Chapter 4: The entire ambush plan was far too crude. It felt like... these ambushers knew the characteristics of the Doom Number's curse, were certain that after reaching the Eighth Rank, he would definitely come to the Demon Sea, and so had been foolishly waiting here all along. After the chance encounter at Shipwreck Island, they started waiting bitterly there again. Su Xiao felt that Sefeiliya really couldn't be this stupid. After all, she was a powerful spellcaster who had survived the "Final Battle."
Su Xiao didn't encounter such straightforward enemies often.
"Did Huishenshi plant this landmine?"
Su Xiao muttered softly. To him, Huishenshi was one of his greatest enemies, far more dangerous than Shenfu.
It might seem that Su Xiao and Shenfu were at odds, but someone like Shenfu would take the initiative to cooperate with Su Xiao if the situation required it.
Huishenshi was a different level of danger. That guy had somehow found a way to strip a contractor's brand. Even if the stripped brand had no function and was in a completely sealed state, it was still dangerous enough.
Once Huishenshi cooperated with Arcane Eternal Star, Su Xiao would face an endless stream of assassins of the same rank who were the strongest.
The good news was that Huishenshi understood the risks involved. A few world progressions ago, he had planted a landmine—the female spellcaster before him. This seemed like a probe.
The relationship between Su Xiao and Huishenshi was more like one of mutual non-aggression for now. If they ever met, they would try to kill each other. If Huishenshi cooperated with Arcane Eternal Star, Su Xiao would choose to do nothing else and focus solely on hunting down Huishenshi.
Huishenshi knew this too, which was why he had found a spellcaster eager to prove herself and likely to act on her own. Huishenshi's setup seemed like a deterrent, a signal to temporarily keep the peace.
Su Xiao feared Huishenshi cooperating with Arcane Eternal Star, while Huishenshi feared Su Xiao doing nothing else and focusing entirely on hunting him down as a violator. This created a balance in their relationship. They could both tear off the mask, but there was no need yet—it would be too costly.
Su Xiao estimated that Huishenshi had paid a significant price for this probe and deterrent and was currently recovering in the shadows.
Su Xiao guessed that the first sentence the female spellcaster in front of him would say would be related to Dilin and the Li Element.
Just then, the female spellcaster ahead spoke:
"That waste Dilin couldn't kill you. The mentor is disappointed in the Li Element. So... I stand before you."
Hearing her words, Su Xiao estimated that her second sentence would also be related to the Li Element. Back then, when he used his long blade coated with Cyan Steel Shadow Energy to pierce through the Li Element's defense, Dilin's worldview nearly collapsed. But that woman had a resilient heart; her beliefs were shattered, yet she didn't break down.
This person before him was likely one of the first batch of Li Element adapters trained by Sefeiliya. After Sefeiliya completely gave up on the Li Element, the female spellcaster had fallen from heaven to hell.
With her beliefs shattered, a obsession had taken root in her heart: to prove the Li Element she had believed in.
The more Sefeiliya had valued and cherished this female spellcaster back then, the deeper the obsession in her heart now.
"I will... defeat you with the Li Element and bring your head to the mentor."
The female spellcaster lowered her head, and a golden magic formation appeared behind her, composed of the Li Element.
Was this person an enemy? Barely. Compared to this female spellcaster, the people she had hired might be more troublesome.
This female spellcaster was more like a "messenger," delivering Huishenshi's message of keeping the peace.
Bang!
The female spellcaster blurred into an afterimage, her golden energy spear aimed straight for Su Xiao's face.
With a snap, Su Xiao used Fate Dominator to light a cigarette. With a dull thud, the energy spear thrust toward him was blocked by several sailor knives, unable to advance an inch.
Su Xiao sat on a throne formed by countless Black Curse Crows, exhaling blue smoke. Around him stood eight cursed people.
Seeing this, the female spellcaster, Eva, could no longer contain her fury. She couldn't understand why, despite arriving in this world first, she was now trapped in such a predicament. What had gone wrong? The plan should have been thorough enough—she had even allied with the world's strong.
The spear blade of the energy spear scraped against the blades of the sailor knives, producing a grating sound. It was still half a meter away from piercing Su Xiao, but that half meter was an insurmountable wall.
An anchor swung down from above, crashing with a boom onto the spot where the female spellcaster Eva stood, creating a massive crater. Eva leaped back with all her might, but as soon as she landed, she found herself surrounded by cursed people, enclosing her.
In a flash, Eva recalled a sentence her mentor had said to her one day: "Eva, I know what you're thinking, but that person is no longer someone you can oppose. My generation will find a way to eliminate him. You might be stronger than him now, but don't go after him. He's not someone a new generation like you can handle."
Caw, caw, caw.
Crows filled the sky. The female spellcaster Eva took a deep breath. She had trained on battlefields, ventured to the depths of the Black Abyss, and even glimpsed the Blade Demon from afar. She was the strongest of the new generation. She refused to believe that after enduring such "hellish" training, she couldn't survive today's danger.
"Law Destroyer!"
The female spellcaster Eva lunged at Su Xiao, but between her and him stood nearly a hundred cursed people.
The cursed people around her charged forward, while the massive flock of Black Curse Crows swooped down, forming a black tide that engulfed the female spellcaster Eva. Only flashes of golden light could be seen.
The reason Eva was in such a dire state was that Su Xiao's worst-case scenario had been that Mage Sage Sefeiliya had sealed her power to the Eighth Rank and entered this world through a special method.
Apart from the cursed people and Black Curse Crows, Su Xiao had prepared other contingencies. Now it seemed those preparations were unnecessary.
One thing Su Xiao was curious about was that since spellcasters entered this world by temporarily implanting a brand, were they certified as contractors or half plot characters? If the latter, would killing them drop a treasure chest? He had never obtained a treasure chest from a spellcaster before.