I have an Apocalypse City

Chapter 656: Chapter 656: All Foreigners Must Die

The Puppet Boss made of Swordwood was pushed back, but it didn’t pause at all. Its long sword danced in its hands, and its body became light and graceful, its flexibility even exceeding that of Song Jian by a noticeable margin.

Song Jian squinted his eyes. How was it that this wooden puppet was giving off the feel of a living person’s sword dance?

He looked closer and saw that every movement of the Swordwood Puppet Boss comprised thousands of wooden components. It seemed that the body of the puppet was made not of cold wood but was akin to the musculature and skeletal system of a living being.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

The long swords in their hands collided continuously. Their figures lunged at each other like lightning, clashing many times in an instant.

The defense of the Swordwood Puppet Boss was formidable, but under Song Jian’s incisive attacks, every hit left a scar over an inch deep.

“Beauty Sword Skill, first move, Drunken Royal Consort!”, a synthesized voice low and deep came from the Swordwood Puppet Boss. It sounded a bit weird, but with that voice, the long sword in its hand suddenly became muddled.

“Clang, clang, clang~”

Song Jian displayed his Broken Wing Dance. His figure was as intimidating as a roc in flight, but in front of the Swordwood Puppet Boss, it was as if he was ensnared in a silk net, even the final aerial effect of his attack was resisted by the Boss.

After exchanging a dozen or so moves, Song Jian found no way to overcome the Swordwood Puppet Boss. All his attacks were dismantled, and the words “dodge”, “parry”, “lost target” floated above his head, indicating the dismantling of his attacks.

After the Swordwood Puppet Boss finished a sequence of the Beauty Sword Skill, it began to alternate every move freely and smoothly, from any angle, at any position.

Every sword strike that Song Jian made was parried by the Swordwood Puppet Boss. It continued to strike him with its sword, each strike taking only a small amount of Vitality Points, but over time, Song Jian’s Vitality Points gradually started to dwindle.

Song Jian’s total vitality was less than the Swordwood Puppet Boss’. Although it looked as if they were evenly matched, in reality, Song Jian was already at a disadvantage.

Sword Silk!

Sweeping Sword Style!

Flash Thunder Strike!

…

Song Jian used all the techniques he had mastered but the Swordwood Puppet Boss countered all of them perfectly with the Beauty Sword Skill. He hardly inflicted any damage.

“Ever since it started using this strange sword technique, I haven’t been able to hurt it…” Song Jian’s heart sank. The joy he felt from his increased strength disappeared without a trace, replaced by a sense of helplessness.

“Beauty Sword Skill, first move, Drunken Royal Consort!”

The voice of the Swordwood Puppet Boss rang out again, it was launching the first move once more, attacking Song Jian. A strange thought crossed Song Jian’s mind.

“Could it be… is it trying to teach me its sword technique?”

Once this idea popped up, he couldn’t dismiss it. So, gritting his teeth, he decided to follow the Puppet’s moves and began to practice the Beauty Sword Skill with the Boss.

For a time, Song Jian’s figure also became flexible. His sword technique resembled a graceful dance.

Clang, clang, clang, clang~

A series of crisp block sounds echoed. This time, Song Jian completely withstood the attacks of the Swordwood Puppet Boss. Although he wasn’t able to harm it, it didn’t land any attacks on him either.

For a moment, he got excited and threw all his attention into the study of the Beauty Sword Skill.

Before he knew it, he had received a system prompt.

System: You have grasped the Silver Level Sword Skill “Beauty Sword Skill”, currently at Level 1.

“It’s simply teaching me its technique?” Song Jian was stunned as he stared at the Swordwood Puppet Boss, and the Beauty Sword Skill continued to flow from his hands.

“Beauty Sword Skill (Silver), Level 1, Skill Effects: Physical damage increased by 12%, resistance +11, evasion +5, dodge +3, parry +7, attack speed increased by 5%; Skill Description: This sword technique divides into nine moves, each named after a beauty. The implementation of this sword technique is graceful, pleasing to the eye; Special Attributes: If the practitioner is female, the power of the sword technique increases by 100%;”

Looking at the skill column, Song Jian was speechless at the last special attribute mentioned in the description of swordplay. At this moment, this special attribute appeared in his skill column in gray, showing that this attribute was not activated;

“So I’ve learned a sword technique for women…” Song Jian was slightly dumbfounded. He felt that without the power boost from the special attribute at the end, the power of this technique would probably compare to the Qingyun Sword Skill.

Clang clang~

Without employing any other skills, Song Jian used the “Beauty Sword Skill” to battle the Swordwood Puppet. As the battle continued, the skill level of the Beauty Sword Skill also swiftly increased. It quickly rose from level one to level five, becoming increasingly powerful.

“Drunken Royal Consort, Xishi Wraps the Yarn, Goose Fall Strike, A Smile to Overwhelm the City, …”

With his sword dances whirling, a small smile appeared at the corner of Song Jian’s mouth. His eyes softened, and a strange aura surrounded him.

Clang!

The Crimson Fire Heart Ape Sword broke through the Swordwood Puppet’s defense and pierced its chest;

Crack~

A sharp sound erupted from inside the Swordwood Puppet’s body. Its entire body stiffened, and the long sword in its hand slowly fell;

“Beauty Sword Skill, assessment passed!” A deep voice echoed from within the body of the Swordwood Puppet.

Song Jian was stunned, glancing at his skill column. Unbeknownst to him, the Beauty Sword Skill had already progressed to level six;

“As it turns out, one just needs to defeat this BOSS with the sword skill it teaches…” Song Jian’s face bore an expression of realization.

However, just as Song Jian was about to walk past the Swordwood Puppet to get the scroll on the stone platform, the Puppet suddenly moved again. The long sword in its hand emitted a low whistling sound, sweeping towards Song Jian;

“First Style of Wind Spirit Sword Skill, Sweeping the World!”

“Not again!” Song Jian screamed, instinctively performing the “Sacred Parry”. Immediately, a burst of golden light radiated from his body and the Crimson Fire Heart Ape Sword in his hand collided fiercely with the long sword of the Swordwood Puppet;

Boom!

With a loud noise, Song Jian was tossed against the stone wall of the room. The Swordwood Puppet, hit by the first style of its Wind Spirit Sword Skill, had a foot-long crack appear at its right shoulder. A faint oily scent wafted out from the opening.

Drip, drip, drip, drip~

The Puppet’s scarlet eyes began flashing rapidly, and an alarm-like sound emitted from within its body;

“Significant damage sustained. Beginning analysis of combat process…”

“Enemy performed unknown sword skill, not present in records…”

“Beginning search in foreign skill database…”

“Beginning analogous matching search…”

“Probability that enemy used foreign skill is 99.8%…”

“Target determined as foreigner, activating level one alert, entering combat mode…”

“Foreigners, must die!”

The Swordwood Puppet roared in a deep voice. Its figure suddenly grew taller by tens of centimeters. Astonishingly, from the back of its shoulder blades, another pair of arms emerged. Together with the left arm, they held a longsword withdrawn from its body. Now, each of the Puppet’s four arms was holding a longsword, all pointed menacingly at Song Jian.

…