Chapter 51: Assassination?
Kaiser, as if granted a pardon, lunged forward and hugged Carlos's leg, his eyeballs quickly turning red as teardrops pattered down.
"Lord Carlos, I... hoo~"
Kaiser sniffled, truly a mess of snot and tears, even seeming to choke up with sobs.
"Kaiser, you've worked hard."
Carlos shook his leg as he spoke, afraid Kaiser would wipe his snot on his pant leg. He knew exactly what kind of person Kaiser was.
Kaiser naturally wouldn't let go. Not only did he wrap his arms around Carlos's leg, but his short little legs also coiled around it, like a koala clinging to a tree.
"Lord Carlos, listen to me. I stumbled upon an alchemical genius by chance. He previously mastered a certain potion formula, and under my guidance, that potion was successfully developed. Moreover, I discovered..."
It seemed Kaiser was desperately fabricating a background for Su Xiao, but that wasn't the case. Kaiser was actually taking credit.
"Stop. So you're saying his alchemy surpasses yours, and you happened to discover he could save Carlos?"
The Dark Elf Princess Anna saw through what Kaiser was desperately trying to hide.
"Of course not!"
Kaiser's tears stopped instantly.
"Kaiser, I won't forget your kindness in this matter. As long as I live, you will always be the quartermaster of the Iron Blood Legion."
Carlos had long known what Kaiser wanted, and he turned his gaze to Su Xiao.
"I saw your performance on the battlefield, especially the scene where you broke out from the tribal army. Squad Leader Bai Ye."
Carlos and Anna entered the room. Kaiser closed the door, locked it securely, and even activated the alchemical defense array on the door.
"You know about my situation?"
Carlos sat on Kaiser's 'exclusive sofa,' looking at Su Xiao with a smile.
"Situation?" Su Xiao was taken aback, then guessed something: "The person you want me to treat is you, the Legion Commander? Not Officer Vincent Horn?"
Su Xiao seemed somewhat surprised.
"That's right, it's me."
Carlos glanced at Kaiser, who quickly put on a flattering smile.
"You did well."
Carlos was praising Kaiser for not casually revealing his condition. Earlier, Carlos's question seemed casual, but if Su Xiao had answered that he understood, regardless of the treatment outcome, Kaiser would have died.
"Legion Commander, do you think... I could tell Bai Ye about your specific condition? He needs to prepare the potion based on your exact situation."
Though greedy, Kaiser wasn't stupid. He knew to follow the proper procedure. The current surface situation was that Su Xiao didn't know much about Carlos's condition, not even that the person to be treated was Carlos himself.
"Wait." The Dark Elf Princess Anna spoke up: "Can he be trusted?"
Anna scrutinized Su Xiao. Her personality was aloof and suspicious.
"Of course he can be trusted, Miss Anna. I, Kaiser, can vouch for him."
"You vouch for him?"
Anna's slender brows furrowed as if she was thinking something over.
"As for whether he's trustworthy, Bai Ye definitely isn't from the Tribal Alliance."
Carlos closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair. He had seen Su Xiao killing enemies on the battlefield before. With that number of kills and that level of ruthlessness, no spy could possibly achieve it.
"Even if he's trustworthy, whether he can help you eliminate that thing is still unknown. This kind of thing can't be settled with just a verbal guarantee..."
Carlos waved his hand.
"Anna, no need to say more. Bai Ye, tell me how you plan to help me eliminate that unknown energy."
In truth, Carlos no longer cared whether Su Xiao was an enemy spy. He could sense Su Xiao's strength. Someone of that power, if truly an enemy spy, would die here today regardless of the outcome.
Carlos knew his time was limited. Hoping Kaiser could eliminate that unknown energy was a slim chance. He was now grasping at straws.
Even if he died here today, Black Earth Fortress would immediately be taken over by his adjutant. He had already prepared for this.
Trading his remaining three months of life for the life of a powerful enemy spy plus the exposure of an unknown force within the empire—that was a very worthwhile deal.
Besides, what if this person really could help him eliminate the energy inside him? He was dying anyway; what harm was there in trying?
