Chapter 18: Simple and Brutal
Holding his long blade, Su Xiao slightly lowered his body. The Dragon-Slaying Flash in his hand was held horizontally in front of him. A ring appeared on his left hand, enveloping it in a white glow. This was the [Silver Moon Blade (Overlord Equipment)].
Su Xiao brushed his left hand over the Dragon-Slaying Flash. Silver-white light clung to the blade’s edge, successfully activating the Moon Blade effect, increasing the weapon’s sharpness by 107 points and attack power by 12 to 20 points for 20 minutes.
Heavy footsteps came from ahead. The Black Armor Guards marched steadily. Postnatal drug injections had raised their average height to about three meters. Each wielded a massive greatsword over two meters long, and their full-body black armor was a full palm’s thickness thick, making them look like biological tanks—a group of small giants clad in ultra-heavy armor.
No wonder the Third Prince used these Black Armor Guards to protect himself. With these guys around, and the corridor only ten meters wide, the only way to get past them was to kill them all.
Divine marks left by six ancient gods—Grace, Thickness, Brutality, and others—were engraved on the armor and weapons of each Black Armor Guard. This was an iron wall difficult to breach.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Massive feet wrapped in heavy metal boots stomped the ground. Three Black Armor Guards charged head-on. Black light flickered on their greatswords. Two swung horizontally, while one thrust forward.
At a time like this, no ability was more suitable than Demon Hunting Hour. Pale blue light surged across Su Xiao’s body. He vanished instantly, reappearing half-crouched on the shoulder of one Black Armor Guard.
He swung his blade horizontally, his right hand gripping the hilt and his left hand pressing against the spine of the blade. The edge pressed against the guard’s neck. Su Xiao pulled back with all his strength.
With a tearing sound, the Dragon-Slashing Flash cut through the chainmail at the guard’s neck. A massive head flew into the air. Su Xiao’s body leaned back from the drag, untouched by blood.
A greatsword swung toward Su Xiao’s waist. He vanished, and the sword crashed into the wall with a booming sound.
Su Xiao appeared between two Black Armor Guards. He slashed left with his blade, then immediately slashed right.
Squelch, squelch.
Two more heads flew. The Dragon-Slashing Flash was just that sharp. Su Xiao activated Dragon Shadow Flash again. Within 100 seconds, all his active abilities had no cooldown.
Su Xiao appeared in front of a Black Armor Guard. He thrust his blade forward. His hand gripping the hilt could clearly feel the sensation of the tip piercing through armor and flesh.
With a sharp sound, the blade pierced through the guard’s head. Su Xiao twisted his body, using his shoulder to brace against the spine of the Dragon-Slashing Flash, and flung the guard off the blade.
Three greatswords crossed and stabbed forward, piercing Su Xiao’s chest. His body turned ethereal, and the next moment, he stood on the edge of one of the greatswords.
‘Blade Path Sword: Extreme.’
One slash took three heads. Three heads flew into the air. Su Xiao pushed off with his feet, the crystal layer beneath him breaking away. He twisted midair, dodging a thrown greatsword.
The moment he landed, Su Xiao made a pulling motion with his left hand. A Black Armor Guard not far away spurted blood from all over, gushing from the gaps in his armor.
With a crisp shattering sound, the fragmented Banishment was pulled out from a distance by Su Xiao. The bloodstained Banishment split into particle form, seeking its next target.
Clang! Clang!
Two greatswords slashed toward Su Xiao but were blocked by a metal thread. Because the Realm Severing Thread was wrapped around the necks of two other Black Armor Guards, the powerful slashes caused those two guards to be pulled down.
‘Blade Path Sword: Azure Demon: Chain.’
Su Xiao slashed twice rapidly. Two azure-blue blade arcs shot out, severely wounding two Black Armor Guards, blood gushing from their necks.
‘Blade Path Sword: Absolute Nether.’
Inside the corridor, Su Xiao, continuously using Dragon Shadow Flash, chopped through the Black Armor Guards like cutting through vegetables. Limbs flew everywhere, and heads were sent flying from time to time. Even though these guards were no longer human, a single decapitating slash from Su Xiao meant certain death.
Five minutes later.
