Chapter 290: 275 Adaptive Armor
However, Kuang Xin's momentary block had allowed both Xu Ruoguang and Gu Lan to close in, with longswords that differed in style but were equally fast and sharp.
Dai Lian took down his bow and arrow but did not shoot immediately.
In such a complex and cramped environment, with the figures in combat rapidly intertwining and changing, it was very easy to accidentally strike a teammate.
The temporary stalemate by the player gave the two enforcers from Arbitration Place a brief opportunity to catch their breath.
"Its strength is so powerful..."
"And it has special abilities."
The two enforcers communicated briefly with the information they had observed.
"But there's only one Believer... how is that possible?"
Experience derived from long-term combat with demons allowed all enforcers to make basic judgments about a demon's combat capabilities.
The strength of demons in high-dimensional spaces varied greatly, but regardless of how strong or weak they were, when they arrived in the real world, they would undergo a certain "rule-based" "combat power adjustment."
In simple terms, the more human Believers summoning the demon, the stronger the individual strength, life essence... or mainly, the stronger the Spiritual Energy, the stronger the summoned demon would be.
If it's a possession-type arrival, the human host's own strength will also have an influence.
So sometimes, the summoning process for a demon is also a two-way selection—
If the scale of Believers performing the summoning is too small, a demon lord with an exceedingly high status in the high-dimensional space might arrive in the real world only to become a laughingstock, a situation no demon would accept.
A demon that can be summoned by a weakling must also be a weakling.
But how could a demon summoned by only one Believer be so troublesome that they were almost no match for it?
The enforcers' gaze drifted, and they saw those "Children of the Demon" struggling to buy them time... The reason might lie with them.
But no matter what, the fact had already occurred, and what they needed to consider was how to counter it.
"He can absorb the Spiritual Energy from our attacks..." the tall and thin enforcer muttered contemplatively.
"We can't use Spiritual Energy anymore... We need a more tangible form of strength."
Combat wasn't just about brute force, especially when fighting demons; intellect was equally important.
Demons that stemmed from different emotional cores often possessed different types of abilities, some excelling in deceitful schemes, half-truths and half-lies; others in close-quarters combat, fierce and unrivaled.
To confront demons with different inclinations, one must choose the appropriate counter-tactic.
"Tangible, huh..."
The enforcer carrying a double-barreled shotgun squinted his eyes and took a step back.
He stretched out his hand, and the space about twenty or thirty centimeters in front of his palm began to blur.
With the demon's arrival in person, the space it occupied had taken on some characteristics of the high-dimensional space—
Partially tangible, partially ethereal, disregarding time and space.
This also made it much easier for them to use the spiritual technique that allowed storage of items in high-dimensional space.
The black steel creation slowly emerged from the hazy waves, revealing its edges as it was gradually pulled out by his hand.
As the object being stored was quite large, it required some time.
The tall and thin enforcer didn't wait relentlessly; the demon's strength was unimaginably huge, and it could ignore attacks that didn't exceed a certain threshold. Although the "Children of the Demon" tried their best to entangle it, another had already been sent flying in the time it took to speak.
Gu Lan was suddenly smashed against the wall and fell limply to the ground.
Kuang Xin, who had been sent flying earlier, had not yet recovered, and with Gu Lan severely hit, only Xu Ruoguang remained in close combat, his fingers brushing over the longsword with a sharp gaze.
A focused will sharpened his perception of time once again, and the bullet-time effect working behind the scenes accelerated not just his consciousness.
His recent strikes had allowed him to see some of the demon's basic attribute information from the system feedback panel—
[??? (Demon) (Chaos): Health 193/200; Defensive Power 99; Action Power 100%; Attack Power (Type: Blunt) 20~???; Traits: Adaptive Armor, ???]
[Adaptive Armor: The living body's surface defense system allows ??? to adapt to any attack initiated against it. As long as the attack doesn't exceed its defensive power, all forms of attacks will struggle to achieve effective offense.]
In fact, even without the display of the system panel, his instincts, which were more direct in combat, also made him realize something—
The demon's defensive power was beyond imagination, and there were only two ways to inflict genuine effective damage on it:
Either, use an overwhelmingly powerful attack exceeding 99 points to break through directly.
However, given their current weapons only had an energy output of around ten to twenty points, this requirement was far too strict.
Or... exceed the "living armor's" response time with the fastest strike and breach the opponent's reactive defenses in one go.
Conveniently, what he could do was precisely this ultra-fast strike!
The pus-filled boils symbolizing its head, those countless eyes simultaneously watched Kuang Xin, Gu Lan, Xu Ruoguang, and other players, each eye filled with greed and covetousness at this moment.
"Don't seek death, children... My children, do not seek your own destruction, you shall be my finest offspring..."
