Chapter 33: Famous Doctor Kaiser
The night outside the window was deep. After ending his communication with Shenfu, Su Xiao closed his eyes to rest. He was waiting, waiting for Shenfu to make some concessions.
Regarding the potent poison targeting the Ancient God system, Su Xiao had indeed developed it and even tested it. Last time, at the bottom of the sea in the World of Paintings, he and Zuiyasi had a "slight" disagreement. It wasn't a major conflict—just cutting off the other's head six times and suffering severe injuries himself.
Afterward, they classified the matter as a sparring session to avoid awkwardness in future cooperation. As it turned out, this was the right call, as they later encountered that bastard again in the Treeborn World.
Therefore, Su Xiao's claim about the potent poison for the Ancient God system was no empty boast. Shenfu had also been in the Treeborn World and knew about his cooperation with Wude and Zuiyasi.
With anyone else, Su Xiao wouldn't use such a strategy. But against Shenfu, he felt it would likely work. Shenfu wasn't the type to pay a price for the sake of face. Concepts like a strong-willed demeanor were worthless in that old bastard's eyes.
When it was time to retreat, Shenfu would step back step by step. What that old man cared about was becoming the final victor; the process in between didn't matter.
Ring, ring, ring~
The old-fashioned rotary phone rang. As expected, Shenfu had conceded. Su Xiao picked up the phone.
"Bai Ye, we're old friends. Let's be straightforward. I believe you have the ability to brew potent poison, but at least prove it..."
Click~
Su Xiao hung up, not giving Shenfu a chance to continue. Prove it? He wouldn't. At this point, any form of proof would show weakness. The poisoned party was the other side, yet the poisoner frantically trying to prove something would be laughable.
There were still a few hours until dawn. Su Xiao, Bubu Wang, Baha, and Amu sat together playing poker, waiting for morning.
Half an hour later, the poker game became unbearable. The reason was that Amu had already won over 700 Soul Coins. Playing poker with Amu, Su Xiao's hand was so bad he couldn't even pair up. In three rounds, he had only played four cards. No one could tolerate that.
Just then, the phone rang again. Su Xiao picked it up, and both sides were silent for a moment.
"Bai Ye, as old friends, you wouldn't use a lethal potent poison on me, would you?"
"Of course not. The chance of poisoning you to death is too low."
"Then what?"
"A mixed mutation poison. After it takes effect, you'll gradually mutate. What you'll turn into depends on fate."
"That's not good news."
Shenfu's tone had lost its usual amusement. He wasn't afraid of lethal poisons, but this mutation poison was the most hated by the Ancient God system. If it caused the Primordial Ancient God energy to go berserk, the joke would be huge.
"Earlier, you mentioned discussing the price of the antidote. I think we can talk now."
"Before that, I need three pieces of information."
Su Xiao began probing. He didn't know where Shenfu's bottom line was, or rather, that old bastard had no bottom line at all.
"Is this an advance payment?"
Shenfu said half-jokingly.
"Consider it that."
"Alright, ask away."
"Where are you?"
"Platinum Capital. I'm temporarily cooperating with Kaiyin. I saw his recruitment notice; it was quite tempting."
As soon as Shenfu finished speaking, Kaiyin's "You motherf***er" came from the other end.
Kaiyin was clearly startled, not expecting Shenfu to sell him out so naturally.
Bubu Wang and Baha beside Su Xiao were both shocked to hear that Shenfu and Kaiyin were cooperating. Then, Baha looked intrigued.
Kaiyin was a teammate-devouring maniac, and Shenfu was a professional teammate-saboteur. Just thinking about their cooperation was fascinating. Who would end up screwing whom? Bubu Wang bet three packs of spicy sticks on Shenfu winning.
What was even more surprising was that Shenfu admitted that Luge from Apocalypse Paradise was also in that team. Now the team had four members: Captain Kaiyin, Vice-Captain Shenfu, Honorary Vice-Captain Snow Monster, and Vice-Captain's Assistant Luge.
Four people in total, each with a title. Among them, Snow Monster was either a fool or a fool pretending to be weak.
The reason for saying this was that even if someone wanted to play the fool, joining this team was suicidal.
