Reincarnation Paradise Park

Chapter 1160 - 45: Battle for the Heart

Opening fire now is akin to being a troublemaker. Su Xiao needs to observe every subtle movement of the Ant King. The Ant King’s reaction speed is incredibly fast, making the hit rate for sniping an undisturbed Ant King very low.

There are only three opportunities for a kill. First, if the Ant King doesn’t notice Su Xiao, Su Xiao can snipe from a distance, which is considered a cold shot. However, given the current situation, this is clearly unrealistic.

The second scenario is when the Ant King’s movements are restricted, in which case a hit is almost guaranteed.

The third scenario involves the Ant King moving at high speed. With such high-speed movement, the Ant King can’t dodge a bullet predicted beforehand. That’s because the bullet isn’t initially aimed at the Ant King, but it hits due to its own momentum—unless the Ant King has the ability to foresee the future, its perception won’t warn of a preemptive shot, giving a hit rate of about 30%. If the Ant King makes a power-charging move, thereby exposing its charge direction, the hit rate increases to over 80%.

Opening fire without absolute certainty is nothing but a risky gamble. What else is troubling?

Su Xiao’s urge to turn around and reward the sniper with a shot of his own is strong, wanting to show the consequences of being a troublemaker. However, he must focus on the Ant King right now.

Su Xiao remains inactive, but Old Smoke, Mizaki, and Chen aren’t doing nothing. They all wish for Su Xiao to quickly solve the Ant King situation. They’re the ones engaged in combat, not those distant Contractors, whose perspectives differ—they’re just here for the spectacle.

Old Smoke shoves his hand into his trouser waistband, where he hides that Light Golden Quality sniper pistol.

"Aren’t you afraid of hurting yourself?"

Mizaki turns her head, finding Old Smoke’s action of hiding a gun in his crotch a bit eye-watering.

"Cough, I didn’t want to pull it out and make a fool of myself, so I hid it discreetly. Besides, whipping out a gun at a crucial moment is quite intimidating."

Old Smoke’s body jerks; his expression shows that a sniper pistol gap pinched something, faint sounds of hair snapping follow.

"Tsk—"

Upon hearing Old Smoke’s sharp inhale, Mizaki appears indifferent, with a ’I don’t know you, don’t talk to me’ expression.

Old Smoke peers through the sniper scope, firing several shots at the distance.

"Did that troublemaker die?"

Mizaki tentatively asks.

"Do you think I’m using the sniper cannon from the watchtower? Of course he’s not dead, but probably severely injured."

Old Smoke’s shots silence the restless ranged Contractors. Not only can Old Smoke attack them, but so can Chen, and if Chen takes action, it’s a different level of damage.

With no troublemaker to interfere, Su Xiao refocuses fully on the Ant King.

At this moment, the Ant King stands still, knowing that if it continues the full-speed charge, it will again be struck by bullets.

"If I don’t move, I won’t be attacked; if I move at full speed, I will be attacked. Why?"

The Ant King instinctively makes a charging movement, realizing something.

"This movement exposes the direction."

The Ant King’s figure abruptly disappears, prompting Mizaki, the Chairman, and Chen to immediately become alert.

Bang!

The distinctive gunshot of the Duke of Extinction echoes, dirt spraying, the Ant King halts; the shot misses, passing right in front, merely scattering a large patch of soil with Elemental Bullet (Dark).

Only two bullets remain, both ordinary ammunition.

Su Xiao pulls out a small Soul Crystal, shattering it in his hand. It transforms into a significant amount of Power of the Demon, clinging to the bullets, activating the remote effect of Demon’s Mark.

"Try for 10 seconds. Within those 10 seconds, keep the distance between the Ant King and me under 4500 meters."

Su Xiao speaks; Mizaki and Old Smoke exchange glances, then look at Chen, reaching a consensus.

"10 seconds at most."

Mizaki, Old Smoke charge at the Ant King; with the current situation obviously no longer tolerable, those distant Contractors are already becoming restless.

