Su Xiao squinted slightly; the contractor in front of him was not someone to mess with right now.
A low growl came from the queen's throat as she crouched on the ground, wrapped in a layer of dark red energy. This energy had no stable form, like a loose outer garment. The knight's sword she had taken out was already tossed aside.
At first, the queen planned to drink that bottle of liquid to boost her attributes and then engage Su Xiao in close combat, using her enhanced abilities to take him down. Unfortunately, her luck was bad; she failed the judgment and fell into a state of confusion. From her blood-red beast-like eyes, it was clear that she had lost her sanity.
Now, Su Xiao was the closest to her, and naturally, she set her sights on him. Sharp bone claws had grown from her long fingers, and her canine teeth were protruding. Through previous scouting, Su Xiao learned that the queen had a strength of 16 points, agility of 15 points, and her stamina was too high to measure.
Her strength was 3 points higher than his, and her agility was 2 points higher, but that didn't mean he couldn't handle her. Su Xiao took a deep breath, his eyes fixed on the somewhat beastly queen.
"Roar!!"
Another threatening roar erupted. Although the queen had lost her rationality, her beast instincts made her realize that Su Xiao was not easy to deal with. Since entering the world of ghouls, he had never feared anyone in a one-on-one fight, not even Takatsuki Izumi, let alone a drugged contractor.
He had spent a lot of paradise coins in the Reincarnation Paradise on the Trial Grounds, summoning Kyōshirō's mirror image, which greatly improved his sword skills. More importantly, he learned practical combat techniques from Kyōshirō. He had practiced swordsmanship for three years and had combat experience even before entering the Reincarnation Paradise. After Kyōshirō's guidance, his combat experience became even richer.
Most contractors used paradise coins to buy equipment or skills, while Su Xiao used them to gain combat techniques.
"Come on, little fox."
For some reason, the queen now gave off a fox-like vibe.
"I will kill you!"
The queen said this slowly, unsure if it was instinct or a remnant of her consciousness. Su Xiao stood still, choosing not to rush in. The queen lost 3% of her health every second, so he had plenty of time.
A green light shot out from the street and entered the queen's body, causing her declining health bar to noticeably rise.
"Heh, let's see how long you can hold on."
Su Xiao began to circle around the queen, always on guard for her attacks. A few seconds later, the queen seemed to realize her life was slipping away quickly. She kicked off the ground and charged at Su Xiao.
A red shadow flashed by, and when the queen reappeared, she was right in front of Su Xiao. His pupils constricted, and his right arm tensed as he swung his sword at her.
"Slash."
The sharp blade of the Dragon Slash seemed to glide over a tire's surface, only cutting through the outer layer of muscle on the queen's arm.
Her stamina??? It was indeed not to be underestimated. According to Su Xiao's calculations, the queen's stamina was 24 points. Earlier, when the queen used the "Mithril Chains," the Reincarnation Paradise had given a hint: "The caster's stamina is 2.33 times yours."
Su Xiao's stamina was 6 points, and 6 times 2.33 equals approximately 14 points. After drinking that unknown liquid, the queen's three-dimensional attributes increased by 10, meaning her stamina had now reached 24 points.
Once her stamina exceeded 20 points, something remarkable happened; the sharp Dragon Slash struggled to break through her defenses. The queen's arm was cut, but the wound stopped bleeding within seconds and showed signs of healing.
A wisp of green smoke appeared at the wound, and the queen's injury healed. Seeing this astonishing change, Su Xiao's lips twitched; her recovery ability was quite abnormal.
After being injured, the queen stood still, seemingly lost in thought. Her blood-red beast-like eyes trembled, and two seconds later, the blood color faded from her eyes, returning to clarity.
"This damned blood, finally, my stamina attributes are being judged."
The queen's current state would be judged every 10 seconds, and if she passed, she could regain consciousness.
"Yezi, no need to hide, come out. As long as I don't die, he can't hurt you."
