Chapter 30: Showing Off Affection…
On the chaotic battlefield, Su Xiao stood before a shell crater. His opponents included not only Aokiji but also a pair of contractors who kept flaunting their affection. The two had just dodged Su Xiao's blade aura when they embraced and kissed as if no one else existed, showing off their love from every angle—360 degrees without blind spots. Even their ally Aokiji found it hard to watch.
As Su Xiao appeared, several ice bullets flew from afar at high speed, leaving trails of white mist in their wake.
The ice bullets hurtled straight toward Su Xiao's face. He gripped his longsword tightly, about to slash them apart, when his instinct issued a warning.
'Don't slash. Very dangerous.'
The moment this feeling arose, Su Xiao flipped his blade in hand, gripped it with both hands, and thrust the tip into the icy ground beneath him.
Boom!
Ice shards flew in all directions as a thick cloud of ice mist exploded outward from Su Xiao's center.
Bang, bang, bang…
Several ice bullets detonated, and frost suddenly appeared, beginning to spread nearby.
"Moo!"
A bull's roar reached Aokiji's ears. Heavy footsteps sounded behind him. Aokiji didn't turn around; ice spikes rose at his feet, extending toward the unknown enemy behind him.
Charging at Aokiji was Amu. Seeing Su Xiao surrounded by three people, could Amu tolerate it? Of course not, so he lowered his head and charged straight at Aokiji.
The rapidly spreading ice spikes touched Amu's feet, and he was instantly frozen in place. Within the biting cold ice, Amu's eyes darted left and right. The cool sensation made him want to take a nap.
Aokiji glanced at the frozen Amu and was about to ignore him, but just as he turned his gaze, a startling sight appeared.
The ice on Amu's body vanished at a visible rate—not melting into water, but simply disappearing, as if something was devouring it.
"Burp~"
Amu let out a belch, roared, and continued charging at Aokiji. Aokiji was stunned for a moment, then a crooked ice blade formed in his hand.
Amu had stalled Aokiji, or rather, Amu was somewhat countering him. For Amu, being frozen was no different from lying in a warm bed—it only made him sleepy. Moreover, he excelled at converting ice energy, the sole energy within his body. Amu's voracious appetite stemmed from needing to convert energy into ice energy. Fighting Aokiji was like feasting for him.
As for Aokiji's powerful martial arts and Haki, Amu's specialty was taking hits. For the time being, Aokiji indeed had little way to deal with him.
Bang!
The ice war hammer slammed into Aokiji's arm. The ice beneath Aokiji's feet cracked, and frost spread along the hammer, freezing Amu inside. The ice crackled loudly, but in the next moment, the ice on Amu's body rapidly disappeared.
Amu's mouth opened wide, and a stream of biting cold white mist spewed from it.
Crack, crack, crack…
Aokiji was frozen by the mist, but he could elementalize, so the low temperature had no effect on him.
Amu had successfully stalled Aokiji, which undoubtedly relieved a great deal of pressure on Su Xiao. Now, he only needed to deal with the two lovey-dovey contractors and the navy soldiers who might charge at him at any moment.
Banished circled around Su Xiao. He had just advanced to the Fifth Rank and wasn't yet clear on the combat capabilities of Fifth Rank contractors.
"Darling, he's looking at us."
"Maybe he's jealous. After all, he's alone—no, wait, he has a bull."
Black Moon chuckled softly, his eyes filled with murderous intent as he stared at Su Xiao.
"Though I don't know who you are… you're getting in the way of our merit farming."
Flower Shadow spoke while kissing Black Moon's cheek. They did this deliberately—some people used words to affect an enemy's mindset, while they used public displays of affection.
Su Xiao didn't care much about how they showed off. His current thought was: how to quickly eliminate these two? Amu couldn't hold out much longer.
Instead of charging forward immediately, Su Xiao sheathed Dragon-Slaying Flash and assumed a drawing stance.
"Wide range, circular slashing attack, very fast."
Flower Shadow spoke urgently.
Clang.
The blade aura of Ring Break spread out. Black Moon wrapped one arm around Flower Shadow, and her body tilted sideways, lying across his arm.
The blade aura of Ring Break swept through, passing through Black Moon's neck. His body turned semi-transparent again.
