Chapter 7: The Tank's Sorrow
Inside the factory, heavy breathing and low curses could be heard. These were members of the Blood Gate Adventurers. Their mission was simple: purge the contractors in this world to ensure no one interfered with the artificial Holy Grail plan.
Iron Rat hid behind an ice wall. He cautiously poked his head out to look around. The next moment, a loud bang rang out, and behind him came the sound of ice shattering.
Iron Rat flinched and ducked his head. Fortunately, he was a dwarf, or that shot might have hit him.
"Four enemies total. A perception-type, an ice-ability user, a sniper. That cat we scouted earlier is also suspicious—it's bait. The sniper is roughly a hundred meters away. Any questions?"
Iron Rat was experienced in combat. The fact that they had been beaten into this state was definitely due to an intelligence disadvantage. He was certain of that.
"Priority target is the sniper, then the ice-ability user. Ignore the perception-type for now. If we get a chance, take out the cat. In five seconds, charge with me. I'll tank the sniper's fire..."
Iron Rat began setting up a breakout formation. This factory was almost a sealed room; fighting a sniper here was practically suicide.
"If we run into an ambush, spread out to minimize casualties. Xiao Tai, find a chance to sneak over."
As Iron Rat finished speaking, the youth in the imperial robe beside him gradually merged into the shadows. He wasn't turning invisible—he was entering the shadows themselves.
"Wait for my command. Three, two..."
Just as Iron Rat was about to give the charge order, a dog head suddenly appeared in front of him.
"Damn it!"
Iron Rat jerked back in shock and threw a punch.
Bang! His arm slammed into the ice wall. The contractors waiting for the charge order nearly threw their backs out. 'Three... two... damn it'—what kind of cursed charge command was that?
"Give me... what the hell is this thing?"
The expression under Iron Rat's faceplate was complicated. That dog, which looked just like a husky, had appeared again. If he weren't confident in his own resistance, he might have thought he was seeing things.
"Iron Rat boss, we're..."
The expression of a mage beside Iron Rat was especially vivid. In the past, Iron Rat would have asked that mage, "You saw that too, right?"
"Enough nonsense. Charge with me."
"Awooo~"
A wolf howl came from inside the factory. Almost every contractor in the building couldn't help but look toward the source. A husky came into view. The same thought arose in all their minds: kill this damn 'husky'!
Skill 8: Howl (Passive, Self-Learned Skill): Bubuteni actively exits the 'You Can't See Me' state, letting out a long howl in an attempt to disrupt enemy minds, with a chance to draw a large amount of enemy aggro.
...
"Focus fire and take it out."
Iron Rat made a snap decision. He had already realized how threatening Bubu Wang was.
Guns, spells, arrows, thrown weapons—all aimed at Bubu Wang simultaneously.
Boom!
A loud crash came from above the factory. A figure landed through the falling ice debris. With a thud, a door-sized ice shield blocked Bubu Wang's path.
Explosions and cracking sounds followed one after another. Smoke from the explosives enveloped the ice shield. A pair of blood-red eyes flickered faintly within the smoke.
Thump, thump, thump...
Something charged out of the smoke. It was Amu, bursting through. The ice shield in its hands showed cracks of varying depths, but it hadn't shattered.
The concentrated fire of over a dozen ranged contractors hadn't broken Amu's shield in the first volley. This showed just how strong the ice shield's defense was. Not only that, but ice energy surged from Amu's hands, and the cracks on the shield gradually disappeared.
Iron Rat's expression was grim to the extreme. They were being surrounded by three enemies from front and back. As absurd as it sounded, that was exactly the situation.
"Ignore it. Push toward the sniper."
"B-Boss Iron Rat, that... the sniper... seems to be... charging over here?!"
"Huh?"
Iron Rat was clearly stunned for a moment. He turned to look outside the factory. Sure enough, that sniper was really charging over with a blade in hand.
Seeing Su Xiao rushing over with his sword drawn, Iron Rat's eyelid twitched. He recognized Su Xiao.
[Prompt: Enemy Saber has arrived. Please notify your allied Servant immediately.]
[Warning: Enemy Saber's combat power nearly exceeds all Servants. Please summon your allied Servant immediately!]
[Balance mechanism activated. If you kill the enemy Saber, you will be rewarded with 'Epic Chest × 1'.]
...
