Chapter 93

The shopkeeper stood in place, as if thinking.

Actually, he was considering whether to retreat; his goal was clear—to cover Fangsi Lianshi and the others so they could successfully rescue Jin Muyan.

“Boom.”

A loud explosion echoed nearby; the shopkeeper turned his head and glimpsed figures fighting.

“That kind of kagune—is it Jin Muyan?”

A smile surfaced beneath the shopkeeper’s kagune shell; Jin Muyan had escaped—he had achieved his goal.

“Opportunity.”

Su Xiao flashed forward, appearing before the shopkeeper; the shopkeeper’s momentary lapse gave Su Xiao the opening he needed.

The long blade slashed at high speed, forcing the shopkeeper to stagger backward with each strike.

“Trouble.”

Su Xiao’s sharp strikes made the shopkeeper deeply wary; that instant of distraction had already put him at a disadvantage.

A flash of cold light stabbed toward the shopkeeper’s brow; before the blade even reached him, he felt a sharp pain in his eyeball.

He must not be pierced by this strike—or he was finished. The shopkeeper crossed his arms before his face.

“Squelch.”

The shopkeeper’s kagune-wrapped arms, already riddled with wounds, finally could not withstand Zhanlongshan—Su Xiao’s blade pierced clean through one of his forearms.

The blade didn’t just pierce the outer kagune—it also pierced the shopkeeper’s forearm bone.

Su Xiao gripped the hilt with one hand and pressed his other palm against the pommel, driving Zhanlongshan downward into the ground.

“Clang.”

Most of the blade sank into the earth, pinning the shopkeeper’s arm to the ground.

Su Xiao kicked out, side-kicking the shopkeeper squarely in the face.

A sharp crack rang out—the kagune faceplate shattered into fine cracks.

During combat, Su Xiao didn’t just rely on Zhanlongshan—he himself was a weapon. The long blade was his primary tool for breaking defenses, but his limbs could kill at critical moments too.

The kick struck hard; with his hand pinned to the ground by Zhanlongshan, the force transferred fully to his face.

Worse, a long crack had formed in his arm bone—he could no longer use that arm.

After the kick, Su Xiao didn’t stop—he yanked Zhanlongshan free and slashed at the shopkeeper’s throat.

This terrified the shopkeeper—if his throat was cut, he might not die, but he’d lose all combat ability.

Freeing his arm, the shopkeeper retreated in haste—but his steps couldn’t match the speed of Su Xiao’s blade.

Just before the blade reached his throat, the shopkeeper threw his head back and leapt upward—the long blade, meant for his throat, instead struck his collarbone.

Zhanlongshan tore through the shopkeeper’s defenses with ease; clearly, the kagune covering his body offered far less defense than that on his arms.

Blood gushed forth; the shopkeeper grimaced.

The shopkeeper was a veteran fighter; even as he was wounded, he swung his arm toward Su Xiao.

This blow was powerful and heavy—he intended to split Su Xiao in two.

Su Xiao swiftly raised Zhanlongshan before him, gripping the hilt with one hand and pressing his other palm against the blade’s back.

“Clang!”

A tremendous force slammed into Zhanlongshan; Su Xiao’s body arched backward, the concrete beneath his feet cracking into a spiderweb pattern radiating from him.

Using that force, Su Xiao retreated several steps before stabilizing—his grip on the blade trembled slightly.

That blow had been too heavy; Su Xiao conservatively estimated the shopkeeper’s strength stat was at least 15, possibly higher.

Since the fight began, less than five minutes had passed—both sides were wounded.

The shopkeeper’s kagune shell bore large gashes; his body’s arm and collarbone were injured.

Considering the shopkeeper’s ghoul physiology, these wounds weren’t severe.

Su Xiao had expended considerable stamina; his arms were numb and needed time to recover.

Su Xiao had no external injuries, but he was human—any wound to vital areas would impair his combat ability.

The shopkeeper stared silently at Su Xiao; his blood slowly seeped back into his body, wounds healing rapidly.

“Sssss~.”

The sound of metal corroding came—thin wisps of green smoke rose from Zhanlongshan’s surface.

Su Xiao immediately tore off a strip of cloth and wiped the blood clean from Zhanlongshan.

In less than two seconds, Zhanlongshan had lost four durability points—the shopkeeper’s blood was dangerous.

The exact reason was unknown, but the shopkeeper’s blood was indeed corroding his weapon.

After his arms recovered somewhat, Su Xiao clashed again with the shopkeeper.

Blades flashed in rapid succession; before Su Xiao, a net of steel formed—he attacked relentlessly while guarding against the shopkeeper’s counterstrikes.

Yamon stood to the side as a bystander, helplessly watching the whole scene.

……

On a distant steel suspension bridge of the Aogiri Tree, Katsuki Izumi sat at the bridge’s edge, her entire body wrapped in bandages, her calves swinging.

“Time’s about up, isn’t it?”

Katsuki Izumi gazed at the distant Aogiri Tree outpost; her artificially altered voice carried an eerie echo.

“Yes.”

Tachibana stood behind her, pulling out an explosive detonator.

“Most have retreated—let’s begin.”

With that, Tachibana pressed the detonator without hesitation.

“Boom.”

A muffled explosion echoed within the Aogiri Tree outpost; thick smoke surged upward, and the building tilted slightly.

After the blast, the outpost fell into deathly silence—only a swarm of crows took flight in panic.

“Why didn’t the outpost collapse? Was the explosive charge insufficient?”

Katsuki Izumi stood up; the strange tone vanished, her true voice returning.

“Click, click…”

Tachibana pressed the detonator several more times—no reaction.

“The explosives were disarmed. Only the two most hidden lower-level detonation points remain active.”

Tachibana’s eyes burned with murderous intent; this was his plan—and now it had failed.

“Those suspicious types said the plan might fail—was it their fault?”

Katsuki Izumi began to suspect the Ghoul Faction’s Contractors.

The Ghoul Faction’s Contractors completed their missions slowly, so their status within Aogiri Tree was low—they hadn’t earned Katsuki Izumi’s trust.

But Su Xiao was different—he was a temporary member of Zero Team, a powerful fighter invited by Maruhandai; his words wouldn’t be ignored by Maruhandai.

That’s the advantage of “strength + status.”

“No, those guys kill CCG agents even more fiercely than we do—they go after lone CCG agents every night.”

“And I’ve had men watching them constantly—they had no chance to leak information.”

Hearing Tachibana’s words, Katsuki Izumi said nothing, but her eyes held frustration.

“That damn bastard—I wanted to crush him most of all. I’ll have to wait for another chance.”

Katsuki Izumi turned and left; Tachibana followed behind.

……

On the rooftop of the Aogiri Tree outpost.

Su Xiao sat on the rooftop, a long gash across his lower abdomen, and a thumb-sized hole in his shoulder.

The shopkeeper escaped—after inflicting heavy wounds on him, he fled.

Just now, the entire building suddenly tilted; Su Xiao’s furious assault was broken, and the shopkeeper seized the chance to severely wound him.

Su Xiao fought using sword techniques—he was a skill-based fighter—while the shopkeeper relied on raw defensive power and attack strength. Thus, when the terrain changed drastically, Su Xiao suffered greatly.

Though the shopkeeper escaped, he “left behind” something—a half-meter-long kagune lay beside Su Xiao, severed from the shopkeeper’s back.

It was an independent kagune sac—the shopkeeper's Uroko.

ps: (Cough cough, it’s time to ask for recommendation votes and collections.)