Chapter 8: Planetary Devastation?
Inside the frozen factory, Su Xiao killed two enemy melee contractors with two slashes, which clearly intimidated the other five melee-type contractors nearby, who all subconsciously stepped back.
Their retreat exposed the backline of their team to Su Xiao's line of sight. The mages or gunners were horrified—not only had the tank failed to block the enemy, but now the melee fighters dared not advance.
Almost instantly, three ranged contractors disappeared into the crowd, clearly those with stronger self-preservation abilities.
Their actions prompted the other ranged fighters to follow suit, using their survival skills to scatter.
With the enemy backline retreating, Su Xiao no longer had to endure their relentless bombardment, easing his pressure and giving him a chance to catch his breath.
"Amu."
Su Xiao shouted. Hearing his call, Amu hurled the ice shield in his hands, sending the two melee contractors in front of him staggering backward.
Amu raised both hands, white mist rising from his palms.
Boom!
Amu slammed his hands onto the ground, and an ice wall rapidly formed, splitting the factory in two. On the left were Su Xiao, Iron Rat, and five melee fighters; on the right were Amu, Bubu Wang, and Blood Gate's four melee fighters along with all the ranged and support types.
This ice wall was at least two meters thick. Breaking through it would be less efficient than digging a hole through the wall Amu had frozen earlier.
Amu successfully divided the terrain. He had taken quite a beating earlier, enduring all that punishment precisely to create this ice wall at the critical moment.
Seeing the ice wall form, Iron Rat's heart sank. His charge toward Su Xiao slowed, and in that brief delay, two short screams reached his ears.
Su Xiao kicked a melee contractor in the neck. This guy was clearly tough and extremely hot-tempered. Though Su Xiao nearly broke his neck with the kick, the contractor swung his double-hooked blades at Su Xiao—not from the front, but hooking in from behind.
The contractor grinned, his mouth full of blood. This was a Reincarnation Paradise contractor. Even if he was no match for Su Xiao in melee, after the initial shock, he immediately fought to the death.
The hook-blade contractor tilted his head and bit down on Su Xiao's pant leg. Meanwhile, the contractor Su Xiao had bisected with a single slash reached out with his bare hands to grab the blade of Dragon-Slaying Flash.
"Kill him!!"
The half-bodied contractor roared, letting out a crazed laugh. The other three melee contractors, seeing this, all lunged at Su Xiao.
Not far away, Iron Rat clenched his fists, a pitch-black energy sphere forming in his hands.
On Su Xiao's side, five melee contractors charged at him from all directions. The one whose spine was nearly broken bit his pant leg, the bisected contractor had already grabbed Dragon-Slaying Flash, its blade buried in his chest, and the other three uninjured ones surged forward with a suicidal determination.
Su Xiao tilted his sword hand, flicking the blade sideways. The contractor holding Dragon-Slaying Flash was cut in two, this time unable to struggle further, going cold mid-air.
Now Su Xiao balanced on one leg, the other resting on the hook-blade contractor's shoulder. His instinct clearly sensed the other three melee fighters closing in from left, right, and behind.
Su Xiao pressed down. The hook-blade contractor coughed up blood with a *wha*, his bones cracking audibly. Unable to stay standing, he collapsed to his knees before Su Xiao.
The moment he knelt, he saw a gem-studded sword hilt rapidly enlarging in his vision, followed by a dizzying spin.
*Bang!* Su Xiao used the hilt of Dragon-Slaying Flash to send the hook-blade contractor flying. At the same time, his counter shield expanded outward, blocking the path of the other three contractors charging forward.
Seeing this, the three contractors' faces turned grim. Clearly, their desperate gamble had failed.
Su Xiao made a feint slash to his left, releasing a blade aura, then ignored the contractor on that side. As he slashed, he tilted his head left, and a gleaming spike whistled past his ear—an attack from behind.
Just as Su Xiao dodged the spike, a sudden change occurred. Several rows of barbs sprouted horizontally from the pale, bone-like spike, some long enough to graze Su Xiao's neck.
The contractor behind him yanked his arm, tearing a strip of skin from Su Xiao's neck.
*Pfft!*
Su Xiao spun and slashed. The contractor behind him flew back, spitting blood, his pale spike shattered. Before he could land, a barrage of blade aura struck him, reducing his defenseless body to a rain of flesh.
Having dealt with the rear attack, the attack from Su Xiao's left arrived. This was a female contractor, unarmed, charging at him barehanded.
Su Xiao swung his blade. With his speed, the edge was before her in an instant.
The female contractor's hairs stood on end. She knew that if that blade struck her, her protective shield would shatter like an eggshell.
Just as the blade reached her pale neck, she vanished, reappearing behind Su Xiao.
A familiar embrace pressed against Su Xiao's back. Over the past few days, he had been grabbed like this by Sha countless times, followed by a brutal suplex.
The moment the female contractor hugged him, Su Xiao raised his left arm, releasing the Realm Severing Thread. At such close range, it wrapped around her neck.
Su Xiao pulled his left arm with full force. The female contractor, about to break his neck, first felt a constriction around her throat, then a sharp pain as her body weakened—Cyan Steel Shadow energy was invading her through the wound.
Seizing the opening, Su Xiao grabbed her face, yanked her in front of him, and cut her in two!
The female contractor, reduced to half a torso, stared at Su Xiao as the light in her eyes quickly dimmed. Su Xiao's battle with these five melee contractors took time to describe but lasted only a few seconds.
These fourth-rank contractors were fighting for their lives, so none were easy to deal with. Iron Rat, in the distance, hadn't been idle. An egg-sized orb of light floated from his hand. Seeing it, Su Xiao instinctively thought of Planetary Devastation.
Fortunately, Iron Rat didn't actually know Planetary Devastation. The pitch-black orb suddenly emitted a blinding light, accompanied by immense gravitational force.
*Crack, crack, crack...*
The ice wall dividing the factory was covered in large cracks. Iron Rat was trying to destroy the terrain. As a tank, he knew that if the melee fighters couldn't handle Su Xiao, a defense-specialist like him shouldn't embarrass himself by engaging. Breaking the ice terrain was the priority.
*Boom!* The entire factory was crushed by the gravity. Broken ice mixed with concrete debris fell from the ceiling.
Ignoring the ranged contractors about to close in, Su Xiao charged straight at Iron Rat. With an Epic-grade Dragon-Slaying Flash in hand, ordinary contractors took at most two or three slashes. In his view, there was no front or backline—whoever was closest got cut down first.
Clearly, Iron Rat didn't understand Su Xiao's logic. When Su Xiao rushed at him, he actually stepped forward to meet him, thinking, *I can't let him escape a second time.*