The bronze tree base tilted again with a loud rumble, threatening to collapse at any moment. The supporting wall on the lower level was blown apart, causing the entire building to lean like a dying tree.
On the rooftop, Jin Mu Yan's power surged, and the four tendrils he unleashed looked familiar to Su Xiao, almost identical to those of Shendai Rishi.
Su Xiao took a deep breath and rushed forward, one hand pressed against his abdomen. Jin Mu Yan also charged at Su Xiao, his tendrils clawing at him from four directions.
In a flash, Su Xiao swung his blade to cut through two of the tendrils and slipped between the remaining two, reaching Jin Mu Yan.
To Su Xiao's surprise, Jin Mu Yan instinctively raised his arms to block, trying to withstand the blade with his body. Even though Jin Mu Yan had become stronger, his close combat skills were still lacking. Just changing his hair color wouldn’t make him a qualified fighter. Compared to Su Xiao, Jin Mu Yan's close combat abilities were quite poor.
As the long blade swept past, Jin Mu Yan only saw a white line flash before his arms went numb. His forearms were cleanly severed, the cuts smooth.
Though his arms were gone, Jin Mu Yan merely frowned. Compared to the torture he had endured, this pain was within his limits.
After cutting off Jin Mu Yan's arms, Su Xiao didn't pause. He kicked Jin Mu Yan in the stomach, sending him flying backward, and he spat out a mouthful of bile. While Jin Mu Yan was in the air, Su Xiao left several deep gashes on his body.
In just a few exchanges, Jin Mu Yan's forearms were severed, and he had multiple deep wounds that reached the bone.
With a thud, Jin Mu Yan hit the ground and rolled around awkwardly.
Su Xiao stood still, adjusting his breathing. A pool of blood was forming beneath him. Not only was his abdomen injured, but the wound on his shoulder had also widened.
He needed to end this quickly.
Suppressing the pain from his wounds, Su Xiao rushed toward Jin Mu Yan. At that moment, Jin Mu Yan was lying on the ground, his severed arms slowly regenerating, and his wounds were healing.
Su Xiao wouldn’t wait for the enemy to recover before attacking. He raised his blade, the Dragon Slayer.
"Not a chance."
A tendril attacked, but its owner was not very strong, making the strike clumsy. Su Xiao quickly dodged to the side.
His reaction was fast, but his injured body slowed him down. His abdominal muscles twitched uncontrollably, causing his jump to become awkward.
Thud.
Nishio Jin's tendril struck Su Xiao's back, leaving a bloody mark. Even Nishio Jin was surprised by the hit.
Seeing the blood beneath Su Xiao, Nishio Jin adjusted his glasses and sneered. "Mr. Black Death, you seem pretty hurt."
In the past, Nishio Jin would have been instantly killed in a fight against Su Xiao. But now, with Su Xiao injured, he could only unleash his usual strength in short bursts, giving Nishio Jin an opportunity.
Nishio Jin rushed toward Su Xiao, his tendril awkwardly stabbing at him.
Su Xiao dodged the incoming tendril, only to be met with Nishio Jin's "King Eight Fist."
After a series of missed punches, Nishio Jin looked frustrated.
Having avoided Nishio Jin's attacks, Su Xiao gripped the Dragon Slayer tightly, took a deep breath, and a fierce glint appeared in his eyes.
A faint blue arc of electricity appeared on the blade's surface as Su Xiao pressed down hard on his abdominal wound, forcing himself to tap into his usual strength.
The Dragon Slayer pointed to the ground, letting out a sharp sound.
"Clang."
A white line flashed, and Su Xiao cut off one of Nishio Jin's hands.
Nishio Jin stared in shock at his severed hand, not even realizing what had happened.
"Nishio-senpai!"
Jin Mu Yan, having healed, jumped up from the ground and rushed over to support Nishio Jin. But it was too late.
Su Xiao's second strike was already in motion.
The blade sliced through flesh, and Nishio Jin suddenly felt dizzy, a ringing in his ears, followed by darkness.
With a thud, his body fell to the ground. Despite Su Xiao being heavily injured, he had killed Nishio Jin with two strikes.
"Nishio!"
Dong Xiang, lying on the ground, watched in horror, her eyes wide. Nishio Jin was a member of the safe zone, and after spending time together, she had developed a friendship with him.
"Nishio-senpai."
Jin Mu Yan's voice was low, his head hanging.
"Once again, once again, I’ve lost someone important. I can never forgive this."
Jin Mu Yan's shoulders shook, and drool dripped from the corner of his mouth. Su Xiao suspected he had been driven mad by Nicole's torture; at least his mental state seemed off.
Jin Mu Yan pressed his thumb against his index finger, producing a sharp cracking sound. "I will kill you."
While Jin Mu Yan muttered to himself, Su Xiao had already stepped over Nishio Jin's body, charging at Jin Mu Yan.
Time was of the essence. Su Xiao was losing blood quickly; he couldn't hold on much longer.
As he felt his strength waning, Su Xiao knew he had to retreat for now. Thankfully, he still had some fight left in him.
In front of him stood the main character of the ghoul world, and he wanted to see what would happen if he killed Jin Mu Yan.
In a derived world, killing specific enemies could yield great rewards. For example, when he killed that king in the pirate world, despite his weak strength, being a ruler meant he dropped valuable loot.
The white treasure chest represented the owner's strength, and it had produced the World Tree Ring because of the opponent's status.
Su Xiao rushed toward Jin Mu Yan, who was in a very unstable mental state, making Su Xiao cautious.
"One thousand minus seven equals what?"
Jin Mu Yan suddenly looked up, staring directly at Su Xiao.
But what awaited him was a cold, gleaming blade.
One thousand minus seven equals one strike!
Su Xiao put all his strength into this blow, the long blade slicing across Jin Mu Yan's chest, opening a terrifying wound.
In that instant, Su Xiao even caught a glimpse of Jin Mu Yan's beating heart.
With such a severe injury, Jin Mu Yan spat out a mouthful of blood.
Su Xiao lowered his gaze, remaining silent.
Normally, he would taunt his enemies during a fight, but this time was different. He was heavily injured and needed to finish this quickly.
After severely wounding Jin Mu Yan, Su Xiao didn’t stop. He swiftly struck again with his blade.
"Slash, slash…"
After several strikes, terrifying wounds appeared on Jin Mu Yan's chest and throat.
The massive blood loss caused Su Xiao to feel slightly dizzy, and his strikes lost some power.
Despite being so badly hurt, Jin Mu Yan showed no signs of falling. Instead, he lunged at Su Xiao, throwing a punch at his face.
From this punch, it was clear that Jin Mu Yan had some combat training, but that was about it.
Although he had transformed from an ordinary person into an S+ level ghoul, he was still far from being a true warrior.
Su Xiao quickly turned the blade to block Jin Mu Yan's punch.
The blade clashed against flesh, and the result was predictable: several of Jin Mu Yan's fingers were severed.
Though Jin Mu Yan lacked combat experience, he had incredible recovery abilities. As long as his head wasn’t cut off, he wouldn’t stop fighting.
Jin Mu Yan's tendrils wrapped around his neck to prevent decapitation, suggesting that Nishio Jin's tragic death had taught him a lesson.
Even though Jin Mu Yan appeared to be having a mental breakdown, he still retained some rationality and knew to protect his vital areas.
A strange scene unfolded on the rooftop: Su Xiao held his blade over Jin Mu Yan, but his own face was growing paler.
It was now a battle of endurance, to see whether Jin Mu Yan would be cut down first or if Su Xiao would lose too much blood to keep fighting.
(End of chapter)