Chapter 1387
Surtur's Demise: The End!
Chapter 1387 Surtur - The End of Annihilation!
"Your Majesty, please calm your anger. I entered the palace late at night not with any intention of offending you, but because of an urgent matter."
Wang Mang bowed respectfully to Empress Liu, maintaining a deferential demeanor.
"Now the rebel army is at the gates of the city, the capital is in imminent danger, and the court is in disarray, with powerful ministers fighting their own battles. If we do not consolidate our forces as soon as possible, the Great Ling kingdom will truly be lost."
"I had no other choice but to resort to this drastic measure. I hope Your Majesty will understand."
He paused, his tone sincere.
"Consideration? You imprisoned ministers, took control of the imperial guards, and led troops into the palace. Is that what you call consideration?"
Empress Liu gave a cold laugh.
"Wang Mang, I truly underestimated you! You've endured for so many years, all for this day, haven't you?"
Just then, an old nanny stepped out from behind Empress Liu.
The old woman was dressed in a dark gray palace dress, her hair was neatly combed and secured with a silver hairpin, her face was covered with wrinkles, and she looked to be about seventy years old, but her eyes were unusually bright, and she exuded a faint chill.
She was Empress Liu's personal nanny, Lingxu Nanny.
This Granny Lingxu was no ordinary palace maid. She was originally a disciple of the secluded sect Taiyin Valley. In her youth, she was a renowned female knight-errant in the martial arts world, possessing unparalleled skill in the Taiyin Suxin Jue. Later, she was expelled from the sect for violating its rules. Coincidentally, Empress Liu's mother fell seriously ill, and she was invited to serve as her bodyguard. She then followed Empress Liu into the palace, where she stayed for thirty years.
Taiyin Valley is a sect in the Jianghu of Daling that specializes in cultivating Yin-cold internal energy. The "Taiyin Suxin Jue" is the sect's most treasured technique. When cultivated to its extreme, it can draw upon the Yin-cold energy between heaven and earth, condensing it into ice essence, which can injure people invisibly.
Lingxu Granny's internal energy cultivation has reached the late stage of the Celestial Realm, making her a top expert in the entire Tianwu Continent. Her move, "Frosty Soul Palm," carries a chilling wind that instantly invades the meridians of those struck, freezing their limbs. Her move, "Ice Silkworm Silk," condenses internal energy into fine ice threads, which can wrap around the opponent's vital points when they are not paying attention, making it a veritable assassination weapon.
Over the years, many people who wanted to harm Empress Liu have died at the hands of Granny Lingxu. Even the assassin who was once known as the "Number One Swordsman of Daling" could not escape her "Ice Silkworm Silk" and was eventually frozen to death under the palace wall.
The reason why Empress Liu dared to let Wang Mang cause trouble in the court was largely because she had the trump card of Granny Lingxu.
"How dare you, Wang Mang, defy your superiors! Today, I will punish this traitor on behalf of the Empress!"
As soon as Granny Lingxu finished speaking, a dense chill emanated from her body, instantly cooling the originally warm Taiji Hall. The candlelight dimmed, and a thin layer of frost even formed on the ground.
Granny Lingxu raised her hand and waved it, unleashing a gust of wind that carried a visible white chill, aimed straight at Wang Mang's face. This palm strike appeared slow, but it actually contained astonishing internal force; if it struck, he would likely be frozen into an ice sculpture instantly.
Empress Liu sat on the phoenix throne, expressionless, but she didn't hold out much hope. If Wang Mang couldn't even handle a mere personal maidservant by her side, then it would be a disservice to her years of forbearance.
Sure enough, at that moment, Surtur, who was beside Wang Mang, roared, the sound of which made the candlelight in the hall flicker violently. He took a step forward, and a fierce flame aura burst forth from his body, the red flames enveloping his entire body, forming a stark contrast with Lingxu Mama's cold aura.
The "Burning Branch" greatsword in his hand was infused with fiery energy, and the blade instantly burst into flames, resembling a burning torch, even distorting the air itself.
"Peak War God!"
Empress Liu and Granny Lingxu exclaimed in surprise at the same time. They could clearly feel the aura emanating from Surtur—it was the pressure of a peak war god, even stronger than a cultivator at the peak of the Celestial Realm, and it carried an indestructible killing intent!
