Chapter 37: Brutal
“Form a defensive line! Don’t give up! We’ve survived countless worlds; the title of Fifth Rank Contractor means we can’t afford to give up!!”
Aklo roared, the engine within his torso rapidly turning incandescent red, and the other nine built-in variable quantum engines also activated at full power.
Hiss~
The clothes on Aklo turned to ash. Hearing his roar, Mu Yushi stood beside him.
“Didn’t expect you, this miner from Apocalypse Paradise, to have some guts.”
Aklo grinned, looking at the tide of insects charging in the distance.
“I’m not a miner, I’m an elementalist!”
Mu Yushi extended both hands, and a large amount of water element gathered around him.
“Aklo is right, form a defensive line!”
Over eight hundred contractors spontaneously formed a line. Tanks, Blazing Sun warriors, and melee fighters were on the outermost perimeter, ranged types behind them, and healers and support in the center.
Aklo, Mu Yushi, and Afra stood among the crowd. Soon, their gazes were drawn to a tall statue half a kilometer away. A man stood on top of it, accompanied by a dog, a cat, and a minotaur, with a dark blue-black vulture on the minotaur’s shoulder.
“I feel like we’ve been set up by that madman. The insect nest we destroyed a few days ago… was fake. Destroying it was to put us at ease, make us fight among ourselves, and recklessly plunder resources in this world.”
Afra muttered, looking at Su Xiao in the distance.
“At a time like this, you’re just spouting nonsense. This is a classic old yinbi from Reincarnation Paradise.”
Mu Yushi rarely cursed. Afra ignored him; at this point, she couldn’t care less.
“The three of us join forces and find a way to break out.”
Aklo said solemnly. Mu Yushi and Afra both looked at him with surprise, their gazes clearly those of someone looking at a fool.
“Here they come! Don’t get scattered. Sisters from Holy Light Paradise, keep an eye on my health.”
A main tank on the outermost line shouted, but his voice was drowned out by a series of rumbles.
Elemental abilities, energy weapons, and various ranged attacks flew out from the crowd, striking the charging demon beasts.
Boom, boom…
In an instant, dozens of demon beasts were blasted to pieces. However, the demon beasts behind surged in overwhelming numbers, trampling the corpses of their kind into fragments.
“Too many! We need to find a way to break out!”
A magic-type contractor shouted, unleashing two of his ultimate abilities in succession. Although they killed two groups of demon beasts, it was insignificant to the demon beast army.
The Blazing Sun warriors on the outer perimeter stood in several rows, muttering something, probably prayers for ancestral blessings.
After two rows of demon beasts fell, a loud noise came from the distance.
Thud, thud, thud, thud…
A series of heavy sounds came from the edge of the ancient battlefield. The earlier cyan-green fireballs appeared again, this time numbering over a thousand. Those two-meter-diameter fireballs filled the sky, turning it cyan-blue.
Over a thousand large fireballs flew in parabolic trajectories. A melee contractor looked up, his weapon clattering to the ground.
“Afra, buff us…”
Boom, boom, boom, boom!
Dense explosions erupted among the crowd. Even though dozens of contractors used large-scale defensive abilities like barriers and shields, the simultaneous bombardment of a thousand Titans was something these contractors couldn’t withstand. The barriers and shields shattered like eggshells, instantly blown to pieces.
One round of bombardment, coupled with the corrosion and burning of the cyan-blue flames, instantly killed 103 contractors. The worst off were the healers and support types in the center.
Cyan-blue flames rose among the crowd. In the flames, Afra sat on the ground, her gold-white robe torn. This was an epic-grade piece of equipment that barely helped her withstand this round of biological artillery.
Afra gasped for breath, her fists clenched. Three pairs of golden light wings spread behind her. This time, Afra didn’t take flight. Although it would reduce her buff range, flying would make her a target, and she didn’t dare do that.
After the volley, the ranged units of the three-paradise alliance immediately fell silent. Demon beasts from all directions took the opportunity to charge forward.
“Hold the line! Stage three insects aren’t hard to deal with!”