“Huff, huff, huff~”
Su Xiao’s breathing was a bit rapid. The pale blue light on his body faded. He voluntarily deactivated Demon Hunting Hour. This ability consumed too much stamina. Continuously using Dragon Shadow Flash came at a cost—it drained a massive amount of physical energy.
Looking around, the underground corridor Su Xiao had passed through was filled with mutilated corpses. Blood splattered on both walls and the ceiling, and a thin layer of blood covered the ground.
Su Xiao pushed off with his foot. With a crack, the metal helmet beneath him was crushed flat. The last Black Armor Guard had gone cold.
[Notification: You have annihilated all ‘Magic Armor Guards.’]
[You have gained 4.15% World Source.]
[You have gained Soul Coins × 18.]
[For annihilating all Magic Armor Guards, you have completed the Achievement Mission: Blood Baptism.]
[You have obtained the Title ‘Plunderer (★★★)’.]
[Plunderer]
Origin: Source World
Quality: ★★★
Category: Title
Title Effect 1: After killing enemies, treasure chest drop rate increases by 0.15%.
…
Su Xiao was quite surprised to see these reward notifications. Killing enemies and getting a title—this was the first time he had encountered such a thing.
The rewards for killing Magic Armor Guards weren’t as high as he had imagined. Compared to the Tianba Clan, who had been eroded by Source Power to the point of insanity, the rewards here were very low.
Su Xiao had killed 50 Magic Armor Guards and only obtained 15 Soul Coins. In contrast, when he killed Tianba Clan members earlier, each one gave 8 to 13 Soul Coins. The difference was night and day.
Su Xiao’s feeling was that most of the high-end combat power in this world was concentrated in the Tianba Clan or the Tower Guardians. The ancient gods who had survived to this day also had to be counted.
Within the Tarin Kingdom, after removing the Tower Guardians’ combat power, the danger level wouldn’t reach the world difficulty of Lv.68.
As for where the Tianba Clan was, it couldn’t be determined for now. If he couldn’t find them, Su Xiao actually wasn’t planning to provoke them. Compared to the Tianba Clan, the ancient gods should be richer and easier to fight, since Su Xiao often dealt with god-type enemies.
Inside the blood-reeking underground corridor, Su Xiao took a torch from the wall and walked forward. After just a few steps, he received a notification.
[Your follower has killed Dark Woman Dominica.]
[You have gained 1.2% World Source.]
[You have obtained an Epic Chest (86%).]
The rewards had shrunk significantly, which was due to Qifu assisting Amu in the battle.
It could be said that Su Xiao had deployed all his combat power to deal with the Third Prince. There was no need to worry about Liu’s safety—she was brought along, currently crouching with Bubu Wang in the bushes in the castle courtyard.
Carrying the torch to the end of the underground corridor, two metal doors blocked the way. They were very thick doors.
Ding~
Su Xiao stabbed his blade into one, leaving a dent a few centimeters deep. He examined the dent for a moment, then took a small round bead from his storage space and pressed it into the dent.
A few seconds later, cold air rose from the metal door. Su Xiao tapped it with his blade’s hilt, and the door exploded with a bang. This was the power of knowledge. If he had stupidly hacked at this door or the wall connected to it, it would have taken at least half an hour.
A room lit by over a dozen candles appeared. Inside, the Third Prince, wearing a white shirt with his chest exposed, sat on a chair, holding a glass of wine.
“That sister of mine who popped up from nowhere—is she really that charming? Did you enjoy yourself so much? Let me guess, you got involved in this to… take the Royal Blood? Or the Source Water?”
“…”
Su Xiao didn’t speak. He just walked quickly toward the Third Prince. This guy wasn’t weak; his abilities leaned toward mental influence.
“Right, it’s the Source Water. You must have come for the Source Water. You’re not the first, and you won’t be the last to seek the Source Water. Give me two days, and I’ll…”
Swish~
The blade slashed through the Third Prince’s throat. After receiving the kill notification and gaining World Source and Royal Blood, Su Xiao turned and left.
“They’re all dead. Blow up this castle and then retreat.”
Su Xiao hung up the communication, turned, and walked out of the secret room, casually tossing an Alchemy Bomb behind him.
Boom!
Flames surged from the doorway, blowing Su Xiao’s coat tails. He didn’t believe a single word the enemy said. One had been dealt with; five remained.