Chapter 1198 - 590: Stackable!

1. [Heavenly Return]

Resonance Degree: 83.7%

Elements: Counter-Defense, Conversion

Introduction:

"Let the whirl be the boundary of defense, let the fang-thrust be the feeler of attack."

When you use [Vortex Slash] to successfully block or bat aside an enemy’s attack, your next [Teeth Hunting] will gain explosive starting speed.

...

2. [Roar Shock]

Resonance Degree: 86.9%

Elements: Chilling, Pursuit

Introduction:

"When the wolf’s howl rings out, death descends with it."

When chasing a target that has fallen into a "Fear" state, your [Teeth Hunting] gains a speed bonus, and the power of your next three [Vortex Slash]s is slightly increased.

...

3. [Hunting Arc]

Resonance Degree: 89.7%–93.2%

Elements: Rhythm, Chaining

Introduction:

"Slash like a crescent moon, strike like hunting fangs."

You can use the [Teeth Hunting]-[Vortex Slash] Battle Skill combination more smoothly and seamlessly, and you gain the ability to adjust its casting speed and rhythm to a certain extent; when you fully seize control of the combat tempo, the power of these two Battle Skills will be enhanced to a certain degree.

Note:

You may additionally insert one suitable Battle Skill as a link in the combination.

...

Xia Nan lay back against the soft sofa, both hands cupping a steaming hot teacup.

He seemed dazed and absent-minded, yet a hint of thoughtful light flashed across his pitch-black eyes.

"Combat Formation?"

He was utterly unfamiliar with this term.

He had never heard of anything related to it before.

But the characters on the system panel were right in front of his eyes; it was impossible for them to be some meaningless nonsense made up out of thin air.

So he naturally sank into thought.

This is what it’s like, coming up the wild way.

Compared to those with teacher lineages, or even family-backed resources, Xia Nan’s adventurer path could only be groped out by himself alone.

And even though he’d already spent a great deal of time, effort, and even money, using every channel he could to try and understand all the Extraordinary knowledge within his reach—

Many times, especially in a world like this with a long history, real, existing Extraordinary Power, and brutally clear social classes, knowledge itself... has thresholds.

An adventurer from a peasant family, even if he obtains a Professional Level, unless he signs a contract under Divine witness, trading absolute loyalty for the chance to join a major power, has no way at all to touch that high-tier knowledge.

It’s only because Xia Nan possesses the Golden Finger of the attribute panel that, at several key crossroads in his life, he gained the ability to choose for himself, and on paths that should have been decided entirely by luck, found the fork that suited him best.

Otherwise, his professional path would never have developed as smoothly as it has now.

From the Introduction on the attribute panel, he could roughly guess that this so-called "Combat Formation" should be a combat system derived once the Skill Level of combinations between Battle Skills reaches a certain degree of mastery.

Back in the Secret Realm, when he was in wolf-form and using [Teeth Hunting] together with [Vortex Slash], he had already faintly sensed that the use of these two Battle Skills was becoming more and more smooth, even sometimes giving him the illusion that the two were originally one, that their combined release was like a single Battle Skill.

He just felt there was still something missing somewhere, and trained hard for it.

Until the battle a few days ago with the Blood Skin Shark Beast, when an incomparably powerful enemy forced him all the way to the limit of playing every last trump card, squeezing his mind and body—only then, in near desperation, did he truly fuse the two Battle Skills completely, meeting the conditions for this so-called "Combat Formation" to form.

Xia Nan’s gaze swept over the attribute panel hanging in the void before him again and again, many thoughts stirring in his heart.

But since it was a concept completely unfamiliar to him, he still wasn’t sure.

It wasn’t really a secret, and the teammate beside him, with whom he’d fought shoulder to shoulder many times, was trustworthy.

Xia Nan directly asked the captain Lorin, who was sitting beside him with her injured leg propped up, puffing away, about this concept.

"Combat Formation? What are you asking that for?"

She held the cigarette between her index and middle fingers of her right hand, tobacco smoke curling out between her lips and teeth.

Apparently not expecting Xia Nan to suddenly bring up this term, Lorin’s face showed a hint of surprise.

But in the very next second, the black-haired youth’s outstanding performance on the battlefield surfaced in her mind, and a look of realization appeared on her face.

She didn’t press further, merely tapped the ash off her cigarette on reflex, brows knitting slightly as she recalled:

"As for Combat Formation, I actually don’t know all that much. After all, it’s not something professionals at our Level are supposed to be thinking about."

"But since you’re asking, I’ll just give you the rough idea."

"Of course, I might not be completely right. Just take it as something to listen to casually. If you want to dig deeper, you can wait until we get back to Suo Yu Bay later and look for channels there."

First off, what is Combat Formation?

Simply put, it refers to a situation where someone takes several Battle Skills they’ve mastered, uses them fluently and thoroughly, and from that forges a personal combat style unique to themselves—a qualitative change triggered when Battle Skill blends with Battle Skill.

If we compare each individual Battle Skill to an independent note, then Combat Formation is the melody formed when these notes are combined.

Take the [Teeth Hunting] and [Vortex Slash] that Xia Nan has mastered as an example. Before they formed a Combat Formation, of course he already had a vast amount of experience using them in combination, but in the end, it was nothing more than first using [Teeth Hunting] to charge, then using the impact force of [Teeth Hunting] to drive the blade and release [Vortex Slash] to increase Battle Skill damage.

Just a simple pairing.

But once he truly started using the two in the way of a "Combat Formation", the effect he could unleash became exactly what those three paths on the attribute panel showed—far surpassing what the Battle Skills themselves ought to be capable of, gaining extra bonuses.