Chapter 669 Research and Development Progress

"Aroo!"

Filled with anger and resentment, yet faintly carrying an indescribable trace of fear, a sharp howl echoed through the dim cavern.

It was a bizarrely shaped gnoll.

Unlike its surface-dwelling kin, this gnoll was noticeably smaller and far more slender, allowing it to easily navigate the narrow tunnels of the Underdark.

Its fur was a pale, sunless gray. The tufts along its spine and behind its ears sprouted patches of glowing subterranean fungi at their tips. Its eyes were a dark crimson, adapted for enhanced night vision, and its hard claws curved like crescent moons, enabling it to scale rock walls like a gecko.

Deep Cavern Gnoll, Challenge Rating 1/2.

It was a variant of the surface gnoll adapted to the Underdark.

They still moved in packs, but due to the extreme dangers of the Underdark, their numbers were usually reduced to smaller groups of three to five.

Only under special circumstances—such as the emergence of an elite individual or the need to face a massive threat together—would a Deep Cavern Gnoll pack reach or exceed double digits.

At present, the small Deep Cavern Gnoll pack Xia Nan's group encountered consisted of four ordinary individuals and a pack leader.

The small Deep Cavern Gnoll leader in front of him had a Challenge Rating comparable to a bugbear, roughly around level 1, with an agility-focused combat style.

It gripped a rusted scimitar scavenged from some dead adventurer and wore a completely ill-fitting set of light leather armor, sized so small it fit more like a tight vest.

Having been in this world for two years, Xia Nan no longer needed to focus every ounce of his attention on a desperate fight to the death when encountering a level 1 monster like he had against the bugbear.

In fact, to prolong the battle as much as possible, he hadn't even drawn the two main straight swords from his back, afraid that using a slightly better weapon would instantly shatter the gnoll's rusted scimitar.

Instead, he only wielded his [Honey Tangerine] crystal dagger. He fought the monster at a leisurely, effortless pace, mostly passively parrying and only occasionally following the battle posture to launch a counterattack or two.

The enemy wasn't some mere goblin; this slow rhythm didn't match Xia Nan's usually sharp and decisive combat style.

As for the reason—

It was naturally to further develop his new combat technique through actual combat.

One could clearly see that the sharp dagger, with its rare pink crystalline structure, moved quite unnaturally with each swing.

The Deep Cavern Gnoll's physical attributes were mediocre, and its attacks were far from swift. In Xia Nan's eyes, they played out like slow motion.

He didn't even need the "rapid reset" technique he had learned from Zanfrey; he could easily keep up using sheer reflexes and muscle strength.

Because of this, Xia Nan had to deliberately slow his reactions, waiting an extra moment for the gnoll to finish its full wind-up. He only raised his blade to block when the scimitar was about to strike him.

After so many exchanges, he didn't know if the gnoll was just too weak, or if this method of applying combat techniques simply didn't suit him.

Even though he successfully executed every parry, Xia Nan still felt incredibly awkward.

On the contrary, the few counterattacks he naturally launched during the blocks—driven by sudden flashes of inspiration—felt much more satisfying.

He didn't dwell on it.

He knew very well that the key to developing his combat technique was to follow his physical instincts and Perception. Whatever felt most comfortable, he would pursue that direction.

In a sudden flash of inner clarity, Xia Nan abandoned the defensive posture he had been mimicking from Zanfrey. Moving with crisp, explosive speed, he surged with power and swung heavily at the Deep Cavern Gnoll.

A fierce, lethal sense of danger exploded in its heart. The gnoll shrieked and instinctively raised its scimitar, holding the metal weapon out like a shield.

"Clang!"

The pink crystal dagger collided violently with the rusted scimitar, sending sparks flying.

Aside from a slight boost to mental resistance, it had no special effects. However, the "Greater Toughness" affix gave [Honey Tangerine] a texture far harder than standard blue or even purple-tier equipment.

Backed by Xia Nan's Strength, the gnoll's scimitar had absolutely no chance of defending. It was shattered almost instantly, bursting into fragments of rusted yellow metal.

