To trade one's life, to win by becoming a prisoner!
-------------------------
At the moment the poison flared.
What Hoolay found harder to accept than the physical pain and the failure of his plan was his own dullness.
When had it happened? He hadn't even noticed that little foxian's cunning.
He had simply assumed that what he saw fall was indeed that fellow's real body.
If at that time he had confirmed a little more, even if it took some time, perhaps he wouldn't have fallen into this situation.
If it had been him from seven hundred years ago, he would never have been so easily deceived.
Seven hundred years… It had been far too long.
Although his body and the Crimson moon still pulsed, his cunning and cruelty had, with time, been worn down.
A realization rose in Hoolay's heart.
He had grown old. Just like that old war chief back then, now it was his turn to have his chest split open.
The air before his eyes grew ever colder.
It even condensed and produced flurries of snowflakes.
"..." Hoolay said nothing, his eyes fixed firmly on the little boy holding the sword.
This feeling was somewhat familiar. But it no longer mattered. Dragging his increasingly sluggish body, Hoolay once again forced his steps forward.
"His speed is slowing down!"
"We can surround and finish him!"
Yunli shouted sharply at Yanqing's side.
"Alright!"
"Masters, watch me!"
March 7th drew her paired swords and flung attacks of sword light toward Hoolay.
Dense sword energy crashed into Hoolay, tearing flesh from his body!
Hoolay said nothing, clutching his head with one hand, and like a bull rather than a wolf, charged ferociously!
Even with his body slowed, compared with the three, Yanqing, Yunli and March 7th, Hoolay still had one enormous advantage.
His health bar was long enough!
"March! Dodge!" Yunli and Yanqing blocked in front of March from left and right, one with blade, one with flying sword!
But just like before, even if their attacks carved many wounds into Hoolay's body, he didn't care at all!
The Crimson Moon stirred his blood, and as soon as wounds appeared, they were instantly healed!
...
: Wow, Hoolay's not even pretending anymore!
: This is purely a stats monster!
: Blood lock! He's hacking!
: Damn, suddenly seeing Hoolay gave me the same helplessness as when the Cloud Knights faced Shuhu in that PV!
: How are they supposed to beat this? Those three kids are really suffering.
: Yanqing's the most tragic, always having to face the strongest opponent!
...
The helpless display made the audience fill the screen with complaints.
Hoolay didn't fear death, but the three little ones did.
The abominations fighting humans truly were shameless.
That line Blade once said when he committed his sins, "Why?", still carried weight.
On screen, when Hoolay broke through the storm of swords with brute force, the blade he dragged in his right hand swung up in a sudden reverse slash.
"How could I possibly lose to mere brats?!" Hoolay roared.
Even if this was the end, he would kill these brats! A war chief's hunt never returned empty-handed!
The scene trembled with Hoolay's strike. He blasted Yunli and March 7th away.
Yanqing, leading in front, raised his sword to block, only for his long sword to be cleaved clean in two.
The slash hadn't even exhausted its strength.
A new surge of power erupted from Hoolay as he leapt high, chopping down toward Yanqing with unstoppable force.
This string of attacks had the viewers tense beyond measure. Hoolay's strikes were too fast, too overwhelming.
In game terms, it was like the backswing of one slash hadn't even ended before the second was already falling.
To show this effect, Xia Wen had researched the system limits, and brought Hoolay's turn-advance mechanics into the choreography.
Now it looked perfect, both in effect and oppressive weight.
At this moment, as Hoolay leapt high and came crashing down on Yanqing, Yunli and March 7th's eyes widened, their mouths gaping in terror.
The three had no strength left.
This slash was going to crush them completely!
If Yanqing was struck, he would be reduced to a smear!
Yet, in that instant between life and death, a background track with a chilling special effect suddenly swelled.
Everything in the scene seemed slowed down.
Yanqing's eyes widened. Under crushing pressure, the image of Hoolay before him overlapped with another figure.
Moonlight, Jingliu.
Bloodlust, Hoolay.
The images flickered and overlapped in Yanqing's sight.
The stench of death filled his nostrils. His mind went blank…
That powerlessness of fighting desperately yet unable to win, that pride and dignity trampled under strong foes time and again, life, joy, emotion, everything vanished into the blankness born of death.
Only one thing remained, rooted deeply in his mind.
A sword, its form unclear!
The instant he saw that sword in his mind, Yanqing felt as if inspiration struck, reaching out in thought to grasp the hilt.
In reality, Yanqing closed his eyes and grasped the broken sword.
Wind and snow gathered around him, condensing onto the shattered blade.
'I will swing this sword. Nothing more.'
Holding that thought, Yanqing's stance firmed.
"?!!" Hoolay, descending, had his eyes stabbed by the brilliance of white ice.
Yet he stared in shock regardless.
As Yanqing slowly raised his head, sleep-heavy eyes looking at him, what appeared in his sight was not Yanqing's figure.
But the woman who had given him the greatest humiliation of his life, Jingliu.
Especially those eyes. Too similar… Cold, merciless, with no extraneous emotion.
Swinging the sword for the sword's sake.
In that instant, Yanqing became Jingliu.
Clang!
The screen went black.
When it lit again, everyone saw a breathtaking scene. Ice and snow filled the sky, condensing into blades that bound Hoolay tight in midair.
The hand holding his weapon was frozen solid, unable to move. Yanqing held his sword in a forward thrust, sweat streaming, chest heaving.
He had finally won!
...
: Yanqing!! He really did it!
: Damn, that scene was so smooth, so cool!
: Enlightenment at the edge of life and death, so fitting for a swordsman!
: A genius swordsman truly worthy of the name!
: Wuu wuu, master thrashing disciple, at the end of the day, it's still in the same family!
: That scene of Yanqing and Jingliu merging, that was Hoolay's perspective, right?
: Hahaha, the war chief just got PTSD from Jingliu!
: Hoolay: "If future generations resemble you by three parts, I lose my composure!"