As for Luge, this guy, known as Anonymous on the world contact platform, had a uniquely refreshing way of seeking death.
What left a deep impression on Su Xiao was that in the Treeborn World's contact platform, Luge was a provocateur, going after everyone from Huishenshi and Shenfu to Xianji. Once, he even tried to provoke Baha.
Leaving aside this team with its obviously spectacular lineup, Su Xiao began probing for the second piece of information he wanted. He asked:
"Where is the Nether Emperor?"
Hearing this, Shenfu hesitated for a moment before replying, "The Emperor is in the Dim Light World. You could call it a pseudo-underworld. The real underworld should be a spiritual world. This is a material world, so calling it the underworld is more of a representative title."
"Last question. Give me the world coordinates of the underworld."
"Wouldn't it be better to track that Devourer? I left it in the underworld."
As Shenfu spoke, he regained his usual composure, clearly having anticipated that Su Xiao had left a backup plan on the Devourer.
"Alright, that works."
"Bai Ye, shouldn't we discuss the antidote..."
"Sorry, I was lying."
As soon as Su Xiao finished speaking, he heard Kaiyin's laughter from the other end, full of mockery.
"But Kaiyin is indeed poisoned with a potent poison."
At this, the laughter abruptly stopped. Then, Kaiyin's voice came through with a hint of sarcasm: "Bai Ye, do you really think I'm that stupid?"
"Being corroded by the World Thunder on your soul is painful."
Su Xiao's tone was calm, but the other side fell silent. After more than ten seconds, Kaiyin spoke with a tone as unpleasant as if he had swallowed a fly: "I don't believe you have a way."
Hearing this, Baha beside Su Xiao said, "Kaiyin, are you f***ing stupid? I ask you, who summoned the World Thunder?"
At this, Kaiyin got angry. Even a clay figurine has some temper, let alone someone known as the Nightmare. After a moment of mutual cursing with Baha, Kaiyin was even angrier, mainly because he couldn't win the verbal fight. The communication ended on a sour note.
As soon as the call ended, Baha laughed and said, "Boss, my acting was pretty good, right?"
"..."
Su Xiao didn't say anything. He casually threw down his hand. Baha understood and folded. Bubu Wang also quietly discarded his cards. Amu looked unhappy, as he had two kings, four twos, and four aces.
This communication with Shenfu was an unexpected gain. Originally, Su Xiao's goal was to deal with Shenfu, but that old bastard, while seemingly retreating step by step, was as steady as an old dog, responding without showing any weakness. He appeared to be retreating but revealed no flaws.
After learning that Shenfu and Kaiyin had formed a team, Su Xiao immediately changed his strategy. Dealing with Shenfu was nowhere near as profitable as dealing with Kaiyin.
First, Shenfu was from the Ancient God system, which consumed resources almost as much as the Necromancer system or Technique-type. This meant Shenfu wouldn't carry too much wealth.
In contrast, Kaiyin, the teammate-devouring maniac, likely inherited part of his teammates' assets. Otherwise, just devouring souls wouldn't sustain him for so long.
Kaiyin's method was probably this: trick someone into joining the team, kill them, devour their soul, and then, as the captain, inherit part of their assets.
If this was the case, Kaiyin was definitely wealthy. He was easier to deal with than Shenfu and richer. The choice was clear.
Su Xiao deliberately told Kaiyin what was wrong with him. As the saying goes, "A desperate person will grasp at any straw." When Kaiser put on the Deceiver's Hood and transformed into a "famous doctor" to fool Kaiyin, just thinking about it made one break out in a cold sweat for Kaiyin. Hopefully, he'd be fine.
...
Underworld, City of the Dead: Eta.
The city's tone was iron-black, with a faint green mist spreading above. The environment was dim and full of a sense of age.
At the center of the City of the Dead, a towering palace soared into the sky. Looking up, one couldn't see how high it was, as it pierced into the dark clouds above.
At the main entrance of the palace was a large platform, with long steps leading downward, giving a sense of grandeur and epic history.
