Chapter 31: Terrifying Intelligence
Su Xiao slashed down several charging orcs, then began retreating into the Imperial army behind him. The war had been raging for some time, and the battle lines across the entire battlefield had stretched out, so the rear was no longer as densely packed as before.
After two hours of brutal fighting, Su Xiao was starting to tire. During these two hours, he had first fought on the front lines, then been knocked flying by a Dwarf Earth Cavalry soldier, accidentally flung by an old Giant brother into the rear of the Tribal army, and finally fought his way back from the Tribal rear to the top of the Black Earth Fortress.
Just two hours of high-intensity combat left him more exhausted than a full day and night of fighting in the previous battle.
This couldn't continue. Su Xiao looked around. The Imperial army surpassed the Tribal army in both morale and kill count; the tide of battle was turning in the Empire's favor.
Seeing this, Su Xiao prepared to retreat into the Imperial ranks to rest for a while.
After dealing with a few charging enemies, Su Xiao pulled back. Even if he couldn't sleep, just having a drink of water and a short break would be enough.
Just as Su Xiao was about to retreat into the Imperial crowd, a sense of crisis emerged.
Su Xiao scanned his surroundings but didn't spot any particularly strong enemies. Yet the feeling of danger didn't diminish; instead, it grew stronger, as if something had locked onto him.
"Sniper?"
Su Xiao focused his senses but quickly ruled out the possibility of being targeted by a sniper. Since no enemy appeared, he continued his retreat.
Finally, two hours into the battle, Su Xiao got a chance to catch his breath. He stood among his allies, took out a bottle of water, and drank deeply.
After drinking some water, Su Xiao felt a bit more alert and immediately began tending to his wounds.
...
Within the Tribal army, a bald, burly man held a semi-transparent tablet computer. The device was clearly a high-tech product.
The bald man wore a leather jacket, and his belt was adorned with many high-tech gadgets: two energy guns, three plasma grenades, and numerous other unheard-of technological items.
"Hey, I've arrived at the Black Earth Warzone. Surprised?"
The bald man was video-calling on his tablet. The person on the other end was Queen Xi, also the leader of the Apocalypse Paradise faction, Xi. Xi was standing in front a pile of corpses, which were sealed in a layer of transparent crystal.
"You went to the Black Earth Warzone? Why go there..."
Xi was initially puzzled, but then she seemed to realize something and her expression turned displeased. Several floating crystals beside her turned red in response to her mood change.
"Are you just going to let Liuli's matter slide? She's your own sister. Have you forgotten how much that little girl cried during the surgery?"
The bald man chuckled, seemingly unafraid of Xi.
"Lan Jue, are you disobeying my orders? Don't forget, this world isn't your home turf."
In front of the corpse pile, Xi's silver hair stirred without wind, and the floating crystals beside her turned an icy blue.
"Xi, don't talk to me like I'm your subordinate. I was only assigned to your team for some 'unfathomable' reason. From every angle, I don't have to obey your orders. I came to help that little girl kill someone because she kept begging me. I'm a soft-hearted person."
The bald man, Lan Jue, began to harden his stance.
Xi stared at Lan Jue through a crystal in front of her. After a few seconds, the crystals beside her returned to colorless.
"Liuli."
Xi turned her head to look beside her. A breeze blew, and a strand of silver hair slipped from her ear to her cheek.
"Come here."
As Xi spoke, a little girl with the same hair color as her walked over, her steps trembling.
"Sis..."
Liuli started to speak but noticed Xi's gaze was off.
"My beautiful, generous, pure, and powerful Queen Xi, big sister, did you need something?"
Little Liuli was close to Xi but looked ready to bolt at any moment. Her lower body, which Su Xiao had blasted apart, had already regenerated.
"What did you give Lan Jue?"
Xi didn't hide her question from Lan Jue, who was still on the long-distance video call.
"N-nothing much."
"..."
Xi silently stared at Liuli. After three seconds, Liuli swallowed. After ten seconds, sweat beaded on Liuli's cheeks.
"I... I just gave him the Red Crystal."
Liuli lowered her head.
"You've grown up. Your wings are stiff."
Xi's expression barely changed. If the one who did this weren't her sister, that person would already be a corpse.
"I..."
Liuli started to speak, but Xi waved her hand.
"If you do it, don't regret it. Otherwise, I'm not your sister."
"Mm."
Liuli nodded firmly. "I can't accept it. I'm not that man's match, but I have leverage."
Hearing Liuli's resolute tone, the corner of Xi's mouth lifted slightly. She then looked at Lan Jue.
