Chapter 330 - Instantly Becomes Support

Energy Shield...

Clearly, Sudden Death King had awakened yet another peculiar talent. Perhaps abilities do manifest from one’s inner will. As is widely known, Sudden Death King’s greatest strength lies in its terrifying physical defense. As for its energy projection skills, such as Electric Discharge, their effectiveness is rather mediocre.

To make these kinds of skills effective, Sudden Death King needed to endure a substantial amount of attacks, leveraging the synergy with its Heart of the Overlord talent to achieve a decent damage output.

During training sessions with Captain Doofus, whenever Sudden Death King unleashed Electric Discharge, it was usually sliced in half by Captain Doofus’ sword qi, dispersing into thin air.

However, with the emergence of this Energy Shield talent, Lu Ran immediately sensed something unusual.

Can this talent make energy projection skills as durable as Sudden Death King’s physical defense?

Energy projection skills had an inherent flaw, which was their unstable structure. This wasn’t an issue against weaker enemies, as the skill would consume everything in its path and crush through effortlessly.

However, if the enemy was of a similar level, they only needed to unleash a slightly weaker skill as a counter, causing both skills to explode mid-air.

But what if energy projection skills now possessed defensive strength? Will they still be so easily destroyed?

Rather than Sudden Death King’s Lightning attribute, Lu Ran’s first thought was actually its Rock Attribute.

After evolving, Sudden Death King had awakened Rock-attribute abilities. But aside from learning Meteor Intent, Lu Ran and his team hadn’t explored its potential much further. Lu Ran now felt it was worth developing more.

It could form rocks and hurl them from the sky like meteors. Thanks to its high defensive strength, there would be no need to worry about losing power due to friction, making it even more compatible with Meteor Intent.

If Sudden Death King ever masters domain abilities, will its domain also become extremely sturdy because of this Energy Shield?

Just like Manager Ying’s domain, as long as it successfully traps an opponent, it would be similar to sealing them inside. No matter how much they struggle, they wouldn’t be able to break free.

The more Lu Ran thought about it, the more potential he saw.

Inside the ruin space, Sudden Death King let out an excited roar, expressing its exhilaration. It spun its arms in circles and granted its defensive halo to Captain Doofus and the others.

At last, it didn’t have to be the team’s tank all the time. With Sudden Death King’s enhancement, a dark-red halo instantly appeared beneath Captain Doofus and Dark Crow.

Immediately after that, the halo radiated a dazzling glow. In that instant, Captain Doofus and Dark Crow felt their bodies undergo a fundamental transformation.

“Me! Me! What about me?” Lu Ran quickly turned to Sudden Death King, signaling for it to buff him as well.

He, too, wanted to become a Man of Steel. Sudden Death King turned its head as it panted heavily. It didn’t expect this buff to be so exhausting, but it still turned and applied it to Lu Ran.

At the same time, Captain Doofus and the others began testing the limits of the defensive halo. For example, Captain Doofus was enveloped in a raging hurricane. It gripped its Wind Sword and continued compressing by tenfold, twentyfold, thirtyfold, fiftyfold...

Before this, Captain Doofus had already mastered a fiftyfold energy compression technique, though it required it to hold the Divine Deer Sword in its mouth to stabilize fiftyfold blades of sword qi.

But now, under the enhancement of Sudden Death King’s defensive halo, Captain Doofus didn’t use any healing techniques, yet the terrifying fiftyfold energy compression didn’t shatter his body or break his teeth.

Captain Doofus’ eyes were filled with disbelief.

So this is what Sudden Death King’s body feels like? Amazing.

Like a wolf eyeing a fresh bone, it greedily stared at Sudden Death King’s body. Then, its expression twisted into disdain.

Useless Sudden Death King. You have such an absurdly powerful body, yet your energy compression has only reached thirtyfold? If I had that level of physical durability, I would’ve already mastered a flawless fiftyfold energy compression.

“

RAWR!”

Sudden Death King glared at Captain Doofus furiously.

What’s wrong with you? Damn dog, I buffed you, and you still have the audacity to insult me? What’s wrong with thirtyfold? Look at Dark Crow! It hasn’t even mastered thirtyfold yet!

Dark Crow, who had been watching silently, was stunned.

Sudden Death King got roasted, and now it’s my turn? And how is that even a fair comparison?

