Chapter 18: The Most Cunning Are Humans
The next morning, in a small town on the edge of Central City, Su Xiao was hiding in an abandoned residence.
Tap. Tap. Tap...
Footsteps sounded not far away. Su Xiao, his body wrapped in bandages, looked toward the approaching figure.
“Did you fight with Mustang yesterday?”
“Mm, in the forest on the outskirts. I was disposing of Riza Hawkeye’s body when Mustang suddenly appeared.”
“Is that so? You didn’t show him those photos?”
Envy walked up to Su Xiao, a mocking smile on his face.
“And the Philosopher’s Stone I deserve?”
“Here.”
Envy tossed a grain-sized Philosopher’s Stone. It was pitifully small.
Su Xiao didn’t catch it. The stone fell to the ground.
“That’s all?”
“From now on, every time you do something for us, you’ll get this much.”
Envy chuckled, yawned, and wore a scornful grin, as if he had Su Xiao figured out.
“Is that so? Then forget it.”
“Oh? You don’t want to work for us anymore? Mustang’s been a bit troublesome. He turned Central City upside down this morning looking for you.”
Envy stood confidently in front of Su Xiao. He had witnessed last night’s battle—fierce, with half the forest burned and the ground riddled with craters.
Su Xiao pulled out a walkie-talkie and turned it on.
“Have the nearby military been dealt with?”
Static crackled. The signal was poor, but the voice was still audible.
“Cleaned... up. If we finish within an hour... no problem.”
“Good. I’ll leave Central City soon to find another ally. I’m leaving this to you.”
“No problem... thanks for... the intel.”
Su Xiao turned off the walkie-talkie.
“Who were you talking to?”
Envy began to sense something was wrong.
“A ‘new friend.’”
Dragon-Slaying Flash appeared in Su Xiao’s hand. A flash of gleaming blade light.
Pfft.
Blood splattered, forming droplets in the air.
“Huh?”
Feeling the sting in his arm, Envy glanced at his left arm.
It was gone. Red electric light flickered at the wound, and the severed limb quickly regenerated.
“That hurts, you bastard!”
Envy stood warily a short distance from Su Xiao.
“Are you trying to rebel against us? Mere humans.”
Zzzz.
The sound of a metal wire retracting.
“What’s this? Hey, stop!”
Su Xiao pulled the Realm Severing Thread and yanked hard. Pfft! Envy’s body was covered in fine cuts, severed into over a dozen pieces.
“One.”
Taking advantage of Envy’s regeneration, Su Xiao rushed forward.
“How dare you resist us—”
The long blade swept past, severing Envy’s head.
“Two.”
Su Xiao kicked Envy’s torso. It only flew a few meters, and Su Xiao’s calf ached faintly.
Boom!
Envy crashed down, smashing a large crater into the floor. The already dilapidated residence began to collapse. Envy was heavy—at least a thousand pounds.
Su Xiao flashed out of the house as dust billowed behind him. Envy was buried alive.
Bang.
A piece of rubble was kicked aside. Envy crawled out of the wreckage.
“Betraying us, huh? Humans really are untrustworthy.”
Envy stood up, shaking the blood off his hands.
“It’s been a while since I used this. Let me show you my true form. Don’t wet your pants.”
Envy’s body flickered with red electric light, as if he was about to use a certain technique.
Su Xiao didn’t charge forward. Envy’s true form was about to emerge. The boyish appearance was just a disguise.
Envy’s body rapidly expanded. In an instant, he transformed from a frail youth into a massive creature.
Now, Envy stood four meters tall and was at least ten meters long. He resembled a canine but had eight thick legs.
His skin was a deep green, with a lizard-like tail.
When the Homunculus in the Flask created Envy, he added canine and lizard genes to boost his combat power.
“How about that? My strongest form.”
Envy’s voice became hollow, as if many people were speaking at once.
Su Xiao sensed Envy before him. This was no longer a single aura, but countless thousands.
Countless souls wailed inside Envy’s body.
‘Save me, it hurts so much.’
‘Let me out, I don’t want to be energy.’
‘Let me die, please.’
Ignoring the souls’ lament, Su Xiao’s perception was too strong, even causing a dizzying sensation.
He retracted his perception, and the wailing of the dead vanished.
Su Xiao raised his blade and charged forward. Envy sneered.
“If you used bombs, I’d run immediately. But it seems you’ve run out of Philosopher’s Stones.”
Envy lifted a dark green claw and stomped toward Su Xiao.
Su Xiao sidestepped, dodging the strike.
Boom!
The ground cratered, the tremor shaking his feet.
Gripping his sword with both hands, Su Xiao slashed off Envy’s claw.
Swoosh. The thick claw was severed. The cut felt smooth, with no resistance.
Dragon-Slaying Flash was now exceptionally sharp. Enhancement +8 granted it high attack power, and the Supreme Blade’s added sharpness made it even deadlier.
Supreme Blade Effect 1 added 7 points of sharpness. Enhancement +5 added armor penetration. Enhancement +8 added another 2 points of sharpness.
With 9 points of sharpness, armor penetration, and Azure Steel Shadow’s true damage, Su Xiao’s slashes were terrifyingly lethal.
Moreover, Dragon-Slaying Flash had gained another sharpness-increasing attribute.
Equipment Effect: Shadow Dance Sever (Passive): Each slash reduces the enemy’s defense by 8% for 20 seconds. This effect stacks up to 3 times, reducing defense by a total of 24%.
Note: When Shadow Dance Sever (Passive) stacks to 3 times, it triggers the Blood Flow effect. (Blood Flow: The enemy loses 2 HP per second and healing effects are reduced by 30%.)
...
Shadow Dance Sever (Passive) had already stacked three times on Envy, reducing his defense by 24%.
Though the Blood Flow effect couldn’t reduce Envy’s regeneration, it accelerated his consumption of Philosopher’s Stones.
Pfft, pfft, pfft...
Dragon-Slashing Flash danced up and down. Envy’s claws were severed one after another, unable to withstand Su Xiao’s strikes.
Su Xiao cut through Envy like slicing through vegetables.
“Impossible! What kind of blade is that? How is it so sharp?”
Envy was a chatterbox in battle, never shutting up.
Su Xiao slashed off Envy’s lower jaw, spraying blood over himself.
Among the seven Homunculi, three posed a threat to Su Xiao: Wrath, Pride, and Gluttony.
Gluttony had already been dealt with. Wrath wouldn’t be fought yet. Pride, he planned to eliminate soon.
Pride, the oldest Homunculus, ranked second in strength among them. But he had a weakness—a fatal one.