Chapter 3630: Magic Mirror

The train, covered in broken traces and with a dented carriage, traveled on the tracks. Judging from the repair traces all over the train, it was a miracle that it could still run.

"Have those assassins retreated? From noon, I haven't seen them appear again."

Veronica, sitting on the roof of the carriage, spoke. The Red-Eyed Girl, who was wrapped in quite a few bandages stained with blood, didn't speak.

Dre, who was sitting further ahead, exhaled a large puff of smoke. He crushed the small stub of his cigar on the metal roof of the carriage and said:

"They should have been beaten back by us. Next, we just need to go to the Royal Capital to meet with the Dean and discuss how to deal with Black Rose."

"There's no such need anymore."

Dragon God Dean stood up from the roof of the carriage. Having temporarily joined the "Dawn Team" before, he had already received news that Su Xiao and the Platinum Bishop had won in the Royal Capital.

Before Dre could speak, the communicator in his arms rang. After he connected and responded with two "hmm"s, he hung up.

"He's right. The matter in the Royal Capital has been handled. We won."

"Then what should we do? Continue to travel like this, or?"

Veronica had a complex expression. On this journey, she had made very few moves and had been repairing the train all along.

"The Dean gave us two choices: one is to let his Flame Dragon come to pick us up."

"No, I'll be in danger."

The Red-Eyed Girl refused flatly. She and the Storm Flame Dragon, Dis, could be described as fire and water.

"Then we will take this train to the Royal Capital. The Dean will stay in the Royal Capital for two to three days, and then all of us will use the teleportation array to return to the Alliance."

By the time he finished speaking, everyone except Dean had strange expressions.

Dean jumped off the roof of the carriage. He had accepted the mission to participate in this matter, and now that the mission was completed, there was naturally no need to stay any longer.

Not long after Dean left, Veronica, sitting on the roof of the carriage, saw a figure sitting on a cliff in the distance. As the train got closer and closer, the sense of danger became more intense.

*Zing! *

A water curtain slashed diagonally past Veronica's ear. This made her back soak with cold sweat. The death pressure given by this water curtain was too strong.

*Zing! Zing! *

Two more thin-as-cicada-wing water curtains cut past. The train shattered with a bang, and the five people landed steadily, staring at the man on the cliff.

"I am only standing in opposition to you, with no personal grievances. If you are willing to tell me where the hatred is, I don't need to fight to the death with you. Originally, I wanted to go to the Royal Capital to find your Dean, but I met you on the way, so I asked by the way."

The blind man spoke in a humble tone. Although he wasn't aggressive, he gave people the pressure of having their hearts squeezed.

"No comment."

Silver Face spoke and quietly made a gesture, meaning to let the others retreat. The enemy encountered this time was not at the same level as the assassination team encountered before.

"Is that so? That's a pity."

The blind man got up from the ground. The moment he landed, with him as the center, the terrain within a range of several kilometers was instantly drained of moisture. Plants turned into dust, mountains turned into gravel, and the mud on the ground turned into fine sand.

The blind man, that is, Water Brother, sat on the sand in a casual posture. He half-inserted his right hand into the sand, and a primitive floor mirror appeared behind him.

Seeing this scene, Veronica immediately set up her sniper cannon, aimed, locked on, and fired.

*Thump!! * 【3630

An impact spread out with Veronica as the center, the sand and soil within a dozen meters around being shaken up by the recoil. A spiral bullet broke through the constraints of space and vanished, appearing again right before Water Brother's glabella.

Snap—!

The spiral bullet pierced through Water Brother's glabella, causing mirror-like cracks to appear there, but as the cracks on the Origin Magic Mirror behind him healed, the cracks on his glabella also vanished.

Almost simultaneously, Veronica felt a sharp pain travel up from under her feet, piercing through her legs and heading straight for her torso.

Boom!

Silver Face landed an uppercut on Veronica's chin, sending her flying upward. As she flew, water threads that had spread out from the sand on the ground were pulled out from within her legs.

Each water thread was as thin as a strand of hair. If Silver Face's movements had been any slower and allowed these threads to sink into Veronica's heart, she would have died without a doubt. What was even trickier was that these water threads were completely imperceptible; even with Silver Face's perception, he couldn't detect them and could only judge based on combat experience and intuition.

"Don't touch the sand on the ground, find the enemy's correct position."

As Silver Face spoke, he had already leaped onto the remaining wreckage of the train. He discovered that the enemy's ability seemed ineffective against metal.

