Chapter 3: Ribbit?
The purple-black energy dissipated, as if it had never appeared. The enemy's methods were covert; after a failed strike, they left behind misleading information and immediately went into hiding.
Su Xiao naturally remembered the name Sphinx. Among all the violators he had dealt with, Sphinx was definitely at the top. This guy was not only an old schemer but also collaborated with ancient gods. More importantly, Sphinx wasn't a lackey of the ancient gods; he sat on equal footing with three ancient gods. When his plan was exposed, he sacrificed an ancient god to lure Su Xiao away, which led to the death of the Black Goat, Shub-Niggurath.
Su Xiao sat on a sand dune, the starry sky above preventing the desert night from being too dark.
The violator he was currently dealing with was connected to Sphinx. Judging by the handwriting left behind, this was a revenge mission.
At first glance, it seemed so. But upon closer thought, it didn't quite add up. If they wanted to avenge Sphinx, why reveal their existence now? Hiding in the shadows and waiting for the right moment would be a better choice.
This approach already seemed like mudslinging. This enemy indeed knew Sphinx, but if they truly wanted revenge, they should have chosen a more cautious method.
Most low-to-mid-rank violators fought alone, at most forming small organizations. But at the seventh rank, it was a different story.
Su Xiao felt that violators seemed to have a base camp or could communicate through some method, exchanging intelligence and trading items. It was a vast yet loose collective.
What was certain was that this violator probably had little to do with Sphinx. Leaving Sphinx's name was more for misdirection. As for their true goal, it was unknown for now.
The good news was that Su Xiao had learned some of the enemy's abilities. Their power leaned toward "poison," plus the ability to control others' actions. When controlling someone, there were almost no flaws except at the moment of releasing control.
This meant that anyone he encountered could be controlled by that guy. No, this scope could be narrowed. If they could control Bubu Wang and Baha, it would cause Su Xiao a lot of trouble.
They couldn't control contractors, followers, or permanent summons, at least not remotely. They could remotely control the native residents of this world, but the intensity of control was unknown.
Su Xiao had encountered a violator who could "replace" native residents for perfect disguise. Compared to that violator, this one was more troublesome—ultra-long-range control that wouldn't affect their main body even if exposed.
"Stalling for time, huh."
Su Xiao muttered to himself. This was the only possibility he could think of. The violator seemed to have come specifically for him, but that wasn't the case. They were likely using similar methods to make battle angels, pioneers, and others aware of his existence.
Leaving Sphinx's name might have been a coincidence. They knew Sphinx died by Su Xiao's hand, so they casually misled him, creating the illusion of "Just wait, I'll come for you sooner or later."
Such crazy aggro-pulling showed the violator's confidence in their abilities, as well as their inner unease. They didn't want hunters, battle angels, and pioneers to explore this world.
Su Xiao looked at a "dwarf" slave. The Peruvians closely resembled dwarves, except for their darker skin. Other aspects were similar: thick beards, stocky builds, and an average height of about 1.4 meters.
This Peruvian slave was the one just controlled by the violator. He was sitting on the ground, leaning against other slaves and sleeping soundly.
If Su Xiao wanted, he could extract life force from this Peruvian slave and purify the purple-black energy inside to track the violator.
Su Xiao decided not to do that. That was exactly what the enemy wanted—to have him search the world, leaving no time to explore it.
If he guessed correctly, this guy would soon pop up again, pulling a huge wave of aggro.
Su Xiao took a large piece of sheepskin from the camel's pack, spread it on the leeward side of the sand dune, lay down, and prepared to nap for a few hours.
Meanwhile, in the western part of the continent, the Kingdom of Peru, Hammerfall Town.
Bang!
A gray-skinned Peruvian dwarf slammed into a stone wall, blood splattering across it. Broken armor knocked over a candlestick, and flames quickly spread along the curtains.
"Good courage, daring to come and provoke."
A girl with short pink hair stepped forward barefoot, stepping on the gray dwarf's head.
"Cough, cough~ Your foot..."
The gray dwarf spoke, blood flowing from his mouth and nose.