On the platform above the steps stood a lion-headed humanoid statue. It had a pair of wings, wore layered golden armor, and held a nearly 5-meter-long heavy cavalry lance. Its three-meter-tall, robust frame made the lance look not exaggerated. This was the palace's guardian, Golden Lion: Miu.
Golden Lion: Miu was sealed like a stone statue. Looking forward, one would see guards holding spears and halberds on both sides of the descending steps, also sealed.
No living being had set foot in this city for a long time. But recently, a few people had arrived and were staying in an ancient mansion in the outer city.
In the main hall of the ancient mansion, candlelight dispelled the darkness. Around a long table sat four people: Shenfu, Kaiyin, Snow Monster, and the death-seeking Luge.
Of course, Shenfu hadn't told the truth. He wasn't in Platinum Capital but had left the battlefield world to come to the underworld. Just bringing the other three here showed that Shenfu had a high status in the Nether faction.
"Captain Kaiyin, I think that guy named Bai Ye is just bluffing. He's definitely scaring you. You just have some aftereffects from being struck by the World Thunder. You'll recover after some rest."
Snow Monster tried to comfort his captain, but Kaiyin ignored him.
"Kaiyin, look on the bright side."
Shenfu spoke. Hearing this, Kaiyin asked, "How so?"
"Even if you're not long for this world after being struck by the World Thunder..."
"Wait!" Kaiyin raised his hand to stop Shenfu. He said in a harsh tone, "I just have aftereffects now, not that I'm about to die."
"Always think of the worst-case scenario."
"Damn it."
Kaiyin was even more frustrated. He ignored Shenfu and looked at Luge, meaning, "You, say something."
"Ahem~ In my opinion, Mr. Kaiyin, you'll likely die from the aftereffects of the World Thunder before this world ends. That World Thunder strike, at least 10 kilometers in diameter, was the one that hit you, right?"
"Yes."
Kaiyin said dejectedly.
"The captain is awesome!"
Snow Monster quickly flattered. But this flattery wasn't just off the mark; it was like slapping the horse right in the mouth.
Kaiyin's gaze toward Snow Monster grew increasingly hostile. Luge beside him looked serious, desperately wanting to laugh but holding it in.
"Ahem~ Back to the topic." Luge quickly changed the subject. He continued, "In our Apocalypse Paradise, there's a contractor named Hao Mei. I've fought her before. She can use World Thunder. After being injured by World Thunder, not to brag, but for the next week, I wet the bed every night. If I couldn't return to Apocalypse Paradise, I probably wouldn't have made it."
Hearing this, Kaiyin's expression grew more serious. Snow Monster asked with concern, "Captain, are you..."
Kaiyin turned to look at Snow Monster, almost saying, "I'm in a soul state now. Can you shut the f*** up?"
"The World Thunder that injured me was about this thick."
Luge gestured, indicating the thunder that hurt him was about the thickness of a bottle bottom.
"According to you, I won't live much longer?"
"Theoretically, yes. But there's a profession called a doctor. I suggest you see one."
Luge's tone was particularly concerned, but the more Kaiyin thought about it, the more off it felt.
As the saying goes, "The speaker has no intention, but the listener takes it to heart." When Shenfu heard this, his eyes narrowed slightly, and his mind raced as he weighed the pros and cons. His stance was never fixed.
Shenfu understood the situation and why Su Xiao had said those words to Kaiyin earlier. It felt like Shenfu was being forced to choose which side to temporarily stand on before the decisive battle between the Nether faction and the Sun Nest.
After some thought, Shenfu knew the path forward. He smiled and said, "Kaiyin, Bai Ye's words just now mean he has a way to cure you."
"Are you crazy? Going to him? Is that any different from suicide?"
"Well, that's true."
Shenfu looked troubled. Seeing this, Kaiyin knew the old bastard had a way out.
Kaiyin quietly traded 500 Soul Coins to Shenfu. Shenfu's smile immediately became kind. He said, "Recently, a new quartermaster has joined the Nether faction. As far as I know, this quartermaster is one of the few doctors in the underworld. You could try seeing him."
Shenfu fully understood Su Xiao's intention. Previously, Shenfu and Kaiser were both in the Nether faction, aware of each other's existence but not interfering.