Generally speaking, cultivators of the same level who are skilled in internal energy cultivation and those who are skilled in external martial arts are roughly equal in combat strength. However, those skilled in external martial arts focus more on actual combat, especially the peak-level warriors. Not only do they possess abundant external martial arts, but their physical strength also far surpasses that of cultivators skilled in internal energy cultivation, and their explosive power is astonishing. They can often challenge cultivators of the same level who are skilled in internal energy cultivation.
Lingxu Granny was a late-stage Celestial Realm cultivator with internal energy, already a top expert in the martial arts world. However, when facing Surtur, a peak War God, she was simply "a small fry compared to a big fish".
What's even more deadly is that Surtur's fiery aura perfectly counters Lingxu Mama's icy internal energy, making them practically natural enemies.
"Ding! Surtur's skills Annihilation and Finale have been activated!"
Annihilation: Flames burn the heavens and devour the sun and moon, branches ignite the nine realms and shatter the divine court. This skill is exclusive to Surtur, the fire giant from Norse mythology!
Effect 1: Origin of Fire. During battle, your own attack power is directly increased by 9. If there is a fire attribute environment such as "flame" or "lava" on the battlefield (such as volcano, battlefield, burning city), your own attack power is increased by an additional 2 points. If you are in a restraining environment such as "ice" or "frozen zone", only the basic +9 attack power bonus is retained, but you are immune to all negative effects of "frozen" or "freezing".
Effect 2: Burning Branch. When wielding the "Burning Branch" in battle, weapon bonuses are doubled, and each attack is accompanied by the "Ember" effect, suppressing the enemy's attack power by 1 point (lasting 2 rounds); if the enemy is a "Divine" general, the "Ember" effect is doubled, suppressing the enemy's attack power by 2 points.
Effect 3: Rune Seal. Surtur is proficient in runes and can choose one enemy general each turn to seal one of their non-core skill effects. If the seal is successful, Surtur's attack power increases by 1. If the enemy general has a "Divine Weapon" type skill, their weapon bonus will be sealed (lasting until the end of the battle).
Effect 1: Ragnarok. When facing ≥3 enemy generals, your own attack power is increased by 3. In this state, you are immune to all "control" and "seal" skill effects, and for each enemy general you kill, you permanently retain 1 point of attack power bonus (lasting until the end of the battle).
The End: The Rune Seal seals all laws, the Oath of the End ignites the heavens. This skill has a chance to awaken a skill that has caused great casualties to a period of history!
Effect 1: Oath of the End. During battle, your own attack power increases by 4, and every 3 rounds of battle, your own attack power increases by an additional 1 (up to 5 stacks). If you are in critical condition or injured, you can directly stack 3 layers of the effect (attack power +3), and at the start of each round, you can remove one negative effect. When you kill the first enemy general, you will gain the "End" status - attack power increases by an additional 2, lasting until the end of the battle.
Effect 2: Forging Insights. Surtur, as a master forger, understands the weaknesses of weapons: If the enemy's weapon is heavier than his own, he will suppress his own strength by 2 points; if the enemy's weapon is lighter than his own, he will suppress his own strength by 1 point and has a chance (50%) to damage his weapon, causing him to lose his weapon bonus; if the enemy is unarmed (fighting bare-handed), his own strength will increase by 3.
Effect 3: Rune Burning Realm, suppresses all enemy generals by 1 point of attack power (lasts 3 rounds); if there are ≥5 enemy generals, it further suppresses all enemy generals by 1 point of attack power and randomly seals the warhorse bonus of 2 enemy generals.
Effect 4: Self-Defense of Tranquility. When the user chooses to seal "Burning Branch" (actively triggered), their attack power decreases by 2, but they gain the "Tranquility" status: immune to "fatal damage" once, and seals the "fire-type" skill effects of all enemy generals on the field (lasting until the user removes the seal); after the seal is removed, the user's attack power instantly increases by 3, and their attacks in the next 3 rounds ignore all enemy defensive skills.
Surtur's current base attack power is 109. His weapon, Burning Branch, grants him +1 attack power. When the first effect of his skill Annihilation is activated, his attack power increases by +9. When the second effect is activated, the weapon bonus is doubled, granting him an additional +1 attack power. When the first effect of his skill End is activated, his attack power increases by +4. When the second effect is activated, the enemy is currently unarmed, granting him an additional +3 attack power.
当前苏尔特尔武力值109+1+9+1+4+3，上升至127！”
(End of this chapter)