Chapter 5: The Battle Line Is About to Break (Fourth Update, Monthly Ticket Bonus)
"The protagonist of the Giant World has appeared. Not bad."
En Tu looked at Eren and the others with a full smile, seemingly wanting to strike up a conversation with them. He appeared hesitant, but someone else was faster.
A contractor approached Armin and gave him a gentle smile.
"Hello, I'm Kevin. We're in charge of..."
Kevin didn't choose to talk to Eren or Mikasa, opting instead for the more approachable Armin.
"Oh, I see."
Armin replied simply and fell silent, showing no interest in conversing with Kevin.
Having hit a soft wall, Kevin let out an awkward laugh before turning to Eren.
"What are you looking at me for? I won't believe anything a prisoner like you says."
Well, he was shut down before even speaking. Anger flickered in Kevin's eyes. His 10 points of Charm were utterly useless against these three.
He glanced at Mikasa one last time, shook his head with a sigh, and wisely walked away, returning to Chen's side.
"As expected, it's not working. It seems we need to complete the attack and defense tasks first before normal communication is possible. Reporting the Three Giants is even more impossible—they're Eren's comrades and might provoke an attack from him."
Chen muttered softly, ultimately abandoning his plan.
Near Su Xiao.
"En Tu, if the battle line can't hold, you'll step in, right?"
Blood Rose leaned close to En Tu's ear and whispered.
"Huh? What did you say? I'm already involved now."
En Tu looked at Blood Rose in surprise, lifting his shotgun slightly.
"I might have believed that before, but not now. Our leader just contacted me and passed on some intel.
Captain Levi has already arrived at District 1 to support them. District 2 has the research maniac Hange Zoë and numerous Survey Corps members.
But District 3's Paradise sent us three new recruits from the Training Corps. While Mikasa's combat ability is impressive, she can't compare to the two experienced Survey Corps members above."
Blood Rose paused, staring intently at En Tu.
"I admit Chen is strong, and I know my own strength. This faction alone can't compare to an adventure group. Paradise wouldn't make such a mistake. The other hidden powerhouse is you, isn't it?"
"Oh? There are other contractors too."
"Hah, those guys are just here to fill numbers and die."
En Tu silently fiddled with his shotgun, treating it like a treasure.
"It's not me. My combat strength really isn't that strong."
Blood Rose squinted, pursing her lips in thought.
A notification from Reincarnation Paradise appeared, and at the same time, Su Xiao felt a slight tremor in the ground.
Boom, boom, boom...
Giants were approaching, and in large numbers.
A contractor specializing in Agility ran to the cave entrance. After seeing the number of giants outside the wall, his legs went weak.
"Chen, boss, it's bad. There's a huge crowd of giants outside the wall."
"How many exactly?"
"I... I can't count them."
With a rustle, all the contractors got up and rushed to the cave entrance. Seeing the dense mass of giants, everyone felt the urge to turn and run.
Not far outside the wall, dozens of giants were advancing. Though their pace was slow, each step covered several meters. They would reach the cave entrance in less than a minute.
"Everyone, stay alert. Maintain your original formation."
Chen shouted loudly, gripping his staff from the rear.
"Wait."
Blood Rose suddenly spoke. Chen frowned at her.
"Ox, you're in charge of defending that entrance. Don't let any giants break through. That way, we only need to deal with one or two at a time. You, you, and you, cover Ox's flanks. If he makes a mistake, support him immediately.
Ranged gunners, split into three rows and fire in rotation. Each row, pay attention to reloading. The ranged fire must not stop..."
Blood Rose's rapid-fire orders left the contractors stunned. They all looked at Chen.
Chen's expression darkened. He had just seized the leader position, and it was already unstable. But Blood Rose's tactics were sound—he had no choice but to follow them unless he wanted the line to break.
"Do as she says."
Chen gritted out through his teeth, casting a cold glare at Blood Rose.
"'Lord Chen'? Is my arrangement wrong?"
Blood Rose smiled charmingly. As the vice leader of the Red Spider Lily, how could she not know how to deploy troops? This newcomer from the Brotherhood, Chen, was still too green.
Once all the contractors were in position, the giants attacked from the entrance. The first to engage was Ox.
Giants had no standard attack patterns—just grabbing and biting.
A millstone-sized hand reached for Ox. His face paled, and he immediately wanted to retreat.
"Don't retreat! If you do, we all die!"
Chen roared, hurling a large fireball.
Boom! The giant in the entrance was burned to charcoal, its body gradually vaporizing. More giants entered behind it.
Bang, bang, boom, boom...