Between the queen and Su Xiao was the "Mithril Chains," and Yezi walked out from the alley.
Yezi had a great figure; although not curvy and somewhat flat, her delicate face and the natural aura around her gave her a unique charm.
The queen walked over to the knight's sword on the ground, stepped on the hilt, and the sword flew up. She caught it by the hilt.
"Yezi, cast 'Holy,' then plan C."
Upon hearing the queen's command, Yezi clasped her hands in front of her, releasing a large number of green light dots.
The light dots gathered above Yezi's head, forming two small birds, one green and one blue.
The two colorful elemental birds flapped their wings and flew above the queen's head, circling around her in a circle. As the two elemental birds flew, green and blue light dots fell and seeped into the queen's body.
The queen, who had only one-fifth of her health left, began to rapidly recover. Three seconds later, she was back to her peak state, and her health was no longer decreasing.
It wasn't that her temporary passive ability had disappeared, but her recovery speed now exceeded 3% per second.
"This feeling of being filled with power is truly intoxicating."
The queen smiled seductively and turned her head to look at Su Xiao.
"Are you ready to die now?"
Her confident smile seemed to announce Su Xiao's death sentence.
Su Xiao was obviously taken aback for a moment, then he forced a smile.
"Do you really think that suddenly becoming stronger makes you my opponent?"
If the queen's strength or agility exceeded 20 points, Su Xiao might not be her match, as that would create a crushing effect of power or speed. But the queen's stamina was the only thing above 20 points. This didn't mean her stamina was weak; it was just that she had a temporary passive skill that caused her to lose health percentage-wise, which negated the benefits of her high stamina.
Now, besides having slightly higher strength and agility, the queen posed no significant threat to Su Xiao. He just needed to be cautious of the few skills that had not been detected.
In Su Xiao's view, it was quite ridiculous for a shield warrior like the queen to fight him with a sword. Did she think his "Swordsmanship Mastery: LV.3" was just for show?
He had spent most of his gains in the pirate world on "Swordsmanship Mastery."
The Dragon Slash let out a clear sound as Su Xiao dashed a few steps toward the queen, wanting her to understand what real combat was.
With a swoosh of wind, he swung his long knife toward the queen's head, and she instinctively blocked with her knight's sword.
"Clang."
The sharp sound of metal clashing rang out, sparks flying as the sword met the blade. The queen managed to block Su Xiao's strike, which gave her a bit more confidence.
But at that moment, the queen suddenly felt a sharp pain in her abdomen, and her body involuntarily flew backward.
In mid-air, she felt a searing pain on her face; she had been cut.
"Bang."
The queen rolled twice on the hard pavement before quickly getting back up, her eyes filled with confusion; she didn't even understand what had just happened.
Su Xiao casually flicked the blood off the Dragon Slash, pointing the tip toward the ground.
"With your close combat skills, you dare to fight me up close? Combat isn't just about hiding behind a shield; without that shield, you wouldn't know how to fight at all."
The queen was dazed by Su Xiao's flurry of attacks. She still didn't understand why she had suddenly been sent flying.
Swallowing hard, the queen suddenly realized that the difference between her and the man before her wasn't in attributes or skills but in combat experience.
"I don't believe that ability to recover health will last forever. Once it disappears, it will be your end."
Su Xiao's words made the queen's expression darken; it was indeed the case.
"I don't believe you can dodge this sword."
The queen stood tall, gripping the knight's sword with one arm, raising it high toward the sky.
"Holy Sword Slash."
With a fierce shout, the queen unleashed her only powerful attack, which she had saved for emergencies, and now it was finally time to use it.
The night wind blew through her long hair, but after her shout, nothing happened.
At some point, the queen's mana had dropped to just 6 points. She could no longer use skills; "Blue Steel Shadow" had consumed a lot of her mana.
Now, with the knight's sword raised, the queen gave Su Xiao a very cliché feeling.
(End of Chapter)