Chapter 6: Revenge and a Strange Boss Battle
According to the captain's description, the Ranger Squad had just completed a purge operation. Their main objective was to clear the undead within the abandoned city, both to obtain rewards and to complete a side mission.
What surprised Su Xiao was that the one-eyed captain actually contributed the mission through a contract.
[Notification: Hunters may accept this mission and obtain rewards.]
[Side Mission: Lordan City]
Difficulty Level: Lv.42
Mission Info: Clear 10% of the undead within Lordan City (2.71% already cleared).
Time Limit: 5 days remaining
Mission Reward: Soul Crystal (Complete) × 2 (Originally 3 crystals, as the Hunter did not participate in the entire mission).
Mission Penalty: Strength and Stamina attributes -2 points.
...
Su Xiao's expression remained calm, but inwardly he was not at peace. First, a fully equipped squad taking on a Lv.42 difficulty mission was 'abnormal.' Under normal circumstances, this squad could handle missions above Lv.45 without issue. Their current choice was quite 'conservative.'
Second, the mission reward was exceptionally generous. A Lv.42 mission gave three Soul Crystals (Complete), and the penalty was negligible. Even enduring such a penalty, Su Xiao felt no disturbance in his heart.
[Hunter has accepted Side Mission: Lordan City.]
[Notification: Invasion level increased by 3%.]
...
The one-eyed captain planned to rest for three hours before starting the next wave of clearing. Within this squad, the sword-wielding youth Zosa showed some hostility toward Su Xiao, or rather, he treated everyone with this attitude, clearly the type who was inwardly sulky but outwardly aloof.
The one-eyed captain, the firepower specialist, and the sniper Gulasai all had a normal attitude. The little healer seemed gentle but was actually neutral, while the support-type girl Doro was relatively cheerful.
Among these six people, Su Xiao needed to choose one to strip the mark from. To strip the mark, physical contact was required first.
"Doro."
Su Xiao looked at Doro, who was holding a handheld console with both hands, thumbs pressing wildly.
"Hmm?"
Doro replied without looking up, completely focused.
"During battle, are we in the back row?"
"I don't have it as easy as you. I'm a support type with some combat capability. Fighting is tough, though not as dangerous as those two."
Doro put away the console and stretched. The buttons at her collar were wide open, but there was no need to worry about any accidental exposure.
"Once the battle starts, I'll set up a barrier first. This ruined city is full of undead. Without a barrier, just one fight and we'd all die here."
Doro was emphasizing her importance, clearly hinting that Su Xiao's 'summons' should look out for her during combat.
"Of course, as a summoner, you can just watch, right? After all, the summons are the main force. I'm so envious of you."
After saying this, Doro leaned against the wall and closed her eyes to rest.
Su Xiao tossed another 'candy' into his mouth while sending a message to Amu and Baha: during the battle, don't let Doro die. That was the goal.
"Woof."
Bubu Wang had somehow crept up to Doro. Just as she was about to take a nap, she opened her eyes.
"Oh? Don't you need to guard your master?"
"Woof (I don't have that skill)."
"Uh~, I don't understand what you mean."
Doro could tell Bubu Wang was intelligent, which was normal for a summon.
"Woof (You wouldn't understand anyway)."
"You want to communicate with me?"
"Woof (My master told me not to play with fools)."
"So cute, your fur is so soft."
"Woof (Don't touch me, you upright female primate)."
"Pfft~"
Baha, beside Su Xiao, turned its head away. It dared not watch that 'cross-channel conversation' anymore, afraid it would burst out laughing.
Time flew by, and soon three hours had passed.
"Everyone, let's move out."
The one-eyed captain stood up. Not far away, the youth Zosa opened his eyes.
"With a new member joining, we need to rearrange the formation. My position, the firepower specialist, and Gulasai remain unchanged. Doro's position changes. Now we have three powerful helpers..."
The one-eyed captain looked at Su Xiao. He still didn't know the abilities of Bubu Wang, Amu, and Baha. After all, this was a temporary squad; at most, they would share a small portion of their information.
"Only two. It's not good at combat."
Su Xiao patted Bubu Wang's head. The one-eyed captain nodded in understanding.