A main tank roared, raising an alloy shield in front of him.
Clang, clang, clang…
Like hammering iron, a series of crisp sounds came. The main tank felt a sharp pain in his wrist as a strange energy surged into his body. Glancing at the battle notification, he nearly fainted.
[You have taken 20 points of True Damage.]
[You have taken 31 points of True Damage.]
[You have taken 20 points of True Damage.]
…
The battle notifications scrolled so fast they flooded the screen. Just as the healer responsible for him raised her staff, a crisp crack came from the main tank’s alloy shield.
“No… way…”
The main tank’s words were cut short as the alloy shield shattered with a crash. When True Damage accumulated to a certain level, breaking the shield was instantaneous.
“Roar!”
A demon beast pounced onto the main tank’s chest, its bloody maw opening to its neck, rows of dagger-like teeth biting down.
Pfft!
Drops of blood splattered. The main tank’s physical defense was impressive; the demon beast’s teeth only sank into his flesh, failing to tear off his entire shoulder.
“Get… off me!”
The main tank roared, flinging the demon beast off him. The next moment, over a dozen demon beasts pounced, and the main tank was swallowed by the insect tide.
The demon beasts weren’t without tactics. They were divided into forty waves. After the first wave attacked the enemy, the second wave used the first wave as springboards, leaping over their comrades to bypass the front-line tanks and attack the second row of enemies. Subsequent waves repeated this pattern.
This division caused the demon beasts to surge like a black tide, quickly overwhelming the contractors of the three-paradise alliance.
“Burn!”
Aklo’s mechanical arm extended horizontally. With a rumble, flames erupted, turning a large area of demon beasts into charcoal. Yet, the next wave of demon beasts arrived.
Form a defensive line? Impossible. Half a minute into the battle, even the healers and support in the center weren’t safe. After five minutes, the Titan units would reload their biological artillery with bio-energy, and then the contractors’ doom would come.
Aklo and Mu Yushi both unleashed combat power not inferior to Su Xiao’s, but the demon beasts were simply too numerous, enough to drive them to despair.
“You old yinbi from Reincarnation Paradise! Have the guts to fight me one-on-one! If I lose, all my equipment and everything in my storage space is yours!”
Aklo, about to be engulfed by the insect tide, roared. He was too unwilling. No matter how hard he racked his brain, he couldn’t understand how things had come to this. Where did these insects come from? Hadn’t the enemy been cornered before?
On top of the massive statue half a kilometer away, Su Xiao sat on the back of a demon beast, a cigarette dangling from his mouth. As for Aklo’s proposal for a duel, he completely ignored it. When it was 900 against 1 earlier, they had never mentioned a fair fight.
Two minutes into the siege by the insect tide, all the tanks of the three-paradise alliance had fallen. The True Damage of the demon beasts was shameless. One or two were nothing, but if attacked by over a dozen simultaneously, they would instantly take hundreds of points of True Damage, and this happened every round. Shields broke, armor shattered—who could withstand that?
The three-paradise alliance held on this long mainly because of Afra’s buffs.
The clamor of battle rose to the heavens, the roars of demon beasts were endless, and explosions continued. A melee contractor let out a desperate roar before being pierced like a sieve by the long tails of over a dozen demon beasts.
The contractors’ health plummeted, only to be quickly restored by Afra’s buffs.
A contractor, covered in blood and severely injured, tried to get up but was pinned down by nearly a hundred demon beasts. These demon beasts formed a ball, their long tails stabbing wildly into the center, blood seeping through the gaps between them.
In the chaotic battlefield, a female contractor from Apocalypse Paradise stepped back, her face full of terror, looking like she was about to be broken.
Thud, thud, thud…
The heavy sounds came from the edge of the ancient ruins. For the contractors of the three-paradise alliance, this was the sound of nightmares.
Over a thousand cyan-blue fireballs fell from the sky, first exploding, then splashing acidic burning liquid everywhere.
“Ah!!”
A contractor screamed in agony as cyan-blue flames engulfed his entire body. Unable to bear it, he stabbed his own throat with his dagger.
