Chapter 13: Blood and Armor (Fourth Update)
Boom, boom!
All the residents of Dablis Town felt tremors beneath their feet.
Inside the sewer, Roa (Ox) had been blasted to just a head, dead for some time. As for Doruched (Dog), he was nowhere to be seen—not because he had fled, but because he had been blown to pieces.
“Huff, huff~.”
Greed·Greed panted heavily, his body charred black and covered in cracks.
“Having withstood dozens of bombs, you’re quite tenacious.”
Su Xiao stood in place, having not moved a single step from the start.
“Your bombs are already…”
Greed started to speak, only to see Su Xiao wave his hand, and dozens of alchemy bombs clattered to the ground.
Greed turned to look behind him. The ground there was covered with hundreds of small white frogs.
Not just the ground behind him; the drainage ditch beside him was also filled with these frogs.
Greed had already learned the terror of these frogs—his escape route was cut off.
“Big Brother Greed.”
Inside Alphonse, Madeleine wanted to come out and help fight, but the kind-hearted Al stopped her.
“You can’t go out; you’ll be blown up.”
Al’s body was pitted and scarred. If Su Xiao had been targeting him, he would have died many times over.
“Stop talking nonsense, let me out.”
“No.”
“I want to go help Big Brother Greed fight!”
“No.”
Madeleine pounded hard on the inside of Al’s armor, but Al firmly gripped his own head—the only exit.
“Please, let me out, let me fight.”
Madeleine’s voice was already choked with tears.
“No, you’ll die.”
Al refused. He didn’t want to see anyone else die.
“Alphonse, run.”
Greed suddenly spoke, punching through the iron chain on Al’s leg.
“Huh?”
Al was startled.
“Go now, no more talk. This guy’s target is me, not saving you—that was just an excuse.”
Al looked at Su Xiao and saw him lighting a cigarette, smoking leisurely.
A thought suddenly struck Al: this guy really seemed like a big villain.
Sss~.
The alchemy bombs transformed into white snakes crawling on the ground. Su Xiao looked up at the sewer ceiling above; the framework was already full of cracks. He would need to control the explosion’s intensity.
“Already died 16 times. Quite the regenerative power.”
Su Xiao used his mind to control the alchemy bombs, and the small white snakes quickly crawled toward Greed.
Greed felt helpless. He didn’t dare attack these white snakes, as that would only trigger an explosion.
He had tried to tough out the bombs and escape, but the result was dying five times in a row, at a heavy cost, and failing to escape—the enemy would blow off his legs.
“This is truly a hopeless situation.”
Greed covered his head with both hands and charged headlong at Su Xiao, as if trying to take him down together.
Boom, boom, boom…
A series of explosions rang out. A figure covered in deep wounds burst through the flames and rushed right up to Su Xiao.
“Die!”
Greed leaped, swinging a fist down at Su Xiao’s head.
Su Xiao crouched low. Jumping during a fight was a major taboo unless you had flight abilities, as it left you unable to dodge.
He sidestepped Greed’s heavy punch and drove an elbow into Greed’s stomach.
“Ugh~.”
Greed spat out a mouthful of bile, his body curling up.
Su Xiao stepped back, planted both hands on the ground, and swept his leg, knocking the about-to-land Greed flat.
With a thud, Greed hit the ground face-first, seeing stars.
Su Xiao raised one foot high and stomped hard on Greed’s chest.
Crack. Greed’s ribs snapped in large sections.
‘How can he have such terrifying strength?’
That was the only thought in Greed’s mind. Blood gushed from his mouth. Though his carbon shell hadn’t shattered, it was caved in.
Before Greed could get up, Su Xiao bent one leg and drove his knee down from above onto Greed’s head.
Crunch.
Greed’s head deformed.
Boom!
The ground cracked, dust billowed, and Greed’s head sank into the floor.
Su Xiao’s strength attribute was a full 38 points. An ordinary person’s strength was 5 points, but attributes didn’t increase by simple addition or subtraction—they multiplied.