Now, Shenfu was introducing Kaiyin to Kaiser, clearly preparing to fleece him. He had known Kaiyin had ill intentions all along, so he took this opportunity to deal with him.
This decision meant that Shenfu and Su Xiao, without any prior discussion, had tacitly teamed up to set up Kaiyin.
This was also why Su Xiao had chosen to cooperate with Shenfu earlier. Cooperating with an old schemer was sometimes very convenient.
"This... is it reliable?"
Kaiyin was still a bit hesitant. Seeing this, Shenfu, who had thoroughly investigated Kaiser after the Treeborn World ended, said, "That quartermaster is quite reliable. As far as I know, he also knows some alchemy. It should help with your condition."
"Let's go now."
"Alright."
Shenfu stood up and walked out of the ancient mansion. Kaiyin followed, a gleam in his eyes. He planned to deal with Shenfu after resolving the World Thunder issue.
Behind them, Luge also stood up. He seemed to be seeking death, but in reality, he had a hidden identity: a Luck Attribute specialist. He could even fight using this, provided he didn't encounter someone like Kaiser carrying the Abyssal Jar.
In the team, Shenfu was the hidden big boss, Kaiyin had a powerful soul, Luge was a lucky death-seeker, and they all had their methods. Only Snow Monster puzzled the other three.
The truth was, he was just a fool who had climbed up through various adventure groups. As the saying goes, when a fool reaches the extreme, it becomes a special trump card. After all, fools who could reach the Eighth Rank were rare, except for tyrants like Baolei.
...
Pandora Star, Southern Region, within the Sun Nest territory.
The morning sun had just risen. Su Xiao had waited until now to fight to avoid the night's boost to the Nether faction.
Once past 8 PM, when the sky was completely dark, all enemy Corrupters had increased physical defense, strength, and speed. It seemed the underworld had no daytime, which was why Corrupters were so attuned to darkness.
360,000 Demon Beasts had been waiting for some time. Su Xiao stood on the dragon's back. With his mental command, Barbatos spread its wings and took off. All the Demon Beasts below charged out of the base camp.
The wind howled past his ears. The clouds ahead were thick. Su Xiao sat cross-legged on the dragon's back, checking an email Kaiser had just sent. It was from Kaiyin, who had contacted Kaiser through underworld channels, hoping he could help treat the soul damage caused by the World Thunder.
Su Xiao immediately replied to Kaiser's email, telling him to go to the underworld and treat Kaiyin if possible. This situation also reflected Shenfu's current attitude: he had chosen to wait and see.
Soon, Kaiser's reply came, asking how to treat it. If it were physical injuries, he "knew a little," but he was clueless about soul treatment.
Kaiyin wasn't stupid. If Kaiser showed incompetence during treatment, he would be suspected.
Su Xiao thought for a moment and then sent Kaiser the treatment steps. Following these steps, the treatment would definitely fail, but it would look very professional and fool Kaiyin.
As for after several treatment sessions, when Kaiyin started wondering, "Doctor, why is it getting worse?" that would depend on Kaiser's ability to bluff.
After 20 minutes of remote training from Su Xiao, Kaiser was temporarily promoted to Doctor Kaiser, successfully figuring out how to make the treatment look more professional.
The email composed of light particles shattered. Su Xiao felt the altitude rapidly decreasing. After exiting the clouds, Platinum Capital appeared diagonally below in the distance.
Platinum Capital had changed dramatically. Outside the city walls, a large number of Corrupters gathered. On the walls stood countless "Soul Twisters." Calling them Nether Mages was also acceptable; they could only shoot fluorescent green fireballs.
Yesterday, Uying Soraro had been frustrated by Su Xiao's retreat tactics. Today, he had made adjustments. Now, if the Demon Beasts attacked, the Soul Twisters on the walls would unleash a volley, causing heavy casualties.
Su Xiao had a strategy for this. He ordered a full assault. With this mental command, the 360,000 Demon Beasts below surged forward like a black tide.
"Rumble!!"
The roar of the Nether Whale came from above. Following this roar, over 10,000 Soul Twisters on the front wall raised their bone staffs. Fireballs 10 meters in size gathered above them before being launched.
