Proofreader & Editor: Peter Pan
With Danze Junior as a human shield, the two major families naturally hesitated to kill Su'en, fearing the consequences.
They dared not unleash large-scale spells, nor fire their guns recklessly.
Su'en's keen perception and swift reflexes left no chance for a sniper's bullet.
The previous instant kill of "Blade of Night" Ibn Jariad served as a warning, deterring any assassins from getting too close.
In the "Puppet Theater," it was impossible to silently approach Su'en, who was surrounded by invisible threads.
Especially with an array of ready-to-strike odd puppets by his side, including "Black Hole Doll," "Nightmare Doll," and Lloyd's famous puppet "Twelve Armored Knights."
With the puppet fortress sealed tight, killing him without special means was nearly impossible.
Not to mention the invisible zombies and the Black Scythe lurking somewhere, creatures even third-tier professionals feared.
***
The crowd could only vent their frustration on the puppets, but ordinary people couldn't even defeat them.
The puppets, unafraid of pain or death, would simply break apart.
Destroying one often meant the death of several people.
Over a hundred puppets could mean hundreds of casualties…
Suddenly, the tide of battle shifted.
The side with more people was forced into a retreat, not daring to approach the domain of the Puppet Theater, confronting it from a distance.
The sound of gunfire gradually faded.
Su'en paid no attention to those people. The prison was large, and it was impossible to chase after so many scattered individuals.
However, Danze Junior in his hands suffered.
With no one coming to die, the hostage was stabbed again.
Danze Junior's screams of pain and fear of death stripped him of his noble composure. With a crying voice, he screamed desperately, "Someone come save me!"
He was truly frightened,
Feeling the despair that comes before death like never before.
He had never felt such terrifying murderous intent from someone.
Getting close to Su'en, the palpable murderous intent was like needles, chilling his soul.
Those surging negative emotions, like an inflating balloon, invisible yet distinctly felt…
Danze had no doubt that if those emotions burst forth, this demon would stab him to death instantly.
The most terrifying thing was not knowing when that explosion would come.
Danze Junior wailed continuously,
The gunfire suddenly stopped,
And the battle between the two third-tier fighters paused as well.
Nero, the Sword King of Wind and Thunder, although seemingly stronger than Anthony, had no confidence in defeating the old butler determined to fight to the death.
Instead, he was more wary of the Black Scythe that could appear at any moment, deliberately keeping his distance.
Anthony didn't dare to pursue, not wanting to stray too far from Rena.
Seeing the increasingly intense red glow in Su'en's eyes, Kay and the others knew what they had to do. During this ceasefire, the trio quietly moved towards the passage to the second level.
Worried as they were, they knew they couldn't help with Su'en in his current state.
The commander of the Oliver family stepped forward and said solemnly, "Put down young master Danze, we can talk about any conditions you have."
"Talk?"
Su'en's eyes brimmed with cold amusement as he shook his head, "Tsk, tsk… No, I just want to kill you all."
With that, he stabbed Danze again.
The blade cut an artery, blood gushing out.
Without immediate aid, Danze was doomed.
This was also to force the Oliver family to come forward and rescue him.
***
While the battle raged on one side, in a corner of the prison, a middle-aged man with glasses leaned against the wall, silently observing the situation.
Although dressed in Oliver family combat gear, his face showed no intention of intervening amidst the carnage.
Instead, the thick scent of blood brought a pleased and enjoyable expression to his face.
Only when his gaze fell on Su'en did a hint of liveliness appear in his eyes.
***
Su'en had no intention of negotiating, and neither did the Oliver family.
They were only looking for an opportunity to launch a surprise attack.
In their eyes, Su'en was a man who must be killed.
At that moment, a flash of lightning suddenly sparked among the enemy crowd.
Spells require time to gather energy, the higher the level, the longer it takes. But this lightning burst forth abruptly, as if time had accelerated several times over, instantly completing the "Chain Lightning Cloud" spell.
This second-tier lightning spell wasn't highly lethal, but it had one effect: paralyzing enemies within its range.
It was perfect for a rescue.
Su'en's eyes caught the surge of purple lightning, guessing that the caster was the mysterious association elder "Speaker of Thunder" Declan Menard. The spell's speed indicated the use of the special time-cursed item "Watkins' Pocket Watch."
Unsurprised, he murmured, "So that thing was in his hands…"
How fast is lightning?
In the blink of an eye, the explosive electricity was upon him.
Along with the puppets surrounding Su'en, even Danze Junior was shocked, leaving no chance to use the "Black Hole Doll" to absorb the lightning.
"Zzzz~"
"Zzzz~"
The lightning flashed by and disappeared.
The injured Danze Junior foamed at the mouth, while Su'en stood paralyzed, seemingly affected by the spell.
Almost simultaneously with the lightning, several second-tier professionals from the Oliver family charged without hesitation.
They feared Su'en's recovery and Anthony's intervention.
"BOOM!"
A loud alchemical bullet explosion.
