Chapter 14: Charisma
On the snow-covered ground were many patches of bloodstains and large splatters of blood. Su Xiao did not pursue. He had used Blade Domain in combat for the first time, and his body was not yet fully accustomed to this new ability, especially in terms of stamina consumption. Having activated Blade Domain for a total of 3 seconds left him with a vague sense of exhaustion. This wasn't due to insufficient stamina, but rather because he had pushed Blade Domain too hard.
The more enemies within Blade Domain, the more slashes Su Xiao had to execute, and the greater the stamina consumption. If there was only one powerful enemy within Blade Domain, the stamina drain would be more than ten times less than this time.
In reality, Blade Domain had no fixed cooldown or duration. If Su Xiao had enough stamina, activating it for 3 seconds or even 3 hours wouldn't be a problem. This was the characteristic of domain-type abilities—as long as the user could endure it, the domain could remain active indefinitely.
The initial 3-second limit was more of a skill protection mechanism, a privilege granted by Reincarnation Paradise to Contractors and Hunters. The main missions and war missions issued by Reincarnation Paradise were indeed brutal, but they weren't meant to kill Contractors and Hunters.
Su Xiao had two ways to remove this restriction: either through his Brand Authority to lift it immediately, or by gradually adapting to and familiarizing himself with Blade Domain through combat.
Su Xiao planned to adapt for a period before removing the restriction. To get used to Blade Domain, frequent use would suffice.
Clang.
A slash mark appeared in front of Su Xiao. As expected, he could still use Blade Domain, but he couldn't fully activate it. If he forced it within 2 to 3 days, even if he didn't die, his True Stamina attribute would permanently decrease. The subsequent consequences would include a permanent reduction in Health Points, a permanent drop in physical defense, and a permanent decrease in cellular energy.
Blade Domain needed to be gradually adapted to, trained, and developed. For training, Su Xiao planned to use Blade Domain for relatively precise tasks, such as carving a small sculpture from a hard material using Blade Domain's slashes. He could consider carving a small sculpture of Bubu Wang first.
As Su Xiao pondered, Lie Chao leaped onto a rooftop a hundred meters away, holding an unconscious member of the Eclipse Organization in hand.
"Do you need a live one? Don't misunderstand—I'm doing this to make up for the mistake of being tracked by the enemy."
"..."
Su Xiao pushed open an empty wooden house, and Lie Chao, carrying the prisoner, followed him inside.
Lie Chao threw the prisoner against the wall. Without any visible movement, the bowstring of her Source Bow vibrated repeatedly, pinning the prisoner to the wall.
Soon, Baha and Amu returned as well. Baha had pursued eight enemies and killed them all, while Amu hadn't caught any—speed was his weakness.
Su Xiao checked the notifications that had appeared. He had killed many enemies in this battle but only gained 4.79% of World Source, demonstrating the difficulty of obtaining World Source in this world.
Compared to killing supernatural beings in this world, dealing with dangerous objects yielded World Source faster. Unless he attacked the Eclipse Organization's base camp or declared war on the Alliance, it would be hard to find many supernatural beings.
Good fortune like today's would be hard to come by after this battle. Kingsley, that ultimate old schemer, wouldn't send his men to die again. He was a man full of charisma and ruthless methods. He took care of those who truly followed him but could also use those unrelated to him, no matter how cruel or vicious the means.
If the Alliance's officials were to vote on who was more suitable to be the leader of all supernatural beings—Su Xiao or Kingsley—they would definitely choose Kingsley, with a landslide result of 100% to 0%. However, if they voted on who was better at eliminating dangerous objects, the result would undoubtedly be Su Xiao.
"Damn, there are so many shotgunners in this world."
Baha had been hit a few times during the pursuit. Usually, it was the one doing the taunting, but today it got its comeuppance, taking a few physical shots.
Su Xiao set down a chair and sat in front of the prisoner. The cold-looking man pinned to the wall hung his head, feigning unconsciousness.
"Tell me, how's Kingsley's progress? Have you found the mermaid?"
Su Xiao's question received no response. The cold-looking man pinned to the wall kept his eyes closed, with no change in his aura or mental fluctuations.
"Stop pretending. We all know you're awake."
As Baha finished speaking, the cold-looking man raised his head and opened his eyes.
"To be captured by a woman—this is a disgrace."
Bang.
Lie Chao swung her Source Bow, hitting the cold-looking man in the face. His neck nearly snapped, and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth as he spat out a few bloody teeth.
This was a 'Prye' ethnic group, also part of the Alliance's territory, but with its own civilization and customs. The tradition of the Prye people was that women were not suited for combat or physical labor but rather for meticulous and tedious work, such as being lawyers, doctors, or alchemical pharmacists.
"Too light. Are you tickling me?"
The cold-looking man grinned, revealing bloodstained teeth. He was deliberately provoking Lie Chao to kill him.
