Gamers Are Fierce

In addition, there was another skill.

[Skill Scroll Name: Heart Shattering Strike]

[Attribute: Consumable, disappears after one use]

[Type: Fighting]

[Grade: Perfect]

[Special Effect: Heart shattering. After a long period of charging, a heavy punch is delivered to the enemy's chest cavity, shattering their heart into two halves. Any attempts to heal the heart injury will only be 50% effective. Lasts for 30 seconds.]

[Consumption: 500 stamina points. Upon successful use of the skill, the user will receive a "Weakened" debuff effect, -3 Strength Attribute for 10 minutes.]

[Cooldown: 10 minutes]

[Note: If the target unit does not have a heart organ, the skill is ineffective.]

[Note: String your heart and mine together.]

This skill had many limitations. It required a long charging time and demanded that the user punch directly into the enemy's chest cavity. Its consumption was also considerable. Once used successfully, it would result in a -3 Strength Attribute for ten minutes.

However, the power of Heart Shattering Strike was worthy of its Perfect grade. As long as it made contact with the enemy, it could shatter their heart. It was especially effective against massive bosses.

To Viper's knowledge, a low-level Nordics player had once used a similar skill to instantly kill a One-eyed Giant that should have been absolutely unbeatable at his level.

For enemies of normal human size, the effects of Heart Shattering Strike were equally exceptional. The heart is one of the most important organs in vertebrates, providing the power for blood circulation throughout the body. Furthermore, the skill's secondary effect reduced the effectiveness of any attempt to heal the heart by 50%. This meant that even immediately drinking an entire Miniature Life Potion would not heal the injury.

In other words, even if the opponent was a demon or something with astounding self-healing abilities, they would still be severely injured and incapacitated upon being hit.

You, are already dead.

Viper really wanted to spit out these words. He watched Li Ang, whose face showed shock and utter disbelief, as a cold smile slowly curled his lips.

He had been patiently charging Heart Shattering Strike. As soon as the charge was complete, he suddenly used a control skill to immobilize the enemy, followed by Heart Shattering Strike, aiming to kill them on the spot.

One second, two seconds, three seconds.

Li Ang stood there stunned, his face still bearing that inconceivably astonished expression.

Four seconds, five seconds, six seconds.

Finally, Li Ang moved. He stumbled back several paces, as if carefully recalling and pondering the scene that had just occurred. Frowning, eyes wide and stern, lips trembling, he looked utterly confused. He lifted an arm to his head and sighed in hesitation.

To put it simply, despite the lengthy and complicated description, Li Ang had merely taken a few steps back, scratched his head in confusion, and innocently asked Viper, "Why did you hit me?"

What?!

Viper's eyes nearly popped out. He hastily checked his inventory, only to find that the consumable Skill Scroll for Heart Shattering Strike had vanished. Furthermore, his player attribute panel clearly indicated that he had just received a debuff called "Weakened," reducing his Strength Attribute by three points.

He had also lost a large chunk of his stamina. The skill he had just activated had clearly triggered successfully! So why hadn't the enemy, whose heart should have been shattered, fallen?

"You... you're fine?" Viper couldn't help but ask.

"Should I not be fine?" Li Ang furrowed his brows, touched his chest, and said warily, "Did you see my muscular build and hormone-charged pectorals and think of harassing me? I warn you, my pecs are not for you to lean on, got it? Office romances never end well."

Who's trying to have an office romance with you?! Viper roared inwardly, though his face remained expressionless.

Before the plan commenced, Datura had shown Viper all of Li Ang's information—including his skills, equipment, and personal history—to prevent any unforeseen incidents.

Viper, a Level 15 player, believed that with the advantage of a premeditated attack and using two Skill Scrolls at once, he should have been able to kill or at least severely injure Ji Jiu. Yet, Ji Jiu appeared completely unaffected by the skill, merely scratching his head with a nonchalant demeanor.

There was no doubt that Heart Shattering Strike had activated successfully. The reason Ji Jiu hadn't fallen could be that he possessed some skill that nullified heart damage, or perhaps his physiological structure was different from ordinary people's, making a shattered heart insignificant...

But was Ji Jiu really that strong?

Unless... he achieved some breakthrough during this deathmatch mission by killing players from the enemy team?

Viper couldn't figure it out. He didn't know that Li Ang's heart had indeed split in two under the effect of the skill.

However, Li Ang had long since used a Biological Template to modify his body. He had enhanced his heart not just by enlarging it, but also by adding several parasitic chambers to the exterior of the existing left atrium, left ventricle, right atrium, and right ventricle. He had then used extra blood vessels to connect these additional chambers to his organ tissues, ensuring ample blood flow throughout his body.

Even if his original heart was damaged, these extra chambers could temporarily maintain blood flow.

Thus, Li Ang, despite his heart being torn in two, continued to circulate blood throughout his body with the help of these subsidiary chambers.

Of course, the bleeding from the ruptured heart was severe, but for someone like Li Ang with his non-human physique, it wasn't a critical problem.

Seeing Li Ang apparently unharmed and full of vigor, Viper, completely unaware of the true situation, hesitated, unsure whether to strike again.

Before Viper could react, Li Ang casually dusted off non-existent dirt from his clothes and smiled at him. "If the Ritual track weren't still being prepared, you'd be dead by now."

"..."

Viper fell silent, watching as Li Ang hoisted the pole connected to the lantern and walked straight towards the center pole.

Viper silently followed behind him, while the two figures in black robes nearby remained motionless, like statues.

By this time, the white light emanating from the base of the central pole had spread to cover about one-tenth of its length. As the chanting of the crowd within the circle grew louder, the white light's spread also slowly accelerated.

"This thing... it's the formation's core, right?" Li Ang rubbed his chin and turned to ask Viper. "Does the height of the white light represent the progress of the Ritual track? What will happen to the ordinary people here once the Ritual track is fully complete?"