Clang!

A water curtain as thin as a cicada's wing headed straight for Beast Knight. Beast Knight swung his scepter, just about to blast it away, when his figure suddenly froze, because the blood of living beings contains a large amount of water.

With a swish, the water curtain sliced across Beast Knight's neck. His tall figure froze in place, and the next second, his head fell off.

With a thud, Beast Knight's headless corpse fell onto the sand, losing all signs of life.

Seeing this scene, Silver Face narrowed his eyes. The current situation was terrible to the extreme. Compared to the enemy's troublesome ability, not being able to find the enemy's exact position was an even trickier problem. It looked like the enemy was sitting in front of a floor-standing ancient mirror a hundred meters away, but in reality, that was just an illusion.

The arm blades on Silver Face's arms extended. He cut wounds on both of his shoulders, both sides of his ribs, and his back, letting blood flow out at a not-so-slow speed.

A water curtain as thin as a cicada's wing headed straight for Silver Face's neck. Almost simultaneously, Silver Face felt the blood throughout his entire body suddenly remain still, forcibly fixing him in place. This was also the reason why Beast Knight had died miserably just moments ago.

With a snap, Silver Face dodged to the side. A large amount of his blood rushed out through the wounds he had cut in advance, failing to fix him in place.

After the water curtain cut a black mark into the air, it gradually dissolved in the distance.

At the same time, Beast Knight's head, which had been severed earlier, rolled down from the train wreckage and smashed toward his headless corpse.

A large hand reached out and grabbed the head with a snap. It was Beast Knight's headless body that had stood up. He didn't press his head back onto the wound but instead threw it, throwing it toward Water Brother's direction.

Bang!

A thin but indestructible water curtain blasted back the flying head. The head, wrapped in a metal helmet, flew back to Beast Knight's feet. He picked it up and pressed it onto his severed neck. Dense black tentacles spread, and the injury on the severed neck healed in an instant.

After Silver Face saw this scene, his pupils constricted. He suppressed the doubts in his heart and refocused his attention on Water Brother.

Water Brother in front of the Origin Magic Mirror was impossible to distinguish as real or fake. Plus, the sand within a few kilometers around would attack anyone who touched it with water tentacles spreading from within, and flying in mid-air was even more dangerous, as one would be sliced to pieces by the crisscrossing water threads in the air.

Unable to find the enemy, unable to set foot on the ground, and unable to fly, they could only dodge the enemy's attacks on limited footholds. Moreover, every time they dodged, they were either immobilized or had to leave wounds on their bodies in advance, paying the price of losing a large amount of blood to avoid being immobilized. This made the situation of Silver Face and the other four terrible to the extreme.

Red light suddenly appeared. With Red-Eyed Girl as the center, an incomparable pulling force came, causing Dre, Veronica, Silver Face, and Beast Knight to be pulled into it. Before this red vortex completely disappeared, a water curtain cut through. Before Red-Eyed Girl's forearm disappeared, it was cut off without any obstruction. This water curtain was too sharp; even Beast Knight's armor couldn't withstand it, let alone flesh and blood.

Half a minute later.

"Roar!!"

A dragon roar came from the distance, which made Water Brother frown. Sensing the aura coming from afar, he nodded, knowing that the Dean Bai Ye he encountered this time was not a namesake, but that he had encountered an 'old friend'.

"I've wanted to spar with you for a long time. It just so happens there's an opportunity this time. Even if I lose, it won't be a loss of face to die at your hands, Hunter Bai Ye."

Water Brother stood up and took off the loose clothing on his upper body. After a series of crisp clicks, the metal seals on his body were released one after another, and metal rings fell onto the sand on the ground. To fight Su Xiao, Water Brother naturally entered a full-release state.

Just as Water Brother was preparing to have a life-and-death battle with Su Xiao, a figure walked over. In Water Brother's perception, the other party wore a jar on his head, was short and thin, and had a somewhat sleazy and cunning feeling.

The sealing rings that had just detached from Water Brother's body, amidst crisp clinking sounds, automatically snapped back onto him. He picked up his clothes with one hand and turned to walk into the Origin Magic Mirror behind him. Water Brother did indeed have a hobby of fighting to the death with experts, but he didn't have a hobby of seeking death. Fighting Su Xiao alone was fine, but if he had to face Su Xiao and Caesar at the same time, he chose to retreat.

Boom!

