Chapter 796: The Same Kind of People

After the pulse emitted dozens of times, it ceased; all soldiers within dozens of meters around Su Xiao were dead, the air thick with the stench of blood.

Zzzt~

A drone the size of a palm shot past Su Xiao's head at high speed; Su Xiao swung Zhan Long Shan at the air, releasing a pale blue blade aura.

The small drone moved fast, but the blade aura moved faster, slicing it cleanly in two; the severed halves tumbled down and plunged into the soil.

"Brother, that 'T3K—Dragonfly' was expensive—you just cut it in half with one swing. What a waste. That kind of neural reflex speed? At least triple-enhanced."

A bald, muscular man in black leather walked over; at least a hundred mechanical bees hovered around him.

"Let me introduce myself—I'm Lanjue. In every sense, we're the same kind of people."

Lanjue smiled as he looked at Su Xiao.

"The same kind of people?"

Su Xiao sensed Lanjue's aura—indeed, it was unlike any Contracted One he had ever encountered.

"Yes, the same kind. We call ourselves Purifiers."

Lanjue paused here, as if waiting for something.

After a moment, Lanjue asked tentatively: "Did you just hear what I said?"

Su Xiao raised an eyebrow, then nodded slowly.

"Of course. Talking to someone like you is refreshing—no blocking."

Lanjue's smile widened as he rubbed his bald head; if not for the hundreds of mechanical bees circling him, one might think he'd come to befriend Su Xiao.

"Too bad we don't work for the same side. But then again, people like us aren't welcome anywhere—we can't form teams with other Contracted Ones, can't cooperate too often, and we have to clean up those damn Aberrants. Their abilities are all over the map. I once faced a guy who fought using his own internal organs. Disgusting."

Lanjue chattered on like a talkative man, yet in the past he rarely spoke this much—especially when facing an enemy.

Lanjue was a Purifier of the Apocalypse Paradise, equivalent to a Hunter of the Cycle Paradise, tasked with eliminating Contracted Ones who broke the taboos.

"Such is fate. You gain something, you pay for it. Fair enough."

Su Xiao didn't strike immediately. He had never met a Hunter from his own faction, let alone one from another Paradise. Whether the Cycle Paradise had other Hunters was unknown, but likely it did—though they were rare. One Hunter per derivative world was enough; encountering another Hunter in a derivative world was improbable.

Yet now Su Xiao had encountered a Hunter from the Apocalypse Paradise—he wanted to extract useful intelligence from him.

"Maybe you're right. Fate is fate. Though being a Purifier isn't a great title, the danger level is several times—or even dozens of times—higher than a normal Contracted One's, but your growth rate is faster."

Lanjue tossed out a mechanical beetle, about the size of a sparrow; red laser beams shot from its eyes.

"Oh? Developing four attributes simultaneously? Ambitious."

Without saying it, Lanjue was scanning Su Xiao's data; Su Xiao's Disciple Eye was doing the same to him.

【Comparing intelligence attributes… Complete. Our intelligence is 0.945 times the enemy's. 29% of enemy data acquired.】

Data as follows:

Name: Lanjue

Category: Human

HP: 100%

MP: 1610/1700

Strength: 33

Agility: 72

Stamina: 67

Intelligence: 73

Charm: 10

Known Skill 1: Mechanical Heart (Active Lv. 32): Can transform insect-type organisms into mechanical summoned creatures.

Lv. 10 Bonus: Secondary Activation.

Lv. 20 Bonus: Remote Control of Mechanical Creatures.

Lv. 30 Bonus: Mechanical Creature Detonation.

Known Skill 2: Summoning Master (Passive Lv. 30): Increases strength, agility, and stamina of summoned creatures by 20%; greatly improves summoning speed.

Lv. 10 Bonus: Multiple Summoning.

Lv. 20 Bonus: Ultra Multiple Summoning.

Lv. 30 Bonus: Summoned Creature Fusion Technique.

…

Seeing this data, Su Xiao immediately realized his opponent was formidable. Lanjue had developed three attributes simultaneously: agility and stamina ensured survivability and some close-combat ability; intelligence boosted the number, power, and duration of his summons.

His class was unique—in simple terms, a mechanical summoner who could convert all insect-type organisms into summons and deploy them in battle. His base summoning skill was Master-level; Su Xiao knew better than anyone how powerful a Master-level base ability was.

It made sense—he was a Hunter of the Apocalypse Paradise. Given the danger level and growth speed of Hunters, no weak one could survive. The weak had been eliminated long ago.

Overall, Lanjue was a highly survivable ranged summoner, and he carried a full arsenal of high-tech gear. Excluding his summons, his ranged firepower was likely substantial.

Both sides had roughly assessed each other's abilities before combat. Su Xiao could not obtain Lanjue's full data; how much Lanjue had scanned remained unknown.

"Close combat? I wondered why—when I first saw you, my instincts kept screaming at me to stay away. That Qinggangyingsuo ability? Pure envy. Looks like your class is pretty good too."

Lanjue rolled his shoulders. He made no move to summon mechanical creatures—there was no need. Compared to other summoners, he could summon his mechanical insects in an instant.

Su Xiao said nothing. He was considering how to close the distance. Hundreds of mechanical bees hovered around Lanjue—if they all exploded at once, his Counter Shield might not hold.

Direct confrontation was impossible. He'd have to outthink him. First, he needed to lure the bees away—or detonate them outright.

As Su Xiao weighed his battle strategy, Lanjue spoke.

"If normal Contracted Ones focus on fighting NPCs or overwhelming elite creatures, our path is human vs. human. In game terms: normal Contracted Ones are PvE—we're PvP. Fighting you? I'm looking forward to it."

Lanjue hadn't spoken this much to an enemy in a long time. Usually, he just unleashed his summons as cover, then pierced the enemy with his killing technique. Meeting Su Xiao—a fellow Hunter—had made him unusually talkative.

"Enough small talk. I don't know your situation, but I've been given a mandatory mission: before this world ends, only one of us survives."

Lanjue revealed his purpose: to settle matters with Su Xiao—life or death.

The Cycle Paradise and the Apocalypse Paradise were currently at war. As a Hunter of the Cycle Paradise, Su Xiao was naturally targeted by the enemy Paradise—he was helping the Cycle Paradise eliminate Contracted Ones who broke the rules.

On the noisy battlefield, Su Xiao and Lanjue stood twenty meters apart, surrounded by piles of corpses; farther out, soldiers clashed in brutal combat.

"Then… let's begin. Enemy of my kind."

Su Xiao exhaled slowly. Lanjue was strong. Worse, his own condition was poor—he'd only just rested. If Su Xiao's full strength was 10, he was now at about 8.

"Your condition doesn't look good. Don't call me dishonorable—I waited two hours for this. It's strategy."

Lanjue had spotted Su Xiao's movements at the start of the war. He held back, waiting for Su Xiao to exhaust himself. When Su Xiao disappeared for a while and reappeared, Lanjue chose to strike—he feared Su Xiao might hide among the Imperial troops and never show himself again.

The Hunter's battle was about to begin—a clash between two masters of killing.

ps: (One more chapter coming soon)