Before Flower Shadow could regain her stance, Su Xiao had already appeared behind them.
"Thorns!"
Flower Shadow shouted. Green vines surged wildly beneath Su Xiao's feet, instantly entangling his legs.
Black Moon released Flower Shadow. The moment their bodies stopped touching, his pupils turned pitch black, and his expression became ferociously twisted.
"Hahaha, die!"
Black Moon's left arm was pitch black, as if composed of black particles. His hand was like a blade, thrusting straight at Su Xiao's face.
The black, gleaming fingertips stopped right before Su Xiao's eyes. Black Moon seemed frozen, his chest suddenly bulging unnaturally.
With a retching sound, Black Moon spat out a mouthful of blood filled with organ fragments. The blue light in Su Xiao's eyes faded. Controlling Banished, which had split into dust-sized particles, was difficult, so he had remained still, as if truly bound by the vines, acting as bait.
With a crisp crack, the vines binding Su Xiao shattered. The muscles on his arms bulged slightly as he executed a side slash aimed at Black Moon's neck.
Just as Black Moon was about to counter, a sharp pain erupted from within his chest again. This time, it was more lethal. Not only did his mana drop by a large chunk, but while enduring terrifying true damage plus organ damage, his body went completely numb.
The blade passed through Black Moon's neck, and he turned semi-transparent again. By now, Flower Shadow had lunged to Black Moon's feet, grabbing his ankle with one hand. A red mark appeared on her face.
"Don't. Touch. Me."
Black Moon's eyes widened. He had regained his senses. The reason he told Flower Shadow not to touch him wasn't disgust for his lover but another cause.
A stinging sensation came from Flower Shadow's palm. Ignoring the slash from behind, Black Moon swung his blade-hand down at her right arm.
Pfft!
Two sounds of flesh being cut came almost simultaneously. Flower Shadow's right arm was severed. The fragmented blades of Banished burst from the wound but failed to enter her torso.
A slash mark appeared on Black Moon's chest. Both his arms were severed just above the elbows, falling onto the ice.
"Shadow Flower Moon."
Black Moon and Flower Shadow spoke simultaneously. A pitch-black pillar covered in pink petals appeared between them and instantly expanded.
Thud! Su Xiao was sent flying backward as if hit head-on by a tank.
Adjusting his posture midair, Su Xiao landed in a half-crouch, sliding over ten meters across the ice before stopping. Blood dripped from his chin.
"Flower, retreat that way. We chose… the wrong enemy. This one… is a bit strong."
Black Moon looked at Flower Shadow as he slowly backed away. He knew he was doomed. The fragmented blades inside him were destroying various organs. The only reason he hadn't died instantly was due to a passive ability.
Flower Shadow, missing one arm, stood up from the ice. She walked step by step toward Black Moon.
"Hide yourself, ugh…"
Black Moon spat out another mouthful of blood.
"We… went mad long ago."
Flower Shadow vanished from her spot. When she reappeared, she was in front of Black Moon, leaning against his chest. Their remaining single arms pointed at Su Xiao.
"Waning Moon Shadow."
Black Moon and Flower Shadow spoke simultaneously. There was no hatred in their eyes. In Reincarnation Paradise, dying in a fight due to opposing stances was perfectly normal. They had only miscalculated one thing: that Aokiji would be stalled. Otherwise, these three might have truly killed Su Xiao here. Fifth Rank contractors were not to be underestimated.
A black pillar of light descended from above Su Xiao. He forcibly used Dragon Shadow Flash to shift his position.
Thud!
A pillar of light, a full ten meters thick, crashed down, piercing the ice layer and evaporating a large amount of seawater below before dissipating.
"Missed."
Black Moon spat out bloody saliva. He could no longer contain Banished within him. The fragmented blades burst out of his body.
Clang.
The blade chimed sharply. Su Xiao, now standing behind Flower Shadow, slashed down with one stroke, cutting both of them into four pieces. Blood splattered everywhere.
With a thud, the corpses hit the ground. Su Xiao leaped backward as another black pillar of light fell from the sky.
Thud!
Like a pile driver hammering the ice, countless cracks spread. Clearly, Black Moon and Flower Shadow were ruthless individuals. Even in death, they tried to drag Su Xiao down with them. Fifth Rank contractors from Reincarnation Paradise never backed down.