Chapter 25: Unbelievable Allies
The bright flare landed midair, gunfire became sparse, and the enemy's half-kilometer-long trench was in ruins, with countless corpses inside.
Looking back, a large number of friendly soldiers lay fallen on the charge route. This chaotic battlefield made it impossible to calculate the exact number of enemies eliminated.
Everyone believed this defensive line was nearly impossible to breach, at least not in a short time. Yet, in about fifteen minutes, the enemy's defensive line had actually been broken.
Su Xiao's battle situation was going smoothly, while Gulu on the adjacent position was enduring the bombardment of hundreds of tanks. It was Gulu's unit that had drawn the enemy's fire.
The victorious soldiers felt no joy. Countless more battles awaited them. These soldiers gathered in small groups near the tanks, either chatting or lying directly on the ground to sleep.
Su Xiao jumped down from the tank and was surprised to find that after achieving a local victory, he could earn Reincarnation Paradise merit.
[Tip: The Hunter has assisted the 12th Regiment in capturing the enemy position. You gain 10 Reincarnation Paradise Merit Points.]
10 Reincarnation Paradise Merit Points might seem insignificant, but it was actually a considerable gain. To put it in perspective, killing two relatively strong enemy contractors only yielded 10 Reincarnation Paradise Merit Points.
While capturing the enemy position, Su Xiao activated a war mission. This mission was special—it was the follow-up reward for successfully integrating into the killing unit. If he had chosen to escape earlier, he wouldn't have triggered this mission.
[War Personal Main Mission: Deep Into Enemy Territory (Optional).]
Difficulty Level: ★★★★★
Mission Briefing: Infiltrate deep behind enemy lines and kill the Divine Envoy Dubois.
Mission Info: The Hunter can lock onto the location of Divine Envoy Dubois every 3 hours. Divine Envoy Dubois is located at the enemy's main camp.
Mission Duration: 15 natural days.
Mission Reward: Golden Skill Point × 2.
Mission Penalty: Reincarnation Paradise Merit -500. If negative merit remains after this world ends, 1000 Paradise Coins will be deducted per negative merit point. If Paradise Coins are insufficient, equipment of equivalent value will be deducted.
...
Undoubtedly, this was an extremely dangerous mission. Su Xiao had to infiltrate the enemy's main camp, meaning he had to enter the territory of the Sun Kingdom.
The so-called War Personal Main Mission was actually similar to main missions in other worlds. This mission had a long cycle, a full 15 natural days.
Based on Su Xiao's experience, in the later stages of a war world, it became a chaotic battle among contractors, rarely involving native forces. It was a fight between contractors and contractors.
If Su Xiao accepted this mission and successfully completed it, he would be close to the contractor free-for-all stage.
Su Xiao now had two choices. First, abandon this mission and continue operating on the battlefield to gain benefits. Second, accept this mission, infiltrate deep into enemy territory, and kill the enemy's Divine Envoy, which was equivalent to killing a Lieutenant General. The difficulty was unimaginable.
The reward for this mission was so generous that Su Xiao hadn't expected it. He had obtained 1 Golden Skill Point before. This item could enhance any mastered ability, including MAX-level abilities.
One point was worth the risk; two points were worth risking his life. The four MAX abilities—Absolute Magic Resistance, Supreme Blade, Spirit Shadow Constitution, and Devouring Core—any one of them being upgraded by two consecutive levels would cause a qualitative change. Especially Devouring Core, which directly affected the enhancement speed of Azure Steel Shadow. Azure Steel Shadow was one of Su Xiao's core combat abilities.
After pondering for a moment, Su Xiao walked toward a fallen enemy soldier and stripped off the outer coat from the corpse.
"Sir, are we going to rendezvous with the others?"
The little assistant quickly ran up.
"No, you can go back."
"Huh?"
The little assistant looked slightly surprised.
"I have other things to do. If you follow me, you'll die within two days, and you'll hold me back. Here's some advice: cherish your life and stay away from me."
"Sir, that's way too blunt."
The little assistant scratched her head. She had already witnessed Su Xiao's superhuman physique. Lifting a tank with his bare hands was something only the Sun Kingdom's Divine Envoys could do.
"Sir, if you're going deep behind enemy lines, I can definitely be useful. Otherwise, Sir Scain wouldn't have sent me. Besides, I personally want to infiltrate the enemy camp."
