Chapter 111

The tunnel shook with noise as Su Xiao and Eto Yoshimura tangled together.

"Kill you, crush your head."

Eto Yoshimura's personality changed drastically in her Kakuja state.

Eto Yoshimura's current appearance was similar to the Manager's Kakuja shell, but Eto Yoshimura's was clearly taller.

Compared to the Manager, Eto Yoshimura's combat experience was slightly lacking, but her strength was greater and her speed faster.

Su Xiao ducked to avoid the sharp claws formed by the Kagune, holding Checking Zhan Long Shan horizontally in front of him to block the giant mouth Eto Yoshimura was biting with. Before the bloodthirsty maw closed, Su Xiao tilted Checking Zhan Long Shan.

Click.

Eto Yoshimura bit down on Checking Zhan Long Shan, the blade facing her upper jaw.

Gripping the hilt with both hands, Su Xiao exerted force from his waist, his entire body like a fully drawn bow, the power transferring from his waist to his arms as he thrust the long blade upward.

Pfft.

A wound was cut into Eto Yoshimura's upper jaw, Checking Zhan Long Shan blocked by the bone formed by the Kagune.

This slash was lethal. With the upper jaw cut open and the pain of Qing Gang Ying burning her energy, Eto Yoshimura's red eyes began to roll back.

"Hmm~."

After a muffled groan, Eto Yoshimura swung her claws wildly, and Su Xiao immediately withdrew his blade and jumped back.

"Ha~, ha~."

Blood gushed from Eto Yoshimura's mouth. This slash had truly frightened her.

If Checking Zhan Long Shan had been any sharper, Eto Yoshimura's Kakuja head might have been sliced open.

Although that was the Kakuja shell and not Eto Yoshimura's true head, with that kind of injury, she could only let Su Xiao rub her into the ground for the rest of the battle.

"So painful. You bastard is definitely not a pure human. Are you a test subject from the Sunlit Garden like that guy? That CCG lunatic."

Sunlit Garden? Su Xiao hadn't heard of this name; perhaps it was an organization CCG used to cultivate combat strength.

Flicking the blood off Checking Zhan Long Shan, Su Xiao rushed forward with cold eyes.

Rushing forward, Su Xiao changed his strategy.

As an SSS-rank ghoul, Eto Yoshimura's Stamina attribute must not be low. He might not be a match if they competed in endurance; he had to find a way to kill her in one blow.

The battle was now deadlocked; neither could resolve the other in a short time. Moreover, with the experience from last time, when Eto Yoshimura endured the pain of Qing Gang Ying, she would use her claws to scratch wildly in front of her.

Although the posture was unrefined, it kept her from falling behind. This literary ghoul had some ideas.

After rushing in front of Eto Yoshimura, Su Xiao still performed a routine slash. He didn't consider other positions, aiming only for the throat or heart.

Since he was attacking, he had to pursue a one-hit kill.

The Kagune on Eto Yoshimura's arms met the attack; they were two Kagune shaped like greatswords.

Ding.

The crisp sound of metal clashing rang out, and Eto Yoshimura raised her Kagune, intending to push Su Xiao away.

After two exchanges, both sides understood each other somewhat. Su Xiao's strength was slightly weaker than Eto Yoshimura's, but the gap wasn't huge.

Su Xiao took two steps back to absorb the force. Just as his second step landed, he stepped on a withered bone.

The bone had existed for a long time and snapped when Su Xiao stepped on it. His center of gravity became unstable, and he intended to take another step back to stabilize it.

Eto Yoshimura was ecstatic; such an opportunity was rare, and her luck today was good.

Controlling the tall Kakuja shell, she rushed toward Su Xiao. The two Kagune greatswords, a pale hand claw formed by the Kagune, and that bloodthirsty maw all attacked Su Xiao simultaneously.

Su Xiao maintained his backward posture, appearing unstable, but he was doing it on purpose.

He fought enemies with sword skills + combat intelligence + combat techniques; how could he make such a low-level mistake?

A smile appeared on the corner of Su Xiao's mouth. His body arched, and one leg stomped hard on the ground, launching his entire body forward.

Eto Yoshimura's two Kagune greatswords and claw missed, and Su Xiao actually rushed into Eto Yoshimura's embrace.

Su Xiao gripped the hilt of Checking Zhan Long Shan with one hand and braced the other against the end of the blade, the long blade piercing toward Eto Yoshimura's mouth, aiming directly at her throat and the organs in her torso.

Slash.

