Chapter 25: Exile
The five members of the protagonist team all clearly understood the situation before them. Although they had been used all along, that didn't mean they were stupid; rather, they were being crushed in terms of strength, intelligence, and status. In these aspects, the protagonist team was a dimension apart from Su Xiao and Kingsley.
The five members of the protagonist team stood against the wall, and among them, Nainai in particular appeared exceptionally well-behaved.
"Existence itself is reasonable. The mermaid has her value in existing. Merely containing her is not enough to reflect her worth."
As Kingsley spoke, he removed the gold button from the right side of his collar and tucked it into his bosom. This was a gift from his wife, something of special significance to him.
"..."
Su Xiao didn't speak. Under his control, Banishment withdrew from the white-haired youth's chest. This World Child (Fake) was still useful to keep around; he might be needed later. As a safety measure, when Banishment had detached from Su Xiao's sleeve earlier, it had already been wrapped with TH9-type reagent inside.
Two World Children (Fake)—one could be dealt with at any time through the Devourer, and the other could be killed through the TH9-type reagent. This was the safest choice. Even if he left them alive without killing them, Su Xiao wouldn't allow them to grow into major threats.
His philosophy was: either kill none, or if killing, including Aichi, leave not a single one behind. Hatred is like a seed; it takes root and grows in the heart. Su Xiao didn't have the habit of letting enemies grow. If this were a genuine World Child, he would have killed them the moment they met. As for the protagonist team, at this stage, they weren't in a hostile state yet.
The Banishment fragment flew near Su Xiao, enveloping the crystal coffin. Under his control, the crystal coffin floated behind him.
In reality, if he could avoid fighting Kingsley, that would be the most time-saving and lowest-risk option. Conversely, the rewards would also be lower.
The hostile stance made cooperation with Kingsley impossible. Su Xiao was now the Legion Commander of the Execution Agency. The philosophy passed down by the Execution Agency was: dangerous objects must not be used. Even as its Legion Commander, he couldn't ignore this. All members of the Execution Agency adhered to the principle of not using dangerous objects, only containing or eliminating them.
Once the news of Su Xiao using a dangerous object reached the Execution Agency's members, he would lose their support. Not only would the Execution Agency's Transcendents refuse to support him, but Director Victor of the Containment Institution and Ms. Hulin from the Finance Department would also stand against him.
The philosophy of not using dangerous objects might seem rigid, but it wasn't. The mortality rate for handling dangerous objects was extremely high. If the Execution Agency's Transcendents didn't have a belief to sustain them, who could have come this far? Who doesn't have family? Who isn't afraid of death? In truth, everyone is afraid; it's just that they have beliefs in their hearts.
Su Xiao wasn't afraid of being hostile to anyone, but without the assistance of the Containment Institution for what he needed to do next, it would be extremely difficult.
Now, if he wanted any information, he just needed to dial the operator girl, and over a hundred thousand intelligence personnel would gather information for him from all over. As for the lower-level informants, they were too numerous to count—beggars, workers, merchants—any of them could become Su Xiao's informants.
Information that would take days or even longer for one person to find would be delivered to him completely within half an hour after a phone call, in the form of a document on his desk. That was the difference.
If he cooperated with Kingsley to use the mermaid to accomplish certain things, it might seem like avoiding a fight, but it would actually plant hidden dangers.
Su Xiao could use the mermaid, but he absolutely couldn't cooperate with Kingsley to do so. That would leave a handle in Kingsley's hands. If Kingsley then publicly announced that Su Xiao had used the dangerous object mermaid, although it wouldn't make the entire Containment Institution hostile to Su Xiao, his subordinates would be disheartened. They would only follow his orders superficially while being estranged at heart.
The hostile stance was already set, so there was no need for further words. Kill.
Boom!
The gravel beneath Su Xiao's feet shattered, and he turned into an afterimage, charging straight at Kingsley.
The long blade tore through the air, leaving a black trail behind it, and slashed toward Kingsley's neck at an almost unavoidable angle.
With a clang, the blade stopped a dozen centimeters from Kingsley's neck. Kingsley's formal suit split open, and the ground beside his foot exploded violently—this was the kinetic energy brought by Su Xiao's single slash.
The shockwave spread, carrying wind pressure that swept through. Among the protagonist team, Doyle Mu extended one hand forward, forming a protective shell resembling obsidian in front of him. This shell was like half an eggshell, seemingly thin, but it was Doyle Mu's strongest defensive ability.
Under the impact of the shockwave from Su Xiao and Kingsley's clash, the protective shell in front of Doyle Mu rapidly cracked. His strongest defense didn't seem all that strong.
With a bang, all five members of the protagonist team slammed into the wall behind them. The wall quickly crumbled, and they flew backward through the rubble, eventually crashing into the heavily cracked mountain face.
The battlefield between Su Xiao and Kingsley had a vertical cliff on the right and a large expanse of ruins on the left. The five members of the protagonist team were now pinned against the cliff.
Nainai fell to the ground, feeling a tightness in her chest. She secretly thanked her luck for acting obediently enough earlier. If they had directly become hostile, all five of them would have died here within a few breaths.
"These two... what kind of monsters are they?"
The mature woman, Manli, coughed repeatedly. The two people fighting nearby weren't targeting them, but even the residual effects of the battle were hard for them to withstand.
"We need to retreat quickly. This level of battle isn't something we can participate in... no, even watching is dangerous."
As Aichi's words fell, a cyan-blue blade aura swept past above his head. It was so fast that by the time the blade aura had sunk into the mountain behind Aichi, he only reacted then. He immediately touched his head—thankfully, his skull was still intact.
Ignoring the trembling protagonist team on the sidelines, Su Xiao had already fully engaged Kingsley.
