Chapter 31: Speed
Everyone's gaze was fixed on Su Xiao, but he paid no attention to the crowd, focusing intently on Sloth·Sloth.
Although Sloth appeared dull-witted, he was the fastest among the homunculi.
Each homunculus had its own specialty: Lust's strongest spear, Greed's strongest shield, Gluttony's devouring maw, and Pride's massive physique.
Su Xiao had fought all these enemies, or rather, after entering the derivative world, he had done little else but hunt down homunculi.
Other contractors had similar ideas, but none were as fast as Su Xiao.
Landing steadily, Su Xiao took off his shirt, baring his upper body.
Several metal ring locks were fastened around his arms, which he had purchased in Reincarnation Paradise. The ring locks were heavy, used to train his arm strength.
Since there had been no combat recently, Su Xiao had worn them to better control his strength, ensuring more precise strikes in critical moments.
"Bubu, buy me ten seconds."
With a series of clicks, Su Xiao began removing the metal ring locks from his arms.
"Woof."
Bubu Wang charged toward Sloth·Sloth. He often fought alongside Su Xiao, and while he didn't engage in direct combat, he had picked up some skills through observation, like aggro-drawing.
Bubu Wang started circling Sloth, who stared at Bubuteni with a confused expression.
"Woof woof (meaning 'grandson' in dog language)."
Clang, clang...
The metal ring locks on Su Xiao's arms were heavy, thudding dully against the ground as they fell.
Su Xiao flexed his arms. The effect was excellent; the sudden removal of the weights gave him a sense of lightness.
Dragon-Slaying Flash appeared in his hand, and Azure Steel Shadow was activated to its maximum.
"Isn't this guy called the Explosive Flame Alchemist? He's not using bombs but fighting this monster hand-to-hand? Is he asking for death?"
Olivia was baffled, but she soon noticed that Su Xiao's grip on the blade and his forward stride seemed more professional than her own.
"Got to work, can't sleep. What a hassle."
Sloth had no will to fight; his goal was to dig a hole.
"Lazy."
Hearing Su Xiao's shout, Sloth turned his head.
"Do you recognize me?"
"Of course I do."
"Human... you smell of Envy and Gluttony's blood. Enemy. Revenge."
Though seemingly slow, Sloth's perception was sharp; he immediately realized Su Xiao had killed Envy and Gluttony.
"Envy was a brother. Must avenge!"
The muscles on Sloth's body gradually tensed, and he slowly walked toward Su Xiao.
Su Xiao strode forward to meet him. In a one-on-one fight, among the homunculi, only Wrath posed a challenge; the others he didn't fear.
The distance shrank. In the distance, Edward frowned deeply.
"Hey, that guy has an undying body. Even if he's injured..."
A flash of blade light streaked through the air, leaving a pale blue arc.
Pfft!
Blood gushed forth, droplets scattering in the air.
"Hmm?"
Su Xiao turned his head to look at the protagonist Edward, wondering what he had just said.
"How is that possible... What kind of speed is that?"
Su Xiao's lightning-fast slash stunned everyone present. More importantly, the body that solid cannonballs couldn't harm was cut through like tofu under his blade.
Su Xiao's numerous passive skills and the sharpness of Dragon-Slaying Flash now came to the fore. Defense and armor were meaningless before him.
Sloth looked at his severed arm. He could have dodged that strike, but he hesitated for an instant—because dodging was too troublesome.
Each of these homunculi had their flaws. Some were minor, but Sloth's lazy nature was fatal.
The thick arm turned to ash on the ground. Sloth's regeneration wasn't particularly fast, but it wasn't slow either; within seconds, his arm regrew.
"Should I get serious? Getting serious is such a hassle. But I need to avenge, and dig a hole. So annoying."
Sloth's aura shifted. His single eye glowed red.
Su Xiao's breathing slowed. If Sloth's threat level had been 5 before, it was now 50.
"Major, what do we do?"
One of Olivia's subordinates spoke up.
"No rush. Let's see how it goes."
The battle continued. This time, Su Xiao didn't charge forward; he was ready to dodge at any moment.
The ground beneath Sloth's feet cracked.
Boom!
Sloth shot forward like a cannonball, becoming a blur in everyone's vision.
Su Xiao immediately sidestepped to evade. A gust of wind pressure swept past him, ruffling his short black hair. His eyes instinctively narrowed, and several bloody cuts appeared on his arms.
Fast. Unbelievably fast.
Despite his massive build, Sloth moved at full speed, leaving only afterimages.
Among the homunculi, Sloth was the fastest, even though he represented sloth.
Sloth had only one move: charging forward at full speed.
Boom!
Sloth slammed headfirst into the wall behind Su Xiao. The steel wall was dented into a large crater, and Sloth's head was deformed from the impact.
His speed was so great that he couldn't control himself; he couldn't stop until he hit something.
Dust enveloped Sloth. A few seconds later, he emerged from the smoke, red electricity crackling around his head.
"How do we deal with a monster like that?"
Edward wanted to help, even though Su Xiao wasn't his ally, the homunculi were a common enemy.
"Brother, should we help?"
"We should."
"But... how? I can't even track his movements."
Alphonse's words left Edward speechless. Yes, how could they help? Sloth was too fast; they might just get in the way.
Zzzz.
Su Xiao released Realm Severing Thread, weaving a net of barriers in front of him. If one looked closely, they could see crisscrossing blue threads.
Once Sloth fully recovered, he locked eyes with Su Xiao.
Boom! The ground beneath Sloth cracked again.
Sloth turned into a blur, charging straight at Su Xiao. Before he even reached him, he collided with the Realm Severing Thread.
Squeak.
A grating sound echoed. Sloth's body was incredibly tough, making it difficult for the threads to cut through, and they were on the verge of snapping.
Noticing this, Su Xiao infused Azure Steel Shadow into the threads.
Pfft. Sloth burst through the threads, his body sliced into over a dozen pieces.
Logically, Sloth should have lost his combat ability, but that wasn't the case. The severed pieces of his body flew rapidly toward Su Xiao.
One head flew straight at his face. There was no time to dodge.
A transparent shield appeared around Su Xiao, and the massive head smashed into it first.
Crack! The shield shattered, and the head continued its trajectory toward Su Xiao. Fortunately, his blade was already swinging.
Clang.
The head was split in two, flying past either side of him.
Large chunks of flesh scattered around Su Xiao, blood slowly soaking the ground.
"Did he kill it? That guy's a monster too—no, an even greater monster than the monster."
Olivia's expression darkened. She had allowed such a person to stay in the fortress for days, under the watch of only a dozen soldiers.
Sloth·Sloth wouldn't die so easily, but he was close. With injuries this severe, he could only regenerate a few more times at most.
Flicking the blood off Dragon-Slaying Flash, Su Xiao looked at Sloth's scattered remains on the ground.