Chapter 64: Excuse the Interruption
Cyan Steel Shadow Energy surged along Dragon-Slaying Flash as Su Xiao lunged toward the next contractor.
"Behind... ugh~"
A contractor was about to shout when a mass of black mist rushed into his mouth, causing his defensive movements to freeze.
A blade pierced through his throat, another through his heart. With the boost from massive true damage, this contractor died on the spot.
After death, the contractor did not fall. His eyes were pitch black, and a strange smile spread across his face.
The sounds of slashing and screams came simultaneously. The dust was blown away by a strong gust of air. By now, four of the twelve contractors had fallen.
"This... can't be."
A female contractor stepped back several paces. They had actually been surrounded—by a human, a minotaur, an armored monster, and a giant cavalryman.
Pfft.
A short blade pierced the throat of a male healing-type contractor. This healer's mouth gaped wide as he stared in disbelief at his friend. Just half an hour ago, the two had been discussing pooling resources to forge a special piece of equipment.
The contractor who had stabbed his teammate wore a strange smile. The few around him immediately retreated, encircling this "traitor." In the next moment, Su Xiao charged forward with his blade.
"Dark."
A slightly hoarse voice came from within the shadows. The six surrounded contractors froze in place. A black cross simultaneously appeared on their chests. With such an opportunity, Su Xiao naturally wouldn't miss it.
The battle ended quickly. Su Xiao wiped the blood from his blade and searched for the next enemy contractor squad.
Most people in Reincarnation Paradise viewed mages as spell turrets. If Solomon went all out, he could certainly become one.
The greatest characteristic of mages was that none of their abilities had cooldowns. They studied the spells they had mastered. As long as their bodies could withstand it and they had enough mana, they could use spells almost without limit.
What outsiders didn't know was that all mages were scholars. They generally specialized in one element. For example, Solomon specialized in dark elements, but that didn't mean he could only use dark-element attack spells.
Dark-attribute summoning, control abilities, curses, debuffs, and attack abilities—Solomon was proficient in all of them. That was a true mage.
The battle ended, and Solomon emerged from the shadows. Although this was their first time cooperating, they worked together seamlessly.
Twelve contractors had dropped two Scarlet Chests—an incredible stroke of luck. But Solomon's expression remained calm. Judging by his demeanor... it seemed he was used to this?
As for Reincarnation Paradise merits, Su Xiao and Solomon were in a temporary team, so the merits were split equally between them.
Su Xiao picked up the two Scarlet Chests from the ground and tossed one to Solomon.
Solomon caught the chest. Though he said nothing, he was clearly satisfied with Su Xiao's performance in the battle. From start to finish, the enemies never had a chance to focus on Solomon. This was due to the pressure Su Xiao exerted on them—they had no energy to spare for Solomon.
For a magic-type contractor, nothing was more satisfying than standing at a distance and freely using abilities. By the end of the battle, Solomon couldn't even be bothered to use attack abilities—it was a waste of mana.
This made Solomon, who usually operated alone, inwardly sigh. So this was how simple battle became when there was a melee fighter in front.
Su Xiao wasn't a true tank, nor did he need to block enemies. From a sensory perspective, who posed a greater threat—Su Xiao, already charging forward with his long blade, or Solomon, standing at a distance? Clearly, it was Su Xiao. If you couldn't stop him, your head would be severed in the next moment.
...
Two hours later, inside Lubei City.
Su Xiao sat atop a water tower, bare-chested, with bandages wrapped around multiple parts of his body. In these two hours, he and Solomon had clashed with nine contractor squads. The intensity of the battles was self-evident.
Su Xiao was heavily injured, and Solomon wasn't much better off. The latter had a grim expression, with a dagger lodged in his shoulder. The dagger couldn't be pulled out for now because of its attached properties—removing it would cause Solomon's shoulder to spurt blood like a fountain.
"How many?"
Solomon's eyes were half-lidded. His mana had dropped below 15%.
"Ninety-seven."
Su Xiao exhaled a puff of smoke. The reason they were so badly injured was that they had killed ninety-seven people from the Apocalypse Paradise side. That was an astonishing number.
"More than expected. Whether we succeed or fail, it's no longer our concern."
Given Su Xiao and Solomon's condition, they naturally wouldn't participate in the great melee in Lubei City. Having done this much, no one could say anything if they didn't join the impending chaos.
The two had almost swept through from the south of the city. It was impossible for two people to simultaneously fight ninety-seven contractors. They had only engaged small groups of contractors—ranging from a few to a dozen or so. With intelligence suppression, surprise attacks, and their cooperation, they had annihilated these contractors.
"How's the Gulu squad doing?"
Solomon leaned against a broken wall, appearing drowsy, but in reality, the elemental web distributed around him was on high alert.
"Not sure."
Su Xiao looked up at the gray sky. The earlier downpour had just stopped, and a light drizzle was falling again.
After a long silence, Solomon stood up. He led his three summons and walked off into the distance.
"See you at the Hot Rain Forest."
Leaving this remark, Solomon dragged his exhausted body away.
"He's gone. Come out."
Su Xiao tossed aside the cigarette butt soaked by the rain. Footsteps came from within the broken wall—it was Qing Yan.
"Going smoothly?"
Qing Yan sized up Su Xiao. Seeing his injuries, he frowned.
"If it weren't, you'd be seeing my corpse."
"Hah, true enough."
Qing Yan casually found a piece of rubble to sit on.
"What about the battle over there... not planning to join? Solomon went to the Hot Rain Forest to set up a large-scale magic array in advance. You on the other hand..."
Qing Yan had come to Su Xiao clearly hoping to get him involved in the upcoming great melee in Lubei City. The Apocalypse Paradise side had lost so many people that they were clearly cornered and had united to wipe out the Reincarnation Paradise contractors.
"Do you think Solomon would still have the energy to set up a large-scale magic array in the Hot Rain Forest if he weren't conserving strength?"
Blood dripped from the bandages on Su Xiao's arm. In those two hours of intense combat, he had blocked countless attacks for Solomon. Otherwise, would Solomon—who barely spoke a word all morning—have bothered to bid Su Xiao farewell before leaving, and even gifted him a Scarlet Chest and two recovery potions?
"Uh... so that's how it is." Qing Yan's smile turned awkward. After a moment of thought, he tentatively asked, "How many did you kill?"
"Ninety-seven."
"..."
Even with Qing Yan's mental fortitude, he was stunned for a moment upon hearing that number. The Apocalypse Paradise side only had a little over eight hundred contractors. In just two hours, Su Xiao and Solomon had nearly killed an eighth of them!
"Take care of your injuries. Excuse the interruption."
Qing Yan got up and left immediately. With Su Xiao and Solomon's kill count, if Qing Yan still pestered Su Xiao to join the upcoming melee, that would be shameless. Perhaps feeling a bit embarrassed, Qing Yan left behind a blue-quality potion before leaving.
"Bubu."
Su Xiao stood up with some difficulty. Bubu Wang immediately ran over, and the next moment, Su Xiao mounted Bubu Wang's back.
"Go here."
Su Xiao pointed to a location on the holographic map. He needed to leave Lubei City quickly, and he couldn't head straight for the Hot Rain Forest. Doing so would both buy time for Qing Yan and the others and give Solomon more time. The Sanctuary Paradise side would arrive soon, and their tracking target would be Su Xiao, who was carrying the World Core.