Gunfire erupted like popping beans. The giants' advance was halted, most of them being blown apart before they could even exit the entrance.
Seeing this, Eren and the others stared in disbelief at the contractors.
"These prisoners are really strong."
"We need to be more cautious."
Mikasa watched the contractors warily, her dark eyes narrowing.
"They might not hold out for long. We need to think of a plan."
Armin saw the contractors' weakness. If the person at the front fell, the giants would flood inside. Once they had to face multiple giants at once, the contractors would surely lose.
The fire continued. Giant after giant fell in the entrance, leaving a pile of bones on the ground. The giants' bones vaporized much slower than their muscles.
The contractors were desperately defending the entrance. Ox's shield at the front was already twisted and deformed.
Ox had only one thought now: run. He couldn't hold on much longer.
A giant hand reached out from the entrance, grabbing Ox. He yelped and jumped back—the hand was too fast.
"Damn, an Abnormal."
Melee contractors rushed forward. Abnormals were a type of giant with unpredictable behavior. This one was different from normal giants—it moved on all fours, crawling quickly.
Bang, bang.
The Abnormal knocked down two contractors, successfully breaking through the entrance's defense.
Abnormals differed from normal giants in many ways. Normal giants looked dull, usually walked slowly, and their behavior was easy to predict.
But Abnormals were different—they could spin, jump, and approach enemies with ghostly movements. Some even crawled sideways like crabs.
"Quick, stop it!"
Chen's eyes bulged. If the line broke, it was all over.
Whoosh—a sound of air jets. Mikasa and the others engaged the Abnormal.
The Three-Dimensional Maneuver Gear allowed Mikasa to glide gracefully through the air, a blade in each hand. She spun once in midair and slashed at the Abnormal's nape.
Flesh flew from the nape. The Abnormal fell, steam rising.
But no sooner had this Abnormal died than five more burst out from the entrance. The contractors couldn't defend in time.
These five Abnormals instantly shattered the contractors' formation. The contractors fled in panic, dropping their gear. Several more normal giants emerged from the entrance.
"It's over."
Blood Rose and Chen's faces were grim. A twenty-day timed mission, and they couldn't even hold the line for an hour, let alone seal the entrance.
"Hey, Brother Bai Ye, if you keep watching, the mission will fail."
En Tu put away his shotgun and pulled a silver necklace from his neck. On it hung a palm-sized silver cross.
"Vitality."
"Courage."
"Faith."
Three rings of light, each a different color, radiated from En Tu.
This guy was actually a 'healer,' and he had three buff rings alone.
The contractors, now buffed, were stunned. They had never seen such powerful buffs before.
"Brother Bai Ye, is that enough sincerity for you?"
After a brief moment of thought, Su Xiao decided to show his true strength. If he didn't act now, the line would break, and things would get troublesome. Blood Rose and Chen alone couldn't hold it.
"Not bad sincerity."
Su Xiao put away the Shattered Elf, and Dragon-Slaying Flash appeared in his hand. His aura shifted sharply.
"So it's this guy."
Blood Rose slashed open a giant's nape with her gun, and the normal giant fell. She was a contractor focused on Strength with Agility as a secondary stat, unable to keep up with the Abnormal's ghostly speed.
Su Xiao scanned left and right, locked onto an Abnormal, and quickly ran toward it.
The Abnormal spotted him too, charging on all fours.
The distance between them closed rapidly. Su Xiao, mid-sprint, agilely sidestepped, dodging the Abnormal's massive jaws.
Dragon-Slaying Flash hummed through the air, slashing at the Abnormal's nape.
Pfft.
A massive head flew off. Su Xiao had decapitated the Abnormal with one strike.
Su Xiao was a bit surprised. Dragon-Slaying Flash had cut through the Abnormal's muscles and bones like tofu, with no resistance at all.
Though the Abnormal was dead, its body kept charging forward. Su Xiao stepped onto its back, accelerated with a few strides, and leaped toward another Abnormal.
A flash of cold light appeared in that Abnormal's vision.
Pfft.
Two strikes, two Abnormals down.
Hiss...
Hot blood splattered onto Su Xiao's hand. He stood on the vaporizing body of an Abnormal, shrouded in mist, his eyes gleaming coldly as he searched for the next target.
"Now I understand why Paradise assigned us new recruits. They've already given us someone at the level of an adventure group leader."
Blood Rose stared at Su Xiao, her eyes sparkling. She had misjudged him earlier.
PS: (Although it's launching on the 18th, it seems there's hope for the monthly ticket rankings.)