Chapter 9: The Old Hunter
The Lord's Train traveled along a rock bridge only a few meters wide but a thousand meters high. It was evident that the civilization of this world in bygone eras possessed unique architectural knowledge, constructing such a marvel from ordinary rock alone. This rock bridge spanned over a dozen kilometers, connecting the broken mountain ranges.
Fenny gazed out the window, with Beini lying on her head. Initially, Fenny had refused, but a few hours ago, when she tried to toss Beini aside, four eyes inadvertently glanced at her. This made Fenny naturally place Beini back on her lap and even gently stroke her twice.
The Grand Canyon was very close now. The train moved slowly, and the scenery outside the window was beautiful. Fenny enjoyed it leisurely, secretly appreciating the comfort of having vehicle-type equipment. However, she didn't know that this was her last moment of relaxation in this world; the subsequent phase would be a high-energy period filled with tension.
Dong~
A faint collision sound came as the train doors opened. A figure leaped into the train. Fenny looked over and saw a small elf dressed in motorcycle gear.
Seeing it was a small elf, Fenny's face lit up. As a healer, she had dealt with hundreds, if not thousands, of small elves. She loved their friendly and polite nature, so she was about to greet them.
"What are you looking at?"
The irritable small elf, Diagu, glared at Fenny, choking back her greeting.
"Look again, and I'll poke your eyeballs out. Move, don't block the way."
"?"
Fenny didn't react in time, still wearing a smile. Diagu glanced at her as he passed, his gaze clearly thinking she wasn't very bright.
This wasn't Fenny's fault. 99.99999% of the small elf race were friendly and polite, due to their closeness to nature. In the last few hundred years of small elf history, only two had poor manners: the irritable small elf Diagu and the holy elf. Coincidentally, these were the only small elves Su Xiao could summon.
Was it due to luck? The blame couldn't be placed on the Law-Destroying fortune. With a charm attribute below -20 points, summoning these two was the reasonable outcome.
"Boss, I've gathered most of the intel."
Irritable small elf Diagu's "most" didn't mean general information; he had investigated everything possible.
To describe Diagu in one sentence: He had character with ability, quality with ability, temperament with ability, and cultivation with ability.
After crossing the natural bridge, a magnificent Grand Canyon unfolded before them. The mountain slopes on both sides were gentle, making the canyon several kilometers wide and at least dozens of kilometers long. Below the canyon lay a straight rock road, a hundred meters wide, with each stone slab measuring 300×300 centimeters, orderly yet exuding a sense of age.
One could imagine the immense manpower and resources spent to build this road. More than practical value, it likely served ceremonial purposes.
The subsequent supply drop point was on this stone road. Su Xiao sent Bubu Wang and irritable small elf Diagu to scout the surroundings, while Baha and Amu were responsible for reconnaissance of enemy positions. Fenny didn't need to leave; even in later battles, she would stay in the defensively strong Lord's Train, remotely providing Su Xiao with buffs. For a healer, this train was a dream vehicle, combining comfort, high mobility, and strong defensive protection.
Sitting on the train roof, Su Xiao crushed the crystal block in his hand. The images and text information stored inside by irritable small elf Diagu gradually appeared before him.
This was detailed information on six enemy teams. First was the Death Paradise team, Kane's Team.
The captain was Steel Dragon Kane. To put it this way, if Su Xiao was the representative of Reincarnation Paradise at the Absolute Strong rank, and Scythe Tylid was the representative of Holy Light Paradise at the Absolute Strong rank, then Death Paradise's representative at the Absolute Strong rank was undoubtedly Kane.
Not to mention anything else, just look at the other four members of this team: Original Sin Object Holder Water Guy, the couple Guangyan and Yingqin, and Death Soul Sister (codename, real name unknown), who ranked in the top three of the Undead System at the Absolute Strong level.
Choosing a captain for Death Paradise's faction was actually quite difficult, but when Kane was the captain, the other four members had no objections. This wasn't just due to Steel Dragon Kane's strength, but also his deeds.
Kane had a famous talent ability called "Late Bloomer."
