Chapter 32: Xingxing’s Rebirth: A Turn of the Tide

“Hmph, foolish mortal, now face my attack!”

White Tiger gazed disdainfully at Xingxing, who was desperately accelerating, eager for a quick victory.

Xingxing’s refusal to dodge was precisely what pleased White Tiger.

Moments later, a white figure plunged from the sky.

At first glance, it resembled a white tiger, a doppelganger of White Tiger herself.

Upon closer inspection, it revealed itself to be a streak of blade light, moving with astonishing speed and undoubtedly possessing unparalleled sharpness.

Realizing the peril, Xingxing immediately halted her spellcasting.

She attempted to perform an extreme dodge, just as she had done before, to evade the blade light.

However, her greed for damage output had cost her precious time, and by the time she moved to dodge, it was already too late.

The streak of blade light grazed Xingxing’s right arm.

Instantly, a massive “-10000” damage notification erupted into view.

‘That’s terrifying!’

This thought flashed through Xingxing’s mind the moment she was struck.

Xingxing had always been supremely confident in her current defensive capabilities.

While she didn’t fully comprehend the exact defense calculation, she knew that even with her pre-buff defenses, a level 150 monster hit would never deplete more than 1000 health.

Now, with her defenses doubled, to take ten times that previous damage from White Tiger’s blade light was astounding.

Moreover, this blade light had only grazed her right arm, not a vital area like her head.

And it wasn’t even a critical hit!

These thoughts, however, were abruptly cut short.

White Tiger had just endured Xingxing’s fire attribute damage to unleash this skill; it was inconceivable that it would merely be a single streak of blade light.

Even before the first blade light had fully struck Xingxing, a cascade of more blade lights began to descend from the heavens.

This veritable rain of blades was utterly inescapable for Xingxing.

Judging by the damage of the initial blade light, Xingxing, with her 159,000 health points, could withstand a maximum of fifteen hits.

The sixteenth would surely be fatal.

‘I thought too simply!’

As it turned out, the first strike, which had grazed her right arm, had truly been nothing more than a superficial scratch.

With an overwhelming deluge of blade lights, Xingxing found herself with no avenue for evasion.

This time, not only her right arm but her face, back, legs, and even her head and heart were struck.

In reality, Xingxing would have long since perished; it was only within the confines of the game that one could survive a blade cleaving through their skull.

Numbers like “-15000,” “-20000,” and even “-50000!” continuously floated upwards.

Some were non-critical hits, others were critical, but the undeniable truth was that their combined total far exceeded her 159,000 health points.

This clearly indicated that Xingxing was beyond dead.

Yet, Xingxing did not seem to have truly perished, nor had White Tiger exited combat.

As a monster within a game, factors like line of sight could not influence its combat status determination.

To disengage from combat, all enemies fighting it had to be dead, or they needed to leave its designated territory.

White Tiger remaining in combat confirmed that Xingxing was, in fact, still alive.

True to this observation, after the flurry of blade lights subsided, Xingxing, who had been sprawled on the ground, slowly rose.

Innumerable green “+10000” healing numbers rapidly floated from her body, instantly restoring her health to full.

Xingxing rubbed her head, a self-deprecating smile gracing her lips.

“Heh, it seems I’m still too green, lacking in combat experience,” she mused aloud.

“Fortunately, I have one ‘Rebirth’ buff, allowing me a second chance.

Otherwise, I truly would have fallen here! White Tiger, prepare to meet your end!”

This ‘Rebirth’ buff was one of Xingxing’s closely guarded secrets.

Her luck was simply phenomenal, what was colloquially known as ‘European Emperor’ luck.

While crafting ordinary dishes, she had, by sheer stroke of fortune, managed to create a legendary dish: the “Full Frog Stew”!

Upon consumption, the “Full Frog Stew” offered a singular effect: an extra life.

It granted immunity from death for twenty seconds upon receiving lethal damage, followed by a rapid full health restoration.

This potent effect had been aptly named “Rebirth.”

Such a dish was virtually impossible to replicate, and identical buffs could not stack, effectively granting the user only two lives in total.

This was truly one of Xingxing’s ultimate secret weapons.

She had never shown this dish to anyone else, as it was exclusively for her personal use, a trump card for victory.

While it felt a little regrettable to use it so readily, the thought that the game would conclude after defeating and capturing White Tiger made Xingxing disregard the regret.

Now, she intended to capitalize on her remaining buffs, swiftly concluding the battle by taking down White Tiger.

White Tiger’s health was already critically low, and unexpectedly, thanks to the ‘Rebirth’ buff, the entire tide of battle had dramatically turned.