Chapter 231-1: Breaking Records, Special Opportunity (1) |
A player’s development in Monster World can be divided into different playstyle branches.
Exploration, fishing, hunting, starter village hegemony, and so on.
Each branch has its loyal fans, and quite a few players even straddle multiple branches.
For example, many players mainly play hunting, but occasionally try the fishing branch for some casual fun.
Among these different branches, there is one that can be called the berserker of the player legion. They are either fighting or on the way to a fight.
Every day, at the break of dawn, they wait by the beach for the arena shuttle.
Their core creed is to enter and start fighting. If the win streak breaks, they go back to the village to train and come again tomorrow.
If they miss the shuttle, they go pick fights with monsters.
They never complain about strong opponents and believe that if you are weak, you just train more.
They are also the group in Monster World that hungers most for improvement, like a perpetual motion machine, always seeking ways to grow stronger.
These are the arena players, a group whose playstyle rivals the Three Great Demonic Sects.
A comment from an arena player under a forum post vividly described this group. He said.
“Hot-blooded combat is the true romance of real men. These days I even dream about how to make my combos smoother. I am stringing skills in my sleep, and the first thing I do when I wake up is run the newest combo set, afraid my hands will get rusty.”
This once-niche group is steadily growing as the player base increases.
Aside from bandwagoners, true arena players are like they have developed a combat addiction.
Players of the Giant Brute race and the Night Demon race, in particular, form the mainstream of this group.
Everyone has a different view of them.
Some players find them powerful, while others think it is meaningless.
The most famous incident was when a player provoked them on the forum, claiming that the combat techniques pursued by arena players were worthless and far inferior to straightforward attribute crushing.
Afterward, this player even challenged an arena player he disliked on the forum.
In the end, the fight took place on the beach of the Colorful Mist Coast.
Before the battle, both sides displayed their attribute panels, and the arena player’s attributes were clearly inferior.
But the actual fight was one-sided. The arena player suppressed the provocative player from start to finish and completed the kill in a very short time.
The arena player proved with facts that when attributes cannot achieve absolute crushing, combat technique can grant the ability to crush ordinary players.
And Phase Kill is the existence standing at the pinnacle of this playstyle, called the leader by arena players.
His combat technique guides and various edited real combat videos are widely circulated on the forum.
He has gathered many fans who like the arena playstyle.
This time, Phase Kill entered the Ancient God Arena again, drawing a massive influx of players and guests into his livestream to watch.
At this moment, Ancient God Arena (Death Arena).
The sixth duel officially began.
Phase Kill and his opponent appeared on the sixth-ring platform: the Ice Prison Ring.
The field was wrapped in countless ice spikes, the ring itself forged of ice. Directly ahead stood an ice-sealed throne radiating bone-piercing chill.
Once the sense of weightlessness faded, Phase Kill lifted his head to look at his opponent.
This time, the opponent stood close to three meters tall, burly as a mountain, with muscles knotted all over.
At a glance, it looked as if every muscle carried explosive power.
Its skin was dark gray, covered in a thick keratinized layer. It wore a heavy bronze-colored set of battle armor studded with sharp spikes, standing there like a ferocious, grim beast.
Both hands wore massive metal gauntlets carved with totems, radiating killing intent.
Analysis swept out, and the opponent’s information surfaced in his mind.
[Renbo (Terrorplate race)]
Hunt Level: 63
Target Analysis: Guardian warrior of the Terrorplate race from ‘Sorrow Severance Island’ in the Ascension Sea Region. Trained in killing arts since childhood.
—
Seeing the opponent’s hunt level, Phase Kill put away any trace of contempt, his gaze turning especially serious.
This was exactly the battle he had been waiting for.
Just then, the voice of the Barbarian Thrall echoed over the ring.
Standing not far away, Renbo launched the first attack, his body like a runaway war chariot, charging forward.
The massive metal gauntlets whistled through the air, smashing straight down toward his head.
Facing the sudden ferocious offensive, Phase Kill did not evade. He spread his legs, slightly crouched, and crossed both arms in front of his chest.
The Vital Qi trait activated, scarlet airflow spouting from his pores and shrouding his body.
A split second before Renbo slammed into him, Phase Kill’s eyes widened. The Blood Rebound Inherited Soul trait activated.
