Every slash Cyan landed on Asuke felt like striking something harder than steel. Her hands were going numb.
It was like fighting a turtle curled up in its shell — except this turtle had swapped its shell for one made of steel and even wore full-coverage armor on its head and neck. It didn't even bother dodging her attacks. It just kept swinging its sword and shield at her.
This guy's defense is ridiculous…
Cyan didn't dare keep trading blows while taking damage from Holy Fire. She jumped backward, putting three meters between herself and Asuke, then shook her slightly numb hands.
"Is that all you've got?"
Asuke saw that Cyan had stopped attacking. He pulled out two buff cards — one ice-blue with a ferocious zombie head, and another showing a blue, hedgehog-like figure standing upright.
[Corpse Fire]
[Type: Buff Card]
[Effect: Increases movement speed by 20% and fire damage by 15% for 15 seconds. Uses: 2/3]
[Remark: A card crafted from the skull of Corpse Fire.]
[Speed]
[Type: Buff Card]
[Effect: Increases movement speed by 200% for 5 seconds. Uses: 1/3]
[Remark: A card made from Sonic's spikes. A small line of text on the back reads: Do not let Sonic see you use this, or the consequences are yours to bear.]
Asuke calculated his remaining Spirit. If this dragged on any longer, he wouldn't have enough left to maintain Holy Fire. He activated both cards in quick succession. His speed reached the limit — he appeared in front of Cyan almost instantly.
Even with Cyan's visual reflexes, she couldn't react in time. Asuke was simply too fast!
So fast that the violent wind created by his movement hadn't even formed yet when he was already right in front of her.
"The Goddess of Luck has kissed me!"
When Asuke swung his shield, holy light shone on the round shield. He knew Holy Cross Sword and Shield Technique's Holy Shield Strike had triggered! Joy surged in his heart.
I've got you!
Bang!
Cyan, struck by Holy Shield Strike, was stunned for 0.5 seconds. Asuke thrust his sword, wreathed in Holy Fire, straight at her neck!
In a fight to the death like this, no matter how beautiful and delicate Cyan looked, Asuke wasn't going to pass up the chance to kill her.
Veterans who had survived multiple survival games never let an opportunity slip away.
The sharp sword tip pierced through Cyan's neck!
In the next instant, the entire sword strangely passed straight through her neck — as if her body had turned intangible for a split second.
[Survivor No. 11766, Campfire Friendship special effect activated — 1% chance to immune one instance of lethal damage!]
Master!
When Nishi saw Asuke's sword pierce through Cyan's neck, her heart jumped into her throat. A blazing tongue of fire rushed toward her. She crossed her arms in front of her and took the fire damage head-on. Fortunately, her Bodyguard Fire armor reduced flame damage by 30%.
Death…
Cyan kicked off Asuke's body and leaped away. She landed on the ground, touched the blood flowing from her neck, and stared at Asuke with a dark expression. She took out the meat bun she had gotten from a black iron card earlier and ate it, then ate two slices of meat to bring her HP back to a safe level.
[Large Meat Bun]
[Type: Recovery Item]
[Effect: Restores 50 HP.]
[Remark: A steaming hot large meat bun — super delicious! Enjoy the feeling of the meat juice bursting in your mouth! Super hot!]
When Nishi saw that Cyan was okay, the heart that had been stuck in her throat finally settled.
As long as Master is fine, I just need to stall this mage and buy her time!
A determined glint flashed in Nishi's eyes. She carefully managed her Spirit while dodging Lisa's attacks.
"Equipment or skill that can immune lethal damage? Your luck won't hold forever!"
Asuke drank a bottle of blue liquid, glaring at Cyan. He couldn't believe that the attack that should have definitely killed her had been dodged.
[Spirit Water]
[Type: Recovery Item]
[Effect: Restores 100 Spirit.]
[Remark: A recovery item that instantly restores a large amount of Spirit. It is said to be made from…]
"You only had one chance, and there won't be another."
Cyan gripped her demon blade tightly with both hands and charged at Asuke with explosive anger. The ground cracked like a spiderweb beneath her feet.
"I'm already getting sick of this… Is running around all you can do, little girl?"
Lisa said darkly. She raised her staff, and an ominous black light formed into a withered, branch-like hand that grabbed toward Nishi.
What the hell is that?!
Nishi saw the hand coming and knew she couldn't let it catch her. But the eerie hand instantly appeared in front of her and grabbed her before vanishing.
Her body felt heavy…
Nishi wasn't hurt, but her body suddenly felt much heavier. From the incomplete message of the survival brand, she realized she had been hit by a black magic Slow Curse — movement speed and attack speed reduced by 20% for 1 minute.
