Chapter 941: 539 Secret Nail

Just one-seventh of its power achieved this effect?!

After hearing Heishanyang's boasting, the three cleaners inside Li Ang's belly were violently shaken.

From the moment Heishanyang activated its effect until all six legions outside the palace were annihilated, barely over two minutes had passed—if even this level of effect was only one-seventh, how powerful would this goat-headed demon be in its prime?

"Can't you stop bragging for a second?"

As Heishanyang basked in the stunned gazes of the three cleaners, Li Ang, having caught his breath, couldn't help but speak up to expose the truth:

"Senior Elders, don't listen to its nonsense. When it says 'one-seventh,' it means this is just one of its seven abilities, not that its prime power is seven times stronger than now."

"And the reason it produced this effect is mainly because its ability controls war and rage—perfectly suited for this kind of thing—and you three seniors provided power, temporarily boosting me to 59 points of Li Ang value. Otherwise…"

"Otherwise, we'd still be plenty strong!"

Seeing the three cleaners' expressions shift from shock to understanding, Heishanyang grew furious and blustered loudly:

"Ungrateful wretch! In all those past missions, if it weren't for me protecting you, you'd be dead somewhere already!"

"Which of those messy aberrant items in your hands even compares to me? I'm your greatest trump card, aren't I? Even if you ditched every other aberrant item, I still have the confidence to get you out alive!"

"…"

Damn, you're puffing up just because someone praised you…

Listening to Heishanyang's increasingly outrageous boasting, Li Ang couldn't help but roll his eyes.

True, 【War Opposite】 is a formidable aberrant item, but Heishanyang's ability to "one-shot" ten thousand soldiers relied mainly on the 59-point contamination value boost and its Golden-Rank Demon Seal enhancement.

Not to mention, that 59-point contamination boost alone was already devastating—if 【Silver Scissor Dagger】 had been used instead, it could have sliced open the entire district before the palace, sending those ten thousand soldiers straight from the kingdom's upper tier to its lower tier.

I chose Heishanyang in the end mainly because I didn't want to kill people, and because Heishanyang's specialization meant lower consumption—but this thing, after being flattered a couple times, started swelling up again… really…

"I see."

At that moment, a hoarse voice rang out from afar, and the boastful Heishanyang let out a shrill cry as a pitch-black long nail slammed into its forehead, causing the entire goat to wilt.

In Li Ang's startled gaze, a middle-aged man in a messenger's uniform pushed aside the corpse of the legion commander, straightened his crumpled uniform, then smiled at Li Ang:

"I didn't expect a Level Three Cleaner to possess such a powerful aberrant item—no wonder you dared defy Prince Andre. But no matter how strong an aberrant item is, it has weaknesses. Now that I've sealed it, its remaining six abilities can no longer be used—you've lost."

"…"

Wait… is it possible this guy was just bluffing?

After a slight twitch of his lips, Li Ang naturally didn't bother explaining to his opponent. Instead, he slipped his hand behind his back and, under the worried gazes of the three cleaners, asked with a strange expression:

"So you're…"

"I'm also a Cleaner—formerly of the former Twin Branch."

The middle-aged man bowed slightly, then smiled with arrogant pride:

"My name is… Huh?!"

With a startled grunt, the middle-aged man felt the world tilt slightly—his lower body remained standing, but his entire upper body slumped sideways.

Behind him, on the chest of the unconscious legion commander, inside a polished honor medal that gleamed like a mirror, a hand holding a silver dagger slowly retracted.

"What?! What did you do to me?!"

"…"

What the hell was this guy even here for?

After slicing the middle-aged man with 【Mirror Dog】 and 【Silver Scissor Dagger】, Li Ang frowned slightly and reached out to touch the black nail embedded in Heishanyang's forehead.

【Name: Damaged Capricorn Secret Nail (Ritual, Guaranteed Hit)】

【Appearance: A simple black long nail. Upon piercing the target, it rapidly burns a black Capricorn ritual pattern—a goat's head with a fish's body—into the vicinity, which fades after twelve hours】

【Ability: Can be used once to cast an incomplete Capricorn "Aberrant Purification" ritual, guaranteed to hit the target】

【Cost: Only those born between December 22 and January 19 may use it; after use, the secret nail vanishes permanently】

【File: One of the failed products from the Cleaner Bureau's "Ritual Popularization Project—Capricorn" nine hundred years ago. Due to exorbitant cost and only temporary disruption of aberrant items below the Divine Rank, it was completely shelved and no longer produced; only a few prototypes remain…】

【Evaluation: An immature ritual artifact. Tactical value is decent, but cost is too high and effect lasts only twelve hours—insignificant】

【Contamination Value: 0.1】

Twelve hours? So Heishanyang can't be used for the next twelve hours?

…

That should be enough.

As Li Ang sliced open the middle-aged man and began checking Heishanyang's condition, Prince Andre in Research Zone One, the moment the signal vanished from his instrument panel, ordered:

"The 'Secret Nail' has completed its task—sealed the target's strongest aberrant item. Send the other Cleaners in now!"

"Understood."

Hearing Andre's order, Atifi 00 nodded on the instrument panel and suggested:

"Will these Cleaners be enough? I still have a stockpile of coded spiders—should I control a few more legions to coordinate with them?"

"No need."

Prince Andre shook his head:

"Only the Royal Direct Legions 1 through 6 can achieve absolute obedience. Other legions lack discipline—if sent, they might be swayed by the enemy and defect mid-battle, causing more chaos."

"True enough."

Atifi 00 nodded, then asked curiously:

"By the way, how did you know Li Ang had a large-scale anti-army aberrant item? Did the Execution King send you the intel?"

"I didn't know."

Prince Andre stared at the light dots on the instrument panel, not turning his head:

"I only know that most of a Cleaner's strength lies in their aberrant items. Facing a legion capable of utterly destroying the palace and erasing all evidence, he wouldn't dare hesitate—he'd definitely use a powerful aberrant item."

"At that moment, if the 'Secret Nail' seals that powerful aberrant item, it effectively cripples half his combat power. Then sending other Cleaners after him becomes much easier."

"Excellent, excellent."

Atifey 00 nodded upon hearing this, then said with a look of relief:

"Since you've already figured this out, he probably won't last much longer—I can save some effort."

"Don't save any."

Turning to glance at her, Prince Andrei spoke:

"This Li Ang is strange. Those Twin Branch cleaners may not be able to handle him. To be safe, you still must follow the original plan… How is the Scorpio Director? Has his brain been processed?"