Reincarnation Paradise Park

Chapter 822: Chapter 53: The Heart of the World and the Battlefield

Less than ten minutes passed and Su Xiao’s [Demon’s Mark] skill was already upgraded to Lv.10, and the upgrading continued.

Carlos felt the unknown energy within him rapidly diminishing. These vile things that had been devouring his life energy for decades finally began to decrease, something unprecedented.

However, Carlos did not enjoy this process; the feeling of having the power of the demon extracted from him could only be described as excruciatingly painful. Though his pain sensation was reduced by 90%, he still felt a piercing agony.

Despite the unbearable pain, Carlos, being a ruthless man capable of attaining the rank of legion commander, kept his eyes shut and remained silent.

Seeing Carlos’s pain, Anna wanted to gently caress Carlos’s cheek with her hand, but she knew she couldn’t do that now. That would be meddling. Only a foolish woman would do something meaningless at such a critical moment; all she needed to do was wait. No matter how anxious she was, she had to be patient.

”You, give him water, lots of water, as much as possible.”

Su Xiao was highly focused and didn’t care what rank Anna held; Carlos was close to dehydration.

”Alright, does ordinary water work? Should I do it all at once or in batches?”

Anna didn’t mind whether Su Xiao was polite to her. As long as Su Xiao could save Carlos, she would do whatever it took.

”Ordinary water, every few seconds, just the right amount each time.”

Anna began to feed Carlos water; he had just taken a bellyful of potion earlier, and now he had to drink a large amount of water—understandably, Carlos felt like he was turning into a waterbag with a pierced hole.

As time passed, the veins on Su Xiao’s hand gripping the sword hilt bulged; with the increasing level of [Demon’s Mark], the demon power required for upgrades grew.

About an hour later, Su Xiao sensed the demon power within Carlos again; by now there was very little demon power left in Carlos.

At this point, Su Xiao knew he couldn’t continue to absorb. If he absorbed all the demon power, Carlos would die, and then he would have to face a widowed dark night elf princess and hundreds of thousands of imperial army soldiers.

Su Xiao began to control the suction of [Demon’s Mark], quickly stopping the absorption and gathering the absorbed demon power into his hand.

Faced with this more difficult procedure, Su Xiao concentrated harder. Ten minutes later, the demon power inside Carlos was completely extracted, and some of the demon power clung to Su Xiao’s hand, turning his arm jet black like the Armament Haki in Pirate World.

Su Xiao stepped back and pulled out the longsword embedded in Carlos’s chest.

Thud.

Fresh blood splattered, and Carlos slumped off the chair; Anna quickly supported him. Seeing Carlos’s healthy red blood, Anna’s nose started to tingle.

Ignoring the affectionate Anna, Su Xiao held Carlos’s sword and began attempting to drive the demon power out of his hand using Blue Steel Shadow Energy.

The Blue Steel Shadow Energy spread down Su Xiao’s arm; the consciousness within the demon power was very weak. Out of helplessness, it could only enter into the longsword.

The Blue Steel Shadow Energy enveloped the longsword and slowly seeped into the sword. The demon power, unable to resist, gradually merged into the sword.

Trapped within the longsword, the demon power, Su Xiao removed the Blue Steel Shadow Energy, and [Demon’s Mark] made another appearance.

Sensing the suction from [Demon’s Mark], the consciousness of the demon power in the sword began to feel despair. Its survival instinct drove it to merge with Carlos’s sword to avoid being consumed by [Demon’s Mark].

However, this couldn’t stop [Demon’s Mark] from absorbing. Fortunately, Su Xiao wasn’t planning to eradicate this demon power completely.

A black streak appeared along the ridge of the sword, with the demon power completely merging with the sword.

Su Xiao removed the suction from [Demon’s Mark], which was now much stronger, returning to calm. At this point, [Demon’s Mark] was entirely black, covering Su Xiao’s upper arm, forming an image of a demon goat head.

Su Xiao checked the changes in the [Demon’s Mark] skill.

Demon’s Mark: Lv.19 (Passive skill)

Skill Effect 1: Adds 64 points of true damage in close combat attacks.

Skill Effect 2: Can sacrifice equipment to upgrade the level of Demon’s Mark; you have reached a pact with a high-level demon.

Level 10 Additional Ability

Demon’s Gaze (Active): During long-range attacks, the demon power can be transferred onto bullets, arrows, etc., for a single long-range attack. This attack will inflict 80% of the final damage as true damage (e.g., if the bullet hits the enemy causing 100 points of final damage, Demon’s Gaze [Active] will inflict an additional 80 points of true damage).

Note: Each use of Demon’s Gaze (Active) requires the consumption of Soul Crystal (small) x1. Soul Crystal (small) can be converted into the demon power needed to cover the weapon.

Prompt: Cooldown time for Demon’s Gaze (Active) is 72 hours.

...

Seeing the capabilities of [Demon’s Mark] at Lv.19, Su Xiao was very satisfied with this skill. It adds true damage in close combat, and the Level 10 additional ability is very suited for the Spider Queen. Although the cost is quite high, the power has nearly doubled.

