Ambush of the Ice Crystal Ant Swarm!

Issui at Slick's expression, Yi Shui felt a surge of satisfaction. "Damn it, if you don't kill me now, you'll be even less likely to do so later. I knew you'd react this way. With all these bizarre events constantly breaking down your defenses, you've already developed a sense of threat towards me. 'Once bitten, twice shy'—that's the meaning of that. In battle, you can't afford to be afraid. Only by charging forward can you achieve true victory. You're afraid of me, so you backed down. You've missed your best opportunity."

Slick looked at Issui moving forward, his heart filled with hesitation. Should he go forward and eliminate him? In truth, he had reached his physical limit. The previous purple-black light sphere had exhausted all of his spiritual energy, and his own energy was unusable due to Issui's Sealing Domain. Once his spiritual energy was depleted, he could no longer mobilize the energy of nature to fight. Physically, he was also severely injured. Using the Snake Molting twice in succession had drained most of his strength, and now Issui had severed one of his snake heads and one of his hind legs.

So, in this sense, Slick isn't afraid of anything. In fact, he's already reached his limit. The current situation is either he kills Issui in the end, or Issui rises up and kills him. It's a battle of wits between the two of them. He knows Issui is bluffing him, but he still has to believe it. If Issui suddenly rises up and kills him with his last bit of strength, wouldn't that be a joke on Azuchi? Truth and falsehood intertwine, and now both sides are fighting a battle of wits, a pure psychological war.

"Come on, hurry up and kill me! What, you're too scared? Look, I'm out of strength. This is the perfect opportunity! If you don't seize this golden chance and let me regain my strength, you're doomed! Come on, don't you want revenge for your severed head and legs? Then hurry up and come here!" Issui shouted, his words full of sarcasm. Damn it, I'm just trying to provoke you.

"Damn it, you think I wouldn't dare kill you?" Slick went completely mad. He could no longer contain his immense rage. This kid, he dared to mess with him just because he was given a little respect. You think I'm afraid of you? I was just a little worried. You think I'm afraid of you or that I can't do anything to you? Who do you think you are!

"Then come and kill me, haha, what's wrong? Come on, prove you're not afraid of me. In the end, you're just a coward. I'm lying on the ground, not moving, and you still don't dare to make a move. This is the best opportunity! Come on, you coward!" Issui that Slick's anger wasn't burning bright enough, Yi Shui blew him another gust of wind. Damn it, I'll make you go crazy.

"Hiss..."

Slick's remaining two tongues flicked out their red forked tongues, and his four lantern-sized snake eyes gradually turned red and bloodshot. He had completely abandoned his previous rationality and was now beyond fury. I told myself that I was not a coward or a coward who was afraid of death. I was going to kill him and crush him into pieces.

Slick, his mind consumed by emotions, his four snake-like eyes red, slowly walked towards Issui. With each step, the energy in his body grew stronger, clearly indicating that he was using some method that consumed the energy in his flesh and blood to gain temporary power.

Although Issui had anticipated this, he couldn't help but feel a sense of fear. This guy was really reckless; he was burning his life force! Sigh, so easily angered, his mind wasn't strong enough. But this situation made it easier for Issui to carry out an ambush. He was waiting for the moment when Slick completely lost his mind.

Slick could no longer retreat; having burned his life force, he could no longer turn back. His mind was slowly sinking into a daze, fighting only on his instincts as a magical beast.

Although it was only a few seconds, it felt like centuries had passed in Slick and Issui's minds as the distance between them grew ever closer.

Finally, Slick arrived less than a meter ahead of Issui. He buried all reason in his heart, and his two snake heads flailed wildly, trying to bite at Issui's body...

Just as Slick launched his physical attack, Issui grinned maliciously and whispered, "This is it... the Ice Crystal Ant Swarm, kill them!"

Instantly, a swarm of Ice Crystal Ant Swarm surged out of the ground beneath Slick. They devoured the entire surface, crawled out from underground, and climbed onto Slick's body, tearing at every piece of his flesh. Some even emerged from the exposed flesh and burrowed inside, searching for his vulnerable internal organs and devouring them completely.

Slick's forward momentum came to a halt, and his body suddenly collapsed to the ground. The two previously frenzied snake heads shrank, and his four blood-red snake eyes gradually became clear. The immense pain of the Ice Crystal Ant tearing at his body instantly brought him to his senses. His entire flesh and blood body was now covered with tiny ice crystal ants!

"When? Could it be...?"

"Haha, that's my confidence. It's your fault, really. Why weren't you more careful? This Ice Crystal Ant Swarm is even more powerful than the Knights of Ice I used before. During the Ice Crystal Ant Swarm's assault, all my attacks were to cover their ambush. I was originally planning to ambush you after my series of attacks, but I didn't expect you to use the Poison Gas Aura. So I decided to exhaust your strength or leave you completely drained before letting the Ice Crystal Ant Swarm attack. That way, the success rate would be infinitely increased." Issui revealed his entire strategy.

