Chapter 1196 - 589: [Stacked Waves] and Combat Formation Paths

Exhausting all efforts, using up all trump cards.

Punch after punch.

At the end of the battle, Xia Nan had nearly squeezed out his last ounce of stamina and spirit.

When Embers Resonance had just activated, he could still devise combat strategies on the fly based on the situation on the field and adjust his attack direction.

But when both of his main weapons had been let go, and he had to resort to using his pocket knife, and even engage in bare-handed combat.

In his state at the time, he was fighting purely on instinct.

The only thought in his mind was to smash the skull of the demon in front of him.

And in fact, he did just that.

He looked at the mass below which could no longer be recognized, its round shape thoroughly gone, hammered into nearly minced meat, the shark beast’s head.

Xia Nan’s cold, blood-and-gravel-stained face remained expressionless.

But upon closer look, his pitch-black eyes were already vacant and dull from the exhaustion of his body.

His control over his body weakened due to the overconsumption of his spirit.

Aware in his heart that the battle was over, the enemy was utterly dead.

Exposed white bones on his fist, his right arm, still raised high due to muscle memory, bent and ready to deliver another heavy punch to the already lifeless meat below.

At that moment, a gentle force suddenly came from his arm.

Only to see Half-Elf Alton, having somehow climbed onto the shark beast.

At this moment, he was tip-toeing, holding Xia Nan’s raised arm tightly with both hands.

"It’s over, Xia Nan."

"It’s all over..."

A familiar voice from a friend rang in his ear, and the arm raised high in muscle memory first stiffened, the vacant, pitch-black eyes seemed to regain a bit of light.

The tense muscles quietly relaxed, the fingers, almost glued together by shredded meat and blood, slowly opened from their clenched state.

Is it over?

He looked again at the mashed meat that was once the shark beast’s head.

Yes, it’s over.

The thoughts that had halted for so long flowed once more in his mind.

Long since reaching his limits, barely held on by sheer willpower till now.

Xia Nan felt a complete relaxation, his last bit of spirit dissipating.

Pain, fatigue, emptiness... darkness washed over the world before him like a tide.

As the world spun around him, he seemed to remember something.

He mustered the last of his spirit, turning his gaze to the shark beast’s chest.

Amid the violent vibrations of the Dream Weaving Corridor ring, he forcibly pulled a metal ring embedded in the shark beast’s chest and tightly grasped it in his palm.

Only then did his vision darken, and he collapsed backward, losing consciousness.

...

...

Xia Nan’s second attack greatly changed the situation on the battlefield.

The first time, he eliminated the Sha Hua Fishman’s ranged spellcasters, freeing the adventurers from the concern of magic radiances shooting from beneath the sea.

The second time, after activating Embers Resonance, he, in full view of the remaining adventurers and all Sha Hua Fishmen, in a primitive yet brutal, visually impactful way.

Crushed the giant blood-skin shark beast, once a pillar of morale for the Sha Hua Fishmen, which had slaughtered adventurers with overwhelming might, into a headless corpse.

This greatly boosted the remaining adventurers’ morale and nearly shattered those fishmen’s psychological defenses.

Though seemingly a large force, once the two commanders were killed one after another, the remaining Sha Hua Fishmen, although stronger overall than the adventurers, were powerless against their counterattack.

After barely holding on for over ten minutes, the remaining fishmen onshore wailed as they were driven back into the sea.

Allowing the adventurers to achieve the final victory in this battle.

When Xia Nan woke up again, he saw a high ceiling with a crystal chandelier.

Beneath him was the soft touch of a plush sofa, and as he tried to push himself up on instinct.

Intense pain suddenly radiated from his right hand.

Glancing over, he saw that his right hand, which had been completely worn down to the white bones due to the battle, had been given a simple treatment and was meticulously and fully bandaged.

Before he had time to think more, a familiar voice came from beside him, realizing he had stirred.

"Hey, Xia Nan, you’re awake?"

"How are you feeling?"

He saw Half-Elf Alton sitting on a wooden chair opposite the sofa, his legs dangling. Seeing Xia Nan awake, his face was full of delight.

Before Xia Nan could ask, he cheerfully jumped down from the chair and scurried hurriedly towards the kitchen.

"Wait a moment, the soup I made will be ready soon."

"Just five minutes!"

Opening his mouth, watching Alton disappear behind the door, Xia Nan could only swallow the questions rising to his throat, starting instead to survey his surroundings.

Most likely still on Stodd Island, but instead of being on the vast, bloody, corpse-laden shore, he was now in the lavishly decorated interior of a large manor, with faint sounds of insects and birds coming from the garden outside the window.

Where he lay should be a side chamber on the estate’s first floor.

His gaze swept over the fine plush carpet, covered in bloodstains and sand from the beach, with scattered medical supplies, like bandage fragments and ointment bottles, indicating he had only recently been moved here.