Chapter 537: The Disappeared Mercenary Tao, The Operation to Kill Mercenary Begins
Pitch-black phantoms rose beneath the blood moon. Those phantoms similarly reached towards the sky like tentacles, but the magical energy tide surging into the sky instantly shredded the phantoms to pieces.
Subsequently disappearing without a trace.
"No!"
The young girl's unwilling voice rang out. Emiya Shirou almost couldn't believe that that familiar voice was emitted by the usually tranquil young girl.
He turned his head, only to see Matou Sakura slump dejectedly on the ground. The pitch-black shadow behind her constantly squirmed like a living creature.
And on her face, there were still un-wiped bloodstains.
"Sakura..."
Emiya Shirou's voice wasn't loud, but it made Matou Sakura shift her gaze over. In those eyes, the expression was so complex it completely didn't look like what a young girl of this age should have.
Admiration, joy, pain, sorrow, regret, hatred...
Various emotions converged together, ultimately condensing into pitch-black malice.
She reached out her hand towards the sky like a madman. She was thirsting, she was thirsting for a world where she didn't have to be so miserable, a brand new world.
A worldline where she could also grow up being doted on by her father, didn't have to encounter the various miserable experiences of the Matou family, wouldn't encounter scum like Zouken Matou and Shinji Matou, and could simply encounter Senpai Shirou...
Cannibal Flower crawled in the pile of people. Her mental power had already spread out, beginning to perceive information from the outside world, her brows tightly furrowed.
"Because of the Human Instrumentality Project, Matou Sakura is completely blackened. Medusa has probably already been devoured by her. She also has fragments of the Holy Grail in her body, and perhaps also Zouken Matou's knowledge..."
Cannibal Flower keenly realized that Matou Sakura had already broken away from any previously established timeline and begun to move forward on a weird and dark path.
And the battle between those two Reincarnators who completely disrupted this world had also ended. Mercenary Tao won... But Mercenary Tao seemed to have touched the [Root]?!
Cannibal Flower once again confirmed that Mercenary Tao was an utter madman, a monster, an anomaly completely unable to be measured by the common sense of ordinary humans and Reincarnators.
Touching the [Root] was indeed the dream of many magi in this world, but similarly, almost no one who touched the [Root] had ever reappeared.
The [Root] would assimilate the vast majority of individuals, completely obliterating their individual characteristics. That was almost equivalent to killing those individuals.
In [The Garden of Sinners], Ryougi Shiki was once warned by Touko not to overuse the [Mystic Eyes of Death Perception], because the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception themselves were peeking at the [Root].
Perhaps, Mercenary Tao was already dead...
Cannibal Flower's mind became active. She knew that after she returned this time, there was a high probability she would "become famous overnight," having simultaneously encountered two madmen, [White Mask] and [Mercenary Tao], in a mission world.
And ultimately successfully surviving!
Thinking of this, the corners of Cannibal Flower's mouth, who was lying on the ground, curled up in an arc. But in the next moment, a slimy tentacle came onto her body.
Damn it...
In the real world, somewhere in Dongxia, among the verdant misty woods, a huge moose with a body size exceeding four meters paced in the woodland beside the river.
Among the flowers and grass, specks of light of various colors danced.
A man wearing a floral shirt and flip-flops leaned on a blue-and-white lounge chair, pinching a bamboo-green fishing rod in his hand.
This fishing rod was probably made directly by pulling out a small bamboo tree; the bamboo joints were still clear.
The man hummed a brisk tune.
Occasionally lifting the rod and changing positions, quite leisurely and content.
A strong gust of wind suddenly struck in the woods. Trees toppled, and the moose and fairies were also scared and fled into the deep forest. A beautiful woman with long blonde hair draped behind her fell from the sky.
She looked around the environment, her smile thick.
"For the [King of Miracles] to actually be so indolent, hiding in this kind of place to idle away his remaining life, it's truly shameful."
Cao Qi seemed unable to hear the woman's voice. Raising the fishing rod, at the end of the fishing line made of vines was a fishhook made from the root thorn of some plant.
Seeing that he still hadn't caught a fish, he clicked his tongue and threw the fishhook further away again.
The woman's mockery didn't get the desired result. The smile on her lips slowly faded. Her appearance began to change, her golden long hair beginning to fade, soon turning into withered white, and further beginning to fall out.
Before long, the woman had become completely bald, and her beautiful face also became haggard.
What was even more uncomfortable was that the place on her chest that was highly raised now also completely caved in, and an Adam's apple protruded from her throat.
The old man came beside Cao Qi and said quietly:
"That Mercenary Tao is not the type you favor, so, is it that guy's handiwork?"
Only at this time was Cao Qi willing to turn his head and glance at this guy who got weirder the older he got, sneering twice.
"That kind of semi-finished product naturally wouldn't be my work."
After he had seen Mercenary Tao, he found the other party increasingly hollow. That was probably a weirdo deliberately kneaded to be most suitable for various actions and growth in the [Infinite Dimensional Space].
But inside, it was completely blank.
The old man could hear Cao Qi's attitude towards Mercenary Tao. It wasn't as unconcerned as it seemed on the surface, but it indeed couldn't be considered friendly.