The green flame fireballs, accompanied by the sound of wind and burning, arced through the air before landing among the charging Demon Beast army.
Boom, boom, boom...
The explosions were unceasing. Each time a green flame fireball landed and exploded, over a dozen Demon Beasts were shattered. The flames splashed, burning even more nearby. This showed why the Soul Twisters were the Nether faction's key protected assets.
After a round of fireball bombardment, the Demon Beast army collided with the oncoming Corrupter army. It was like two waves crashing together. Limbs, blood, and carapace fragments flew everywhere. The Demon Beasts were stronger, but the Corrupters were more numerous.
The fungal carpet quickly spread. Compared to yesterday, today's retreat tactics were countered, so the results wouldn't be as good.
On the city wall, Uying Soraro looked down at the scene, wondering why Su Xiao was still launching such an unwise assault.
Just then, in the battlefield near their side, the ground suddenly bulged, as if a giant groundhog was underground.
Demon Beasts began digging. With their efficiency, they soon dug a hundred-meter-deep pit. Inside this pit stood a Brutal Cannon Tower.
No one had said Brutal Cannon Towers could only be built in the base camp. Since the enemy had ranged firepower on the walls, they would set up ranged firepower underground.
Earlier, Su Xiao had mixed over a thousand Worker Scorpions among the Demon Beasts. After the battle began, they started what they did best: digging. They excavated an underground space a hundred meters deep and built the foundation of a Brutal Cannon Tower there.
While slowly constructing the tower, other Worker Scorpions fixed the upper soil layer and quickly dug upward. When the tower was finished, it was nearly level with the ground. Finally, the Demon Beasts on the surface dug a large pit, exposing the tower so it could unleash firepower.
Along with the Brutal Cannon Tower, "Bio-Reaction Bunkers" were also built to supply the bio-energy needed for the tower's living missiles.
The tower, with a firing rate of 257 rounds per minute, immediately began bombarding the city walls. The Soul Twisters had strong killing power but fragile bodies. Standing densely on the walls, one explosion took out a group.
When Uying Soraro saw the Brutal Cannon Tower in the pit, he knew things were bad. His tactics had changed, but the enemy had adapted.
Just as the Nether mid-level commanders and Empire high-level observers thought Su Xiao would push forward this way, the tower suddenly entered full firepower mode, reaching an astonishing rate of 420 living shells per minute.
This five-minute barrage provided excellent cover for the Demon Beast army to retreat. It was the same old tactic: quit while ahead.
This tactic made Uying Soraro miserable. His forces were mostly Corrupters, who could surround the Demon Beast army, but they couldn't hold them. The Demon Beasts would break through weak points and escape. Pursuit was pointless; by the time the Corrupters ran a dozen meters, the Demon Beasts were already over fifty meters away.
At 8 AM, the battle officially began. After that, attacks occurred every hour. By 3:45 PM, the eighth assault of the day had temporarily ended.
The Nether mid-level commanders were almost sick of it. Corrupter casualties didn't matter. The city walls being attacked didn't matter. Not being able to deal with the Demon Beast army didn't matter. The problem was that damn demon hawk in the sky. Couldn't it shut up? It had been screeching for nine hours. Wasn't it tired?
The brutal battle continued. By 5 PM, a large area around Platinum Capital was covered in a layer of residue, the remnants left after the fungal carpet had absorbed everything.
By now, the frontline Demon Beasts numbered 261,953, most with scars on their carapaces, and some with broken tail blades.
The frontline casualties seemed heavy, but during this time, a large number of "Energy Conversion Spores" containing bio-energy were transported back to breed more Demon Beasts.
At the base camp, 291,956 Demon Beasts had been bred. These 290,000 Demon Beasts were not deployed yet but would be gathered for the decisive battle against Platinum Capital tomorrow morning.
There was also good news. The Insect Race Scientist, Pross, had been trying to improve the Sun Flame Dragon's Nether resistance.
The final conclusion was that it was impossible. The reason was that the solar energy inside the Sun Flame Dragon had been forcibly infused, not mastered by the dragon itself. Without source energy, Nether resistance would naturally be weak.
