Chapter 23: You Have Two Minutes
Translator: CKtalon Editor: CKtalon
“Coward,” Xu Miantu cursed under his breath before ignoring Zhou Wen. He immediately continued his pursuit.
Zhou Wen didn’t mind really. He wished to help Li Xuan, but heading over was of zero use.
Jiang Hao and Li Xuan had Legendary Companion Beasts, while he had none. Death was a certainty for him when facing the Skeleton General. It was probably more beneficial for him to find the means of dealing with the Skeleton General in-game.
The reason Zhou Wen wanted to help Li Xuan was that deep down he knew that Jiang Hao would silence him and Xu Miantu after he had successfully killed Li Xuan to ensure his own safety.
Jiang Hao’s attack on Xu Miantu had already revealed this thought of his. If Li Xuan was successfully killed, there was no way he would spare Zhou Wen.
Therefore, Zhou Wen was inevitably helping himself by helping Li Xuan.
However, any help he rendered was useless. The might of a Legendary Companion Beast was not something he could equal at present. Be it against Jiang Hao or the Skeleton General, the chances of him being killed was extremely high.
As Zhou Wen proceeded forward slowly, he controlled the blood-colored avatar and stormed deep into Ancient Imperial City.
He didn’t know what kind of developments might happen after Li Xuan and Jiang Hao encountered the Skeleton General; therefore, he needed some preparation.
Before encountering the Skeleton General with his blood-colored avatar in-game, he heard a blood-curdling roar coming from deep within the ancient city. “Pledge my life to defend the city… Pledge my life to defend the city…”
Zhou Wen’s expression changed slightly. This voice was clearly not from Jiang Hao or Li Xuan. However, he had not heard the Skeleton General speak while gaming.
With a mere thought, Zhou Wen had composed himself as he continued focusing on his game.
His surroundings were unable to influence his line of thought. Soon, the blood-colored avatar found the Skeleton General in-game and after repeated failed attempts, Zhou Wen had a general understanding of the Skeleton General’s strength and Primordial Energy Skill.
He knew very well that his strength was insufficient to resist the Skeleton General, especially when it came to Speed. The difference was too disparate, making it difficult for him to even dodge.
The Skeleton General is stronger than me in every aspect. There’s a high chance that he’s a dimensional creature at the Legendary stage. It’s definitely impossible for me to fend him off. However, he’s not without flaws. His bone spear is too long, making it unconducive for him to fight in close-range. Furthermore, the skeleton horse he’s sitting on would affect his attack trajectory beneath the waist. This results in an offensive blind spot… Zhou Wen controlled the blood-colored avatar and approached the Skeleton General once again, trying to put theory into practice.
When the Skeleton General charged over, Zhou Wen advanced instead of retreating with the blood-colored avatar. With a forward roll, he rushed under the skeleton horse’s belly.
Zhou Wen grasped the opportunity perfectly. Despite the Skeleton General having the Strength and Speed, he was unable to attack due to the skeleton horse’s obstruction.
After the Skeleton General raised his spear and stabbed downwards again, Zhou Wen had already rolled over to the other side of the skeleton horse’s underside.
The skeleton horse was not part of the Skeleton General, making it difficult for them to act perfectly as one. This gave Zhou Wen a slim chance of survival and several possibilities.
Unfortunately, the Skeleton General was just too strong. Zhou Wen had to constantly circle around the skeleton horse to avoid being stabbed by the bone spear. He had no means to launch a counterattack.
Even so, this lasted less than thirty seconds before the blood-colored avatar was stabbed by the Skeleton General on the ground. Blood immediately splattered as the avatar died on the spot.
As he watched the screen go black, Zhou Wen carefully recalled the battle.
He soon heard shouts and clas.h.i.+ng sounds. Going around a bend, he immediately saw Li Xuan and Jiang Hao fighting each other on the other end of a stone-paved street.
And in real life, the Skeleton General was around as well. He wore a cape and the skeleton horse he sat on was tall and mighty, its body akin to jade. The bone spear had terrifying barbs and there were blood-colored flames flickering in the skull’s eye sockets. He looked formidable.
This was a completely different existence to the comic-version of the Skeleton General in-game. Zhou Wen nearly failed to recognize him.
What left Zhou Wen even more intrigued was that the Skeleton General was charging everywhere with the skeleton horse, but his target was ultimately fixated on Li Xuan. He ignored Jiang Hao, never attacking him even once.
Odd. Why would the Skeleton General only be attacking Li Xuan? Seeing the miserable Li Xuan, who kept retreating with his body covered in injuries, Zhou Wen couldn’t help but frown slightly.
However, when Zhou Wen’s gaze carefully observed Jiang Hao, he immediately came to a realization.
On Jiang Hao, there was an additional bone breastplate. The grayish-white ribs penetrated out of his clothes, protecting his chest and back, making him look odd.
From the looks of it, the reason the Skeleton General isn’t attacking Jiang Hao stems from the bone armor he’s wearing. Zhou Wen knew that it was likely a manifestation of a Companion Beast, but the type was unknown to him.
Although Xu Miantu had a nasty tongue, he didn’t seem to have a bad character. He rushed over to help Li Xuan when he found the latter in trouble.
But the outcome was nothing surprising. Upon clas.h.i.+ng, he was sent flying by the Skeleton General, tumbling far away across the street and stopping only when he hit a wall.
Xu Miantu bent his back like a shrimp, his hands clasping his abdomen. His mouth was filled with blood and there was cold sweat covering his forehead. The grimace he wore spoke volumes of the pain.
“Be patient. Once I kill Li Xuan, I’ll send you off to h.e.l.l,” Jiang Hao said coldly, as the dagger in his hand stabbed at Li Xuan’s vital spot.
Li Xuan was fighting two adversaries alone, and he wasn’t even at the Legendary stage. By relying solely on the Legendary Black Knight Companion Beast, it was taxing on him to hold out in battle. The black armor that encased him was damaged in multiple places and blood seeped through.
However, he was a tenacious person. Despite such a perilous situation, he was still able to maintain clarity in thought and avoided most of the lethal strikes.
Unfortunately, he just wasn’t a Legendary stage expert. He was already a stage lower than the Skeleton General and with Jiang Hao taking opportunistic jabs at him, every second placed him in extreme peril. If not for the potent defensive capabilities of his Black Knight armor and the Invincible Connate Divine Art’s ability to slow down the deterioration of his injuries, he would have long been killed.
After watching for a moment, Zhou Wen suddenly shouted at Li Xuan, “Li Xuan, if I can help you distract the Skeleton General, how long will it take for you to finish off Jiang Hao?”
Zhou Wen’s words shocked the trio. In this battle, it was no longer something that a person at the Mortal stage could interfere in, much less that of a regular high-schooler.
Xu Miantu imagined that Zhou Wen was mad, but unfortunately, he didn’t have the energy to say a word. Otherwise, he would definitely have ridiculed Zhou Wen.
Jiang Hao didn’t share the same thoughts, he didn’t believe Zhou Wen was capable of the proclaimed feat. He believed that Zhou Wen would be sending himself to his death if he really rushed over to help Li Xuan.
“Two minutes. I need that much time,” Li Xuan said as he fought for his life. There was no hesitation in his voice.
“Alright. Then, I’ll give you two minutes.” Zhou Wen put away his phone and headed for the battlefield.