https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-291-Mantlescramble-Battle-Twenty-Six-/13547621/
Chapter 292: Mantlescramble Battle (27)
Chapter 292: Mantlescramble Battle (27)
A complete madman…
That was Shiva’s opinion of Feng Bu Jue at this moment.
“A miscalculation…” Shiva muttered, catching his breath behind cover. “I didn’t expect the outcome of this kill game mode to hinge not on Wu Si Can Xuan or Zhao Ying Wang, but on this Mad Bu Jue who came out of nowhere…”
The heavy injuries Feng Bu Jue had inflicted had completely disrupted Shiva’s plans. Counting from the start of the scenario, this was already his fourth use of vitality value supplements. Originally, he’d planned to save this fourth vial for later, depending on the situation after defeating Feng Bu Jue. But now, he’d been forced to drink it before the combat even ended.
The difference between using it now versus later was like the difference between night and day.
Using the same recovery item multiple times within a certain timeframe caused severe diminishing returns. It was one of the game’s more ruthless mechanics—no matter how wealthy a player was, even if they bought a massive satchel and stocked up on countless Potions, only the first few would be truly effective in actual combat…
Before the battle concluded, every additional vial consumed meant pushing his own limits further.
And this was the last thing Shiva wanted to do.
Because the moment Feng Bu Jue removed the bomb, Shiva’s mindset had shifted. He saw hope of victory again, and his earlier frenzy began to cool.
Thinking calmly, he realized the scenario’s reward was something truly once-in-a-lifetime.
Shiva believed that with his strength, obtaining a Flawless-quality Equipment would likely catapult him to the top of the combat power leaderboard.
At this stage, Flawless-quality Equipment was extremely rare in Terrifying Paradise. There were fewer than five pieces in the auction house, each sold at an astronomical price. The scare box had more, but players simply couldn’t afford them. Every day on the game forum, people complained that the scare box had become a “museum”—excellent items no one could buy, while slightly inferior ones weren’t worth purchasing because most players preferred to save up skill points for legendary artifacts.
Though Shiva was the second-ranked player on the combat power leaderboard, aside from his level and proficiency, he was essentially just a man in fine-grade Equipment, supported by numerous skills and ample supplies. The bonuses from his clothing were negligible.
As the leader of a studio and a top expert who’d fought his way through the Class circles, he understood better than anyone what the first spot on the leaderboard meant.
Like Shankly said—first is first, and second is nothing.
A cruel truth…
Perhaps somewhat one-sided, but he agreed.
The ID 【Tian tian gui xiao】 with the “Order” suffix represented an accumulation of intangible resources with every moment it held the top spot.
If obtaining Flawless-grade Equipment truly allowed Shiva to surpass his rival, the victory in this kill game mode would transcend the value of a single scenario, a single piece of Equipment, or a mere ranking gap. That was why Shiva had initially tried to compromise with Feng Bu Jue.
But he hadn’t expected the other to suddenly turn unreasonable.
Reassessing Mad Bu Jue’s actions, Shiva found the man’s behavior defied logic.
This kid was sharp yet absurd—sometimes extremely cautious, other times recklessly bold. He could deliver a ten-point-accurate reasoning session one moment, then spew insane rants that shattered imagination.
An opponent who couldn’t be predicted by conventional logic—this was what made Shiva feel unprecedentedly challenged.
“Your psionic weapon is indeed convenient,” Feng Bu Jue said, leaping several meters sideways to dodge beams from the Stone Discs.
This attack was merely suppressive fire, meant to cover Shiva’s movement as he sought cover.
“Your reconnaissance proficiency seems impressive too,” Feng Bu Jue continued. “Even without looking, you can sense the general situation within a certain range. But once I leave your line of sight, the Stone Discs’ accuracy and sensitivity drop significantly.” As he spoke, he pulled the pin on a grenade and hurled it toward Shiva’s hiding spot.
“Don’t get too cocky,” Shiva didn’t even need to look to know something was flying his way. He pulled out a cold weapon from his satchel and swung it like a baseball bat, sending the grenade soaring into the sky.
The explosion in the air was like a signal. With a deafening boom, Shiva darted from the other side of his cover, closing in on Feng Bu Jue at high speed.
But the moment he emerged, a layered golden light surged toward him.
“Skills? No… psionic weapon!” Shiva’s combat instincts reacted instantly. “He couldn’t have guessed which angle I’d come from—this must be a timed prediction of my movement… So… this psionic weapon is tracking.” As these thoughts flashed through his mind, the light was already upon him.
“Scatter!” Shiva roared, activating a skill.
Name: Spirit-Break Strike
Skill Card Attribute: Active Skill, Permanently Mastered
Skill Category: Martial Arts
Effect: Delivers a shockwave infused with spiritual energy (Cooldown: 3 minutes; requires holding a cold weapon to release)
Consumption: Stamina Value 200, Spirit Energy Value 20
Learning Condition: Martial Arts Proficiency E, Spirit Arts Proficiency E
Background: Extremely weak against purely physical targets (e.g., mechanical constructs), but highly effective against targets imbued with spiritual energy or souls.