“You two joined the team way earlier than me! You’ve been training for much longer! I never even had time to practice energy compression! If you’re so great, why don’t we compare energy projection?”

Having said that, Dark Crow finally recognized the defensive halo’s benefits. The halo provided enhancement to the entire body. Although it was temporary, Dark Crow felt his vision had improved. Before, staring too far into the distance would cause eye fatigue, but now, much like Captain Doofus’ teeth, its health bar felt ridiculously longer.

“I feel like I’ll be able to master thirtyfold energy compression in no time... The power of a durable body is truly incredible.”

Dark Crow excitedly soared into the sky, extending its sharp claws. It channeled a terrifying amount of Dark power, compressing it by tenfold, twentyfold, and even thirtyfold.

This feeling is incredible.

Lu Ran also joined in. “This defensive halo is clearly designed to synergize with energy compression. Energy compression puts immense strain on the body, and both you and Captain Doofus have only average bodies. But now, with Sudden Death King’s defensive blessing, you can withstand much higher compression levels than before.”

At this moment, Lu Ran was also poking at his eight-pack abs and using a brick to test the hardness of his skull. He then extended his hand, on which terrifying flame energy was being compressed up to thirtyfold.

The flames roared wildly. Previously, this level of energy compression would’ve turned his hand into roast pork.

Lu Ran had always needed to spend far more resources than Captain Doofus to use domain techniques. It was because his energy compression mastery lagged slightly behind.

At this moment, the group of three young familiars was staring at Sudden Death King with sparkling eyes after seeing Captain Doofus, Dark Crow, and Lu Ran completely absorbed in their training.

Want. Want. Want!

“

RAWR!

” Sudden Death King frowned.

No more. I’m out. There isn’t a single drop left. I just finished training! I haven’t even rested yet!

Lu Ran looked at his familiars, his lips curling into a smirk. “This just made things much more promising. Actually, the Alliance Tournament does come with some pressure. That’s because, during the competition, the highest permitted equipment grade is Treasure.

“Not every country possesses Epic equipment. Only the major countries can afford such resources. However, every country has access to Treasure equipment, so to maintain fairness, the rules enforce this restriction. This means that Captain Doofus’ Quasi-Legendary species status and Baby Cloud’s Kunpeng transformation won’t be available during the tournament.

“But now, with Sudden Death King’s defensive halo, all of you can push your strength to new heights within just a few days! Before the arrival of the beastmaster era, the international record for energy compression was thirtyfold.

“So, we’ll combine the defensive halo with the Broken Horn of the Divine Deer. Captain Doofus, Sudden Death King, and Dark Crow, I’m assigning each of you a task. Captain Doofus, before the tournament, aim to master fiftyfold compression in your normal state and sixtyfold compression when heavily injured.

“Sudden Death King, achieve fortyfold compression in a completely unscathed state. Dark Crow, achieve thirtyfold compression while remaining unscathed. Any objections?” Lu Ran asked.

At that point, even if their opponents had the same species rank as Captain Doofus and an even higher level, Captain Doofus’ sixtyfold compression would still be able to tear through them all. As for the strain it would put on their bodies, there was the Broken Horn of the Divine Deer.

Lately, they had been too focused on unique traits and rare abilities, neglecting the importance of fundamental techniques. Energy compression was the very foundation of inter-level combat. No matter how powerful an ability or battle technique, without a strong foundation, it would never reach its true potential.

Energy projection, energy compression, energy flow, and energy formation were the core principles.

Lu Ran smiled. “You three will be the main force. When the time comes, let’s give both the second and first-generation seniors a small demonstration of what real energy compression looks like.”

Meanwhile, the sword spirit and the swordgrass would also begin training their energy compression, ensuring seamless coordination with Captain Doofus’ ultimate moves.

As for Baby Cloud, Lu Ran had already decided against using it in this tournament. After all, it had yet to undergo the first phase of evolution and lacked the support of an Epic tool. The pressure would simply be too much. It needed more time to develop.

As Lu Ran finished speaking, the rest of his familiars nodded in agreement. Except for one.

Sudden Death King’s face was blank.

Wait a second... This isn’t why I wanted to master defensive halo! Isn’t the whole point to strengthen you guys so I wouldn’t need to take the hits? How did I instantly become a training support unit?