The voice that sounded half-Demon God, half-human emanated from this terrifying body, its resonant echo as if there were hundreds of people participating in a chorus with his voice.
That was the voice of countless ordinary people from Black Street trapped within his body...
That voice made Xu Ruoguang so angry, the desire for anger driving his longsword.
The flash of a sword, the shadow of the blade shattered, the figure flew.
The moment he activated it, countless eyes seemed to freeze on him, and Xu Ruoguang, who locked eyes with the enemy, felt that his next move was entirely within the opponent's expectation.
So he was indeed sent flying by a hammer blow...
"Cough cough cough!" The heavy blow to his chest had Xu Ruoguang curled up on the ground, coughing violently.
This was the first time, even "bullet time" was ineffective against the enemy!
Seeing their teammate was no match, the two female gamers, who felt it was time to do something, simultaneously unleashed their Spiritual Energy.
Both of them had intrinsic attributes that leaned toward the mysterious, possessing enough mystical base attributes that once they entered the "game," their natural talents were inevitably related to Spiritual Energy.
They didn't need to cultivate; their grasp over Spiritual Energy came naturally.
This was the path of all human beings with the gift of Spiritual Energy, and it was their path as well.
"Don't!"
The tall and lean executor sensed the explosion of those two bursts of Spiritual Energy right away.
Too primitive! Too crude!
These kids' Spiritual Energy grew wildly, having the talent but not the control.
Spiritual Energy without control... only brings disaster upon the bearer.
Especially when around demons...
Compared to their physical bodies in the real world, the "Spiritual Bodies" of most intelligent creatures in high-dimensional space are as fragile as thin paper.
And the moment a Spiritual Energy talent bursts forth, it shines in high-dimensional space like a starfire in the dark night.
In that instant, just like sharks in the sea drawn to the scent of blood, the demons "draw close", recklessly swimming towards the shine, tearing apart the "Spiritual Body" of the Spiritual Energy talent.
Some with the talent for Spiritual Energy might occasionally burst forth and, due to "luck", temporarily evade the demons' grasp, but when they're near a demon... such luck must not be counted on!
The summoned Demon God itself had already drawn enough attention of its "kin"!
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And now...
The tall and lean executor, who first raised his voice in warning, gave a slight start at the next breath.
The spirited girl who was first struck with a sword could be put aside for now, but... that girl who looked a bit more delicate and cute, how... how...
Her outburst was so easygoing and concealed?
Her way of using Spiritual Energy was still savage, but it wasn't something a Spiritual Energy talent who had grown wild could compare to.
However... this covert way of using Spiritual Energy wasn't something he had seen before.
Where had she learned such techniques?
As the doubt flashed through his mind, the tall and lean executor, wielding dual blades, charged straight at Gu Lan.
No matter what, the cute girl's Spiritual Energy outburst was a bit more concealed, and that was somewhat more reassuring.
At least... he wouldn't have to consider saving them both in the high-dimensional space at the same time.
With a stride, the tall and lean executor became half visible and half invisible—
High-Dimensional Walking!
Entering high-dimensional space actively and briefly, which was initially used to dodge some attacks in the real world, could also be applied in combat within high-dimensional space.
Relying on the direct touch of the magnetic field of life from the real world for positioning, the tall and lean executor arrived next to the formless jellyfish-like "Spiritual Body" without shape or color.
"Swish!"
Dual blades unleashed, severing several tentacles coming from who knows where out of the "darkness".
"Extinguish it quickly!" An alert voice resounded directly in Gu Lan's mind, and she, sensing threat instinctively, complied with the tall and lean executor's suggestion.
The flicker of "firelight" in the dark space dissipated in an instant, and this brief crisis was averted with more alarm than harm.
The intentional dispersal of the Spiritual Energy also meant that Gu Lan had no more power to resist, and Gong Yan's outburst was only to hasten her own healing.
But the players' resistance didn't stop there.
"Whoosh!"
A pitch-black steel arrow shot out from a corner, Dai Lian, who had been looking for an opportunity, finally made his move, and indeed, it was this unspoken understanding that made Gu Lan and Gong Yan burst forth with Spiritual Energy simultaneously, trying to cover up their real ace in the hole.
This arrow flew as swiftly as lightning.
"Clang!"
The sound of metal clashing rang out, and the bent arrow fell to the ground, defeated.
A powerful shot indeed would not stop for any obstruction, but when facing a target it couldn't penetrate, it couldn't serve its purpose.
"This isn't your responsibility, kids!"
A composed voice rose from the direction of the underground hall entrance, and the delays everyone contributed to finally allowed the executor to draw the weapon he needed.
A heavy machine gun... one that should be mounted on a vehicle.