Chapter 346: Red Dust
The colossal saber Qi descended almost the instant it appeared, leaving dozens of afterimages in the sky.
Kaito Shirogane's figure inverted and fell into the wind. The surrounding air instantly condensed into ice crystals.
The saber Qi submerged into the asphalt road. In the next moment, the overgrown wilderness around instantly turned silvery-white at a visible speed.
Crack~
The sound of the earth splitting resembled a glacier disintegrating. Following the sound of fine ice layers fracturing was the thunderous boom of shattering.
Rumble!
The ground tilted and collapsed in an instant. An area of several kilometers in radius sank several meters downward.
Kaito emerged from the cold wind, staggering two steps. Wiping his chest with his hand, the icy blood had turned into ice crystals. His mouth and nose were also bruised purple. Although the cells frozen to death instantly had already self-healed, that saber Qi wrapped in cold air still made his muscles feel slightly stiff.
This slash was incredibly domineering. A single slash completely froze an area of several kilometers.
Just one attack made Kaito feel that the strength of the person before him was on a completely different dimension from the Reincarnators he had encountered before.
Even that eerie [Crimson Night] couldn't compare to this person in terms of sheer oppression.
[Red Dust] dragged his saber, his long hair flying in the cold wind. His ponytail tie had already snapped under the intensely erupted internal energy.
His expression was bold and unrestrained. His eyebrows were completely relaxed. Every cell in his body seemed to be opening its mouth to breathe. His hair spread out from the follicles towards the surroundings.
This was the manifestation of his fully erupted fighting spirit. Just by exchanging glances with that Mercenary Tao, Red Dust was convinced that [Fleur] was right: this Mercenary Tao was a rarely seen powerhouse, an anomaly.
Completely incomparable to those other so-called elite Reincarnators.
Coincidentally, he wasn't one either...
Thinking of this, Red Dust suddenly laughed heartily. He stepped onto the completely ice-cracked ground in front of him. Power exploded, and the shoes on his feet shattered instantly in the Qi blast, flying in all directions.
Bang!
The air was completely evacuated. Red Dust appeared in front of Kaito like a ghost in an instant. That precious saber overflowing with cold light slashed diagonally.
Fast. Extremely fast!
Even without [Mantra] and [Pre-Initiative], Kaito could completely see the movement of this slash. But precisely because it was undisguised, this slash was so fast it left only an afterimage.
The moment Kaito raised his left hand, the blade edge had already cut into his shoulder. The sharp blade entered only an inch into his body before being caught by his left hand.
Red Dust's eyes moved slightly. Mercenary Tao's speed exceeded his imagination. His base Agility attribute had touched the second limit, entering the [40+] special state. Combined with the 1.7 efficiency of [Howling Wind Cold], his actual Agility attribute was close to 70 points!
In other words, Mercenary Tao was likely also a type whose Agility broke through the limit. Moreover, his base attributes were frighteningly high. He had never heard of any Reincarnator who could stack base attributes so high after experiencing so few worlds.
There was only one explanation. Either the intelligence was wrong and Mercenary Tao wasn't a newcomer but a veteran Reincarnator who changed avatars, or...
The opponent was a special Reincarnator!
Unlike those newcomers who knew little about special Reincarnators, Red Dust and [Sage] belonged to a certain big shot and had seen some methods of special Reincarnators.
This kind of high-attribute newcomer fit the characteristics of a Crimson Great Sin Reincarnator killing other Reincarnators to quickly plunder attributes for growth very well. It could also be a Tarot Sequence like [Chariot] or [Strength].
Red Dust pulled back to withdraw his saber, but the blade seemed stuck in the opponent's muscles. He heard the sound of a great bow being drawn taut. The muscles on Mercenary Tao in front of him bulged inch by inch in an instant. His whole person expanded by more than a circle, his height breaking two meters.
That left hand pinching his [Snow Hidden Saber] had veins protruding like black snakes, the entire arm completely hardened by Armament Haki.
Whoosh~
White mist sprayed from Mercenary Tao's mouth and nose.
Seeing this scene, Red Dust guessed Mercenary Tao likely possessed some special bloodline. But he didn't panic. In the Second Ladder, base attributes like Strength and Agility were still important.
But Reincarnators were long past the type who relied purely on physical strength for combat.
Energy was the core of the Second Ladder!
Boom!
Icy internal force erupted turbulently in an instant. The white mist around Red Dust's body was blown away instantly, replaced by ice crystals condensed from the sharply dropping temperature.
Kaito, closest to Red Dust, instantly had frost hanging on his body surface. This was the first time he felt such a direct energy impact.
The internal force shook abruptly. Kaito felt emptiness in front of him. The opponent had already stepped on his body surface, used the momentum to pull the saber hilt, and leaped over his head. While spinning his body, countless leg shadows fell.
Kaito's left hand pinched the opponent's saber and pulled down violently. The chilling precious saber cut a wound on his shoulder. The wound didn't bleed; the area near the wound was completely frozen, muscles turning bluish-white, and the healing speed was slower than normal injuries.
"Ha!"
Kaito exhaled and shouted. This kind of injury stimulated his fighting spirit even more. He dragged the red-haired man down from the air, his own legs kicking up like afterimages as well.
[Wind God's Kick]!
Intense whirlwinds wrapped with force collided with the opponent's leg shadows.
The opponent's leg technique was fierce and powerful, but Kaito's physical strength and power were even more terrifying. Wind God's Kick was originally a light and agile leg technique, but under Kaito's feet, a head-on collision was even more terrifying.
Bang bang bang bang!
Amidst a series of collision sounds, [Brilliant Flame] instantly ignited on Red Dust's body. He instantly pulled back and spun backward. The icy internal Qi extinguished the Brilliant Flame in an instant. There were no injuries on his body surface, only his clothes were damaged.
Meanwhile, crimson flames also ignited on Kaito's body surface. Amidst the high-frequency attacks, [Lonely Fire of Envy] had risen.
[Trait · Lonely Fire of Envy triggered. All Attributes +1.]
Red Dust beckoned with his hand, and the ice-blue precious saber pulled out of Kaito's body returned to his hand. He walked barefoot on the frozen earth, pacing in front of Kaito.
"You're very good, Mercenary Tao. Exceeding my expectations."
Kaito was taller than the opponent. He looked down at this man holding a long saber.
Although the opponent indeed made him feel very strong and full of oppression, but...
Thump, thump...
Kaito's heartbeat began to accelerate, and electric light appeared in his eyes.
"Making a victory speech already?"
"Isn't it a bit too early..."
The opponent was strong, true, but Kaito also considered himself strong.
In the distance, a cactus broke through the ice-cracked ground, unexpectedly growing ears and eyes on it.
Hiding in a car more than ten kilometers away, [Fleur] closed her eyes, her expression grave.
Looking at the chilling, dead earth before her eyes, she knew Red Dust had already made his move, but Mercenary Tao was still standing, clearly not defeated.
"You must win, Red Dust..."
In fact, Fleur knew more about Mercenary Tao from secret intelligence. A man claiming to be the President of the [Isshin Association] gave her some intelligence and invited her to make a trade.
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