Chapter 14: The Age of Cold Weapons Arrives
Before entering the Light and Dark World, Su Xiao knew that a contractor from his own side would enter this world alongside him. This contractor had just recently advanced to the seventh rank, but now, that contractor was dead.
Su Xiao had no idea how this short-haired woman had died, how she had found him, or how she had appeared here—everything was unknown.
What he did know was that this woman had reached a dangerous location, and her death was definitely related to contractors from the Death Paradise side.
As for why she had sought him out, Su Xiao guessed that she was in a hopeless situation and, unwilling to die like that, had come to him intending to offer information or equipment to make her enemies suffer as well.
Unfortunately, the short-haired woman was too severely injured. She barely made it to the Holy Realm Councilor's residence before she couldn't hold on any longer, leaving only a single sentence.
"Amu, dispose of the body. Baha, keep an eye on nearby spatial fluctuations."
As soon as Su Xiao finished speaking, he sensed an abnormal fluctuation originating from the short-haired woman's corpse.
White light particles drifted from the short-haired woman's body as it slowly disappeared, as if it had never existed.
A few seconds later, the short-haired woman's corpse had completely vanished, leaving a small pile of black ash on the floor. Seeing this ash, Su Xiao exchanged a glance with Azaz.
"It looks very similar, just a larger amount this time."
Azaz pulled a small cylindrical glass bottle from his chest, which contained a small amount of black ash.
This black ash was what remained after the death of Iron Fang Muro, an official of the Council Court. Iron Fang Muro had privately altered the team of secret mages escorting Su Xiao, sending a group of newly promoted secret mages to escort him on the steam train. After the matter was exposed, Iron Fang Muro was silenced by an unknown enemy.
Back then, Iron Fang Muro's corpse had not turned into white light particles and disappeared, but this black ash was found beside his corpse.
Those who died due to a certain cause would have their bodies turn into white light particles and leave behind black ash. These people also shared a common trait: the energy within their bodies would decay. If they lacked supernatural abilities, their life force would decay instead—this was the case with the old councilor.
From this perspective, the female contractor, Iron Fang Muro, and the old councilor were all affected by the same ability. The first two were already dead, while the last was barely clinging to life.
This ability to decay energy was definitely related to Guru, the Kingdom Destroyer, and might even be his ability.
The known information was still too scarce. Su Xiao decided to observe the situation first. The current phase was one he excelled at.
"This might all be the work of the same person."
Azaz spoke in a deep voice as he collected the black ash from the floor into the small glass bottle. After a moment of hesitation, he tossed the bottle to Su Xiao.
[Prompt: You have obtained Soul Ash.]
[Source of this item: ???]
[Effect: If burned again, it will cause a minor collision of "Light and Dark," thereby opening a tiny gap. The duration of the tiny gap is 5 to 60 minutes, depending on the amount of Soul Ash burned.]
[Warning: Burning Soul Ash has a small chance of attracting the attention of the "Resentful Orphan."]
[Warning: The "Resentful Orphan" is extremely dangerous.]
...
Seeing the information on the Soul Ash, Su Xiao recalled the main mission (Fourth Ring). After completing the fourth ring of his mission, Light and Dark would collide, opening a gap. What this meant, Su Xiao was not yet sure.
If he burned the Soul Ash now, he could trigger the collision of Light and Dark ahead of time without completing the fourth ring of the main mission, creating a temporary gap.
One was a permanent opening, the other temporary, and the size of the gap would also differ.
Burning the Soul Ash to temporarily open a gap carried risks—it might attract the attention of the "Resentful Orphan." Su Xiao didn't need to think twice to know that this "Resentful Orphan" was absolutely terrifyingly powerful, otherwise, the Reincarnation Paradise wouldn't have issued a danger warning.
The Reincarnation Paradise's warnings were based on Su Xiao's strength. He also noticed that the color of the warning text indicated the level of danger.
A normal warning was light red, meaning there was danger, but Su Xiao could handle it with caution.
The next level was blood red, indicating that Su Xiao had a more than fifty percent chance of dying in battle.
As for the most dangerous, it was a black warning, meaning Su Xiao had a ninety percent chance of dying in battle.
The warning for the "Resentful Orphan" was black—pitch black and deep, enough to make one's heart race.
Burning the Soul Ash only had a small chance of attracting the "Resentful Orphan's" attention, which was good news.
Information was far too scarce, and since Su Xiao was inside Angor City, even if the "Resentful Orphan" was drawn here, it wouldn't be him dealing with it alone. So, he decided to give it a try.
"White Night, my old friend has arrived. With him here to protect the councilor, there won't be any problems."
Azaz interrupted Su Xiao's idea of burning the Soul Ash. The council meeting was about to begin, and the location was the Council Court.
Su Xiao had Baha stay in the small building. The old councilor was very important. Before the mission was completed, Su Xiao wouldn't let the old councilor die—he was the only one who had been affected by the "decay" yet still survived.
With Bubu Wang and Amu in tow, Su Xiao walked out of the small building, accompanied by Azaz and Puri.
As soon as he stepped outside, Su Xiao saw a vast expanse of tents on the street. These tents were gray and somewhat crude, clearly issued uniformly by the Council Court.
Bonfires and torches illuminated the streets. Citizens with haggard faces huddled in the alleys and corners. The streets were almost completely blocked, with steam cars and carriages commandeered as temporary shelters.
On the rooftops of buildings stood several soldiers. They looked tired but dared not relax, knowing that even a minor incident like a scuffle could trigger a chain reaction leading to large-scale chaos.
"Dinner will arrive within two hours. Everyone, bear with it. We're hungry too. We'll definitely urge the logistics team—they're even slower than my grandmother's cooking."
A female soldier stood on a rooftop, shouting in a tone that tried to avoid official jargon. Her delicate features calmed many impulsive young men, while the soldiers behind her, holding cold weapons, made those with malicious intentions think twice.
Steam weapons were in short supply, and steam cores—the essential components of steam weapons—had reached a point where production could no longer continue.
Angor City was indeed a trade center, but one of the raw materials needed to manufacture steam cores had to be purchased at a high price from the Moon Creek Kingdom. This resource had always been tightly controlled by the Moon Creek Kingdom, and the same went for other kingdoms. Among the four kingdoms, aside from the Storm Kingdom, which produced none, each of the other three produced one or two of the raw materials needed for steam cores.
The territories of the four kingdoms had already fallen. Obtaining raw materials for steam cores was now impossible. The current situation was that every time the Chidorman Company manufactured a steam core, the raw materials decreased by one portion. Once depleted, steam cores could no longer be produced.
At that point, steam technology would become meaningless. Steam guns, steam trains, presses, and other machinery would all turn into scrap metal, and cold weapons would regain their glory.
The atmosphere in Angor City wasn't one of impending doom but of anger—anger at the destruction of their homes. The Council Court hadn't fallen yet, and order hadn't collapsed, so it wasn't quite the end of the world.
As long as the Council Court stood for one more day, the citizens and soldiers of Angor City wouldn't lose hope.