[Manifest as Ghost!]
Nishi activated the skill from her Hannya mask. The Hannya mask appeared on her face, and black ghostly energy spewed from its mouth, wrapping around her body.
[Extreme Speed!]
Pale blue light flashed. Nishi moved!
What is that? A skill from that mask?
Lisa saw the mask on Nishi's face, then lost sight of her. Her magic shield was struck.
Pinkish mist penetrated the magic shield and reached Lisa.
[Survivor No. 7961, you received continuous damage from the melting gas effect of Survivor No. 11766's servant Nishi's Musk Short Blade. HP -10!]
Damn it!
That's the plot character weapon the Poison Blade had!
Because her magic shield was active, Lisa was now losing Spirit instead of HP when taking damage. As a witch, she had a special energy system called mana, with a 1:1 ratio to Spirit. In other words, spending Spirit meant spending mana. If this continued, she would be forced to use recovery items to restore Spirit.
I have to find a way to deal with her. I can't drag this out any longer.
Lisa glanced at Frost Nova, which was almost off cooldown. For now, all she could do was wait.
[Frost Nova!]
The instant the cooldown ended, Lisa activated Frost Nova. The expanding ring of ice swept past and instantly sent Nishi flying.
[Telekinesis!]
Lisa's body flickered with faint electric light and vanished from her spot. Faint electric light appeared around Nishi out of thin air. Lisa, who had disappeared, reappeared beside her. She raised her hand, and countless black-purple thorns covered in spikes burst from her robe.
[Thorn Garden!]
A cage formed of black-purple thorns bound Nishi!
Silver-white blade light flashed. Lisa used Telekinesis again to dodge Cyan's incoming slash.
[Telekinesis (Active) – Skill Level: LV5] Consumes 15 mana to teleport to any location within a 10-yard radius. Cooldown: 15 seconds. LV5 Effect: Consumes 25 mana to perform a second Telekinesis within the cooldown period. Teleport range increased to 15 yards. Cooldown increased by 10 seconds.
Cyan swung her blade and shattered the thorn cage. Nishi fell into her arms.
"Master… I'm sorry for causing trouble…"
Nishi swayed slightly. Blood flowed down her forehead. The black-purple thorns had cut her forehead. If she hadn't eaten the chicken leg and meat slices to restore HP the moment she was knocked away by Frost Nova, her HP would have hit zero while trapped in Thorn Garden.
"The strength gap is too big. They're veterans. Losing is normal."
Cyan whispered in Nishi's ear. She watched Asuke walking toward Lisa, stepped in front of Nishi, took out a glass bottle of cola, flicked the cap off with her finger, and it flew into the air with a pop.
Cyan downed the entire bottle in one go.
[Cola]
[Type: Buff Item]
[Effect: Restores 5 Spirit every 5 seconds for 15 minutes.]
[Remark: Pepsi is trash!!! Come at me if you disagree!!!]
[Note: The buff effect only activates after drinking the entire item. This item was created by the Golden Grail. Please consume within 1 hour.]
"Drinking cola to celebrate your death before you die?"
Lisa sneered quietly and extended her hand. Rocks on the ground floated up and flew toward Cyan and Nishi.
[Frenzied Dash]
[Type: Buff Card]
[Effect: Increases movement speed by 50% for 20 seconds. Uses: 2/3]
[Remark: A card crafted from the hooves of a ferocious bovine demon beast.]
Asuke pulled out a card showing a muscular bull charging forward and used it. He then used the last charge of Corpse Fire. He charged at Cyan like a high-speed armored tank. His Holy Knight armor clanged loudly with every step.
Nishi quietly retreated a step, then turned and ran.
Lisa watched Nishi fleeing and sneered. "Looks like your servant isn't very loyal after all!"
"..."
Cyan remained silent. Facing the charging Asuke, she wrapped golden lightning around her legs and leaped into the air. She rapidly swung her demon blade to shatter the mana bullets Lisa fired at her.
Just focus all your attention on me.
Cyan landed, took one step to the left, and Asuke's descending sword grazed her shoulder.
The "fleeing" Nishi suddenly turned back. She quietly dug up the Mandrake along with the surrounding soil and glared angrily at Asuke and Lisa.
You're about to have a really bad day!
Nishi slid forward into the fight and slammed the Mandrake onto the ground. The soil broke apart. The Mandrake opened its mouth wide and let out a piercing scream!
"AAAAAHHHHHH——!!!"
Everyone around the Mandrake was sent flying — even Nishi and Cyan were no exception!
Hearing the Mandrake's scream, Asuke and Lisa fell into a 5-second stun. Their ears rang and their vision went black in waves.