Chapter 33: The Enemy's Leader
Su Xiao had never heard of a communication platform within a fully open Primordial World before, much less one built by the Traveling Group. Still, it made sense, considering that ever since entering this world, he had been relentlessly tracking the Dominator's trail and ignoring everything else.
The current situation was that someone was using his name to publicly declare that Herlu City was his territory, and anyone who came would die.
As one of the three most important major cities in the Wizard World, Herlu City offered plenty of opportunities to reap benefits. Occupying it would provoke hostility from all Contractors. Of course, it was just hostility—without a clear instigator, no Contractor would come looking for trouble with Su Xiao.
"When did you get this news?"
Su Xiao held a Soul Crystal Fragment between his fingers and tossed it into his mouth like a candy bean.
"A few days ago."
The short-haired girl took a sip of hot tea and spoke softly. Based on what she said, Su Xiao pieced together the general situation.
The day Su Xiao arrived in Herlu City, this rumor had already spread throughout the city. Not only that, but a photo had also circulated.
That photo showed Su Xiao intercepting and killing the three-man team of the Moen Family a few nights ago, sitting on a rooftop eating a Soul Crystal. The moon that night faintly shimmered with a blood-red hue—Su Xiao wouldn't forget that detail.
Because of that photo, the nickname "Humanoid Boss" spread among the Contractors. Combined with the footage of his battle against three Immortal Wizards, it made those eager Contractors think twice.
After this news spread, Contractors from various Paradises didn't completely avoid entering Herlu City; they just became more cautious. What truly scared them off was the second photo.
Su Xiao hadn't expected anyone to get that photo. It captured him stepping on the head of Dominator·Sotos, his long blade piercing through the enemy's chest.
From the photo, Su Xiao's eyes glowed red, and blood energy swirled around him—an undeniably hostile sight.
This scene, nearly slaughtering the world's third-largest boss, caused over 95% of the Contractors in Herlu City to evacuate. Those who remained were the stubborn fools, the kind of Contractors who were both reckless and ruthless.
The moment he saw that photo, Su Xiao's mind cleared. Dominator·Sotos had been sold out—sold out by the White Goat and the Violators.
The known information was already clear. Most of the Violators in this world had banded together, forming an alliance with two or three Ancient Gods. They had sabotaged the transaction between Reincarnation Paradise and Holy Light Paradise and stolen the Space-Time Power.
Su Xiao didn't believe that a transaction between Paradises could be ruined by Ancient Gods alone. There was clearly a traitor involved, someone from one of the two parties—either Reincarnation Paradise or Holy Light Paradise.
The traitor had relayed the transaction's time, location, and the number of personnel from both sides to the Violators. That was why the transaction went wrong midway, causing Reincarnation Paradise to lose a large amount of Space-Time Power and Holy Light Paradise to suffer significant losses as well.
Thinking of the traitor, Su Xiao couldn't help but recall Xia, who was still alive. If Su Xiao didn't know Xia well, she would be the prime suspect. But Su Xiao was familiar with her—that chef didn't like courting death.
In other words, if Xia had any bad record, she wouldn't have been chosen as Reincarnation Paradise's diplomatic angel to carry the Space-Time Power.
The Contractors and Hunters involved in this Reincarnation Paradise transaction were not friendly. No, they were the kind of madmen who could be laughing one moment and then, over a verbal disagreement, slaughter all the representatives from Holy Light Paradise the next.
That was precisely why Xia was so important. She could cook, had a gentle personality, and compared to those lunatics, she was a living angel. Reincarnation Paradise's choice of her was flawless—it made the transaction smoother, while those madmen only served as protection.
A few days ago, when Su Xiao arrived in this world, the Violators had already received word. After all, he had encountered and fought several Violators upon entering the world, and it was only natural that they sent back information before dying.
What followed was simple. After the Violator Alliance and the White Goat discussed it, they decided to clear out Herlu City and let Dominator·Sotos take the blame.
This was a very wise decision. Dominator·Sotos was clearly at odds with the White Goat and the Violator Alliance. Reincarnation Paradise had lost a total of 10,850 ounces of Space-Time Power, but the Dominator only got 1,753 ounces—that alone spoke volumes.
From the perspective of the White Goat and the Violator Alliance, since Dominator·Sotos wouldn't stand with them or serve as their combat strength, they might as well sell him out to test Su Xiao's strength.
So, the Violator Alliance falsely claimed that Su Xiao had taken over Herlu City. The first photo they obtained came through the ability of Charm Illusion, while the second was set up in the Ancient God Temple.
They were clearing the field for Su Xiao. It had to be said that the decision-maker of the Violator Alliance was quite clever—an old schemer skilled in laying traps. Clearing Herlu City had several benefits:
Goal One: Testing—testing Su Xiao's combat power.
Goal Two: Using the Dominator to severely wound Su Xiao or force him to reveal his trump cards, making it easier to deal with him later (result: failure).
Goal Three: Isolating Su Xiao, preventing him from using the Wizard Council to unite Contractors from various Paradises and form a powerful force.
Three birds with one stone, and without direct confrontation with Su Xiao, they could gather general information about him. They might even eliminate Su Xiao through the Dominator's hands—a pretty good outcome for the Violator Alliance and the White Goat.
Realizing this, a smile appeared on Su Xiao's face. Dominator·Sotos had to be eliminated, or there would be endless trouble. As for being isolated...
In truth, they didn't need to do that at all. Su Xiao was unlikely to rally other Contractors. He wasn't the kind of spiritual leader who could raise a hand and have people die for him.
The plot characters who had worked for Su Xiao in the past were mostly subordinates he gained after joining local forces. Those people weren't loyal to Su Xiao but to the forces they belonged to.
The decision-maker of the Violator Alliance was troublesome. His scheme against Su Xiao wasn't a success, but it wasn't a failure either. Moreover, that guy could maneuver around Ancient Gods, which showed his capability.
"An old schemer among the Violators."
Su Xiao's smile grew more amiable. What he didn't notice was that the short-haired girl's expression was gradually turning "serious."
"You're useless now."
Su Xiao leaned back in his seat, crossed his legs, and closed his eyes in thought.
"Huh?!"
The short-haired girl's voice came with a slight tremble, her expression on the verge of collapse. That phrase "You're useless now" scared her into a full-on facial expression performance. Usually, such words were only spoken before silencing someone.
"W-wait, I, I, I..."
The short-haired girl stammered "I" for a long time without finishing her sentence. In reality, Su Xiao had just said that out of habit.
"Your main mission."
"Immortal Wizard Dawn."
The short-haired girl sensed a turning point and answered tentatively.
"Baha, Bubu, take her to see Dawn."
"Got it, miss, this way please."
"Woof~"
Bubu Wang jolted awake, clearly dazed from sleep. He lifted his dog head, shook his dog body, and a few dog hairs fell off.
Just now, Bubu Wang had a dream where he stepped on the White Goat and crushed Azathoth with one paw. Indeed, after falling asleep, dreams had everything.
Fifteen minutes later, the short-haired girl stood in the corridor on the fifth floor of the Wizard Council, her expression somewhat stunned. Her main mission, which she had expected to take half a month to complete, was finished in two minutes.
The short-haired girl first met Dawn, skipping countless steps, then met Gus. Gus barely paid her any attention, tossing her an ancient silver coin, and the mission was complete.
"What a good person."
The short-haired girl activated the teleportation array and disappeared from the Wizard Council headquarters.
Seeing this, Bubu Wang activated the tracker on the short-haired girl, pulled out a bottle of cola, inserted a straw, and drank contentedly.