The sniper's bullet was faster, striking Su'en's head before the professionals could reach him.
Unexpectedly, there was no gory scene of a head exploding.
"Clang!"
The bullet hit the head, making a clear metallic sound.
Upon closer inspection, Su'en's scalp was broken, revealing a layer of dark golden skin.
Seeing this, the leading professionals' faces changed drastically, realizing, "Wrong, it's synthetic skin!"
They hadn't expected Su'en to have another layer of synthetic skin over his face, hiding the abnormality of his true skin. Only upon closer inspection did they notice the rich gold element.
Sensing trouble, it was too late to react.
Due to their rapid charge, they were now within the range of the "Puppet Theater."
As their sense of danger rose, they saw Su'en tilt his head towards them with a wicked smile, as if he had anticipated this.
Regaining their senses, the air suddenly thickened.
The invisible witch's hair solidified, trapping them as if in a waterfall, surrounded by silver strands.
Su'en pulled with one hand and whispered, "Secret Thread Control Technique: Floral Waterfall Burial!"
The witch's hair twisted and intertwined in a special way, leveraging and transmitting multiple times the torsional force. Countless threads wove into a net, the more the prey struggled within the hair waterfall, the tighter it bound.
The leading professionals, mostly light-armored, found themselves in the same predicament as the slain "Blade of Night" Ibn.
Su'en, having controlled them, didn't give them a chance to escape, his eight-armed spear "Whooshing" and piercing their vital spots.
The second-tier professionals couldn't react in time and died on the spot.
After harvesting a wave of soul fragments,
To the surprise of those watching from afar, Su'en didn't stay within the coverage of the "Puppet Theater." Instead, he made an incomprehensible move.
Like a brute warrior, he charged towards the direction of the lightning surge!
***
Although it was unclear why Su'en wasn't paralyzed and managed to kill the second-tier officers who tried to rescue, the two major families opened fire as they saw him approaching.
The next moment, a scene of despair unfolded before them.
Su'en faced the hail of bullets without flinching.
Bullets struck him, making "Ptter-Patter" sounds.
Even against a single soldier's cannon, he could easily dodge by tilting his head.
And once the synthetic skin was completely broken, a golden, gleaming bronze body was revealed!
Upon closer inspection, the barrage of bullets caused him no harm.
Seeing this, everyone was struck with disbelief.
A puppeteer, charging into gunfire and ammunition like an invincible warrior?
Who the hell would believe that?!
And to their astonishment, Su'en's speed was revealed.
As he surged forward, a "POP" sounded, and the air exploded.
To most onlookers, Su'en's figure suddenly dispersed.
How familiar was this scene?
Danze Junior, among the crowd, was terrified, the familiar feeling returning…
Outside the cursed space, wasn't it this same ghostly movement that almost killed him?
***
"Air-Stepping! No… it's not just ordinary Air-Stepping!"
From afar, "Sword King of Wind and Thunder" Nero finally changed color.
Before, he was only wary of the Black Scythe in Su'en's hand; puppets and threads posed limited threats to a third-tier professional like him.
But now, seeing Su'en in golden paint, using Air-Stepping,
He realized the danger.
"Is this a third-tier Gold Element Condensation Flesh Alchemy?"
Nero understood,
Just the ability to withstand alchemical bullets made Su'en invincible.
Even if he personally took action, it would be difficult to kill him.
Thus, it meant that without a third-tier professional present, Su'en, with his control over a hundred puppets and the Black Scythe, could indeed kill everyone here!
"What kind of monster is this?!"
Nero's heart couldn't be described as merely shocked; it was a tumultuous upheaval.
Only a third-tier professional could appreciate how rare and valuable the Flesh Alchemy technique of imperviousness to blades and guns was, requiring a deep understanding of the laws to master such a top-tier spell!
Air-Stepping, Flesh Alchemy, and a puppeteer…
He suddenly realized that even without Anthony, he had no confidence in killing the SS-ranked fugitive Su'en.
***
And the shock in the hearts of Kay and the others, ready to move to the second level, was no less than that of the others.
Kay's eyes trembled fiercely: "He's actually this strong…"
It was a chilling strength, charging into the enemy ranks as an invincible force.
Anthony's face twitched violently, feeling that his status as the "ceiling of professionals" at the third tier paled in comparison to the golden-painted young man.
And Rena was speechless, as if returning to the time in the underground cavern: when he said he could, he definitely could.
Seeing this, they finally understood what Su'en had said before.
When he said he would kill them all, he was serious!
***
Although Su'en's profession and augmentations weren't geared towards physical enhancement, his Air-Stepping speed was still too fast for anyone to react.
With such speed, he naturally dodged over ninety percent of the attacks.
The rest, striking the third-tier law-condensed "Vajra" body, were of no consequence.
His target was precise, aiming for the "Speaker of Thunder" Declan who had just cast the lightning spell.
The female spellcaster holding the staff and silver pocket watch had no time to react before Su'en was upon her. With momentum, the eight-armed spear thrust forward, and at the speed of a spellcaster's flesh, there was no escape.
