Chapter 16: Intelligence Error
The aura emitted by Sin was extremely powerful. For this very reason, Su Xiao did not select him as the primary sniper target, because besides Sin, there were 33 other Specters in the banquet hall. Su Xiao did not know exactly how strong Sin was, but he knew one thing: the guy was definitely not some small fry that could be killed with two sniper shots.
Su Xiao leaped out from the church attic. He landed on the roof of a neighboring, slightly shorter building. While still in midair, he had already swapped out the magazine for Devouring Annihilation.
With a click, he pulled the bolt, chambering a round. The moment he landed, Su Xiao crouched on the rooftop, setting up the sniper rifle.
Bang!
The gunshot vibrated through the air, an invisible shockwave spreading around him. The bullet spun as it left the barrel, shooting toward the Six-Eyed Specter half a kilometer away.
Almost the instant Su Xiao pulled the trigger, Sin, who was holding an energy beam, arched his body. Within a dozen meters around him, all glass products shattered, and fine cracks appeared on the nearby walls.
An ice warhammer flew through the air, carrying with it a chilling wind and a whooshing sound. Sin's eyes widened slightly, his gaze focusing on that frozen warhammer.
Green electric arcs appeared out of thin air. With a crackling sound, the ice warhammer in midair shattered, exploding into powder.
Heavy footsteps came from Amu, who was holding an ice shield. The shield was crystal clear, with distinct blood-red veins running through its interior.
"Moo!"
Amu let out a roar, charging toward Sin with his shield raised. Seeing Amu's fierce momentum, Sin raised an eyebrow and changed the direction of the green energy beam in his hand.
"Turn into, scraps."
With a sonic boom, Sin hurled the energy beam in his hand. This thing looked like an energy spear, but without any embellishments. It was a pale green color, giving off a cold, eerie beauty. Pale green flames seemed to burn at both ends of the spear.
Where the energy spear passed, it left behind scattered green electric sparks. Amu stopped his charge, placing his ice shield in front of him, tilting the shield face slightly upward to reduce the chance of it being pierced.
Crack! A grating sound of friction came. The moment the pale green energy spear hit the ice shield, the spear tip rapidly disintegrated. But that didn't mean the ice shield had blocked the energy spear. This thing's characteristic was exactly that: sacrificing itself to break through the enemy's defense.
The energy spear shortened by a third in an instant, then, with a whoosh, pierced through the ice shield and Amu's lower abdomen. To think, even Su Xiao couldn't cut through the ice shield with a single slash.
Amu took half a step back. He looked at the fist-sized hole in his abdomen, then two streams of cold air shot out from his nostrils.
"It didn't turn into scraps? Strange creature."
Sin's hands clenched in the air, a ball of pale green energy gathering between them. As he pulled his hands apart, ten energy spears appeared, floating above him.
"So, before you die, you won't let me disturb that human?"
Sin looked at Amu with a smile. From start to finish, he remained very calm, including when his Specter kin were being sniped. Strangely enough, he never transformed into his Specter form, instead maintaining his human appearance. It was well known that only in Specter form could a Specter unleash their full combat power.
Amu didn't answer Sin. He just spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva to show his attitude. Pfft!
Meanwhile, Su Xiao swapped out Devouring Annihilation's magazine for the second time. The Specters in the banquet hall had already rushed out, leaving seven or eight corpses in the courtyard along the way. Of the 33 Specters, only 16 remained. Now, they had charged to the base of the residential building, using their sharp claws to pierce the walls and climb upward. Muffled, deliberately suppressed cries could be heard from inside the building.
The 16 Specters climbed up from all four sides of the building. This was no longer a sci-fi movie; it was a horror film.
On the rooftop, Su Xiao put away the Devouring Annihilation sniper rifle. He didn't pay attention to the Specters below, instead looking into the distance at a Specter that had remained in human form. That guy was very strong. Su Xiao wasn't sure if he could handle that Specter.
……
One by one, pale green energy spears pierced through Amu's body. If it weren't for Bubu Wang hiding in the shadows and occasionally healing him, it was unknown whether Amu could even stand now.
The energy spears manifested by Sin were too sharp. This thing seemed to ignore defense. No, it should be that it reduced the enemy's defense by consuming its own energy, lowering the defense at a single point to a certain level, then directly piercing the enemy. That was why Amu had been turned into a pincushion.
Amid heavy, ragged breaths, blood sprayed from the corner of Amu's mouth. The enemy before him began to blur, a result of severe blood loss. Being a living creature had its pros and cons, like right now.
Sin looked at Amu with interest, but his peripheral vision was always searching for something. At that moment, an emerald green light ball appeared out of nowhere. Sin hooked his finger, and the ten energy spears floating above him shot out simultaneously.
The ground in the distance was instantly riddled with holes. A few meters away, Bubu Wang, who was hugging a naked statue, swallowed hard. This Specter was terrifying, very terrifying. The moment it attacked him, it even burst out with an aura stronger than Su Xiao's.
"Pity."
Sin stomped the ground beneath him. The ten energy spears embedded in the dirt in the distance burst out, flipping back to float above Sin.
Sin shifted his gaze. He hadn't managed to deal with Bubu Wang, who was hiding in the shadows, so he refocused his attention on Amu.
……
Roars and screams came from the rooftop where Su Xiao was. Clearly, he couldn't reinforce Amu and Bubu Wang in a short time. Blood dripped from the tip of his blade. Although he had dealt with six ordinary Specters in one exchange, the ten elite Specters around him were not easy to handle.
Su Xiao glanced at Amu's situation. It was impossible for him to take down ten elite Specters without injury in a short time. Amu couldn't hold out much longer. That humanoid Specter was unexpectedly strong, which didn't match the intelligence.
The ten Specters surrounded Su Xiao, chattering away in what seemed to be Specter code. They were clearly discussing an encirclement formation, or rather, they were stalling for time, waiting for Sin to finish off Amu so they wouldn't have to fight Su Xiao to the death.
A test tube appeared in Su Xiao's hand. He pressed his thumb against the bottom, cracking it. As the blood-red liquid inside began to flow out, Su Xiao bit down on the test tube, letting the liquid flow into his mouth. Only a rookie contractor would tilt their head back to drink a potion while surrounded by enemies.
A strong smell of blood filled his mouth. As the blood-red liquid went down his throat, a burning sensation spread through his chest. This thing was called [Polar Blood], a legendary-grade potion Su Xiao had obtained in a fourth-rank war world.
Effect 1: After drinking this blood, health recovery rate +10 points per second, true intelligence attribute -5. Effect lasts 60 minutes. After the effect ends, true intelligence attribute returns to normal.
Effect 2: This blood can be injected into the body. True stamina attribute permanently -1, maximum health +30%, physical defense +50, and temporarily gain the defense effect of Crocodile Skin. This effect can negate 23% of all damage. Effect lasts 5 minutes.
……
Su Xiao had drunk the [Polar Blood]. His true intelligence attribute temporarily decreased by 5 points, but he gained a health recovery effect of 10 points per second. Recovering 10 health per second meant 600 points per minute. As for injecting [Polar Blood] into the body, while it seemed beneficial, besides the permanent reduction in stamina attribute, there were other side effects.