Chapter 169 The Real Strong One
"Shadow Step!"
Tyler discerned the enemy's shadow and relocated there instantly.
The enemy, taken aback for a split second, swiftly turned to look behind him. But at this moment, the Shadow Sword Blaze Steed that swung from behind him had already kindled blue flames—!
Without the slightest hesitation, the enemy also employed the "Shadow Step"!
His chosen target location was exactly the shadow behind Tyler! He had been waiting for this moment for a long time!
However, what he did not expect was that just as he completed his teleportation, Tyler had already twisted his waist, forcibly changing the direction of his swing!
Greeting this shadow duplicate was an overwhelming onslaught of blue flames!
With a "boom—" a loud noise, the Blue Blaze Steed shrieking with the flames, galloped towards the shadow duplicate. Its extreme temperature ended his life in an instant!
·
"Huff..."
Tyler plunged the Shadow Sword Blaze Steed into the ground, using the sword body to support himself standing.
The recent bout of intense fighting had almost entirely taken place in an oxygen-deprived state.
Not until this moment, seeing the enemy's life force reduced to zero, did he finally relax and start panting heavily.
According to Tyler's consistent style, a skill like "Shadow Step" would definitely be used to counterattack when the enemy's move presents a rigid state.
But just now, he broke through his own limitations, instead teleporting away just as he was about to make a move, successfully catching the enemy off guard.
And later, even if the enemy used "Shadow Step" to counteract, it was already within Tyler's expectations.
The strongest part of the "Shadow Step" skill lies in its "suddenness".
Once you know when the user will use it and where the user will teleport to, the effect of "Shadow Step" will be greatly reduced.
When Tyler saw the enemy use "Shadow Step", he immediately knew that the enemy must have teleported to his own shadow, and the red light sign that appeared immediately afterwards validated his judgment.
Therefore, Tyler was able to deliver a "big gift" directly as soon as the enemy completed the teleportation, leaving him no room to react.
After this battle, Tyler became even more convinced of his previous thought—skills like "Shadow Step" should never be revealed to others.
.
Gazing at the shadow duplicate scorched to charcoal, Tyler lamented his own fragility.
A single arrow to the head could kill him, and a blast from the "Blue Blaze Steed" could cook him medium rare in a blink.
This 300-point life energy truly seemed paltry.
However, it was precisely because of this that he effortlessly slaughtered "himself" thirteen times in a row.
"This time, will it finally let me pass?"
Tyler watched the charred corpse of his enemy, fearful it might once again dissolve into a shadow and sink into the ground.
However, his concern was unnecessary. This time, the enemy's body turned into black smoke and scattered in the air. At the same time, the "Face Fear" in the text on the stone pillar also vanished without a trace.
Tyler felt both jubilant and puzzled. He was elated to finally escape from the cycle of killing "himself"; he was puzzled why only "Face Fear" disappeared, and what did the remaining "Live Towards Death" imply?
Tyler, who faintly felt something was amiss, hastily retreated, re-equipping himself with the gear and items he had just removed.
Although the added weight considerably increased, more choices always meant a better chance of victory.
If necessary, he could just discard them again.
·
Soon, the massive black magic circle rose from the ground again.
This time, it did not display a 60-second countdown, but continued to ascend into the sky, expanding into an equally structured extra-colossal magic circle, slowly rotating in mid-air.
(It seems that something big is coming out…)
(So all this time, the previous one was just an appetizer…)
Tyler glanced at his status information. Thankfully, he still had some strength left, otherwise, he could simply await death now.
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Tyler
Life Energy: 300 / 300
Endurance: 139 / 280
Magic Power: 1722 / 2530
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Taking advantage of the enemy's absence, Tyler hurriedly sat down to recover his endurance.
He thought that according to the solution to "Face Fear" earlier, the enemy that was about to appear was probably corresponding to "Live Towards Death".
(Live towards death... does that mean I should confront death proactively?)
(But how do I do that with such an abstract concept?)
Before Tyler could figure it out, the new enemy appeared.
As the dark magic circle lit up with a dark red light, a huge four-toed claw slowly descended from within the circle. Such a large claw could easily catch Tyler by the waist.
Then, a tail covered with dark scales also revealed itself from the magic circle, gracefully swaying in the air.
As more and more of the claw and tail appeared, the owner of this body finally descended from the magic circle, hovering in the sky, and revealed its true form!
What appeared before Tyler was a black-scaled two-legged dragon.
The vast wings, flaming dragon eyes, robust body and the oppressive aura exuding an inherent dignity all warned Tyler of the same message:
The real strong one in this trial space had made its entrance.
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Crimson Flame Dragon Whelp · Fyl, Male, 39 years old
Crimson Flame Dragon Whelp - Lv50
Skill Slot: 2 / 2
Life Energy: 4791 / 4791
Endurance: 3681 / 3682
Magic Power: 1127 / 1127
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Looking at the dragon that was almost the size of a combat mech, Tyler wryly smiled and felt relieved that he was up against a whelp. Otherwise, his small stature might not even be enough to fill the gaps in its teeth.
Just as Tyler was mocking himself, the Crimson Flame Dragon roared in the air and then dove towards Tyler!
This time, there was no countdown, the battle commenced directly!
(Damn it, how am I supposed to fight this?!)
Tyler started to scramble in discomfiture. He caught a glimpse of the direction the Crimson Flame Dragon was flying in from the corner of his eye, then immediately made a sharp ninety-degree turn, evading the "greeting" attack at a right angle to the dive route.
(You demand reciprocity? I should return the favour!)
Tyler released an arrow, which landed on the dragon's back, only to bounce off ineffectively, like it had hit a rock, falling back to the ground.
The damage caused by this arrow was a shocking "1" point.
"Great, back to square one with scraping for damage 🙃"
·
Tyler couldn't understand how a level twenty, tier one warrior was supposed to contend with a level fifty tier two maxed out monster.
No wonder the Purple Trial was referred to as the Trial of Death, this was an enemy that was impossible to defeat.
However, complaints aside, Tyler swiftly got into action. He's always this kind of man: even if his mouth says "no", his body is honest.
The Crimson Flame Dragon indeed had an air-to-ground advantage, but its turning radius in flight was vast. If it wanted to turn in the air, it would take a considerable amount of time.
Seizing the opportunity of the enemy's misstrike, Tyler immediately ran to an area where the Crimson Flame Dragon could not quickly pursue.
His ethos was such, unless he was dead and unable to move, he would never concede!