Chapter 1254: Crystal Star

“Cough, cough, cough!”

Rhode waved away the smoke and dust with his hand. At that moment, the valkyrie who flaunted her power was already smashed into bits; almost nothing could withstand the magical cannon blast at zero distance. This move from Rhode was an art brought to the point of perfection. As a matter of fact, the best solution in this situation was to activate the venue card, trap the enemies, and summon the ‘Ultimate Army’ to annihilate them. But it was a pity that after losing the ‘Casali under the night sky’ venue card, Rhode didn’t manage to find an alternative. That explained why he had no choice but to settle for second best, blasting the valkyrie with the magical cannon directly. Although the blast was powerful, its effectiveness was limited in a high-level battle.

The reason was simple. The magical cannon had a long charging time. Rhode had to first summon the magical cannon card ‘entirely’ before launching the attack. The magical cannon was massive, so it required four to five seconds to appear completely. Coalescing and activating its magical powers required more than 10 seconds. In other words, if Rhode were to summon and fire the magical cannon, he needed between 15 to 20 seconds to work. Although this amount of time was enough to deal with low-level enemies, in a battle where the enemy was on the same level as him, the difference of a few seconds could overturn the battle. With the enemy’s agility, he couldn’t even hit them with the magical cannon even if he were to summon it. On the contrary, the magical cannon might even be destroyed by the enemy. That was why unless Rhode had a way to hold back the enemy and ensure that the enemy was immovable for a short while, this attack would be entirely useless.

But now… It is rather useful against such a huge and naive BOSS.

At this thought, Rhode approached the pile of shattered debris.

He had to admit that the valkyrie was indeed strong. Apart from her limbs and head that were demolished by that impact, the core of her body was protected by her shield that she raised after breaking free from Shira’s steel chains. But even so, the shield forged from steel in her hand twisted to the blast and spider web-like cracks appeared on its surface. It seemed like it couldn’t be repaired anymore.

What a pity.

Looking at this scene, Rhode let out a helpless sigh. He instantly recognized that the shield was of top quality, judging from the fact that it wasn’t smashed into powder by the magical cannon. But despite that, its current condition wasn’t any different from being like powder. Instead of repairing an equipment of this level, Rhode might as well forge a brand new one.

I wonder if my ‘unlucky looting aura’ played a part in it…

At this thought, Rhode couldn’t help but feel confused.

When was the last time I reunited with the ‘unlucky looting aura’? I won’t be as unlucky this time, right?

The moment Rhode was about to stretch his arm out to investigate the remains of the valkyrie, he suddenly witnessed the shield fragments moving on their own. Looking at this strange phenomenon, the corners of his eyes twitched. He turned around and leaped back hurriedly. Almost at the same time, the shield exploded and a purple figure who was almost as tall as him shuttled out of the shield. In the blink of an eye, countless purple light columns erupted, shrouding Rhode entirely.

It has a second form?

Although Rhode was mentally prepared, he was still startled. However, what shocked him more was that although the purple light columns seemed harmless, the instant they shone on his body, his vision darkened. Then, a line of system prompt jumped out before his eyes.

[Player skills locked]

What in the—?!

Looking at the system prompt, Rhode cursed inwardly. He swept a glance at his skill column subconsciously, only to realize that all his skills were grayed out and unusable, including his summoning cards and sword skills! Rhode couldn’t help but roll his eyes. It seemed like this was the worst part of the trial. Earlier on, he felt like his dragon soul trial was two times easier than Erin’s earlier trials. But now, it seemed like this trial was as shameless and despicable as the earlier two. As a matter of fact, Rhode didn’t expect them to actually seal off all of his skills!

This spells trouble.

Rhode knitted his brows, focusing his attention on the purple figure. It was at that moment he clearly witnessed its true identity. It was a female warrior composed of purple crystals. The end of her arms and legs were razor-sharp blades, while her joints were smooth, polished crystals. The carved female facial features were remarkably true to life and similar to Erin’s. At a glance, spots of dazzling light flowed behind her back as though in the shape of her long hair.

But now, Rhode wasn’t concerned about how she looked. Since she was just a crystal structure, it didn’t matter how beautiful she was. On the contrary, he was in danger. His skills were locked and he couldn’t even summon card spirits now. Not only that, but his sword skills were also nullified. In this situation, he could only rely upon his own strength, which was a deadly weakness for Spirit Swordsmen. The strength of Spirit Swordsmen was based on the combination of summoned spirits and group attacks. Now that he had lost that ability, his strength could be considered weakened by half. Moreover, as he had card spirits with him all along, he didn’t bring any amazing weapons with him. Now that he couldn’t summon card spirits, he didn’t have a decent weapon to wield. Fortunately, he was cautious enough to carry a decorative dagger. Although it wasn’t as strong as the holy swords, it was still a weapon of high quality.