Su Xiao closed the skill list and looked at Carlos. The effect of the [Unstable Potion] gradually faded; what kind of aftermath this potent drug might have on Carlos remained unknown for now.

”Looks like I won’t die.”

Carlos lay in Anna’s embrace as she held his hand tightly. Whether or not they had heard of it, showing affection excessively is said to lead to a quicker death—perhaps even more ’deadly’ than the demon power.

”Congratulations, Lord Carlos.”

Caesar hurried forward; his life was saved too.

”Bring my sword.”

Carlos looked at his sword, which was stuck in the ground, emitting black smoke.

Caesar hurried forward, but even after exerting utmost effort, the sword remained firmly lodged in the ground. Carlos gestured for Anna to step forward.

Anna walked slowly to the longsword, reached out, and grasped the hilt; her expression changed immediately.

”No, I can’t pull it out.”

Anna may not be a power type, but she wasn’t lacking in strength.

Seeing this, Carlos laboriously stood up and walked to the sword, his rough hand gripping the hilt.

Clang.

The longsword was drawn by Carlos, its blade emitting a clear hum.

”This...”

Carlos felt the demonic power within the sword.

”So you’ve sealed that unknown energy here, well done, Commander Bai Ye.”

Su Xiao didn’t know how many ranks he had ascended, yet he just sat on the ground, not looking at Carlos and Anna.

”Cough cough cough...”

Su Xiao suddenly let out a violent cough, spitting several mouthfuls of blood.

Seeing this, Carlos and Anna hurried forward, and Caesar paused, then thought of something, secretly giving a thumbs up.

”Bai Ye, how are you? Did that energy hurt you?”

Carlos wanted to help Su Xiao up, but Su Xiao waved his hand.

”I’m fine, just... cough cough cough.”

Su Xiao spat out more blood, looking as if he might die at any moment. Both Carlos and Anna knew how troublesome that unknown energy was, and seeing this, Anna felt guilty because she had doubted Su Xiao’s intentions earlier.

Witnessing Su Xiao’s ’selflessness,’ Anna’s cheeks flushed with embarrassment due to her previous behavior.

”Drink this, you’ll feel better.”

Anna took out an exquisite crystal bottle that faintly shimmered with a golden light. If it were someone else, they might have immediately accepted it, but Su Xiao shook his head, as it wasn’t the right time yet.

”I just need some rest.”

Upon hearing this, Anna forcefully placed the crystal bottle into Su Xiao’s hand, nodding at him with a smile.

In truth, Su Xiao hadn’t been injured at all. He was about to leave Black Soil Fortress, so personal goodwill with Carlos wasn’t important. Seizing some benefits was the real deal.

Anna supported Carlos as they left the room, neither of them showering Su Xiao with gratitude. After all, Su Xiao was Caesar’s recruited assistant, and leaving benefits was due to Su Xiao’s ’severe’ injury, making them feel a bit guilty, nothing more.

After Carlos and Anna left, Caesar approached.

”My dear friend, are you alright?”

Caesar discreetly grabbed Su Xiao’s hand. Su Xiao was holding the crystal bottle Anna gifted him, and he looked up at Caesar.

”Compensation.”

Seeing Su Xiao’s glance, Caesar froze momentarily, hesitated for a second, then suppressed his greed, smiling awkwardly as he pulled out the ”Demon Hunting Proof” from his pocket and handed it to Su Xiao.

With the ”Demon Hunting Proof” in hand, Su Xiao wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and stood up to leave the room.

”My... friend, where are you going?”

Caesar watched Su Xiao’s back, feeling somewhat lost. Despite always scheming against Su Xiao, he was actually very lonely, without a single friend.

”To the battlefield.”

Su Xiao pushed open the door and paused.

”Goodbye.”

Su Xiao and Bubu Wang walked out of the room, the door closing tightly behind them.

”Goodbye.”

Caesar slumped into the seat, the room now empty except for him. Although the crisis was resolved, he only felt loneliness.

”Goodbye, my friend, Caesar will think of a way to cover for you. Although leaving without permission is a serious offense, Caesar has a solution.”

Caesar looked up at the ceiling.

”Such a troublesome opponent, finally gone, but... why do I feel so lonely.”

...

Outside Black Soil Fortress, the wild wind rose, sand and earth swirling, Su Xiao’s windbreaker tail fluttering noisily.

The situation in the three war zones had stabilized, and just an hour ago, Reincarnation Paradise had issued a war task to Su Xiao. The task had no reward, and its content was simple: take the ”World Core” to the center of this world, the ’Alterac’ Relics. If Su Xiao guessed correctly, that would be the battleground for Contractor chaos, where over a thousand Contractors might engage in battle. There, he would confront contractors from Apocalypse Paradise.

”Duke Lan, see you at Alterac Ancient Ruins. This time, I shall take your life.”

Walking through the wind and sand, Su Xiao smiled, while next to him, Bubu Wang scanned the surroundings.