Tempest Shadow exploded in anger. “How dare you! Who do you think you are? Hmph, is this your way of telling me that your mouth is the only functional organ you have? How disappointing!”

I lifted the Ghost Ice Soul and chuckled in response. “I promise you you won’t be disappointed starting now!”

I locked onto Tempest Shadow and executed Charge immediately!

“Heh!”

Tempest Shadow was no noob, and the start-up delay of low-rank Charge was too long. By the time I made a move, he had already dashed behind a shrubbery. It was a high-level technique meant to break line of sight, thus canceling a targeted skill!

As expected, my Charge instantly lost its target and canceled on its own. However, I did not let my character stop and I kept running, my blade swung at the shrubbery ahead!

Pu!

Blood spewed out of Tempest Shadow’s shoulder. The Ghost Ice Soul was unbelievably sharp, and it easily cut through the enemy’s shoulder armor and scored the first blood of the duel.

415!

“What?! What amazing Attack…”

Tempest Shadow was shocked by the amount of damage he took from a basic attack, but I was a bit surprised myself that 415 HP only amounted to 15% of his HP. This meant that Tempest Shadow had 2500 total HP or above, and his Defense wasn’t weak either. His overall strength was probably higher than Gui Guzi’s!

“Hah!”

Tempest Shadow thrust his spear as quick as lightning. It was the Level 50 offensive melee skill, Blaze!

Pu!

587!

The attack plunged into my chest, but I didn’t falter and countered with Ice Ray and Slayer Slash. Again, Tempest Shadow was shocked by how quickly and smoothly I had combined two different skills into a combo. His reaction was understandable. Not many players had good reaction, and those who could combine two skills into one and execute them within half a second were even fewer.

608!

714!

Ice started forming around Tempest Shadow’s shoulder, meaning that Ice Ray was working as intended. The man started turning a bit purple since he had lost over 1700 HP in just three hits. He could definitely die if I landed another combo on him!

I was certain that Tempest Shadow had investigated me before showing up in Floating Ice City. He must know that my most powerful combo was Pardon + Desperate Gambit, not Ice Ray + Slayer Slash. Unless he was at max health, there was no way he could survive the burst!

Suddenly, Lin Yixin’s voice entered my ears. “Kick his ass, Lu Chen! He thinks he can cause trouble in Floating Ice City just because he has the backing of Candle Dragon? What a fool!”

“OMG, you’re still in the call?”

“Of course I am! There’s no way I would miss such a good show~! Come on, turn on screen share already!”

“Heh…”

I turned on screen share after Lin Yixin sent me a party invitation. Now, Lin Yixin could see everything I was seeing. It was one of the many charms of the game.

Tempest Shadow watched me with a cold expression. His pet, the Wildfire Greedy Wolf was glaring and baring its fangs at me, but my Dark Wasp also buzzed near the ground and raised its sting menacingly.

I gripped the Ghost Ice Soul tightly and activated the Ghost Deity Armor again with a growl. The dark, half-transparent armor formed around me, and the Bloody Purgatory Cloak fluttered silently behind my back. Anyone who saw me right now would know that my latest title, the Silver Moon Devil, was well-deserved.

Finally turning serious, Tempest Shadow snorted coldly and said, “Out of the nine tier 2 cities in China, you and Wind Fantasy are the only ones the Martial God sees as true threats. Today, I, Tempest Shadow will defeat you where you stand, but feel free to turn on your own recorder if you’re confident enough in your strength. One of us will become famous throughout China when this duel is over!”

I shook my head slightly and chuckled. “You’re wrong. I’m just a nameless unknown in the China server, so you won’t become famous even if you defeat me. Similarly, my name won’t be on every Chinese player’s lips just because I defeated you. Why don’t you go and tell Candlelight Shadow to come over himself? Killing him would at least bring me some fame...”

“Fuck you, you arrogant bastard!”

Tempest Shadow’s eyes turned harsh as he charged me. His Wildfire Greedy Wolf was also flanking me from the right. His pet was my real focus because it knew Flurry. I had to kill it if I wished to isolate Tempest Shadow and maximize my chances of winning.

My mind made up, I charged toward Tempest Shadow and swung my sword at his head!

“Heh!”

The corner of Tempest Shadow’s mouth curled scornfully as if he knew what I was planning from the start. Slanting his body slightly, he abruptly dashed to my right and swung his spear toward my waist.

Everything happened in the blink of an eye. Zigzagging twice and deviating slightly from my original path, I was able to twist my body and hold Ghost Ice Soul in the path of his swinging spear!

Clang!

Sparks flew everywhere as blade clashed against blade.

“What?!”

Tempest Shadow was stunned by his failure to hit me. He wasn’t expecting me to react so quickly or predict his movements so accurately.

I didn’t miss the opportunity to activate the skill, Charge! This time, my target was his pet, the Wildfire Greedy Wolf!

Swhoosh!

Stunned, the Greedy Wolf couldn’t do anything as my Dark Wasp showed up under my control. It executed Flurry and landed four hits in a row, claiming almost all of the Greedy Wolf’s HP!

