Chapter 111

The corridor echoed with deafening clashes as Su Xiao and Kōzuki Izumi battled fiercely.

“I’ll kill you and crush your skull.”

In her Hōkō state, Kōzuki Izumi’s personality had drastically changed.

Kōzuki Izumi’s current appearance resembled the Hōkō shell of the shopkeeper, but her Hōkō shell was noticeably taller.

Compared to the shopkeeper, Kōzuki Izumi had less combat experience, but greater strength and faster speed.

Su Xiao dodged the claw formed by her Hōkō appendage, held Zhanlong Flash horizontally before him to block her snapping jaws, and as the bloodied maw closed, he tilted the blade sideways.

Click.

Kōzuki Izumi bit down on Zhanlong Flash, the blade’s edge directly against her upper palate.

With both hands gripping the hilt, Su Xiao surged power from his waist, his entire body like a drawn bowstring, channeling force through his arms to thrust the long blade upward.

Plop.

Kōzuki Izumi’s upper palate was sliced open; Zhanlong Flash was blocked by the bony structure of her Hōkō appendage.

This slash nearly killed her—the severed palate, combined with the burning pain from Qinggangyingsuo, made Kōzuki Izumi’s crimson eyes roll upward.

“Mmm~.”

After a muffled groan, Kōzuki Izumi flailed her claws wildly; Su Xiao immediately withdrew the blade and leapt back.

“Ha~, ha~.”

Blood gushed from Kōzuki Izumi’s mouth; this slash had genuinely terrified her.

If Zhanlong Flash had been sharper, Kōzuki Izumi’s Hōkō shell’s head might have been severed entirely.

Though it was only the Hōkō shell and not her true head, under such injury, Kōzuki Izumi would be helpless against Su Xiao’s ground-and-pound tactics from now on.

“It hurts so much—you’re not pure human, are you? Are you one of those test subjects from Bai Ri Ting, like that guy? That CCg madman.”

Bai Ri Ting? Su Xiao had never heard that term—perhaps it was an organization under CCg that cultivated combatants.

Shaking off the blood from Zhanlong Flash, Su Xiao charged forward with icy eyes.

Advancing swiftly, Su Xiao changed his strategy.

As an SSS-ranked ghoul, Kōzuki Izumi’s stamina must be high—he couldn’t outlast her in endurance; he needed a single lethal strike.

The battle had reached a stalemate; neither could defeat the other quickly, and with past experience, Kōzuki Izumi now clawed frantically before her face when enduring Qinggangyingsuo’s pain.

Though ungraceful, it kept her from falling behind—this literary female ghoul had real ingenuity.

When he reached Kōzuki Izumi’s front, Su Xiao struck with his usual slash—always targeting throat or heart, never other areas.

If he struck, he aimed for instant death.

Kōzuki Izumi met him with Hōkō appendages on both arms—two massive, sword-like Hōkō.

Ding.

A sharp metallic clang rang out; Kōzuki Izumi raised her Hōkō, attempting to shove Su Xiao back.

After two exchanges, both understood each other’s strengths—Su Xiao was slightly weaker in power, but the gap wasn’t vast.

Su Xiao stepped back two paces to absorb the force; as his second step landed, he crushed a dried bone beneath his foot.

The bone had lain there for a long time; it snapped under his weight, throwing off his balance—he intended to step back another pace to stabilize himself.

Kōzuki Izumi rejoiced inwardly—this opportunity was rare; today was her lucky day.

She surged her towering Hōkō shell toward Su Xiao—two massive sword-like Hōkō, a pale white claw formed from a Hōkō limb, and her gaping maw all attacked simultaneously.

Su Xiao maintained his retreating posture, appearing unbalanced—but it was deliberate.

He fought with blade technique, combat intelligence, and tactical skill—how could he make such a rookie mistake?

A smirk curled on Su Xiao’s lips; he curled his body, stomped one leg hard against the ground, and launched himself forward.

Kōzuki Izumi’s two Hōkō swords and claw missed entirely—Su Xiao had rushed into her embrace.

Su Xiao gripped Zhanlong Flash’s hilt backward, pressed his other hand against the blade’s pommel, and drove the long blade straight into Kōzuki Izumi’s mouth—targeting her throat and internal organs.

