Chapter 19: Top Tier

Chapter 19: Top Tier

Inside the third-floor hall of the Lord's Manor.

Fenny, yawning, maintained her healing-type ability, though her expression carried a hint of resentment. Understandably so—in the dead of night, snug in her warm bed, she was suddenly dragged out to face a man covered in blood-stained bandages, with a faint red glow in his eyes, in a pitch-black bedroom. Fenny had immediately performed a high-pitched aria.

"Bai Ye, do we really not need the help of the other three teammates?"
"We do."
"Then, can we maybe act a bit friendlier? So the new teammates are willing to cooperate with us."
"We can."
"Really?"
Fenny was somewhat skeptical.
"I swear on the honor of a Law Destroyer."
"Didn't you forget? You swore that last time. How about swearing on your own honor?"
"…"
Su Xiao fell silent.
"You bastard, you definitely have ulterior motives."
Fenny nearly cracked her voice, but she quickly realized the topic she'd brought up wasn't good.
"So, Sacred Fate Rosa contacted you?"
Su Xiao sat up from the recliner, pulled Fenny's chair closer, and looked at her with a friendly smile, which made Fenny a bit nervous.
"Rosa didn't contact me, but the other two did. They meant that for the next few rounds, we'll keep our distance and not interfere with each other."
Saying this, Fenny felt a bit angry. The reason was that she and Bai Ye were on one team facing several enemy teams, yet their own teammates not only didn't help but used the opportunity of entering this battle world to reap huge benefits in the resource-rich border areas.
This infuriated Fenny. As for Sacred Fate Rosa, she counted as a teammate, but both sides were engaging enemy squads in their own ways.
According to Fenny, Sacred Fate Rosa was in the Great Swamp area, secretly clashing with Shenfu and the others. Though she was getting beaten so badly she was almost silent, at least she was contributing.
"By the way, Bai Ye, what do you think about that summoner and the assassin-type?"
"…"
"Why are you ignoring me again? Hasn't anyone told you that suddenly going silent mid-conversation is really annoying?"
"Oh."
"You actually said 'oh,'" Fenny remarked, as her healing ability gradually stopped. She carefully sensed Su Xiao's condition and nodded in satisfaction: "Healing complete. With such a dedicated healer like me, you should be secretly happy. I'm going back to sleep. Next time you call me in the middle of the night, remember to knock. You nearly scared me to death just now."
"Follow."
Su Xiao stood up and walked out. Fenny glared at him angrily but still followed. When they descended to the fifth basement level, Fenny realized it was a dungeon. Most cells were empty, except for the innermost one, which had a fire burning inside.
Pushing open the door, Fenny found two contractors inside. What surprised her more was that these two contractors had teammate imprints—meaning they were the summoner and assassin-type from their current team.
How he found these two couldn't be told to Fenny; it would likely break her on the spot. She was currently in a trap contract bait state. Simply put, Fenny had unknowingly signed a long-term contract that had no debuffs or restrictions on her. If anyone tried to contact her through the team channel, the trap contract would immediately trigger.
Logically, such a contract was nearly impossible to set up. The core issue was that the one who built it was the team leader, which turned the impossible into possible.
As Su Xiao entered the cell, the summoner and assassin-type, bound to iron chairs by spells, both looked at him. The summoner's gaze dodged, while the assassin-type's eyes were hostile. This gaunt, gloomy man, calling himself Demon Snake, said:
"Bai Ye, what's the point of capturing us? During the battle, unless you want to die with us, you can't harm or kill us in any way…"
Before Demon Snake finished, Dead Silence Ember appeared in Su Xiao's hand, and he pulled the trigger aimed at Demon Snake's head.
Bang!
Brain matter and bone splattered. The summoner, Yimachi, on the adjacent iron chair, tilted his head slightly. Even so, specks of blood landed on his heavily made-up face. This guy had thick body hair but wore even thicker, gaudy makeup. His naturally large frame made the fishnet stockings look like they were on a bow-legged long-legged baboon.