"Late Bloomer (Growth Talent, S-Rank, Passive): You need to consume 3 free attribute points/true attribute points to increase one of your physical attributes by 1 point. Additionally, Strength, Agility, Stamina, and Intelligence are considered your main attributes. You cannot increase one main attribute alone; all four must be increased together. Furthermore, your mark level growth speed has been additionally certified by Death Paradise due to this talent, reducing your mark level progress by 90%."
What made it worse was that this was Kane's initial talent, awakened after completing his first trial world and returning to Death Paradise. For a first-rank contractor, this wasn't just a difficult start; it was a default hellish difficulty.
99.9% of people would die at the first rank because of this, but he was Kane. Kane survived the first rank and advanced to the second, thinking that "Late Bloomer" would bloom at the fourth or fifth rank. However, when he reached the eighth rank, he discovered things weren't simple. His talent, already awakened to SSS, suddenly doubled down.
"Late Bloomer (Growth Talent, SSS-Rank, Passive): You need to consume 5 free attribute points/true attribute points to increase one of your physical attributes by 1 point. Additionally, Strength, Agility, Stamina, and Intelligence are considered your main attributes. You cannot increase one main attribute alone; all four must be increased together..."
For others, awakening a talent meant an immediate power boost. For Kane, it meant doubled difficulty. But still, he was Kane. He felt that the ninth rank should be the blooming stage. He gritted his teeth through the hardest phase, believing everything would improve, but even as he began gathering resources to advance to Absolute Strong, the so-called blooming never came.
It wasn't until Kane reached the peak of Absolute Strong that his "Late Bloomer" talent finally activated. As a reward, he became the strongest at the Absolute Strong rank in Death Paradise. No one found this power increase abrupt; instead, they felt it was deserved, given his experiences:
First Rank: Total of 36 worlds experienced.
Second Rank: Total of 45 worlds experienced.
Third Rank: Total of 58 worlds experienced.
Fourth Rank: Total of 66 worlds experienced.
Fifth Rank: Total of 79 worlds experienced.
Sixth Rank: Total of 87 worlds experienced.
Seventh Rank: Total of 90 worlds experienced.
Eighth Rank: Total of 158 worlds experienced.
Ninth Rank: Total of 165 worlds experienced.
Absolute Strong: Total of 21 worlds experienced.
...
This was Kane, a powerful man who had experienced a total of 805 worlds. He never gave up, even in failure, persisting until the moment he soared to the sky. "Soaring to the sky" wasn't a metaphor; Kane was one of the very few at the Absolute Strong rank who dared to fly in battle, because he had the qualifications—he was the Steel Dragon.
In this world war, the recognized three strongest were Kukulin Bai Ye, the Violator Hao Tao, and Steel Dragon Kane.
Did you think that was all for this free-for-all? No, it was much more exciting. Holy Light Paradise's Scythe Team, led by Scythe Tylid, had unquestionable combat power. In the Second Era, the three factions dealing with Abyss Spawn were the Law Destroyers, the Scythes, and the Wandering Hunters.
More importantly, Holy Light Paradise had two teams this time, totaling:
Scythe Team: Scythe Tylid (Captain), Old Priest (traditional support buff type), Divine Maiden (healing buff type), Weiweiyin (possession state strong buff type), Lujiade (Undead System, with support abilities, aura-type buffs for allies).
Witch Team: Witch Lilya (Captain, divination ultra-long-range buff type), Black Eye (cost buff type, buffs come with other debuffs), Curse Warlock (curse buff type, gains require paying a price), Witch Priest (cost buff type), Greed Yutro (cost buff type).
These two teams totaled 9 buff types and 1 combat type. Under these circumstances, Scythe Tylid's combat power was unimaginable. The key was the four cost-type buff types; their buff intensity was generally 45% to 50% higher than traditional buff types, with some outrageous cost buffs even having several times the difference. However, it couldn't be said that cost-type buff types were more capable overall than traditional buff types.
Holy Light Paradise having such a lineup wasn't surprising. The high number of healers and buff types in Holy Light Paradise began to show from the second and third rank world wars.
Besides these strong enemies, Shenfu's Team couldn't be underestimated, even if it only had Shenfu alone.
