Chapter 30: Belated Revenge
“An ungrateful mortal.”
Orphan of Resentment·Hius looked at Su Xiao, killing intent surging in his eyes.
“Since that’s the case, become my nourishment.”
Hius raised the muscle curved blade, muscles writhing on its surface as if the weapon had come alive. Moments later, Hius lowered his arm, seemingly drained from activating the blade.
Su Xiao couldn’t help but glance at the muscle curved blade. It showed no special changes, looking exactly as before.
He took out a bottle of No. 1 Potion and drank it. His health recovered rapidly, but the intense pain in his body didn’t ease.
Noticing this, Su Xiao knew he couldn’t drag things out any longer. His forehead was starting to ache dully. After prolonged erosion by that aura, his reaction speed had slowed, and he had nearly failed to sense enemy attacks several times.
Activating the skill attached to his bracer, Su Xiao’s health suddenly dropped by about a third as a large amount of blood drained from his body.
A layer of red blood mist clung to Su Xiao’s body surface. He activated the active skill ‘Bull Lord’s Wrath’ of the [Bull Lord Arm Bracer], consuming 30% of his health to gain +15 Strength for ten seconds.
Su Xiao was ready to go all in. If he couldn’t defeat or cripple the enemy within these ten seconds, his journey in Reincarnation Paradise would end here, becoming nourishment for the monster before him.
A surging sense of power welled up inside him. At this moment, Su Xiao’s Strength attribute surpassed Hius’s.
Su Xiao crouched, his body coiling like a spring. The Dragon-Slaying Flash in his hand emitted a dazzling light as he converted all his remaining mana into Cyan Steel Shadow Energy and infused it into the blade. Though somewhat wasteful, this would greatly enhance the sword’s power.
Boom.
A circular crater formed beneath Su Xiao’s feet as he vanished from his spot, reappearing directly in front of Hius.
Gripping the sword with both hands, Su Xiao poured all his strength into this single strike.
Fast. Faster. Fast enough that the enemy couldn’t react.
The long blade fell. The sudden burst of momentum made Hius freeze. He instinctively raised the muscle curved blade.
Dragon-Slashing Flash clashed with the muscle curved blade, sending out a shockwave.
With a thunderous crash, cracks appeared on the barrier surrounding the room. Hius’s feet sank into the ground. Caught off guard, he thudded to his knees before Su Xiao.
Hius’s pupils trembled. He had knelt before a human. This enraged him beyond measure.
“Mere mortal!”
Hius roared with fierce fury, as if suffering unimaginable humiliation.
But the next moment, the anger in his eyes vanished. Dragon-Slashing Flash had cut into the muscle curved blade. At this moment, the blade revealed its terrifying nature as a Light Gold quality weapon reinforced to +12.
With a tearing sound, Dragon-Slashing Flash severed the muscle curved blade and slashed straight toward Hius’s shoulder.
Clang.
Dragon-Slashing Flash embedded itself into Hius’s body. A massive amount of Cyan Steel Shadow Energy rampaged through Hius’s insides.
“Ah!!”
Hius let out a furious roar, the sound ringing in Su Xiao’s ears.
Dragon-Slashing Flash continued cutting downward, from the shoulder to Hius’s lower abdomen. Many of Hius’s internal organs were slashed open, nearly cutting his upper body in two.
Crack, crack, crack.
Hius’s bones rapidly regenerated, tightly encasing the embedded Dragon-Slashing Flash.
Su Xiao tried to pull the blade out, but it was firmly lodged in Hius’s body, unable to move even an inch.
Making a quick decision, Su Xiao released the sword’s hilt and punched Hius’s face with his bare fists. The ten seconds weren’t up yet, and his Strength could still overpower Hius.
Bang.
Su Xiao’s punch broke several of Hius’s teeth. Hius, a brutal creature, retaliated by thrusting ten finger bones toward Su Xiao’s chest.
Pfft.
All ten fingers plunged into Su Xiao’s chest cavity. Hius began to clench his fist, intending to crush Su Xiao’s internal organs, but Su Xiao’s Endurance attribute of 60 points made his body highly resilient.
With a gush, Su Xiao spat out a mouthful of blood. He and Hius tumbled across the ground like a rolling gourd, locked in close combat.
A layer of energy shield formed on Su Xiao’s chest, immobilizing Hius’s hands.
Enduring the searing pain in his chest, Su Xiao swung both fists like rain, hammering Hius’s head.
Bang, bang, bang…
In just two seconds, Su Xiao landed dozens of punches. This big boss Hius clearly wasn’t used to being pinned down and beaten, especially while being ridden. He was stunned.
The punches continued. After Su Xiao landed over a hundred blows, the ‘Bull Lord’s Wrath’ effect wore off, and a wave of weakness set in.
Sensing that Su Xiao’s punches had lost their power, Hius—whose skull was covered in cracks and one eye had been burst—seized the opportunity to counterattack. He clenched his hand, snapping several of Su Xiao’s ribs with a crunch.
The intense pain made Su Xiao’s consciousness grow hazy. But if he gave up now, the result would be only one word: death.
A flintlock pistol appeared in Su Xiao’s hand—the [Dawn War Cry] given by the old priest. Seeing this pistol, Hius’s eyes filled with fear. He seemed to recognize it.
“Dawn…”
Su Xiao didn’t care about Hius’s thoughts. He shoved the pistol’s barrel into Hius’s eye socket. The eye had already been burst by Su Xiao’s punches. The cold barrel pressed directly against Hius’s brain.
“No!!!”
Bang.
Gun smoke spread. Golden holy water exploded inside Hius’s brain.
Hiss~
A foul, rancid stench dispersed. Hius’s body twitched once, then began to change. His height gradually returned to normal human proportions. Flesh appeared on his body surface, and he reverted to a woman’s form.
