Chapter 521: Shadow Step?

"Could he really be about to beat it?!" Thea stared blankly at Fang Qi's screen.

"That sword technique is indeed formidable, and the proprietor's mastery of mechanics is quite adept," Luo Piaoling said with a slow shake of his head, his expression dark and contemplative. "However... a King-class overlord is never that simple."

Everything else about this overlord was manageable. With Fang Qi's level 20 equipment coupled with the advancement in his own strength after his class change, anyone could see that there was absolutely no chance of the overlord's health recovery outstripping the rate of Fang Qi's damage.

But the battle would by no means be a short one.

Though victory seemed possible, Luo Piaoling had felt this exact brand of helplessness deep in his bones: this zombie king overlord radiated an incredibly low, freezing aura. As long as one drew near it, not only would their movements be hindered, but this chilling miasma would burst forth within the bodies of those close to it every short interval like a curse. While its destructiveness wasn't overwhelmingly high, it was certainly far from negligible.

Most crucially, if that sudden, organ-freezing chill erupted within the body right as a sword was being swung, the consequences were entirely predictable. Many had been struck by it in mid-attack, only to end up with their necks clamped in the jaws of the zombie king.

The game did not convert life into numerical data; it was entirely identical to reality.

Therefore, without a digitized body, a severed neck meant certain death unless a teammate came to the rescue.

In other words, unless one belonged to a ranged class, melee fighters suffered a tremendous disadvantage and had to tread with utmost caution during every single assault.

As long as the zombie king endured a bit longer, Fang Qi would succumb to the cold even if he managed to avoid being hit by the monster entirely.

King-class overlords were notoriously thick-skinned and resilient; even if the zombie king stood perfectly still and took a beating the entire time, it could likely endure until the moment Fang Qi froze to death.

Except for madmen like Berserkers, whose prowess intensified the closer they came to death, virtually anyone would find attacking, defending, and dodging increasingly difficult when their physical state deteriorated too far. In fact, Fang Qi wouldn't even need to freeze to death; if his physical condition declined severely, he would be utterly incapable of evading the zombie king's strikes.

Fang Qi seemed to recognize this danger as well. This time, he did not allow the monsters to cluster, instead skirting the periphery of the zombie king to clear out the ordinary accompanying zombies first.

The zombie king's speed was much faster than that of ordinary zombies, and as everyone knew, most zombie monsters lacked intelligence.

Fang Qi deliberately used the zombie king's speed to draw it out from the horde, and after thoroughly clearing away the ordinary zombies...

"Look, he's charging in!"

Someone in the back cried out in surprise. Fang Qi did not hesitate for a second, sliding forward directly with a Triple Slash.

The third strike precisely brushed past the zombie king. A flash of sword light erupted, and a deep wound instantly opened across its waist.

"That sword technique again?!" With dual lightsabers dancing like silver arcs, the zombie king, its back to Fang Qi, had virtually no opportunity to even turn around. The blindingly swift sword light left its footsteps faltering, nearly causing it to collapse several times.

It was stripped of almost any room to fight back!

Even so, Luo Piaoling did not alter his judgment, because...

The moment that ultimate freezing power erupted inside his body, Fang Qi's assault would inevitably be broken. And at such close proximity to the zombie king, what awaited him would surely be a devastating blow!

"Huh? Why did the boss switch to a greatsword?!" On the screen, many noticed Fang Qi suddenly pulling out a massive greatsword, slamming it heavily against the zombie king's body several times. This time, the creature finally lost its footing, on the verge of falling.

The ensuing Triple Slash completely shattered its center of gravity.

The greatsword dragged across the ground, kicking up a succession of dazzling sparks, before forcefully executing an Upward Slash!

The zombie king's off-balance body was instantly launched high into the air.

The virtual reality game was entirely different from the keyboard-and-mouse games before Fang Qi's transmigration. For instance, just now, Fang Qi's greatsword technique was entirely derived from Cloud's swordsmanship, and an Upward Slash did not necessarily have to launch an opponent forward and up. At the same time, the heavy, thick blade of a greatsword offered a larger surface area for force, making it far more suited for launching targets than a thin blade like a lightsaber.

Fang Qi channeled strength into both arms, the immense force hurling the zombie king almost directly upward.

Then, his entire form leaped up in pursuit.

"...Is the boss going to use Cloud's move?!" Someone nearly shrieked upon seeing this opening stance. Though it possessed the mechanical effect of a Ghost Swordsman's Upward Slash, it bore the distinct shadow of Cloud's Omnislash.

"I think it looks like the move Sephiroth used to launch Cloud!"

"Owner Fang changed weapons again!"

The sword in Fang Qi's hand swapped back to a lightsaber, unleashing two strikes mid-air before executing an Ashe Fork!

Yet, this Ashe Fork struck empty air.

"He missed?!" Everyone watched this scene in bewilderment. Fang Qi's combos had been seamless just moments ago; could he have made a blunder here?!

"No!" Luo Piaoling interjected. "He missed on purpose!"

Nalan Hongwu added, "There is no technique akin to the Thousand-Pound Drop here, nor could it be mastered in a short time. Using this Ashe Fork to accelerate his descent is the best possible alternative!"

Sure enough, landing before the zombie king, Fang Qi unleashed the Secret Sword Art once more!

Though the force of the blade was not overwhelming, it was perfectly measured to keep the zombie king from descending from mid-air.

The Secret Sword Art at this moment was unlike the original, which could only be executed forward.

"Dodge! Get out of the way! Even defending would work!" Thea was watching with more urgency than the boss itself.

"Why does this overlord suddenly seem so foolish?!" Even if it couldn't dodge, using its arms to block and borrow force to disrupt Fang Qi's rhythm might have broken the combo.

This overlord was no ordinary zombie; it possessed a degree of intelligence, and a King-class entity was even less likely to take a beating passively.

Currently, Fang Qi was striking upward, and the momentum was directed upward as well. Furthermore, without the forced knockdown restrictions of the original game after excessive combos, the creature had no hope of falling from the sky unless it evaded Fang Qi's blade.

Although the complete simulation of reality without digitized bodies increased the game's difficulty, the freedom of play had expanded immensely!

"How can this be...?"

"Is this zombie king an idiot?!"

Many onlookers began to voice their dissatisfaction.

"This is..." Nalan Mingxue suddenly typed rapidly into the current channel, "This is... Shadow Step?!"

In Dungeon and Fighter, dying without returning to town meant entering a ghost state, during which chatting was permitted.

She suddenly recalled a story about a game that Owner Fang had told a long time ago.

A segment of it involved utilizing visual blind spots to combo an opponent so they could never land, rendering them incapable of even dodging or parrying!

That was not an in-game skill, but a specialized technique.

"You mean... the Shadow Step from *The King's Avatar*?!" Xu Zixin cried out in astonishment. She too recalled that story Owner Fang had only partially narrated back then—an advanced technique used by masters, one that virtually only god-level players could perform.

A long time had passed, and she had initially listened to it merely as a fictional tale. Logically speaking, it should have remained just a story.

But from the previous aerial fire to now... Owner Fang seemed to be...?!

Looking closely, Fang Qi indeed stepped into the zombie king's visual blind spot with every single stride. If viewed from the zombie king's perspective, Fang Qi seemed to be concealed within the shadows, his form entirely vanished!

He was truly using Shadow Step?!

Although what Fang Qi had recounted before was merely a story, at this moment, he was genuinely manifesting those very techniques right before their eyes.

The impact this delivered to their senses was utterly profound!

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There should be three chapters after midnight tonight; the rest will be posted during the day

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