If it were a full team, it would actually be more reassuring. With only Shenfu, it meant there must be some conspiracy later. Also, Shenfu's combat power shouldn't be ignored.
This old fox was very strong. He was coexisting with the "Original Sin Object: Golden Holy Grail." Drinking the wine from the Golden Holy Grail could increase divine source blood, at the cost of increasing one's own mysterious fortune, making encountered mysterious entities stronger.
Anyone else would have died long ago, but Shenfu himself was gradually becoming an absurd mystery. Encountering mysterious entities was like meeting a fellow countryman.
Shenfu was a humanoid Ancient God. The "Original Sin Object: Golden Holy Grail" suited him perfectly. Although this Original Sin Object had a danger level of 80, qualitatively different from the Daddy Rank's 100, it was still an Original Sin Object.
Thus, Shenfu, this old fellow, seemed unassuming, appearing to rely only on schemes and sinister methods. In reality, his overall strength might exceed everyone's imagination.
Besides Shenfu, the newly entered Gentleman's Team was also troublesome. The team consisted of Captain Gargoyle, members Sea Crocodile, Blood Count, Giant Devouring Demon, and Curse Master.
It was fitting to describe these Violators in one sentence: None of them looked human.
Interestingly, Su Xiao and his five members contrasted sharply with the Gentleman's Team's five. Su Xiao, Hao Tao, Tylid, Kane, and Shenfu all looked human, yet their combat power was very inhuman. Gargoyle, Sea Crocodile, Blood Count, Giant Devouring Demon, and Curse Master—none of them looked human, but their combat power was relatively human.
The images before Su Xiao dissipated. Besides these enemies, he also knew about his own other team, Zeli's Team. Captain Zeli needed no introduction; she was the top-tier elegant show-off.
Zeli's Team was different from other teams. The five were originally teammates, and during the last trip to Apocalypse Paradise, Su Xiao had met three of them: the Thin Man, the Short-Haired Glasses Girl, and the Suit-Wearing Smiling Man. Among these three, the Thin Man's codename was rough, called Assassin Man, fitting his somewhat gloomy temperament.
The Short-Haired Glasses Girl was named Shuifu, a water-type Battle Angel, strong in massive water summoning, capable of flooding thousands of kilometers in a short time, and also skilled in precise water control, shaping, granting, and eating.
The Suit-Wearing Smiling Man was a Soul Master, a genuine soul healer capable of treating soul damage. Of course, being able to heal souls also meant being able to severely damage them; the consequences of being injured by him were very serious.
The last member was named Tank Ham, known for his strong physique, tall stature, and high health cap.
Zeli's Team was indeed an allied faction team, but when competing for resources other than the "Broken Origin," they still had to be distinct. Given the scale of this supply drop, Zeli's Team would definitely be present.
Unbeknownst, the sky darkened. The Plant Kingdom Yagowa had three moons, one broken, one emitting a beautiful light blue, and the last being a silver moon.
Drip~
A drop of liquid fell from Su Xiao's fingertip. The night wind grew cold. He emerged from his meditation state, controlled the train beneath him to lock down, and entered the highest authority defense mode, startling Fenny and Beini inside the train.
Amu, who had boarded before the train locked, had a faint red glow in his eyes in the dark train. Blood-red tendrils climbed up his bloodthirsty battle axe, wrapping around his right arm. In this ambush battle, he was responsible for protecting the healer and Miss Beini.
It seemed only Amu was there, but Bubu Wang, blending into the environment, was also a trump card. Since acquiring the Lord's Train, Bubu's technological creations had a carrier. Mechanical bees quietly flew out. Don't underestimate these mechanical bees' power; they all contained compressed liquid Apollo. The explosion range was small, but the power was terrifying. This liquid Apollo was the main material for the next generation "Sun Holy Sword."
On the train roof, Baha landed on Su Xiao's shoulder: "Boss, conservative estimate, four. Not Hao Tao or Shenfu."
"Five."
The dripping from Su Xiao's fingertips worsened, even his hair tips dripping. This meant a water-type ability user was creating a high-humidity environment to facilitate the upcoming battle.