"Your foot is really small."
"?"
The pink-haired girl's expression froze. She leaned down, tilting her head to look at the gray dwarf. Her clear eyes narrowed, and her face showed a sweet smile.
The pink-haired girl was named Molei. It was no exaggeration to say she was the combat powerhouse of the Apocalypse Paradise. Aside from her somewhat erratic thought process, she was reliable in other aspects.
Molei stepped on the gray dwarf's head, applying pressure.
Crack~
"Damn it!"
The gray dwarf screamed, then a smile appeared on his face.
"Decided, I'll kill you first."
The gray dwarf laughed maniacally. His skin turned purple-black, and the purple-black spread up Molei's foot.
"Then I should thank you."
Molei pressed down harder, crushing the gray dwarf's head with a crack. Purple-black blood splattered, a few drops landing on Molei's face.
Hiss~
The poisonous blood corroded, but Molei didn't care.
"Disgusting."
Molei wiped the blood off her face with disdain. She dipped her finger in the purple-black blood and started doodling on the wall, humming a tune.
Soon, Molei used the purple-black blood to outline a triangular array. She pressed her hand onto it.
Boom!
Space rippled, and layers of the wall peeled away, revealing a triangular spatial rift.
"Hey~ Violator sir, you seemed pretty happy just now."
Molei stepped forward. Crimson water droplets appeared around her, at least a hundred of them. Each droplet represented a violator who had died by her hand.
Inside the triangular spatial rift, a man sitting in the darkness looked up, surprise and shock in his eyes.
Purple-black liquid surged forward. Molei clenched her hand, and all the crimson droplets gathered to form a long gun, which she held.
"Soul, chant."
Bang.
As Molei pulled the trigger, everything around her froze. A bullet broke through layers of air, pierced the purple-black liquid, and flew to the forehead of the man in the darkness. His pupils rapidly contracted, and he tried to tilt his head, but it was too late.
With a crack, the bullet pierced his forehead, exited through the back of his head, and embedded into the wooden wall behind. The man leaned back, a gold coin falling from his hand.
"What a... beautiful shot."
The man slowly sat up straight, grinning, revealing a mouthful of diamond-studded metal teeth. Blood dripped from his forehead, staining his teeth.
"Still have things to do, I'm off. Farewell."
Molei turned and fled. Her coolness lasted less than three seconds.
"Hehehehehe."
The man watched Molei, slowly rising from the darkness. Blood dripped from his chin. With a boom, stones flew. Molei abruptly stopped. The man's chin was less than ten centimeters from her forehead, looking down at her.
"Shooting me in the forehead and running away, not cool, is it?"
"Yeah, pretty unethical."
Molei's fingers trembled. Except for her head, her entire body was immobilized. The enemy was far stronger than expected.
"Chatting with you this long, the erosion is almost complete."
The man reached for Molei's head, intending to forcibly control her, but grabbed nothing. A wet, cold sensation appeared. Looking closely, he was holding a toad, a big-mouthed frog common in the Kingdom of Peru.
Squelch, the man crushed the toad in his hand. Veins bulged on his face, and he was furious. Molei's ability was troublesome for him.
Several kilometers away, mud splashed. In a small pond formed after rain, Molei fell face-first into the muddy water.
Gurgle~
Bubbles rose. Molei suddenly sat up in the pond, her originally fair face covered in mud.
"This is way too strong. Lucky I ran fast. At this level... must be a violator from Reincarnation Paradise."
Molei slapped the water. Seeing a lotus leaf nearby, she tore one off. Just as everyone thought she would use it to wipe the mud off her face, she instead placed it upside down on her head and crouched in the water, looking exactly like a frog.
"Ribbit~"
A highly realistic frog call came from Molei's mouth. She crouched in the shallow water, puffing out her cheeks by holding her breath.
A dozen meters away, purple-black liquid gathered, forming the figure of a man.
"Ribbit~"
Molei mimicked another frog call. Not far away, a gaze looked at her. After observing for a while, the sound of footsteps faded away.