Chapter 9: Elemental Explosion
Aside from Su Xiao, there were three people in the council hall. Near the entrance stood a guard in golden armor, and on the innermost throne sat a man with a head full of black hair. He was around 40 years old, with loose black hair, and though he wore splendid robes, he gave off a rough and rugged impression.
On the side seat below the throne sat a woman in a black robe. Her witch’s hat was pulled low, making her gaze unreadable, but from her tightly pressed thin lips, it was clear she was furious inside.
Seeing the king on the throne, Su Xiao was briefly reminded of the old king of the Shia World. This thought passed in an instant—the two were not on the same level of prestige. The main reason Su Xiao hadn’t dared to charge into the palace in the Shia World wasn’t the imperial guards, but the old lion he feared.
Su Xiao walked slowly into the council hall. Aside from his footsteps, the hall was dead silent.
“Royal Guard!”
Seeing Su Xiao advance, the guard in golden armor roared.
Bang!
A twisted corpse was thrown into the council hall. Amu, covered in blood, blocked the doorway. His body was drenched in the enemies’ blood; the royal guards had been slaughtered by his charges.
“Sir...”
The golden-armored guard gripped the hilt of his sword. Randolph, seated on the throne, raised a hand to signal him not to act rashly. Clearly, Randolph didn’t want to be used as a pawn by the witch Isa.
“This gentleman, perhaps there’s some misunderstanding between us...”
Clang!
A blade aura flashed, and a slash mark appeared on the golden-armored guard’s neck. He clutched his throat with both hands, staggered back a few steps, and fell to the ground. After a few twitches, he lay still.
Randolph stopped mid-sentence because a long blade was now pressed against his neck.
“Calm down. No matter how strong you are, the consequences of assassinating a lord are beyond your imagination. The bounty from the Holy Healing Church...”
Pfft.
The long blade slashed through. Randolph was visibly stunned.
“You... how dare you...”
Darkness closed in before Randolph’s eyes. He could never understand why Su Xiao dared to kill him.
This was Randolph’s fixed mindset. In Su Xiao’s view, since he had already stormed the palace, the first priority wasn’t Isa, but Randolph the king. Either don’t make enemies, or kill them all.
Su Xiao shifted his gaze to Isa. From start to finish, Isa hadn’t made a move. She sat calmly on the side seat.
“Is she dead?”
Isa spoke, lifting her head to look at Su Xiao. Her crimson pupils showed no emotional fluctuation.
“...”
Su Xiao pushed aside Randolph’s corpse and slowly descended the steps from the throne.
“Why...”
Isa stood up.
“Why us two? Did we sell out your family?”
Having been hunted this far, Isa still didn’t know the cause. Su Xiao was looking for the Blade Demon sealing device, but Aiseya stubbornly refused to reveal any information about the Death Place.
Given Aiseya’s cunning, if the Death Place didn’t concern her personal interests, she wouldn’t have kept it secret. Su Xiao had paid a heavy price to enter the Dark Crow World, so he naturally couldn’t give up. Thus, the two sides were bound to be hostile.
“At least tell me the reason.”
Isa took off her witch’s hat, revealing a head of smooth, flaxen hair. Her features weren’t delicate, but she had a unique aura.
“Where is the Death Place?”
Su Xiao stopped. He was about 10 meters away from Isa—close enough.
“So that’s it.”
Isa suddenly understood. The indignation in her eyes vanished, replaced by pure killing intent.
“Just a mere mortal.”
As Isa spoke, a transparent phantom appeared behind her. This phantom had horns on its head, wings on its back, and emitted an orange-red glow. Scorching heat radiated outward.
This was Isa’s incarnation, the Flame Explosion Witch Isa. Most witches’ incarnations didn’t resemble their original forms. There was a saying in the Dark Crow Continent: if you encounter a clone that looks like the witch herself, run.
Fire elements visibly gathered toward the incarnation. In an instant, all fire elements within half a kilometer were drained—something no mage would dare to do.
Isa’s hair turned fiery red, moving as if blown by wind, like burning flames. Her right arm raised, and a ball of flame appeared in her hand. This flame was connected to dozens of invisible elemental threads, one end in Isa’s hand, the other attached to the incarnation.
Boom!
The marble floor beneath Su Xiao shattered. He charged forward, slashing out several blade auras to clear the way, heading straight for Isa’s main body. Clearly, fighting a witch meant destroying her main body was the easier path to victory.
Seeing Su Xiao charging directly at her, Isa showed slight surprise. The flame in her hand surged, and two massive flame claws emerged from behind her, attacking Su Xiao from both sides.
This was Su Xiao’s first time fighting a witch, so he naturally wouldn’t withstand her attacks head-on.
Cyan Steel Shadow energy clung to the Dragon-Slaying Flash. Su Xiao halted abruptly, the muscles in his right arm bulging as he slashed at the flame claw coming from the right.
With a dull thud, the massive flame claw was cleaved apart, scattering into a large amount of fire elements. This thing was similar to a spell in nature, which was why it was shattered by the Dragon-Slaying Flash infused with Cyan Steel Shadow energy.
Seeing her flame claw shattered, Isa didn’t retreat but instead curled her lips. She clenched her hand, and the fire elements from the shattered claw rapidly converged on Su Xiao, heating up. The orange-red glow became blindingly bright.
Boom!
The fire elements actually exploded. The power of the elemental explosion was terrifying. Even the shockwave alone caused large cracks in the walls of the council hall, let alone the force at the center.
The orange-red flames gradually dissipated, revealing a cylindrical pit ten meters in diameter and over thirty meters deep. The bottom was filled with magma. The entire palace had been blasted through from top to bottom.
“Hoo~”
Isa exhaled a stream of hot air. Fiery red patterns appeared on both sides of her face.
“The power is surprisingly impressive.”
A low muttering came from nearby. Hearing this voice, Isa’s pupils rapidly contracted. She immediately turned her gaze to see Su Xiao, completely unharmed, within her line of sight.
At the moment of the elemental explosion, Su Xiao had used the Dragon Shadow Flash ability to teleport 12 meters through space.
From this explosion, Su Xiao understood the combat power of witches. If he had been at the center of the explosion, he would have been in serious trouble. Notably, Isa wasn’t even a particularly strong witch—her strength was at most mid-tier.
“Manifest.”
Isa clasped her hands together. Her red hair flew wildly, and the incarnation behind her became clearer, eventually visible to the naked eye, nearly solid.
Waves of heat radiated outward. A three-meter-tall giant figure stood behind Isa. It looked like a flame demon, with orange-red skin and especially the wings on its back.
The flame incarnation stood in front of Isa. Its eyes opened, revealing two fiery pits.
“Roar!!”
The flame incarnation let out a furious roar. Sound waves spread, causing even Isa to turn her head aside.
“Kill him.”
Isa’s slender finger pointed at Su Xiao. Hearing her command, Su Xiao was somewhat surprised. The witch and her manifested incarnation were not the same consciousness—this was a troublesome situation.