The muzzle of Dead Silence Ember aimed at the summoner, Yimachi. His face twisted: "Eek! Help!!"
Su Xiao's index finger slowly pressed the trigger. Yimachi went silent, his mind racing, before he shouted: "Boss, I have money, I have money! Name your price! I give up, I give up, I surrender!"
Bang!
The Ember bullet flew dangerously close to Yimachi's cheek. After two seconds, he gulped: "Name your price."
"5 million."
"I don't have that much. At most 500,000."
"Deal."
"Uh…"
The summoner, Yimachi, was stunned by the price difference, but then said: "I'll pay 50,000 first, then we sign an Apocalypse Paradise contract. As long as I return safely to Apocalypse Paradise, the remaining 450,000 will be sent to you with the contract notarized."
Hearing this, Su Xiao paused for a few seconds: "Fine."
"How about 300,000 without a contract?"
"…"
[Tip: You have received a 300,000 Soul Coin savings card (notarized by Apocalypse Paradise).]
With a crack, the binding spell shattered. Su Xiao took out a map of the Lord's Continent and handed it to the summoner, Yimachi. Yimachi, who had prepared to spend 300,000 Soul Coins for a quick death and was about to have his head blown off, with all ten toes clenched, stared blankly at the map handed to him.
"You… you're really letting me live?"
"…"
Su Xiao frowned slightly, which made the summoner, Yimachi, feel that if he kept nagging this killing god, he would definitely die.
"Don't leave the Northern Border. Before this round ends, I'll kick you from the team."
Leaving this remark, Su Xiao walked out of the dungeon. Since the summoner, Yimachi, was willing to pay Soul Coins, letting him go was fine. After all, there was no irreconcilable personal grudge between them, at most a faction conflict.
The summoner, Yimachi, hesitated for a moment, then said: "Boss, Shenfu's legion has grown to an insane scale. That's why I completely gave up and went to the border to reap benefits…"
Before Yimachi could finish, Su Xiao had already left the dungeon. Setting aside their own development, if one chose to give up without even a direct confrontation, they would habitually give up and escape when facing greater difficulties later.
Taking the elevator down to the Hidden Sanctuary, Su Xiao entered the Skill Upgrade Pod. As he activated the device, a corresponding prompt appeared. Using his current 13 Law-Destruction Skill Points, he upgraded the Azure Shadow King ability. After fighting for over five hours in the dark spreading area, he had only accumulated 13 Golden Skill Points, showing that the Golden City faction was truly a "leveling" paradise.
Hum~
The Skill Upgrade Pod operated. Su Xiao took a deep breath, and the next second, his eyes opened, revealing a blue glow.
Good news: he managed to stay awake this time and didn't fall asleep.
Bad news: the process of upgrading Azure Shadow King was so "exhilarating" that he wished he had fallen asleep instead.
An hour later, Su Xiao supported himself against the pod wall and stood up. His whole body was drenched in sweat, as if he had just been pulled from hot water. He felt lightheaded. He went up to the third floor and knocked on Fenny's door. Fenny, who was brushing her teeth, opened the door with toothpaste foam in her mouth: "You upgraded your ability again?"
"…"
Su Xiao frowned at Fenny. He could understand Dog Star language, but not this sentence.
An hour later, Su Xiao opened his eyes after completing the treatment. Fenny, who had performed two pseudo-deep treatments within 12 hours, looked like a wilted eggplant. She said listlessly: "You're not looking for a healer teammate; you're looking for a tool. I can't go on; I'm drained. If you get hurt within 24 hours, don't come to me."
Having just freshened up and ready to face the new day full of energy, Fenny pulled the bedroom curtains, covered herself, and went to sleep.
In the forest clearing in the backyard, the Storm Flame Dragon, Dis, was resting coiled up. Seeing Su Xiao approach, Dis snorted a bit of flame from its nostrils. It looked like it wasn't ready to assist Su Xiao in battle. Not that it could be blamed; after being struck by the World Thunder earlier and peeing all over the ground, its pride was hurt.
