Chapter 218 The Wavecrest, Water Walking, and the Diving Falcon

Xia Nan remained on high alert at all times, especially toward the dark-skinned Drow half-elf beside him.

Veris might not have displayed any outstanding performance against beast-type enemies during their previous adventuring quests.

But he knew very well that in many situations, the Rogue profession possessed targeted lethal strikes against medium-sized humanoids.

This was especially true given her origins as a Drow Elf from the Underdark, highly skilled with various poisons.

Lately, even in the taverns of Rivervale Town, as long as Veris was present, he refused to eat any food that had left his sight for even a single second.

He kept Antidote Potions constantly ready in his waist pouch and stayed wary of any suspicious scents, terrified of accidentally falling victim to a trap.

This paranoia had only grown more pronounced after the recent battle with the Owlbear, when his two teammates had abandoned him on the battlefield without a word of warning.

The lingering trauma of being backstabbed by teammates right after his transmigration allowed anxiety and restlessness to breed like weeds in the depths of his heart.

The bizarre, high-pressure atmosphere hanging over the party as they tracked the Lycanthrope had pulled his vigilance to its absolute peak.

Even with the Lycanthrope corpse lying right in front of him, his attention didn't waver in the slightest.

He kept his guard up against the two people beside him and the surrounding Dark Forest at all times.

Therefore, almost the moment Veris tried to raise her Short Dagger, the sudden tensing of her body as she gathered force and the chilling, razor-sharp killing intent picked up by his Perception immediately alerted Xia Nan.

Acting on pure instinct, he followed the sequence of movements he had rehearsed countless times in his mind.

Ignoring the attack launched at him, he swung the Decapitating Longsword in his hand diagonally upward, aiming straight for the dark-skinned elf's vulnerable neck.

This wasn't a berserker's suicidal trade of injuries; Xia Nan knew exactly what he was doing.

He had already analyzed the combat strength of his two teammates beforehand. He knew that if a betrayal really occurred, eliminating this mixed-blood Drow Rogue first would greatly increase his chances of victory.

The timing was perfect, and he naturally had to seize this hard-won opportunity, even if it meant revealing a trump card.

On his right index finger, the [Deathline] ring he had never revealed to either of them flickered with a faint silver light. The "Deflection Field" was already prepared to trigger.

But unexpectedly, just as he raised the Iron-Gray Greatsword, a beam of dark purple light shot from between Veris's fingers. Moving at a terrifying speed far beyond human limits, it landed squarely on him.

A fleeting sensation similar to when he had endured the "Petrification Gaze" washed over him. Xia Nan felt as if some invisible entity was trying to follow his thoughts and invade his mind.

Yet his Perception attribute, sitting at a high "10" points, took effect instantly. It forged his mental strength—made increasingly dense by his day-and-night practice of [Gravity Control]—into a thick, sturdy wall.

It blocked all negative external forces from entering.

At the same time, his heart suddenly stirred as an inexplicable burst of inspiration flashed through his mind.

He realized that the Feat he had gained after looking directly at the indescribable evil god from the Secret Realm, [Gaze into the Abyss], had silently taken effect.

Before him, Veris's sharp eyes—which had been emitting a faint glow in the dim environment—suddenly glazed over as an expression of agonizing torment surfaced on her face.

The Short Dagger she had thrust forward halted in midair, frozen along with her expression.

Noticing the afterimages surfacing on her body and the shadow power spreading beneath her feet, he knew that the "teammate" before him had likely poured her entire strength into this strike.

That dark purple beam was probably some kind of mind-control ability, but it had been resisted and countered by his [Gaze into the Abyss] Feat, plunging her into a "stunned" state.

Xia Nan didn't hesitate in the slightest, nor did he have any intention of holding back.

There wasn't a single ripple of emotion in his heart, only a faint sense of relief: 'I've waited so long for you, and you finally couldn't hold back.'

The Decapitating Longsword traced an iron-gray arc through the air. The [Spinning Slash], which had slaughtered a massive number of living creatures, tore through the wind with the amplification of the metal weapon, just as it had thousands of times before.

Fueled by momentum and technique, the sharp blade transformed into a blurred phantom shimmering with cold light.

It flashed past in the blink of an eye.

"Swish."

Above the bloodstained cutouts of her tight leather armor, above the plump, slightly dark skin and delicate collarbones, her slender and smooth swan-like neck possessed no defensive capability whatsoever.

Facing that fierce cleave which could rend even an Owlbear's hide and feathers, the blade didn't meet the slightest resistance. It severed her neck as effortlessly as cutting through tofu.

Her head was carried away by the force on the blade's surface. Her silky silver-white hair fluttered and swirled in the air, spinning like a dandelion made of flesh and blood as it sprayed crimson across the surrounding meadow.

