Chapter 149: Sword Intent [Decapitation]!
2014-12-25
Author: Zhuseng Futu
In low-level spells, there are two main melee touch judgment spells.
One is ‘Vampire’s Touch,’ which can lower the enemy’s life points and restore them to oneself, and the other is ‘Ghoul’s Touch.’ If the opponent cannot pass the Fortitude saving throw, they will be paralyzed on the spot. After Soren absorbed more than thirty life points, his injuries were mostly healed, and the frostbite on his arm was almost instantly eliminated by the abundant vitality. Necromancy spells are very useful in combat, and the Frost Wyvern in front of him was clearly slowed down due to its injuries.
—”Shadow Assassination!”
Soren’s Wanderer profession level is level 9, allowing him to execute Shadow Assassination 9 times a day; as long as he makes direct contact with the opponent, the shadow energy can deal 9 points of corrosive damage. While this damage might not seem significant compared to Soren’s own slashing damage, it ignores defensive resistances; as long as it hits, the energy corrosion effect directly affects the creature’s vitality.
—”Shadow Assassination!”
Both attacks grazed the surface of the Frost Wyvern’s scales, but the nearby skin showed some dark bluish discoloration, with veins clearly exhibiting signs of atrophy. Shadow energy is very corrosive; it doesn’t just deal great damage to enemies but can also harm the user’s own body. Thus, many shadow mages, after making mistakes in certain experiments, have to turn into semi-shadow life forms. In this regard, Wanderers are much safer because their growth process involves assimilating shadow energy.
A whistling sound pierced the air!
After dodging, Soren tumbled behind a rock, and this action looked quite unimpressive. In Middle-Earth, this move is called ‘Wretched Donkey Roll,’ and those who like to show off generally do not use it. However, Soren paid no attention to such trifles; he followed a practical approach, carelessly disregarding his combat style. Whether he looked graceful or awkward during battle did not concern him at all. Anyone who has experienced numerous real battles knows that rolling evasion is more effective than dodging.
Combat is a serious matter.
It is extremely foolish to lose one’s life for the sake of style; bloody life-and-death struggles are not for show.
Soren took a breath, increasing his oxygen intake to enhance his explosive capacity. The secretion of adrenaline can be accelerated through certain special techniques, which are key to how professionals train their fighting skills. His pupils were slightly bloodshot, the contour of his pupils expanded 1.5 times larger than before, along with some other subtle features on his body. These traits are not supernatural abilities but are characteristics of explosiveness developed through long-term combat training.
This is still not a special ability triggered by berserk state; if he were a Berserk Warrior, he could instantly double his pupil size, with adrenaline secretion increasing to several times its previous levels. The most representative of this is the Barbarian. Legendary Barbarians, when berserk, often have pupils that are almost uniform in color, with the iris and sclera merging, which is not due to explosive ability but merely an external manifestation of the berserk state. During this time, the capturing ability of professionals is greatly enhanced.
His heartbeat began to accelerate, like a thrilling drumbeat.
The moment Soren charged out, his heart rate almost doubled. This explosive ability requires a strong physique to support; losing such a physique could result in ruptured blood vessels. Hence, many Berserk Warriors have short life spans because their physiques cannot keep up with the consumption, utilizing their berserk abilities too many times and exhausting their own vitality. This is similar to experts in external martial arts, many of whom have shorter lifespans than ordinary people.
Soren placed his core points into physique to prepare for such situations!
—”Decapitation Attack!”
He suddenly leaped out, landing right on the back of the Frost Wyvern, then twisted his waist and performed a spinning slash. Relying on a strong sense of balance, he found a point to exert force on the Wyvern’s back, then used [Sword Intent – Heavy Hack] again!
A series of data appeared:
“Activating Shadow Assassination!”
“Activating [Sword Intent – Heavy Hack]!”
“You dealt 72 slashing damage to the target (critical hit)!… Armor-breaking attribute stacked!… Sharp attribute stacked!… Successfully triggered Decapitation Attack!… Decapitation failed!… Target failed Fortitude check!… Target enters serious bleeding state!…”
Clang!
Soren’s curved blade struck the Frost Wyvern’s neck bone; this time, he didn’t hit the gap in the bone but struck the bone itself. It jolted his palm and made it slightly numb. The Frost Wyvern’s neck was cut ten centimeters deep, exposing half of the bone. Without sufficient power to support him, Soren could not rely on his extraordinary weapon to sever the Wyvern’s bone, only inflicting severe injury. Large amounts of blood gushed out, and the Frost Wyvern emitted a frantic howl, its body rolling chaotically, directly throwing Soren off.
Bang!
The stone skin protective energy on Soren vibrated; he accidentally got swept by a dragon’s wing, feeling as if two of his ribs had broken, and a mouthful of blood rushed to his throat, which he forcefully swallowed back. The Frost Wyvern, with half of its neck cut open, seemed to have hit a blood vessel, blood gushing out as if a faucet was fully opened, making the nearby area blood-soaked. Its vitality rapidly drained along with the blood, and soon its breathing began to weaken.
“There’s another one!”
