"Heart of the Overlord?”
Sudden Death King’s two successive species talents awakening greatly surprised Lu Ran. At this moment, he had the urge to point a finger at Sudden Death King.
Species talents, derived from the fusion of trait crystals and individual characteristics, are unique abilities that rarely repeat.
So, it was apparent that deep down, this Sudden Death King was also a bit vain and fantasized about its own strength and striking back at enemies. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have awakened the Heart of the Overlord.
Of course, a counterattack was still built upon defense first. Sudden Death King had indeed remained true to its core. The thickness of its scales was its source of security. It truly lived up to its name as a Scaled Dragon Lizard.
“You keep frowning, smiling, and looking surprised. So, what’s the result?”
Manager Ying and Captain Doofus had been observing the whole process. Seeing that Sudden Death King had stopped emitting signs of change, Manager Ying asked that question.
Captain Doofus also cast a curious glance.
It looks powerful enough now. With its towering projection and current bulk, it indeed radiated an overwhelming presence. It was no longer the little lizard that only screamed “I’m going to die.”
“These two traits suit it quite well. It must have awakened some impressive species talents, right?” Manager Ying pressed.
“Yep!” Lu Ran nodded with a smile.
“Absolute Defense and Heart of the Overlord are very fitting talents for it. Sudden Death King, how do you feel?”
The gigantic Sudden Death King nodded heavily, red pupils crackling with lightning.
At this moment, its defensive power had multiplied countless times. With these two talents combined, it felt a profound sense of security.
“What effects do they have?”
Manager Ying’s curiosity remained.
“Sudden Death King, turn around and close your eyes.” Lu Ran decided to run an experiment.
Sudden Death King complied and turned around, following Lu Ran’s instructions. Then, Lu Ran picked up a stone from the ground and hurled it at Sudden Death King’s head!
Lu Ran’s immense strength made the stone whistle through the air at an incredible speed.
But just as it was about to hit Sudden Death King, a surge of invisible lightning aura erupted around it. Red arcs of lightning flashed and crackled, shattering the stone into dust with a loud crack!
Captain Doofus froze, thinking it looked quite cool.
From start to finish, Sudden Death King stood with its back to the attack, eyes shut tight. It didn’t consciously release any energy. The red lightning seemed to manifest out of nowhere.
“Hmm?” Manager Ying displayed a look of realization.
“Absolute Defense essentially grants it telepathy, enabling it to sense danger and mount a self-defense using its energy,” Lu Ran explained.
“In addition, when faced with a mortal threat, its telepathic energy will stimulate its body for an absolute defense. It’s similar to a ‘last stand’ mechanic in games, where telepathy enhances vital signs to make it harder to kill.”
“That’s a great talent!” Manager Ying exclaimed.
“Although not a top-tier talent like Sword Sovereign, it’s perfectly suited for it.”
Automatic defense wasn’t particularly impressive to Manager Ying. Stronger familiars often developed acute danger sense upon unlocking spiritual domains. However, the ‘last stand’ mechanic was undeniably useful for contracted familiars partnered with beastmasters.
In the wild, an extraordinary species with this talent might barely survive a fatal encounter but would still perish shortly after due to its condition. For a familiar with a master, however, being swiftly recalled into an Advanced contract card for treatment greatly enhanced its survival prospects.
“You’re officially a qualified tank!” Manager Ying praised Sudden Death King.
“Woof!” Captain Doofus smiled faintly.
Hearing its talent wasn’t as good as Sword Sovereign, it felt quite pleased.
This cat was alright after all!
“What’s the effect of the second talent?” Manager Ying asked.
“It can take a hit and then unleash a big move.”
Knowing Manager Ying was a gamer, Lu Ran summarized it in the simplest terms.
“It converts damage received into ‘Aura’ storage. Once the accumulated damage reaches a certain threshold, the stored energy can be unleashed to enhance its next attack.”
This talent was straightforward. It was like someone slapping you hard, and you storing up rage to make your counterattack even stronger.
“This talent is rather... ordinary,” Manager Ying was about to remark when her brow furrowed.
She had a sudden realization. First of all, Sudden Death King focused primarily on defense. With its fusion of Red Lightning, and future enhancements through lightning training, its defenses would only grow stronger.
Combined with its Endurance Trait, very few could breach its defense at the same level. That was, unless they used true damage or possessed energy compression techniques to ignore defense altogether.
This meant that the amount of damage Sudden Death King could endure was immense. Even a level 30 Champion species wouldn’t dare claim to be able to one-shot it, given its Endurance trait and telepathic ‘last stand.’
Manager Ying was now imagining Sudden Death King countering with Heart of the Overlord after surviving a lethal blow. The resulting attack power could be terrifying.
Individually, neither of these talents were top-tier. But when combined, they seemed to achieve qualitative transformation! Manager Ying could instantly envision spectacular scenarios where Sudden Death King turned the tide in desperate battles.
This was undoubtedly the perfect species talent combination for counterattacks! In fact, weaker opponents might not even be able to force Sudden Death King to unleash its full potential.
“These two talents together can indeed be considered top-tier,” Manager Ying remarked thoughtfully, her admiration for Sudden Death King growing.
This lizard’s future seemed promising. However, perfectly leveraging both talents won’t be easy.
After all, surviving a fatal blow and recovering enough to launch a counterattack was a challenge.
Whether Sudden Death King would have the willpower and strength to retaliate in such a state was another matter. But if it could overcome this flaw, its future potential was undeniable.
Sudden Death King’s tail thumped the ground as it brimmed with excitement. Yet before it could celebrate for long, Lu Ran spoke.
“Alright, have a friendly spar with Captain Doofus.
“Let’s see how strong you’ve become.”
Sudden Death King froze in confusion.
Captain Doofus, curious to see the transformed Sudden Death King’s strength, also perked up. Under Lu Ran’s insistence, Sudden Death King reluctantly obeyed. But compared to before, it felt much more secure now.
Both the Red Lightning Trait and Endurance Trait had imbued it with newfound confidence. After all, it was now a Scaled Dragon Lizard—a dragon subspecies!
There was no need to fear Captain Doofus anymore. Still, for safety’s sake, Sudden Death King quickly layered itself with Lightning Armor, forming a dense shield of thunder.
The red lightning erupted around Sudden Death King, molding into a thick lightning armor over its body. Additionally, it conjured a massive Lightning Shield before its arms, positioning it defensively.
This shield-and-armor combo was a specialized formation Sudden Death King had developed for countering wind-type attacks. Over the past month, Sudden Death King had endured countless battles and learned to adapt its energy armor to suit the attributes of its opponents.
While it was still unfamiliar with rarer attributes, it had ample experience creating countermeasures against common types like wind, fire, water, and rock.
Wrapped in its red lightning armor and exuding overwhelming Aura, Sudden Death King fixed its gaze on Captain Doofus, signaling for the attack.
To even the playing field given their differences in level and traits, Lu Ran handed the Frosty Sky Greatsword to Captain Doofus.
Captain Doofus leapt up, grabbing the greatsword in its jaws. It glanced at Sudden Death King with an expression of determination.
Only defense won’t make you a true powerhouse! Swish!