Several meters of thick Storm Dragon Flame sprayed down from above, shrouding the Origin Magic Mirror within. If it were anyone else, they might be wary that this was a "Daddy-tier" item and not dare to attack rashly, but Su Xiao, who already carried two "Daddy-tier" items, didn't care about any Origin Magic Mirror.

The dragon flame sprayed down, and the impact caused a giant sand pit to appear, the sand inside being scorched to vitrification by the high temperature.

When the dragon flame stopped, both the Origin Magic Mirror and Water Brother had disappeared. If it were in the past, facing such a provocation, the Origin Magic Mirror wouldn't have left just like that. But right now, the Abyss Jar, Soul Crown, and Nether Bone Ring were all present, plus Su Xiao had the strong causality of the Necronomicon on him. With such a lineup, it was no wonder the Origin Magic Mirror left so decisively.

Su Xiao jumped down from the dragon's back. He had received Dre's distress signal and rode the Storm Flame Dragon to rush to this place at full speed.

Su Xiao arrived at the location where Red-Eyed Girl and the others had disappeared. Red light particles still lingered in the air, and strong spatial fluctuations were scattered around.

"This is Red-Eyed's unfinished ability. It can form a rapidly activated random spatial force field to teleport herself and other nearby living beings to a very far place."

Platinum Bishop, who had come along, spoke up.

"How random is it?"

Su Xiao pinched a red light particle in mid-air, and the light particle gradually dissipated.

"Random to the extent that no one knows how far they were teleported. Unless it's a last resort, Red-Eyed won't use this ability."

Platinum Bishop tried to lock onto the positions of Red-Eyed Girl and Beast Knight, but after his perception probed into the spatial fluctuations that hadn't yet dissipated, it was like a clay ox entering the sea.

At the same time, the Northern Territory, Endless Snowfield.

Dre, Silver Face, Veronica, Beast Knight, and the weak Red-Eyed Girl all stood in the wind and snow. Apart from being dumbfounded, there were no other expressions on the five people's faces.

……

Saint Lan Kingdom, Royal Capital.

The Storm Flame Dragon landed in the backyard of the royal palace. Su Xiao walked down along the dragon wing and arrived at the three-story small building where he was temporarily staying. It wasn't luxurious, but it was quiet enough.

Su Xiao sat on the sofa. He didn't feel like today's events were an accident. According to Xiang Ignoring Bubu Wang tracking the scent and aura, Water Brother had come from the direction of the Alliance and should have been tracking all the way to this place. Looking at the direction, it was nine times out of ten that he was coming to the royal capital.

In this way, Water Brother wasn't trying to intercept and kill Silver Face and the others, but might have been coming for him. In Su Xiao's view, there were two possibilities: 1. Water Brother had accepted the mission to put a bounty on him at the Ranger Guild in Death Paradise; 2. Water Brother had come for him because of his identity as the Dean of the Asylum.

Su Xiao felt it was more like the latter. If it were the former, Water Brother wouldn't have needed to intercept and kill Silver Face and the others.

Inferring this, Water Brother should have been investigating or looking for something that only the Asylum had. Apart from those few criminals on the third floor of the dungeon, Su Xiao couldn't think of anything else in the Asylum worth such a big fuss.

First, exclude the Indestructible Characteristic Abyss Organism and Rage Shark. Both of these had already been eliminated or died. As a Death Ranger of Death Paradise, Water Brother looking for a certain criminal must have been related to a mission. If the target was already dead, the mission would have failed, and these things wouldn't have happened afterward.

Then exclude Lion King. This guy had committed a great crime, but after the underground forces of his organization were uprooted, Lion King's own value and the secrets he knew were not much.

Soul Master was also temporarily excluded. Although Water Brother's target might have been Soul Master, the probability didn't exceed 10%.

In this way, only Banshee and Hatred remained. Banshee's mimicry ability could do some things that were very difficult to do. For example, Banshee herself was arrested because she impersonated a high-ranking member of the Alliance.

As for Hatred, there were too many unknowns about this existence. Su Xiao once suspected that Hatred might be one of the two Indestructible Characteristic Abyss Organisms in this world, but he carefully observed and perceived it several times and didn't perceive anything wrong.

Obviously, Water Brother hadn't become arrogant because he could borrow part of the power of "Daddy-tier" items. The fact that he had never directly attacked the Asylum showed this point.

If inferred this way, the conflict with Water Brother was mainly because of the factions and missions of both sides. This was the result least to worry about. As long as it wasn't a personal grudge, they wouldn't fight to the death.

