Chapter 54: Sky-Plundering Storm
After leaving Sodo City and traveling swiftly, Su Xiao arrived at the Watch Guild headquarters. The building that had stood here for centuries was now reduced to rubble.
A figure stood among the wreckage, slightly tilting her head back, eyes closed, basking in the sunlight.
"Bai Ye, Balder... is dead."
Fragrant Lady spoke with her back to Su Xiao, the breeze stirring her golden hair.
"Oh."
"Don't you feel any sorrow? You're the only God Hunter left."
"Not really. Balder accomplished what he set out to do."
Su Xiao removed the Hunter's badge hanging around his neck and tossed it toward Fragrant Lady. The azure badge flew through the air, its surface covered in scratches and erosion marks.
"What are you doing?!"
Just as Fragrant Lady caught the badge, she noticed Su Xiao's injuries. His left forearm was broken, and there were bowl-sized holes in his chest and shoulder. If not for avoiding vital points and his sufficiently strong physique, he wouldn't be able to move by now, even after drinking a recovery potion.
Besides these three wounds, there were six finger-thick puncture wounds on his lower abdomen and lower back. His entire right arm was covered in cuts, and from his right cheek down to his collarbone ran a bloodied gash nearly a centimeter wide.
Seeing Su Xiao's injuries, Fragrant Lady was momentarily speechless. She couldn't understand how he could still speak with her so calmly. Earlier, just a cut on the back of her hand had left her forehead drenched in cold sweat from the pain, and without anesthetic, she'd felt dizzy from it.
...
Su Xiao didn't respond. He took Bubu Wang and Amu, who were blocking the entrance to the Dark Prison, and headed south. He needed to find Douglas.
Traveling south, he soon reached a forest. Deep within, a building several dozen meters tall appeared—the original location of the Watch Guild, back when the Dark Prison Gate hadn't yet been suppressed.
A dozen Hunters stood guard before the main entrance's steps. Seeing Su Xiao approach, they all stepped aside.
Entering the main gate, Viper was sitting atop a large pile of wooden crates.
"Bai Ye, you're here to kill Douglas?"
"Yeah."
"Are you sure that's fine? He's half a World Child. If you kill him, won't you become really unlucky?"
...
Su Xiao didn't answer, but Viper's words gave him some insight. His fluctuating luck might be because he'd killed too many World Children. Counting it up, he'd offed quite a few, which was why the Sky-Plundering Storm completion rate had reached 96%.
"He's in there," Viper pointed toward a door, then continued, "But your luck doesn't seem great either. Maybe two negatives make a positive?"
...
Ignoring the dark-humored Viper, Su Xiao quickly walked toward the room where Douglas was.
Pushing open the door, he saw Douglas bound to a cross-shaped metal frame.
"Looks like you won? Let's talk about how the Dark Demons, Specters, and Humans can coexist. You need an enemy, I need freedom. I'll keep the Dark Demons obediently in the Dark Prison, occasionally come out to scare people, maintain the Watch Guild's reputation—that's a win-win..."
With a *shiiing* sound, the long blade swept across Douglas's neck, severing his head.
"What a load of nonsense. You talk too much."
Baha flew forward and grabbed Douglas's chest from the ground. It was a golden chest covered in blue patterns.
[Notification: You have killed World Child (1/2)·Douglas.]
[You have obtained Fate Chest (50%).]
[Achievement Task·Sky-Plundering Storm completion rate +7%.]
[Achievement Task·Sky-Plundering Storm completion rate has reached 100% (this is the task's maximum completion rate). Do you wish to complete this task?]
...
Su Xiao lit a cigarette. He'd been working on this task from Rank 1 to Rank 7, and now, about to advance to Rank 8, he could finally finish it.
Just then, a thunderclap sounded from above, followed by a loud crash from the building's roof. The several-dozen-meter-tall structure had been struck by lightning.
"Woof?"
Bubu Wang looked timid. The Sky-Plundering Storm task wasn't even completed yet, and they'd almost been struck by lightning.
Nearby, Amu was frustrated. Earlier, he'd been fighting with Soul and was about to win, but Soul exploded, dying right before his eyes. That wasn't the main issue—the key was that Soul left no kill reward. The death of Blood God caused the Ancient God power within Soul to go out of control, and Soul detonated on the spot.
