Volume 1, Chapter 57: All Cards on the Table!

"So, battle intent is surging now?"

In the arena, Lin Yu narrowed his eyes as he watched Wang Defa, whose momentum had suddenly skyrocketed, a solemn look hidden deep within his gaze.

This skill, "Surging Battle Intent," was known as a weakened version of "Sacrifice." It granted damage bonuses by burning life force while ignoring skill control effects. However, the cost was glaringly obvious: every single attack burned away a portion of the user's life.

In other words, once activated, it was truly a fight where one sought survival through death.

"Adventurer, let me experience your true strength!"

At that moment, a cold smile crept onto the corner of Wang Defa's mouth.

"Sprint!"

Wang Defa suddenly let out a furious roar.

The next instant, his entire figure transformed into a blur, reappearing directly in front of Lin Yu.

Immediately afterward, he clenched his right fist tightly.

A blinding golden radiance instantly enveloped his arm.

As the golden light flashed, a terrifying wave of pressure swept outward instantly. At the same time, a searing wave of heat radiated outward from his center.

"Hiss! I never expected him to use both Solar Strike and Surging Battle Intent?!"

Seeing that terrifying heatwave, Li Yutian's expression in the crowd instantly turned complex.

He had not anticipated that Wang Defa would fight with such reckless abandon.

One had to know that these two skills were Wang Defa's ultimate trump cards. Furthermore, they were both double-edged techniques that dealt massive damage to the enemy while heavily draining the user. Ordinarily, Wang Defa would never easily resort to them unless facing a life-or-death crisis.

The fact that he had pulled out all the stops now was proof enough that Wang Defa had resolved himself to die.

"Such a terrifying attack!"

Feeling the scorching heat radiating against his skin, Lin Yu's expression grew increasingly grave.

As the one facing Wang Defa's assault firsthand, he felt the terrifying nature of this move more acutely than anyone else, making him all the more aware of its lethality.

To put it mildly, this was the strongest single strike he had faced since his rebirth.

"Solar Strike!"

Just as Lin Yu and the others were marveling, Wang Defa let out another sudden roar.

Then, he punched forward fiercely.

A split second later, that terrifying golden fist imprint, carrying a violent tempest of wind, hurtled directly toward Lin Yu.

"Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Wang Defa's speed under the effects of Sprint was so extreme that it compressed the air, producing sonic booms.

Lin Yu's speed clearly could not keep up, leaving him with no choice but to instinctively cross his arms in front of his chest for defense.

"Boom!"

The fist slammed heavily against his arms, instantly producing a muffled impact.

Following that, everyone watched as Lin Yu's body was sent flying backward like a kite with a broken string, crashing heavily onto the ground.

Above his head, a damage figure popped up.

"-3098!"

"Did it finally break his defense?"

Seeing this, Li Yutian narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Could the village chief win this?"

Hearing this, village commander Li Erniu's expression instantly turned complicated.

If Lin Yu lost, they would have to step in. Otherwise, Wang Defa likely wouldn't let them off easily afterward.

"No rush. Let's see if that adventurer can withstand the village chief's second strike. If he can take it, the situation remains in our hands; but if he can't, I'm afraid we'll really need to seriously reconsider our stance," Li Yutian said coldly, his gaze toward Lin Yu filled with complexity.

Based on his understanding of Wang Defa's strength, the latter could at most execute the Solar Strike one more time.

The outcome now depended entirely on this moment!

For an ordinary level-ten adventurer, damage totaling over three thousand would have been enough to kill them several times over. However, given how monstrous Lin Yu was, they clearly couldn't judge him by conventional standards.

Of course, from a personal standpoint, he hoped Lin Yu could endure it. After all, they had already burned their bridges with Wang Defa just now. If Wang Defa lost, they could shift all the blame onto him. But if Wang Defa truly emerged victorious, their days ahead would be miserable.

Merely standing by and allowing Lin Yu to sabotage the resurrection altar was enough to spell disaster for them.

Under the gaze of numerous onlookers, Lin Yu stood up unsteadily, swaying slightly.

"As expected of a novice village chief..."

Lin Yu wiped the trace of blood from the corner of his mouth, fixing a solemn gaze on Wang Defa.

His defense had already exceeded ten thousand, yet he had still lost health. Clearly, this surpassed his previous expectations.

He had to admit that Wang Defa's Solar Strike possessed formidable power. If his defense hadn't already broken the ten-thousand mark, taking that hit would have been no easy feat.

"Holy crap, is this guy's health pool actually that high?"

Seeing Lin Yu get back up on his feet, the surrounding players erupted into a commotion.