Su Xiao looked into the cold-looking man's eyes and nodded after a moment. Torture alone wouldn't work; he needed the Endless Darkness Collar.
With a click, the Endless Darkness Collar was locked around the cold-looking man's neck.
"Where is Kingsley?"
Su Xiao asked a random question. It didn't matter what the other party answered—as long as he lied, the Collar's Curse of Lies (Passive) ability would trigger, reducing his Willpower attribute, followed by the activation of Black Prison (Active) to lock him in the dark room.
"I don't know."
The moment the cold-looking man spoke, he felt a chilling energy seep into his body, rushing toward his brain.
Half an hour later, after repeated sessions of Curse of Lies (Passive) + Black Prison (Active), the cold-looking man's gaze was vacant, and drool dripped from the corner of his mouth.
"Tell me everything you know about the mermaid."
Su Xiao removed the Endless Darkness Collar from the cold-looking man's neck. The equipment's effects had reached their maximum.
"Lord Kingsley... will come to save me... will come to save me... Mud tastes good... Hehahaha."
The cold-looking man laughed foolishly. His Willpower had been reduced to below 3 points, and he had been locked in the dark room for a long time, but his remaining instinct prevented him from betraying Kingsley.
A slash of blade light passed through the cold-looking man's neck. Su Xiao walked out of the wooden house. The cold-looking man had even revealed his home address, but regarding all information about Kingsley, he hadn't uttered a single word.
"Respectable."
Baha looked at the cold-looking man's corpse and signaled to Amu. Amu pulled the body off the wall, hoisted it over his shoulder, and walked toward the snowfield to find a place to bury it.
An hour later, Su Xiao stood on a teleportation array. The matters in Winter Spring Town were finished. It was time to return to Youke City, one of the three major cities at the continent's center and one of the most concentrated seats of power. Su Xiao wanted to see how things were going there.
Bubu Wang, Amu, and Baha all stepped onto the teleportation array. Seeing them so calm and composed, Lie Chao didn't think much of it and stepped on as well. She didn't realize she had boarded a pirate ship.
"All aboard! It's too late to get off now. Lie Chao, don't throw up. You can throw up as much as you want back at the office."
Baha shouted, while Lie Chao just snorted, unconcerned.
Boom!
The wooden house Su Xiao was in exploded, sending splinters flying. Amid the brilliant light, Lie Chao's eyes widened as she realized something was wrong.
"Wait..."
Before she could finish, she felt the world spin, as if two invisible giant hands had appeared on either side, slamming her in the center. Everything around her began to rotate, and she felt like throwing up.
Meanwhile, outside Winter Spring Town, a blood-soaked Huazuo sat on the snow. Nearby were a hunchbacked old man and a pure-looking girl with a ponytail.
The hunchbacked old man was a Space System user, while the pure-looking girl was a backup plan arranged by Kingsley. She wasn't supposed to appear unless absolutely necessary, as her mission was to infiltrate Su Xiao's side.
"Here they come. The Lord was right—they'll use spatial secret arts to return to Youke City. Otherwise, they wouldn't have set up a spatial secret seal in the office there. The spy's intelligence is accurate."
The hunchbacked old man stretched his hands apart, tearing open a pitch-black hole.
"Stop them. Don't let them return to Youke City so quickly."
Huazuo's expression was serious, and he felt even more admiration for his leader, Kingsley. That Lord had already arranged everything.
"I'm intercepting them."
The hunchbacked old man clenched his hands, forming a black sphere between them. Cracks appeared in the air around the sphere.
"Not good!"
The hunchbacked old man tried to retreat. He had indeed intercepted a spatial fluctuation, but it felt like a steel train hurtling down a rocky road, about to run him over.
With a bang, the hunchbacked old man's arms shattered into pieces of flesh. His jaw flew off, and his dentures spiraled upward.
Splat~
The hunchbacked old man landed face-first in the snow, his legs in a comical position. This was the consequence of trying to stop a chariot with a mantis's arm.
Huazuo peeled a piece of flesh from his forehead. The pure-looking girl beside him was covered in blood splatters. The two exchanged glances, both somewhat stunned.
"Geya, it's your turn."
Huazuo gave a bitter smile. They had calculated the Legion Commander's every move, but he had beaten them into a state of near autism with sheer strength. They knew the Legion Commander was strong, but this was a bit too much—almost ridiculous.
"Leave it to me."
The pure-looking girl, Geya, wiped the blood from her face. After all her training, she was finally about to fulfill her duty. She was quite satisfied with the target, Kukulin Bai Ye. He was a major figure, appearing to be in his early twenties, which would allow her to leverage her beauty.
"Confident?"
"Probably. If I fail, remember to put a bouquet of flowers on my grave—white ones."
Geya walked across the snow. Despite her words, she was actually very confident.