Seeing the prompt from Reincarnation Paradise, Iron Rat cursed under his breath. He wasn't dazzled by the Epic Chest. The higher the reward, the stronger the enemy's combat power.
A whistling sound of something cutting through the air came. Iron Rat instinctively raised his arm to block his face while keeping his vision clear.
Splat. Something hit the ice wall, leaving bloodstains on the crystal-clear frost. Iron Rat looked down and saw the youth in the imperial robe he had sent out earlier. The youth was now lifeless, only his upper body remaining. The wound was as smooth as a mirror.
Compared to Su Xiao's charge, the Blood Gate members were bombarding Amu relentlessly. Over thirty ranged and melee contractors pushed Amu back step by step. The ice shield in its hands could shatter at any moment.
Iron Rat quickly sent a distress call in the adventure group's public channel, then let out a roar. Though the situation was bad, the Blood Gate members had only lost a few contractors, and that was while being ambushed. This showed their combat discipline.
Iron Rat sent four melee fighters to hold off Amu. He could tell Amu was a tank. As for the remaining thirty contractors, they quickly formed a formation: main tank Iron Rat at the front, a few melee fighters behind him, then mages or gunners, and finally healers and support types.
This was the most common and practical formation for adventure groups. Iron Rat was confident he could hold off Su Xiao. If he could, there was no worry that his teammates couldn't kill Su Xiao.
At this point, Iron Rat was no longer in a hurry to break out. Against a sniper, you had to charge out, or you'd get picked off one by one. Against a melee fighter, it was different. This place could serve as a temporary defensive position.
Clang, clang, clang.
Several slash marks appeared on the ice wall. The solid ice became exceptionally fragile under Su Xiao's blade.
"Here he comes."
Iron Rat clenched his right fist. With a metallic clatter, a shield appeared on his right arm. This shield wasn't large—only about half a meter in diameter.
Boom!
The ice shattered. A figure flashed through the debris. To the magic-type contractors, it was just a streak of blue lightning.
Iron Rat took a deep breath. The shield emitted a dark, black light.
"Gravity Field."
With a hum, the ground within a dozen meters around Iron Rat sank into a large depression. Su Xiao suddenly appeared right in front of him.
"Got you."
Iron Rat made a fist and grinned, showing his prominent front teeth, like a rodent. The moment he clenched his fist, the gravity around Su Xiao increased several times.
Boom! The ground around Su Xiao cracked. Iron Rat braced himself for impact. Then... nothing happened.
Schlick!
The sound of a sharp weapon cutting through flesh came. Iron Rat's pupils contracted to the limit. The pit in front of him was empty. Su Xiao had vanished.
Now, behind Iron Rat, Su Xiao had cut down a melee contractor with one slash, severing his head. The enemy's head and half a warhammer flew through the air together.
Su Xiao stepped forward with his left foot, abruptly stopping his charge. He sidestepped a scorching laser beam. He had used the Dragon Shadow Flash ability to bypass Iron Rat directly. The guy was a tank with strong crowd control. There was no point in tangling with him. Even a fraction of a second's delay could get him focused down.
The most tragic thing for a main tank wasn't having their defense broken—it was the enemy ignoring them entirely. Just like Iron Rat now.
With his Instinct ability, everything around Su Xiao seemed to slow down. He swung his blade horizontally. Cyan Steel Shadow energy surged along the edge. One slash dispersed an incoming green fireball. At the same time, an arrow struck his shoulder.
There were six melee fighters around Su Xiao. Counting the one he had just killed, that made seven. His ghost-like figure accelerated again, suddenly appearing before a melee contractor.
That contractor's eyes widened. He instinctively raised his greatsword to block. The gruesome death of his teammate had taught him about Su Xiao's slashing power.
Su Xiao's arm muscles bulged slightly. He raised his blade and struck with full force.
Ting~
The melee contractor froze in place. A bloodline appeared on his face. The Epic-grade +10 Dragon-Slaying Flash had cut through the greatsword in one blow.
Two melee fighters fell. As they collapsed, the ranged contractors in the Blood Gate's backline came into Su Xiao's view.
"Stop him!"
A 'mage lord's' voice cracked. If melee fighters were being taken down in one hit, then if Su Xiao charged into their ranks, it would be like cutting through vegetables.
Boom, boom, boom...
Several attacks hit Su Xiao. As for the incoming control abilities, he completely ignored them. The Counter Shield enveloped him. He charged straight toward the ranged contractors who were pouring firepower at him.