Chapter 37: Chapter Five: The Rebellious Youth

The sudden appearance of several people caused Su Xiao to stop what he was doing; he had searched Litai’s body for a long time but found no kakuja organ.

He withdrew his left hand from Litai’s lower abdomen; Litai’s body trembled visibly, lying flat on the ground, looking thoroughly worn out.

If Litai somehow escaped, Su Xiao would become her shadow.

“Aogiri Tree.”

The people who appeared suddenly were no mere amateurs.

According to Su Xiao’s memories, the little girl wrapped in bandages was the leader of Aogiri Tree, the One-Eyed King—Yoshimura.

Yoshimura usually went by the alias Takatsuki Izumi, posing as a novelist and blending into human society.

As one of the rare One-Eyed in the ghoul world, Takatsuki Izumi’s strength was unquestionable; though not among the top of SSS-class ghouls, she was far from negligible.

The individuals beside Takatsuki Izumi were the SS-class ghouls Tōdō and Yōro, and the S-class ghoul Kiriya Amon.

Tōdō wore a red mask and a white trench coat, the mask covering his lower face, obscuring his features.

Yōro was even more fully covered; no part of his body was exposed except his two hands.

Kiriya Amon also wore a mask, his crimson eyes glaring defiantly at Su Xiao.

The four’s objective was clear: capture Kuzen Litai. Earlier, the appearance of the Wall Spider had also been aimed at capturing Kuzen Litai.

“Release her, or die.”

Tōdō spoke calmly, his tone devoid of threat, yet his Kakuja had already emerged behind him.

The headless corpse of the Wall Spider lay nearby; though the group did not fear Su Xiao, they did not underestimate him either.

Having defeated two S-class ghouls, Su Xiao’s strength was evident—but those present harbored another theory: perhaps the Wall Spider and Kuzen Litai had crippled each other, and Su Xiao had simply taken advantage.

“Looks like I’m having good luck today.”

Su Xiao wiped the blood from his left hand on Litai’s clothing, then ignored her entirely.

Before extracting the kakuja from Litai’s body, she could not die—otherwise, the derivative world might undergo unpredictable changes, and Su Xiao had no intention of taking that risk.

This had been explicitly warned by the Cycle Paradise before.

One SSS-class ghoul, two SS-class ghouls—Su Xiao now felt pressure.

As for Kiriya Amon, the S-class ghoul, he was outright ignored.

Su Xiao was certain he could easily overpower S-class ghouls; SS-class should also be no problem. As for the strongest SSS-class, he had yet to fight one, so no conclusion could be drawn.

Whether he could kill these people before him still needed actual testing.

Even if he wasn’t their match, Su Xiao could escape—they couldn’t stop him. He had that much confidence.

[Dragon-Slicing Flash] angled toward the ground, Su Xiao walked slowly toward the Aogiri Tree members.

Far away, numerous Contractors all held the same thought: Su Xiao was insane.

Facing Takatsuki Izumi, the top-tier combatant of the ghoul world, this man actually intended to confront her head-on? And with other ghouls present?

Numerous Contractors no longer hesitated; they all began fleeing, scattering instantly. They dared not watch the battle anymore—if Su Xiao lost, they would die; even if he won, he might still pose a threat.

The Aogiri Tree members noticed the fleeing Contractors but glanced once and ignored them.

“Amon, kill him.”

Tōdō held higher status in Aogiri Tree, so he directly ordered Kiriya Amon to kill Su Xiao.

Kiriya Amon, the rebellious youth, did not defy Tōdō’s command, but he let out a soft grunt, clearly displeased.

“Human, I’m in a good mood today, so I’ll give you a chance to vanish from my sight.”

Though the ghouls suspected Su Xiao’s strength was decent, they paid him little heed.

The main reason was that Su Xiao held no Quinque—he carried only a long blade.

Quinques were the CCG’s primary weapons against ghouls, manufactured by CCG laboratories using ghoul kakuja as raw material.

Su Xiao said nothing, continuing his slow advance. He didn’t care about the enemy’s underestimation—it was an advantage.

“Tch. Since you’re asking for death, I’ll send you on your way.”

Kiriya Amon’s kakuja emerged—a jagged, irregular wing sprouted from his left upper back; this wing was his kakuja, the haku.

The characteristic of haku ghouls is speed and explosive power; most possess long-range attack capabilities, but they suffer from poor durability.

If a haku ghoul fails to quickly end the battle in its early stages, it usually loses soon after.

Though arrogant, Kiriya Amon was not foolish; Su Xiao clearly excelled in close combat, so Kiriya Amon kept his distance.

Kiriya Amon unfurled his Kakuja; a dense barrage of crimson diamond-shaped crystals shot toward Su Xiao.

“Swoosh~.”

A sharp tearing sound echoed—evidently, the diamond crystals carried formidable force.

Su Xiao halted his advance, his dark eyes fixed on the rapidly approaching crimson crystals.

As he stared, the fast-moving crystals gradually slowed in his vision—his Agility stat had increased, greatly enhancing his dynamic vision.

His long blade struck repeatedly, leaving several white streaks in the air.

“Clang, clang, clang~.”

All the crystals hurtling toward him were shattered into countless fragments.

Kiriya Amon was startled—he hadn’t expected Su Xiao to so easily neutralize his attack.

In the instant Kiriya Amon hesitated, Su Xiao suddenly accelerated, closing the distance in three strides.

“So fast.”

Kiriya Amon’s pupils contracted sharply; he instinctively tried to retreat, already assuming a backward leap stance—but his foot hadn’t even left the ground.

Could you really escape so easily once Su Xiao closed in? Of course not.

Su Xiao took a small forward hop and kicked Kiriya Amon’s shinbone—the tibia, though hard, was brittle.

“Crack.”

A chilling bone-snapping sound rang out; Kiriya Amon’s tibia snapped backward into a V-shape, with pale fragments of bone piercing through the skin.

Kiriya Amon screamed in agony, his backward step disrupted, his body stumbling backward.

A smile curled on Su Xiao’s lips; his blade slashed mercilessly toward Kiriya Amon’s throat.

This was Su Xiao’s fighting style: either don’t strike at all, or strike straight for the enemy’s vital point.

Before [Dragon-Slicing Flash] reached Kiriya Amon’s throat, he already felt a needle-like prick on his neck.

If struck, he would die.

Kiriya Amon deeply regretted it—he’d been reckless. For an unknown enemy, he’d shown far too little caution.

Just as Kiriya Amon was about to die, a thick Kakuja blocked before him.

That Kakuja was exceptionally thick, its tip bearing fang-like bones—it was Yōro’s Kakuja.

Su Xiao’s strike was not so easily blocked; Yōro’s Kakuja was split in half, [Dragon-Slicing Flash] sinking deep into it.

Su Xiao pushed harder, but felt as if he were cutting through a rubber tire—the subsequent damage was minimal.

Qinggangyingsuo activated; pale blue energy flowed into Yōro’s Kakuja wound. Yōro, several meters away, grunted and immediately retracted his Kakuja.

Su Xiao knew some of Yōro’s secrets—this man was strong; nearly all his bodily tissues were structurally identical to his Kakuja, granting him near-immortal regenerative ability.

Kiriya Amon, having narrowly escaped death, gasped heavily—he had truly believed he was dead the moment Su Xiao drew his blade.

No one dared underestimate Su Xiao’s smiling face anymore; Tōdō and the others stepped forward, forming a surrounding circle.