Although Carlos said he had three months left, he vaguely sensed that the unknown energy inside him was about to erupt. Once it did, even if he didn't die, he would be barely surviving, his strength greatly diminished, possibly bedridden. That was worse than death. Carlos had many enemies within the empire.
The four people and one dog in the room were all silent. Su Xiao actually didn't care about the thoughts of Carlos, Anna, or Kaiser. Whatever suspicions these three had didn't matter. He only needed to do three things now: help Carlos eliminate the energy inside him, get the [Demon Hunting Proof] from Kaiser, and then leave Black Earth Fortress.
Just now, Su Xiao had received a notification from Reincarnation Paradise, which was also why he hadn't spoken much.
"Legion Commander, if I'm not mistaken, the energy inside you is of a dark attribute. The benefit is that it makes you stronger, but of course, there are side effects, like intermittent hallucinations or a sudden urge to destroy everything you see."
Su Xiao pressed his finger against Carlos's arm, carefully sensing the situation inside Carlos's body.
"You..."
Carlos sat up straight. He had told Kaiser about the dark attribute and the strengthening effect, but he had never mentioned the intermittent hallucinations or bloodlust to anyone, not even Anna.
"Am I right, Legion Commander?"
Su Xiao needed to confirm the nature of the energy inside Carlos. After sensing it up close, he found that it wasn't entirely demonic power but a variant energy very similar to it.
"Yes. Sometimes I see blazing fire pits, and other times I feel a strong urge to kill."
Carlos was smiling. The fact that Su Xiao could point out these two things meant there was hope for his treatment.
Anna also noticed this, and her gaze toward Su Xiao softened a bit. He went from a suspicious person to Carlos's only hope. This woman was somewhat fickle.
"Fire pits?"
Su Xiao took out the Slaughter short blade: "Forgive me, Legion Commander."
With that, Su Xiao made a cut on the back of Carlos's hand. Carlos's physical defense was too strong; without the Slaughter short blade, he couldn't even break his skin.
"Good blade."
Carlos looked at the Slaughter short blade with interest, not caring about the blood welling up from the back of his hand.
Dark red blood appeared on the back of Carlos's hand. After this dark red blood flowed out of the wound, it seemed unwilling to contact the air and began to retreat back into the wound.
"This is..."
Carlos stared at the back of his hand in shock. This had never happened before.
"It's already this serious."
Su Xiao frowned, turned around, and walked to the test bench to start mixing a potion.
"What's the situation? Is there still hope for me?"
Carlos's expression wasn't good, given how abnormal his blood was.
"If left untreated, you'll turn into some kind of monster or lose consciousness within a few days. If I'm not mistaken, there's a consciousness within that energy inside you, though it doesn't have a subjective will."
Su Xiao gestured for Kaiser to bring the [Unstable Potion]. After taking it, he uncorked the bottle.
"Drink this."
A pungent, sweet smell filled the room. Carlos's eye twitched: "Drinking this won't kill me, will it?"
"For you, ninety percent chance it won't."
Su Xiao held the test tube. Whether Carlos drank it was his own choice.
Carlos took the test tube and downed the liquid in a few gulps. A dozen seconds later, Carlos sat upright, motionless. The potion had taken effect.
"What are you going to do next? Kill me?"
Carlos's voice sounded strange; his lips were numb.
"Not at all."
Su Xiao drew the longsword from Carlos's waist and thrust it straight through Carlos's chest. It all happened in the blink of an eye. Kaiser and Anna in the room stood frozen.
"I... will... kill... you!"
Anna's expression couldn't be described as mere anger; it was the look of someone who wanted to devour Su Xiao alive.
"Anna, calm down."
Blood trickled from the corner of Carlos's mouth, but he was smiling.
"This feels good. It's been a long time since I've felt this relaxed."
Before, Carlos felt as if he had been wearing a heavy 'iron suit' for years. After Su Xiao thrust the sword, the 'iron suit' on Carlos melted away like snow and ice.
PS: (Two more chapters coming soon)