Su Xiao looked at Dis, and Dis looked back at Su Xiao. After a moment, he took out a Concentrated Polymer. This made Dis snort and turn its head away.
Five minutes later.
"Roar!"
Dis soared into the sky with Su Xiao on its back, heading straight for the Golden City to the north.
Concentrated Polymer: truly delicious.
…
Golden City, Central District, Platinum Casino, Top Floor.
Behind a large golden desk, sitting in a leather chair with a vintage cigar between his fingers, High Lord Gurbak had successfully removed his mask of pain. The reason was simple: money makes the world go round. He had paid a high price to hire a top-tier Absolute Strength expert.
This was none other than one of the Goblin Merchant Guild's elders, Maza Bia Dolt. Without exaggeration, this old fellow, who had been at Absolute Strength for a thousand years, had unquestionable combat power. But if anyone thought a goblin faction expert had come to this world, sharp minds would already be laughing.
There was no Goblin Elder Maza Bia Dolt. This guy was Caesar in disguise, using the Abyssal Jar on his head for camouflage. Not even High Lord Gurbak, let alone someone with several times his insight, could see through this disguise.
The question was: High Lord Gurbak had contacted the Goblin Merchant Guild, so how did he end up with Caesar? It was Gurbak's bad luck. The person he had previously known was the chairman of the Goblin Merchant Guild, and the contact method was private.
That chairman had been so thoroughly scammed by Caesar that he was nearly left in just his underwear. Naturally, the chairman's communication frequency ended up with Caesar.
As for the Goblin Merchant Guild, their response was to subtly inform important clients, while saving face, that the communication frequency had been hijacked. Those big clients knew what was going on and could only hold back their laughter, tacitly leaving new contact methods. As for places like the Lord's Continent, the Goblin Merchant Guild had long forgotten about this.
So a particularly hilarious scene unfolded. After failing to get help from Arcane Eternal Star and Eternal Light City, High Lord Gurbak, prepared to be gouged, contacted the Goblin Merchant Guild chairman he had only met once. Then Caesar's communicator in his pocket rang.
The rest of the story was predictable. After paying a high price, High Lord Gurbak successfully hired the "Goblin Elder Maza Bia Dolt." This goblin elder's aura was so overwhelming, and his fees so outrageously high, that the uncertain Gurbak felt unexpectedly reassured.
Now, in the top-floor office, Caesar, disguised as Goblin Elder Maza Bia Dolt, stood with his hands behind his back like a top-tier old master, looking out at the clouds through the floor-to-ceiling window.
"Mr. Maza Bia, about this matter…"
As High Lord Gurbak began, Caesar raised one hand, palm facing Gurbak, and said calmly: "I will handle it."
This scene made Bubu Wang, hiding in the office, want to give a thumbs up. That act was perfectly natural.
"Haha, I'm really looking forward to seeing that Law Destroyer's death…"
Before High Lord Gurbak could finish, he heard a sound of breaking air in the distance. He looked and, in that instant, his heart nearly stopped. He saw a dragon diving down in the distance, with the Law Destroyer on its back. Behind this dragon-riding state, a pillar of World Thunder was crashing down.
"Mr. Maza Bia!"
High Lord Gurbak almost shouted. Before he could finish, "Maza Bia" had already raised his right hand. From such a distance, he made a grasping motion with one hand.
This left High Lord Gurbak baffled. Though also at Absolute Strength, Gurbak, not being a skilled fighter, felt no energy fluctuation. But the next second—
Crack!
Like a thunderclap, the Storm Flame Dragon and Su Xiao, diving straight down, burst with blood all over. Su Xiao, in particular, fell off the dragon's back, drenched in blood, and was then engulfed by the falling World Thunder.
The World Thunder pillar also swallowed the Golden City's first transfer station and the World-Class Teleportation Array at its center. Having learned from the previous two lessons, this time, guarding the station were an Dark Soul Clan legion, a Bloodthirsty Clan legion, and two Boar-Man legions.