"With two strong helpers joining, Doro doesn't need to take on too much risk."
"Yeah!"
Doro made a peace sign. The one-eyed captain glanced at her; one shouldn't interrupt when arranging a battle formation.
"37D, you stay in your original position. Kukulin, choose a safe spot for yourself. You have the most freedom in battle. If you have any melee or ranged abilities, don't hold back."
The one-eyed captain turned his gaze to Su Xiao, who shook his head, indicating he was purely a summoner.
"Then that's settled. Let's move out. This time, we're heading to District C. That area has the fewest undead."
The one-eyed captain pulled out a diamond-shaped shield made of metal, about 1.2 meters tall, with several rows of short metal spikes on the outside.
With the one-eyed captain leading, Zosa followed closely behind, the firepower specialist behind Zosa, and the sniper Gulasai headed upstairs. The little healer and Doro were close, so they walked together.
"Go all out?"
Baha spoke in a low voice. If it went all out, it was confident it could take on everyone present except Su Xiao and Amu. If it were an assassination, with the right opportunity, it could kill instantly.
"Depends on the situation. Amu, switch to magma form for now. This squad already has a tank."
"Moo."
Amu began transforming into its magma state. In this form, it was even stronger than Baha.
Su Xiao stood up and quickly walked outside. Just as he reached the exit of the ruined building, he saw the one-eyed captain and the others peering out. Doro was doing the same.
"What are you looking at? Move aside."
Su Xiao patted Doro on the shoulder. Her body jolted.
"You scared me to death. Do you walk without making any sound?"
Seeing it was Su Xiao, Doro let out a long sigh. Su Xiao took half a step back, 'accidentally' almost bumping into Zosa.
"Watch where you're going. Even if you're a summoner, you should at least have basic melee skills."
Zosa maintained his aloof demeanor. In his view, in a crisis, only melee abilities were reliable.
Su Xiao said nothing because, in that instant, he had discovered something very interesting. The target for stripping the mark wasn't limited to one; he could choose two simultaneously. After 64 hours, he would select one of the two to strip.
Thus, Su Xiao chose Doro and Zosa. One was agility-oriented, the other a support type. Both had decent survival odds.
"We don't have a perception-type. Doro's abilities lean more toward barriers."
The one-eyed captain sighed. This was a glaring weakness of the 'Ranger Squad.'
"It does."
Su Xiao pointed at Bubu Wang. Bubu Wang's dog face twisted in embarrassment; it had wanted to 'slack off' too.
"That's good news. Are there any enemies nearby?"
The one-eyed captain and the other four all looked at Su Xiao.
"Yes."
"Where!"
"Directly above."
As Su Xiao's words fell, footsteps echoed from the roof of the ruined building.
Bang!
A blur flashed by, and a figure landed. Her skin was ashen gray, her eyes blood-red. She was a female undead, different from the others. Her head was covered in fluffy white hair that nearly reached the ground. Just standing there, she exuded a strong oppressive aura.
"The Wailing Queen. The boss we encountered yesterday."
Cold sweat broke out on the one-eyed captain's back. The other four also looked as if they were facing a great enemy. They had encountered this undead once before, and if they hadn't run fast enough, they would have suffered casualties.
The Wailing Queen was clearly intelligent. Her gaze swept over the group, feeling like a tongue covered in fleshy spines licking their bodies.
When the Wailing Queen's gaze fell on Su Xiao, she glanced at him and then looked away. But the next moment, she immediately snapped her attention back.
At most, a few tenths of a second of eye contact, and the Wailing Queen crouched her body. Based on Su Xiao's combat experience, he immediately judged that she was about to flee.
"Moo!"
With a crash, Amu smashed through the wall and charged at the Wailing Queen. This one had to be silenced. Besides, Amu had been swimming through an entire world recently and was very angry. Now it had a punching bag. Amu wasn't targeting anyone in particular; it just wanted to beat an enemy to death.
"Fight to the death!"
The one-eyed captain roared, charging forward alongside Zosa and the firepower specialist.
Initially, the Wailing Queen had indeed come to kill these humans to avenge her subordinates. But now, she only wanted to flee. Just moments ago, she had vaguely sensed something terrifying.