Chapter 81: It Comes, It Comes
On the city wall, Su Xiao held a cigarette between his fingers, appreciating the distant battle. Among all those present, he had the greatest advantage, having already reaped enough benefits to advance or retreat as he pleased.
The gains from this venture far exceeded those from killing a powerful enemy, but they were also more dangerous. A single misstep would leave him trapped in the Sun Church. The wealthier that place was, the stronger its overall combat power.
The appearance of the Blazing Sun Lord was something Su Xiao had known about long ago. After scouting this formidable foe's information earlier, the data had clearly stated this fact.
Currently, the most favorable situation for Su Xiao was for both sides in the battle group to fight until they were unable to continue. This required careful control.
Providing too much assistance to the Blazing Sun Lord would cause him to either come to the city wall to find Su Xiao after killing or driving off Wood and the others, or simply leave.
On the other hand, letting Wood and the others surround and kill the Blazing Sun Lord was also not good for Su Xiao—those were all rivals.
Su Xiao decided to keep watching. He had nothing better to do anyway.
[Announcement (Void Tree): Over 95% of the scroll fragments held by the New Kingdom faction have been seized. All participants may immediately leave this world or will be forcibly teleported back to the main painting world in 10 hours.]
Seeing this announcement, Su Xiao breathed a sigh of relief. He had been waiting for this news. His biggest worry was being unable to leave this world in time. He was now mortal enemies with the Sun Church, and no matter how you looked at it, the Sun Church's troublesome nature was incomparable to the New Kingdom.
Su Xiao pulled the bolt of J·Demon. There were only eight [Uranium Bullets] left, each worth 203 Soul Coins. He needed to use them sparingly.
Just then, an aura approached from the right. Su Xiao immediately abandoned his aim and turned his gaze toward the person.
In the night, an old knight in full armor, with slight scorch marks on his armor, walked over. His three-meter height gave him an imposing presence. The greatsword on his back was undoubtedly a legendary blade worthy of being passed down through generations. Having been blasted by Blazing Sun·Apollo, it bore no traces of damage, still gleaming clean and bright.
On the city wall, the old knight stopped a few meters away from Su Xiao. The tattered cape behind him, burned down to a small remnant, fluttered in the wind.
Su Xiao remained silent, and the old knight said nothing either. This silence lasted over a minute before the old knight spoke first:
"My decaying body... will soon 'burn out,' but the canvas fragments I've found aren't enough. I want to trade this for two canvas fragments. Are you interested?"
The old knight pulled a ring from inside his armor. At first glance, it appeared pure white, but upon closer inspection, a hair-thin black line ran through the center of the ring.
"This ring is very precious. It's unique," the old knight paused, then carefully continued, "For some people, it's more valuable than hundreds of canvas fragments. But for those who don't need it, it's worthless. Even as an ornament, it's too crude and simple."
As the old knight finished speaking, Su Xiao received a notification from Reincarnation Paradise.
[Prompt: Do you agree/disagree to trade with the Old Knight?]
[After centuries of searching and fierce battles, the Old Knight is physically and mentally exhausted. Following his battle with the Nightmare King, he is on the verge of his limit. After obtaining five scroll fragments in the Sand World, the Old Knight knows he no longer has the strength to continue searching for scroll fragments. He is only missing two scroll fragments to return to the ancient city and use the fragments he has gathered over the years to repair it, allowing the people there to continue thriving.]
[The Old Knight proposes trading the 'Iron Ring' for two scroll fragments.]
[This 'Iron Ring' appears ordinary yet seems to be some kind of oath-bound object.]
...
A choice lay before Su Xiao. He had obtained a total of 28 scroll fragments in this world. Should he take two of them to complete this trade with the Old Knight?
The Old Knight's strength was not weak, but that was in the past. Now, on the verge of his limit, killing him would not be difficult for Su Xiao. The Old Knight had at least five or more scroll fragments on him.
Why had the Old Knight come to trade with him? Su Xiao speculated that it was because the Old Knight had drunk the potion he provided earlier, which was used to cleanse Ancient God System energy. Finding the potion safe had established a preliminary trust. Su Xiao had quite a few options at this moment.