At the critical moment, with no other choice, she pressed the stopwatch in her hand, and the surroundings slowed down.
The lethal spear was easily dodged.
Just as she thought to flee further, her face bizarrely wrinkled, and her hair rapidly turned white. In the blink of an eye, her body shriveled like a deflated balloon, aging fifty years and becoming a white-haired crone.
This was clearly the curse backlash of "Watkins' Pocket Watch"!
Su'en easily pierced her chest with his spear, stripping the soul fragment, and then took the pocket watch in his hand.
"The last piece is in my hands…"
Su'en muttered to himself, then reached out and seemed to grasp something invisible in the air.
He hooked his finger, and the stopwatch floated mid-air, then "Click," it was pressed.
This subtle action made Nero, who had been watching Su'en from a distance, change color drastically. He kicked off the ground without hesitation, trying to leave his previous position.
"Heh heh… Zombies can indeed be used."
Su'en felt something, his smile growing wider.
This was why he had been holding back, waiting to get the watch, which would give him the power to slay a third-tier professional!
"Sleeping Scythe of Night" + "Oz's Mummy Wrap" + "Watkins' Pocket Watch" = an unstoppable killing machine!
The pocket watch could accelerate time by 2~5 times for an individual, making the zombie's movements very fast.
Although there was an element of luck, if the speed reached 4 times or more, Su'en was confident that even a third-tier professional would struggle to react!
And zombies don't fear the backlash of shortened lifespan.
With this cut at a speed of 3.7 times, even though Nero reacted to the extreme, the blade still appeared on his right shin.
Su'en had anticipated the man's evasion; the body could move, but the feet would be the last to do so.
This cut severed the leg of the third-tier swordsman.
The spatial rift passed lightly, and blood spurted out a moment later, leaving a severed foot behind.
Nero, unsteady from the loss of his foot, stumbled and fell. As a third-tier powerhouse, even with a severed leg, his reaction was astonishing. In the moment of his fall, he pushed off with one leg and shot out, escaping Su'en's sight.
Though he didn't die, this third-tier swordsman was effectively finished after losing his leg.
Su'en sneered and ignored the enemies fleeing around him, charging towards the severed foot.
This third-tier had to be killed first!
***
Seeing Su'en's invisible zombie finally reveal itself, the people from the two major families should have breathed a sigh of relief.
After all, they had prepared many battle plans, all aimed at the Black Scythe.
For example, swarm tactics, control tactics, revealing powder…
The scythe could only strike once at a time, and many second-tier professionals could avoid it with caution.
With so many people charging together, they would always find an opportunity.
After all, the intelligence said that Su'en was just a slightly faster ordinary second-tier.
But now…
Was that golden-painted figure, using "Air-Stepping" to advance, just an ordinary second-tier?
And with the pocket watch in the hands of the zombie, a third-tier had a leg cut off, who could stop it?
Moreover, who the hell brought that pocket watch?!
Now that a monster has been created, who can solve it?
Naturally, the items were brought by members of several umbrella organizations.
They also realized that things had gotten out of hand, beyond their control.
But they felt wronged in their hearts,
They had no idea they would encounter SS-ranked fugitive Su'en here!
***
Su'en charged forward, passing by as if avoiding the plague, with no one daring to provoke him.
With the Black Scythe, a formidable weapon in hand, whoever stood in the way would die.
And those below the second tier didn't even have the qualifications to block.
Su'en quickly reached the severed foot, picked up the bleeding limb, and took out a pitch-black "Voodoo Doll," smearing it with blood.
Then he slapped it hard, and the doll shattered.
Not far away, in a cell where "Sword King of Wind and Thunder" Nero had planned to hide and ambush Su'en, a muffled groan was heard.
Su'en's ears twitched, pinpointing the exact location, and he slashed with his hand.
A spatial rift swept by, and simultaneously, a faint sound of silk tearing echoed.
With a "POP" in the air, Su'en appeared in front of the cell.
However, at the same time, a fierce sword qi shot out, cutting the newly arrived figure in half.
Nero looked at the puppet on the ground and let out a bitter laugh.
So strong, yet so cautious, even in direct combat, it would be very difficult for him…
With his waist and intestines severed, he no longer had the strength to fight.
Failing to ambush successfully, he had no more chances.
Su'en ended the life of this well-known veteran powerhouse, the vice-chairman of the Hunter's Guild.
Entering the cell and devouring the gray mist, the red glow in his eyes became like a breached dam, uncontrollable.
He stepped out of the cell and returned to the previous passage.
The people from the two major families had gathered together, seemingly ready for a decisive battle.
Su'en didn't rush to act but greeted the empty prison, "Mr. Gerard, if you don't take action, I'm going to kill them all, you know?"
This puzzled the onlookers, but after three seconds of silence, a response came, "Just kill them. After all, even if I intervened, these wastes wouldn't survive."
At that moment, a middle-aged man with glasses emerged from the darkness.