Despite that, facing a BOSS like this…

Rhode arranged his thoughts and unsheathed the dagger from his waist. The blade was snowy and shiny, emanating a faint fluorescence. This was the ‘Light of Firefly’ forged by Lapis. Not only did it come with a decent ‘penetration’ attribute, but it also had a certain chance of ‘eliminating magical power’. Although this dagger couldn’t compete against the indomitable holy swords, it wasn’t a terrible weapon.

Despite that, Lapis wasn’t fully satisfied with this weapon. Rhode also vaguely realized that ever since that intimate night with her, she became much more confident in herself. Besides, although Lapis was gentle in nature, it didn’t mean that she didn’t have any temper at all. By accident, Rhode heard her talking about forging a weapon that was stronger than his holy swords, so much so that he would only use that weapon everyday… Rhode admitted that having a goal was great, but whether it would become a reality was a totally different matter.

Rhode organized his thoughts, squinting and sizing up the enemy before him. Although he lacked the support of skills, he didn’t spend so much time on the Dragon Soul Continent for nothing. After participating in so many battles, he was already experienced in this field. Even though he couldn’t deploy the shadow clone technique right now, based on his experience, he reckoned the enemy was unable to unleash too much power since it had expended some power to seal his strength.

But since the enemy was so shameless, Rhode’s only choice was to break the shackles and unleash his power as the Void Dragon.

The enemy didn’t launch her attack on Rhode immediately. Instead, she circled him instead. Meanwhile, Rhode gripped the dagger in his hand, staring at her intently. It was apparent that her limbs were her weapons. In other words, any movement from her would be as though an attack. Such enemies were tough to deal with. On the other hand, it was also challenging for Rhode to brandish his dagger at the enemy’s weakness.

My only hope now is to…

At this thought, Rhode gazed at his dagger.

Rely upon its unique attribute.

Swish——!

Perhaps it was this glance from him that the enemy thought he let his guard down. She lunged forward instantly and struck with her razor-sharp right arm. Facing this ambush, Rhode dodged to the side and continued to observe her movements. Indeed, the instant she missed her strike, she drew another arc in midair with her left arm and hacked at his neck.

Clang!

Rhode was mentally prepared for this move. He wielded the dagger calmly, swinging it before him to defend against the attack. Upon sensing the recoil on his blade, Rhode couldn’t help but feel glad. It was apparent that the enemy’s strength was much weaker than his. In this situation, he didn’t need to worry about her fighting recklessly, at the very least!

However, Rhode wouldn’t show any mercy. After experiencing countless battles, it went without saying that he knew no matter when, he shouldn’t hand the initiative over to the enemy. Therefore, the moment he realized the enemy wasn’t as strong as he had imagined, he unleashed formidable strength in his blade. He thrust the blade forward, flinging the enemy’s arm to the side. Then, he waved his right arm and slashed the dagger toward her chest.

Clang! Clang!

Along with a couple of collisions, the enemy took a few steps back. Despite that, she didn’t seem to be hurt at all. However, Rhode wasn’t concerned as he was prepared for this moment. After all, it would be illogical if he were able to casually instant-kill a BOSS of this level. Although this dagger was forged by the skillful Lapis, it still wasn’t capable enough to slaughter a BOSS in one strike.

Rhode’s attack didn’t inflict too much damage yo her. She took two steps back, stabilized her footing, and raised her arms again. Then, she dashed ahead, slashing the blades in a criss-cross stance that enfolded Rhode. However, Rhode wasn’t a fool either. After landing his attacks, he shifted counterclockwise instantly. Now that he lost his abilities, his battle stance couldn’t be considered graceful. He was just like an ordinary person wielding a weapon in battle, dodging and lacerating with a blade. But despite that, his battle instincts were still present. The moment the enemy slashed the criss-crossed blade rays, Rhode arrived beside her and swung the dagger from above, striking the joint connecting her arm and shoulder.

Clang! Rhode’s dagger was deflected yet again, while the enemy seized the opportunity and turned around, aiming at him with her blade-arms.

