Chapter 57: Saintess Seat
The war chariot, resembling a large truck, sped along at high speed. The interior of the carriage was eerily silent. A drop of wine dripped from the chin of a scavenger, yet he dared not move even a single finger.
Crack! Crack!
Su Xiao broke free from the wrist restraints attached to the metal table. The shattered metal fragments scattered, embedding into the ceiling of the carriage and creating small pits.
"You..."
Pfft!
Blood exploded. A scavenger who was about to raise an energy cannon shattered into pieces. The fragments of [Banishment] gathered together, forming a hiltless rapier that slowly circled near the dozen or so scavengers.
Fighting inside the carriage with [Dragon-Slaying Flash] was inconvenient. This self-driving war chariot was quite good, and Su Xiao didn’t plan to damage it.
"Run!"
A shout rang out. Su Xiao vanished from his seat.
Pfft. Pfft. Pfft...
Blood splattered in midair, stretched thin by the blade’s tip. A few seconds later, Su Xiao stood before the carriage door, holding [Whisper of the Soul], looking at the woman half a meter away.
"I... I can do anything for you, right now. Whatever you like..."
Just as Youni began to speak, a silver slash mark crossed her neck.
Su Xiao sidestepped to avoid her, pushing open the sliding door beside him. As Youni’s corpse toppled forward, it fell out through the carriage door, disappearing into the dust cloud stirred up by the wheels.
Bang.
Su Xiao closed the heavy metal sliding door. He hadn’t originally planned to act, since the vehicle was heading south, and he was just hitching a ride.
"This is the wine from a waste planet? How strange."
A woman in a white dress appeared in the carriage without warning. Hearing her voice, Bubu Wang, who had just emerged from his environment, nearly jumped in fright.
"How did you do that? I only vaguely sensed you just now. Were you merging into the environment?"
The woman in white looked at Bubu Wang with amazement. Bubu Wang froze—he had met a second person who could detect him.
"Saintess Seat?"
Su Xiao looked at the woman in white and spoke, unable to perceive her strength.
"Saintess Seat? Who’s that? Never heard of it. Are you from Reincarnation Paradise? What specialties do you have there?"
The woman in white flatly denied being Saintess Seat of the Starry Sky Seats, but Su Xiao had already confirmed it. In such situations, denying one’s identity usually meant they were up to no good.
"I do, but I can’t bring them over."
Of course, Reincarnation Paradise had "specialties"—all kinds of madmen. Contractors from other paradises only needed to hear the words "Reincarnation Paradise" to immediately think of the lunatics of Reincarnation.
"Too bad. I know another guy from Reincarnation Paradise, but last time we met, he almost beat me to death."
Saintess Seat seemed to recall an unpleasant memory, pulling the cork from a bottle in her hand, looking like she had both a story and wine.
Just as Saintess Seat brought the wine to her lips, the smell made her wrinkle her delicate brows. This stuff was a mix of medical alcohol, water, flavoring, and industrial waste. She set the bottle aside, draped one leg over the metal table, her long dress falling—elegance had nothing to do with her.
"I was at the last Strongest Battle Royale too. As expected of a Law Destroyer, taking first place."
Saintess Seat’s thoughts were somewhat scattered. The demeanor of a powerhouse was irrelevant to her. If the Blade Demon and the Tuanzhang were the face of the Starry Sky Seats, then Saintess Seat was the lower limit of the Void Seats—in every sense. Aside from her looks, she was the absolute standard-bearer for appearance.
"So, you have a grudge against Spellcasters."
"..."
"Let me tell you a secret. Come closer. If I wanted to harm you, one punch to your chest and you’d be dead."
"..."
"I was on my way to the Empty Seat Banquet just now—ah, ptooey! I was wandering nearby and saw a group of Spellcasters. They’re gathering the natural elements here, seemingly trying to pack some up and take them away."
"Pack up... natural elements?"
Su Xiao had never heard of such a thing. At least from what he knew, the Spellcasters of the Law Annihilation Era couldn’t do that.
"Everyone’s progressing. This was developed by an old woman named Seraphilia. Don’t look at me like that—I’m very young! Strength and age are unrelated! So, don’t question my youth."
"Saintess Seat has been famous for at least..."
"Ahem!"
Saintess Seat glared at Su Xiao. Sensing the killing intent, Su Xiao sat down and lit a cigarette.
"Don’t say things that make people uncomfortable. Those Spellcasters I met just now—the strongest was barely below Eighth Rank, the rest were Seventh Rank, and many were Sixth Rank."
Saintess Seat’s smile grew increasingly mischievous. She continued:
"Don’t you have any thoughts about that? As far as I know, Arcane Eternal Star has a bounty on you, even offering Black Maple Tree branches. I’m tempted... ah, ptooey! Anyway, passive endurance isn’t the style of you Law Destroyers. Can you tolerate this?"
"I can."
"So, you should go and... huh? Wait, what did you just say?"
Hearing Saintess Seat’s words, Su Xiao understood everything—why she had come, why she denied being Saintess Seat, and so on. This renowned powerhouse of the Void was actually someone who loved stirring up trouble.
"Where are they?"
"What a man! I’m almost tempted by you. Look at this map."
Saintess Seat pulled her hands apart, and a floating holographic map appeared. She pointed a delicate finger at it.
"Right here."
"Thanks."
"No big deal. My relationship with you Law Destroyers..." She stopped mid-sentence, quickly changing the subject to avoid revealing her true age. "I really admire you Law Destroyers."
