Chapter 45: Heart-Grabbing Battle
Firing at this moment would be nothing short of stirring up trouble. Su Xiao needed to observe every subtle movement of the Ant King. The Ant King’s reaction speed was extremely fast, and sniping it while it was unhindered had a very low hit rate.
There were only three opportunities for a sniper kill. First, if the Ant King didn’t detect Su Xiao and he took a long-range shot—a cheap shot—which was clearly unrealistic given the current situation.
The second scenario was when the Ant King’s movement was restricted. In that case, a hit was almost guaranteed.
The third scenario was when the Ant King was moving at high speed. In high-speed motion, the Ant King couldn’t dodge a bullet fired with prediction, because that bullet wasn’t originally aimed at it—it would collide with the Ant King itself. Unless the Ant King had precognitive abilities, its perception wouldn’t warn it. The hit rate for a predicted shot was around 30%. If the Ant King made a charging motion, revealing its direction, the hit rate would rise to over 80%.
Firing recklessly without absolute certainty—wasn’t that just gambling like a troublemaker?
Su Xiao really wanted to turn around and shoot that sniper, to teach them the consequences of being a nuisance. But he had to focus intently on the Ant King.
Su Xiao didn’t act, but that didn’t mean Old Smoke, Mizusaki, and Dust did nothing. They all hoped Su Xiao would finish off the Ant King quickly. They were the ones fighting, not those distant contractors. With different positions came different mindsets—those people were just spectators who didn’t care about the stakes.
Old Smoke slipped his hand into his waistband, where he had hidden his Light Gold-quality sniper pistol.
“Aren’t you afraid of shooting off your own little brother?”
Mizusaki turned her head, finding Old Smoke’s crotch-hiding move a bit eye-stinging.
“Cough, I didn’t want to embarrass myself by pulling it out, so I hid it discreetly. Besides, pulling a gun from here at a critical moment is quite intimidating.”
Old Smoke’s body twitched, and judging by his expression, the gap in the sniper pistol had clearly pinched something, with faint sounds of hair snapping.
“Sss~”
Hearing Old Smoke’s sharp intake of breath, Mizusaki wore an expression that said, “I don’t know you, don’t talk to me.”
Old Smoke leaned into the scope of his sniper pistol and fired a few shots into the distance.
“Is that troublemaker dead?”
Mizusaki asked tentatively.
“Do you think I’m that sniper cannon up high? Of course not, but they should be severely injured.”
Old Smoke’s shots silenced the restless long-range contractors in the distance. They weren’t just threatened by Old Smoke, but also by Dust. If Dust acted, it would be a different kind of lethality.
With no troublemakers interfering, Su Xiao refocused all his attention on the Ant King.
The Ant King stood still, realizing that if it continued charging at full speed, it would keep getting hit.
“Not moving means no attack, but full-speed movement invites attack. Why?”
The Ant King instinctively made a charging motion, then had a thought.
“It’s this motion that reveals the direction.”
The Ant King’s figure vanished instantly, putting Mizusaki, the Guild Leader, and Dust on high alert.
Bang!
The unique sound of the Duke of Annihilation’s gunshot echoed, sending mud flying. The Ant King stopped in its tracks—the shot missed, flying right past its face. The Elemental Bullet (Dark) only blasted away a large patch of dirt.
Only two bullets remained, both ordinary ammunition.
Su Xiao took out a Soul Crystal (Small). This Soul Crystal (Small) shattered in his hand, releasing a large amount of demonic energy that clung to the bullet, activating the long-range effect of the Demon Mark.
“Buy me 10 seconds. Within 10 seconds, the Ant King’s distance from me must not exceed 4,500 meters.”
Su Xiao spoke. Mizusaki and Old Smoke exchanged glances, then looked at Dust. The three reached a consensus.
“At most 10 seconds.”
Mizusaki and Old Smoke charged toward the Ant King. The situation clearly couldn’t be delayed any longer—the distant contractors were starting to stir restlessly.