Zheng.
A blade aura grazed past Kingsley's ear. While dodging, Kingsley pressed one hand forward.
A wave of impact rushed toward Su Xiao. He slid backward in a half-crouch, plowing the ground. This kind of knockback ability from Kingsley was troublesome. Although the injuries from each knockback weren't significant to Su Xiao, Kingsley could use this ability almost without restriction. This was another characteristic of S-003 (Black Emperor): Repel.
Su Xiao stood up, looking at Kingsley dozens of meters away. It was now known that the Black Emperor had two characteristics: Exile and Repel.
Repel was easy to understand—it was an unavoidable knockback ability with no cooldown, though using it carried risks. As for Exile, this ability was very troublesome.
The Exile ability was a modification of the Black Emperor's "Submission" ability. Those unwilling to submit to the Black Emperor would be exiled.
[Prompt: You have been afflicted with the 'Exile' status. This is a debuff. Your Luck attribute will be continuously reduced until you leave the influence range of the dangerous object S-003 (Black Emperor).]
[Your fortune has been blocked by the 'Exile' status. Your Luck attribute will temporarily drop to 0 points (since your Luck attribute is below 50 points, you cannot resist this debuff. If it were above 50 points, you could partially resist it).]
[Your Luck attribute has been temporarily reduced by 10 points.]
[Your Luck attribute has been temporarily reduced by 5 points.]
[Your Luck attribute has been temporarily reduced by 3 points.]
[Your Luck attribute has been temporarily reduced by 1 point...]
...
At the start of the battle, Su Xiao's Luck attribute had already dropped to 0 points. Not only that, but it continued to plummet rapidly. Even though it was a temporary debuff, this was still deadly.
In the first few seconds of the battle, the Luck attribute dropped ferociously, falling to -18 points within seconds. After that, the decline slowed.
Now, whenever Su Xiao had the intention to attack Kingsley, there was a 20% chance of losing 1 Luck attribute point. This was the subsequent reduction effect of the Exile status.
In battle, how could there be no attack intent? As a result, Su Xiao's Luck attribute had already fallen to -39 points. He could feel that the night wind blowing past was colder, and the tips of the wheatgrass on the ground seemed to point at him, like countless blades.
The malice of the world emerged from all directions. Once the Luck attribute dropped below -30 points, it was no longer just simple bad luck.
As long as he continued fighting Kingsley, Su Xiao's Luck attribute would keep decreasing until he was far away from Kingsley, at which point the debuff would be lifted and his Luck attribute would recover.
Su Xiao didn't act recklessly. If the Luck attribute fell to -40 points, it would be a different matter entirely. When it dropped to -50 points, even he would have a high probability of dying here. This was the danger of the Black Emperor, especially since its user was named Kingsley—the same person who had secretly worked with Su Xiao to orchestrate the protagonist team.
Half a silver moon hung high, stars filled the sky, and on the heavily cracked ground, Su Xiao and Kingsley faced off dozens of meters apart.
Su Xiao was waiting for an opportunity. The Fate Dominator's Fortune Power (Core·Active) ability could instantly increase his Luck attribute by 20 points, restoring it to -19 points. A debuff within -20 Luck points wasn't fatal for Su Xiao. This was the key to victory.
If Kingsley himself weren't strong, there would be no problem—Su Xiao could kill him quickly. The issue was that Kingsley, as the leader of the Eclipse Organization, was already a top-tier powerhouse in this world. He hadn't reached his position through charisma but by fighting his way up.
A bloodstain appeared on the side of Kingsley's neck. His eyes fixed on Su Xiao. Without a doubt, this was the strongest enemy he had ever encountered in his life.
In truth, Kingsley was very puzzled. He had fought against the Execution Agency's Legion Commander before. As the user of the Black Emperor, he had always been stronger than the other party. Although he was inferior in handling dangerous objects, when it came to personal strength, he was more than a cut above.
Just now, Kingsley realized something was wrong. For some reason, the Execution Agency's Legion Commander in front of him had greatly increased in strength. If he didn't use that hidden method and take higher risks with the Black Emperor, not only would he fail to defeat the other party, but he would definitely die here today.
Kingsley didn't need to think twice to know that with the speed his formidable opponent had displayed, if he couldn't win, he wouldn't even have a chance to retreat.
More critically, Kingsley estimated that even using his hidden method, the outcome between him and the other party was only fifty-fifty. Because the other party was so skilled in combat, his own chances of dying were higher.
Kingsley's right hand, wearing a black glove, clenched slightly. A golden electric arc flickered between his fingers. This was his hidden method. Although he had trained this ability for a long time, no one knew about it except himself—not even his trusted subordinate, Ring 1.
Crack!
A golden lightning bolt streaked across the sky, and in an instant, the sky was filled with such golden lightning.
Seeing this golden lightning, Su Xiao recalled the nameless captain he had encountered in the Demon Sea. That person was a true World Child, and one of his main abilities was this golden lightning.
Not only the nameless captain, but also Douglas, whom Su Xiao had met in the Dark Prison World, was a World Child. He could also use this golden lightning, but only for a short time, not as freely as the nameless captain.
This golden lightning was closely related to true World Children. Now, Kingsley had also used this ability. Was this guy the true World Child of this world?
He definitely wasn't. Su Xiao was certain of that. Kingsley couldn't be the true World Child of this world. Su Xiao had killed many World Children before. In combat, whether an enemy was a true World Child was very intuitive to Su Xiao's perception.
Su Xiao wanted to know how Kingsley could control this golden lightning.
If Su Xiao could also control this golden lightning, he could unleash an extremely powerful blade technique. That move was called: Heaven's Wrath: Falling Thunder.