Chapter 40: Boss Team
The Wrathful Orphan was not large in size, its form roughly humanoid. Its speed was extreme, and its eyes were filled with madness and hatred.
"Roar!"
The Wrathful Orphan let out a furious roar. Sparks erupted from all buildings within half a kilometer, waves of heat rising into the air.
Fire + Light + Darkness — these were the characteristics of the Ancient God's power within Doom Town. Fire was likely a later addition; Light + Darkness were the original traits of this Ancient God's power.
The Wrathful Orphan was clearly not friendly. If not for Su Xiao's blood aura and the black smoke swirling around the Dwarf Qis, the Wrathful Orphan would have pounced long ago.
Bang!
The Wrathful Orphan stomped on the stone building beneath it, sending broken stones flying. The message was clear: this was its territory, and it wanted Dwarf Qis to get out.
"Wrathful, we're going to kill the Archbishop. If you're not afraid to die, you can come along."
"Roar!"
The Wrathful Orphan ignored Dwarf Qis, looking as if it might attack at any moment.
"Your mother was killed by the Archbishop. This is her sacred remains."
Su Xiao tossed a skeleton toward the Wrathful Orphan. The creature leaped back repeatedly, and with a clatter, the skeleton shattered on the ground.
The Wrathful Orphan lunged forward, its clawed hand slamming down, crushing the bones into powder. The bone dust splashed onto its arm, and it froze, staring at the drifting particles before it.
A piercing, mournful cry rang out — a sound like weeping, like screaming, unbearably shrill.
The Wrathful Orphan threw itself onto the pile of bone dust, trying to gather it into its arms.
Seeing this, Bubu Wang and Baha were both astonished. Baha asked in the team channel:
Baha: "Boss, where did those sacred remains come from? Did we ever get something like that?"
Su Xiao: "Picked them up on the way here."
Baha: "???"
Bubu Wang: "???"
...
Clearly, those were not the sacred remains of the Wrathful Orphan's mother. The creature's reaction at that moment was quite telling.
"After the Archbishop killed your mother, he stored her remains in the church and soaked them in the 'Baptismal Pool.'"
"ROAR!!"
The Wrathful Orphan roared as if possessed. It vanished on the spot, reappearing before Su Xiao, its sharp claws aimed at his throat.
"Kill me, and you'll never see the Archbishop until the day you die."
The claws stopped abruptly. The Wrathful Orphan turned its head to stare at Su Xiao, a threatening growl rumbling in its throat.
"So, you agree?"
"Roar!"
The Wrathful Orphan swung a claw at a nearby stone building. The building vanished instantly, its debris disappearing into the sky.
"Good. Next stop, find the Serpent Sisters."
"Give it up. Those sisters live freer than anyone. They're just... too embarrassing."
Dwarf Qis's tone carried a hint of helplessness. Su Xiao didn't know much about the Serpent Sisters.
"Roar."
The Wrathful Orphan seemed to agree. It had long wanted to kill those sisters. As fellow rulers of territories within Doom Town, being on the same level as the Serpent Sisters was something it found displeasing.
The attitudes of Dwarf Qis and the Wrathful Orphan made Su Xiao decide not to seek out the Serpent Sisters. Those two sisters had little presence, and none of the events seemed to involve them.
Dwarf Qis's willingness to fight the Archbishop made sense. He had long sensed something wrong with the Redemption Church, which was why he had pretended to have transformed into a giant skeleton. He was biding his time. Now that the opportunity had come, he was going along with it. But if the Archbishop proved too strong, he would likely retreat.
Su Xiao certainly wouldn't give Dwarf Qis a chance to escape. Once the fighting started, no one was leaving.
As for the Wrathful Orphan, its willingness to fight the Archbishop required caution. Used well, it would be a super-powered ally. Used poorly, it might end up being more dangerous than the Archbishop.
Entering the high-mid ranks of the Seventh Rank, Su Xiao felt the pressure. If he had already advanced to Seventh Rank, he would definitely deal with the Archbishop first, then handle the Wrathful Orphan — a safer approach.
Given Su Xiao's current strength, that was impossible. So he had to take a different path. As the saying goes, only magic can counter magic. Having Dwarf Qis and the Wrathful Orphan deal with the ultimate boss of Doom Town was fitting. Su Xiao would, of course, join the fight.
The Ash Furnace could wait. If he demanded it now, Dwarf Qis would turn hostile immediately. The main quest exploration didn't need to be rushed either. Once the Archbishop was dealt with, exploring Doom Town would be much easier.
The only remaining threat was the contractor from Death Paradise. Su Xiao had never underestimated a contractor's destructive ability. If he didn't eliminate Killer Bee, she would take advantage of the chaos when they fought the Archbishop.