More precisely, High Lord Gurbak had placed four troublesome legions—ones with dissent and even plotting to usurp his city lord position—as bait there. He had also dismantled all the main materials of the World-Class Teleportation Array.
This was a trap. Corresponding to this trap was a Roarer that High Lord Gurbak had treasured. To put it simply, it was an explosive with power similar to the Sun Holy Sword, set to a radius of 50 kilometers, just enough not to affect the Golden City's high walls.
"Goodbye."
High Lord Gurbak pressed the activation device in his hand. Logically, this resonance-type device should have triggered the explosion instantly. But nothing happened. Gurbak pressed it several times, even slapping it with his other hand in disbelief, pressing repeatedly toward the first transfer station.
A few meters away, Bubu Wang stretched lazily. It was blocking the resonance. Even if Gurbak pressed the device until it broke, the Roarer wouldn't be detonated.
"Mr. Maza Bia."
High Lord Gurbak looked at Caesar, implying it was time to fulfill the contract.
Caesar didn't move. He raised his hand toward an empty space and casually flicked. An invisible figure crashed through the reinforced floor-to-ceiling window, falling from this several-thousand-meter-high casino amid the clouds.
"Your life and that Law Destroyer's life—which is more important to you?"
Having said that, Caesar clasped his hands behind his back, clearly not planning to deal with Su Xiao now.
High Lord Gurbak, who had been dissatisfied moments ago, now felt a mix of relief and gratitude. He really hadn't expected an enemy to infiltrate his office. If not for Mr. Maza Bia's intervention, he would have been in danger.
Just then, the "Goblin Elder Maza Bia," looking at the surging World Thunder outside the city, had his eyes turn pitch black. A powerful Abyss aura spread from him. Even with Gurbak's experience, the intensity of this Abyss aura stunned him on the spot.
"He won't escape."
The "Goblin Elder Maza Bia's" Abyss aura erupted. This was Caesar's specialty. With the Abyssal Jar on his head, he was too skilled at emitting Abyss aura. As for actual Abyss abilities, Caesar couldn't use any. But bluffing was enough.
Looking at the "Goblin Elder Maza Bia" with such a strong Abyss aura, High Lord Gurbak sincerely felt that this money was well spent!
…
Dozens of kilometers outside Rainy City, the Storm Flame Dragon, Dis, roared as it fell. Upon landing, it spat out a mouthful of dragon blood mixed with World Thunder, then collapsed, panting heavily.
Fortunately, Dis's lightning resistance had been trained beforehand. Otherwise, the World Thunder pillar would have killed it on the spot. Even with training, it was now severely injured.
After injecting a massive dose of recovery potion, Su Xiao dismissed the summon, sending Dis back to the Witch Realm. In the Witch Realm, Dis lived comfortably. The wizard faction knew it was Su Xiao's dragon mount and never provoked it. In fact, it was the only large creature daring to fly over Moon Ring City.
The Lord's Train stopped. Su Xiao, just struck by World Thunder, boarded with the injured Bubu Wang. Acting had to leave no loopholes. Bubu Wang's acting was always impeccable. The fall it took to cooperate with Caesar's move was real, nearly killing it. But having drunk Vitality Essence beforehand, there was no real danger.
Why act so realistically? The answer was that Su Xiao planned to eliminate High Lord Gurbak today. Though this High Lord had been at a disadvantage, he had secretly prepared a comeback.
This guy had secretly allied with the Beast King of the Corrupted Beast Horde, the Undead Lord of the Northern Border, and the High Lord of Molten Iron City. He was prepared to pay a price the three parties couldn't refuse, forming a powerful pursuit legion that would do nothing but hunt Su Xiao every day.
If that happened, Su Xiao would either have to expose his Wild Beastman Legion first or stop all plans to deal with the pursuit. Either way, his chances of defeating the Scarlet Lord later would be minimal. The newly issued World Mission would be impossible to complete, the Supreme Life Source would be unattainable, the Bounty 4: Perfectionist would fail, and worse, Shenfu would reap the benefits.
