Chapter 4: ‘Strongest Warrior Tournament’ – Only the top 50 in the Paradise Arena rankings are eligible to participate.
[The Hunter is Fifth Rank and will only be matched with Contractors, Hunters (Reincarnation Paradise), and Battle Angels (Apocalypse Paradise) of the same rank.]
[Competitor: Su Xiao.]
[Status: Good.]
[Paradise Arena Ranking: 47305th (Fifth Rank).]
[Consecutive Wins: 13.]
[Top Ten Honor Rewards: Not obtained.]
...
Su Xiao sat in the rest area, which was quite lively at the moment. Beini and the others were here for the first time.
"The tactic is simple. After the battle starts, Amu charges head-on, Bubu interrupts the enemy's abilities in the meantime, Beini flanks, and Baha prepares to assassinate the enemy from behind. Bubu will create an opportunity for you."
Su Xiao finalized the battle formation. As for himself, he would use D·Assassination to fire from a distance with a *puff puff puff*. If the enemy was stronger, he would switch to the Devouring Annihilation heavy sniper. If the enemy managed to close in, he would take out Dragon-Slaying Flash from his storage space.
[Matching opponent...]
[Match successful. Opponent ranking: 45007th (Fifth Rank).]
A sensation of teleportation surged. A metal mask covered the lower half of Su Xiao's face, also altering his voice, giving it a dull, metallic quality when he spoke.
After a momentary blur, Su Xiao's vision cleared. Before him was nothing but yellow sand. The sand arena had a diameter of about 200 meters, was roughly circular, and was bordered by black wooden fences six to seven meters high.
Clearly, this was a public form of competition. The circular spectator stands above were nearly full. After all, this was a match within the top 50,000, and it wasn't a ranking for a single Paradise but a combined ranking of Contractors from many Paradises. It was a place where hidden dragons and crouching tigers lurked.
"It's starting, the eleventh match of the night."
At the edge of the sand arena, a Devil Clan member stood on a high black wooden platform. He wore a purple suit, and his voice had a unique charm that better stirred the audience's emotions.
"Let me see, this Summoning System powerhouse is..."
The Devil Clan commentator narrowed his eyes, a blood-red gleam emanating from his black-red pupils.
"Eh? Is that so? Hahaha, folks, you're in for a treat. This is a competitor from Reincarnation Paradise. He is... a Sum-mon-ing System."
The Devil Clan's tone was meaningful, but Su Xiao's other opponent had yet to appear.
The atmosphere in the stands was stirred up. Workers and Contractors alike sized up Su Xiao.
"Is this guy a beast tamer? A wolf, a cow, a forest leopard, and a vulture? Except for that Minotaur, the others don't look like much."
"That's a Husky. I bet 50 Paradise Coins."
"Summoners are all despicable, ganging up on one."
A female Worker from Apocalypse Paradise snorted coldly, clearly having been taught a lesson by a Summoning System before.
A spatial fluctuation appeared. A figure wearing a skull mask and holding a spiked club materialized. From the physique, it was male; nothing else could be determined.
The Skull Man stomped on the sand beneath his feet, testing its softness. When his gaze fell on the enemy, his brow furrowed under the skull mask. The enemy had a group, a full five of them.
Preliminary judgment made, the Skull Man focused his attention on Su Xiao. When dealing with a Summoning System, you need to eliminate the Summoner himself first, not get bogged down fighting the summoned beasts. That Minotaur, covered in magma, was clearly the durable type.
"Death Paradise, Gewu."
Gewu pointed his spiked club at Su Xiao. Death Paradise was no pushover. Among the many Paradises, Reincarnation Paradise was known as the Madman Paradise, while Death Paradise was called the Assassin Gathering Place. This Paradise's punishment mechanism was only slightly less severe than Reincarnation Paradise's, so its Contractors were naturally very skilled in combat.
[Competition, Begin!]
Golden large characters appeared in mid-air. The instant the competition began, Bubu Wang, Beini, and Baha vanished simultaneously. Bubu Wang merged into the environment, Beini used her speed advantage to circle to the right flank, and Baha flew high into the sky, his gaze fixed on the enemy.
"What the hell..."
The Workers in the stands were a bit dumbfounded. They had seen many Summoners, but this was the first time they had seen one send out three summoned beasts right at the start of a battle. In most cases, only rookie Summoners did that.
Before they could recover, Amu, who had been blocking in front of Su Xiao, also charged forward in a straight line, leaving only Su Xiao, the 'Summoner,' behind.
"Is this guy really a Summoner? At least leave one summon to protect yourself."
"Maybe he has a secret weapon?"
"That gun in his hand?"
"I feel... this guy is a melee fighter. His aura is too sharp."
Su Xiao couldn't hear the low discussions from the stands. He was aiming his gun.
Bang!
Sand flew into the air. Dozens of meters away, Gewu advanced to meet Amu, planning to use his speed advantage to circle around.
Puff, puff, puff...
Su Xiao pulled the trigger repeatedly. Bullets pierced through Amu's magma-like body, heading straight for Gewu's face, neck, and chest.
Gewu immediately stopped in his tracks. He hadn't expected the enemy to have this trick up his sleeve, but his reaction speed was fast. He held his spiked club horizontally in front of him, blocking two bullets.
With a *crack*, blood blossomed from Gewu's shoulder. D·Assassination was, after all, a Legendary-grade firearm, and its attack power was not weak. It was worth noting that Legendary-grade equipment was the mainstream for Fifth Rank Contractors.
Gewu was forced to halt. What he didn't know was that this single moment of stopping meant he had already lost.
A stinging pain came from Gewu's calf. Bubu Wang had bitten down on it. Beini, in her cat form, was somehow already lying on Bubu Wang's back. She leaped up, switching forms mid-air.
"Roar!"
Beini, in her Forest Leopard form, pounced onto Gewu. Don't let her cute daily demeanor fool you; this one was, after all, a Shadow of the Hunt, the rainforest overlord of the War World, with a True Agility of 99 points.
Bang!
The spiked club in Gewu's hand struck Beini's abdomen, sending her flying back into her cat form.
Drip, drip...
Magma dripped. Gewu's cheek twitched. A tall figure was standing behind him, its aura as if it were about to tear him apart.
With a *boom*, the magma exploded. A dark blue-black afterimage shot down from above.
Pfft!
Blood splattered. Baha flew into the air, clutching half a trachea in one claw, with an eyeball in the other.
The magma gradually dissipated. A figure, nearly burned to a blackened crisp, lay on the ground. Golden light enveloped him. If not for the protective mechanism of the Paradise Arena, Gewu would be dead.
"How dare you hit our beauty representative! Eat shit!"
Baha, flying low, crushed the eyeball in his claw and landed back on Amu's shoulder. Clearly, Baha had absorbed quite a bit of information lately, even learning to spout trash talk like "Eat shit!"