Chapter 263 – Florida Man Arrested Again as His "Cat" Swallowed His Neighbor Whole.
Leo secretly sank his consciousness into his dantian universe again. He had already defeated Vendettito 5,000 times, but he hadn't enough. He attempted to learn the combo of the guy's healing magic, creation magic, the mandate of nature, and the providence domain of nature.
The clone manifested in Leo's universe again. He stood on the grassland world that Leo always used as a battleground against all fighters in the past, brandishing a railgun rifle and aiming at Leo who positioned himself 100 meters away.
PWHOOSH
The railgun uttered a muffled sound. A black lightning bolt traveled at the speed of light and accurately hit Leo's face.
ZZZZZZ
Leo was knocked 100 meters backward. A burnt mark was left behind on his forehead.
"Dammit. I want to study your combo, not your stupid anti-domain railgun."
Vendettito's clone didn't bother listening to Leo. He kept firing while a green magic circle emerged under his feet. It expanded like a ripple, covering a span of 100 kilometers instantly.
Leo had seen this move several thousand times. He wryly smiled while he swiped his dirty forehead.
"Here comes the mandate. So, the next move is…"
A black stone spike protruded from the ground, threatening to pierce Leo like a kebab. The latter shifted his body to the side and avoided the attack by a hairbreadth.
The black spike transformed into a black tree. Sharp branches extended from the spike and pursued Leo like a homing missile.
Leo lightly kicked the ground and vanished. He reappeared behind Vendettito and threw a light jab.
Vendettito also instantly teleported like a character from DBZ. He reappeared behind Leo while he pointed the railgun at the back of Leo's head at point-blank range.
PWHOOSH
The beam directly hit Leo, causing him to tumble forward. At the same time, a new spike emerged from the ground and came for Leo's head.
"Oh, boy. This combo again? I want to learn a new one."
Leo purposely remained still.
BONK
The spike failed to penetrate Leo's forehead. The surface of the stone shattered, but it managed to push Leo's head backward.
Vendettito's clone realized that no attack worked on Leo. He sacrificed some of his lifespans to cast creation magic and healing magic at once.
A flat 10cm-diameter silver magic circle of a healing spell appeared first. But as soon as the creation magic combined with the old spell, the magic circle changed shapes, transforming into a black runic symbol.
It spelled 'Death'.
Leo glanced at the spell and smirked. He took notes, "Finally a new trick. I guess I have to let you attack me a few times for you to use your ultimate combo, I see."
In the previous fights, Leo didn't wait for the clones to attack him first. He fought like a game-speedrunner, defeating the clones within a minute of every fight.
He thought that he could master every skill that the clones had. Unfortunately, Leo had already absorbed so many fragments of memory and experience. All the experience he had learned so far wasn't warranted.
He needed to put them into practice by either learning it from the user or using it himself.
Getting hit by their skill combination was a quick way to master their abilities. Within a minute, Leo was enlightened.
"Ah, yes. Mixing magic creates a new magic entirely. Also, that creation magic works with other magic…"
Leo vanished while being in mid-air. He reappeared a hundred meters away from Vedettito.
The death symbol missed the target. However, Vendettito put his right palm on his left bicep while his left hand formed a two-finger sword. He waved his fingers, commanding the death symbol to chase after Leo. While he was at it, a thousand black and white magic circles manifested and surrounded Leo from all sides.
Leo glanced at the thousand silver geometric symbols. He thought of a certain healer in an 18+ anime and smirked.
"Right. Reverse healing. Thanks again. I learn a lot."
Leo lightly stomped the ground. A flat silver magic circle manifested and overlapped with Vendettito's providence domain. Leo then snapped his fingers and imitated the abilities of Vendettito in a different version.
He imagined the word 'Steal'.
PLOP
PLOP
All magic circles in the air turned black one after another. They stopped moving toward him.
Vendettito flinched. A second later, he coughed blood as he lost control of his domain power.
"If creation magic can tamper with other spells, then will it work against Qi-based domain abilities and laws? I guess it works."
After he had successfully stolen all completed spells in Vendettito's domain, including his mandate and providence domains, Leo had enough. He swiped his hand, gesturing a slice while aiming at Vendettito's neck.
SWUA
Vendettito's head fell from his shoulder. His artificial soul was also cut in half and vanished.
DING
<You have defeated Vendettito Sugondese the Third.>
Leo shrugged. He returned his consciousness to reality with the newfound power.
.
.
When Leo reopened his eyes, the team already entered the fortress. The steel gate behind them lowered and closed the entrance road.
"Hmm?"
Leo looked back and noticed that Vendettito's men quickly closed the gate right after everybody had gotten in. He raised his eyebrows in suspicion.
"Among Us?"
The others looked at Leo, "Among us?"
"It's nothing. Just muttering to myself."
"..Okay."
Leo inwardly laughed while the SFX of a certain game echoed in his mind. He wondered what Vendettito was cooking, and he couldn't wait to shove it up the chef's rectum.
Meanwhile, Vendettito was satisfied with the preparation. He had bought an hour. With this much time spent, Eleanor should have learned about the wanted man's location.
