Chapter 58: Respective Trump Cards
One hour later, the main street of Aisenla.
Su Xiao stepped over the chest of a fallen Dark Watcher, the Moonlight Remnant in his hand already stained with pitch-black blood.
Fighting from the east of the city to here, he had lost count of how many Dark Watchers he had slain. A conservative estimate was over five thousand. He had gained no World Source, and no treasure chests had dropped. The only benefit was that the Moonlight Remnant in his hand had become increasingly sharp.
Black patterns spread upward from the guard of the Moonlight Remnant, now extending about 20 centimeters. It still had about four-fifths of the blade to cover before the entire sword was enveloped.
These black patterns were composed of "Darkness," the very thing the Sorrowful Maiden had once purified.
As the area of the black patterns gradually expanded, the Moonlight Remnant grew sharper. When the entire sword was wrapped in black patterns, perhaps some change would occur.
The "soul" of the Moonlight Remnant was burning, which was why it could deal massive damage to the Dark Watchers. But in sixteen hours, it would be permanently damaged.
Faced with this situation, Su Xiao naturally planned to have the Dragon-Slaying Flash devour it before the Moonlight Remnant was completely ruined, to avoid waste.
If the blade of the Moonlight Remnant was fully covered by the black patterns, it would be even sharper. Although Su Xiao wasn't sure if this would further increase the Dragon-Slaying Flash's edge value, it was worth trying.
Moreover, Su Xiao needed to continue clearing the nearby Dark Watchers. Accumulating the black patterns was just a side benefit.
Crack, crack...
The corpses of the Dark Watchers were as brittle as charcoal after death. Su Xiao had only advanced about ten meters when a rapid metallic clanging sound came from ahead.
Clang, clang, clang!
A ragged dwarf stood several dozen meters away. In its left hand, it held a leg bone, and in its right, a metal round shield. It was frantically banging the leg bone against the metal shield, producing an ear-splitting noise.
This dwarf was barely over 80 centimeters tall, a head shorter than Kaiser. Seeing it, Su Xiao raised an eyebrow. This thing was called an Uta, responsible for early warnings within Aisenla City. Once it spotted a living creature, it would do everything possible to attract Dark Watchers and the mad wizards who had transformed into giant beasts.
"I've been looking for you for a long time."
As soon as Su Xiao finished speaking, he vanished from his spot. When he reappeared, he was right in front of the dwarf Uta.
The blade tore through the air. Before this Uta could even react, Su Xiao had severed its legs.
A crystal layer spread, and moments later, the dwarf Uta was sealed inside a cage constructed from the crystal layer.
Su Xiao held the half-meter-tall crystal cage in his left hand. The dwarf Uta inside looked dazed, both frantic and helpless.
"Knock."
Su Xiao shook the crystal cage in his hand. Although the Uta inside didn't understand his words, it began frantically banging on its metal round shield again.
Clang, clang, clang...
The loud clanging sounds rang out. Holding a longsword in one hand and the crystal cage in the other, Su Xiao continued forward.
Half a kilometer behind him, Luluxi and the others were stunned, utterly impressed by Su Xiao's recent move.
"Luluxi, maybe... we should retreat."
A little girl with twin tails spoke up.
"Agreed."
"Double agreed! The Hunters from Reincarnation Paradise are all crazy."
"This..."
Luluxi hesitated as well. Su Xiao's actions had made her want to back out.
Back on the main street, with the Uta's "help," even more Dark Watchers came charging out from the surrounding alleys and streets.
Amid the horde of Dark Watchers, Su Xiao took half a step back, dodging a serrated blade with a chipped edge. At the same time, he slashed diagonally. The sword edge struck a Dark Watcher, easily cutting through its skin, withered muscles, then bones and organs.
Pfft.
With a single, effortless slash, a Dark Watcher was cleaved in two.
Roars and howls filled the air. The Uta trapped in the crystal cage, stimulated by the chaos, banged even harder.
When the surrounding Dark Watchers had gathered to over a thousand, Su Xiao sheathed the Moonlight Remnant. No other technique was better suited for this situation than Ring Break.
Zheng!
The longsword let out a crisp ring. The area around Su Xiao suddenly fell silent. A large number of Dark Watchers collapsed to the ground. The few dozen who survived lunged at Su Xiao again. The battle ended a minute later.
An eyeball floated in midair. It was clearly some kind of detection creature or equipment, currently monitoring Su Xiao.
In a room somewhere in Aisenla, candlelight flickered. Sphinx, dressed in a white suit, sat on a wooden chair. His eyes slowly opened, filled with confusion, but more so with bewilderment. What exactly was his enemy doing?