Su Xiao activated the locking function of the Duke of Annihilation. If the threat level of Su Xiao aiming at the Ant King was previously 5, it now skyrocketed to over 80.
The Ant King’s muscles tensed as it quickly scanned its surroundings. In three directions were Old Smoke, Mizusaki, and the Guild Leader.
Hesitating for less than a second, the Ant King charged toward Old Smoke.
Old Smoke, who was rushing head-on at the Ant King, slammed on the brakes. He had never directly attacked the Ant King, yet it chose his direction to break through. Old Smoke was frustrated.
The carapace on the Ant King’s head was completely shattered, most of its tail broken off, and it had two penetrating wounds on its abdomen and thigh. With injuries like these, it still hadn’t fallen—a testament to the Ant King’s formidable body.
But no matter how strong the body, it has limits. The Ant King now understood why it was so badly injured today. It had underestimated its opponents, or rather, it had chosen the wrong opponent from the start.
If the Ant King had initially charged toward Su Xiao or Dust, it wouldn’t have been hurt this badly. But instead, the Ant King had adopted a learning attitude. Facing an enemy’s carefully laid ambush, it still had the leisure to study their fighting style. It was too arrogant, or rather, the Ant King had underestimated humans too much. It was about to pay the price for that contempt.
Facing the Ant King charging at him, Old Smoke smiled.
“White Night, will blocked vision affect your shot?”
“No.”
Su Xiao had already activated the locking function. Even if vision was blocked, or even if the target was behind a building, the lock wouldn’t be broken—unless the Ant King’s distance exceeded 4,762 meters.
“Good.”
Old Smoke breathed a sigh of relief.
“Heaven has a path you won’t take; hell has no door, yet you barge in.”
Old Smoke’s hands emitted wisps of green smoke as he lunged at the charging Ant King. The Ant King punched him in the chest.
Whoosh! Old Smoke’s body exploded, turning into a large cloud of smoke that enveloped the Ant King.
Muffled sounds came from within the smoke. After about 6 seconds, Mizusaki’s expression changed, and she rushed into the smoke.
“The Ant King’s Nen…”
Ssss…
Static noise came through Su Xiao’s earpiece. Moments later, two figures flew backward out of the smoke, which gradually dispersed.
Old Smoke crashed to the ground with a thud. His arms were missing, and his left eye socket was a bloody mess. From the depression, the skull around his eye socket was likely shattered in a large area.
Old Smoke was in terrible shape, but he had bought 10 seconds. As soon as the time was up, Su Xiao pulled the trigger.
The moment he fired, Su Xiao put away the Duke of Annihilation and leaped down from the watchtower.
Crack! The caliber bullet hit the Ant King’s head—the third shot to its skull.
The first two shots had broken the armor; the third shot shattered the skull outright. With the long-range effect of the Demon Mark attached, the true damage dealt was terrifying.
The long-range effect of the Demon Mark was: This attack will add 80% of the final damage value as true damage.
Indeed, Su Xiao’s shot blew the Ant King’s head apart. No one present expected this, not even Su Xiao himself—except for one person: Old Smoke.
That Su Xiao’s shot could decapitate the Ant King was largely thanks to Old Smoke. Inside the smoke, Old Smoke had used his trump card to reduce the Ant King’s physical defense by 24%.
Shattered skull fragments and blue blood sprayed into the air. The Ant King’s headless body staggered forward a few steps before collapsing. Even with its head destroyed, its body still twitched.
[You have killed the Ant King: Meruem.]
[The Ant King: Meruem is the core plot character of this main quest. Obtained World Source 6%. Total World Source obtained: 9%.]
…
Killing the Ant King earned Su Xiao a somewhat exaggerated amount of World Source. This was normal, as the Ant King was the target of this main quest, and the Chimera Ant incident revolved around it.
Though the Ant King was dead, the battle wasn’t over. The heart-grabbing battle had begun.
As soon as the Ant King died, Old Smoke, whose arms had been torn off by it, sprang up from the ground with a carp-like flip. His agile movements didn’t seem like those of someone severely injured.