When the Lord's Train stopped, it had reached the backyard of the estate. Entering the third floor of the mansion, Su Xiao knocked on Fenny's door. After half a minute, there was no response.
"…"
Su Xiao signaled to the head maid waiting nearby. This put the head maid in a difficult position. She gently pleaded: "Sir, I see Miss Fenny is very tired. If you need treatment, I can do it."
As she spoke, a strange light appeared in the head maid's eyes, brighter than usual.
"…"
"Alright."
The head maid took out a key and opened Fenny's door. Moments later, Fenny, in her nightgown, was dragged out by Su Xiao and brought to the hall.
"You, you…"
Fenny wanted to curse, but her good upbringing made it hard to utter foul words. She could only sulk as she began treating Su Xiao.
Half an hour later, Su Xiao's injuries were healed. Fenny tilted her head back, looking as if her soul was about to float out of her mouth and ascend to heaven.
The head maid helped Fenny back to her room. Su Xiao went downstairs, took the elevator to the Hidden Sanctuary, and entered the Skill Upgrade Pod. The metal door closed behind him.
[Detected: Your current area is not an internal Paradise environment. Activating Paradise facilities in this environment… consumes 216 ounces of Space-Time Power per hour.]
With 80 Law-Destruction Skill Points, Su Xiao took a slow breath, then exhaled deeply. He chose to upgrade the Azure Shadow King ability, currently at Lv.80. As the upgrade began, his vision went black.
When Su Xiao woke up, he felt as if he had been slapped hundreds of times by a giant hand formed by the gods. He meditated for a moment before standing up from his cross-legged position. If not for the fact that the Skill Upgrade Pod would charge for six hours in 30 seconds, he might not have been able to walk out. It was his three Technique Grandmaster skills, four-attribute development, the energy-hungry Dragon Shadow Flash, and the equally hungry Endless Ring that gave him the strength to step out.
After meditating in the Hidden Sanctuary for a while, Su Xiao felt like he was alive again. He checked the prompt that had appeared.
[Tip: Azure Shadow King ability has been upgraded to X.]
[Azure Shadow King: X (Ultimate Skill)]
Skill Effect (Passive): When you are surrounded and the number of enemies within 1000 meters exceeds 10 (with combat power above a certain threshold), your Azure Shadow King ability will activate, granting you the following bonuses sequentially.
Azure Shadow King Stage 1: When enemies around you exceed 10, all your main attributes increase by 45%.
Azure Shadow King Stage 2: When enemies around you exceed 100, your maximum health increases by 99%, maximum mana by 99%, and physical defense by 96%.
Azure Shadow King Stage 3: When enemies around you exceed 1000, you can use Azure Shadow King's unique energy to activate the Devouring Core. Each time you kill an enemy, by absorbing their Primordial Life Force, converted and filtered through the Azure Shadow King Devouring Core, you recover 20% of your maximum health, 20% of your maximum mana, and 20% of your maximum stamina.
Azure Shadow King Stage 4: When enemies around you exceed 3000, your Demon Blade ability will always be in an awakened state. All your blade attacks will carry a execution effect (killing enemies with health below one-third). Each time you execute an enemy, you stack one layer of Demon Spirit Armor.
Demon Spirit Armor: The damage you take within 1 second will not exceed 25% of your maximum health. Any excess will be offset by consuming one layer of Demon Spirit Armor (if the attack intensity to be offset is too high, more layers will be consumed).
Tip: All the above bonuses can stack.
…
Azure Shadow King had undergone a qualitative change. Previously, Su Xiao risked being one-shot when facing legion sieges. Now, that wouldn't happen. Moreover, powerful legion units that couldn't be killed in one hit would now be executed with a single slash. Just imagining Blade Dao Sword: Super Ring Sever turning into Demon Blade: Super Ring Sever showed this was the bane of swarm tactics.
