Chapter 26: Forcefully Stealing the Kill
The weapon in Su Xiao's hand was the [Duke of Annihilation +13], a sniper cannon about to reveal its ferocious side.
After taking out the [Duke of Annihilation], Su Xiao retrieved a set of black alloy supports from his storage space. Given the current terrain, there was no place to set up the Duke of Annihilation, so he had to use the supports.
The supports were quickly assembled, and Su Xiao mounted the [Duke of Annihilation] on them, adjusting the height and firing angle.
He took out two caliber bullets, one being an elemental bullet (Earth) and the other a standard bullet, specifically an armor-piercing round with greater penetration.
Based on the information provided by Bubu Wang, there was a barrier around the basin, a safety measure by the adventure group to prevent outsiders from stealing the kill.
What Su Xiao was about to do was obvious—he was going to steal the kill.
The reason Su Xiao knew an adventure group was besieging Youbi here was quite interesting. When he arrived near the capital of East Gorteau, Bubu Wang discovered a female worker being chased by Chimera Ant underlings.
Leaving aside the fact that Su Xiao wasn't the type to play hero and save damsels in distress, ever since the Rose incident, he maintained a proper level of caution toward those pursued workers, especially women—who knew their true strength?
That female worker wasn't a strong person in disguise; she was genuinely being hunted to the point of questioning her life and was about to die. She shouted three sentences, and the third one saved her life.
First sentence: "Big shot, save me! I'm willing to pay Paradise Coins!"
Second sentence: "Let's hit the sheets! Just save me, and any position is fine!"
Third sentence: "The Starfire Adventure Group is preparing to besiege Youbi, one of the three Royal Guards. I know where it is!"
Clearly, the third sentence successfully moved Su Xiao. Amu helped the female worker eliminate her pursuers and then, quite considerately, broke one of her arms and one of her legs.
As the female worker described everything with a tearful voice, Su Xiao learned the full story. At the time, Amu was gripping her head, and with just a slight squeeze, she would have died instantly. Needless to say, it was far from a pleasant experience.
Although the female worker was left with indelible trauma both physically and mentally, she survived.
Whether this intelligence was credible remained unknown for now, but it had some value. Thus, Su Xiao ended up forcefully spectating the Starfire Adventure Group's battle against Youbi.
Su Xiao first loaded a standard bullet into the chamber, then inserted the elemental bullet (Earth). To break through the barrier, the elemental bullet (Earth) should be more suitable, as its tip was sturdier.
Su Xiao took a deep breath and activated the [Duke of Annihilation]'s attached ability, "Duke's Domain."
Click, click...
A scope popped out from the gun's body.
Equipment Effect 1: Duke's Domain (Active) — Upon activating this skill, the Duke of Annihilation ejects an adaptive magnification scope (2x to 53x). Targets within 500 meters will be manually aimed by the user. For targets beyond 500 meters, a locking function can be activated, requiring 10 seconds to lock onto the enemy. The user can choose to lock onto the head, chest, arms, lower limbs, etc. After locking, the next shot will have a bullet-tracking effect. Maximum range: 4,762 meters (enhanced +13 adds 1,260 meters of range).
...
Currently, Su Xiao was about 1,200 meters away from Youbi. He adjusted the scope to 18x magnification.
The Duke of Annihilation's scope was a high-tech device. When Su Xiao leaned his head toward the scope, a red crosshair appeared. At the center of the crosshair was a circle that expanded and contracted periodically. Every time Su Xiao's heart beat, the circle would enlarge, then gradually shrink.
The scope not only had a heartbeat detection function but also displayed over a dozen data points at its edges, including wind speed, temperature, humidity, air resistance, and air pressure. Su Xiao didn't need to sense any of it himself.
All data related to sniping was already detected by the scope. His only task was to find the right moment and ensure precision and stability when firing.
The scope shifted slightly, eventually locking onto Youbi.
A kilometer away, Youbi was grabbing a melee contractor, a rogue contractor whom no one was coming to rescue.
Just as Youbi was about to tear the human in its hands apart, its body suddenly froze. Every cell in its body began to sound an alarm: flee, flee now, or die!
Youbi had this reaction because being locked onto by the Duke of Annihilation was an utterly terrifying experience. If being locked onto by the Spider Empress felt like a dagger pressed against the back of the head, then being locked onto by the Duke of Annihilation was like standing right in front of a siege cannon, with life hanging by a thread at any moment.
The Duke of Annihilation was Gold quality. It had once been the main weapon of a fifth-rank contractor. That contractor had used it since the fourth rank and only considered switching weapons after advancing to the fifth rank.
Now, this sniper rifle had fallen into Su Xiao's hands. The destructive power the Duke of Annihilation could unleash was unimaginable.
With Su Xiao's firearm skill bonuses, while he couldn't one-shot a fourth-rank contractor with the Duke of Annihilation, he definitely wouldn't need a second shot against third-rank enemies. Even a main tank would die from a single hit, unless they were one of those absurdly overpowered third-rank contractors.
Su Xiao slowly pulled the trigger.
Boom!
A thunderous blast echoed. The small hill Su Xiao was on cracked extensively. The recoil of the Duke of Annihilation was terrifying.
A dull yellow bullet instantly left the gun's muzzle. As it spun at high speed, it left a yellow trail behind it.
The earth-elemental bullet surged forward with terrifying kinetic energy. Its speed was incredible, though earth-elemental bullets were actually the slowest among all elemental rounds—lightning being the fastest.
Almost instantly, the elemental bullet struck a transparent barrier.
The barrier shattered like paper, breaking apart with a crackling sound. As the first layer broke, a second layer was also destroyed.
Thud!
It was like a comet hitting the earth. The entire basin shook violently, and some mages casting spells nearly fell over.
A yellow streak flashed by, and the next moment, an explosion erupted at the center of the basin. Fragmented rocks sprayed dozens of meters into the air.
Everyone stopped what they were doing. Even Youbi, at the center of the basin, stood frozen in place.
Just a second ago, Youbi felt something fly past its side. In that instant, it experienced the fear of death—a sensation utterly foreign to it.
With a clatter, small stones fell from the sky. The bald-headed leader swallowed hard. He didn't know where that attack came from, but he was certain of one thing: no one present could withstand such an attack. Even the big boss, Youbi, couldn't.
After the yellow streak flashed, all five layers of the barrier were destroyed. At the center of the basin, a hole as thick as a washbasin appeared, its depth unfathomable.
"Everyone, retreat! Save your own skins! Forget about Youbi!"
The bald-headed leader roared as he turned and rushed out of the basin. In just two seconds, he judged that besieging Youbi under the threat of such an attack was an incredibly foolish decision.