No matter how Sphinx speculated, he couldn't figure out what Su Xiao was doing. Because Su Xiao's current behavior wasn't just actively stepping into a trap; it was like he was taking a running leap and jumping straight in.
"Here it is again, this strange way of acting."
Sphinx rubbed his brow. He sensed a familiar flavor. The first time Su Xiao had come to Aisenla City, his behavior pattern was similar: no scheming, just charging straight in, and yet it had left Sphinx completely dumbfounded.
According to Sphinx's information, Su Xiao and his group had split into two teams. Both were meant to draw his attention. The goal of both teams was the Bronze Door. One team was likely the main force for destroying the Bronze Door, since it included an old acquaintance, Mr. J.
Sphinx didn't actually care about Mr. J, because his goal was to eliminate Su Xiao, thereby escaping this hunt. What he needed now was time.
But Su Xiao's current behavior pattern completely baffled Sphinx. Was the other party trying to draw their attention? Even if so, there was no need to be so blatant.
It felt like: "I'm right here, being swarmed by Dark Watchers. Sphinx, hurry up and send someone to kill me."
If Su Xiao hadn't done this, Sphinx would indeed have sent his trusted subordinates to snipe Su Xiao from a distance.
But Su Xiao's current actions made Sphinx hesitate. Su Xiao's behavior was too suspicious. It felt like he was actively inviting Sphinx to send people over.
"Should we strike now? If even you are hesitating, then who are we supposed to trust?"
The little girl with the chubby face, Connie, spoke. Her words made Sphinx's hand freeze in midair.
"Keep waiting. Wait until the moment the Bronze Door shatters, then you act. You only have five minutes. If you kill him within those five minutes, we win."
Sphinx seemed to have figured something out, so he chose to abandon the Bronze Door. The Bronze Door was just a decoy. The thing manifested using the Bronze Door was the real key.
Urgent knocking came from the door. One of Sphinx's trusted subordinates, Lady Moon, pushed the door open and entered. Her expression was somewhat anxious.
"Sphinx, the Bronze Door... has disappeared!"
As Lady Moon said this, she herself found it hard to believe.
"Dis... appeared?"
Sphinx frowned deeply.
"Yes, disappeared."
Lady Moon confirmed again, completely ignoring Connie, who stood nearby with a stunned expression and her mouth slightly open.
"Is that so? So this is where you were waiting for me, Kukulin Bai Ye. Ha, hahaha..."
Sphinx lowered his head, one hand pressed to his forehead, laughing so hard his shoulders shook.
"Outsmarted by those two. Having a decapitating Night was already a headache, and now Mr. J shows up too."
Sphinx's laughter made the three people beside him feel a chill in their hearts. The last time Sphinx had laughed like this was when he was surrounded by two Hunters, six Battle Angels, and five Pioneers.
"You three, if you're scared, you can leave now."
"..."
After a brief silence, Lady Moon sighed.
"Are you insulting me, Sphinx? I'll continue to keep an eye on Mr. J's side."
Lady Moon's hand pushed against the door.
"Farewell, Lady Moon."
As soon as Sphinx finished speaking, a muffled gunshot rang out.
Boom!
A bullet pierced Lady Moon's head, blasting her corpse out the door. Wisps of blue smoke drifted from the muzzle of a sniper rifle. The sniper standing in the shadows remained silent.
"Connie, come closer."
"Mm."
Connie stood in front of Sphinx. Sphinx, still seated on the wooden chair, wrapped one arm around her.
"I'm willing, Sphinx. After I use 'that thing,' I might not necessarily die, you know."
"..."
Sphinx's body stiffened, then he relaxed.
"We just have no way back. At least we haven't lost yet. The Dark Prison Gate has already manifested. There's only one chance. There can't be any more accidents."
Sphinx stood up from the wooden chair and walked out of the room. He had eliminated Lady Moon for two reasons: first, she was no longer useful, and second, she had shown cowardice in a critical moment. Cowardice meant the potential for betrayal.
Sphinx still had a trump card, but it could only be played at the crucial moment.
"Your command is our mission."
Four figures knelt on one knee. Among them was one wearing chainmail, another with a skeletal warhorse standing beside him, and another in tattered robes.
Connie stepped forward slowly, drawing two short blades from her waist. Just by drawing these two blades, her face turned deathly pale, and conspicuous black spots appeared on the skin of her neck.
Pfft, pfft...
After a few slashes, all four kneeling figures were chopped to pieces. Pitch-black smoke emanated from Connie's body. Her eyes had turned pure black, with no distinction between whites and pupils.