Chapter 31: The Slayer
Su Xiao suddenly vanished from his spot, dodging a massive dark gravity fist. This thing not only had immense gravitational force but also carried an attractive pull around its periphery. Leaping sideways to evade was nearly impossible; fortunately, his Dragon Shadow Flash ability was strong enough.
Blood energy surged from Su Xiao’s body, quickly enveloping Dragon-Slaying Flash. He crouched low.
Bang! A blast of air expanded, shattering the ground beneath Su Xiao’s feet. He disappeared, moving at a speed beyond the limit. A red blood line streaked through the air, and in that moment, the surroundings seemed to darken.
Stan stood motionless, just about to raise his hand in a defensive gesture, but it was already too late. A metal armor plate blocked the area in front of his heart. This plate had been sliced open, and along with it, Stan’s chest. Through the wound, his beating heart was clearly visible, a faint bloodstain appearing on that powerful organ.
If not for that armor plate blocking the blow, Su Xiao’s Absolute Shadow Flash strike would have done far more than just cut open Stan’s chest. The plate’s defense was astonishing, having once blocked a bullet imbued with demonic energy from Su Xiao.
Blood seeped from the corner of Stan’s mouth. Regardless, he had blocked Su Xiao’s strike. With his experience, this terrifying slash was undoubtedly a high-level ultimate ability—fast enough to break through the dark gravity field and devastatingly lethal.
Just as Stan thought he had withstood the blow, that spine-chilling aura came from behind him again.
Clang.
The long blade rang out sharply. Another blood line swept through. The dark gravity field around Stan dissipated in a large area—this was a side effect of the Dark Metal Domain. Once an enemy’s attack intensity exceeded the domain’s tolerance limit, the Dark Metal Domain would go dormant for 10 to 15 seconds.
A searing pain shot through Stan’s back. He stumbled forward a few steps, his dark-golden eyes fixed on Su Xiao. Two consecutive Absolute Shadow Flashes—if he didn’t die, then it was Su Xiao’s turn.
The moment the Dark Metal Domain vanished, Su Xiao appeared beside Stan, delivering a horizontal slash. The tip of the blade grazed Stan’s neck. The wound wasn’t deep, but a surge of Cyan Steel Shadow Energy entered Stan’s body, carrying something else within it.
Stan tilted his head to dodge. Something seemed to invade him, merging with that energy that burned his mana as it penetrated his body.
The scene before Stan suddenly shifted. Su Xiao vanished, and the ruined basement disappeared. He found himself in a misty, hazy space, where a figure wielding a long blade walked toward him.
Stan instinctively tried to activate his Dark Metal Domain, but he was shocked to find nothing changed around him. Moreover, his “body” felt strange and ethereal. At that moment, the figure reached him.
Swish. The long blade, trailing dark-blue smoke, slashed through Stan’s throat. Stan’s body gradually faded and finally dissipated. Compared to the Blade Demon Spirit within Dragon-Slaying Flash, Stan’s soul strength was utterly insignificant. What Stan saw was merely a scene within his own consciousness—that was why he couldn’t use his Dark Metal Domain.
Demon Blade (Active): When attacking an enemy unit with less than 25% health, the Blade Demon Spirit within Dragon-Slaying Flash can be released. The Blade Demon Spirit will use Cyan Steel Shadow Energy to invade the enemy’s body, inflicting a killing blow that ignores resistance, immunity, and defense (this instant-death effect has no judgment process).
In reality, Stan stood motionless, his dark-golden eyes already gray-white, with faint signs of cracking.
A stream of dark-blue energy surged from Stan’s wound and finally merged back into Dragon-Slaying Flash. Su Xiao, gripping the blade, felt a strange sensation—as if Dragon Shadow Flash had been sated.
Noticing this, Su Xiao’s eye twitched. If he wasn’t mistaken, the Blade Demon Spirit within Dragon-Slaying Flash had devoured Stan’s soul.
Stan was dead. That was clear from his shattered, glass-like pupils. But he didn’t fall, because the leader of the Blood Gate Adventurers was never allowed to lose. Even if, by some chance, he did, he couldn’t fall.