Unless the Mother Nest could produce solar energy, the Sun Flame Dragon was just a temporary unit that wouldn't evolve with the Mother Nest.
Remember, they were the Demon Insect Race. So, Pross changed his approach, focusing on improving the Demon Flame Dragon's Nether resistance. The results were good.
After the Mother Nest's third evolution, the Demon Flame Dragon naturally improved as well. To be precise, the Demon Flame Dragon was now far stronger than the Sun Flame Dragon. The problem was that after the enhancement, the breeding cost for each Demon Flame Dragon reached 30,000 bio-energy points.
Su Xiao decided that after the Demon Beast count reached 500,000, he would start expanding the Demon Flame Dragon numbers. The night attacks would continue. Although nighttime attacks were riskier, with the 290,000 Demon Beasts at the base camp as a safety net, even if the frontline was wiped out, they could hold.
Night fell quietly. The rumbling continued. Su Xiao sat cross-legged on the dragon's back. Recently, he had felt someone watching him from the shadows, seemingly trying to assassinate him.
Su Xiao wasn't planning to deliberately show weakness. This matter could wait until after dealing with the trouble at Platinum Capital. Tomorrow was the fourth day of constructing the "World Gate." According to Kaiser's intelligence, the gate would be completed by noon tomorrow, connecting this place to the underworld. Then, the Nether faction's main force would launch a massive attack.
They must destroy the "World Gate" inside the city before noon tomorrow.
Su Xiao looked at an empty area. Someone was there. Sending Demon Beasts to surround the area would yield nothing; they had tried many times. This was the first time Su Xiao had encountered such a skilled assassin.
If he wasn't mistaken, this person was likely one of the Four Knights under the King: Xiao Fuliya, the target of Optional Mission 1.
Within the Nether Mist, unlike the other four knights, the slender Xiao Fuliya crouched. She wore a white bone mask, blank except for three small holes for the mouth and nose. What outsiders didn't know was that the famous Xiao Fuliya was blind.
Waiting for prey required patience. Moreover, Xiao Fuliya vaguely sensed that this prey was different. Even if the other party deliberately restrained themselves, the blood energy they unintentionally emitted was enough to make one's heart race.
The night passed in this atmosphere. When the first rays of morning sun appeared, Su Xiao's hand moved away from his sword hilt. The other party was patient, not revealing any presence all night, as if they had left. But Su Xiao was sure they were still there.
Throughout the night, attacks continued every hour to accumulate bio-energy. They had attacked Platinum Capital over twenty times, and the enemy was getting used to it. Su Xiao checked the Mother Nest's data to see the current forces.
Demon Beasts: 485,620.
Demon Flame Dragons: 5,260.
Leader-level Demon Beast: Abaddon.
Leader-level Demon Flame Dragon: Barbatos.
...
With Su Xiao's mental command, the Demon Beasts and Demon Flame Dragons that had been waiting several kilometers away rushed over. The ground and sky were pitch-black, a massive and imposing sight.
Su Xiao looked at the empty area. This time, the faint sense of being watched completely disappeared. Xiao Fuliya had probably seen this scene and gone to warn Uying Soraro.
With a crack, a World Thunderbolt descended from the sky, striking Su Xiao and condensing into a thunder spear in his right hand.
"Roar!"
Barbatos let out a dragon roar and flew toward Platinum Capital. The Demon Flame Dragons and Demon Beasts behind and below all advanced.
At this moment, sensing the dire situation, Platinum Capital gathered all its forces to prepare for the decisive battle.
The morning air was cool. Three kilometers in front of Platinum Capital, Su Xiao stood on the dragon's back, facing Uying Soraro on the opposite city wall.
Facing this impending decisive battle, Su Xiao didn't order a full charge. Instead, he greeted with a big move, activating the ultimate ability of the War Lord title.
[Prompt: You have activated the Ancient War Beast ability.]
[Checking for the strongest tier large creature in this world...]
[No such tier large creature exists in this world. Changing awakening type.]
[Successfully selected Ancient Creature: World Devourer.]
[Awakening...]