"You've taken the payment, so do the job. Find him, kill him, bring his head back. Then this matter is settled."
"Of course."
Lan Jue knew exactly what Xi meant by "settled." This matter wasn't Liuli seeking him out; he had approached Liuli.
"I've already located the target. I'll deal with it soon. As for bringing back his head, that's difficult. In a full-on fight, it's either him or me."
Lan Jue ended the video call and rubbed his bald head.
"What a troublesome woman. Maybe she's already guessed something. Her intelligence is monstrous. That little girl is much easier to fool."
Lan Jue pushed past the orcs beside him and headed toward the Black Earth Fortress.
...
In the Hill Grand Canyon, within a mountain range.
A small skirmish had just occurred—the Imperial army's daily clash with the Tribal army. The fighting was over.
The Imperial soldiers seemed to have few casualties, but their expressions were dazed. They stared blankly at the large pile of corpses on the hillside, sealed in crystal. All of it was the work of one person.
Beside the crystal corpse pile stood dozens of Apocalypse Paradise contractors. Some were chatting, others maintaining their weapons.
"So that's how it is~"
In the crowd, Liuli hung her head like a schoolgirl who had done something wrong. She looked repentant, but her big eyes held no trace of regret. A fitting description for Liuli: excellent attitude in admitting fault, but never changing.
"You did well."
Xi broke her usual pattern and actually praised Liuli.
"Huh?"
Liuli's scalp tingled as if electrified. Her sister's attitude was very wrong—extremely wrong!
"What kind of person do you think Lan Jue is?"
Xi's question left the dazed Liuli confused.
"What kind of person? Uh... cunning? Greedy? A loner?"
Liuli tilted her head. She could never guess what Xi was thinking.
"He's a very 'abnormal' person. From the moment we entered this war world until now, he's been focused on one thing: the whereabouts of the World Core."
"Isn't that normal?"
Liuli was puzzled. She also wanted the World Core badly. If they didn't get it, everyone would be punished.
"Of course it's abnormal. He was even willing to obey my orders just to get information about the World Core's location from me. But now he suddenly rushes off to the Black Earth Warzone, all for a Red Crystal. Not only that, when I tried to get him to leave the Black Earth Warzone, his attitude surprised me. It was like he was willing to fall out with me to do something."
Xi's eyes gazed at the distant mountains, as if deep in thought.
"Sis, do you think about this stuff every day? Must kill a lot of brain cells."
Though Liuli wasn't stupid, compared to Xi, she was a sweet, naive little girl.
"The one who hurt you before, he's a lone wanderer, right?"
Xi ignored Liuli's previous comment, as if she had thought of something.
"Seems like it. Anyway, I didn't see him with any teammates. His fighting style leans toward solo. Excellent defense, high intelligence and agility attributes, strong ranged attack capabilities, immune to mental control. The most terrifying thing is his close combat ability. If he slashes me, I can at most take two hits. No, I might even get one-shot. That guy can fight and tank, handle both range and melee, immune to control—he's a monster."
Mentioning Su Xiao, Liuli was clearly still shaken.
Xi fell into thought again. After a long while, she muttered under her breath.
"Is it a coincidence? I only guessed before that Lan Jue was different from us. No, he should be different from all lone wanderers. There are often rumors in the Paradise about him inexplicably clashing with certain contractors. And those contractors he clashes with are all abnormal. He seems to actively seek out these abnormal contractors and kill them. Lone wanderer, versatile abilities, often hostile to contractors with abnormal abilities."
Xi's eyes were very bright. Liuli beside her had no idea what Xi was talking about.
"Some taboos cannot be touched. I seem to have reached a dangerous edge. Setting aside Lan Jue's peculiarities for now, the best choice is not to dig deeper. But what reason could make him give up information about the World Core to go after a contractor from the Reincarnation Paradise?"
Xi continued thinking. Liuli beside her yawned, as if listening to gibberish.
"This question can also be postponed. No matter what, the current situation is a win-win for us. Whether Lan Jue loses or that enemy man loses, it benefits us. Neither side is easy to deal with. Liuli, I need you to do something."
Xi looked at Liuli, who was already spacing out. Liuli had a bad feeling.
"Sis, I'm your own sister. Don't screw me over. I'm scared~"
Liuli looked at Xi pitifully.
"Don't worry, it's not dangerous. I just want you to do what you're best at."
"Really? Is it that?"
Liuli asked tentatively.
"Yes."
"Awesome."
Liuli's dejection vanished, and a mischievous smile spread across her face.
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