Su Xiao enables the Duke of Extinction’s lock-on functionality; previously the threat level of Su Xiao aiming at the Ant King was a 5, now it’s surged directly over 80.

The Ant King’s muscles tense across its body as it swiftly scans the surroundings, with three potential directions: Old Smoke, Mizaki, the Chairman.

Hesitating for less than 0.1 seconds, the Ant King charges toward Old Smoke.

Old Smoke slams on the brakes facing the oncoming Ant King. He never directly attacked the Ant King, yet the Ant King chooses his direction for a breakout, leaving Old Smoke disgruntled.

The shell covering the Ant King’s head is utterly shattered, tail mostly severed, abdomen, and thigh bearing two penetrating wounds. Despite such injuries, it hasn’t fallen, attesting to the strength of the Ant King’s body.

Yet, no matter how strong, there is a limit. The Ant King already knows why it’s injured like this today; it underestimated the opponent or chose the wrong opponent initially.

If the Ant King had chosen to break out toward Su Xiao or Chen from the start, it wouldn’t be this injured. Unfortunately, the Ant King had an attitude of learning initially; facing the enemy’s well-laid ambush, it still had the leisure to learn their combat style. Too prideful, or perhaps it underestimated humans, now poised to pay for this contempt.

Facing the charging Ant King head-on, Old Smoke’s face breaks into a smile.

"Bai Ye, will obstructed vision affect your shot?"

"No."

Su Xiao has already activated the lock-on. Obstructed vision won’t interrupt it, even across buildings, unless the distance between the Ant King and him exceeds 4762 meters.

"That’s good."

Old Smoke relaxes.

"There’s a path to Heaven you don’t take; you’re self-led into Hell."

Blue smoke wafts from Old Smoke’s hands as he lunges at the oncoming Ant King, and the Ant King punches into Old Smoke’s chest.

With a whoosh, Old Smoke’s body explodes, transforming into a large mass of smoke that envelops the Ant King.

Multiple muffled sounds emerge from within the smoke, lasting about 6 seconds before Mizaki’s expression changes, rushing into the smoke.

"The Ant King’s Nen..."

Hissing...

Static echoes in Su Xiao’s earphones, two figures being flung out from the smoke moments later, as the smoke gradually disperses.

Old Smoke hits the ground heavily; his arms now gone, blood gushing from his left eye socket, suggesting a large section of the skull around the eye socket has been shattered.

Old Smoke is in agony but has secured those 10 seconds. As the countdown ends, Su Xiao pulls the trigger.

Just after pulling the trigger, Su Xiao stows away the Duke of Extinction and leaps from the watchtower.

With a loud crack, the 19.67mm caliber bullet strikes the head of the Ant King—this is the third shot to the Ant King’s head.

The first two shots had broken through its armor, while the third completely shattered its skull, carrying an incredibly fearsome true damage after the remote effect of Demon’s Mark is applied.

The remote effect of Demon’s Mark is: This attack adds 80% true damage of the final damage value.

Indeed, Su Xiao’s shot directly shattered the Ant King’s head—an outcome none present anticipated, including Su Xiao, with one exception being Old Smoke.

Su Xiao’s ability to headshot the Ant King owes much to Old Smoke. Previously in the smoke, Old Smoke weakened the Ant King’s body defense by 24% with his secret skill.

The shattered skull and blue blood splatter, the Ant King’s headless body staggering forward a few paces before sprawling on the ground. Even with its head shattered, the Ant King’s body still twitches.

[You have killed Ant King · Meruem.]

[Ant King · Meruem is a core plot character of this main task, earning you 20.6% of World Source, now totaling 45.9% of World Source.]

...

Su Xiao’s gains from killing the Ant King yield an exaggerated amount of World Source, expected given that the Ant King is the main target of this round’s primary mission, with the Mosaic ant event circling around it.

Even though the Ant King is dead, the battle isn’t over; the heart retrieval begins.

Just as the Ant King dies, the arm-torn Old Smoke springs upright from the ground like a carp, his nimble movements betraying none of the severe injuries suffered.