Chapter 17: The Wild Hunt
Blood splattered.
Su Xiao was kicked flying by the Third Raikage, and by the time he landed over twenty meters away, his chest and calf had only just begun to regain some feeling.
Su Xiao stumbled as he landed, stabbing Dragon-Slaying Flash into the ground to keep himself from falling.
There was no time to check the extent of the injury to his calf. A gun, about thirty centimeters long and resembling a flintlock pistol, appeared in Su Xiao's hand. Upon closer inspection, it wasn't a flintlock at all. The entire gun was pitch black, with a long barrel, and both the barrel and grip were covered in blood-red patterns.
This gun was called [Wild Hunt's Judgment], the pistol component of the Demon Hunter Set. It had a five-round capacity and could only use special ammunition.
Given the Raikage's speed, hitting him with the Wild Hunt was unlikely. But right now, the Raikage was frozen in place, clearly bound by the 'Soul Galvanization' ability of the Azure Steel Shadow energy.
With a thud, a forearm hit the ground. It was the Raikage's forearm. Moments earlier, he had kicked Su Xiao flying, nearly breaking Su Xiao's calf. In return, Su Xiao had severed his left forearm.
Su Xiao raised the Wild Hunt level in front of him with one hand. His calf was almost numb; getting close to the Raikage quickly was impossible.
Bang, bang, bang...
Su Xiao pulled the trigger repeatedly. The muzzle of the Wild Hunt spewed cyan flames as bullets with transparent casings and yellow liquid inside flew out one after another.
The casings of these bullets seemed to be made of some kind of crystal, with a black metal needle at the center of each bullet.
The bullets fired by the Wild Hunt weren't particularly fast, but the Raikage was in a state of paralysis. He saw the five bullets flying toward him, but his body was filled with a network of pale blue energy meridians. These energy meridians acted like an anesthetic, paralyzing his central nervous system. He couldn't even breathe normally, let alone move.
The crystal bullets flew quickly, and soon the first one hit the Raikage, the tip contacting his chest.
With a crack, the crystal bullet's casing shattered, not harming the Raikage in the slightest. But the yellow solution inside splattered, and the metal needle at the center pressed against the Raikage's skin.
Hum~
The tail fins of the metal needle suddenly spread open. All the yellow liquid was absorbed to the tail end of the needle, turning from yellow to a dark red.
Boom!
An explosion, not particularly loud but extremely powerful, erupted from the dark red liquid at the tail of the metal needle.
The explosive force still didn't harm the Raikage. All that power was channeled into the metal needle. After withstanding such a powerful propulsive force, the needle pierced the Lightning Release Armor and embedded itself into the muscle of the Raikage's chest. This thing was called an Explosive Needle.
The moment the Explosive Needle entered the Raikage's chest, it bloomed like a flower. It didn't explode; instead, it became an iron flower. This iron flower pierced through large swaths of muscle, firmly anchoring itself inside. If the Raikage tried to forcibly dig out this iron flower, he would have to tear a bowl-sized chunk of muscle from his chest.
Almost instantly, the remaining four crystal bullets repeated the process: shattering, exploding, the Explosive Needles entering the Raikage's body, and the Explosive Needles forming iron flowers, firmly fixed in the muscle.
This kind of ammunition couldn't be described as merely cruel. It was about destroying the enemy's body by any means necessary. Infamous ammunition like dum-dum bullets were like kindergarten toys compared to these crystal bullets.
By the time the Raikage's body regained feeling, five iron flowers formed by Explosive Needles were firmly lodged in his muscles. And don't think that was the end of it; these iron flowers could still be detonated.
The Raikage immediately sensed something was wrong. If these metal flowers remained in his body, he wouldn't be able to fight, or even breathe normally, without enduring excruciating pain.
The Raikage was a tough man. He raised his remaining arm, his hand like a blade, and tried to forcibly dig out the Explosive Needles from his body.