Though they had already been mentally prepared for Lin Yu's absurdity, many of them still found it hard to conceal their inner shock.

In the game of Gods and Demons, while players' attribute panels were hidden, the game featured near-perfect simulation. Consequently, one could still estimate health pools based on the state of injuries.

And Lin Yu did not currently look like someone who had suffered a severe depletion of his health bar.

Therefore, some estimated that Lin Yu's health pool likely exceeded ten thousand.

What did a health pool of ten thousand mean? Many players might not fully grasp it, but they knew that a level-ten player's maximum health barely scraped past a thousand at best.

Yet, ignoring the astonishment of the crowd, Lin Yu steadied his posture, raised his head to look at Wang Defa, and curved the corner of his mouth into a smile. "Village Chief Wang, I wonder how many more attacks of this caliber you have left in you?"

While it was true that he had lost health, Wang Defa's situation was hardly any better.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the opponent at most had the capacity for one more attack.

This was the weakness of Surging Battle Intent. While it provided a temporary damage boost, every single attack burned away the user's own life force.

That last blow alone had consumed twenty percent of Wang Defa's life force. At present, Wang Defa had less than thirty percent of his health remaining.

Wang Defa was not surprised that Lin Yu had managed to stand back up. After all, Lin Yu's offensive and defensive capabilities had already set a precedent; having a high health pool seemed entirely reasonable as well.

"Adventurer, your strength is truly formidable, to actually push me to this extent."

Wang Defa looked at Lin Yu. There was no fear of death in his eyes; instead, he regarded Lin Yu with a hint of admiration. After all, for Lin Yu to push a thirty-fifth-tier powerhouse to such a state at only level ten was genuinely breathtaking.

"You're right. In my current state, I can at most pull off one final strike."

Then, his tone abruptly shifted. "However, I wonder if you'll be able to withstand this final blow."

As his voice fell, a dense aura of blood suddenly billowed out from Wang Defa's body. His physique began to wither away at a rapid pace—this was the exact manifestation of burning away his remaining blood essence.

Enveloped by this blood aura, Wang Defa's momentum grew more than fifty percent stronger than before.

Yet, that was not the end of it.

The next moment, a golden necklace suddenly drifted out from his chest, hovering suspended above his head.

As intense golden light cascaded downward, his already formidable aura surged and doubled in magnitude once more.

"That's the village chief's Gold-grade equipment, the Battle Intent Amplification Necklace?!"

Catching sight of that golden necklace, Li Yutian and the others cried out in shock.

He hadn't expected Wang Defa to pull out even this trump card; it seemed the chief truly intended to leave no regrets behind.

"Is that the Gold-grade equipment the village chief has?"

Sensing Wang Defa's skyrocketing aura, Lin Yu narrowed his eyes.

He had previously guessed that the village chief must possess Gold-grade gear, but he hadn't expected it to be a necklace.

"Adventurer, if you can block this strike, I'll acknowledge your victory!"

Wang Defa's body suddenly floated into the air.

The next instant, the energy within his body surged like wild horses breaking free, rushing frantically into his fist.

As the energy accumulated, an intensely concentrated golden radiance bloomed forth. At the same time, a searing wave of heat—potent enough to cause a stinging sensation on human skin—radiated outward from his center, causing the surrounding air to show signs of distortion.

The spectators standing nearby involuntarily took several steps backward, terrified of being caught in the crossfire.

Lin Yu's expression grew exceptionally solemn; even he felt a threat of death emanating from this strike.

Seeing this, he hurriedly pulled out a health potion capable of instantly restoring one thousand health points and chugged it down fiercely. Given his speed, dodging was utterly impossible; he had no choice but to take the blow head-on.

Bolstered by the dual recovery effects of the Spring of Light and the health potion, his health pool began to climb back up rapidly.

"Solar Strike!"

Wang Defa let out a fierce roar, driving his power to its absolute limit.

A split second later, the light in his hand flared even brighter, resembling a dazzling golden sun. Without the slightest hesitation, his body once more transformed into a blur, charging toward Lin Yu.

"Blood Spirit Slash!"

Seeing this, Lin Yu did not retreat.

Gritting his teeth, he swung the Blood Serpent Blade in his hand. A slash of blood-red light—possessing formidable power of its own—swept outward.

Though inferior to Wang Defa's Solar Strike, its destructive force was still quite substantial. Within the realm of Gods and Demons, offensive skills could be used to neutralize a portion of incoming damage.

Therefore, at this moment, Lin Yu unleashed his own ultimate strike to counter!