"Before we deal with the Archbishop, I have something to do."
"Nothing is more important than killing the Archbishop."
Dwarf Qis locked eyes with Su Xiao. After a moment, Dwarf Qis snorted coldly, while the Wrathful Orphan looked up at the sky. No one said that bosses always had to be in a ferocious state.
"There's a woman I need to eliminate."
"A woman? Besides you, are there other outsiders in Doom Town?"
"Yes."
"Alive?"
"Yes."
"Wait for me a moment."
Dwarf Qis leaped onto the giant skeleton. The skeleton let out a roar, sending layers of shockwaves outward.
Soon, a pale little hand reached out from a nearby stone building.
"Uncle Dwarf, so cute..."
A child's voice came. Three pairs of eyes turned toward the source. The voice cut off abruptly. Being stared at by three bosses was an intense experience — one covered in blood aura, one wreathed in black smoke, and the last one mad to the point of hysteria.
The pale little hand backed off, shrinking back into the wall.
"Have your leafy friend find out where the woman in town is."
"O-okay."
The pale little hand withdrew into the wall and disappeared. Seeing this, Bubu Wang wagged his tail joyfully. Revenge was sweet. It was like saying: 'Little Hand, your day has come.'
After the pale little hand vanished, Su Xiao sat on the steps by the street, took out a few Soul Crystals, tossed one into his mouth, and chewed slowly. Dwarf Qis and the Wrathful Orphan showed no surprise at this.
A few minutes later, the pale little hand emerged from the wall again.
"Found her. She's near the high wall in the central area."
With that, the pale little hand retreated into the wall and fled. For the near future, it wouldn't dare wander around Doom Town.
...
Half an hour later, central Doom Town, near the Furnace Wall, inside an abandoned mill.
Killer Bee sat against the wall, chewing a biscuit slowly. Esi stood nearby, expression wooden.
Killer Bee had now recovered to look like she was in her twenties. She stared at a cloth pouch in her hand. The ashes inside were almost gone. Once they ran out, she would lose her qualification to explore Doom Town.
"That Sixth Rank bastard, daring to stir things up in Doom Town."
Despite her words, Killer Bee was on high alert. She had never considered Su Xiao an ordinary Sixth Rank contractor.
"Immortal beings, Redemption Church... what a mess."
Killer Bee tossed aside her biscuit. She hadn't explored much, and her only feeling was that Doom Town was not only dangerous but also full of events with no clear leads.
"Woof."
The sudden bark nearly made Killer Bee jump out of her skin. The ring on her finger released a shockwave. Then, disbelief and delight filled her eyes. That Sixth Rank bastard had actually come looking for her.
"Esi, lie in ambush in the shadows."
Killer Bee spoke as she dashed forward, leaping out through a window. As she landed, her gaze locked onto the right side of the street.
Su Xiao stood at the end of the street, Baha on his shoulder, Amu behind him, and Bubu Wang crouched by his leg.
Seeing this, Killer Bee drew two short blades from her calves. Her close-combat skills were stronger than her ranged abilities.
The two short blades in her hands had a faint blue sheen — poison. The name 'Killer Bee' wasn't without reason.
Killer Bee didn't bother with words. She lowered her stance slightly, ready to charge at Su Xiao. She wanted to finish this quickly, before attracting the attention of that giant skeleton boss — though it seemed to have wandered off somewhere.
Just as the muscles in Killer Bee's legs tensed, ready to strike, a sound of wind came from above.
Wooosh~
With a low whistle, a massive figure fell from above, crashing into the buildings along the street. A large swath of houses collapsed, debris and broken wood flying everywhere as dust billowed up.
As the dust gradually cleared, the ruins revealed a giant skeleton with only its upper half. It stood over twenty meters tall, one bony hand dragging a short figure wearing a dark gold mask and a belt of trinkets. Black smoke swirled around him.
Light footsteps followed. Killer Bee immediately turned her head. A humanoid monster, dark brown all over, came into view.
Madness, rage, hysteria — the feeling was that it wanted to tear every living thing apart. Killer Bee had seen this monster before. She had spotted it from a distance once and immediately fled. This was... the Wrathful Orphan.
Killer Bee looked at Su Xiao, then at Dwarf Qis, and finally at the Wrathful Orphan. Her mouth opened and closed a few times, as if she wanted to say something but didn't know what.
"Wait!"
Killer Bee took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled.
"What if I said this was all a misunderstanding? Would you believe me?"
Killer Bee forced a strained smile. She couldn't think of a more hopeless situation than this. She felt like she was breaking down.