One last basic attack later, Tempest Shadow’s pet perished easily under my blade.

Now that it was a 2 on 1, my chances of victory just skyrocketed!

I turned around without hesitation and charged Tempest Shadow alongside the Dark Wasp. The recorder was recording everything, so I needed to annihilate Tempest Shadow in the most impressionable fashion possible. Tempest Shadow was one of Candlelight Shadow’s main generals, so destroying him would be the same as slapping Candlelight Shadow in the face. I am going to enjoy this thoroughly!

Still in shock, Tempest Shadow retreated and drew a magic formation with his spear. A couple of blue flashes later, a huge, dark green Praying Mantis crawled out of thin air!

Bastard! He has a second pet!?

Poison-bladed Praying Mantis LV-57

A new pet slot was unlocked when a player reached Level 60 and completed their third promotion, so this guy must be filthy rich to be able to buy a fully-matured, Level 57 pet so quickly after turning 60. At Level 57, a player could only have one pet at most, so whomever sold this Level 57 Poison-bladed Praying Mantis to Tempest Shadow must’ve been incredibly well-compensated for their loss. After all, selling a pet this powerful was like selling half a life!

Tempest Shadow looked pleased with himself as he raised his spear and attacked me again. At first, he was coming at me in a straight line. But when he got close to me, he suddenly changed directions and sped up drastically!

“Shoot!”

I cursed because I noticed that Tempest Shadow was targeting my Dark Wasp. His spear abruptly glowed brightly and plunged into my pet’s body!

Puchi!

1027!

Fuck, so strong!

Beep!

Combat Log: Player “Tempest Shadow” used “Armor Breaking Spear”, dealing 1027 damage to your pet “Dark Wasp”!

……

While my Dark Wasp was off-balance, the Poison-bladed Praying Mantis showed up just in time to land a flurry of deadly blows on its head.

278!

281!

264!

299!

So strong! This Poison-bladed Praying Mantis must have high growth and BN value!

My pet’s HP almost hit rock bottom in just the blink of an eye. The situation was extremely disadvantageous for me right now.

I gripped my sword and tried my best to remain calm. The moment the Dark Wasp regained its balance, it immediately stung the Poison-bladed Praying Mantis!

Pah!

745!

If there was one thing I couldn’t nitpick about my Dark Wasp, it would be its attack power!

I moved and slapped the Poison-bladed Praying Mantis head with Pardon. Then, I followed up with a lightning fast Desperate Gambit!

MISS!

2784!

Empowered by the bloody power that was undead energy, the Ghost Ice Soul hit the Poison-bladed Praying Mantis’s head like the hammer of Thor. One hit was all I needed to send it collapsing to the ground with a scream!

Pfff!!

Tempest Shadow was no fool, so he stabbed the Dark Wasp while I was busy. My pet screeched and returned to my pet slot after it was killed.

The duel had turned into a one-on-one fight again. Tempest Shadow had lost both of his pets, and my Dark Wasp was dead as well. Both of us were almost at full health, so I supposed that one could call this a fair duel.

“Heh, Pardon’s cooldown isn’t short, is it?”

Tempest Shadow sneered slightly. “I’ll kill you before its CD is up and show the entire Floating Ice City that their so-called Silver Moon Devil is nothing but a fairytale!”

“Come at me then!” I taunted him.

Tempest Shadow charged me as he promised, but instead of moving in a straight line he zigzagged three times to confuse me. Every move he made was deadly and worth watching because he could speed up, change directions, or use a skill at any time he wanted and catch me off-guard. He even weaved in and out of hiding and used obstacles to break my line of sight, making it harder to get a target skill off. It was a high-level technique, and his execution was excellent.

Whoosh!

Wearing a dark look on his face, Tempest Shadow abruptly cut his elegant dance short and dashed toward my right. His spear leaped toward my right shoulder like a flaming tongue.

“Heh!”

I turned my waist slightly and charged toward Tempest Shadow from a 25 degree angle. I caught the shaft with my left hand and swung the Ghost Ice Soul at his face with my right at the same time!

Swhoosh!

Tempest Shadow ducked under the attack with incredible speed and raised his right leg, successfully landing a heavy kick in my stomach!

Bang!

122!

His attack power was pretty impressive. Even without a weapon, he was able to break through my Defense!

But before Tempest Shadow could be pleased with himself, I abruptly changed the direction of my swing and cut him fiercely across the neck. That was a weak spot!

I also activated Slayer Slash as quickly as I could. The green light slipped into his neck like a venomous snake!

1175!

Hell yeah, take this!

When a weak spot was struck, the enemy took about 75% more damage than normal. It wasn’t too far behind a critical hit, and in that moment Tempest Shadow was undoubtedly at a disadvantage.

However, his eyes were scarily calm. He abruptly withdrew his spear, spun around and thrust his spear toward me again!

Fuck! A reverse strike?

He was moving too fast. It was impossible for me to dodge it with a 0.4-second delay!

Pff!

1478!

Heavens! He even got a critical hit on me?