10 points of strength wasn’t twice as strong as 5 points; it was over ten times stronger. The exact calculation method was unknown to Su Xiao, as it would require paying a hefty amount of Paradise Coins for consultation.
But Su Xiao was certain of one thing: he could now punch through a wall with ease using his bare hands.
Blood spread across the ground. Even without his blade, Su Xiao was formidable, especially with his many alchemy bombs.
He reached his left hand into the pit in the ground and grabbed Greed’s head.
The cold touch of metal brought Greed back to some awareness. His regenerative power was weakening.
“You’re not… human.”
Crack, crack, crack…
Greed’s skull creaked under Su Xiao’s grip, and Greed nearly lost consciousness.
“Monster.”
Blood soaked the fabric at Su Xiao’s elbow. Greed’s body was too hard, and Su Xiao was also injured.
“I didn’t expect a monster like you to have red blood too, hahahaha.”
Su Xiao said nothing. During a fight, aside from necessary provocation, he never wasted words when he could act. That “talk-no-jutsu” skill only worked when used by the protagonist.
And villains usually died from talking too much. If he wanted to say something to an enemy, Su Xiao preferred to say it to their corpse—lower risk, and the enemy wouldn’t argue back.
An alchemy bomb appeared in his hand, transforming into a white sphere.
Su Xiao shoved the sphere into Greed’s mouth. Greed’s pupils trembled.
He tossed Greed aside. Greed reached into his throat, as if trying to pull out the alchemy bomb.
“Wait, I can tell you a secret.”
“Not interested.”
“This country has problems. The mastermind behind everything is…”
Thud.
Greed’s chest and abdomen suddenly swelled, then returned to normal a few seconds later. He lay weakly on the ground, blood and fragments of internal organs flowing from his mouth and nose.
[You have killed Greed.]
[Greed is a key plot character. Obtained 5.1% World Source. Total World Source obtained: 17.2%.]
[Accomplishment mission: Conviction has been completed (3/7).]
After killing Greed, Su Xiao looked at Alphonse beside him. Inside that body was still a chimera.
Either don’t make enemies, or wipe them out completely—never let a single enemy escape.
Su Xiao walked toward Alphonse. Al sat on the ground, scooting backward a bit.
“Big Brother Greed.”
Madeleine knelt inside Al’s armor, tears streaming uncontrollably.
Al looked at Su Xiao. He wanted to protect the woman inside the armor.
“Th-thank you for saving me.”
“It’s nothing.”
Su Xiao continued walking toward Alphonse.
“Th-then, I’ll go find my brother.”
Alphonse tried to stand and leave, but failed several times. Al whispered to Madeleine inside him, “Don’t struggle. Let’s go quickly. He’ll kill you.”
“I won’t go. I want to avenge Big Brother Greed.”
“No, you’re no match. Don’t resist. Come with me now.”
Su Xiao was already close to Al.
“Who are you talking to?”
“I… I’m talking to myself.”
“Is that so.”
Zzzt~. The sound of a metal wire retracting.
Pfft. Blood gushed from the gaps in Al’s armor. Al sat frozen on the ground.
Su Xiao retracted the Realm Severing Thread and casually wiped the blood off it.
“A fine strike. But, Explosion Alchemist, why are you here?”
A strong, elderly man wearing a tight black short-sleeved shirt and a black eyepatch over his left eye walked over from one side of the sewer.
The sturdy old man had six Western swords hanging at his waist, his steps steady and powerful.
Su Xiao looked at the strong elder and recognized him at once.
“During a mission, I encountered a kidnapping incident. Someone kidnapped the family of a State Alchemist. As a State Alchemist, I naturally couldn’t tolerate that.”
Approaching him was President King Bradley, also known as Wrath·Lust.
Seeing the other party, Su Xiao suddenly felt an urge to draw his blade and fight him. He suppressed that impulse—now was not the time.