In an instant, both of them were equally matched. But all in all, Rhode still had the upper hand. As he didn’t have any skills, he was unable to display his advantages. On the other hand, the crystal enemy didn’t have any flesh, which was why he circled her and searched for an opening to attack her joints. If she were a human, striking the joint would deal severe damage. But it was a pity that the joints of a crystal figure were also made of hard, solid crystal. It was apparent that the person who created these crystal figures was also aware of this weakness and went further to strengthen them. Despite that, Rhode remained patient as he continued to circle her within the magical ritual.

Swish!

The crystal enemy flourished her arms at him once again. Two arcs from the top and bottom sealed off his retreat. Looking at this scene, Rhode narrowed his eyes, rolled on the ground swiftly, and leapt forward in a trail of afterimages between the blade arcs. Shortly after, he raised his dagger and struck with force! This series of movements was so quick that even the enemy was caught off guard. Her blade rays struck Rhode’s afterimages and missed him. Meanwhile, Rhode pounced and punctured her shoulder joint.

Boom!

This time, Rhode’s attack wasn’t negated. On the contrary, the moment he struck the shoulder joint, the ‘Light of Firefly’ flashed in a mysterious, white brilliance. A split second after the explosion, the enemy’s right arm fell to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut, scattering into crystal fragments. She lost her balance but despite that, she didn’t forget to brandish her left arm at him.

“Get lost!”

Rhode was no pushover either. After landing his attack, he didn’t stop his aggression. On the contrary, he thrust his foot into her waist and she flew away upon impact. Even though she also kicked her legs at the same time, Rhode didn’t retreat to avoid them. Instead, he dodged the menacing blades and pierced her right knee with the dagger in a string of afterimages.

Boom!

The instant he attacked the right knee, a deep explosion reverberated. The mysterious light that flashed earlier exploded at the same time. In the blink of an eye, the enemy’s right leg shattered like the right arm. Despite that, Rhode had no intention of stopping. He charged ahead with the dagger that was now as dazzling as a light bulb!

That’s right. This was the moment he was waiting for. He was relying upon the unique ability of the ‘Light of Firefly’—Destruction Chain!

[Destruction Chain: 5% chance of activating the magic-destroying attribute. Lasts three seconds after activation. Upon hitting a magical being within three seconds, damage will be doubled. Can be used continuously.]

This was the reason why Rhode didn’t stop attacking despite striking her joints constantly. In terms of effectiveness, even though it was beautiful but of no use, the magic-destroying attribute was effective against a magical being, after all. The coalescence of magical powers of a construct guard like this crystal figure was either hidden well or really small in presences like the joints of her arms and legs. Most of her body was well protected and only small gaps could be attacked. If Rhode wanted to maintain the magic-destroying attribute, he had to ensure that each of his attacks after activation could accurately pass through the crack of the joints. The attribute would only come into effect after hitting the enemy’s coalescence point of magical powers.

If Rhode were an ordinary human, it would be absolutely impossible. But at that moment, he released mighty strength with the constitution of a Void Dragon. Even though his skills and talents were locked, the Void Dragon’s constitution didn’t change much apart from the drop in level. Despite that, he was still far stronger than ordinary humans. After he unleashed the formidable power, the crystal enemy couldn’t handle him any longer!

Boom! Boom!

Along with another couple of explosions, the enemy’s arms and legs were entirely crippled. At that moment, she became entirely non-threatening, but Rhode didn’t let his guard down. He pounced, the dagger in his right hand shimmering in a blinding light of lightning as it struck her eyes!

“Ah————!”

Upon facing the imminent catastrophe, the enemy let out a fierce bellow. Her strong body opened up abruptly to fire a dozen, sharp ice edges at Rhode like arrows. This time, Rhode didn’t continue fighting zealously. He swung his arm, hurled the dagger into the opening on her body, and rolled aside to evade the crystal edges. It was at that moment when the dagger pierced her body.

In an instant, the crystal enemy stopped moving entirely. Its purple body emanating a magical radiance became dull and lifeless in an instant. She collapsed to the ground in a loud bang, her body shattering into bits like broken porcelain. Looking at this scene, Rhode heaved a sigh of relief. He crawled to his feet, sauntered to the remains, and picked up his dagger. He gazed at the dagger and couldn’t help but reveal a smile.

Never did I expect this weapon by Lapis to lend a helping hand at such a critical juncture…

“———!”

All of a sudden, he heard some noises from the remains. A blue crystal floated out of the enemy’s remains and hovered before his eyes.

Seems like this is what I’m looking for?

Gazing at the crystal, Rhode twitched his brows slightly. He extended his arm and held the crystal that drifted before him.

At the next moment, the magical ritual around him flickered in a dazzling, white light. Then, he vanished within the brilliance.

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