Chapter 68: Luba
After the fallen deity collapsed, the cave fell silent. A group of contractors formed a semicircular encirclement, blocking Su Xiao's escape route. Everyone knew that Su Xiao had snatched the kill reward, and as for the treasure chest dropped by the fallen deity, its whereabouts were unknown for now—they hadn't noticed Bubu Wang, who had blended into the environment.
The battle against the fallen deity had been devastatingly bloody. Not only had over half of the participating contractors been killed, but the pirates under Duke and Empress had all perished here as well.
This seemed like a reckless and foolish choice, but if those two had managed to seize the Primordial Water, everything they had sacrificed would have been worth it. A great pirate had once dominated the Demon Sea for years by drinking the Primordial Water.
Although Duke and Empress had lost their men, if they could obtain the Primordial Water, given their current prestige and the power gained from drinking it, the Demon Sea's structure would soon be completely reshaped. It would become a tripartite coexistence of Duke, Empress, and Empire, rather than the Empire occupying over half of the islands and continents.
"The battle is over, Bai Ye. Hand over all the loot. There are... 86 people here, 87 including you. Since we fought together, the spoils should be divided equally, don't you agree?"
"Equally divided? Stop talking nonsense, Bai Ye. If you have the guts, run. Only one person can leave here alive today, and I can guarantee it won't be you."
A contractor spoke with a grin. Alec, Nether Wolf, and others remained silent. Black Rose was the most frustrated—she also had a finishing ability. Before the battle, she had already planned her escape route after securing the kill. Unfortunately, her finishing ability had a brief judgment delay, allowing Su Xiao to beat her to it.
No one picked up on what Su Xiao had just said. No one wanted to become a target. With Su Xiao surrounded, whoever provoked him might become his priority kill.
Under normal circumstances, Su Xiao would draw his blade, activate his Cyan Steel Shadow energy, and charge straight at the enemy. The reason he spoke this time was that he had only recently advanced to the Eighth Rank and hadn't even broken through the 200-point attribute barrier. How could he possibly handle so many Eighth Rank contractors? Especially when among them were powerhouses like Alec and Nether Wolf, who were in the upper echelon of the Eighth Rank.
Eighth Rank contractors were already troublesome to deal with, and the eighty-plus people in the cave were all survivors of the siege against the fallen deity. None of them were easy opponents; each had their own trump cards.
The reward for killing the fallen deity was substantial, but not excessively so. Another question was: where had the Primordial Water, absorbed into the fallen deity's body, gone?
Su Xiao sensed the massive corpse a few meters ahead. A kill notification had appeared, but for some reason, he felt the enemy wasn't truly dead yet.
"Don't let him stall any longer. Kill him."
A burly, scar-faced man spoke, grinning at Su Xiao as he did. Though he smiled, his mind was already calculating how to kill Su Xiao and planning his escape route afterward.
Scaled Dragon Alec stepped forward, then suddenly vanished.
Clang!
A claw covered in black-gold scales was blocked by a long blade, producing a shockwave of air.
Su Xiao retreated a few steps, his right arm, which held the blade, slightly numb from the impact.
"..."
Su Xiao narrowed his eyes and scanned the crowd ahead. What they didn't know was that when Su Xiao spoke to them, it wasn't actually dangerous—it meant he wasn't ready to fight yet. But when Su Xiao fell silent, it meant he was prepared to go all out.
A dark purple ray shot past Su Xiao's ear, striking the rock wall behind him and shattering it into fine gravel.
"Since you put it that way, let's split it evenly."
As Su Xiao spoke, he sheathed his long blade. Hearing this, the contractors exchanged confused glances. Moments ago, he had been like a god of slaughter, and now he was willing to share the rewards equally.
"Quick! Kill him!"
Sweet Orange shouted, a flicker of panic in her eyes. Such an abnormal situation, combined with the fact that the enemy was a Hunter from Reincarnation Paradise, made her immediately suspect that the enemy was plotting something—no, he definitely was.
The first to charge weren't others but Nether Wolf and Black Rose. One was a Violator from Reincarnation Paradise, and the other was a contractor from the same place. That's why they knew better than outsiders how terrifying their own side's old schemers could be.
Various attacks rained down on Su Xiao, but just as they reached him, they all veered off course. A coin-sized black spot appeared, forcibly absorbing all the attacks.
"Not good. Very not good. Extremely not good."
Black Rose slowly retreated. The situation was too abnormal. An ominous sense of danger prickled her perception, spreading around them.
A rough scraping sound echoed from all sides, as if something was grinding against the surrounding rock.
Crack, crack, crack...
The entire cave emitted brittle sounds as the rock walls split open in large patches. A black liquid seeped in, rapidly eroding the surrounding rock. After the previous battle, the cave, already riddled with cracks and dents, could no longer withstand the strain.
The contractors all moved away from the walls, most keeping their eyes on Su Xiao while others remained alert for any unexpected changes.
A golden spear tore through the air, stopping abruptly in front of Su Xiao, unable to advance any further. Dozens of thumb-thick black snakes emerged from the air, coiling around the golden spear to prevent it from harming Su Xiao while also corroding it.
Earlier, Su Xiao had deviated from his usual style by issuing threatening words before the battle because he was buying time. Activating the ultimate ability of War Lord required time.
[Prompt: Hunter has activated Ancient War Beast (Title Active) ability.]
[Scanning for the strongest tier large creature in this world...]
[Successfully selected War Beast: World-Devouring Serpent Luba (This is an ancient giant creature from this world, deceased for 19,260 years. Original habitat: Demon Sea Maelstrom).]
[War Spirit Reviving...]
[Body Constructing...]
[World-Devouring Serpent Luba's existence duration: 30 seconds.]
...
With a thunderous crash, the cave shattered, sending rocks flying everywhere. Some rocks were still mid-air when they were eroded into dust by the black water. The sky was overcast, and a fierce wind blew, carrying a bone-chilling cold.
In the ruins of the cave, all the contractors looked up at the colossal creature before them.
"What the hell... is that thing?"
Sweet Orange muttered to herself, swallowing back the harsh words she had intended to say.
Not just Sweet Orange, but the other contractors wore similar expressions. Alec sprouted dragon wings from his back, while Guang Mo silently pulled out a spatial scroll.
Behind Su Xiao, a massive serpent coiled. Its exact body length was hard to determine. Its entire body was covered in black scales, the smallest of which was the size of a millstone. Its spine was lined with jagged bone spikes, but the most striking feature was its two serpent eyes, each packed with hundreds of pupils crammed together.
This was the World-Devouring Serpent Luba, an ancient beast that once dwelled at the bottom of the Demon Sea Maelstrom. It fed on large-scale supernatural sea creatures. It didn't die in battle or from natural disasters—it was simply too gluttonous. After nearly driving the supernatural sea creatures to extinction, it lowered its standards and ate anything alive. When it could find no more food, it began eating itself, leading to its death.
Su Xiao took the treasure chest handed to him by Bubu Wang, his gaze fixed on Alec and the others.
"Luba, kill them all."
"Hiss!!"
The World-Devouring Serpent Luba reared its massive body, towering dozens of meters high. With a roar, its scales rapidly faded, and its body split into countless black snakes. These snakes formed a black tide, surging toward the contractors.