Chapter 881: Speed
A faint red aura enveloped Kanzaki Kaori, slowly eroding her. Raising her arm, she noticed red marks on her previously smooth skin. These marks resembled magical runes but had nothing to do with magic.
"The rate of stamina consumption is increased, defense is lowered, and my mind is intermittently disturbed."
Kanzaki took a deep breath, attempting to dispel the red aura with her special internal magic. However, Aura Release was a passive halo effect that persisted as long as it was successfully applied once. The debuff would only disappear if Kanzaki distanced herself more than 30 meters from Su Xiao.
Of course, there were other ways to dispel the Aura Release effect, such as using mind-cleansing skills. However, given Kanzaki's combat style, it was unlikely she possessed such abilities.
As Kanzaki struggled with the effects of Aura Release, Su Xiao didn't stand idly by. Having gathered information about Kanzaki's skills and condition, he approached her slowly, intending to go all out with his attacks. As a master swordsman, Su Xiao knew that facing a skilled swordsman meant that any mistake could lead to a fatal chain reaction. Prioritizing defense would only put him at a disadvantage.
Rebuttal Shields appeared around Su Xiao, but this time, they took the form of 20-centimeter-long energy short blades, floating around him. These energy blades lacked guards and hilts, consisting only of the blade itself—this was the offensive form of the Rebuttal Shields, the Energy Blade Form.
A total of 56 energy blades hovered around Su Xiao. Their attack range was limited, extending about 1.5 meters from Su Xiao, with weak defense but decent slashing power and excellent penetration.
Although the attack range wasn't extensive, Su Xiao could, at critical moments, eject the energy blades by consuming mana, attacking without warning. The downside was the high mana consumption.
Facing an opponent like Kanzaki, pure defense was unwise. If she used her Only Flash technique, even the defensive form of the Rebuttal Shields might be broken in one strike.