Saintess Seat looked like she was ready to watch a good show. Calling her one of the "old immortals" was highly inaccurate. She went into hibernation every 20 years, temporarily forgetting the "password to her main account," and started over with a new one, reverting to the appearance of a 7- to 10-year-old, with some changes in mentality. After 20 years, she would hibernate again, during which her peak strength would increase slightly, and the cycle would repeat.
In battle, Saintess Seat would awaken the dormant power within her, making her combat prowess terrifying.
"You’ve seen the map. Shouldn’t you return it?"
"What map?"
"Are all Law Destroyers bandits?"
A sense of loss welled up in Saintess Seat’s heart, but then she smiled slyly at Su Xiao.
"Aren’t you going to deal with the Spellcasters?"
"Why would I?"
"You, you, you..."
Saintess Seat felt she had suffered a huge loss—not only had she missed out on the excitement, but she had also lost a universal Void map.
"Fate is truly strange sometimes."
Saintess Seat’s expression turned slightly serious. She vanished from the carriage, and the next moment, a sound of breaking wind came.
Boom!
The war chariot was forcibly stopped in its tracks. Energy surged from above, and a massive, blue-white energy hand pressed down from the sky.
"This area has been requisitioned by Arcane Eternal Star. You have 10 seconds to leave."
A booming voice came from all directions. The 10-centimeter-thick metal carriage roof provided no soundproofing at all.
What Saintess Seat said was true—fate was indeed strange sometimes.
Hundreds of meters in the air, Saintess Seat watched the scene below. This wasn’t her interference; it was pure coincidence.
Below, the stopped war chariot caught the attention of a dozen Spellcasters. A hundred meters behind them stood a dazzling pillar of light, into which various elements were being drawn.
"Why isn’t that scavenger leaving?"
"Kill him. These people are like rats—the moment they smell blood, they all swarm in."
"Arther, do it. Make it quick."
A Spellcaster in a robe spoke. Among the 156 Spellcasters, he had the strongest aura. His name was Heros, stronger than Seventh Rank but not quite Eighth Rank.
156 Spellcasters: 1 quasi-Eighth Rank, 102 Seventh Rank, 41 Sixth Rank, 12 Fifth Rank.
Coming to seize natural elements was a privilege Fifth Rank Spellcasters didn’t deserve. These 12 Fifth Rankers clearly had significant backgrounds.
With a scraping sound, the carriage door was pulled open from inside. Su Xiao, with [Dragon-Slaying Flash] at his waist, stepped out. A 1 vs. 156 battle was about to begin.
"Don’t blame me. You brought this on yourself, scavenger."
"Arther, fall back..."
A shout came, but the Sixth Rank Spellcaster named Arther had already raised his hand. Elements gathered around him, driven by the mana within him.
Crack! Pale blue electric arcs appeared around Arther, enveloping him. He suddenly stood straight and then toppled sideways.
[Banishment] shot forward, heading straight for Arther’s brow. He widened his eyes in despair—that was the only movement he could manage.
With a rumble, a distorted light wall crashed down from above. This magic light wall, capable of withstanding the strongest Seventh Rank attack, didn’t even hold for an instant against [Banishment].
Spiral blue patterns appeared on [Banishment], piercing through the magic light wall and then through Arther’s brow, trailing a wisp of blood.
Boom!
The magic light wall shattered, its light elements scattering.
In the distance, Heros, who had witnessed this, was momentarily stunned. With his insight, he could tell that the magic light wall hadn’t been pierced head-on but had its structure dismantled.
"You’re... that Law Destroyer!"
After the initial shock, Heros’s gaze grew fervent, even excited. He had heard since childhood how powerful Law Destroyers were—so much that his ears were calloused. But the Law Annihilation Era had ended before he was born.
After the Strongest Battle Royale, Heros had watched footage of Su Xiao fighting Hugh. At that time, his fear of Law Destroyers had completely vanished. In his view, Hugh and Dillin were juniors. Hugh could be considered a special case—he was a Soul System user—but what about Dillin? The Li Element she controlled was essentially a mutated form of natural elements. Seraphilia’s research had been questioned for a long time.
In Heros’s mind, if two juniors could fight a Law Destroyer head-on, were Law Destroyers really as powerful as the rumors claimed?
Heros doubted it. More importantly, in the end, Arcane Eternal Star had won. He couldn’t learn the specifics at his current rank, but a win was a win.
Heros admitted that Law Destroyers were strong, but not as exaggerated as the rumors—at least, that was his belief.
Now, with the ability to temporarily command 102 Seventh Rank Spellcasters, Heros had encountered a Law Destroyer. He saw this as a rare opportunity—a chance to rise. If he killed the opponent, resources, fame, status—everything—would be his.
What Heros overlooked was that Su Xiao hadn’t gone all out in his fight with Dillin.
"Law Destroyer, welcome to the waste planet. I forgot to introduce myself. I am Heros, Mana Mentor Heros."
Mana Mentor Heros spoke with a smile. His eyes turned icy blue, and the surging mana within him made his neck and cheeks appear somewhat translucent.
"Elements... are gathering."
Su Xiao ignored Heros, instead slightly tilting his head to look at the massive light pillar in the distance. He stomped his right foot, and a blue electric arc spread outward.
Boom!!
The massive light pillar a hundred meters away exploded with a deafening roar. The Spellcasters were so startled they instinctively leaned forward. Elements of all types surged in all directions.
"Elements... have scattered."
Su Xiao placed his hand on the hilt of his blade. Amid the flying elements, Mana Mentor Heros stood frozen, his cheek twitching. This was the natural elements they had spent three months collecting—and in an instant, they had been forcibly dispersed.