Chapter 37: Splitting Up
The cat girl could indeed use her own Nen ability to revive, but this ability called "Black Puppet Dance" healed injuries quite slowly, even when she was fully focused. Now that the cat girl's head had been severed and her heart nearly cut open, combined with Su Xiao's threat, she simply couldn't stitch her head and heart back together.
The cat girl released the head in her hand. Before it even hit the ground, she charged at Su Xiao. This was the only belief remaining in the cat girl after her head was severed: to kill Su Xiao.
Losing one's head wasn't just about losing sight or sensory abilities; it also meant losing the ability to think and judge during battle.
Dealing with the cat girl in this state, Su Xiao had no intention of fighting head-on. At this point, she was just a puppet on strings. No matter how strong her vitality, after losing her head and heart, her bodily functions would rapidly decline.
Su Xiao leaped backward. The cat girl's sharp fingertips grazed past his ear. Su Xiao's long blade slashed sideways.
The blade cut through skin and muscle. Blue blood splattered out. One of the cat girl's arms was severed.
Su Xiao crouched his body and delivered a straight kick to the cat girl's abdomen.
Bang!
The cat girl's body bent sharply backward, flying through the air before crashing into the stone wall with a thunderous boom, most of her body embedded in it.
Cyan Steel Shadow Energy surged into the cat girl's body. The Black Puppet Dance above her twisted violently, nearly dissipating.
Zzzz~
Realm Severing Thread tightly bound the cat girl. She struggled to stand, but she no longer had the strength to break free from the thread's restraints.
About two minutes later, the Nen within the cat girl rapidly diminished. The Black Puppet Dance above her grew fainter and fainter, eventually vanishing into the air.
With the Black Puppet Dance gone, the cat girl's body stiffened, becoming a true corpse.
[You have killed the Ant King's Direct Guard: Neferpitou.]
[Neferpitou is a Direct Guard of the Ant King. You have obtained 12.9% World Source. Total World Source obtained: 25.3%.]
[Your talent 'Soul Devourer' has been activated. Permanently increases Mana Points by 30. Current maximum Mana Points: 3896.]
[You have obtained a Treasure Chest (Gold).]
...
Su Xiao picked up the golden treasure chest on the ground. From the light emitted by this chest, he could tell it was of higher quality than the one dropped by "Youpi."
Now wasn't the time to open the chest. Dealing with the Ant King was the priority. Chen, Mizaki, and the others would handle Pouf near the palace. If Pouf was defeated, the Ant King would surely come to support. At that point, it would be Chairman Netero + Chen + Mizaki + Old Smoke against the Ant King.
Just as the battle in the tunnel ended, Bubu Wang appeared, sitting on top of a metal treasure chest.
Su Xiao approached to examine the metal chest. When he touched it, a prompt appeared.
[Prompt: You have obtained the 'Hidden Treasure Chest.']
[Prompt: The Hidden Treasure Chest requires completing the related task to receive certification from Reincarnation Paradise. The task has failed.]
[Prompt: As the task has reached its final stage and the Hunter has obtained the key task item, you can re-accept the task from Salit Town Mayor Kridov.]
...
From the prompts, Su Xiao gleaned several key clues. First, this chest was the final reward for a certain task. The task had failed at its final stage. Under normal circumstances, the task would be frozen, but he had obtained the key item within the task, which was this chest.
Those Contractors had endured the cat girl's pursuit just to escape with this chest. This showed its value was considerable. Those Contractors had likely completed many stages of the task to obtain the final reward. To fully claim it, what they lacked most was strength and time. Unfortunately, they had neither in abundance.
"Bubu, take Amu to Salit Town and finish the follow-up for this task."
Su Xiao himself couldn't activate this task, but Bubu Wang and Amu could.
"Woof."
Bubu Wang barked, asking if it didn't need to snatch the Ant King's heart at the critical moment.
"The Ant King's heart is different from a treasure chest. First, you need the ability to break through the Ant King's defenses. If we can actually defeat the Ant King, when it dies, I'll be the closest person to it."
Su Xiao had never planned to have Bubu Wang snatch the Ant King's heart. The reason was simple: Bubu Wang would likely be focused down and killed instantly.
Once the Ant King was about to die, all surrounding Contractors would bombard the Ant King with everything they had, trying to eliminate whoever was closest to it.
Who knew how many Contractors would gather by then? With Bubu Wang's frail frame, it would likely be killed instantly by the countless attacks.
Bubu Wang understood. It looked at Amu, signaling for Amu to pick up the Hidden Treasure Chest.
"If you can't complete this task within two hours, give up decisively."
Su Xiao gestured to Amu. Amu handed the Duke of Annihilation in its arms to Su Xiao. Su Xiao put away the Dragon-Slaying Flash and slung the Duke of Annihilation over his back, once again becoming a sniper.
"Woof."
Bubu Wang barked and led Amu out of the tunnel through the opening above. They quickly disappeared into the wilderness. Salit Town wasn't far from the capital; it was the same town Chairman Netero had taken Su Xiao to.
Having Bubu Wang complete this task was quite reliable. Bubu had a Charm Attribute of 75 points, allowing it to accept tasks relatively easily. If Su Xiao, with his Charm Attribute of only 8 points, went, it wouldn't be about accepting a task but rather putting a blade to the town mayor's neck to forcefully activate the task. Su Xiao had done this many times before.
Leaving the tunnel, Su Xiao headed toward the capital.
...
In the courtyard near the palace, Chen, Mizaki, and Old Smoke were besieging a blond man. The blond man had antennae growing from his head. He was Pouf.
Drip, drip...
Blue blood dripped from Pouf's chin. He pressed one hand against his chest, seemingly suppressing something inside him that prevented him from splitting.
"Impressive that you've held out this long. That little cutie has probably eaten most of your internal organs by now."
Mizaki held two thin curved blades, each wrapped in a layer of transparent energy, like two masses of water.
"Cough, cough, cough..."
Pouf covered his mouth, dry coughing as blue blood seeped through his fingers.
"Hurry up. I can't maintain the barrier much longer. The smoke formation is about to disperse."
Old Smoke's face was slightly pale. He took a deep drag from the cigarette in his hand. Around them, smoke swirled, forming a massive array. The array's shape resembled a Bagua diagram but also had characteristics of a magic formation. The rebel leader, Old Smoke, had created a fusion of East and West.
"Give me 30 seconds."
Chen wore black gloves. These gloves were his casting tools, replacing a bulky staff.
Five elemental orbs revolved around Chen, emitting wisps of cold air. Large patches of ice crystals formed around them.
"Dark Heaven."
Chen's pupils turned pitch black. The five magic orbs around him shifted from ice attribute to dark attribute.
"Hey, hey, we're still nearby."
Mizaki and Old Smoke quickly retreated.