Chapter 50: Demon Forging
The heat surged within the cave. Su Xiao put away the [Mother of the White Goat], the first Holy Spirit-ranked equipment he had obtained. Its attributes were powerful and unique, which made him wonder—if he acquired a Holy Spirit-ranked piece he could use himself, how much of an enhancement would that bring?
Glancing at the Black Goat·Shub, which had been blasted into fragments, Su Xiao gained a deeper understanding of Sfenk. That guy was someone who would sell anything to survive.
Or rather, Sfenk had bet everything on this fight with Su Xiao. Against such an enemy, Su Xiao naturally went all out. He never underestimated any opponent, especially not an old yinbi like Sfenk.
Su Xiao had brought ten Apollos, and Sfenk had evaded them once. As a result, 63 violators died miserably, and the big boss Shub was blown to pieces.
Sfenk clearly realized that if he didn't pay Su Xiao a hefty ransom, tonight would be his death day.
Su Xiao was fairly satisfied with this hefty ransom—after all, it was dozens of diamond Honor Medals, a Holy Spirit-ranked piece of equipment, and 3,850 ounces of Space-Time Power.
The Reincarnation Paradise had lost a total of 10,850 ounces of Space-Time Power. So far, Su Xiao had recovered 5,603 ounces, more than half.
[The Hunter has completed the Main Mission·Third Ring (White Goat).]
[You have received the Radiance of Triumph (High-tier authority, allows a deep recovery and purification at the physical and soul level; this authority is Seventh Rank).]
[Main Mission·Fourth Ring (Activating…)]
[Due to the massive upheaval in the Miracle Land·Eisenla, the activation of Main Mission·Fourth Ring has failed.]
[Warning: The Hunter must stay away from Eisenla within 10 hours.]
[Hint: After 10 hours, the Hunter may head to Eisenla City and destroy the 'Demon Forging Foundation.']
[The name of Miracle Land·Eisenla is being changed…]
[Change complete. It has been named 'Dark Prison Gate·Eisenla.']
[Surviving civilians in Dark Prison Gate·Eisenla: 0 (all have been fully beastified).]
[Surviving mad wizards in Dark Prison Gate·Eisenla: 153 (the mad wizards have been fully beastified; this process is irreversible and destructive).]
…
Seeing these prompts, Su Xiao wasn't surprised. Given the sacrifices Sfenk had made earlier, if he claimed there was no scheme, Su Xiao absolutely wouldn't believe it.
Now Sfenk had shown his ruthless side—all civilians in Eisenla City were dead, transformed into 'beastified' forms.
Just as Su Xiao was pondering, reinforcements from the Reincarnation Paradise arrived. He wasn't fighting alone in this world; he was here to reclaim the Space-Time Power, so the Reincarnation Paradise naturally provided assistance.
[Detected that the current situation is extremely dangerous. The reinforcement mechanism has been activated.]
[Arbiter·Nicholas Kaisa is already in this world; no secondary teleportation needed.]
[Hint: Nicholas Kaisa is in a punishment state; 70% of his Arbiter authority has been temporarily stripped.]
[Checking contractors/hunters/arbiters related to the Hunter…]
[Large adventure group detected: Divine Emperor Adventure Group. Mandatory conscription: Yes/No.]
…
Seeing this prompt, Bubu Wang beside Su Xiao almost laughed out loud. If the Divine Emperor Adventure Group were dragged into this world, those few hundred members would all be crying.
A newly promoted Fifth Rank adventure group, caught in the fight between Su Xiao and Sfenk—for the Divine Emperor Adventure Group, this was a catastrophic disaster.
[Re-screening completed.]
[Contractor (Codename: Red Clown/Undying Flame Demon) has received the conscription. Will arrive in this world in 1 natural day.]
[Due to his special abilities, Red Clown can destroy the 'Demon Forging Foundation' and has excellent survivability. He will provide assistance to the Hunter. If Red Clown behaves abnormally during the assistance period, the Hunter may activate the conscription privilege to forcibly execute Red Clown.]
[Checking the position of friendly Worker·Xia…]
[Because the Hunter has killed the Black Goat and severed its connection to this world, the position of Worker·Xia has been locked.]
[Due to Worker·Xia's satisfactory performance in this transaction, with no misconduct, and successful retention of a small portion of Space-Time Power, Worker·Xia has been granted a temporary privilege.]
[World Tree notarizing…]
[Notarization complete. Teleportation initiated.]
…
A spatial rift tore open, and Xia's figure suddenly appeared, sitting on the ground. From her slightly dirty face, it was clear she was extremely bewildered.