Just as Su Xiao was about to choose to complete the Sky-Plundering Storm task, a sense of rejection appeared around him.
It wasn't a problem with the task itself, but because Su Xiao's main mission was complete and his stay time had reached its limit. He was about to be forcibly teleported back to Reincarnation Paradise.
Su Xiao didn't mind this. Returning to Reincarnation Paradise to finish the Sky-Plundering Storm task might be better. If completing it triggered a lightning strike, that would be bad—who knew how strong the lightning in a Rank 7 Transcendent World was.
[Hunter is about to return to Reincarnation Paradise.]
Su Xiao's body gradually became transparent. His head felt like it had been struck hard, and his vision went black.
When his consciousness recovered, he was in his Exclusive Room. He sat up from the soft carpet, feeling much more relaxed.
[Hunter has returned to Exclusive Room. Beginning world settlement.]
Primordial World: Dark Prison Continent
World Difficulty: Lv.42~Lv.70 (Primordial World)
World Source: 0%
Tasks Completed: 4 (Main Tasks×2, Commissioned Tasks×2)
Total World Reputation Gained: 17,553 points
Comprehensive Evaluation: S
Rewards Gained: 26 True Attribute Points, 83,000 Paradise Coins.
True Power·Plunder activated. You will gain 1~3 Golden Skill Points.
Notification: You have gained 3 Golden Skill Points.
Comprehensive Evaluation is S. Hunter's current level is Lv.66. Hunter level +6 (Primordial World rank × tasks completed + comprehensive evaluation - task completion time...)
Notification: When settling Rank 7 worlds, single Brand Level increase cap is Lv.3. Hunter level has been raised to Lv.69.
Notification: Unraised Brand Level has been converted to authority rewards. Your authority level has been raised to Lv.3.
Settlement complete. Rewards have been deposited into the Hunter's Brand.
...
Sitting on the sofa, Su Xiao checked the task list, found Sky-Plundering Storm, and selected to complete it.
[Notification: You have completed Achievement Task·Sky-Plundering Storm!]
[Your Luck Attribute has been permanently increased by 15 points.]
[You have obtained Title·Sky-Plundering Storm (★★★★★★★★).]
[You have obtained Fate Seed×1 (Holy Spirit Rank).]
[You have obtained 'Realm Entry Qualification·Two uses.' You may enter the Void with your real identity or a disguised identity. Each entry into the Void consumes Lv.7 Brand Authority (as the Hunter has not advanced to Rank 8, the maximum effect of Brand Authority is Lv.70, and the overflow of Lv.11 authority provides no benefit).]
[Notification: Upon entering the Void, the Hunter will activate 3~5 Void Tasks. The Hunter may choose one or abandon all. If all are abandoned, stay time in the Void will be reduced by 60%.]
[Notification: If the Hunter chooses to enter the Void with a disguised identity, the disguise consumed by this authority is of ??? rank. Void factions such as the Demon Race, Feather Race, Star Clan, and Arcane Eternal Star cannot see through this disguise. This is high-level authority confidential information. If the Hunter reveals this information to Void factions, they will be subject to forced execution.]
...
The long accumulation had finally paid off. Su Xiao checked his Luck Attribute. Originally, it was 14 points. With this 15-point increase, it was pushed straight to 29 points!
More importantly, with a base Luck Attribute exceeding 20 points, there was an attribute reward. He was curious what the reward for Luck Attribute was.
[Notification: Base Luck Attribute has reached 20 points. The Hunter may choose one of the following rewards.]
A. Goddess of Fortune's Blessing: Luck Attribute permanently increased by 5 points (due to the Hunter's personal circumstances, only 3 points can be increased).
B. Timely Fortune: Your fortune is invisibly enhanced. When opening chest-type items, there is a chance to gain higher returns.
C. Prophet's Enlightenment: You can now faintly sense the trajectories of fortune and fate. There is still a long way to go before you can see them clearly, but you can make vague prophecies. Prophecy success rate: 10.25%~19.753%. Additionally, you will have a vague sense of impending crises.
D. Forcibly Seized Fortune: When crafting items, concocting potions, or similar activities, you will be blessed by fortune. The process will go more smoothly, even reaching your peak state (e.g., when concocting potions, there will be a higher chance of producing perfect-grade potions).
Notification: This bonus enhances the Hunter's state during potion concoction, rather than forcibly improving the potion's quality.