Slick, his two snake heads drooping, said weakly, "You're so despicable! Ah... I'm not reconciled..."

Issui shook his head and said with a sigh, "No, it's not that I'm despicable, but that you were too impulsive. You've ruined yourself..."

"Impossible! How could I harm myself? You must be lying!" Slick couldn't believe Issui's words; he couldn't believe he would harm himself.

"Don't be stubborn, I'll tell you the truth. When you walked towards me, my Ice Crystal Ant Swarm hadn't even burrowed into the ground where I was. The reason I provoked you to kill me was to make you suspicious and prevent you from attacking me directly. Afterwards, my Ice Crystal Ant Swarm burrowed into the ground beneath us. Then, worried that you might defend yourself while you were conscious, I provoked you again, making you lose your mind. Then, the moment you lost all your reason, the moment you attacked me, I unleashed the Ice Crystal Ant Swarm that was waiting in the ground beneath you. That's how things ended up now. So, I said you brought this upon yourself," Issui explained.

Slick's snake eyes widened, his face filled with disbelief, followed by deep regret. He muttered, "So... that's how it is! One wrong step leads to another. I underestimated you. I didn't lose unjustly, not unjustly at all..."

"Hmm, you finally understand. Actually, you made many mistakes. First, you underestimated my strength and didn't fight with your full power. Then, you were overconfident, allowing me to kill one of your heads and one of your legs. Next, you hesitated and wasted the best opportunity. Then, you were provoked by your enemy, me. You should know that the worst thing in battle is to act impulsively and be angered by the enemy's words. Finally, you ignored the existence of the Ice Crystal Ant Swarm. You underestimated the entire battle, and your overconfidence led to your defeat," Issui said calmly.

"Yes..."

Slick sighed. He had overestimated himself and underestimated everyone else. He never imagined he would die at the hands of a mere human brat. How tragic! If he had used his most powerful Weakening Aura from the start, things would have turned out differently. He blamed himself for being too careless!

Issui propped himself up with his hands, stood up, clapped his hands, and relaxed his body. He had finally finished the battle. His combat experience had undoubtedly deepened a lot. The so-called strong people grow by stepping on the corpses of countless enemies, and he would definitely have to go through such a process.

Looking at the utterly carefree Issui, a fierce glint suddenly flashed in Slick's snake eyes. Since he was destined to die, why not drag someone down to hell with him in his final moments?

"Burst!!!"

Slick's two snake heads sneered, gave a soft shout, and his body visibly swelled up rapidly...

"Oh no!!!!" Issui noticed Slick's swelling body, and he was slightly angry. "You're going to die, but you're not going to let me go even on your deathbed."

Left with no other choice, Issui had to escape into his own Sumeru World. He didn't want to die with this guy; he had several beautiful wives waiting for him at home. How could he just die so easily?

"Boom... Boom... Boom..."

The instant Issui entered the Sumeru World, an aura of destruction spread outwards, and a huge blood-red halo roared outwards, enveloping an area of a thousand miles in all directions. The blood-red explosive flames shot straight into the sky, and everyone on the entire Elf-Dwarf Continent witnessed this scene. Those in the vicinity of the explosion's center trembled involuntarily, while those farther away stopped what they were doing and quietly watched this destructive spectacle.

The reason Slick's self-destruction had such a massive effect was because Slick unleashed all the power within his body. Because his energy had been Imprisonment by the Sealing Domain during his previous battle with Issui, he had been controlling Natural Energy with his mental energy. Therefore, it was as if none of Slick's own energy had been lost from beginning to end; it was all revealed at this moment. The explosion generated by the full power of a God Level magical beast's body was terrifying!

"Thump... thump... thump..."

Upon arriving at the Hokage's office, Issui gently knocked twice on the door.

"Please come in..."

Upon hearing Tsunade's slightly authoritative voice, Issui pushed open the door to the room.

"Yo, kid, you're finally back. You said you'd be back in a year or two, but it's already been two and a half. How's the intelligence gathering going...?" Tsunade looked at the tall, handsome boy in front of her with a slight smile. Having been in the Hokage position for so long, she had integrated everyone in the village into her heart. Her previous distrust of Issui had now disappeared. After reviewing a large amount of information about him recorded by the Third, Tsunade discovered that Issui actually had a very deep affection for Konoha.

"Don't worry, we've got the intelligence. We've gathered almost all the details about the Akatsuki. This is the intelligence scroll I've written. Lord Hokage, you can take a look. We don't know much about the leader of this organization yet, we only know that he has a pair of Rinnegan." Issui took out a scroll from his ninja bag and placed it in front of Tsunade.