Soren didn’t dare look back and flew into the shadows, then activated ‘Hide Sight’ to enter stealth mode. A dragon claw with a cold gleam passed behind him, creating sparks on the icy rock, leaving claw marks over ten centimeters long, with a depth of about five centimeters. The claws of these Frost Wyverns are sharper and tougher than metal; Soren’s leather armor could not withstand them, and only the protective energy field of the Stone Skin spell could counter their attack.
Having missed an attack, the Frost Wyvern clearly made a move to retract its claws.
Soren darted out from the side, swinging his blade toward the enemy’s neck; it was unclear whether it was because their necks were too long or because Soren enjoyed the satisfaction of decapitation attacks. In the ensuing skirmish, he repeatedly slashed at the enemy’s neck. Unfortunately, he couldn’t muster enough power; an ordinary slash could at most break the dragon skin. With poor luck, the blade could even get stuck in the cervical vertebra. However, the effect of the attacks was undoubtedly quite good, with the enemy bleeding faster, and its head beginning to move sluggishly.
In a fleeting moment.
Soren seized the opportunity when the opponent retracted its wings, flipping onto the Frost Wyvern’s neck. With all his might, he pressed its head down. Continuous injuries had already diminished its strength, causing its head to drop slightly, and then a gleam of cold light flashed as Soren launched another decapitation attack.
However, this time, the data that appeared was somewhat different!
“Activating Shadow Assassination!”
“Activating [Sword Intent – Heavy Hack]!”
“You dealt 78 slashing damage to the target (critical hit)!… Armor-breaking attribute stacked!… Sharp attribute stacked!… Successfully triggered Decapitation Attack!… Decapitation succeeded!… Target failed Death Check!… Target is dead!…”
“Battle Over.”
“After this battle, you gained insight into [Sword Intent – Decapitation]!…”
………………
Combat skill data prompts appeared.
Soren knelt on the ground with a thud, breathing heavily, then struggled to get back up. He didn’t rush to clean the battlefield but instead took off his clothes. There were noticeable indentations on his chest, where the Frost Wyvern had broken his ribs. Fortunately, the Stone Skin spell partially mitigated the damage; the fracture wasn’t severe enough to penetrate his lung. If it had pierced his lung, his explosive power would have decreased by thirty percent in an instant.
“Ah!”
Soren let out a muffled grunt, gritting his teeth as he repositioned the broken ribs, then paused to catch his breath for a moment.
Blunt damage can sometimes be more severe than piercing damage, especially when blunt damage strikes the head, as it has the potential to knock a person unconscious. He preferred to deal blunt damage against heavy armored warriors, as it can put enemies with insufficient fortitude into a brief stunned state. Against those turtle-like armor-bearers, simply relying on slashing or piercing was insufficient to cause lethal damage. His chest bore the marks of blunt damage, the easiest way to break bones. [Fracture, Paralysis, Shock, Coma, Dizziness.]
Soren looked at the combat skill prompts that appeared and began to gather the loot before him.
First was skinning; dragon skin is an important material for crafting extraordinary leather armor, and its value is quite high!
Wyvern meat, on the other hand, cannot be eaten directly. Only he, with his extraordinary physique, can withstand it; ordinary people might suffer poisoning. The most toxic sub-dragon species is the Bipedal Dragon; its meat can be deadly. Frost Wyvern meat is cold in nature, and he even recalls there was once a traditional medicine expert who studied the medicinal properties of dragon blood and meat.
For example—”Frost Wyvern. Cold nature (extreme cold). Contains cold poison, belongs to liver, lung, and kidney meridians, replenishes vital energy, strengthens tendons and bones. Enhances strength, warms kidney yang. Calms the liver and clears the eyes; not suitable for those with weak spleen and stomach, and can cause chest and abdominal distress if consumed. Can detoxify, but should not be eaten in excess or for prolonged periods. Women during menstruation should avoid it, as it may lead to severe bleeding, endangering life.”
This person was revered by many at the time.
He is the only character in Soren’s memory to have trained his medicinal skills to over 600 points, almost achieving a famous status of ‘Entry into the Way through Medicine.’ It is said that his medical skills could activate natural energy, generating healing effects akin to divine techniques. This individual was also a very famous ‘gourmet’ at that time, with his footprints found across many planes, even recording the medicinal properties of over hundreds of creatures.
He was also an idol for foodies at the time.
Legend has it that due to his indiscriminate eating, his physique dropped from 18 points to 12 points, and even divine techniques could not restore it.
In the end, he died.
Soren cannot quite remember how he died, but it’s certain he consumed something he shouldn’t have and ended up poisoned.
He could be said to have died in a worthy cause.
Soren chose a suitable spot to start skinning, then cut off some parts of the dragon meat; the entrails of sub-dragons can be used as materials, and dragon blood is suitable for low-level alchemy and recording scrolls. The most valuable part is the dragon whip, which can be sold for several thousand Gind; combined, it probably yields around ten thousand Gind.
Overall, Soren’s recent learning materials for alchemy and recording scrolls are nearly sufficient.
……………… (To Be Continued ~^~)