"No, you don't."
Su Xiao took off his black military uniform and put on the gray uniform of the Sun Kingdom. Military uniforms were never flashy; concealment was the top priority, followed by comfort and aesthetics.
"According to Sir Scain, you don't seem very good at the Sun Kingdom's accent?"
The little assistant smiled.
Su Xiao looked at the little assistant, who rattled off a bunch of words, mostly in the Sun Kingdom's dialect. Although Su Xiao could understand, he absolutely couldn't replicate those accents.
"See? I'm useful."
"Once we're behind enemy lines, you'll be on your own."
Su Xiao stepped forward and walked toward the distant forest.
"Wait for me! Don't bully me just because I have short legs!"
The little assistant quickly followed, even snatching a few bags of compressed biscuits on the way. The soldier she robbed was quite annoyed, but he couldn't beat this notorious young lady from the 12th Regiment.
Inside the forest, Su Xiao activated the tracking function. A red dot appeared in his line of sight, indicating the direction of the Sun Kingdom.
Su Xiao had a total of 15 days. To kill the enemy's Divine Envoy, he first needed to confirm the target's location, then track it, and choose the right moment.
Taking the tactical map handed over by the little assistant, Su Xiao drew several circles based on the red dot's position.
The enemy's main camp couldn't possibly be in the war zone. Communication in this world wasn't too backward. A Divine Envoy, equivalent to a Lieutenant General, would never personally appear on the battlefield.
So Su Xiao initially targeted several major cities near the Sun Kingdom's border. He first had to cross half the battlefield before entering the Sun Kingdom.
That same morning, inside a swamp.
Thousands of Sun Kingdom soldiers marched through the swamp, singing military songs with high morale.
Gurgle, gurgle...
A string of bubbles rose from the muddy water. A few minutes later, a small head emerged from the mud. After confirming no one was around, the little assistant crawled out of the mire.
"Phew... Why did I have to dive into the mud?"
The little assistant wiped the mud from her mouth and looked up at a large tree. Su Xiao was sitting on a branch.
"Keep moving."
"Sir, I need a bath. This mud will attract unnecessary suspicion and increase the chance of being discovered. Tactically speaking, I..."
"Shut up. 20 seconds."
The little assistant rushed toward a pond, stripped off her clothes in a flash. Just a few minutes ago, Su Xiao had noticed a crocodile in that clear pond...
"Ha!"
A scream came as the little assistant flung the crocodile from the pond onto the shore.
"Damn it, you wasted my precious 7 seconds. Die, die, die!"
The little assistant's fair little feet stomped wildly on the deceased crocodile. At least a dozen small knives without guards were stuck in its body.
Soon, carrying her wet clothes and wearing only her underwear, the little assistant followed behind Su Xiao, her bare feet stained with a few leaves.
...
Outside the border of the Geya Alliance, on an icefield.
The cold wind howled, and heavy snow fell.
"Hang in there! Don't give up!"
A female contractor kicked a ice wolf away. Their six-person reconnaissance team was searching the world for World Sources.
"There are too many. Today... we might die here."
The six contractors, four men and two women, stood back-to-back, surrounded by over a hundred ice wolves. Among the female contractors was Su Xiao's acquaintance, Mizusaki.
"Howl~"
A wolf howl came from afar. Hearing this, the pack of ice wolves surrounding the six contractors stopped attacking and made way, lowering their heads.
Crack, crack...
Sharp claws pierced the solid ice. Hearing this sound, Mizusaki, holding dual daggers and wearing ultra-short denim shorts, swallowed hard. These ice wolves were incredibly fast and coordinated perfectly. Even going all out, she could at most take a dozen of them down with her.
Mizusaki looked toward the source of the sound. Her mouth fell open, and her eyes were filled with disbelief.
"A... a Husky?!"
The female contractor beside Mizusaki exclaimed, her voice almost breaking.
"Grr..."
The surrounding ice wolves growled low.
"Woof!"
With a single bark, the hundred ice wolves instantly fell silent, all lowering their heads.
Running footsteps echoed across the icefield. In moments, over a thousand ice wolves appeared around them. The largest one was blind in one eye, with a scar over it.
This time, the other five contractors besides Mizusaki were all in despair.
"Is this... becoming the wolf king?!"
Mizusaki's mouth twitched violently. She had already started to imagine a scene.