Chapter 9: Weather
Beneath the sea, Su Xiao slowly sank. The Realm Severing Thread was released about ten meters, with one end connected to the spool on his wrist and the other end wrapped around Spero's arm.
As Su Xiao descended, Spero was also dragged downward by the Realm Severing Thread.
Spero's eyes rolled back, his body convulsing as a large stream of bubbles escaped his mouth, his expression filled with extreme pain.
Su Xiao did not rashly approach Spero. Devil Fruit users lose their strength in seawater; in other words, every Devil Fruit user is a non-swimmer. No matter how skilled they are at swimming, once they enter the sea, aside from splashing up large amounts of water, they can do nothing. If no one rescues them, they will sink to the bottom like a stone in less than ten seconds.
"Gurgle, gurgle..."
Spero's hands twitched, and the seawater flooding his trachea and lungs caused him excruciating pain.
Even though Spero was already like a fish on a chopping board, Su Xiao still did not approach him. Waiting for him to drown into unconsciousness was the safest choice.
Facts proved that Devil Fruit users dragged into seawater were indeed useless. Spero, who had previously overpowered Pica, was now like a dead fish.
After waiting two minutes, Spero stopped even releasing bubbles. His body twitched intermittently. As a great pirate, Spero's physical fitness was naturally strong; even if he drowned for ten minutes, he might not necessarily die.
Su Xiao tightened his grip on the longsword in his hand and slowly retracted the Realm Severing Thread.
Zzzz~
As the Realm Severing Thread contracted, Spero was pulled toward Su Xiao.
Clang.
A blade aura flew out, and a burst of blood exploded from Spero's throat. Spero, who had been drowning, suddenly opened his eyes. He tried to cover his throat with his hand, but the side effect of the Devil Fruit left his entire body powerless.
The blood was diluted by the seawater, and a deep slash mark appeared on Spero's throat.
Su Xiao accelerated the retraction of the Realm Severing Thread and slashed forward with his longsword.
With a swish, the blade cut through the seawater. The longsword was stained with blood, which was quickly diluted by the seawater and eventually dispersed.
[You have killed Charlotte Perospero.]
[Charlotte Perospero is the leader of the sea battle zone where the Hunter is located.]
[Verification: The Hunter killed him independently.]
[You have gained 1000 Pirate Reputation Points.]
[Yes/No to publicly announce the killing of Charlotte Perospero. If this news is made public, your prestige within the Pirate faction will greatly increase.]
[Due to Charlotte Perospero's special identity, you have gained 14.8% World Source (5% bonus from being the sea battle zone leader). Total World Source obtained: 14.8%.]
[Your talent 'Soul Devourer' has been activated, permanently increasing Mana Points by 30. Current maximum Mana Points: 5456.]
[You have obtained a Treasure Chest (Legendary).]
[Within the Legendary Chest, there is a 50% chance of obtaining a Gold quality item, a 25% chance of obtaining a Light Gold set piece, a 15% chance of obtaining a Gold set piece, and a 10% chance of obtaining a Legendary item/equipment/skill/gem, etc.]
...
Due to Spero's special identity and his original strength, Su Xiao unexpectedly obtained a mid-to-high-grade Legendary Chest.
Legendary Chests have four levels. These four levels are not classified by Reincarnation Paradise but were discovered by Contractors themselves.
The first-level Legendary Chest is the easiest to obtain, though this is only relative. Su Xiao once killed the Raikage and obtained a first-level Legendary Chest. The chance of obtaining a Legendary item or equipment from this level of chest is less than 2%.
The second-level Legendary Chest is slightly harder to obtain, but the probability of obtaining a Legendary item increases to 5%.
As for the third-level Legendary Chest, the one Su Xiao just obtained falls into this category, with a full 10% chance of obtaining a Legendary item.
The highest, fourth-level Legendary Chest, Su Xiao has also obtained before—the chest from Hashirama.
The fourth-level Legendary Chest has a full 30% chance of obtaining a Legendary item. Moreover, it also has a 1% chance of obtaining a higher-quality item.
This information was purchased by Su Xiao through intelligence channels between adventure groups.
For the first three levels of Legendary Chests, whether you get good items depends on luck. However, the fourth-level Legendary Chest is different. If you obtain an item above Legendary quality, you can rise to prominence in a short time, though the probability is very low.
Su Xiao grabbed Spero's head and tossed it to Amu before swimming toward the surface.
In this sea battle, both sides' ships had sunk, but the enemy's key figure, Spero, had died, resulting in the battle being judged as a victory for the Don Quixote Family.
Su Xiao could choose to publicly announce the killing of Spero. As a benefit, his prestige among pirates would greatly increase. Spero was already a great pirate, so stepping on him to rise would naturally be faster.
The benefits were clear, but the drawbacks were not small. Spero was Charlotte Linlin's eldest son. With his death, Charlotte Linlin would certainly not sit idly by. It was unlikely she would personally come to retaliate against Su Xiao, but she would likely have her subordinates pay 'special attention' to Su Xiao.
Su Xiao chose to publicly announce the killing of Spero. Although he was very wary of Charlotte Linlin, the chance of them meeting was low. Su Xiao, who could use Demon Hunting Hour at any time, was not afraid of Charlotte Linlin's top general, Charlotte Katakuri. Even if he couldn't defeat him head-on, Su Xiao could escape.
Su Xiao quickly surfaced. The sea surface was covered with large wooden planks, and the blazing flames were particularly conspicuous.
If it had been the clear, cloudless weather from before, the flames would not have been so noticeable. Su Xiao looked up at the sky, which was now gray and overcast.
"What is... that?"
A white 'crystal' with a diameter of half a meter fell from above, crashing into the sea with a loud boom, sending seawater splashing everywhere.
After a moment, the white 'crystal' floated on the sea surface, emitting wisps of white steam.
"Ice..."
Su Xiao immediately understood what was happening. This sea area was experiencing hail.
Do not think that hail half a meter in diameter was exaggerated. This was normal weather in the New World. In certain sea areas of the New World, after a storm, hail of this exaggerated size could fall.
Boom, boom, boom...
Hailstones with diameters between one and two meters fell from the sky. This unpredictable weather was a characteristic of the New World. On some islands in the New World, there could be dozens or even hundreds of climate changes each year. Perhaps today it was winter, and tomorrow it would turn into the rainy or dry season.
Su Xiao immediately dived into the sea. Being hit by such massive hailstones was not a pleasant experience.
Su Xiao could dive into the sea, but Pica, who was over ten meters away, could not. He stared at the sky with a very grim expression.
The massive hailstones continued to fall. Just as Su Xiao dived into the sea, a hailstone crashed down from above.
Blade light flashed, and the hailstone, chopped into over a dozen pieces, shattered.
As soon as Su Xiao shattered the hailstone, he noticed over a dozen figures swimming quickly in the sea not far away. These were over a dozen pirates, struggling to drag a person through the water. That person was Pica.
Pica's current state was very similar to Spero's drowning. His mouth was wide open, his eyes rolled back, and large bubbles emerged from his mouth.
Without a ship, no one would try to withstand those hailstones. The raft Pica was riding on had been smashed, forcing him to take refuge in the sea.
The weakness of Devil Fruit users was too obvious. Although Pica would not drown, the seawater choked him into a daze.
Hailstones crashed into the water one after another. Su Xiao stepped on the seawater and swam straight toward Pica's location.
Here, there was only Pica and his dozen or so subordinates, and Pica himself was dazed from the seawater.
Blade light flashed, and large amounts of blood dispersed in the seawater.