Chapter 5: Sacrificial God
The cotton-like white substance evaporated in the air, the dry yellow soil returned to its original color, and some unidentified building debris scattered near Su Xiao, with gray dust drifting out from within.
The world had returned to its original state, but the dead contractors still lay on the ground.
The contractors of the Three Paradise Alliance were clearly shaken, but they were contractors after all. Within just a few seconds, countless attacks rained down on Su Xiao, various elemental attributes enveloping him.
If these attacks hit, no matter how strong Su Xiao's survivability was, he would be instantly killed. Too many contractors were attacking him simultaneously—at least nearly a hundred.
Bang!
A crisp explosion rang out, and a massive crater appeared where Su Xiao had stood. Inside the crater, various types of energy mixed together, undergoing fission, repulsion, and ultimately mutual annihilation.
Su Xiao had disappeared. He was now standing behind a main tank, a contractor from the Reincarnation Paradise side.
The main tank stiffly turned his head, and upon recognizing Su Xiao, his eye twitched.
Although over a hundred contractors had fallen simultaneously, the chaotic battle continued. Judging by the Three Paradise Alliance's momentum, they clearly intended to wipe out the Reincarnation Paradise side completely before searching for the World Core.
If the Three Paradise Alliance united, it wasn't impossible for them to annihilate everyone from Reincarnation Paradise. The numerical disparity was too obvious. The Death Paradise side's combat power was only slightly inferior to Reincarnation Paradise's, the Holy Light Paradise side excelled at support, and the Apocalypse Paradise had both numbers and wealth, using various items like fireworks.
Orange-yellow flames erupted, burning an evading contractor to charcoal. The temperature of that syrupy orange flame was terrifying. The one spewing this flame was a man with his upper body replaced by machinery and short black hair. He was a leader-level figure from the Death Paradise side, elected through voting at the Starry Sky Transit Station.
This contractor named Yakuro had another identity: he was a Punishment Knight of Death Paradise, equivalent to a Hunter from the Reincarnation Paradise side.
Machinery, high temperature—that was Yakuro's romance. Unlike other Punishment Knights from his paradise, he pursued both power and beauty in battle. In combat, metal and flame bloomed like flowers of death.
With a click, an empty shell casing ejected from Yakuro's shoulder, the red-hot casing trailing a wisp of blue smoke as it fell.
His fitted white shirt was scorched to ashes by the high temperature, revealing Yakuro's iron-silver upper body. From the outside, the construction of his upper body was quite precise, but his head and lower body were only partially modified.
"A troublesome one has arrived."
Yakuro picked up a corpse from the ground, and the scanning function on his mechanical eye began to analyze. Soon, he determined the cause of death: a life force stripping reaction caused by erosion and assimilation from an unknown energy.
Boom!
A figure with exposed flesh and blood leaped in front of Yakuro—it was the biochemical woman from the Reincarnation Paradise side. Her eyes were bloodshot from killing. Resembling a Licker, her body had reached over four meters tall. Standing before Yakuro, he looked like a dwarf.
"Madam, greetings."
Yakuro crossed one arm over his chest and slightly bowed, displaying gentlemanly manners. But a bloody, massive claw slammed into him.
With a roar, Yakuro was completely covered by that giant claw, but the biochemical woman's face twisted in pain.
Sizzle~
The smell of burnt flesh and skin spread. Yakuro stood at the center of the giant claw, which had been burned through, with sparks flickering at the edges.
"Madam, farewell."
Yakuro raised his arm, and a burst of explosive flame shot from his palm, so fast that the biochemical woman had no chance to dodge.
Ashes filled with sparks fell. The biochemical woman was gone, leaving only a pile of ash.
Yakuro shifted his gaze toward the Reincarnation Paradise camp. Over there, a man holding a long blade was walking toward him.
Yakuro hesitated for a moment, then his mechanical eye turned fiery red.
Hum!
The engine inside Yakuro's chest revved at high speed, causing golden firelight to seep through the gaps in his torso.
