Chapter 600: A Fight to the Bitter End
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Dugu Chou cried out sharply as he boldly waved the sword in his hand. A huge whirlpool appeared in midair and the golden glints flew into the whirlpool like moths to fire.
Then, a deafening boom rent the air.
It was evident that Dugu Chou's counterattack had not only blocked the golden needles, he had exchanged blows with Liang Canghai even as he moved.
The Glints of Gold reversed their flight, veering towards Liang Canghai's exposed back instead.
While Dugu Chou's counterattack managed to subdue the Skied Glints of Gold, he could not fight inertia and eventually came to a halt.
Without waiting for the golden needles, Liang Canghai advanced again from the left to attack once more, going toe to toe with Gu Chaliang. The result was clear from the collision; Liang Canghai, who had already been injured multiples times, was thrown back by Gu Chaliang!
Truth be told, instead of being forcefully driven back, it was Liang Canghai himself who had leveraged on the resulting shock and somersaulted away, taking the opportunity to flee before he landed outside of the trio's siege.
If a ray of sword light had not come into Liang Canghai's path of escape, he would have had a good chance of escaping. Unfortunately for him, an intense beam of sword energy came in an with the overwhelming force of a soaring dragon, sweeping down to where Liang Canghai would land. The powerful wave arrived well in advance before an ice-cold sense of sword energy swept across as well.
Liang Canghai cried out; the ruler that had just returned to his hand was struck away. The fallen ruler met the intense sword energy head on, colliding with extremely high force. The Skied Glints of Gold was renowned, an impressive weapon, but its reputation stemmed from its unique material that emphasized its damage ability; its defensive capabilities, however, were not entirely up to the mark. It could, perhaps, hold its ground in usual combat, but with how Liang Canghai had been numerously wounded and reduced in combat power, as well as the abrupt counterattack, the mystical Qi that had been fed to the ruler was no more than a fifth of the usual amount. There was simply no way it could survive the exceptionally intense sword energy.
With a soft crack, the singular ruler that had once triumphed over the martial world turned into a golden dust that rained down on the ground, not unlike common dust.
Liang Canghai shouted with heartache before he moaned in agony, a hole appearing on his shoulder. Not only had Dugu Chou's Grieving Sword shattered Liang Canghai's weapon, it had also pierced his shoulder.
"Pow!"
Gu Chaliang appeared stealthily, landing a solid palm strike on Liang Canghai's back. The latter emitted a low grunt, falling down like a broken kite; upon landing, he staggered, almost unable to stand.
The shadow above him followed quickly. Dugu Chou had yet to stop his pursuit. Sword light landed from the sky, showering down like a sudden shower of rain. Gu Chaliang kept up as well, launching an endless wave of melee attacks; various techniques were employed, each one of them lethal.
Feng Xiange was the only one standing farther away. He was regulating his pulse with closed eyes, his presence was extremely weak. It was not that he did not want to participate in the battle but he had taken Liang Canghai's deadly strike right where it counted when the latter was trying to break the siege. The result was the near crushing of his soul. It was already an extreme chore for him to continue standing here, thus, he was no longer be able to intervene in the fight.
In spite of this, his contribution was more than enough. Even though there were only Dugu Chou and Gu Chaliang now, Liang Canghai could barely flee, even if he were given wings!
Liang Canghai bit his teeth; it was like he was nailed to the ground, as he played all his defensive cards in order to save himself. The series of accidents had rendered a certain severity to his injuries. He no longer had any plans to break the siege and escape now; with his current condition, it was impossible for him to leave by his own efforts.
His only hope now was to persevere as long as he could. After all, he believed wholeheartedly that his partner would definitely come to save him.
The only person remaining from the enemy's side was Ling Xiaozui. While Mr. Nian might not be able to defeat him, he could still rush here to save him. The only thing left to find out now was if he could persevere until that moment.
The collaborative attacks of the two experts immobilized Liang Canghai within a space thirty feet wide. He was in a completely passive stance which was being sliced thinner continuously, the barrier threatening to break at any time.
However, Liang Canghai gritted his teeth, inducing his soul to trigger his arcane and combat power. Even when he was spitting blood, the blood that contained the essence to his vitality, and his physical form was beginning to wilt visibly, most of his hair had turned snow white in such a short amount of time, he was still able to hold his ground and defend against the attacks of the two great experts.
Liang Canghai looked ghastly. His five features and seven orifices were leaking blood, while his shoulder, that had been pierced by Dugu's sword, was entirely crushed. Terrifying white bone could be seen on his back and chest while one of his legs limped; he was already coughing gouts of blood, but he refused to give up.
Even under the onslaught of the two masterly experts, he did not crumble!
Furthermore, he even managed to gain some space to breathe, the slight respite earned when he lashed out fiercely in retaliation.
The perseverance and resilience, the seeming invincibility of the beleaguered man warranted no small amount of surprise.
It was a deadly atmosphere that spelled his death, but Liang Canghai's gaze was determined and calm, not a sliver of panic could be found in his eyes. Even though he knew that this was his end, his mind a mess and his gaze could hardly be kept in focus, he knew that it would only truly be his doom when he let this last breath of resolution go.
As long as he held onto this one last breath, he was confident to hold on until his partner's arrival! He needed to persevere, he had to persevere!
After another round of attacks, all of Liang Canghai's hair had turned white; it lost its shine, like it no longer held any vitality in them, like blades of dried grass.
Yet, Dugu Chou's sword light was still glimmering dangerously as he struck from three directions at once, his intention to exterminate Liang Canghai ablaze.
"Liang Canghai, just give up," Dugu Chou said, "With Ling Xiaozui keeping your partner occupied, he won't be able to come to your aid."
The flesh on Liang Canghai's palms was long gone after being flayed by the sword energy so many times, leaving only the white of bone. They were still waving in a frenzy, shrieking against the wind as they blocked Dugu Chou's sword light.
It was not that Liang Canghai did not want to argue; in fact, he wanted very much to retort, to motivate himself. However, he was aware that once he opened his mouth, he would not get the motivation he sought but would lose his last breath instead.
If that were to happen, he would be truly doomed!
Gu Chaliang's attacks paused momentarily. He turned back to glance around inexplicably before saying faintly, "Liang Canghai, you're a known expert of the generation as well. It is of no advantage for you to fight up until now. If you're willing to put an end to yourself, we shall not wipe out your soul and leave you a chance for reincarnation."