Dark green long hair spread across the ground. Hius had lost all signs of life. The flintlock pistol was embedded in her eye socket. This gun had once been Hius’s weapon—she was the female agent the old priest had mentioned, who had once used this gun to save many lives. Today, she died by that same gun.
According to the old priest, this female agent had died long ago. But that wasn’t the case. There was certainly a story behind this—one worthy of a novel—but Su Xiao had no desire to uncover it.
[You have killed Lord-level creature: Orphan of Resentment·Hius.]
[Killing a leader-level creature grants additional rewards: 7000 Paradise Coins + Soul Crystal (Medium) × 2.]
[Orphan of Resentment·Hius is a Lord-level creature. Obtained 13% World Source. Total World Source now: 42.8%.]
[You have obtained: Book of Repentance (Quest Item).]
[You have obtained: Treasure Chest (Gold).]
…
Su Xiao didn’t bother to look at the items on the ground. He grabbed Hius’s pale arms and pulled her hands out of his chest cavity.
“Cough~”
Su Xiao coughed up a mouthful of blood, staining Hius’s chest red, covering her body after death.
“This woman was really ruthless.”
Su Xiao lay beside Hius’s corpse. With trembling hands, he took out two bottles of No. 1 Potion and downed them. At this point, he didn’t care about the side effects—saving his life came first.
The small amount of mana left in his body was converted into Cyan Steel Shadow Energy to devour the Hashirama Cells in the No. 1 Potion.
Thanks to the Hashirama Cells, the No. 1 Potion had an extremely strong healing effect, especially for internal injuries.
Several of Su Xiao’s ruptured internal organs were repaired. After lying on the ground for half an hour, he finally regained some strength.
He picked up the items dropped by Hius. When he touched the [Book of Repentance (Quest Item)], Su Xiao paused, then a smile appeared on his face.
The talent awakening quest had been completed faster than he expected. From infiltrating the Willow Cave Temple to now, only a few hours had passed.
“Looks like I have time to complete the main quest. I wonder how many of those Heroic Spirits are still alive.”
Su Xiao sat on the ground, needing rest. But a sense of unease lingered in his heart. He had already encountered two groups of Heroic Spirits and Masters, yet he hadn’t met a single contractor along the way. This was highly abnormal. Where had all those contractors gone? Were they all hiding?
Earlier, Su Xiao had checked the derivative world communication platform. Initially, there was nothing unusual. But as time passed, fewer and fewer contractors posted on the platform. Now, almost no one was speaking.
…
Fuyuki City, an underground bar.
The bar’s doors were tightly shut. Peeking through a gap in the window, one could see dozens of corpses lying on the floor.
Three men and women sat inside the bar, completely indifferent to the bodies around them.
A seductive young woman stood behind the counter. Her purple wavy hair and explosive figure made her very alluring.
“Brother Huangfen, it’s so boring staying here. Why don’t we just tear through this derivative world? It’s only a second-rank world.”
The woman leaned forward, deliberately exposing herself to the man at the counter.
The man raised his glass and downed the strong liquor in one gulp.
“No. The boss said to first clean out all the contractors in this derivative world, so that kid doesn’t team up with anyone else. That kid should be busy fighting Heroic Spirits right now. Whatever the boss says, I do.”
The man exhaled a hot breath, faint sparks flickering in the air. His name was Huangfen, vice-captain of the Blood Gate Adventurers, a third-rank contractor who had once pursued Gulu.
“Isn’t he just a second-rank rookie? No need to be this serious.”
The woman straightened up, annoyed by her failed seduction.
“Shut up, Die. It’s only because Brother Huangfen has a good temper. If the boss were here, talking like that would get you killed.”
A chubby young man sat in the distance. Before him knelt a second-rank contractor with a dazed expression.
“Little Fatty, don’t toy with him. He’s my slave, not a dog.”
“Tch. Being charmed into slavery by you—what’s the difference from being a dog? I’d rather be a dog than get charmed by you.”
The little fatty tossed a peanut. The second-rank contractor immediately opened his mouth and caught it.
“So obedient. Maybe I should have specialized in Nen abilities too.”
The little fatty kicked the contractor aside.
“How’s the progress?”
Huangfen spoke. He was usually quiet, one of the two people Stan trusted most.
Stan only trusted two people: his wife and Huangfen. They had been brothers through life and death before entering Reincarnation Paradise.
“Not bad. No alarm raised. Only five ‘pieces’ left. These five seem to have sensed something and are all hiding.”
Die’s lips curled. She was a Charm specialist, easily controlling second-rank contractors.
“There are five days left on the acceleration clock. Find the remaining five contractors within ten hours.”
Huangfen poured himself another drink.
“Got it.”
Die stretched lazily and walked out of the bar.
“Brother Huangfen, is it okay for us to kill so many second-rank contractors? Won’t we break the rules?”
The little fatty looked worried.
“Our strength is suppressed. Standard methods. No.”
Huangfen fell silent, and the bar sank into dead stillness.
…
A sewer in Fuyuki City. A man covered in mud sat inside, a cigarette dangling from his mouth.
“Damn it all. Where did these lunatics come from? They start chasing me without a word. Did I dig up their ancestors’ graves or sleep with their wives?”
If Su Xiao saw this man’s face, he would immediately recognize him. It was the Umbrella Brother from the survival trial, a wild main tank.
The man wore special clothes with a noticeable bulge on his back, containing a simple parachute. It seemed the survival trial had left him traumatized.
“Sigh. Second rank is so damn dangerous. First rank was better…”
Umbrella Brother sighed. His experience this time was utterly frustrating. From the moment he entered the Holy Grail World, he had been on the run.