This skill choice was perfectly suited. The weapon in Shiva’s hand complemented it perfectly.
Name: Obsidian Hammer
Type: Weapon
Quality: Fine
Attack Power: Moderate
Attribute: None
Special Effect: Demon Warding
Equipment Condition: Martial Arts Proficiency D, Level 23+
Background: Obsidian is one of the seven treasures of Buddhism. When encountering evil spirits or demons, it can ward off evil and destroy them with force.
In scenarios involving ghosts or spirits, this combination was foolproof for Shiva. Except for bosses and elite monsters, anything related to “spirit” was practically one-shot by this pairing.
Feng Bu Jue’s thrown Death Poker was a full ten-card combo—“airplane and artillery” level. High consumption, naturally high power. But Shiva had come in with the mindset of using a sledgehammer to kill a chicken, unleashing his true main skill. Comparatively, Shiva’s counter was stronger.
With a strange clang, the light cards shattered into colorful fragments, bursting like sparks.
Shiva successfully blocked the rapid attack, forcing Feng Bu Jue into a desperate situation.
Though slightly hindered by the Death Poker, as Feng Bu Jue re-entered his line of sight, Shiva’s psionic weapon could now aim with pinpoint accuracy. Almost the same second Shiva shattered the cards, six beams of light shot toward Feng Bu Jue’s front, back, left, right, slightly forward and backward above his head—six directions in total.
This barrage was sharp and encircling. Feng Bu Jue seemed to have no way to avoid—either death or injury was inevitable.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
The beams carved pits into the cement roof, snapping two railings.
Yet Feng Bu Jue… was unharmed…
With an unimaginably bizarre and impossible motion, he dodged every beam. In that instant, his joints seemed to loosen, yet his limbs and torso moved swiftly and powerfully.
To describe it, imagine an extremely flexible marionette. Under the pull of strings, it could twist multiple joints and change poses at high speed. But for a normal human to mimic this motion was nearly impossible.
“What?!” If Shiva were a villain from a Japanese manga, he’d be shouting this line with a horrified expression.
But he wasn’t…
Even surprised, he wasn’t stunned. Shiva’s attack wasn’t over. After several rounds of shooting, the Stone Discs entered cooldown, but they’d secured him a strategically advantageous position.
At this moment, Shiva’s vitality value was nearly 90%, stamina value still at half. He had two martial arts skills ready, and had successfully closed in on Feng Bu Jue.
Looking at Feng Bu Jue… under the consumption of the spirit sense body technique, his vitality value had dropped below 40% again, stamina value at 188/2800. He’d put away his dual pistols and now held Death Poker—disadvantageous for close combat.
“What the hell…” Feng Bu Jue muttered to himself, “I actually dodged all of that…”
Whoosh! The obsidian hammer swung diagonally.
Feng Bu Jue stepped aside, stretching his body like yawning, dodging effortlessly. “This is ridiculous… Did I really break through the Ren and Du meridians?”
“Those questions should be mine to ask!” Shiva countered with another skill, this time using his legs.
A blade-shaped blue shadow shot from his kick toward Feng Bu Jue, only a meter away.
“Is this the legendary ‘Storm Leg’?” Feng Bu Jue muttered, performing the iconic bullet-dodging move from The Matrix—leaning his upper body back, bending his knee, barely avoiding the attack.
“Are you playing possum?!” Shiva roared, his anger flaring without knowing why. Later, when he calmed down, he realized this rage likely stemmed from realizing his opponent’s physical techniques surpassed his own.
“How should I answer that…” Feng Bu Jue replied.
Internally, Feng Bu Jue was pondering: He’d thought dodging the spinning kick was a fluke, but now he wasn’t so sure. The earlier beams, the hammer, the kick… Was it purely the spirit sense body technique? Or had the opponent’s movements slowed? No… The gap remained. In strength, speed, dynamic vision—Shiva was still slightly superior.
But…
For some reason, he could perform extremely high-difficulty moves he’d only imagined before, with precise execution.
What phenomenon was this… Could it be an undisplayed game Buff? Hmm… Doesn’t seem like it.
This realm of doing as one pleases… Could it be!
As he pondered, Shiva sheathed the obsidian hammer, freeing both hands to launch a high-intensity combo.
In an instant, fists flew like shadows, winds howled. The two virtual characters clashed—offense and defense, advance and retreat—fighting their way out of the building’s roof, vertically down the wall, from the sky to the streets.
The super-heroes who’d been thrown off earlier were now arriving one by one (Jason Todd didn’t follow—he wasn’t with the Net of Gods’ heroes, so he quietly withdrew). Seeing the scene, the Net of Gods members were stunned.
“Should we consider contacting the Justice League headquarters?” Squire offered a ten-point-sensible suggestion.
Damian glanced at her, then picked up the radio, replying woodenly, “I’ll ask Sage…”
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