Although Water Brother lost in the previous Tier 8 World Competition, that was because his own faction was too outrageous. And according to his own MVP, Illusionist, if it weren't for a group attacking one, and then designing to lure Water Brother away, and most importantly, Caesar arriving, it was really hard to say what the result would have been. Water Brother alone almost soloed more than a hundred contractors from Saint Light Paradise, and then beat those people from Watcher Paradise into submission. Water Brother himself was already very strong, and after obtaining the Origin Magic Mirror, it was simply a qualitative change.

It was interesting to say that Su Xiao and Water Brother were both the first to enter this world in the Tier 9 world progress.

Su Xiao decided to ignore Water Brother's side for now. Compared to the time spent specifically hunting the other party, continuing to complete the hunting list was more reliable. Once the hunting list was completed, he would have enough energy to decide the winner with Water Brother.

Su Xiao checked the hunting list. There were three targets left on it: The Thief, The Defector, and The Traitor. Among them, The Thief had been dead for many years, and the Ghost Clan Prophet had promised to tell Su Xiao the burial place of The Thief, but the timing wasn't right yet.

In this way, only The Defector, King of Sand, and the final Traitor remained on the hunting list. Su Xiao checked the mission list.

【Main Mission: Third Ring, Choice (Completed)】

【You have obtained Origin Stone x3.】

……

For this main mission, Su Xiao didn't dare to skip a single ring. It wasn't that he couldn't do it, but the Origin Stones were obtained too comfortably. If he skipped the mission, the completion degree of some mission segments wouldn't be too high.

【Based on your existing resources, you have triggered the branch stage of the main mission. You can choose one of the following main missions.】

【Main Mission: Kill the King of Sand.】

【Mission Reward: Origin Stone x5.】

【Main Mission: Kill the Mad King (Must hold the Soul Crown to trigger this mission).】

【Mission Reward: Origin Stone x9.】

【You can only choose one of the above two main missions.】

……

Two choices were placed before him. The first main mission branch should be to deal with the King of Sand and the legions under his command, etc. In this case, the combat power of the King of Sand corresponded to a bounty of 800 ounces of space-time power.

And the second choice was to use the Soul Crown to make the King of Sand become the Mad King. This was something the Soul Crown could definitely do. After ordinary people obtained the Soul Crown, they would be bewitched by the Skeleton Throne and the authority the crown symbolized.

The Soul Crown had a characteristic: the more powerful the person, the easier it was to be stirred by this crown to desire, leading to the unlimited amplification of desire. Like the King of Sand, a famous tyrant in this world, the moment he saw the Soul Crown, his fate of becoming the Mad King was doomed.

This would cause the legions under the King of Sand to fall apart in a short period of time. During this period, Su Xiao wouldn't even need to do anything. In contrast, the King of Sand he faced, that is, the Mad King, would have even greater combat power, but there wouldn't be any personal guards or the like around him.

【You have accepted the main mission: Kill the Mad King (Fourth Ring).】

【Warning: If this mission fails in the initial execution stage, you will automatically accept the main mission: Kill the King of Sand (Fourth Ring), and the mission reward for this mission will be reduced by 50%, and the mission time limit will also be reduced by 25%.】

……

"Baha, is the positioning successful?"

Su Xiao picked up the teacup, took a sip of maple tea, and looked at Baha on the side.

"Successful. Silver Face and the others should be in the Northern Territory. It will take at least five days to rush back."

"Hmm."

Su Xiao took another sip of tea and decided to let Silver Face and the others rush back on their own. In the initial stage of heading to the Desert Kingdom, there was no need for too much combat power to be present. Besides, before going to deal with the King of Sand, Su Xiao prepared to go to the Scorching Desert first to see how much solar flame was in the giant crater there and whether it was enough to activate the 【Solar Disk】.

"Woof."

Xiang Ignoring Bubu Wang suddenly barked. It projected a video on the wall, which was actually a scene of Black A fighting with dozens of members of the Dawn God Sect. The cause of the battle wasn't because Black A did anything, but because the Dawn God Sect and the Dark God Sect had long-standing grievances. Don't forget, Black A's current body originally belonged to the Dark Saint Son.

Coming to the royal capital with this identity, the people of the Dawn God Sect were not lightly angered. This was typically low damage but extremely insulting. They immediately sent members to besiege Black A until he was exhausted and then imprisoned him.