"Mercenary Tao has already touched the [Root]. Even if it's only a tributary of a Derivative World, this kind of growth speed is enough to prove that the words that guy said back then weren't just empty talk."
He looked at Cao Qi.
"As a senior who has mastered the [Method of Miracles] from the [Root], what [True Magic] do you think he will get?"
Cao Qi was silent for a moment, but chuckled.
He avoided talking about the [Method of Miracles] and the Root, instead smiling and saying:
"Don't you think that guy is almost playing himself to death?"
"Heh, this is already the second time Mercenary Tao has obtained a [Seed of Power] beyond his plan, right? The [Limiter], the [Root]..."
"The Spirit King he wants to cultivate will probably soon become a grotesque posture that even he himself cannot know. Hahahaha, thinking of that guy's ugly face, it's truly refreshing."
The haggard old man changed again at this time. His physical body rapidly rejuvenated, and before long he had already turned into the appearance of a child.
His voice also became immature.
"Cao Qi, I hope you can tell me, will the [Root] change Mercenary Tao's destiny?"
Cao Qi lowered his head, dropped the fishing rod, and deliberately kneaded the other party's transformed child face.
"Haha, that kind of thing, who knows. If you, this King of Destiny, can't see clearly, how could I know..."
His tone was casual, not like he was telling the truth.
The child glared, not knowing whether he was unhappy about being kneaded or dissatisfied with Cao Qi's perfunctoriness. He emphasized:
"Don't you know clearly that once you die, the so-called ironclad laws of the order side will completely collapse. This world, this country, these secret gardens you've carved... will soon be wantonly trampled by Reincarnators."
"We can try one more time..."
"Try my ass!"
Cao Qi vulgarly interrupted the other party, then directly lay down by the river, closed his eyes, and refused to continue communicating.
In the Infinite Dimensional Space public area, East District, explosive news spread rapidly.
"In a certain Type-Moon Derivative World, a tragic battle occurred between Mercenary Tao and White Mask. White Mask was killed, and Mercenary Tao is suspected to have entered the Root and disappeared!"
"As corroborating evidence, only the captain Cannibal Flower returned from the Black Cannibal Flower team, while the team where [Ice Demon · Juro] was located was completely wiped out, with no one returning!"
The Black Butler looked at the boy before him who looked like a golden child. The pitch-black huge sun behind the other party was somewhat appalling.
At the same time, the quoted price given by the other party was also exaggeratedly high.
But the Black Butler still shook his head.
"Sorry, I temporarily also don't know Mercenary Tao's life or death. His stall is still there, but there is indeed no sign of him returning to the Space."
Every time Mercenary Tao returned from a mission world, he would grandiosely go to the shantytown and hang various scarlet Drop Cards and loot on his stall.
This had almost become a consensus.
Now, Cannibal Flower from the Derivative World had returned for over an hour, yet Mercenary Tao still hadn't appeared.
More and more people began to believe that Mercenary Tao probably really encountered some mishap.
In contrast, White Mask being killed by Mercenary Tao in that world couldn't be considered exaggerated news; it could only serve as another strong piece of evidence proving the authenticity of this news.
After all, many people knew that Mercenary Tao was indeed preparing to hunt White Mask before the deployment began.
Jin Yue'an coldly observed the circulation of various information, turned around, and left the public space.
And in the real world, in Teng City, a young man with a clean face and straight posture looked somewhat surprised at the man and woman waiting for him.
"Officer Luo, Officer Song, I didn't expect you to personally come pick me up..."
Luo Shui took the initiative to step forward and took the bag from Student Bai, whom she hadn't seen for a long time. She rarely did this kind of thing, making Song Xian cough twice.
"I also came to Myanmar to handle some business, so I picked you up along the way."
Song Xian explained like this. He looked at this young man. The vitality and life force in his body indeed far exceeded ordinary people.
His eyes darkened slightly. He didn't expect he would make such a decision, thinking of ways to draw a perfectly good youth into that kind of hellish place.
Luo Shui was in an excellent mood, actively introducing to Kaito Shirogane the treatment of the subsequent job. Not only did it have an official permanent position, but the salary and benefits were also excellent.
She didn't know Song Xian's specific arrangement, thinking it was a job similar to hers. At this time, her whole person was overflowing with happiness.
There was no estrangement from not having seen each other for a few months.
Kaito Shirogane also lowered his eyes submissively and followed the two into the car.
In a resort hotel in Teng City, a man opened his eyes and withdrew his perception. He immediately dialed a certain phone number.
"Target has appeared. Mercenary Tao is suspected to be returning to Dongxia. Beside him is that [Hound · Song Xian]."
"What do you say, is the operation canceled?"
The voice on the phone also hesitated for a moment, seemingly communicating with someone, but ultimately said:
"The operation continues. Over there said they don't need us to make a move. You just need to follow them and lock onto their tracks."
Thinking for a moment, seemingly not at ease, he specifically added:
"Remember, do not release any offensive abilities towards Mercenary Tao. His perception is very strong, don't throw your life away for nothing!"
The tall and thin man gave a muffled grunt of agreement. Thinking of the strength of that group of people, he ultimately chose to get up, pick up his backpack, and also prepared to return to Dongxia first.
Multiple High-tier and above Reincarnators joining hands to ambush Mercenary Tao, hopefully he wouldn't get involved in it...
(End of Chapter)
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