Swish.

Zhanlong Flash pierced through like a hot knife through butter, sinking deep into her mouth—the tip reached her chest cavity; Kōzuki Izumi’s true body inside the Hōkō shell shuddered with dread.

If this thrust continued, it would pierce through her skull.

Kōzuki Izumi’s Hōkō shell stood four meters tall, while her true body was petite—only 1.5 meters.

Her true body resided within the torso of the Hōkō shell and could move freely.

If a blade stabbed down from above, anyone would instinctively duck—and Kōzuki Izumi was no exception; she immediately shrank downward.

Plop.

The gleaming blade tip halted just before her nose; her pupils trembled—death had brushed past her.

After thrusting, Su Xiao planted both feet on Kōzuki Izumi’s Hōkō shell’s shoulders.

In Su Xiao’s view, this strike should have succeeded—Kōzuki Izumi was either dead or crippled.

But who could have guessed? Kōzuki Izumi had dodged it thanks to her height—her petite frame had saved her life.

The single crimson eye of her Hōkō shell suddenly widened; Su Xiao cursed inwardly.

As expected, a pale white claw slammed into his chest.

Boom.

Su Xiao was flung far away, blood trails appearing on his chest—but he wasn’t defenseless; using the force of the impact, he slashed Zhanlong Flash across Kōzuki Izumi’s Hōkō shell’s entire chest cavity, carving a wound nearly a meter long.

“Cough, cough~.”

Blood surged up his throat; a trickle stained his lips, the metallic taste filling his mouth.

He pressed one hand against his chest—the dull pain suggested cracked ribs, but the injury wasn’t severe; he could still fight.

Su Xiao’s wounds weren’t serious, but Kōzuki Izumi was in far worse shape.

Kōzuki Izumi was a Uro Hōkō ghoul—though a Hōkō, she wasn’t known for regeneration.

Her Hōkō shell was nearly disemboweled; blood poured out like water.

Crack, crack.

Kōzuki Izumi’s Hōkō shell began to fracture, crumbling like dead wood.

In less than a few seconds, she shrank from four meters tall to a petite woman of only 1.5 meters.

Her bandages scattered, revealing a pale face and long, light green hair.

The hair cascaded down her back—not smooth, but slightly wild, layered and strikingly beautiful.

“That mistake was bait, wasn’t it? I’m such an idiot—how could a close-combat expert like you make such a blunder? Stupid~—and stupidity demands a price.”

A faint breeze blew through the nearby corridor; Kōzuki Izumi immediately sensed something wrong.

She touched the bandages on her face and realized her features were now exposed—she instantly tried to cover them.

But she overlooked one thing: shouldn’t she have covered her chest first? Or perhaps covering her face mattered more—reducing shame by 50%?

Realizing Su Xiao had seen her face, Kōzuki Izumi stopped pointless gestures and instead tugged at the bandages across her chest to prevent exposure.

“What an odd outfit.”

Su Xiao spat out a bloody wad.

The situation now: he was injured, and Kōzuki Izumi could no longer use her Hōkō shell.

Ghoul RC cells aren’t infinite—once they drop below a threshold, they can’t even form Hōkō appendages, though RC cells regenerate during rest, and consuming human flesh or other ghouls accelerates recovery.

Without her Hōkō shell, Kōzuki Izumi was effectively disarmed.

Su Xiao charged forward several steps and brought Zhanlong Flash down in a vertical slash.

Kōzuki Izumi’s eyes filled with helplessness—she wasn’t weaker than Su Xiao, but her earlier mistake had been fatal, putting her life in immediate danger.

Uro Hōkō appendages emerged from her shoulder blades; she attempted to block the slash with ordinary Hōkō.

Could ordinary Hōkō block a strike that had nearly severed her Hōkō shell? The answer was no.

Just as Su Xiao’s blade was about to descend and seal her fate, a sharp spike erupted from the ground beside him.

The spike targeted his shoulder—not a vital spot, and not fast enough to kill; it seemed meant only to force him back.

With no choice, Su Xiao abandoned his strike, sidestepped, and landed, staring at the spike that had pierced the ground.

“This is~… Ixa?”

Ma Gui’s Quink!