However, [Honey Tangerine] was ultimately a dagger, giving it a very limited attack range.

After cleaving through the scimitar, the blade continued its downward arc but still fell a few inches short of the gnoll's flesh.

The webs of its hands bleeding from the impact, the small gnoll leader stumbled backward uncontrollably under the crushing force.

Seeing the dagger miss, it assumed the powerful black-haired adventurer's assault had ended for the moment.

The urge to retreat sprouted in its mind.

It wanted to turn and flee during the brief recovery window following its opponent's heavy strike.

But suddenly, a sharp pink light flashed before its eyes.

The crystal shortsword should have continued its downward momentum until its residual force was spent, only then coming to a halt before it could be raised for another strike. Yet, in a bizarre manner that practically defied the laws of physics, the blade abruptly halted mid-swing!

It then blurred into a phantom, snapping back to its original position high above his head, gripped in one hand as if the swing had simply reset.

"Aroo!?"

Its round, dark crimson eyes shrank violently, as if witnessing the impossible.

But there was no time for further shock.

In the very next second, the adventurer stepped forward to close the distance, bringing the pink blade crashing down.

"Slash!"

Blood sprayed into the air.

The small gnoll leader's head flew high before hitting the ground, bouncing like a rubber ball. It rolled twice and hit the adjacent rock wall, finally coming to a stop with its face pointing toward the cavern ceiling.

Xia Nan's gaze swept over the twitching, headless corpse. He savored the execution of that strike, one driven entirely by Perception and instinct in a sudden flash of inspiration.

A thoughtful expression surfaced on his face.

If his golden finger's Attribute Panel could visually display his combat technique's development progress, he would have noticed it.

Ever since he had watched Zanfrey use a combat technique and finally pushed the crucial progress bar forward by a single percent, it had just surged ahead massively, nearing sixty or seventy percent completion.

'I figure—this is exactly how it should be used!?'

'Looks like—it seems—it's almost done?'

As he pondered this, the sounds of combat nearby snapped him back to reality.

His gaze skipped over the headless gnoll corpses he had dispatched at the start of the battle, landing on the other side of the battlefield.

Zanfrey and Winsor were locked in combat with a Deep Cavern Gnoll grunt that Xia Nan had deliberately spared.

The fight had already reached its most intense stage.

Zanfrey remained at the front, using his round shield from the Shield of the Silver Lake to block the gnoll's frenzied claw swipes.

Meanwhile, Winsor, who had been hovering on the flanks and waiting for an opening, finally found a flaw in the gnoll's increasingly desperate defense. He suddenly lunged forward, thrusting his sword into the creature's flank.

The gnoll reeled from the pain, its onslaught abruptly slowing.

Seizing the moment, Zanfrey charged forward and delivered a brutal shield bash squarely to the gnoll's face.

Struck right in its fragile facial features, the gnoll's vision went black. Losing all balance, it stumbled and crashed hard onto its back.

The young noble didn't hesitate for a second, immediately following up on his advantage.

The moment the gnoll's spine hit the floor, Zanfrey's right-handed Faceted Hammer slammed into its chest.

"Crack."

The crisp sound of shattering bone echoed from deep within its flesh.

Blood spewed from the gnoll's maw.

He had never experienced anything so wonderful: coordinating with an equally matched companion to take down a powerful foe.

The blond boy's grin practically stretched ear to ear. He turned, just about to say something to Winsor.

But from the corner of his eye, a dangerous shadow suddenly flickered.

The gnoll, seemingly beaten into a near-death state by Zanfrey's hammer, rallied the very last shred of strength in its body at death's door. Spewing blood, it sprang up like a coiled spring, shrieking as it slashed its flesh-piercing claws straight toward the blond boy's exposed back.

If that strike landed on Zanfrey's fragile, class-unenhanced body, he would suffer a grievous wound requiring a precious healing potion just to barely survive, assuming it didn't kill him outright.

"Ah!"

Caught completely off guard, Zanfrey's reaction was visibly half a beat too slow.

He froze in place for a fraction of a second before muscle memory kicked in, forcing him to turn and bring his shield up.

However, the claws that should have torn into his back long before he finished raising the shield never actually fell.

