Chapter 23: Mere White Rank
Tap, tap, tap...
Footsteps came from the darkness. A woman in a black leather jacket, holding a metal rod, walked out of the darkness. On each side of the metal rod was a gem. If Su Xiao wasn't mistaken, they were two Soul Crystals.
Ding~
The black-clad woman pressed the metal rod against the ground, sending stone chips flying. Despite her slender figure, she was clearly a strength-type.
"How calm. Commendable."
Another female voice came, also from the darkness outside the door. This time, a woman dressed like a noblewoman stepped out. She wore a black veil, the thin fabric covering the upper half of her face, her red lips exceptionally alluring.
"Calm? Or perhaps too terrified to speak? You two have seen witch hunters beg for mercy on their knees before."
Yet another unfamiliar female voice sounded, this time from the window. Another witch sat on the windowsill, wearing loose brown clothing, with short blonde hair and at least a dozen pockets on her clothes.
The black-leather-jacket witch, the noblewoman witch, and the blonde witch—the three formed a semicircle, surrounding Su Xiao in the room. They had chosen their timing well. The weapons Su Xiao used for hunting witches were still on the carriage, a fact they had confirmed.
The three witches had revealed themselves because Su Xiao's previous actions had alarmed them. As soon as he entered the city, he had headed straight for the water source—the starting point of their plan.
"If you were a bit dumber, we might have let you live a few more days. Too bad you're so clever."
The noblewoman's red lips curled up as she looked at Su Xiao with a half-smile.
"Stop wasting words with him. Killing him directly is the safest choice."
The witch holding the metal rod was clearly more cold-blooded, or rather, she had the demeanor of an assassin.
"What's the rush? He can't escape."
The short-haired blonde witch chuckled. She seemed indifferent to everything, revealing her arrogant nature.
Su Xiao's gaze swept around. His initial assessment confirmed that all three were elemental witches—the type with the strongest direct combat power among witches.
Three against one? No, if Bubu Wang didn't intervene, it was six against one: three witches plus three avatars. As for Melody, her role in the team was intelligence plus looking pretty.
The three witches had distinct personalities. The noblewoman liked to taunt others, the black-leather-jacket witch was cold, and the short-haired blonde was arrogant.
"Are you the only three witches in the city?"
Su Xiao finally spoke. The current opportunity allowed him to easily extract information. When victory seemed assured, the more arrogant people were, the easier it was to let their guard down.
"What, a white-rank..."
"Shut up."
Just as the blonde witch was about to speak, the leather-jacket witch cut her off with a sharp shout. Su Xiao's gaze shifted to her.
"Move."
The leather-jacket witch flipped the short rod in her hand. The avatar behind her materialized, resembling a short, dark-skinned elf with pointed ears.
This avatar wielded dual daggers, its skin slightly dark, with dark elemental energy spreading around it.
Bang. The leather-jacket witch turned into a black blur, charging straight at Su Xiao. She and her avatar alternated their advance, reaching him in just a few steps.
A whistling wind sounded. The wooden table in front of Su Xiao exploded into powder, caused by the dark element.
Su Xiao vanished into thin air. When he reappeared, he was right in front of the blonde witch.
The blonde witch on the windowsill clasped her hands together. White light radiated from her as the center point, shattering the building. An enormous avatar materialized.
Clang.
A pale blue slash cut through, first piercing the blonde witch's chest, then striking the neck of the avatar behind her.
Stone fragments flew. The blonde witch had already leaped up, but when the blade light passed, her body below the chest went numb.
"Oh?"
The blonde witch in midair looked surprised.
Pfft.
A line of blood appeared at the center of the blonde witch's head. Her pupils quickly lost their luster. For third-stage witches, while they had decent close-combat abilities, once Su Xiao got close, it was essentially a death sentence.
Large chunks of rubble rolled down from the window. Su Xiao stood at the broken wall, turning his head to look at the other two witches—also third-stage elemental witches.
Su Xiao only glanced at the noblewoman before focusing on the black-leather-jacket witch. Her will was stronger, and she didn't waste words, so there was no need to consider taking her alive.
At this moment, the leather-jacket witch's pupils contracted to their limit. That slash from Su Xiao earlier was too fast—so fast that she hadn't even seen how he drew his blade.
"Is this... a white-rank witch hunter?"
The noblewoman stared at Su Xiao in shock. Su Xiao's one-shot kill of the blonde witch had truly startled her.
"Forget what rank he is. Treat him like a red-rank."
The leather-jacket witch tightened her grip on the metal rod. The short elf avatar stood in front of her.
"Makes sense. You and I will attack from both sides. You take the left, I'll take the right."
The noblewoman also manifested her avatar. Hers wasn't humanoid but a bright red python. Just from its appearance, it was clear it was highly venomous—the poison in the food earlier was likely from this witch.
"Fine. Left for me, right for you."
"Let's go."
The noblewoman commanded the blood python behind her to lunge forward. The leather-jacket witch and her avatar charged simultaneously. But in the next moment, the noblewoman turned and fled. The blood python's tail whipped, striking the leather-jacket witch's back, trying to fling her toward Su Xiao.
The noblewoman had no intention of fighting Su Xiao alongside the leather-jacket witch. Su Xiao's earlier slash had terrified her. She had never imagined a human could deliver such a strike—not even a red-rank witch hunter could.
Betrayed by her companion, the leather-jacket witch froze for a moment. Gritting her teeth, she stomped the ground and turned to flee. But she stopped abruptly at the doorway. A barely noticeable metal wire was stretched across her neck.
The wire tightened. The leather-jacket witch clutched her throat...
Boom, boom, boom.
After a few explosions, the noblewoman smashed through the castle wall and landed. As she touched the ground, a wave of blood energy spread from inside the castle, making her shiver.
"This monster."
The noblewoman took a step to flee. The next moment, a whistling sound came from behind her. She instinctively bent forward.
Crack. Blood splattered, bones broke. Something slammed into the ground in front of the noblewoman.
"Cough, cough..."
The leather-jacket witch, embedded in the stone slab, raised her arm with difficulty, pointing behind the noblewoman.
The noblewoman's cheek twitched. Her black veil slipped off as she stiffly turned her head. Su Xiao stood five meters behind her.
Drip, drip...
Blood dripped from the tip of his blade. The leather-jacket witch embedded in the stone slab gradually went cold.
Countless thoughts flashed through the noblewoman's mind. Finally, her expression twisted. She had no choice but to fight. At the same time, she regretted fleeing earlier.
The blood python coiled around the noblewoman's arm, rapidly thinning. As its size shrank, a red mist spread.
Clang, clang, clang...
Dense blade lights slashed out. Su Xiao stomped the ground, flashed to the noblewoman's side, and unleashed another dozen blade lights from the edge of his sword.
From all four directions—front, back, left, and right—blade lights struck the noblewoman almost nonstop. At first, she could defend or dodge, but after the first blade light hit her, searing pain spread from the wound, causing her body to falter. The nightmare began from there.
After unleashing over a hundred blade lights, Su Xiao stopped. The red mist nearby gradually dispersed, revealing a bloodied figure lying on the ground.
Inside the nearby castle, Melody stood at the broken window. Her small mouth was slightly open, as if she hadn't yet processed what had just happened.