At that moment, Su Xiao's right hand slightly raised. A kilometer away, Sea Crocodile, who was preparing to instantly strike at super speed in a submerged shark state to bite off Su Xiao's head, suddenly stopped. He saw the man casually sitting on the train roof, with the full moon behind him seemingly turning into a blood moon, his eyes faintly glowing red. This scene was a spectacle, but it also sent chills down Sea Crocodile's spine.
Sea Crocodile immediately retreated, hearing Blood Count's furious voice in his ear: "Are you brain-dead? Attack now, right now!"
"Whoever wants to go, go. I'm not going."
Sea Crocodile's voice had a dull quality, making it sound like he was drowning.
"Heh, who just said they could bite off that Hunter's head by themselves?"
Blood Count's sarcasm was undisguised.
"I just farted, okay?"
"Alright, tonight's assassination ends here..."
Captain Gargoyle's voice came through the earpiece.
"No need, you can continue."
The communication channel, which should have been Curse Master's, instead carried Su Xiao's voice, instantly silencing the channel.
Atop a wind-swept mountain peak, Su Xiao held a communicator in one hand and the hair of a man with only his upper body remaining in the other. The man's decaying organs spilled from the wound. The severed man's throat emitted gurgling, choking sounds. This was Curse Master, one of the five Violators of the Gentleman's Team.
"Where is Shenfu?"
In the howling wind, Su Xiao spoke.
"How... ridiculous. Do you think I'm... Shenfu's dog..."
Before Curse Master could finish, Su Xiao tossed him up slightly and smashed him with a chop of his hand.
[You have killed Violator 15***82.]
[You have obtained Honor Medal x6.]
[You have obtained Hunter Gold Coins x65.]
...
Unlike previous kills of Violators, this time the Violator's number directly showed the affiliated Paradise. This wasn't a change in the notification mode rules; it was due to Su Xiao's higher authority, causing this change in the prompt.
Having navigated Paradise factions until now, Su Xiao recognized the representative symbols of the Void Tree and various Paradise factions.
This reward was very good, especially the "Hunter Gold Coins." With these, he could use the "Old Hunter" title to open a Hunter Shop synchronized and certified by Reincarnation Paradise, Apocalypse Paradise, Death Paradise, and Holy Light Paradise.
The moon, obscured by black clouds, reappeared. Under the silver moonlight, Baha swooped down and landed on Su Xiao's shoulder: "Boss, I've locked onto one. Should we chase?"
"Which one?"
"Count."
The Count Baha referred to was Blood Count, one of the five Violators of the Gentleman's Team. If it were the water shark, Su Xiao might be interested in hunting it, but the Count was hard to catch. Tomorrow morning, there would be a material competition. After weighing the pros and cons, he decisively gave up.
Jumping down from the mountain peak, he landed on the train roof on the leeward slope of the mountainside. After deactivating the train's defense, he returned inside, seeing Fenny yawning. It had to be said, Fenny's mentality had clearly improved. Before joining the White Night Team, although she wouldn't panic in such situations, she certainly wouldn't be relaxed enough to yawn lazily.
The reason was the cognitive shocks of the past two days and the strange knowledge she had gained. She was a bit numb, so her mentality was naturally more stable.
The train door closed, and the sound of wind outside disappeared. Su Xiao sat on a single sofa. The quiet environment helped him better adjust his state, preparing for tomorrow morning's chaotic battle.
He took out a "Hunter Gold Coin." The coin was dark iron-colored, heavy to the touch, with a ψ mark on the back. This was undoubtedly good news. With the Void Tree as the largest certifying party, the Hunter Shop's scale was certainly not small.
[You have paid 1 Hunter Gold Coin.]
[You can choose one of the following Hunter Shops.]
[Warning: You can only open one type of Hunter Shop, and once chosen, it cannot be changed permanently.]
[Hunter Shop: Title.]
[Hunter Shop: Weapon.]
[Hunter Shop: Potion.]
[You have chosen Hunter Shop: Title.]
[Hunter Shop has been opened.]
[You currently have 64 Hunter Gold Coins (these coins can be traded, but only between owners of the Old Hunter title and similar titles, for trading and transfer).]
[You can use Hunter Gold Coins to purchase the following items.]