How could Su Xiao give the Raikage that chance? He immediately pressed a button on the grip of the Wild Hunt.
Click.
The button covered in red patterns was pressed. Twenty meters away, the Raikage immediately felt a burning sensation in his chest.
Boom!
An explosion rang out. Flames engulfed the Raikage's entire upper body. Su Xiao clearly saw the Raikage's figure begin to stagger.
When the flames dissipated, the Raikage hadn't fallen, but on his chest were five fist-sized craters, as if blasted by cannon shells. In some places, even charred ribs were exposed.
Not a single drop of blood was in these craters. The high temperature from the explosion had cauterized the wounds. Compared to bloody, mangled wounds, this kind of injury was more lethal.
Speaking of which, this touched on the origin of the Demon Hunter Set. This equipment was used by demon hunters to kill Black Witches. Therefore, issues like humanity were never a consideration. As the only offensive weapon in the Demon Hunter Set, the Wild Hunt was almost unscrupulous.
After suffering such a horrific injury, the Raikage only remained standing for a moment before falling to one knee with a thud.
"Pfft."
The Raikage, A, spat out a large mouthful of blood, with fragments of internal organs visible in the blood.
If it were just the injury, it might have been manageable. But five Explosive Needles had all hit the enemy and detonated simultaneously, triggering a special ability of the Wild Hunt: Simultaneous Detonation of Five Explosive Needles. This detonation would deal 500 points of damage to the enemy and put them in a Vulnerable State. In this state, the enemy's physical defense was reduced by 35%, healing effects by 20%, and movement speed by 10%. The effect lasted for 10 minutes.
The Raikage's strength lay in his body, honed through countless battles, and his speed. Now, his physical defense was cut by 35%, and his speed by 10%. For the Raikage, this was fatal.
Su Xiao stood still, not because he didn't want to move, but because his left calf was wracked with excruciating pain.
Su Xiao took out a string of crystal bullets, five in total, connected by a metal frame. These were custom-made bullets he had ordered from someone in Machine Street. Each bullet cost 200 Paradise Coins. He had 25 made in total. Because of the quantity, the seller gave him a discount, costing a total of 4500 Paradise Coins.
Including the 5 bullets that came with the Wild Hunt, Su Xiao had a total of 30 crystal bullets. He now had 25 left.
He loaded five bullets into the loading port on top of the Wild Hunt and cocked it.
Su Xiao leveled the Wild Hunt, ready to give the Raikage another five shots. If he triggered another detonation, even if the Raikage didn't die, he would be a fish on the chopping board, at Su Xiao's mercy.
The entire battle between Su Xiao and the Raikage was witnessed by Sasuke nearby. Silently, he walked towards Karin and the others.
The Raikage glanced at Sasuke. He still wanted to capture the little bastard alive, but a formidable enemy stood before him.
Just as Su Xiao was about to pull the trigger, the Raikage suddenly stood up, ignoring his injuries, and began moving rapidly.
Su Xiao put away the Wild Hunt. The bullets were too expensive to waste. He stomped his left foot. The sharp pain in his calf was still intense, but it wouldn't hinder his rapid movement anymore.
Su Xiao charged towards the Raikage. Despite his severe injuries, the Raikage met him head-on. He was a close-combat ninja.
By now, the Raikage had given up on the idea of capturing Sasuke alive. As long as Su Xiao was there, it was nothing but a fantasy.
And the Raikage knew one thing clearly: he absolutely could not die. Absolutely.
No matter how domineering the Raikage was, he knew that if he, as the Raikage, died during the Five Kage Summit, it would be disastrous. This wasn't about his personal fear of death; it was about the future of the entire Kumogakure.
The heir to the Raikage position, Darui, was already dead. If he also perished here, Kumogakure would be leaderless. At that point, other villages would surely set their sights on Kumogakure. As for the so-called peace treaty, the Raikage had never believed in that thing.