As for why they didn't kill Black A, the Dark God Sect was not to be trifled with. Because killing the Dark Saint Son of the Dark God Sect for this kind of thing would mean the Dawn God Sect wouldn't have peaceful days for the next few years. Plus, the god of the Dawn God Sect was newly ascended, so they naturally didn't want to cause more trouble. Capturing Black A alive and locking him up was the best choice.

Learning the news that Black A had been beaten up and locked up, Su Xiao felt a little relieved. He forgot to say hello to the High Priest's side, which was purely a mistake.

"Boss, didn't you tell the High Priest that Black A would come?"

"Oh, I forgot."

"Uh~"

Baha scratched its head with its wing, always feeling that something was wrong. Its boss's memory should be very good.

"Boss, what should we do now? Let the High Priest release him?"

"Let's go there."

Su Xiao prepared to see to what extent Black A had developed. Black A's growth speed belonged to the upper-middle level. If Black A reached the second stage or the third stage, then he could take out the 【World Ring】 tonight and let the five devourers compete for it.

Su Xiao took out the 【World Ring】. Undoubtedly, whoever could seize the 【World Ring】 tonight would gain a huge advantage, and even have a 70% probability of becoming the final winner.

……

Dawn God Sect, Main Cathedral, Fourth Basement Level.

The dark prison was damp and cold. In the innermost cell, Black A sat on a dirty wooden bench covered with insect-eaten and rat-bitten marks, his hands wearing a pair of shackles covered with light patterns. This dungeon naturally couldn't trap him; what really trapped him were these shackles.

Beside Black A was Vivi, who had been beaten with a black eye on one side. The little girl was full of resentment and muttered, "Wait until this old lady gets out, I'll wipe you all out."

With a clatter, the large iron gate of the prison was opened. A dozen members of the Dawn God Sect walked in, first turning on the lights, and then simply cleaning up the aisle.

"Look, you didn't say so earlier. This matter has caused such a scene, our own people caught our own people. Just here, it's just ahead."

The High Priest's voice came. As the High Priest led the way down the prison steps, surrounded by several high-level members of the Dawn God Sect, Su Xiao walked down the steps with Xiang Ignoring Bubu Wang.

In the innermost dungeon, Black A stood up with a whoosh, which surprised Vivi, who was watching the fun on the side, and she asked, "What's wrong?"

Black A didn't speak, just tried harder to break free from the shackles with both hands.

"Even if you use all your strength, you won't be able to break free."

Baha, who flew over, spoke. Black A stood in front of the metal bars, still silent, but his gaze became sharper.

The High Priest who walked over said, "Bai Ye, for today's matter, if I release people directly, it's not easy for me to handle. Even if I am the High Priest, I can't..."

"..."

Su Xiao didn't speak, letting the High Priest figure it out himself.

"Fine, fine, fine, release them. I can't beat you, I'll stay away from you in the future."

The High Priest signaled his subordinates to release the people. Soon, the prison door opened, and Black A and the dumbfounded Vivi were released.

The group walked out of the prison, then took the elevator to the first floor of the main cathedral. After parting ways with the High Priest and others, Su Xiao left the main cathedral and walked on the spacious but remote street, followed by Black A and Vivi.

"Black A, who is this?"

Vivi whispered. She was still a bit confused. She thought it was a desperate situation, but didn't expect to be released so easily.

On the street, Black A didn't speak. He grinned, revealing his crisscrossing fangs, and suddenly pounced on Su Xiao, who had his back to him. He wanted to test how much he was still lacking.

Thump!!

Vivi was blown back by a gust of wind pressure. When she looked ahead in a slight panic, she found that Black A had disappeared.

Clang—!

A bell rang suddenly from the ancient building clock tower a few kilometers away. Vivi looked intently and saw that there seemed to be a figure embedded in the clock.

Baha spread its wings, activated the temporary spatial mark on Black A, and teleported him back from a few kilometers away. As soon as he returned, Black A knelt on one knee and spat out a large mouthful of blood with a wow.

"Impossible, you..."

Before Black A could finish his words, Su Xiao kicked him away with another side kick. The ancient building clock tower a few kilometers away rang again with a clang.

Seeing this scene, Vivi was enraged. Her teeth clicked in her mouth, and she revealed two small fangs.

"Rebellious son."

Su Xiao turned and walked toward the royal palace. Hearing this, Vivi, who had been preparing to fight to the death, immediately calmed down. She seemed to know who this was.