"By the way," Vendettito glanced at the wolf golem that Leo had been riding. As it resembled the Fenrir Werewolf race, he couldn't help but ask. "What's your relationship with the werewolf race? I see that you're using a golem of a Fenrir Werewolf. Are you close with them?"
Leo patted Lucky's head and feigned ignorance, "What Fenrir Werewolf? Are they some kind of endangered species?"
"…The Fenrir Werewolves are the second-class population of DEZNUTS. Although they aren't important, I hope you won't treat them as pets or anything similar. They have rights."
"If you mean the right to invade someone's planet unprovoked, I would like you to remove that soon. It's annoying."
Vendettito frowned and stopped walking. He turned around while the group was on the main road between two training grounds of local soldiers.
"What do you mean? Did they invade your planet?"
"No. They actually invaded my friend's planet, and I don't like it."
"…I see. Who is your friend?"
"Overlord Lucky."
"…"
Again, Vendettito deeply furrowed his eyebrows. He was certain that Overlord Lucky was Eleanor's right-hand man. By logic, the overlord should not be Leo's friend.
Since their relationship seemed complicated, Vendettito chose not to proactively attack Leo first. He continued buying time, waiting for Eleanor's troops to arrive.
"I see that you're friends with one of our great generals. For now, let's get inside the castle. We have prepared rooms to accommodate you. Also, at night, we shall hold a welcome banquet."
"That's very nice of you. By the way, I have another question."
Leo scanned the fortress and checked the number of garrisons. A total of 2,000 immortals, 20 deities, five sages, and two entities were present. No mortal was nearby.
After confirming the number of potential enemies, Leo requested something absurd.
"Does your planet have something like this?"
Leo brought out a piece of sky fate crystal from his alien ring. He flipped it around to show it to Vendettito and nearby elves.
As Leo had expected, Vendettito's expression turned solemn. He took a few seconds to pace his breath and inquired, "What is that, sir?"
"A fate crystal. I'm a collector, you see. I hope that your planet has these. I would like to make a trade with you for such crystals."
"Unfortunately, this is the first time I've seen the crystal. I doubt we even have one on this planet."
"Are you sure?"
"We are sure."
"Cool. Then, let's not waste time. Could you open the gate and let my men return? Since there is no need for a trade, their trip will be in vain. Instead of letting them get stuck here for days, I'd like them to go back and spend their time cultivating back home."
"…"
Vendettito glanced at the crowd of immortals. He sized up Hua Jiashan, Han Hao, Han Meng, and others. Since they were weak quasi-immortals and immortals, he thought they were Leo's luggage carriers.
"Since we're here, won't you let them have some rest and enjoy the feast first?"
"It's just an hour walk. They're all immortals. I doubt they need rest."
Leo glanced at Ricardo and Taxi. He secretly sent a sound transmission to them.
'These green people are not friendly. I think they are planning to kill us here. Bring the others back first.'
Taxi and Ricardo's expressions turned dark. They didn't move an inch, but they replied.
'SMASH!' (Understood. By the way, would you like us to call for reinforcement?)
'Lucky and I are enough. But if you're worried, go tell the devil and the fisherman statue that I might be in trouble.'
'SMASH!' (Got it!)
Leo shifted his gaze to Vendettito, "Well? Can they go home first?"
"What about you?"
"I will stay, of course."
"Then, I don't see any problem. GUARDS! OPEN THE GATE AND ESCORT THE FRIENDS BACK TO THEIR PORTAL!"
Getting permission, Leo patted Lucky's head. He whispered.
"Go with them. Kill anyone if they play any trick."
Lucky's pupils dilated. He sneered at the elves, "Woof!"
Hua Jiashan and the others were still confused as to why Leo suddenly drove them back. But since Leo made the decision, they reluctantly followed the escorting soldiers to leave the fortress. Lucky followed after them while he observed the guards.
Nine guests left. Leo remained behind. The gate was closed again.
While monitoring the group with his senses, Leo gestured to Vendettito, "Let's get in. I can't wait to see the food."
.
.
Meanwhile, Cat was perplexed. She couldn't understand why Leo forced them to go home when the fortress seemed delicious.
"Nom-Nom Meow?" (Can I eat the fortress? The white metal smells really delicious!)
Taxi patted Cat's head.
"Smash." (Not yet. The lord said that there were ambushes inside. He drove us out to protect us.)
"NYA?!" (Enemies?! Are those green people enemies?!)
"Smash." (It seems that way.)
"Nom-Nom Meow <3" (Then, can I eat them now?)
"Smash!" (Of course not-)
It was too late for Taxi to stop Cat. The group had only exited the fortress by a minute, but Cat already approached the nearest green elf soldier.
The soldier wore a set of thick black leather armor, made from a bear of this planet. Its odor was similar to a piece of dried meat.
Cat drooled when her nose caught the scent. She rushed toward the elf who followed them at the back, then she tugged his shirt.
"Nom-Nom Meow?" (Let me eat you, please.)
"What?" The elf couldn't understand Cat's weird language.
By the time he turned to Cat, the latter's head expanded by 2 meters in diameter. Like a snake, her mouth opened wide and chomped down on the unsuspected elf.
GULP
Cat didn't bother chewing the elf. She swallowed him whole and let her digestive fluid melt him.
