Chapter 28: Assassination
The Duke of Annihilation had seven rounds left. Su Xiao observed the contractors a kilometer away through his scope. These people clearly had no intention of swarming him.
"So you won't surround and kill the sniper. Third-rank contractors are noticeably more cautious."
Su Xiao ejected the spent shell from the chamber. The hot casing fell, trailing a wisp of blue smoke.
Clink~
The casing hit the ground. The instant it landed, a short blade suddenly appeared at the back of Su Xiao's head.
The gleaming tip thrust straight toward his skull. The attack was utterly abrupt, without any warning.
Crack! The blade tip stopped just before Su Xiao's head. A counter shield with 500 points of strength blocked behind him, and the incoming short knife actually pierced straight through it.
The attacker had been brewing this strike for an unknown amount of time. The blade was not only poisoned but also imbued with five skill effects: Backstab, Shadow Blade, Vital Penetration, Lethal Thrust, and Death's Hand.
This blow piercing through a 500-point counter shield wasn't exaggerated, because the attacker had poured all her strength into this single strike. This was a blow aimed at instantly killing Su Xiao—under the assumption, of course, that he was a sniper.
Crack!
Large cracks spread across the energy shield. Su Xiao turned his head to look at the short knife scraping past his cheek. The blade was coated in green venom. Five minutes ago, his Instinct ability had vaguely sensed someone approaching nearby, but the feeling was faint and intermittent.
The attacker failed to kill Su Xiao in one blow, creating an extremely awkward situation.
Zzz~
The metal wire contracted. Su Xiao had already laid down Realm Severing Thread behind him. Even his Instinct ability couldn't fully track the opponent's movements, indicating that the attacker's stealth ability was extremely strong—over 90% chance she was an assassin.
The Realm Severing Thread tangled around a solid form. Su Xiao yanked the thread, and the ensnared "entity" materialized. It was a slender figure draped in a black cloak and hood.
The thread cut into the figure's body, but no blood sprayed out. The figure's form began to distort and soon dissipated into the air.
Based on Su Xiao's experience, this was a substitution ability. The real target definitely hadn't gone far, though her exact location was unknown for now.
Su Xiao's hand pressed down on the Duke of Annihilation, which was stored back into his storage space.
Instead of drawing Dragon-Slaying Flash or releasing his aura, Su Xiao pulled out the Hunter's Gun, which was more suited for close combat. This was the most instinctive reaction for a sniper when closed in on—well, at least for most snipers.
Su Xiao's expression turned extremely "grim." Not far away, Amu let out a roar and charged toward Su Xiao "recklessly," while Su Xiao also ran toward Amu, trying to "rejoin" as quickly as possible.
A dozen meters from Su Xiao, the cloaked figure was inside an alternate space. Her stealth ability wasn't invisibility but entering an alternate dimension. Each entry into the alternate space had a delay of about three seconds and drastically reduced her speed, so this ability could only be used as a high-level invisibility skill, not in close combat.
Under the black hood was a slightly pale, beautiful face with dark eye shadow. This female assassin's appearance was only average, but she had a unique aura. There was no perfume on her—only a faint scent of blood.
"Do you think I'm an idiot? That bull's acting was terrible."
Cold sweat dripped down the female assassin's pale chin. The moment her short knife had thrust toward Su Xiao, she had felt an extremely terrifying aura. That sensation was nothing like assassinating a sniper who was weak in close combat.
Outside, Amu was still charging toward Su Xiao, but Su Xiao stopped in his tracks.
"Amu, your acting was terrible."
Hearing Su Xiao's words, Amu slowed his pace and finally stopped a dozen meters away, scratching his head.
"I'm hungry."
"Hold it."
Su Xiao scanned his surroundings, trying to determine what type of stealth ability the attacker was using. If it was light refraction or shadow-based, it would be easier to deal with. If it was perception-blocking or forced existence suppression, it would be very difficult—Bubu Wang was the latter type, able to blend into the environment and completely suppress his own presence.
Of course, the enemy could also be using spatial stealth, which was also hard to counter. Such users didn't fully enter an alternate space but existed in the gap between two dimensions, different from Dai Tu's Sharingan ability or Su Xiao's spatial penetration ability.
"She hasn't gone far, or rather, she doesn't dare move."
Su Xiao's gaze sharpened. He continued looking around. The faint sense of crisis from his Instinct ability was still there, meaning the opponent hadn't left.
Dragon-Slaying Flash appeared in Su Xiao's hand, still sheathed.
Clang.
The long blade was drawn, producing a crisp ringing sound.
Boom!
A blood-red aura erupted from Su Xiao as the center point. Withered grass flew up, and small gravel scattered.
The aura swept outward, spreading thirty meters before stopping. Unfortunately, it didn't hit anyone, confirming that the enemy's stealth wasn't light refraction or shadow-based.
Golden light flickered on Su Xiao's sleeve. Black tadpole-like patterns spread outward—a basic spatial confinement ability that could seal spatial fluctuations within fifty meters. All spatial skills below the fifth rank in this area would be suppressed, lasting thirty minutes.
After sealing the surrounding space, Su Xiao observed again but still found nothing unusual.
"Bubu."
The moment Su Xiao spoke, Bubu Wang appeared beside him. In fact, Bubu had been crouching there all along.
"Is it existence-suppression type?"
Bubu Wang had this kind of ability, so he had some resistance to this type of stealth. If the enemy really was this type, he could vaguely sense their presence.
Bubu Wang shook his head, indicating he couldn't sense the opponent at all.
"Amu, clear the area."
Su Xiao glanced a kilometer away. Those contractors had stopped again to watch the show.
At that moment, the bald leader's heart was filled with "relief." He had considered surrounding the sniper more than once—until the sniper pulled out a long blade that was at least Gold quality and unleashed a terrifying aura. He felt grateful he hadn't rushed forward. That old yinbi in the distance wasn't a sniper at all; there was an 80% chance he was a close-combat fighter, and the long-range sniping was probably just to cover the shortcomings of being a lone wolf.
When the bald leader saw Amu's movements, he didn't hesitate. He immediately led his people to retreat. He had witnessed Amu colliding with Youbi earlier.
The bald leader fled with his group, and Amu naturally didn't pursue. He returned to Su Xiao's vicinity.
Su Xiao sat on a large rock. He was certain the assassin was still nearby. Her stealth method was unknown.
The situation now was that the female assassin couldn't escape. As for revealing herself—don't joke. She specialized in assassination. If she tried to fight Su Xiao in close combat, he could hang her up and beat her.