At the instant of contact, the impact force turned into blood-colored ripples. After fully absorbing the force, it abruptly rebounded.
Boom!
Renbo was instantly flung away, cracks spreading densely across his armor.
This is the power of the Blood Rebound Inherited Soul. It can counter an opponent’s damage output in a short window.
It is a stronger defensive counter trait than Life Link.
The only drawback is that the timing must be precise. The Blood Rebound effect’s duration is very short, and maintaining it consumes a large amount of vitality.
Renbo’s figure traced an arc through the air and crashed to the ring on one knee, sliding more than ten meters backward before stabilizing.
Roar!
Enduring the pain of his shattering armor, Renbo kept his body tilted forward and kicked his right leg back hard.
He burst forth again in a sudden lunge, pouncing once more. Deep gray eyes burned with raging fire, like an enraged primordial behemoth.
Phase Kill also launched a charge at this moment, his body like a fired shell as he rushed to meet Renbo.
The two figures collided with a thunderous bang on the right side of the ring. Phase Kill’s forearms slammed against Renbo’s metal gauntlets, scarlet Vital Qi and black baleful energy intertwining.
The two energies scraped against each other like two metal saws, scattering sparks of energy.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Fists fell like raindrops upon each other.
Every collision was accompanied by a dull boom.
Phase Kill’s punching wind was razor sharp, every strike sheathed in scarlet Vital Qi, each move aiming for the head, throat, and other vital points.
Renbo’s punches were the opposite, like mountains collapsing and the earth cracking, wide-open and ferocious. The heavy metal gauntlets whipped up gusts of wind, baleful energy surging like a tide.
Phase Kill slipped to the side, avoiding a straight punch at his face, then snapped his right leg like a whip, scarlet Vital Qi lashing toward Renbo’s waist.
Renbo reacted extremely fast. His left gauntlet pressed down to block the kick head-on, but the enormous impact still made his body sway slightly.
Phase Kill borrowed that force to spring up, spinning in midair. His left leg chopped down like a battle axe toward Renbo’s shoulder.
Bang!
Renbo roared and snapped his right arm up, taking the chopping kick head-on.
His feet stood firm on the ring, not moving an inch, but his armor screeched with piercing metal friction under the impact of Vital Qi.
Phase Kill’s offensive did not stop. The instant he landed, his fists blasted out like a tempest, scarlet Vital Qi condensing into sharp blades on his knuckles, driving straight for Renbo’s chest.
Renbo did not retreat. He crossed both arms to guard his chest, tanking Phase Kill’s flurry of killing punches.
The armor kept shattering under the battering of Vital Qi, fragments flying everywhere, yet his eyes only grew more ferocious.
At the instant Phase Kill threw his final punch, Renbo suddenly spread his arms, clamping down on Phase Kill’s fists, then spun and flung Phase Kill into the air.
Roar!
Renbo roared. Both legs drove hard, and his body shot up from the ground. The massive metal gauntlets, wreathed in black baleful energy, smashed at Phase Kill’s abdomen.
In the air, Phase Kill had no leverage to dodge, but he remained calm, eyes locked on the rapidly closing Renbo.
Bang!
The instant Renbo’s fist struck his abdomen, the Blood Rebound Inherited Soul reactivated.
He precisely absorbed the force of Renbo’s punch, turned it into blood-colored ripples, then rebounded it in an instant.
Renbo slammed toward the ground even faster than his takeoff.
Boom!
Dense cracks spread across the ring, then strangely self-repaired.
That slam left Renbo’s head ringing, ears buzzing, his consciousness briefly hazy.
At that moment, Phase Kill’s attack descended from above.
His right fist, sheathed in scarlet Vital Qi, drove straight at Renbo’s head.
Renbo snapped back to his senses and rolled to his feet, reacting with lightning speed. He jerked his right arm up to block.
But he was still a beat slow. Phase Kill shifted the point of attack and drove a punch into Renbo’s chest.
Crack!
The sound of ribs breaking rang out.
Renbo’s upper body leaned back slightly, but his legs seemed welded to the ground, not moving a fraction.
Instead, borrowing that backward force, he suddenly jerked his head up. His body, like a roly-poly, snapped forward again, and he slammed a charging headbutt into Phase Kill’s skull.
Bang!
That headbutt drove Phase Kill back three steps in a row.
“Kill!”