398: Chapter 398 Mirror Image Reflects Damage, Breaking the Stalemate at Close Range!

When Lin Xiao turned his head, Sikong Lie, was already within arm's reach.

The keratinized structure on his arm extended into a sharp blade, swinging toward Lin Xiao's chest.

The speed was simply too fast—so fast that his eyes could only catch a series of afterimages.

Lin Xiao activated a defensive skill almost instinctively.

The skill [Thorns Body] activated, covering his body with a layer of sharp, spectral Thorns that collided head-on with the descending arm blade.

The force of the arm blade pierced right through the spectral image, Rend-ing his not-yet-fully-repaired chest armor and leaving a terrifying wound that stretched from his collarbone to the lower edge of his ribs.

Blood sprayed out immediately.

Even with the damage reduction stacking from [Berserk], [Thorns Body], and [Bond: Beloved Person], combined with his high Constitution stat, he still sustained a significant injury.

However, the counter-damage effect from the defensive skill made Sikong Lie, pay the price.

After the arm blade struck, a similar Rend-like wound bloomed on his own chest in the exact same spot, only slightly shallower than Lin Xiao's.

Black blood seeped out along the cracks in his keratinized shell.

[Static Field] and [Water Mirror Phantom] were deployed simultaneously, and Lin Xiao's figure retreated rapidly under the cover of the water elemental clone.

At the same time, three green torrents appeared from three directions.

The light of the healing skills landed on Lin Xiao's chest, causing the wound to heal rapidly at a visible speed, while also applying a status effect that continuously restored his vitality.

The team members under Ruan Li who had mastered healing skills reacted quite promptly.

Lin Xiao let out a sigh of relief and quickly adjusted his combat stance.

On the battlefield outside the temple, the body of the Insect Emperor, Little Red, was now less than one-tenth of its previous size.

Its elytra, intertwined with dark gold and crimson, were covered in dense cracks.

Each of its diving attacks had its lethality reduced by more than half compared to before.

In addition, the number of red Scarab Beetles following behind it was also continuously decreasing.

In contrast, the black Insect Swarm continued to emerge from all parts of the dunes.

Furthermore, for every dead insect corpse, the energy of Sikong Lie, increased by a fraction.

Looking around, the entire land was covered in mycelium, decomposing and absorbing the corpses of the Insect Swarm to provide him with an inexhaustible supply of nutrients.

This couldn't go on.

Lin Xiao's gaze swept over the mycelial network still slowly squirming beneath his feet.

Suddenly, his gaze paused.

The Insect Emperor provided energy to the sub-bodies, including those Black Scarab Beetles not controlled by its will.

And the tens of thousands of Black Scarab corpses provided Sikong Lie, with a continuous stream of vitality through the mycelium-covered oasis land.

So, could it be understood that... as long as Sikong Lie, was forced to leave this place, unable to obtain vitality, he would be forced to consume his own stored energy?

Until his energy was exhausted, then he could be easily slain!

But how could he force Sikong Lie, to leave this place?

Lin Xiao had tried it before using the poseidons trident; even the powerful skill [God's Trident] with a twenty-second charge couldn't knock this half-human, half-insect creature out of the oasis range.

Just as he was pondering, a rather bold idea suddenly emerged in his mind.

He switched to the team channel and issued an order, telling all team leaders to join forces and besiege the pulsing egg sac on the ground; they must not let a new individual hatch.

He would be responsible for luring away the clone that had already Split.

Afterward, he turned and drew the poseidons trident, flashing a highly provocative smile at Sikong Lie.

"No matter how much an insect evolves, it's still just an insect!"

While speaking, Lin Xiao pre-placed a teleportation anchor on the ground, then sent a private message to the team stationed at the Cloud Palace, waiting for the order to connect the portal.

After doing this, he raised his battle axe and lunged toward Sikong Lie, again, repeating the previous attack pattern.

First, he threw the trident, followed closely by the battle axe.

This move was intended to make Sikong Lie, lower his guard.

Sure enough, this half-human, half-insect creature dodged the cyan-gold trajectory, raised one hand, and steadily caught the axe blade.

His five fingers, covered in a hard keratin layer, easily clamped onto the axe face, bearing the full force without budging an inch.

He turned his head, and the countless tiny facets in his compound eyes flickered slightly.

"Using the same move twice is boring, Outlander."

The counterattack arrived the moment the words fell.

The fist, equipped with bone spurs, smashed toward Lin Xiao's face at a speed that almost vanished, the air being squeezed by the pressure of the punch, emitting a short, explosive sound.

This was not a speed a human could react to, and the distance was too close.

Sikong Lie, chose to launch the counterattack at the exact same moment he grabbed the axe blade, leaving almost no room for Lin Xiao to dodge.

Fortunately, Lin Xiao had activated the skill [Mirror Phantom Barrier] in advance, generating three life-sized mirrors around him.

The mirrors could block 3 attacks from any source, and after each block, they could deal 150% reflection damage to the attacker and reduce the attacker's accuracy by 30%!

The counter-damage effect was even more powerful than the previous [Thorns Body]; hitting him was equivalent to hitting oneself.

Although, it could only block three external attacks.

The fist of Sikong Lie, as expected, slammed into an invisible barrier.

[Mirror Phantom Barrier] materialized the moment it received the impact.

The mirror circling directly in front of Lin Xiao swallowed the entire force of the punch.

The mirror surface trembled violently, but it still steadily blocked the fist of Sikong Lie, just a few inches from his face.

The situation was extremely dangerous, but the skill effect was powerful enough.

The next instant, the reflection damage triggered.

150% of the counter-damage was fed back to Sikong Lie, and the violent energy exploded along his arm.

The keratinized shell burst from his knuckles to his shoulder simultaneously, and black-brown body fluid sprayed out, splashing onto Lin Xiao's chest armor with a sizzling sound.

Sikong Lie, looked down at his shattered right arm, and for the first time, a look that could be interpreted as "displeasure" appeared on his face, which still retained a humanoid outline.

Just as he was about to retreat to create distance, a dense sound of electric current suddenly rang out in the air.

[Static Field] had long since been spread out at Lin Xiao's feet.

The paralysis effect triggered, forcibly locking the movements of Sikong Lie, for a brief moment!

Lin Xiao seized this hard-won opportunity and lashed out with [Ghost Slash] with his left hand.

The blade tore through the defensive gap of Sikong Lie, striking his chest dead center.

The weapon Ghost Slash came with both risks and rewards.

It required close-quarters use to achieve the most perfect effect; otherwise, it was easily countered.

The high damage bonus brought by Weak Point Special Attack made every successful hit well worth the effort.

The blade, emitting black energy, penetrated the hard keratinized shell.

The tip passed through the flesh and tissue, protruding a segment from his back.

Taking advantage of the moment the blade pierced in, Lin Xiao lunged forward, holding his battle axe horizontally in front of him, and relying on the absolute strength advantage brought by his high Constitution stat, he forcibly lifted Sikong Lie, off the ground.

The portal activated at the same instant, and a purple screen of light tore open behind the two of them.

Lin Xiao pushed Sikong Lie, toward the portal screen.

The insect limbs of Sikong Lie, flailed instinctively in the air, attempting to grab something to leverage a counterattack, but it was all in vain.