Checking Zhan Long Shan pierced deep into Eto Yoshimura's mouth, the tip even reaching her chest cavity. The body inside Eto Yoshimura's Kakuja shell felt a chill.

If this slash continued, it would pierce her brain.

Eto Yoshimura's Kakuja shell was 4 meters tall, while her true body was petite, only 1.5 meters.

Eto Yoshimura's true body was inside the torso of the Kakuja shell and could move.

If someone stabbed down from the top of the head, everyone would shrink down, and Eto Yoshimura was no exception, immediately shrinking her body.

Pfft.

The gleaming blade tip stopped in front of Eto Yoshimura's nose. Her pupils trembled; death had brushed past her.

After delivering this slash, Su Xiao stepped on the shoulders of Eto Yoshimura's Kakuja shell.

In Su Xiao's view, this slash should have been effective; Eto Yoshimura would be at least half-crippled if not dead.

But who could have expected Eto Yoshimura to dodge this slash by relying on her height? Her petite stature had saved her life.

The dull, crimson single eye of the Kakuja shell suddenly widened. Su Xiao cursed inwardly.

Sure enough, a pale hand claw slapped toward his chest.

Bang.

Su Xiao was slapped flying far away, several bloody marks appearing on his chest. However, he wasn't a pushover; using the force of being slapped, Checking Zhan Long Shan sliced open the entire chest cavity of Eto Yoshimura's Kakuja shell, forming a wound nearly a meter long.

"Cough, cough~."

Blood surged up from his throat, a trace of blood appearing at the corner of Su Xiao's mouth, a metallic taste filling his mouth.

Pressing his chest with one hand, a dull pain came; it was likely a rib fracture. The injury wasn't severe, and he could still fight.

Su Xiao's injury wasn't too severe, but Eto Yoshimura wasn't having an easy time.

Eto Yoshimura was a Ukaku ghoul; although she was a Kakuja, she wasn't known for her recovery ability.

The Kakuja shell was almost disemboweled, blood gushing out like water.

"Crack, crack."

Eto Yoshimura's Kakuja shell began to crack, gradually scattering like withered wood.

In less than a few seconds, Eto Yoshimura changed from her original four-meter height into a petite beauty of only 1.5 meters.

The bandages all over Eto Yoshimura's body fell away, revealing a fair face and long, light green hair.

Her long hair draped over Eto Yoshimura's back; her hair wasn't smooth but slightly flipped up, layered and aesthetically pleasing.

"The mistake just now was bait, right? I'm so stupid. How could a melee expert like you make such a mistake? Stupid... has to pay the price."

A breeze blew through the nearby tunnel, and Eto Yoshimura immediately noticed the abnormality.

Touching the bandages on her face, she realized her appearance was already exposed to the enemy and immediately wanted to cover her face.

But she ignored one thing: shouldn't she be more concerned about covering the "white rabbits" on her chest? Or was covering her face more critical, so that not being seen would reduce her shame by 50%?

Realizing her appearance had been seen by Su Xiao, Eto Yoshimura stopped making meaningless gestures and instead pulled at the bandages on her chest to prevent exposure.

"What a bizarre outfit."

Su Xiao spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva.

The situation now was that he was injured, and Eto Yoshimura could no longer use her Kakuja shell.

The RC cells in a ghoul's body were not infinite. Once RC cells dropped to a certain level, they couldn't even use their Kagune. Of course, RC cells could also recover during rest, and eating human flesh or devouring other ghouls could speed up recovery.

Without the Kakuja shell, Eto Yoshimura was almost equivalent to losing her weapon.

Su Xiao rushed in front of Eto Yoshimura in a few steps, his long blade slashing down.

Eto Yoshimura's eyes were full of helplessness. Her strength wasn't weaker than Su Xiao's, but the mistake just now was too fatal, putting her in danger of losing her life here.

The Ukaku on her back appeared, and Eto Yoshimura intended to use her ordinary Kagune to defend against the slash.

Could an ordinary Kagune really defend against a slash that even the Kakuja shell couldn't fully defend against? The answer was no.

Just as Su Xiao's blade was about to slash down and secure victory, a spike broke through the ground beside him.

The spike attacked Su Xiao's shoulder, not a lethal position, and the speed wasn't very fast; it didn't seem to want to kill Su Xiao, just force him back.

Forced by necessity, Su Xiao gave up slashing Eto Yoshimura and jumped sideways. After landing, he looked at the spike that had broken through the ground.

"This is... Ixa?"

Arima Kishou's Quinque!