Su Xiao took the elevator to the third floor and knocked on Fenny's bedroom door again. The head maid behind him wanted to speak but hesitated. Under Su Xiao's gaze, she reluctantly opened the door.
Moments later, in the hall, Fenny, already with dark circles under her eyes, performed pseudo-deep treatment with a hollow gaze. She really hadn't expected that one day she would be so exhausted from using healing abilities that her eyes lost their light.
"I feel like I'm going to die. Am I going to die from healing?"
Fenny said this, laughing with tears in her eyes.
"No."
"You're not me. How can you be sure?"
Fenny's complaint was soft and slow; she had no energy.
"My secondary profession is alchemist. If you're about to die, I can save you."
"Well, thank you so much!"
Fenny struggled to drain the last bit of her healing energy, maintaining the pseudo-deep treatment. When it was done, she found that her energy capacity had increased by 35 points, making her question life even more.
"I originally thought coming to this world battle with you would be dangerous. I never expected it to be hard labor. Don't get hurt again. If you do, I might be the one to die."
"…"
"Where are you going?"
"To eliminate High Lord Gurbak."
"!"
Fenny was so shocked that some light returned to her eyes. She grabbed Su Xiao's sleeve, as if about to collapse completely, and said: "Let's rest for one day, just one day. Don't go."
…
Afternoon, Golden City Central District, Platinum Casino VIP Suite.
High Lord Gurbak was in a good mood. The reason was that the Law Destroyer had not only helped him eliminate four troublesome legions but also allowed him to successfully ally with the Northern Border Undead forces, the Western Corrupted Beast Horde, and the southern Molten Iron City.
Including the Golden City, these four factions had money, resources, and over 150 legions, not to mention the endless Corrupted Beast Horde. This was the alliance High Lord Gurbak had long wanted to form. More importantly, he was now the leader of this alliance.
Many years ago, High Lord Gurbak had been trampled underfoot by the Scarlet Lord. His nearly extinguished ambition now reignited. He took out the last cigar produced in the Wind Sea Continent, carefully toasted it, and sniffed it. Perfect.
Just as High Lord Gurbak lit the vintage cigar, his trusted aide, Lasvo, burst through the door with a bang, even stumbling a few steps. This made Gurbak immediately think: had Lasvo allied with the Beast King, Undead Lord, and Molten Iron High Lord to replace him? He stared sharply, ready to have this trusted aide killed on the spot.
"Sir… sir, bad news!"
Lasvo panted heavily, his face full of tension.
"Speak."
High Lord Gurbak's tone was angry, but he breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed his trusted aide hadn't betrayed him.
"That Law Destroyer has attacked again!"
"Cough!"
Gurbak coughed, smoke shooting from his nose. He was so furious he nearly threw the cigar to the ground. Remembering it was the last one, he placed it beside the ashtray.
"Where did he attack this time? The second treasury? The resource depot? Could it be… my home?!"
By the end, Gurbak's tone was genuinely panicked.
"No… no."
"Oh, that's good."
Gurbak nodded. Over the past two days, he had gotten used to the Law Destroyer's attacks.
"Go on. Where did he attack?"
Lasvo swallowed his saliva, hesitated, and said: "He… he attacked the main gate. The main gate of our Golden City's front wall!"
"?"
Gurbak was stunned, then couldn't help but smile: "Haha, does this guy really think he can take on my Golden City alone? Great, he's finally come to die. Tell me, he's surrounded, right?"
"No, sir. He's fighting his way in alone."
When he said "fighting his way in," Lasvo's voice was almost tearful with fear.
High Lord Gurbak didn't speak. After a few seconds, he sat on the sofa, raised a trembling hand, took a drag of his cigar, then shouted angrily: "Go find that goblin Maza Bia! Give him whatever Soul Coins he wants! Have him kill this Law Destroyer!"
Hearing this, Lasvo stepped back a few paces. He didn't dare speak. The reason was that the so-called "Goblin Elder Maza Bia" was a complete fake. After successfully emptying the second treasury, that guy had vanished without a trace.