Su Xiao held Dragon-Slaying Flash horizontally in front of him. He was about to charge forward when an extremely terrifying pressure appeared.
Yakuro, who had just taken a step forward, stopped and looked toward the right side of the chaotic battle zone.
"Moo!!"
A deep cow roar spread, forming shockwaves that stung the eardrums.
Half a kilometer east of the chaotic battle zone, there was a calm lake. The lake surface shimmered, its edges covered with various aquatic plants.
Just over ten seconds ago, a meteor wrapped in flames had fallen into the lake. That meteor caused a large area of the lake surface to bubble, with the smell of cooked fish spreading.
In that scalding lake water, two forked horns emerged from the surface. The distance between these two horns was at least ten meters, indicating the immense size of the creature below.
With a splash, clear lake water sprayed everywhere, glistening under the sunlight. A massive water buffalo stood up from the shallow waters of the lake.
This water buffalo's horns were forked like those of a male elk, covered in water plants. Its fur was light yellow, with long hair hanging beneath its belly, dripping streams of water.
This water buffalo gave off a sense of natural beauty. It had no dazzling colors, but everything felt very natural. Standing in the water, it appeared quite docile.
However, its angry eyes showed that Brother Buffalo was furious. He had been sleeping soundly when a group of people came to fight near his home. It was noisy, but he endured it. What made him angry was that some humans had thrown small stones at his head.
Brother Buffalo raised his front hoof and stomped on the water surface.
Boom!!
A massive splash erupted. The lake, several kilometers in diameter, instantly dropped by a third in water level, with fish and shrimp washed ashore.
"What... kind of creature is this?"
Yakuro slowly stepped back. Just by looking, he judged that this thing was not something a few hundred fifth-rank contractors could handle. This water buffalo was completely out of place in this world. Although it seemed to blend naturally with the environment without any dissonance, that was a sensory illusion.
Su Xiao pressed the wireless earpiece on his ear and simultaneously ordered Bubu Wang, Amu, Beini, and Baha to retreat.
Su Xiao had been puzzled earlier about why there was such a frustrating landing point. Now it seemed that as long as they had a conflict nearby, they would inevitably provoke this water buffalo.
The chaotic battle among the contractors stopped. Everyone's eyes were on the water buffalo. Brother Buffalo didn't charge at the contractors; he only issued a warning.
The Apostle's Eye floated beside Su Xiao as he tried to obtain information about the water buffalo.
[Comparing intelligence attributes between both parties... Rank gap too large, only 6% of the enemy's data obtained.]
Data as follows:
Name: Sacrificial God (Overlord-level Creature · Void)
Health: 100%
???
Strength: ???
Agility: ???
...
...
Skill 16: Nature's Spirit (Passive Lv.87) ???
...
Sacrificial God Buffalo, or Brother Buffalo, surveyed the contractors. He sensed a threat from these humans. If they united against him, he would die here today.
As an intelligent creature, Brother Buffalo knew one thing: if he didn't drive these humans away, they would think he was easy to bully. The reason he had fled from the Void was because he was being hunted by hunters. His horns were his source of power and also top-tier magical energy storage materials.
Thinking of this, Brother Buffalo suddenly felt a bit aggrieved. He had fled from the Void to this world, yet the hunters still wouldn't let him go.
As the saying goes, a gentle ox is easily bullied. Today, he would make these humans know the power of Sacrificial God. He still had a blood feud to settle—the Feather Race that had nearly wiped out his clan—he would never let them off.
"Moo!"
The conviction of revenge drove Sacrificial God to charge out of the lake, water splashing everywhere.
"Everyone, retreat!"
Yakuro shouted loudly. A jetpack ejected from his back, propelling him high into the air.
"Retreat, retreat! Hurry, he's very angry."
"Yeah, retreat quickly."
An Apocalypse Paradise contractor turned and ran. He had had enough. He hadn't wanted to fight the Reincarnation Paradise side to the death in the first place.