"So hot, can't breathe. This is…"
Xia pressed her chest in pain. Inside this cave, five Apollos had just exploded; the temperature was terrifying. Though Bubu Wang, Amu, and Baha seemed fine, their Stamina attributes far exceeded Xia's.
"Hey, wake up."
Su Xiao crouched in front of Xia and patted her face, giving her two friendly slaps.
"It hurts. I'm being steamed. I'm not a crab~."
Xia was dazed from the heat, rambling nonsense with a glazed look.
Su Xiao grabbed Xia by the back of her collar. After a few steps, he felt this wasn't ideal, so he hoisted her over his shoulder.
Boom!
Su Xiao kicked straight at the rock wall. Debris flew everywhere, and a large hole appeared. Seeing this, Amu immediately went ahead to clear the path.
Five minutes later, dirt suddenly burst up from the ground, and a frozen war hammer flew high before landing diagonally.
Su Xiao stepped out of the hole in the ground. The cool night breeze blew, dispelling the stifling heat on him.
"Ah~ Ahchoo~"
The shift between hot and cold woke Xia. She sat on the ground, dazed for a moment, then came to her senses.
"Kukulin, I thought I was done for. My sincere thanks."
Xia sighed, pulling at her collar. She was clearly overheated, sweat soaking her clothes. Despite the heat, she maintained her composure and didn't strip down.
"Not really. The Reincarnation Paradise teleported you here."
Su Xiao was actually a bit unclear why the Reincarnation Paradise sent Xia here instead of directly back to the Reincarnation Paradise.
"Oh, right, Kukulin, I managed to keep 369 ounces of Space-Time Power. The rest should be with the White Goat. I saw her split form—a very special one, not exactly friendly, but it told me a lot…"
Xia stopped mid-sentence. Unbeknownst to her, she had gained two strong temporary abilities.
Spirit Eye (Passive Lv.80, Temporary Ability): Allows ultra-long-range perception and detection of the 'Demon Forging Foundation.'
Forced Return (Passive X, Temporary Ability): When about to suffer a fatal attack, immediately returns to the Reincarnation Paradise.
…
These two abilities meant Xia wasn't a burden but an important scout, and she didn't need much protection. In a pinch, she could use 'Forced Return' to probe dangerous situations, though only once.
After a moment's thought, Xia showed these two abilities to Su Xiao.
"It seems… what Sfenk brought in is very unusual."
Su Xiao basically understood why Xia hadn't returned to the Reincarnation Paradise. She had received a mission. Moreover, because she had preserved a small amount of Space-Time Power, she gained the authority to return anytime. As a diplomatic little angel, Xia's performance at this level was quite surprising.
"What is the 'Demon Forging Foundation'?"
Xia tidied her clothes, found an open space nearby, and started setting up a pot to cook. In her own way, she was repaying Su Xiao for saving her.
"Baha."
Su Xiao signaled Baha to explain the situation to Xia while he pondered the matter of Red Clown. He had noticed that guy wasn't dead back in the Ghost World. Now it seemed he was no longer purely human but an Undying Flame Demon.
That guy had once been a violator. Being forcibly conscripted this time meant he had shed his violator status and was under observation.
Su Xiao didn't mind Red Clown helping. The reason was simple: he could forcibly execute him at any time through the conscription privilege, so he wasn't afraid of any tricks.
Besides, that guy was an old yinbi. He had schemed against Su Xiao once in the Ghost World, not to kill him but to avoid him entirely and find a way to send Su Xiao away. That way, he could accomplish something in that world. But as soon as Su Xiao left the Ghost World, his former subordinate Reinhardt dealt with him.
Red Clown, aka Mr. J, fought Reinhardt on a thunderstorm night. Reinhardt beat him into a state of autism. After the battle, Reinhardt barely survived and was taken away by Lord Harold for rescue. Now Reinhardt was the Legion Commander of the Execution Agency. During that fight with Reinhardt, Mr. J nearly died.
"So, Kukulin, you took down both the Dominator and the Black Goat?!"
After Baha's explanation, Xia was stunned, her worldview shaken. In her eyes, a big boss like the Black Goat should be fought by a group. Going solo was just feeding the enemy.
Baha looked at Xia with confusion. His thought was: a boss like the Dominator needed a team? Since following Su Xiao, he had never seen Su Xiao team up with anyone. No, wait—once, with contractors from the Apocalypse Paradise. But they all died.
Baha didn't tell Xia that the fight between Su Xiao and the Dominator was the real highlight. Either of them landing a few slashes or stabs on the other would be fatal. It was a fair duel.