Chapter 38: All Preparations Complete
"Don't worry, I'll keep it under control."
Chen's hands formed an empty grip, and a black sphere appeared between his palms.
"You'll keep a damn good handle on it, huh."
Mizusaki quickly rushed out of the smoke formation. Chen extended one hand flat, and the black sphere on his palm drifted toward Pouf.
This dark magic sphere seemed to possess a strong attractive force. The closer it got to Pouf, the faster it flew.
The dark magic sphere left an afterimage as it appeared above Pouf's head. Although Pouf knew this was nothing good, the creature inside him was still affecting his control over his body.
"Dark Heaven: Devour."
Black demonic energy surged around Chen. The magic sphere above Pouf's head expanded dramatically in size.
Rumble, rumble...
The dark magic sphere formed a black hole with an extremely powerful devouring force. This black hole didn't consume nearby matter, nor did it suck Pouf in. Instead, it extracted a stream of black energy from within Pouf's body.
As the black energy left Pouf's body, his form rapidly shriveled. Moments later, he became a dried-up corpse, crashing face-first to the ground with a thud, losing all signs of life.
"How did you manage that?"
Old Smoke, who was maintaining the smoke formation, spat out a mouthful of bloodied saliva. He had used his smoke formation to absorb many attacks for Mizusaki and Chen, otherwise, the two wouldn't have had such an easy time.
Not only that, but the smoke formation could also block perception. Nothing happening here could be sensed from the outside.
"I analyzed the Nen energy. According to the π32.4X Magic and Energy Equilibrium Law, all energy existence depends on..."
Chen naturally explained Pouf's cause of death. Mizusaki and Old Smoke exchanged glances. They could understand every word Chen said, but when those words were strung together, both of them looked completely bewildered.
"So, in conclusion, when a certain element is completely extracted, the Nen energy becomes unstable due to the elemental vacuum, leading to internal imbalance."
Chen nodded to the two of them. Old Smoke and Mizusaki wore expressions of "Oh, I see," even though they hadn't understood a thing Chen had said.
"Would this elemental vacuum work on the Ant King? If you could create that kind of environment, couldn't you one-shot the Ant King?"
Old Smoke seemed to have grasped some "key point." Chen looked at him with a puzzled expression, clearly a gaze of concern for the intellectually challenged.
"I can use a spoon to break a piece of glass, but I can't use a spoon to break a steel plate. All elemental laws are bidirectional. When the gap between enemy and ally is too large, it's like comparing a spoon to a steel plate. Got it this time?"
"Uh... understood."
Old Smoke took a deep drag of his cigarette to ease the awkwardness.
"Do mages study this stuff every day?"
Mizusaki looked at Chen with some interest.
"I'm not qualified to call myself a mage yet. That requires a vast reserve of knowledge and experience. For now, I'm barely an elementalist. I'm still far from being a mage."
Elemental energy surged around Chen as he switched his attribute to lightning. This attribute had the fastest speed and strong attack power. As for why he didn't choose fire, which had a larger attack range, it was because Chen had already abandoned the fire attribute. Among his main cultivated attributes was ice, and cultivating fire alongside it would be sheer stupidity for an elementalist.
Chen's ability wasn't to release skills, but to fight using the power of elements. As long as he had enough mana and his body could withstand it, he was a turret.
Crackle, crackle...
Old Smoke's walkie-talkie crackled to life. This was a white-quality piece of equipment.
"I'm all set over here."
Su Xiao's voice came through the walkie-talkie.
"Oh? Surprisingly fast. We're done here too. As soon as I disperse the smoke formation, the Ant King will discover that Pouf is dead."
"Is Netero ready over there?"
700 meters from the Royal Palace, behind the palace, on a concrete watchtower.
This watchtower was about 60 meters tall, a military structure. The top was equipped with two heavy machine guns and a small anti-aircraft gun.
This watchtower was built to prevent air raids on the palace. As for the ban on modern items, the royal family of East Gorteau never followed that rule. This was evident from the luxurious palace and the various electrical appliances inside.
This was almost the perfect sniping spot. The entire courtyard was in full view. Such a perfect sniping spot was, of course, already occupied by a sniper. Earlier, as soon as Su Xiao approached the watchtower, a bullet came flying toward him.
In the following two minutes, Su Xiao taught that sniper what "a sniper's close-combat skills" really meant. The desperate sniper cursed, "You don't even have the right to call yourself a sniper, you bastard!" before peacefully kicking the bucket.
Su Xiao hung up the walkie-talkie and tossed the corpse with a twisted neck off the watchtower.
The top of the watchtower was relatively flat. The side with the heavy machine guns had steel plate protection, while the side with the anti-aircraft gun had none, because that side faced the palace.
From the layout of this watchtower, it was clear how selfish and cowardly the East Gorteau royal family was. The side facing their residence wasn't allowed to have protective plating for the soldiers, in case the soldiers betrayed them and became troublesome to deal with.
Su Xiao took a thick canvas from his storage space and spread it on the side without steel plate protection. The view was wider here.
Propping the Duke of Annihilation in front of him, a smile appeared on Su Xiao's face. He would be very comfortable in the early stages of the battle. No wonder so many people developed toward ranged combat. For now, he just needed to watch Old Smoke and the others surround the Ant King, and fire a shot when the timing was right.
Of course, this comfort wouldn't last until the end of the battle. When the Ant King showed signs of defeat, Su Xiao would go in for close combat.
Did Old Smoke and the others not expect Su Xiao to do this? The answer was that they had long thought of it. But so what? Were they supposed to send Su Xiao, who was holding a +13 golden sniper cannon, into melee? Setting aside whether Su Xiao would agree, the enhancement level of the Duke of Annihilation and the three gems embedded in it wouldn't allow it.
So Old Smoke and the others could only grit their teeth and accept it. The threat of the Ant King was right in front of them. If they wanted to fall out, it would have to wait until after the Ant King was dead.
As for the reason for charging into melee, there was no need to worry. Su Xiao had a reason so legitimate it could make Old Smoke and the others spit blood from anger.
The Duke of Annihilation had 7 bullets left: 4 regular bullets and 3 elemental bullets.
The Duke of Annihilation's magazine capacity was 5 rounds. Su Xiao loaded 4 regular bullets into the chamber and set the remaining 3 elemental bullets aside, ready to use them for unexpected situations.
Su Xiao popped a piece of gum into his mouth. Chewing this gum could restore mana. His battle with the cat girl earlier had consumed nearly a thousand mana points.
Su Xiao put on a wireless earpiece. This was a green-quality item provided by Chen. It could maintain communication within a 5-kilometer radius, resisting various interferences and blockages. After 1 hour, the battery would be drained, and the item would be scrapped.
"Testing, can you hear me?"
Mizusaki's voice came through the earpiece.
"No problem. I'm about to disperse the smoke formation. Chairman Netero has already entered the palace. The battle will start soon. The location will be in the palace."
Old Smoke's voice also came through.
"No problem."
Chen's side was buzzing, as if he was charging up some kind of technique.
"I'll only fire when the timing is right."
Su Xiao chewed the gum in his mouth. The Duke of Annihilation had been adjusted to its optimal state. All data in the scope was stable, ready to open fire at any moment.