Chapter 393: One Step to Heaven, One Step to Hell (Bonus Chapter for Monthly Tickets)

To manifest Dante's whirlwind of blade and bullet in the flesh, one would demand a singular set of traits: a physique forged to withstand the ceaseless grinding of two disparate forces, a masterful command of kinetic flow, and a blinding, terrifying swiftness in drawing both cold steel and firearms.

It would further require a sidearm capable of rapid-fire expulsion, bearing a vicious yet steady recoil and unflinching lethality.

Only then could one match that frantic, spasmodic tempest of Dante's assault, delivering heavy cleave after heavy cleave while suspended endlessly in midair.

In theory, such a feat could be realized.

In theory alone, of course; even within the digital realm, many found it beyond their grasp, so to achieve it in reality...

No martial artistry is ever born in a single stroke.

"What was that white light?" at that moment, everyone pinned their hopes on the sudden, catastrophic burst of offense Boss Fang had just unleashed through Dante—a terrifying blow that seemed to utterly disregard the enemy's own strike.

"The move you used at the very end to finish off the boss!" a chorus of disgruntled spectators standing behind Boss Fang began to clamor.

"Tell us, hurry! Why can't we find a move like that?" they were clearly piloting the same character, yet Boss Fang possessed an endless reservoir of such flamboyant techniques.

And to top it off, its destructive power was absolute horror!

"Ah, you mean the 'Release'?" Boss Fang opened Dante's skill menu, pointing his finger at the combat style labeled Royalguard. "This one is actually quite simple!"

The Royalguard style was indeed straightforward in concept, for its choreography was minimalism itself—at the exact heartbeat before an enemy's blow lands, one must execute a flawless defense (a failure to time it perfectly results in minor damage and leaves one helpless against overwhelming force).

This was a peculiar martial art of Dante's; at the precise instant of a Just Guard, he could store the enemy's momentum within his own veins, whether the assault was born of physical might or sorcery.

A level-one Royalguard style could hold a single star of energy, while a maximized style could hoard three.

Boss Fang explained, "By leveraging this trait of Dante's, once the vessel is filled to the brim, you unleash it alongside your own strength. Like so."

A monstrous fiend lunged toward Boss Fang; a flash of white light erupted before their eyes, and in a breath, several lesser beasts were blown to fragments, leaving behind nothing but a scattering of Red Orbs!

"It is that simple?!" Everyone stared at the grand monitor, feeling...

Feeling as though this was far too elementary!

"It feels..." Liu Ningyun spoke with a furrowed brow, "Boss, when you fought the Cerberus just now, it seemed entirely different?"

"Indeed!" Mo Xian eyed Boss Fang with deep suspicion. "Boss, are you holding back a trick? When you struck the Cerberus, your speed was terrifying, leaving phantom afterimages in your wake. Why is there nothing now?"

"Oh, that..." Fang Qi decided to clarify it all at once, lest these people pester him with the same question day after day. "Because there are three ways to execute a Release."

The first is a raw release—an attack executed by those who have entirely failed to grasp the essence of the technique, and its power is miserably low.

The second is a release triggered on the eve of the enemy's strike; this belongs to those who have mastered a portion of the craft, intercepting the foe's assault while dealing grievous harm in return.

The final incarnation is known as the Royal Release. Executed at the very fraction of a second the enemy's strike makes contact, this method not only carries the wrath of the second form but perfectly absorbs the blow once more. In short, the enemy's offense is rendered utterly futile, serving instead to magnify the counter-stroke's malice!

Only a Royal Release possesses the swiftness to manifest afterimages within that shroud of white light; born of grander force, the strike becomes fleeter still, its reach extending far beyond the norm.

"To think such a formidable technique exists?!" Everyone felt as though a grand gateway to a new world of melee combat had swung wide, yet they could not help but exchange glances of lingering dread.

The concept was indeed simple to articulate, but in practice, it was akin to licking blood from a razor's edge!

For if the timing wavered by even a hair's breadth, allowing the opponent's blow to strike home... one needed no imagination to foresee the consequence!

Yet, the dividends of such a high-risk gamble were equally monstrous. Take Fang Qi's recent display: a mere one-star release had wrought such devastation; if Royalguard were raised to its zenith and a perfect three-star Royal Release were unleashed...

Even a creature possessing the vast vitality and robust frame of the Hell Cerberus might find it difficult to survive a single exchange at Dante's hands!

Royalguard was mighty—terrifyingly so—and its execution seemed effortless: defend, then release.

But a Royal Release was by no means something an ordinary soul could conjure!

One step to heaven, one step to hell; wielded well, one became a god; wielded poorly, a mere human punching bag.

The crowd fell into an absolute silence.

It was a mercy, at least, that this Royal Release could be rehearsed within the confines of the game; had they been forced to practice it in the waking world, a thousand lifetimes would not have sufficed.

"If you intend to practice Royalguard, I advise you to gather more combat experience and clear the game a few times first..." Boss Fang was about to offer a word of well-meaning counsel, but a great horde of players had already rushed to their machines in a frantic frenzy, plunging headlong into groups of monsters.

Before long, throughout the internet cafe, the wretched shrieks of players being thoroughly thrashed by swarms of beasts echoed, rising and falling in a miserable chorus!

Boss Fang could only offer a silent look.

To manifest a Royal Release required not only an intimate familiarity with the unique defenses of Dante's Royalguard but also the backing of immense combat experience and an uncanny battle instinct; otherwise, one would either settle for a common release and fade into mediocrity, or ensure mutual destruction.

In truth, Boss Fang's recent stroke had benefited from a touch of fortune.

Given that the Hell Cerberus was already crippled by his hands at that moment, Dante needed only the second form of release to conclude the duel; with his own health pristine, even a mutual exchange of blows mattered little—it was a simple trade of life for blood.

Thus, Fang Qi had fought unburdened by psychological weight, and under such grace, inspiration had struck, allowing him to successfully invoke the Royal Release.

...

Even if the multitude could not master the Royal Release or the Just Guard, it did not deter the players from falling enamored with this game, growing fond of a combat style that was highly practical despite its theatrical flourishes.

Meanwhile, Mo Xian and her fellow cultivators were currently overwhelmed by basic combinations, to say nothing of high-tier arts like the Release or the Helm Breaker; yet this marred nothing, for if this path proved impassable, there were other spectacles to behold!

When it came to anything else, Dante's repertoire of stylish bravado and acrobatic maneuvers was vast indeed!

"Boss, can you teach us something a bit simpler?!" Liu Ningyun, Mo Xian, and the others returned in tears, utterly defeated by the learning curve.

"Very well!" Boss Fang took control of Dante. Before him stood two elite monsters; he selected one, delivering a flurry of slashes, before his arm blurred into a frantic motion, thrusting out countless shadows of his blade in an instant. He stamped upon the earth, firing wildly, then utilized the monster as a makeshift skateboard, riding it in a grand sweep only to return—the beast, now a corpse-board, plowed into the second monster, sending it sprawling.

Boss Fang continued to ride the board, firing into the dirt, thrusting his blade hundreds of times in a seamless chain...

Following this sequence of maneuvers, only the sharp shrieks of the surrounding audience could be heard.

"Incredible!"

"To think one could fight in such a manner!"

The crowd watched with envious eyes, desperately longing to learn.

Reflecting upon their own crude methods of hacking and slashing... they had never imagined a battle could unfold with such magnificent splendor!

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