Chapter 402: Chapter 18: The Craftiest Is Human
Early the next morning, at a small town on the outskirts of Central City, Su Xiao was hiding in an abandoned house.
Tap, tap. Tap...
Footsteps approached from not far away, and Su Xiao, wrapped in bandages, looked towards the newcomer.
"Did you fight with Mustang yesterday?"
"Yes, in the forest on the outskirts. I was dealing with Lisa Hokai’s corpse when Mustang suddenly appeared."
"I see. You didn’t show him those photos, did you?"
Envy walked up to Su Xiao, looking at him with a mocking smile.
"Where’s the Philosopher’s Stone I deserve?"
"Here it is."
Envy tossed a grain-sized Philosopher’s Stone, pathetically small.
Su Xiao didn’t reach for the Philosopher’s Stone, letting it drop to the ground.
"Is that all?"
"From now on, every time you help us, that’s the amount of Philosopher’s Stone you’ll get."
Envy chuckled softly, yawning with a mocking smile, seemingly having Su Xiao under control.
"Is that so? Then forget it."
"Oh? You don’t want to work for us anymore? Things aren’t going well on Mustang’s end. This morning, he turned Central City upside down looking for you."
Envy confidently stood in front of Su Xiao, having witnessed the intense battle last night, with most of the forest burned and the ground covered in craters.
Su Xiao took out a walkie-talkie and turned it on.
"Is the nearby military dealt with?"
Shh～, the signal wasn’t great, but the voice inside was audible.
"Cleaned... no problem within an hour."
"Good, I’ll be leaving Central City soon to find another ally. I’ll leave this task to you."
"No problem... thank you... for the information."
Su Xiao turned off the walkie-talkie.
"Who are you talking to?"
Envy started feeling something was off.
"A ’new friend’."
Dragon Slash appeared in Su Xiao’s hand, with a flash of bright blade light.
Pff.
Blood splattered into the air, forming large droplets of blood.
"Huh?"
Feeling a sharp pain in his arm, Envy looked toward his left arm.
His left arm had vanished, with red electric flashes on the wound, the severed arm quickly regenerating.
"It hurts! You bastard."
Envy cautiously stood close to Su Xiao.
"Do you intend to defy us? Mere human."
Szz～.
The sound of metal lines contracting was heard.
"What is this? Hey, stop!"
Su Xiao pulled the Boundary Line, yanking hard. Pff! Fine wounds appeared all over Envy, his body cut into several pieces.
"Once."
Taking advantage of Envy’s recovery pause, Su Xiao sprinted forward in a few steps.
"How dare you resist us..."
The long knife swept across, and Envy’s head was decapitated.
"Twice."
Su Xiao kicked Envy’s torso, sending it flying a few meters away, with a faint pain in his shin.
Boom!
Envy landed, creating a large pit in the ground, causing the already dilapidated house to begin collapsing. Envy’s body was very heavy, at least a thousand pounds.
Su Xiao darted out of the house as dust surged behind him, burying Envy alive in the debris.
Bang.
A piece of rubble was kicked away, and Envy crawled out from the ruins.
"To betray us, indeed humans are untrustworthy things."
Envy stood up, shaking off the blood on his hands.
"It’s been a while since I’ve used that. Let me show you my true form, don’t wet your pants."
Envy’s body flashed with red electric light, seemingly ready to use some skill.
Su Xiao didn’t rush forward; Envy’s true form was about to appear; the young figure now was just Envy’s disguise.
Envy’s body rapidly expanded, transforming from a frail youth into a colossal figure.
At this moment, Envy was four meters tall, at least ten meters long, resembling a canine form but with eight sturdy legs.
Envy’s skin was dark green, with a lizard-like tail.
The Little Man in the Bottle had incorporated canine and lizard genes into Envy to increase his combat strength.
"How is it, my strongest form."
Envy’s voice turned hollow, as if many voices spoke simultaneously.
Su Xiao sensed Envy before him, no longer a single presence but countless entities.
An unending number of souls wailed within Envy.
"Help me, it’s so painful."
"Let me out, I don’t want to become energy."
"Let me die, please."
Ignoring the wailing souls within Envy, Su Xiao’s perception was too strong, almost dizzying.
Restricting his perception, the wailing disappeared.
Su Xiao charged forward, sword in hand, as Envy sneered.
"If you used a bomb, I’d flee immediately. It seems you’ve exhausted your Philosopher’s Stones."
Envy lifted his dark green claw, stepping towards Su Xiao.
Su Xiao sidestepped, avoiding Envy’s misstep.
Boom!
The ground formed a large pit, trembling from below.
Gripping the sword with both hands, Su Xiao severed Envy’s claw in one slash.
Slice, Envy’s thick claw was severed, with no resistance, smoothly cut.
The current Dragon Slash was exceptionally sharp, enhanced to +8, granting high attack power, and the Supreme Blade increased sharpness further.
Supreme Blade Edge Effect 1: Increases sharpness by 7 points, enhancement +5 increases penetration, enhancement +8 adds 2 sharpness points.
With a 9-point sharpness boost, penetration, and Blue Steel Shadow’s true damage combined, Su Xiao’s slashes were terrifyingly potent.
Moreover, Dragon Slash had an additional sharpness-increasing attribute.
Equipment Effect: Shadow Dance Break (Passive): Each strike reduces the enemy’s defense by 8%, lasting 20 seconds, stacking up to 3 times, reducing the enemy’s defense by 24% in total.
Hint: Shadow Dance Break (Passive) stacked 3 times will apply the Blood Gush effect (Blood Gush: The enemy loses 2 life points per second and reduces healing effects by 30%).
...
Shadow Dance Break (Passive) had already stacked three times on Envy, reducing his defense by 24% in total.
Although the attached ’Blood Gush’ effect couldn’t reduce Envy’s regeneration, it expedited the depletion of Envy’s Philosopher’s Stones.
Thud, thud, thud...
Dragon Slash danced up and down, continuously severing Envy’s claws, unable to withstand Su Xiao’s slashes.
Su Xiao cut through Envy like chopping vegetables.
"Impossible, what kind of knife is this, how can it be so sharp."
Envy was a chatterbox in battle, incessantly talking.
Su Xiao sliced off Envy’s lower jaw, spraying blood across himself.
Among the seven homunculi, three were threats to Su Xiao: Wrath, Pride, and Gluttony.
Gluttony had been dealt with by Su Xiao, Wrath wouldn’t be faced yet, and Pride was on his agenda.
Pride, as the earliest homunculus, ranked second in strength among them but had a fatal weakness.