Chapter 306: Chapter 7: No Grudge, Just an Itchy Hand
The blazing sun hung high, and the slightly salty sea breeze blew, swaying Su Xiao’s black hair.
The energy of Blue Steel Shadow surged in the Dragon Slash, and Su Xiao’s muscles gradually tensed, leaving shallow pits in the ground beneath his feet.
Su Xiao gripped the hilt of Dragon Slash tightly, like a leopard ready to pounce.
"I’m here today... not for revenge."
The cowboy spoke, his voice slightly hoarse. Su Xiao didn’t respond.
"Encountering a strong opponent makes my fingers itch. The sound of bullets hitting you must be fascinating."
The cowboy flexed his right hand, clenching and unclenching his fist repeatedly.
Su Xiao kicked off the ground and lunged forward, dirt flying as he glided rapidly in low air, closing the distance with the cowboy in no more than two seconds.
The cowboy’s right hand paused, suddenly becoming a blur as it approached the holster.
Bam!
The gunshot rang out alongside the afterimage, and three bullets formed a triangular pattern shooting toward Su Xiao.
That’s right, three bullets with a single gunshot. That revolver wasn’t automatic, nor was it that fast; it was the cowboy’s shooting speed that was incredibly quick, merging three shots into one sound.
The cowboy was not only fast at shooting but even quicker at drawing his gun, taking no more than 0.3 seconds, or even less, from draw to fire.
Thud, thud, clatter!
The first two bullets buried themselves in Su Xiao’s body, and the final bullet was blocked by the ’Shelter’ shield. He had already activated the shield upon hearing the gunfire, but the bullets were too fast to enable the shield in time.
Su Xiao landed one hand on the ground, staggering a few steps before steadying himself. The warning notice from Reincarnation Paradise appeared.
[Notice: You received 23 points of true damage, which doubled as resistance failed the check.]
[Notice: You received 24 points of true damage, which doubled as resistance failed the check.]
Blood gushed from his abdomen, and a burning sensation spread from the wound.
Su Xiao positioned the Dragon Slash horizontally in front of him, forcibly inserting his fingers into the wound to extract the bullet lodged there. It was a silver bullet.
Smoke wafted from the bullet; it was ’poisoned,’ causing the wound to expand continuously.
Su Xiao tossed the bullet aside, his gaze fixed on the cowboy.
The cowboy held the revolver with one hand, flicking his arm to eject the cylinder, and within less than a second, bullets were loaded before the shell casings hit the ground.
Su Xiao took a deep breath. Had he taken those two shots in the past, he would have been half dead, but now his life value surpassed even some main tanks; those shots were just akin to raindrops.
His movements became steady, and Su Xiao no longer charged at the cowboy, instead pondering the opponent’s combat style.
The cowboy’s main weapon was the revolver, which seemed to have an ability or skill that inflicted additional true damage. After bullets hit an enemy, a resistance check took place; if resistance was too low, the damage would increase exponentially, approximately between two to ten times.
Su Xiao inferred this result based on his injuries and the broken shield. The ’Shelter’ skill’s shield was shattered in one shot because the shield lacked resistance, resulting in a direct tenfold true damage judgment.
His pupils remained constricted; Su Xiao had pushed his dynamic vision and perception force to the limit. With the cowboy’s next shot, he was determined to catch the bullet’s trajectory.
Su Xiao advanced with his knife raised, while the cowboy seemed to be waiting for something, not shooting immediately as he retreated slowly, though not too quickly, fearing a sudden charge from Su Xiao.
The distance gradually closed. After about ten seconds, Su Xiao noticed the cowboy’s grip on the gun tightening.
It’s coming!
Bam!
A clear gunshot echoed, and a bullet exited the revolver. This bullet was slightly elongated, not resembling a typical handgun bullet.
The bullet flew swiftly through the air. Su Xiao’s mind, energy, and spirit reached a peak state, successfully capturing the bullet’s trajectory.
Boom.
A slight explosion followed, and Su Xiao’s expression changed drastically. The tail end of the bullet about to hit him exploded, creating a secondary acceleration.
The bullet aimed for Su Xiao’s head; if hit by such a bullet, the outcome would be deadly.
Dodging was no longer possible, and Su Xiao didn’t intend to dodge. He trusted his knife and his sword technique.
The long knife sliced through the air, producing a whining sound as the bullet tore through layers of airwaves towards him.
Clang!
The sound of metal clashing resonated. Su Xiao’s hand tingled from gripping the knife, yet a smile appeared on his face; he had deflected the bullet with a slash.
The cowboy was momentarily stunned, staring at Su Xiao in disbelief. Perhaps it was the first time someone had deflected a bullet with a knife in his presence.
"Observation Haki? Impossible, such a high-level ability shouldn’t exist at this stage."
The cowboy rapidly pulled the trigger, his finger creating an afterimage.
Bam, only one gunshot was heard, yet his hand speed was terrifyingly swift.
This time, five bullets fired simultaneously, the bullets forming a sequence, making it impossible for a deflection attempt.
While Su Xiao could deflect one bullet, it was impossible to deflect five consecutively.
Realizing this, Su Xiao’s jaw muscles tightened, and he charged toward the bullets, refusing to dodge.
Thud.
The sequence of five bullets pierced through Su Xiao’s left ribs like an iron rod without any hesitation.
Ignoring the sharp pain from his chest, Su Xiao charged forward to reach the cowboy, closing to two meters, the ideal range for a strike.
The long knife struck, spraying a trail of blood; the cowboy’s hat brim was sliced off, along with the shoulder muscle beneath it.
Su Xiao’s terrifying attack power made the cowboy wary, prompting him to leap back immediately.
Getting close to Su Xiao wasn’t trivial. Retreating without getting slashed a few times was practically impossible.
The Dragon Slash moved rapidly, forming a web of blades before Su Xiao, inflicting dense wounds on the cowboy. His clothes were like armor, very sturdy.
The cowboy let out a shriek as Blue Steel Shadow energy spread within him, simultaneously releasing Boundary Line to entangle the cowboy.
The cowboy tossed a round object; upon seeing it, Su Xiao was shocked, immediately retreating with his eyes closed.
Boom.
A burst of light flared suddenly; the cowboy had thrown a flashing concussion grenade.
Su Xiao’s ears rang, his eyes burned, tears involuntarily streamed out, yet he swung his left hand, trying to use the Boundary Line to capture the cowboy.
The cowboy rolled after landing, half-kneeling as he swiftly reloaded the revolver.
The cowboy didn’t immediately fire at Su Xiao, instead backing away briskly, resolving to never let him get close again.
At this moment, the cowboy cursed silently; the opponent was inexplicably resilient, extremely fast, and had absurdly high attack power. Practically capable of offense and defense, all that was missing was healing, a truly shameless capability.
Although the cowboy’s attack power was terrifying, his physique wasn’t robust. Getting close to Su Xiao left him half-dead, now leaving trails of blood with each step he retreated.
The burning sensation in his eyes subsided, and the ringing in his ears faded. Su Xiao checked his life indicators; they were in good condition.
Retracting the Boundary Line, Su Xiao approached the cowboy step by step, beginning a push-pull dynamic with him.
Su Xiao couldn’t afford carelessness; getting shot in the heart or head spelled doom, a headshot was quite possible.
If his head was pierced, no amount of life value would matter, that was fatal damage.
The cowboy knew this too, his gun remained aimed squarely at Su Xiao’s head.