Chapter 95

Boom.

The bronze tree outpost tilted again, on the verge of collapse.

The load-bearing walls on the lower floors had been blown apart, causing the entire building to slowly topple like a dead tree.

On the rooftop.

Kaneki’s kagune extended—four tendrils that Su Xiao recognized, identical to those of Kamishiro Reisi.

Su Xiao took a deep breath, lunged forward, one hand Shizhong pressed against his lower abdomen.

Kaneki charged at Su Xiao, his kagune writhing like claws, striking from four directions.

A flash of blade light.

Su Xiao slashed through two kagune, sidestepped between the remaining two, and reached Kaneki’s front.

Kaneki instinctively raised both hands to block, trying to withstand the blade with flesh alone.

Even with enhanced strength, Kaneki’s close-combat skills were still pathetic; becoming a competent warrior isn’t as simple as changing your hair color.

Compared to Su Xiao, Kaneki’s close-combat ability was abysmal.

The long blade swept past; Kaneki saw only a white line before his forearms went numb.

Both forearms raised to block were cleanly severed, their edges smooth.

Though his arms were cut off, Kaneki merely frowned; compared to the tortures he’d endured, this pain was within his tolerance.

After severing Kaneki’s arms, Su Xiao’s attack didn’t pause—he kicked Kaneki squarely in the abdomen.

Kaneki flew backward uncontrollably, spitting acid, and as he hung midair, Su Xiao carved several deep slashes across his body.

After only a few exchanges, Kaneki’s forearms were severed, and his body crisscrossed with deep, bone-exposing wounds.

Thud.

Kaneki landed, rolling helplessly on the ground.

Su Xiao stood still, adjusting his breathing; a pool of blood had formed beneath him.

Not only had his abdominal wound widened, but his shoulder wound had also expanded.

Must end this quickly.

Ignoring the pain from his wounds, Su Xiao sprinted Jibu to Kaneki’s front.

Kaneki lay prone on the ground; his severed arms were regrowing, and his wounds had already healed.

Su Xiao wouldn’t wait for the enemy to recover—he raised his Zhanlong Flash.

“No way.”

A kagune lashed out—its wielder was weak, the strike clumsy; Su Xiao immediately sidestepped.

Su Xiao reacted fast, but his injured body slowed him; his abdominal muscles spasmed uncontrollably, distorting his sidestep.

Thud.

Nishio Kinko’s kagune struck Su Xiao’s back, leaving a bloody gash; even Nishio himself couldn’t believe the hit landed.

Seeing the blood beneath Su Xiao, Nishio adjusted his glasses and sneered.

“Mr. Black Death God, you’re badly wounded.”

In the past, Nishio would’ve been instantly killed by Su Xiao.

But now, wounded, Su Xiao could only unleash his usual power in brief bursts—giving Nishio an opening.

Nishio charged Jibu to Su Xiao’s front, his kagune awkwardly thrusting forward.

Su Xiao sidestepped the incoming kagune, then faced Nishio’s “turtle fists.”

After a flurry of missed hooks, Nishio looked annoyed.

After dodging Nishio’s barrage, Su Xiao gripped his Zhanlong Flash tightly, drew a deep breath, and his eyes flashed with lethal intent.

Pale blue electricity crackled along the Zhanlong Flash’s blade; Su Xiao pressed his left hand hard against his abdominal wound, forcing himself into his peak state.

The Zhanlong Flash pointed at the ground, emitting a crisp, ringing chime.

Zing.

A white thread flashed—Su Xiao severed one of Nishio’s hands.

Nishio stared at his severed hand, utterly unaware of what had just happened.

“Senior Nishio.”

Kaneki, fully healed, leapt up and sprinted over to aid Nishio.

Too late.

Su Xiao’s second slash had already been delivered.

The blade cut through flesh; Nishio suddenly felt the world spin, his ears ringing, then darkness swallowed his vision.

Thump. The corpse collapsed. Severely wounded, Su Xiao had slain Nishio with two strikes.

“Nishio!”

Dong Xiang, lying on the ground, stared in horror—Nishio was a member of the Andingqu ; after spending time together, she’d developed a friendship with him.

“Senior Nishio.”

Kaneki’s voice was quiet, his head bowed.

“Again, again someone I care about is taken—I can never forgive this.”

Kaneki’s shoulders trembled, drool dripping from his lips; Su Xiao suspected he’d been mentally broken by Nico—at least, he wasn’t sane.

Kaneki pressed his thumb against his index finger, snapping it with a crisp crack.

“I’ll kill you.”

As Kaneki muttered to himself, Su Xiao stepped over Nishio’s corpse and charged at Kaneki.

Time was life now—Su Xiao was bleeding rapidly and couldn’t hold out much longer.

When his body began to fail, he’d have to retreat—but for now, he still had strength left.

Before him stood the protagonist of the ghoul world; he wanted to see what he’d gain if he killed Kaneki.

Killing specific enemies in derivative worlds yielded rich rewards.

For example, the king he’d killed in the pirate world—pathetic in power, yet a sovereign—dropped a treasure chest containing items of extraordinary value.

White treasure chests reflected the owner’s status; the [World Tree Ring] was obtained not because of strength, but because of rank.

Su Xiao sprinted toward Kaneki; Kaneki’s mental state was unstable, making Su Xiao wary.

“What’s a thousand minus seven?”

Kaneki suddenly looked up, eyes locked on Su Xiao.

What met him was a blade gleaming with cold light.

A thousand minus seven equals what? Equals one slash!

Su Xiao unleashed his full strength—the long blade carved a horrific wound across Kaneki’s chest.

In that instant, Su Xiao even saw Kaneki’s heart twitching.

Severely wounded, Kaneki spat a gout of blood.

Su Xiao lowered his gaze, silent.

Normally he taunted enemies in battle, but not now—he was gravely wounded and needed to end this swiftly.

After wounding Kaneki, Su Xiao didn’t stop—he slashed rapidly with his blade.

“Slish, slish…”

After several strikes, Kaneki’s chest, throat, and other vital areas were riddled with horrific wounds.

Heavy blood loss made Su Xiao dizzy; his strikes lost power.

Despite such damage, Kaneki didn’t fall—he lunged at Su Xiao, punching straight for his face.

From that punch, Kaneki had received some combat training—but only that.

Though Kaneki had evolved from an ordinary human into an S+ ghoul, he still fell short of being a true warrior.

Su Xiao reversed his grip, blocking the punch with his blade.

Blade met flesh—the result was inevitable; Kaneki’s fingers were severed.

Kaneki lacked combat experience, but his regeneration was extreme—he wouldn’t stop fighting unless his head was cut off.

Kaneki’s kagune coiled around his neck, preventing decapitation; Nishio’s gruesome death had taught him a lesson.

Though Kaneki looked like a madman, he still retained reason—knew to protect his vital points.

A strange scene unfolded on the rooftop: Su Xiao, wielding his blade, relentlessly battered Kaneki—yet his face grew paler by the second.

Now it was a test of endurance: would Kaneki be shredded first, or would Su Xiao bleed out and lose combat capability?