His forehead drenched in cold sweat, the blond boy carefully peeked over the rim of his round shield and looked ahead.

The fierce, vicious Deep Cavern Gnoll looked as if someone had hit the pause button on it.

It remained frozen in its striking posture, its raised claws unable to descend. Its entire body seemed locked in place, gripped by some invisible force in the air.

Paralyzed.

Only its frantically darting, no-longer-ferocious beast eyes, along with the faint twitching of its arm and waist muscles as it struggled to break free, revealed its bizarre predicament.

"Swish!"

A sharp pink light flashed across the gnoll's neck.

The body, previously solidified by a gravitational hold, instantly regained its mobility, but its head was already separated from its shoulders.

The gnoll's corpse collapsed to the floor.

Xia Nan stood off to the side, wiping the residual blood from the surface of [Honey Tangerine] with a piece of gauze.

Glancing at Zanfrey, who was gasping for air with lingering terror on his face, Xia Nan reminded him, "Finishing blows are crucial after a fight."

"Other than that, you did pretty well."

"Hmm. There are two things I think both you and Winsor need to pay attention to—"

To those who showed him goodwill, Xia Nan never minded offering a bit of help within his capabilities.

Faced with Xia Nan's earlier proposal, Zanfrey could have easily made finding Ake a strict condition, withholding any transaction until they returned to the surface.

Instead, after understanding Xia Nan's intent, the youth unreservedly taught him the entire training process and application techniques for [Returning Wave Shield Stance], which Xia Nan had shown interest in.

Of course, according to Zanfrey, Xia Nan had saved him so many times that returning the favor required no hesitation; it was simply the right thing to do.

But from Xia Nan's perspective, Zanfrey's generosity at this critical juncture of his self-developed combat technique undeniably raised the blond boy's standing in his eyes by a significant margin.

It made Xia Nan perfectly willing to leave suitable practice targets for the two of them whenever the situation allowed, thereby improving their combat skills and offering subjective advice, all while they searched for an Underdark exit and Ake's whereabouts.

Hailing from the Imperial Capital, Zanfrey knew exactly how many gold coins it would cost to hire an adventurer of Xia Nan's caliber as a combat instructor for live-fire training.

Whenever he had the chance to receive guidance, he listened with utmost focus, wishing he could burn every word Xia Nan said into his brain.

If conditions permitted, he probably would have already pulled out a pen and paper to take notes.

Furthermore, Xia Nan had previously asked him if a secret technique of the Wilmot family like [Returning Wave Shield Stance] could truly be taught so freely, and if some sort of non-disclosure contract was required.

Zanfrey's response had been that the top-tier combat techniques passed down from their ancestor, the Shield of the Silver Lake, were off-limits even to him, the family's third son.

Well—Zanfrey was actually flattering himself a bit.

Being born to a maidservant meant that he had been excluded from the list of the family's heir candidates the moment he was born.

How could he possibly gain access to their truly core combat systems?

Although [Returning Wave Shield Stance] was part of the Shield of the Silver Lake family legacy, its position was much like Zanfrey's own standing within the family: an auxiliary technique outside the core structure. Its importance was fairly average, so naturally, it didn't require strict confidentiality.

Moreover, due to the specific environments and materials required to train the technique, ordinary people would struggle to master it even if they knew the method.

And those Class Holders or noble scions who actually possessed the means to learn it were unlikely to value a technique of this caliber.

Even Xia Nan was only interested because he found inspiration in it. He merely wanted to extract its mechanics of "reset—loop—cancel" and apply them to his own custom combat technique. He didn't care much for [Returning Wave Shield Stance] itself.

"Rest here for twenty minutes, then we'll keep moving."

After briefly clearing the battlefield, they found nothing of value.

Considerate of the youths' depleted stamina after the fight, Xia Nan planned to push forward for another three hours or so before setting up camp to rest.

However, in the Underdark, things never went quite as adventurers expected.

They had been resting in the hollow for barely fifteen minutes when dense, soul-shaking howls erupted, accompanied by dangerous tremors echoing from deep within the tunnel ahead.