Veris's exquisite face, bearing the exotic beauty of her human and Drow Elf mixed blood, still retained the dazed look of her mentally stunned state. One could vaguely catch the contracting and dilating of her crystalline pupils.

A second later, her head tumbled onto the grass like a rubber ball.

The longsword completed its full arc. Gripping the hilt tightly with both hands, his muscles tensed to control and absorb the blade's momentum.

The sword's momentum reached its absolute end.

And this very moment was the most dangerous critical juncture in combat: the window of "old force spent and new force yet to rise."

Any Adventurer accustomed to group combat would never miss this fleeting, perfect opportunity to severely injure or directly kill their enemy.

Before Xia Nan could pull back his strength, and before the tall, slender, headless body swaying in front of him could even collapse—

—an incredibly dense, whistling shriek of sharp weapons piercing the air came from behind him.

Without hesitation, the [Deathline] ring's "Deflection Field" activated in an instant.

Free energy in the air converged rapidly, guided by some invisible force to form a translucent, ochre-red shield around Xia Nan in a distinct pattern.

Whoosh—almost the exact second the shield took shape, the Blue-Gray Stone Spear crashed down like a violent rainstorm.

Fine ripples of light instantly cascaded across the shield's surface. It shuddered as if it might shatter at any moment, yet it managed to maintain its structural integrity under the thrusts, blocking the enemy's attack while buying precious time for the caster.

"Bang!"

Its time had run out. The ochre-red shield shattered, scattering through the air as flecks of light.

Before the fragments could completely dissolve, they were swept into the churning mist, clinging to the tip of the iron-gray sword as it abruptly thrust out from within the shattered shield.

The "Deflection Field" lasted only briefly, but it helped Xia Nan fend off the most critical wave of the offensive, buying him just enough time to withdraw his sword, turn around, and gather his strength.

Nothing but icy sharpness remained in his dark, tranquil eyes, and his choppy black hair whipped violently beneath the rain of ochre light.

Xia Nan locked his gaze on Cash, who gripped the Stone Spear in front of him. The longsword was aimed directly at the softest, most vulnerable spot between his opponent's neck and sternum.

Nearing forty, with nearly two decades of rich adventuring history and combat experience against countless monsters and Adventurers, the middle-aged man sensed the fatal aura radiating from the longsword the instant it thrust forward.

He gritted his teeth, the veins on his neck bulging out.

No longer hiding his strength, a combat technique silently activated.

"Splash!"

His lower legs swelled a full circle right where he stood. Even though his feet remained planted on the ground without lifting or falling, a powerful force seemed to erupt from his soles, propelling his entire body backward.

[Wavecrest Step]—an essential combat technique for the [Tidal Hunter] profession, a special skill that boosted physical explosive power for a brief period.

On the sea, it could even achieve a special effect akin to "water walking."

Right now, even deep within a dense forest far from any water source, it still granted Cash tremendous explosive power, helping him dodge the incoming attack.

Clang—sparks flew!

The sharp sword tip ground against the rigid Scale Armor, piercing through several iron scales and leaving a deep gouge across the armor's surface.

Yet it could advance no further.

Because the enemy's rapidly retreating body had already slipped out of the blade's attack range.

With [Fang Hunt] at his disposal, any pointless attempt to flee or kite would only make Xia Nan's victory easier.

Keeping his eyes fixed on the retreating Cash, Xia Nan gathered strength in his legs. As the gray mist and grass clippings swirled in the air...

...a blurry Wolf Head seemed to flicker into existence around his body.

In an instant, [Fang Hunt] was on the verge of erupting.

Cash was equally aware that the black-haired youth before him possessed some sort of terrifyingly fast movement combat technique. He knew he couldn't let this battle turn into a war of attrition.

He had to end this quickly!

A resolute glint flashed through his eyes. As he retreated, he hoisted the Stone Spear high into the air.

Roaring furiously, his bulging arm muscles surged with power.

Whoosh—accompanied by a piercing shriek that tore through the air, he abruptly hurled the blue-gray Stone Spear.

But perhaps his accuracy suffered while moving; the stone spear's trajectory was just the slightest bit off.

Xia Nan simply leaned slightly to the side. As his choppy hair swayed, the stone spear brushed right past him, plunging deep into the soil behind.

Suddenly, he noticed something was wrong.

His month and a half of experience as teammates with the man flashed through his mind in a montage of combat scenes.

He abruptly realized something.

Staring hard at the seemingly fast-retreating Cash, Xia Nan vaguely sensed that the man's speed was rapidly decreasing. A short knife had quietly appeared in Cash's hand, and some inexplicable suction seemed to materialize around his chest, drawing his body backward like a coiled spring gathering tension.

