Chapter 545 - Killing Intent
Hao Xuan made up his mind rather quickly after finding out how valuable a living Hive Prince was.
"How do I take it though? Should I sever it as well? I want to avoid that if possible," he was a little apprehensive of using the constitution's abilities at the moment.
"That would the best option, and the safest one. A Hive Prince has very high intellect so controlling it by any normal means is not possible. Only a soul bond would prove most beneficial but for someone in your condition, 'Severing' them would be the superior option."
"Right now it is only as intelligent as a 2-3-year-old human child so you should make use of it now."
Baracus informed him that he would have to take in yet another 'sever' if he wanted to take the prince with him without putting himself into unwanted danger.
With a little mental and physical preparation, Hao Xuan got ready.
He was already late so he didn't waste too much time.
At the front, he had placed a makeshift hologram that Baracus had created. That would act as the distraction while Hao Xuan himself would use the beetle creature's giant severed leg to go in from the back.
He also minimized his breathing and recalled Nidhora's power back into his body to make himself seem as small of a threat as possible.
Although the little ant was indeed extremely dangerous, it still wasn't mature enough to make full use of its surroundings or its abilities. Not to mention it seemed to be distracted at the moment.
Slowly, he crept in until he was close enough to lunge towards the ant in one go.
With his right hand extended outwards, Hao Xuan pushed against the ground forcefully, sending green blood and earth in every direction.
Yet all his prudent planning could not make up for the raw instincts of a creature that was at the top of the pyramid.
When Hao Xuan's hand was less than a foot away from the ant, it suddenly reacted.
The damaged and immature translucent wings on its back trembled intensely. A blade of air was created from the lightning-fast movement of the wings and it shot towards Hao Xuan's hand.
Before he could even feel the pain, bright red blood splattered across his face. He knew the damage was already done and before he went in, Hao Xuan was prepared to lose the hand if need be.
That was the cost of this opportunity.
He lost all sensation from his wrist downwards but still didn't stop. He kept moving forward until he felt the sensation of the cold hard carapace of the ant against his limb, or whatever was left of it and uttered the word through gritted teeth.
"SEVER!"
A white light erupted from the ant and instantly surrounded the duo.
It was perhaps the brightest light during a 'severing' other than the one where Hao Xuan severed the 201 Orcs at once.
Thankfully though, it didn't last long. Less than a second later the light retracted back into Hao Xuan's body.
The ant was nowhere to be seen while Hao Xuan was left gasping for air.
He was clutching his right wrist that was cut cleanly off. His hand still making the grasping motion was a few meters away.
"Hah....hah...alright...that wasn't...so bad..." he managed to spit out the words before collapsing on the ground.
His chest heaved up and down as he struggled to sit back up a minute later. Using the still damaged left hand he dragged his body towards the severed hand and picked it back up.
"Y-Yo, do your thing," he said while placing the hand back where it belonged.
The nanomachines within Hao Xuan's bloodstream got to work and started reattaching the nerves and tissues.
He couldn't help but grimace from the pain that felt like someone was sprinkling salt on his wound.
"How l-long is this gonna t-take?"
"The primary closure will be complete within 20 minutes. Secondary closure will take more time. ETA until full Recovery: 3 hours."
Hao Xuan let out a mournful sigh.
"Fine, nothing I can do about that I guess," he mumbled before closing his eyes.
His consciousness appeared in the Mind Palace.
He didn't have to look around for the ant because as soon as he solidified, a white flash passed in front of him, missing by mere inches.
Astounded, Hao Xuan looked behind him and saw the ant flying left and right chaotically. It looked like it was drunk but the killing intent it was giving off was unmistakable.
And it was aimed directly at him.
"What the hell are you doing?!" he shouted in anger.
The ant flapped its damaged wings and once again shot towards Hao Xuan. But when it got close, it changed direction by itself, narrowly missing him.
That was when Hao Xuan realized what was going on. It was genuinely trying to kill him, yet the constitution's power was keeping it from completing its task.
If it kept pushing it like this, its soul would collapse in on itself and it would die in vain.