Chapter 43: Clearing the Field
In the pitch-black corridor, Su Xiao leaned against the cement wall, the bloodstains on his body leaving a large patch of red on the wall behind him.
Ten minutes had passed since the Homunculus obtained the God's Power. Su Xiao was currently clearing out the contractors beneath the Presidential Palace.
These contractors were no pushovers. Some weren't too strong, but others were quite formidable.
Even among contractors of the same rank, there were vast differences. Some were very powerful, while others were weaker.
One type of contractor was particularly troublesome: those who developed a single attribute to an extreme.
For example, some contractors focused solely on developing their Strength attribute. They would keep their Stamina attribute just high enough to barely support their Strength, using this method to rapidly increase their Strength.
The corpse beside Su Xiao's foot was a case in point. He estimated that this contractor's Strength attribute was at least 45 points or higher. Their attack power was formidable, but they were equally fragile.
Su Xiao pulled an iron spike from his left arm, revealing a bloody wound on his injured arm.
Su Xiao had already driven away at least a dozen contractors and killed two.
The drop rate for Scarlet Cards in the Fullmetal Alchemist world was very low. At least, Su Xiao hadn't seen one yet. In his opinion, this was related to the small number of contractors he had killed.
Just as Su Xiao was resting, hurried footsteps came from ahead.
Three contractors ran from the corridor ahead. When they saw Su Xiao, they stopped in their tracks.
"Hey, friend, there's a madman downstairs who's been chasing down other contractors. Do you know where that guy is?"
A young woman spoke. The corridor was dim, and they were quite far apart, so she couldn't clearly see Su Xiao's face for a moment.
"Madman? No idea."
Su Xiao tightened his grip on the Dragon-Slaying Flash in his hand.
"Sis, this guy's off. Black trench coat, uses a blade-type weapon... Could it be... this guy is the madman! Run!"
A girl with big eyes turned and ran. Before she could get far, she noticed her companion standing still.
"Don't be afraid. This guy is heavily injured."
The young woman looked Su Xiao up and down but didn't dare approach.
A faint smell of blood wafted over. The young woman looked behind Su Xiao and saw a bloody corpse lying there.
"No doubt about it. It's this guy."
The young woman suddenly felt the urge to retreat. She signaled to the two beside her.
"Did I kill your teammates?"
Su Xiao sensed a different meaning in the three contractors' words.
"No, you didn't."
Hearing the young woman's answer, Su Xiao frowned.
"Then how did you know I was hunting down other contractors?"
Su Xiao was curious about this.
"No comment."
The young woman turned to leave. Su Xiao kicked off the ground and charged forward.
...
Five minutes later, Su Xiao spat out a mouthful of blood. An arrow was lodged in his lower abdomen and another in his chest.
The three contractors lay on the ground. Two had lost consciousness, and only the young woman was crawling on the floor.
The young woman's lips trembled. Bloodstains dotted her pale cheeks. One of her legs had been severed.
"Answer my question."
Su Xiao glanced at his health bar. It was at 26%.
The contractors in the Fullmetal Alchemist world were different from the ordinary contractors he had encountered before. These contractors couldn't be instantly killed by him, even though his strength had greatly improved.
Not only could they not be instantly killed, but they could also exchange a few rounds with him. If his attack power weren't strong enough, it was uncertain who would win or lose in a fight against these three.
It was precisely because his attack power was terrifying enough that the three of them were defeated after consuming 20% of Su Xiao's health.
At this moment, the young woman's vision was blurring. She struggled to lift her head and look at Su Xiao.
"Mon... monster!"
The young woman had never seen such a powerful "contractor" as Su Xiao. It was no wonder she felt this way. Su Xiao was a Hunter. If his ability to fight contractors weren't strong enough, he would have died long ago.
"Want to live?"
Su Xiao crouched in front of the young woman. The Dragon-Slashing Flash in his hand was still dripping blood.
"If you're going to kill me, then kill me. I won't hand over my equipment or Paradise Coins."
The young woman pulled out a dagger and pressed it against her throat. She was afraid of being humiliated by Su Xiao.
"I'm not interested in your crappy equipment. I only have one question for you."
The young woman looked slightly surprised.
"What question?"
"How did you know about my existence? No, that's a bit hard to understand. How did you know I was cleaning out other contractors?"
The young woman lowered her head, a strange light flickering in her eyes.
"You don't have the Derived World Contact Platform?"
"What's that?"
Su Xiao had never heard of any Derived World Contact Platform.
Not only was Su Xiao puzzled, but the young woman was even more confused.
"The Derived World Contact Platform is a basic function. No, first-rank contractors don't have this ability. Could it be..."
Su Xiao nodded. He already understood what was going on. It seemed this was an ability for second-rank contractors.
"I see. You're on a promotion mission. How could a first-rank contractor be this strong?"
The young woman stared intently at Su Xiao.
"Who knows. Maybe it's because I'm not afraid to die and dare to take on dangerous missions. High risk, high reward."
The young woman nodded and wiped the blood from her face.
"You're very strong. We're no match for you. But the drop rate for Scarlet Cards in the Fullmetal Alchemist world is very low, so killing us won't give you much profit."
The young woman took out two recovery items.
One was a blue-quality potion that could restore 60% health and slightly heal limb damage. The other was a green-quality recovery-type food that, when used, would restore 80% health over 5 minutes.
"Take these. And we won't seek revenge. We'll return immediately. Our main mission is already complete. We only came here to try our luck."
The young woman drafted a temporary contract. Su Xiao glanced at it and then dismissed the temporary contract relationship.
He really did need those two recovery items. But the young woman's two teammates had already been cut down by him. Although they weren't dead, their limbs were scattered around the corridor.
Ask yourself, could someone who had been mutilated like this harbor no hatred?
Was it really worth letting the enemy go for two recovery items? The answer was no. Since enmity had already been established, the roots must be pulled out. Otherwise, don't create enmity in the first place.
"Hey... don't look at me like that. You asked me earlier if I wanted to live. Well, now my answer is yes."
"Indeed, no one wants to die. But I only asked if you wanted to live. Did I ever say I would let you go?"
The blade flashed. A red line appeared on the young woman's throat.
"You... liar."
The young woman's pupils began to dim. Gushing blood sprayed from the wound on her throat. Even if she pressed her hand against the wound and used recovery items, it was useless.
After dealing with the young woman's two teammates, Su Xiao took out several rolls of bandages and hastily treated the wounds on his body.
This was the last group of contractors in the vicinity. The area beneath the Presidential Palace was a maze of interconnected passages. Su Xiao didn't bother clearing out the more distant locations.
Rumbling sounds continued from underground. Su Xiao guessed that the five Homunculi had already started fighting the Homunculus.
...
Beneath the Presidential Palace.
The Homunculus was fighting the five Homunculi. Edward and the others had somehow managed to restore their ability to use alchemy.
The battle between alchemists was exceptionally fierce, especially since the five Homunculi didn't need a transmutation circle to perform alchemy. They only needed to clasp their hands together.
The Homunculus, who could use God's Power, was almost unstoppable in the Fullmetal Alchemist world. But now, the Homunculus had God's Power but couldn't use it.