Su Xiao was repelled by the beam cannon, gliding in mid-air for a distance before landing.
As soon as he landed, Saiai Kinuhata somehow appeared behind him.
"It's done."
Mugino Shizuri, whose cheeks were splattered with blood, sneered and directed several more beams at Su Xiao.
As the beams attacked Su Xiao, a small white fist swung towards his head. Don't underestimate this small fist; it could easily smash a tank.
Thud!
Kinuhata's fist struck Su Xiao's counterattack shield, causing the circular shield around him to dent into the ground, raising a cloud of dust.
Boom, boom, boom, boom...
Several beams bombarded the shield. Su Xiao, his eyelids lowered, glanced sideways at the shield, noticing faint cracks appearing on it.
"Strong attack, but the trajectory is too direct, and the attack signs are obvious."
Su Xiao murmured, retracting the shield. He was testing the strength of the superpowered attacks.
Based on Mugino Shizuri's attack power, a Railgun stronger than her could break the shield with one full-power hit. However, the Railgun's attack signs were even more noticeable, making it difficult to hit Su Xiao.
Realizing Su Xiao had retracted the shield, Mugino Shizuri and Kinuhata were taken aback. What they didn't know was that the shield limited Su Xiao's speed to some extent.
"Gamble for one minute."
Su Xiao sidestepped lightly, dodging Kinuhata's kick and a beam at the same time.
Boom!
The beam struck Kinuhata's nitrogen armor, causing her to step back a few paces but leaving the armor undamaged. The nitrogen armor was now twice as thick as usual, its strength increased by at least ten times, though this enhancement was due to drugs and could only last for a few minutes.
Several shields appeared around Su Xiao, and he immediately disconnected his energy link to them. This way, the shields could exist independently for up to a minute, allowing him to move freely.
The shields floated around, positioning themselves near Mugino Shizuri.
Mugino Shizuri became cautious and started blasting the shields with beams. Without Su Xiao's energy supply, the shields weren't sturdy and shattered quickly.
These shields weren't for attacking but for aiding Su Xiao's rapid movement.
Su Xiao's leg muscles tensed slightly as he leaped onto a shield. This shield was now an independent entity, not sharing gravity with Su Xiao, allowing him to stay airborne.
Taking a deep breath, Su Xiao gripped his long knife tightly and pushed off with his feet, his figure disappearing.
Boom, boom, boom, boom...
The sound of stomping and sonic booms melded into one. Su Xiao leaped between the shields, becoming a black shadow weaving around Mugino Shizuri.
Both Mugino Shizuri and Kinuhata couldn't keep up with Su Xiao's movements. In desperation, they moved closer together.
Suddenly, Su Xiao appeared in front of Mugino Shizuri, his Dragon Flash gone, his arms now covered in a protective layer of energy shields, like two pale blue energy bracers.
Su Xiao's body arched mid-air like a drawn bow, and he punched at Mugino Shizuri.
Several green barriers appeared around Mugino Shizuri, capable of melting and decomposing most materials or energy and containing a strong electric field. Attacking with a knife was unwise, so Su Xiao used his fist instead.
His energy-shielded fist struck the green barrier.
Crack, crack, crack...
The moment his fist made contact with the barrier, cracks appeared on the energy shield. Fortunately, the shield was formed by consuming 400 mana points and was extremely sturdy.
Su Xiao's fist broke through the green barrier, and this time he d,idn't feel any suction. Not using a knife proved wise.
Bang!
Su Xiao's fist struck Mugino Shizuri's chest, causing several ribs to break with a crisp snap. The force penetrated her body, tearing a round hole in her back. This was Su Xiao's control over his power, inflicting greater damage without sending the enemy flying.
Mugino Shizuri's eyes widened. She couldn't understand how the enemy figured out how to counter her defense so quickly.
The battle had only been going on for less than five minutes. This was the difference in combat experience and intelligence.
With a wail, Mugino Shizuri spat out a mouthful of blood, mixed with fragments of her internal organs. She glanced down at her chest, one side noticeably swollen.
"Daring to mess with me, I..."
Mugino Shizuri reached for her collar, trying to pull something out, but Su Xiao, already close, wouldn't give her the chance.
Su Xiao sidestepped a beam, which grazed his cheek, leaving a burn mark.
Ignoring the beam, Su Xiao stepped forward, extending his left arm to grab Mugino Shizuri's right forearm.
Crack.
"Ah!"
Mugino Shizuri's forearm twisted unnaturally, causing her nearly to faint from the pain.
But it wasn't over. Su Xiao grabbed her collar with one hand and kneed her in the abdomen.
Bang, Mugino Shizuri spat out another mouthful of blood-mixed bile, seeing stars.
Suddenly, Mugino Shizuri tilted her head back, glaring at Su Xiao. Green light balls appeared around her, highly unstable and ready to explode. She intended to perish together with Su Xiao.
However, being so close to Su Xiao, with her weak close-combat abilities, she stood no chance.
Su Xiao's arm arched, delivering an uppercut to her jaw. Mugino Shizuri's eyes rolled back, and the green light balls vanished.
With a thud, Mugino Shizuri collapsed. She had multiple broken ribs, damaged internal organs, a fractured forearm, a broken jaw, torn ligaments, and a severe concussion. If she was rescued in time, she might survive, but she'd lose her ability to boast forever, needing a straw to eat from then on.
The slaughter knife appeared in Su Xiao's hand, and he instinctively placed it against Mugino Shizuri's throat, almost reflexively cutting it.
Splat, blood spurted out as Mugino Shizuri's throat was slashed.
When the warm blood splattered on Su Xiao's face, he paused, realizing he had intended to leave a survivor. However, his long-standing habit made him instinctively ensure the enemy posed no threat during combat.
[You killed Mugino Shizuri (Esper)]
[Mugino Shizuri ranked fourth among Espers, gaining 5.6% World Source, totaling 5.6% World Source.]
[Your talent 'Soul Eater' activated, permanently increasing mana by 30 points, now at 3146 max mana.]
[You obtained a treasure chest (Light Gold).]
...
Su Xiao picked up the treasure chest on the ground. It proved that Espers' development direction was too extreme. Facing a well-rounded enemy like Su Xiao, most Espers were helpless.
Of course, this also had to do with Mugino Shizuri's ability, which leaned towards offense with obvious defensive weaknesses. If it were the top three Espers, it wouldn't be so easy, especially the first-ranked one. Their defense was nearly unbeatable.
The top-ranked Esper was known as Accelerator, with the ability to manipulate vectors through physical contact, controlling the direction of all energies, including electricity, heat, and kinetic energy.
In other words, they could manipulate the direction of slashes as well.