This volley killed a large number of contractors and demon beasts, but the demon beasts behind immediately filled the gaps.
In the center of the battlefield, Afra lay on the ground, unable to maintain her buffs. The anger and helplessness of being thoroughly outmaneuvered left her expression somewhat dazed.
“Burn!!”
Orange-yellow flames surged. Aklo stood in the flames, one mechanical arm severed at the root. Just moments ago, he had witnessed Mu Yushi being torn apart by the insects. Such a strong warrior, leaving only a “Damn it” before being ripped to pieces.
Aklo looked at Su Xiao in the distance. He had tried to escape using his jet engines, but was shot down by the elite Titans on standby, which was how he lost his arm.
Now, at the end of his rope, Aklo plunged his remaining arm into his torso, pressing a hidden mechanism on the core engine.
Hum~
The metal on Aklo’s torso and remaining arm turned incandescent red. The light in his eyes faded.
Boom!
Aklo vanished from his spot, charging straight at Su Xiao. Along the way, demon beasts shattered one by one, turning to ash. Nothing could stop him for even a moment.
In just two seconds, Aklo broke through to near Su Xiao. However, he still couldn’t escape the insect tide. Below the statue, over a hundred particularly large elite demon beasts were waiting, faster than the others, blocking Aklo’s path.
Aklo was overwhelmed by the hundred elite demon beasts. Bites, tail stabs—countless attacks engulfed him.
With a clang, a severed mechanical arm flew out, landing at Su Xiao’s feet.
“Compared to them, you have more backbone.”
Su Xiao kicked the mechanical arm aside. Aklo, buried under the elite demon beasts, saw Su Xiao. The next moment, a long tail pierced into his eye socket. Sparks flew. Aklo died, dying with backbone.
Twenty minutes later, the battle ceased. The altar was covered with the corpses of contractors and demon beasts.
Su Xiao jumped down from the massive statue, stepping over a large area of corpses to reach the center of the altar.
The World Core floated before Su Xiao. A crystal layer enveloped his right arm as his hand grasped the World Core.
[Announcement: The affiliated paradise of the World Core is changing…]
[World coordinate formation has been interrupted.]
[Affiliated party of the World Core: Reincarnation Paradise.]
[New world coordinates are being generated…]
…
After changing the affiliated faction of the World Core, Su Xiao walked over to a “corpse.”
“Wait, I can…”
Afra, pretending to be dead, raised an arm. Her clothes were partially torn, and her face was stained with drops of blood.
Pfft!
The long blade pierced Afra’s throat. Her mouth opened slightly, blood dripping from the corner of her lips.
“Hesitation leads to defeat.”
Su Xiao said expressionlessly.
“How… did you… know… that phrase…”
The light in Afra’s eyes faded. The chief healer of the three-paradise alliance had fallen.
Su Xiao didn’t answer Afra’s question. Instead, he pinched the corner of her clothes, picking up a bug the size of a dust particle. This item was very expensive; Su Xiao had traded four legendary-grade materials with the mechanical girl for it.
Su Xiao pulled out Dragon-Slaying Flash, flicked off the blood, and sheathed the blade.
[Announcement: Void Tree is authenticating…]
[Announcement: The Hunter from Reincarnation Paradise has received recruitment offers from Death Paradise, Holy Light Paradise, and Apocalypse Paradise.]
[Hunter: Do you accept the recruitment from Death Paradise? Accepting this recruitment will make you a Punishment Knight, granting a Mark Permission increase of Lv.15 and a reward of Soul Crystal (Complete) ×70.]
[Hunter: Do you accept the recruitment from Holy Light Paradise? Accepting this recruitment will make you a Deputy Punisher, granting a Mark Permission increase of Lv.17 and a reward of Epic Equipment Chest ×7.]
[Hunter: Do you accept the recruitment from Apocalypse Paradise? Accepting this recruitment will make you a Battle Angel, granting a Mark Permission increase of Lv.18, Soul Crystal (Complete) ×105, Epic Equipment Chest ×10, and Rare Ore ×300.]
[Announcement: Recruitment has been interrupted…]