapon… After all those hits, he had only caused K3 to lose about 5% of his health.
“Heh… ridiculous.” At this moment, K3 was completely convinced that the two people in front of him had no way to kill him. Even if he stood still and let them hit him, the other party would have to hack away for a long time. “Die!”
He suddenly roared, slashing his right arm horizontally, unleashing a Qi blade forward. This impact wasn't as fast as his previous finger flick, but it was definitely not a speed that the two players could easily avoid. Its power was even more terrifying. The slash, which was about a knife's width when it was launched, turned into the feeling of a cement pipe sweeping over when its power was fully released in mid-air…
It had to be said that Meng Jingchan was amazing. He actually managed to barely avoid this move with an instantaneous reaction.
Faced with this horizontal slash at the height of his chest, most people would bend their knees, bend over, or lean down, in short, avoid it downwards. But Meng Jingchan was different. His first reaction was to jump upwards. He climbed up a tree trunk not far behind him like a monkey. Although the big tree was cut off halfway two seconds later by the impact, at least Meng Jingchan himself wasn't hit.
As for Feng Bujue… he also dodged. How did he dodge? Guided by the protagonist halo…
The process could be described as bizarre. The moment K3’s arm began to swing, the visual signal was on its way to Feng Bujue's brain, and the protagonist halo had already begun to take effect. When Feng Bujue's brain reacted to the situation it saw and issued a command to the body to dodge, he only felt his feet slip… on the relatively flat terrain outside the shrine gate, without any objects tripping him… he actually fell flat on his back.
It was as if the friction between Feng Bujue’s soles and the ground had turned to zero in an instant. A little bit of lateral force made him slide like a corpse, and his whole body fell sideways in a second. Even if he had taken the initiative to lean over and crawl, it wouldn't have been possible for him to stick to the ground faster than this action.
A gust of wind swept past, and Feng Bujue managed to dodge K3’s attack while lying down. Only at this height of about half a meter from the ground was he not affected by the impact. But the thing that Feng Bujue was worried about still happened. Just as he fell, a system prompt sounded in his ear:
[Your item, Survival Value Replenishment Agent (Medium), has been used.]
[Your item, Survival Value Replenishment Agent (Medium), has been used.]
Two identical voices sounded in a row, and Feng Bujue was stunned. Even in this critical situation, he clearly remembered that he only had two medium-sized bottles of survival value replenishment agents!
Each medium-sized bottle of replenishment agent could restore 50% of his survival value, but considering the diminishing effect of continuous use in a short period of time… Feng Bujue glanced at the health bar in the menu. His health was now 89%, and it was indeed not full.
Although Feng Bujue had dodged the opponent’s slash, the survival value replenishment agent was still scammed by the protagonist halo, because his flat fall would also cause him to lose health… so under the principle of the protagonist not dying, some health had to be restored no matter what.
“Curiosity killed the cat…” Feng Bujue did a carp jump and leaped up. “If I had quit before seeing you, there wouldn’t have been so many problems, but now… the losses are constantly increasing.”
K3 looked at Feng Bujue and snorted coldly. “I don't know what losses you’re referring to. I am very surprised that you’re still not dead.”
“But… this is great.” Feng Bujue actually laughed loudly. “It’s precisely the various conditions in this script that allow me to fight against a monster as strong as you.”
At this moment, a fanatic type person might have impulsively risked his life with K3 because of heartache over the loss of equipment, skills, items, and so on; a calm type person should immediately quit the script to avoid further losses and rationally reflect on his previous decisions.
Feng Bujue’s thoughts were very strange. He actually felt that this situation was very "rare." Without the protagonist halo, it would be easy for K3 to kill him. If Meng Jingchan wasn't there to back him up, he wouldn't have any room to counterattack.
Being able to encounter a Derivative was a very rare thing. Being able to face a Derivative who was ridiculously strong for as long as possible was a sought-after experience for Feng Bujue, whose actual Fighting Specialization was only E.
“I said, if you want to fight, I'll keep you company!” Feng Bujue suddenly burst out with a crimson light all over his body. The color was slightly different from K3’s aura, closer to the color of blood, and the temperature around him also rose sharply, blurring the air.
With his survival value restored, Feng Bujue simply turned on [Ling Shi Gathering Technique] again, and the [Death Poker] also appeared in his hand.
“Oh? You can actually use this kind of power?” K3 was naturally warlike, and he became excited when he saw his opponent’s fighting spirit.
The intelligence of a level three Derivative naturally possessed something like "personality." Although the Four Pillars Gods and their subordinates, these higher-ranking, unique monsters, also had their own personalities, these were all "set" by the system. The personality of Derivatives, like humans, was constantly grown and changed according to memory, experience, and other factors.
K3 wasn't the only warlike one. This personality was more common among Derivatives. For them, fighting was a matter of life and death. They were materialized data waiting to be erased, not players who could return to the login space after death. Even in the face of the strongest enemy, they only had one choice, which was to find a way to eliminate the other party.
This way of thinking and acting was imposed on them by a being higher than the Derivatives. If the Derivatives were life, then from the moment they were born, killing all the obstacles blocking their path forward was their only value, and no one could say that this was incorrect. Only by following this principle could they survive and evolve…
“Good… then let’s do it.” K3 said with an excited expression, “Kill or be killed is our destiny. You want to understand Derivatives? Let the blood of your false projections flow, that is the best way to communicate.”