Chapter 174: Ksenia Cleans Up House II

Just before her combo began, the Imperial player tried to strike back with Luminous Fist. Ksenia’s eyes shimmered as she instinctively activated Counterflow Stance, avoiding the holy punch and bashing her opponent against the outside wall of the throne room. Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! All five hits connected and her opponent’s HP went down to the red zone.

The final kick to the stomach left behind crackles of electricity. Ksenia didn’t have qualms about killing and was willing to finish him off. However, the player whom she had previously uppercutted returned and tried to throw her like her previous opponent.

Once again, it worked. She hit the ground, her back feeling like it was about to crack in two. She saw a flame-powered punch coming in but this time had the foresight to roll over and dodge it. She leaped to her feet and activated Lightning Strike Fist in both hands without incantations. Her opponent charged at her and vice-versa.

They exchanged a barrage of punches, but at the end of the day, Ksenia was faster and more clinical. While her opponent landed two hits, she landed seven. Moreover, they were coated in lightning and thus slammed into her stronger male opponent with a bigger oomph.

Bam!

Her lightning-encased fist stayed in his stomach and the Imperial martial artist coughed up blood. He attempted to lift his arms. Ksenia whipped out her left fist and knocked him out.

“Nghhh….” He was alive. Ksenia stared down at him. She didn’t mind killing but she wasn’t a mindless murderer like John either. If possible, she wanted to avoid bloodshed. If her enemy gave her no choice, then so be it. Let death come.

The door was directly in front of her and Nikolai, who was in her view, was doing fine. Ksenia peered over her shoulder and moved on to her next target.

The Intermediate Martial Artist Class was locked behind two specific yet separate conditions: one, to gain an attack value of two hundred with the Amateur Martial Artist Class equipped; two, to learn two Intermediate skills in advance. Ksenia with the help of her guild was able to do the latter. More importantly, the path of the Mixed Martial Artist Class emphasized on raw skill, hence why the Class Skills remained largely the same even through evolution into the Intermediate Martial Artist.

She was stronger, faster, and better skilled than the average Imperial fighter. She cleaned up the courtyard as if it was a game. She was getting into the rhythm of things.

Five minutes later, after defeating her fifth opponent, he stood in her way—Zhong Ren, leader of the attack, dressed in a silver hanfu, and a fellow Intermediate Martial Artist. Quietly, she wondered, ’How did you unlock it?’

Zhong Ren shifted into his stance. Ksenia figured he wasn’t the type to tell anyway.

Fists of lightning and earth collided. Ksenia felt like her knuckles had broken upon contact. She reeled back while her opponent was already moving towards his next move. Counterflow Stance kicked in and an axe kick brushed her chin. She went in close and uttered, “Thunderous Uppercut!”

Her fist crashed into a brick wall and she swore loudly. The casted skill instantly granted Zhong Ren super hard skin and he didn’t so much as flinch from her attack. Ksenia’s knuckles once again felt like they shattered and in the next instant her stomach was ignited with a piercing pain. Zhong Ren didn’t counter with a measly punch, he went straight for a sharp strike with his four fingers. Like a knife, he penetrated her stomach and with his other hand he choked her.

“Ugh—nghhh!”

Zhong Ren lifted her in the air, neither his hold or his stab weakening. Both sets of fingers went deeper and her throat let out a gurgling noise. Her eyes reddened and her arms dangled helplessly as air refused to enter her system. Ferocious dark brown eyes watched as blood trailed down her throat.

Suddenly, energy flowed into her and her once futile arms twitched and came together in a resounding clap! An electric shock erupted and shot into Zhong Ren’s abdomen. His breath hitched and he stumbled back, black smoke rising from the point of contact.

Ksenia dropped to her knees, coughing and sputtering, yet always keeping an eye on her foe. “Aaak! Ugh…” She wiped the spit and blood with her sleeve.

’So he can briefly increase his defence to the point of invulnerability. Has to be an Intermediate skill.’ She slowly got up, watching the fumes disappear. ’Thunder Clap is also an Intermediate move, so obviously it was effective. But I doubt it’ll work twice. Its range is super short despite the crazy amounts of damage it does.’

Without defence calculation, it did about 220 points of damage. If she assumed that his defence took away a hundred, then that still dealt a hundred points of damage. A third of his HP, if her estimates of his visible HP gauge were correct. Her own HP had taken the same amount of damage. ’That attack to my stomach must have been a forced critical hit. Something like Static Swipe that increases your chances of a crit exponentially.’

Warriors were trading blows. Battles were loud and intense, yet right now, all Ksenia could see was her opponent. Zhong Ren was truly strong. ’Not infallible though,’

she reminded herself.

She charged at him and noticed the slight narrowing of eyes. He went into a defensive position with his right arm out in front of him. Ksenia stopped in her tracks. ’Shoot! Gotta be careful! These Imperials are all grapplers!’

He beckoned her to come at him. Ksenia inhaled, taking her time to think. ’I have to get in close and land a Thunder Clap. That’s my only option, grappling be damned. If he gets me, then he gets me.’

Five metres of distance. Ksenia didn’t think she would be able to build sufficient momentum but she chanced it anyway. If she started shifting back, he might pounce on her. Fending him off would be impossible given his superior speed and strength. It wasn’t a huge gap but in close-quarters combat it meant everything.

His outstretched arm coiled together as they went to grab her. The world seemed like a blur, until she muttered, “Counterflow Stance.”

A skill’s activation time was instantaneous when she said out loud as opposed to the mind. It was a law concerning all skills. She jerked her body to the side, avoiding his little stunt, and clapped her hands together right in his face. “Thunder Clap!”

The bolt of lightning struck. There were two conditions to the attack: the hands needed to come together and the bolt had to be in range of half a metre.

“Earthquake Combo.”

“Wh—”

A leg slammed into her side, followed by a hook to the left cheek, the right cheek, and then a harsh charged-up punch to the face, which blasted her away. She blew through the doors of the throne room and toppled across the hall to the midway point.

“Unh…” Her teeth were sticky with her own blood while her mind swirled. “H-how did he…?”

The System healing factor kicked in and she recovered a sufficient amount of her HP. She pulled herself up, listening to the light footsteps of the cultivator. There was an unwavering confidence to Zhong Ren, silent and deadly.

“Rocky Chin…you must have activated that.” Did he read her moves or was it plain luck? It didn’t matter, he was here in the same space as the High King. The royal soldiers appeared by her side, helping her stay steady as she swayed left and right.

“Are you alright, ma’am?”

“Haah….haah….I’m good.” She wasn’t. He got her good. The combo was the earth equivalent to the Storm Surge Combo and Blazing Fury Combo. On top of hurting like hell, it hit her in five different places.

Zhong Ren quietly observed her. There were fifteen soldiers stationed to protect the king. Even he would have trouble alone. Luckily, Zhong Ren was not alone. Three players soon ran by his side, fresh and healthy, and instantly the tables were turned.

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