What a powerful AI; this dodge and counter was executed so smoothly that it's barely any different from his own performance.
Lu Xun was truly stunned by that attack just now, as he had assumed the game's AI wouldn't be particularly strong.
Is there really a need to make an AI for idle farming this powerful?
While Lu Xun was somewhat pleasantly surprised, to be honest, he didn't think this feature was entirely a good thing; if the auto-battle AI was too strong, the sense of achievement and satisfaction players felt after clearing a stage would be diminished, which would actually accelerate player attrition.
Therefore, he felt it was necessary to suggest that the game designers nerf the strength of the auto-battle AI, lest everyone stop practicing their skills and just rely on idling to get stronger once the game officially launched.
That would be boring.
He couldn't stand seeing others play games so easily.
...
"What does 'cracked' mean?"
Grinya didn't understand the sudden voice of Lord Xun Shen just now.
However, judging by his tone, Lord Xun Shen was probably praising her.
Even Grinya hadn't expected that after following Lord Xun Shen and being influenced by him for so long, her strength had become so formidable that she could deliver such a brilliant performance even against such a powerful enemy.
Grinya couldn't help but think to herself with a bit of smugness.
"What are you standing there for? The monster is staggered, so why aren't you going in to deal damage? Why are you just standing there like a statue?"
The grumbling shout of Lord Xun Shen suddenly rang in her ears.
Grinya snapped out of her fantasy, but she had already missed the opportunity to follow up with more damage; after its brief stagger, the abyss guard suddenly raised its heavy bone shield and sharp claws, its arm muscles bulging as it slammed them violently into the ground.
The earth shattered with a roar, and a violent shockwave swept out like a tsunami; Grinya had just enough time to react before being stunned by the terrifying scene before her.
She could only raise her blade to protect her vitals with all her might; although the Arcane Woven Scale had released an arcane shield at full power, the abyss guard's strength was too great, shattering the arcane shield into crystalline fragments in a single collision.
Grinya's petite figure was sent flying through the air by the terrifying blast, crashing heavily onto the ground.
The pain wracking her entire body made it nearly impossible for her to stand.
"Grinya, are you okay?" Gexi hurried to her side, injecting pale green mana into her body, causing the hideous wounds to heal at a very slow pace.
"I am not okay," Grinya said expressionlessly, her heart as cold as ash; after a pause, she added, "I am very much not okay."
She didn't actually care that she couldn't withstand the abyss guard; after all, with her strength, it was still a stretch to try and defeat such a terrifying monster.
What she cared about was that she had been defeated in such an embarrassing way; Lord Xun Shen was still testing her, yet she had lost so disgracefully that she didn't even dare to imagine what he would think of her.
At the thought of this, Grinya wanted nothing more than to find a hole to crawl into.
How embarrassing, simply too embarrassing!
"This performance is actually within my expectations," Lord Xun Shen's comforting words followed immediately; at the lowest point of Grinya's mood, this comfort was like the sun breaking through dark clouds, melting the ice in her heart.
"Lord Xun Shen..." Grinya's emotions were complex, and she was moved to the point of tears.
"So just get lost, you useless thing; it's still gotta rely on your Grandpa Xun's skills."
"..."
Grinya suddenly froze, her previous touched sentiment vanishing without a trace.
She felt a thick sense of malice and disdain coming from Lord Xun Shen, and her heart felt so aggrieved that she could practically weep.
In particular, the phrase "useless thing" kept echoing in her ears.
Of course, she didn't know that Lu Xun was actually cursing the terrible AI system.
Even though that so-called AI was her.
Lu Xun took back control of the Peerless Fencer; looking at the health bar that had dropped by more than half from that single attack and was now recovering at a snail's pace, he looked at Gexi beside him in surprise.
"So it turns out you're actually useful instead of just standing there watching the show!"
Seeing this NPC just watching from the side without lifting a finger in battle, he had assumed she was the type that would mysteriously turn invisible during combat and only reappear to explain a few lines when encountering new plot points or items.
So he had never counted on her.
However, this girl could actually provide healing from the sidelines; although the effect was mediocre, it was better than nothing.
Lu Xun's words were a sincere compliment, but in Gexi's ears, they sounded like blatant mockery.
Gexi's fair face flushed red as she lowered her head, stammering, "I... I can't help it; I have no way to exert my power in this place, and even a simple healing magic is very difficult, I..."
"I get it, I get it," Grinya interrupted her before she could finish, "it's all for the sake of the plot; I understand everything."
"...Although I don't understand what you're saying, I feel like you definitely don't get it."
Gexi was suddenly startled, then her expression changed as she pointed behind Grinya, "Be—behind you!"
Lu Xun barely even thought about it before directly pressing the dodge key.
Watching Grinya's figure nimbly roll to the side, Gexi, who was left alone on the spot to face the abyss guard's impact, widened her eyes in disbelief.
"How can you be so selfish?"
Before her voice could fade.
Boom!
Gexi's figure was sent flying high into the air, falling heavily like a puppet with its strings cut.
Fortunately, as a level 49 saint-rank archmage, she wasn't that easily killed by a collision.
But in reality, the abyss's weakening effect on her was too great, and her body was quite frail; although she didn't die from that hit, she was left dazed and critically injured.
"Uh... sorry, I'm just used to pressing dodge."
Lu Xun said somewhat sheepishly.
The abyss guard's massive body stood behind her, and it raised its heavy bone shield once more, smashing it down ruthlessly toward Grinya's head!
Grinya seemed to have sensed it long ago; just as the bone shield was about to slam down, her figure suddenly vanished into thin air.
The abyss guard froze for a moment, seemingly trying to figure out how its opponent had disappeared.
In the next second, it felt a sharp wind approaching from high above to its side; it was Grinya, who had leapt into the air at some unknown point, her hands gripping the hilt of the Sword of Honor tightly as she held the blade behind her head, her lithe body arched back like a bow.
Although the abyss guard possessed immense strength, its reactions were very sluggish, leaving it unable to defend against this strike.
However, it did not lose its composure because of this.
The blade struck the abyss guard's head like it was hitting a super-hard alloy, and a piercing metallic clang rang out.
Seeing the opponent's health bar drop by only a tenth under this strike, Lu Xun's expression finally turned serious.
"Fine, I admit you're indeed a bit beyond my expectations."
As Lu Xun spoke, he casually placed his right ring finger on a certain skill key.
"However, being able to see this move of mine, your life can be considered without regrets." He let out a cold laugh, his demeanor at this moment looking exactly like the classic villains in novels.
The abyss guard couldn't understand Grinya's mysterious words; the eerie purple flames burning on its giant claw drew a graceful arc in the air as the claw, larger than Grinya herself, was about to tear her apart.
But Grinya changed her previous manner and appeared extremely casual; even with the sharp claw right before her eyes, she didn't show the slightest hint of panic.
Right until a brilliant golden star suddenly erupted directly in front of her brow.
That dazzling golden light dispersed the surrounding darkness, leaving only a radiant, blinding gold!
Rate on N.U.
