The young man in blue--or rather, Kraken--slowly walked out of the cave. It was late at night and the mountain wind was passing through the forest, making a whimpering sound. The gentle and shy smile on his face had long since disappeared.
Returning to a near-nihilistic calm, deep in those seemingly clear eyes, there was only a bottomless indifference and a trace of... imperceptible fatigue and thinking.
He casually leaned against a charred and twisted ancient tree and looked down at his right hand. The hand was clean and slender, no different from an ordinary human youth. There was no trace of the fact that he had just "spotted" a new Titled Douluo with it to kill.
Only when his thoughts moved slightly, a wisp of gray light that was thinner than a hair and almost imperceptible would quietly appear on his fingertips and then disappear quietly.
"Dan-Devour..." He whispered these two words, and his voice drifted in the night wind, carrying a strange rhythm.
He raised his arm and instantly absorbed Huo Wushuang Scorpion Tail Arm. At this moment, a faint gray light occasionally flashed at the tip. If you look closely, the luster of the carapace seems to be a little darker than before, as if it has been consumed a lot.
"One more..." Kraken looked at his left hand Scorpion Tail Arm, and seemed to look through it to a more distant place, "One Titled Douluo, or... twenty more Soul Douluo, 'Demon Empress' will be initially complete."
His voice was very soft, with an almost indifferent calculation. It was as if the lives of Titled Douluo and Soul Douluo were just material in his eyes.
But then, he shook his head slightly and turned his gaze to the direction of the previous crypt, where a thrilling battle for him had just ended.
"I almost fell here." He whispered to himself, his tone was calm, but a very faint emotion called "fear" flashed deep in his eyes, although that emotion was quickly covered by a deeper indifference. "Ultimate Fire and that desperate fighting style... It's really troublesome."
The gray light that had been invincible in obliterating the existence of Titled Douluo was actually evaporated and weakened by the extreme high temperature when it came into contact with the ninth Soul Skill "Flame Sun Burst" that Huo Wushuang burned his life with all his strength.
Although Dan-Devour was not completely destroyed, the effect was indeed greatly reduced. If he had not reacted quickly and immediately used Scorpion Tail Arm to forcibly absorb and hedge it, I am afraid that the blow would have seriously injured him.
"Facing Soul Master who possesses Ultimate Attribute, especially Ultimate Fire, with such violent energy," Kraken looked at his left hand, the ferocious Scorpion Tail swayed slightly with his thoughts, "Dan-Devour cannot kill with one hit like ordinary Soul Master. It can only be forcibly swallowed and transformed by Scorpion Tail Arm, but it is inefficient and easy to be backlashed."
He raised his right hand, and the gray mist at his fingertips reappeared, then slowly dissipated.
"Disguise, Dan-Devour, Scorpion Tail..." He looked at the things he could use at present that could barely be called "means" one by one.
"Camouflage" allows him to perfectly blend into the crowd (environment) but has no direct combat effectiveness.
"Dan-Devour" is his core killing move that can ignore most defenses and directly erase existence, but it is restrained by Ultimate Attribute, especially the most yang and strong energy such as fire, which will greatly weaken its effect.
"Scorpion Tail Arm" is the key to him absorbing and transforming the target Origin. It has powerful devouring power and a certain physical attack power. However, when faced with attacks with too high energy levels or conflicting attributes, there is also a risk of damage or even backlash.
The means are few and each has its shortcomings.
Especially today, when faced with Huo Wushuang, a Titled Douluo who possesses Ultimate Fire, is not afraid of death, and is decisive in tactics, if the opponent had not been confused at the last moment because of Zhao Wuji, and he had seized the opportunity to use words to attack his heart and force him to submit, and he really had to fight to the death, even if he could win, he would probably have to pay a heavy price.
"It's still too weak..." Kraken closed his eyes, feeling the nutrients Demon Empress needed in his body. "Incomplete state, too many restrictions."
As for the Zhao Wuji who was just "clicked" to kill by him...
Kraken's thoughts turned to this point, and the corner of his mouth seemed to have a very faint, temperatureless arc.
"Why kill him?" He seemed to be asking himself, but also seemed to be explaining to some non-existent listener, "Didn't I say so?"
He recalled what he said to Huo Wushuang in the crypt, who knew he was going to die but still gave up resistance in order to give his companions a chance to survive -
"I protect him. During the time when he absorbs Soul Ring and breaks through Titled Douluo, I promise not to kill him."
"Of course, it's just this time. When he completes his breakthrough, or fails, the next time we meet, whether he will live or die, it all depends on his own destiny."
At that time, he kept his promise. After Huo Wushuang was "voluntarily" absorbed by him, he did not take action against Zhao Wuji, which was breaking through. He even "waited" in the shadows for a moment until it was confirmed that Zhao Wuji had truly succeeded in breaking through, and then he left.
Leaving that crypt, leaving that place of right and wrong.
Then, he changed his clothes, suppressed all the inhuman aura, and "disguised" himself again as a gentle and shy young man in blue who was passing by.
Then, he "came in again."
With a new identity, a new "first meeting", I walked into the crypt again, and walked towards the Zhao Wuji who had just made a breakthrough, was suspicious, and was wary of him.
"... I won't kill him during this meeting." Kraken repeated in a low voice, as if savoring the logic in his words, "I have left before, and this is the second time we meet."
Therefore, it is reasonable to kill him.
Soul Beast's "deal", or that's how he, Kelake, understood it. He strictly abided by the literal meaning - not to kill Zhao Wuji during his breakthrough. As for after the breakthrough was completed, he left and came back, wouldn't that be the next meeting?
He is not lying, he is just playing with the boundaries of language, taking advantage of human beings' inherent understanding of "commitment" and "trust" to complete a ruthless harvest. Just like the most cunning predator, he uses the instinct and mindset of his prey to set a deadly trap.
"There are not so many twists and turns between Soul Beast." He remembered what he said to Huo Wushuang again, and the indifference in his eyes became even worse. Perhaps, this is the twisted "directness" and "purity" that belong to him.
The night wind became stronger, blowing his blue clothes. He stood up straight and took one last look at the deep crypt entrance, as if he wanted to deeply imprint everything that happened tonight, including those two Titled Douluo and those Soul Douluo "gifts" into his memory.
Then, he turned around and stopped staying.
The blue figure, like a ghost blending into the night, disappeared silently into the shadows of the mountain forest, leaving behind only the cave that had swallowed up a dozen strong men and witnessed the killing.