Chapter 40: Love Captive LV.43
Outside the villa where Su Xiao was located, a man and a woman stood before the main entrance. The woman was seductive, while the man was a chubby young man.
"Die, are we really sure about this? Even though Huang Fen is..."
The chubby young man looked somewhat uneasy. The two of them were responsible for hunting down contractors in the Holy Grail World. Originally, their target was Wusan, but after arriving, they discovered that their main target was also here.
"Just two second-rank contractors. Huang Fen is busy right now... probably."
"But..."
The chubby young man's mouth opened and closed.
"No buts. Stan once said whoever takes down that kid gets a big reward. Don't forget, Huang Fen isn't in our group. He's the vice-captain, sure, but our team leader isn't afraid of him. If Huang Fen gets the benefits, we'll only get a tiny sip of the soup."
Die winked at the chubby young man. After hesitating for a moment, he nodded.
"Fine, but if we mess up, you take the blame."
"Pfft~ Mess up?"
"Forget I said anything."
The chubby young man gave an awkward smile and turned his gaze toward the villa.
"These two are pretty steady. They didn't rush out on their own."
"That means they're not completely stupid."
Nen energy surged from Die's body. Ordinary nen energy was white, but Die's was pink—visibly pink. Her nen energy was immense, far surpassing even the brigade leader or Wajin. This was despite Die's strength being restricted. If she were in a third-rank world, her power would at least double or triple.
"Slaves, charge!"
Die shouted, pointing toward the villa.
"Roar!"
Matou Kariya roared and led the charge toward the villa, followed by civilians covered in bombs.
Seeing this, Su Xiao still didn't choose to leave the villa. Wusan didn't move either. Both knew that rushing out now wasn't wise, even if the villa was about to be destroyed.
A civilian reached the base of the villa, a twisted smile on his face. From his expression, he wasn't fully controlled but willingly became a human bomb for Die.
Boom, boom, boom...
Explosions rang out in succession. Dirt and debris flew everywhere. The effect of ordinary bombs was different from alchemy bombs—they didn't produce much fire.
After the explosion's shockwave subsided, smoke rose from the villa's ruins. Inside the wreckage, Matou Kariya was pinned under a concrete slab.
Severed limbs were scattered across the villa's courtyard. The bodies of dozens had been blown apart, filling the air with a thick smell of burnt flesh and blood.
Bang.
A concrete slab was kicked away. Su Xiao emerged from the villa's ruins completely unharmed, a counter shield floating around him.
Wusan wasn't nearly as composed. He was covered in dust and grime but uninjured.
"Roar."
A roar came from near Su Xiao's feet. He looked down to see Matou Kariya, now controlled by the enemy.
Matou Kariya was pinned under a thick concrete pillar. A pink glow flickered in his eyes, and a pink energy filled his body.
"Nen energy?"
Su Xiao stepped on Matou Kariya's chest, and Cyan Steel Shadow energy surged from his foot.
Matou Kariya convulsed as if electrocuted. Under this "electrotherapy," the pink glow in his eyes faded.
"Oh? You can dispel my charm effect? No wonder the boss values you so much. Handsome, interested in a little spar with big sister?"
Die let out a seductive laugh and curled her index finger. Her nails were long, sharp, and painted red. Strangely, her middle finger wasn't painted—it likely had a "special" purpose.
"Spar?"
Su Xiao rarely engaged in pre-battle negotiations with enemies. Wusan, meanwhile, charged at the chubby young man. Clearly, Wusan didn't want to fight the woman and chose the chubby tank as his opponent.
"Already picked your opponents? I have to say, you're unlucky. If Huang Fen were here, you'd at least die cleanly."
Die stepped forward. She was wearing high heels even in combat, and from her stance, she intended to engage Su Xiao in melee.
"You didn't come to this low-rank world just for revenge, did you? If it were only because I killed one of your seed members..."
Before Su Xiao could finish, Die waved her hand.
"Don't bother fishing for information. Our purpose here is just to kill you. Simple as that."
Die pressed two pale fingers to her red lips and blew Su Xiao a kiss.
As she did, a strand of pink nen energy stretched between her lips and fingers, eventually forming a heart shape.
This pink heart-shaped nen energy floated in the air, and a wave spread outward, instantly enveloping Su Xiao.
[Tip: The hunter has been affected by "Love Captive's Charm." As this ability exceeds the power limit of the second-rank derivative world, it has been reduced to LV.35 intensity.]
[Charm attribute check... Failed.]
[Willpower attribute check... Failed.]
[Intelligence attribute check... Failed.]
[Warning: You will be affected by "Love Captive's Charm."]
[Tip: Blade Master LV.30's additional ability "Mind Blade" activated. You are immune to the current charm effect.]
The pink glow in Su Xiao's eyes gradually faded. Seeing this, Die frowned.
"Blade Master above 30? Not bad."
Die was a top-tier third-rank contractor. As soon as Su Xiao resisted her charm, she deduced the cause from his weapon.
A diamond ring on Die's hand flickered. Su Xiao immediately recognized it as a detection-type equipment.
"63 Strength, 63 Agility, 60 Endurance, 60 Intelligence, 6 Charm... What kind of messed-up attributes are these? Developing all four attributes at once?!"
After detecting Su Xiao's information, Die was stunned. She had never seen a contractor develop all four attributes simultaneously.
"How did you do that?"
The seductive smile on Die's face disappeared. She felt something was off about this guy.
Su Xiao didn't answer Die. He realized he couldn't extract any intel from the enemy, so he stopped talking. Gripping Dragon-Slaying Flash, he advanced toward his opponent.
"Looks like I need to be careful. Can't let myself capsize in a ditch."
Die clasped her hands together.
"Split."
Pop, pop, pop...
Like balloons bursting, the heart-shaped nen energy floating in the air began to split. In an instant, dozens appeared, drifting slowly around Die.
Su Xiao stared at the heart-shaped nen energy. His instincts warned him never to let that thing touch him.
Die waved her hand, sending the heart-shaped nen energy flying toward Su Xiao. At the same time, she rushed forward in her high heels.
Few enemies dared to charge at Su Xiao, but considering Die's status as a top-tier third-rank contractor, it was understandable.
Su Xiao controlled a counter shield, launching it like a flying blade toward the incoming heart-shaped nen energy.
This was a new use for the counter shield: cutting off the energy supply to one shield allowed it to be launched at long range.
The shield collided with a heart-shaped nen energy. With a crack, the nen energy shattered like a bubble. The shield showed no abnormality and continued flying toward Die.
Mid-charge, Die kicked the shield, her leg stretching straight. The shield shattered like glass.