'Trying this move again?'

As his thoughts raced, he had already figured out the enemy's intent.

He was just planning to use that combat technique of his—using the thrown stone spear as an anchor to zip over to it like a magnet, while simultaneously unleashing a slash empowered by the momentum of his body.

Shifting his feet, Xia Nan prepared to dodge.

But then he paused.

His innate combat talent and a sudden spark of inspiration in his mind rooted Xia Nan to the spot.

A gray light quietly surfaced in the depths of his pitch-black eyes, and the world before him instantly faded into black and white.

Fine ripples symbolizing gravitational waves collided and intertwined, pouring a torrent of information into his mind.

His mental power drained rapidly, and a wave of dizziness began to set in.

Yet, under the effects of [Heart-Guided Vision], everything around him became breathtakingly clear, right down to the most microscopic detail.

"Boom!"

Amidst the howling gale, Cash's lean, powerful figure—gripping his short blade in a reverse hold—rocketed toward Xia Nan like a diving falcon, hurtling furiously toward the stone spear planted behind him.

His mental power spread out silently. The unique perspective of [Heart-Guided Vision] allowed Xia Nan, in that fleeting fraction of a second, to firmly lock onto Cash's high-speed body hurtling toward him.

[Gravity Control] acted in silence.

Xia Nan didn't choose to increase the man's gravity to slow him down. Instead, he was unusually "considerate," as if trying to help Cash, and drastically reduced his body's gravity.

This caused Cash's speed through the air to abruptly double, turning him into a sports car with its tachometer redlined to the absolute limit—completely beyond his own control.

At the same time, somewhere within that black-and-white world made of countless gravitational lines—a world that would make an ordinary person dizzy with a single glance—he guided his mental power and lightly tapped.

It was the slightest of gravitational fluctuations, but the chain reaction it triggered forced Cash's body, which had been aimed dead at Xia Nan, to veer just a tiny bit to the side.

The distance was incredibly subtle.

It shifted him out of the short blade's attack range, yet kept him squarely within reach of the longsword.

All this precise manipulation of gravity, the microscopic world, and mental power occurred in a fleeting instant in normal time.

From an outside perspective...

Standing perfectly still, his feet rooted to the spot, Xia Nan simply raised the Decapitating Longsword in his hands and turned the edge outward, holding it horizontally across his chest, with part of the blade protruding past his side.

Hurtling from just a short distance ahead, reaching his absolute limit in speed, generating a gale that blasted a terrifying howl through the forest, blurring the very air around his body—Cash...

...charged wildly, delivering his neck straight onto the blade.

"Boom!!!"

The slipstream whipped up grass clippings, dust, and shredded leaves, rolling and surging through the woods.

Driven by immense momentum, the headless body became a blood-spraying, blurry phantom. It smashed deep into the forest, its fragile flesh practically turning into a puddle of meat the instant it collided with a tree trunk. Wrapped in Scale Armor that had been warped and deformed by the colossal force, the remains slumped into a corner, barely resembling a human figure.

Meanwhile, after separating from his body, Cash's head rocketed high into the air.

Trailing blood, the round skull nearly eclipsed the newly risen full moon.

It flew to its absolute peak before hovering for a fraction of a second and plunging back down in free fall.

From start to finish...

From the moment Veris initiated the battle to the instant Cash lost his life, barely six seconds had passed.

"Haa..."

Xia Nan gasped for breath. Even though [Heart-Guided Vision] had been deactivated, his brain couldn't stop the recurring waves of dizziness.

It even made him want to retch.

That flash of insight—an execution lasting less than a single second—had combined his combat techniques, Feats, and every shred of understanding he had gained about "gravity" since advancing.

Fortunately, the harvest he reaped made it entirely worthwhile.

Before his eyes, translucent text silently scrolled past.

[Proficiency +2]

[[Gravity Control] Lv1: (10/100)]

Naturally, once the battle concluded, it was time to loot the battlefield.

Bent over with his hands braced on his knees, he stood there and rested for a moment until the vertigo in his head subsided.

Only then did Xia Nan straighten up again.

He cast a glance at Veris's headless corpse at his feet, blood still spurting from her severed neck, and then looked over at Cash's mangled head resting off to the side.

Ahead, the emerald light around the Lycanthrope corpse's neck grew increasingly dazzling.

Yet he didn't entertain a single thought of stepping forward to inspect it.

Nor did he sheathe his sword.

He merely pivoted his body slightly, facing the direction where he had detected an anomaly through the special sight of [Heart-Guided Vision] during the battle.

He watched in silence.

A moment later, rustling through the bushes...

...the soft crunch of footsteps on fallen leaves drifted from the depths of the shadows ahead.