The moment Stan died, Su Xiao pulled out a small syringe the length of a finger. As he slowly pushed the plunger, the drug inside was injected into his palm. In battle, enemies would never give him a chance to drink a recovery potion. This quick-injecting, hard-to-detect syringe was the best choice.
If Su Xiao didn’t inject the drug in time, once the “Unyielding” effect of the Demon Hunter King wore off, he would fall into a near-death state, making it impossible to defeat Nairoi.
His slaying of Stan seemed simple, but it wasn’t. First, he transformed the Demon Hunter King’s form, gaining the boost from the “Unyielding” ability, ensuring he could continue fighting for 20 seconds even at low health, avoiding a near-death state.
Then, he pushed his health below 35%, used two consecutive Absolute Shadow Flashes to nearly kill Stan, and finally unleashed the Blade Demon Spirit from Dragon-Slaying Flash to invade Stan’s body, delivering a killing blow that left no chance for a desperate last stand. That was the power of a kill-type ability.
Su Xiao checked Reincarnation Paradise’s notifications to confirm Stan’s death. Upon seeing the prompt, “You have killed Contractor No. 10009,” he began scanning the basement. Unfortunately, Nairoi was nowhere to be found.
Nairoi had fled. Given her temperament, she should have died fighting here. But after being kicked into the wall by Su Xiao, she stood up and witnessed a sight she would never forget.
Su Xiao killed Stan in three slashes, the entire process taking less than two seconds. To Nairoi, Stan had always been strong and iron-willed, with strength being the dominant trait. In fact, after Stan became a second-rank contractor, Nairoi barely recognized the man who was once her husband. That mix of familiarity and strangeness left her with a bitter, complex feeling.
Such a powerful Stan, slaughtered like a chicken or dog in three slashes by Su Xiao—this contrast filled Nairoi with fear. She was afraid, so she fled.
Inside a clothing store in Fuyuki City, Nairoi leaned against the counter. She raised her trembling single arm, her teeth grinding audibly. She had thought she would never fear anything again, but today, she felt terror toward a man wielding a long blade, his aura like a savage beast.
“I’ve already… lost even the right to fight that bastard… Damn it.”
Nairoi bit down hard on her own arm. The pain stopped her trembling. At this point, it was pointless to consider whether Stan’s method of controlling the adventure group was correct. With Stan gone, the Blood Gate Adventurers would collapse in no time. The enemies Stan had made, unable to find him, would come after Nairoi.
In the basement, the faint blue energy around Su Xiao dissipated, and a wave of weakness washed over him. He had finally dealt with his major enemy, Stan. As for the escaped Nairoi, if the opportunity arose, Su Xiao would kill her. If not, he wouldn’t actively hunt her down like he had schemed against Stan. He didn’t fear Stan, let alone a fleeing Nairoi.
Leaping out through the hole in the basement ceiling, Su Xiao walked down the street, feeling a sense of relief. He had made an enemy of Stan back when he was a second-rank contractor, and now he had finally eliminated this major threat.
The bright moon hung high. As Su Xiao walked, a notification from Reincarnation Paradise appeared.
[Notification: The Hunter has killed the leader of a large adventure group. You have obtained the temporary title “Team Slayer.”]
[The “Team Slayer” title is forcibly equipped and will last for three derivative worlds.]
[The “Team Slayer” title has no attributes, cannot be unequipped, cannot be traded, and cannot be destroyed. The title will disappear after the Hunter experiences three derivative worlds.]
[While equipped with the “Team Slayer” title, if the Hunter comes into conflict with any contractor, the opposing contractor will receive a warning and learn the specific origin of the “Team Slayer” title.]
…
Seeing the title “Team Slayer,” Su Xiao understood that this was Reincarnation Paradise’s protection mechanism for adventure groups. After all, he had killed the leader of a large adventure group. With such a record, for the next three derivative worlds, whenever he fought other contractors, they would immediately receive a warning.
The situation was predictable. Once those contractors learned that Su Xiao had killed the leader of a large adventure group, unless they had a screw loose, nine out of ten would turn tail and flee.