Chapter 11: The Summoner
After half an hour of rest, the team set out, heading toward the southern part of the ruined city. Leaving the city, they passed through a forest, then crossed a stretch of Gobi desert, before entering a mountainous region. After traversing the mountain range and continuing onward, they would arrive near the Contractor camp, which was located on a grassland.
Leaving the city went smoothly, especially with Bubu Wang and Baha scouting ahead. The group plunged directly into the forest.
The vegetation in the forest grew wildly. By now, the sun had sunk to the horizon, and all kinds of beasts within the forest had become active. These beasts were not easy to deal with; most carnivorous ones were exceptionally ferocious, and a few possessed combat power comparable to the Wailing Queen.
After traveling for three hours, the team ventured deep into the forest. What was the most terrifying thing in the forest at night? It was the mosquitoes, each the size of an egg. These mosquitoes swarmed in groups and were Supernatural creatures. Su Xiao witnessed with his own eyes a swarm of these giant mosquitoes draining a mutant tiger dry.
The forest at night was beautiful, with many glowing plants, mostly blue or green. Mushroom-shaped trees emitted a faint purple light, creating a breathtaking scene.
Beautiful yet dangerous—that was the forest of the Siren Star. On this planet, humans had been toppled from the top of the food chain. Various powerful "Mutant Beasts" or "Aberrant Beasts" had ascended to the pinnacle, and the formidable Undead were not to be underestimated.
To the delight of One-Eyed Captain and the others, not a single Mutant Beast appeared along the way. They smoothly exited the forest.
The further they traveled, the more silent Duo Luo became. It wasn't until they left the forest and reached the Gobi Desert that the Little Healer suggested a brief rest.
By now, they had been traveling continuously for 18 hours. This meant Su Xiao had been infiltrating this team for over two days. He had 10 hours left before successfully stripping the Brand.
After a twenty-minute rest, the team set off again. On the Gobi Desert, wind and sand raged. The gale whipped up fine sand particles that crackled against their ears.
They traveled for over nine hours. By dusk, the group finally crossed the Gobi Desert and arrived near the winding, continuous mountain range.
"Very close. At most three hours, and we'll be back at the Contractor camp."
Duo Luo let out a long sigh of relief. For some reason, the unease in her heart was growing stronger.
"Yeah, that's right. At most three hours."
One-Eyed Captain also spoke. Walking at the front of the team, he kept his shield raised, alert for any potential enemies.
Su Xiao suddenly stopped in his tracks because a notification from Reincarnation Paradise appeared.
[Notification: The Brand has been locked onto.]
[Hunters may now strip the Brand of Contractor 11092 at any time.]
[Hunters may now strip the Brand of Contractor 10731 at any time.]
...
The moment the stripping succeeded, Duo Luo and Zuo Sa felt their hearts clench. This dangerous sensation had reached a level that could no longer be concealed. Unfortunately, they had realized it far too late.
The reason Duo Luo had sensed something was wrong earlier was not because she had noticed anything suspicious about Su Xiao.
When Duo Luo had previously asked Su Xiao why he kept checking the time, it was because she couldn't think of any other way to test him. All of Su Xiao's actions had been beyond reproach. The few "suspicious actions" were deliberately shown by Su Xiao. Being too perfect was, in itself, an anomaly.
The clock on the shelf had been hung up by One-Eyed Captain. During that time, Zuo Sa had looked at it 7 times, the Little Healer 5 times, Su Xiao 3 times, the Firepower Specialist 3 times, and the Sniper 2 times. It wasn't worth suspecting.
Duo Luo could sense something was wrong simply because she was the one being stripped. One-Eyed Captain, on the other hand, noticed Duo Luo's abnormality and thus became appropriately vigilant. He wasn't just wary of Su Xiao; he was wary of everyone, including Duo Luo.
Ahead lay the mountainous region. The ground beneath Su Xiao's feet was overgrown with weeds, and a few short trees stood nearby.
The setting sun on the horizon was as red as blood, casting long, slanted shadows of the short trees on the ground.
Boom!
Gunfire came from behind Su Xiao, and buckshot slammed into his back.
Gunsmoke drifted from the muzzle of a large-caliber shotgun. The Firepower Specialist had fired without hesitation. There was no reason; the instincts honed through life-and-death battles were sounding an alarm. Some kind of danger was about to descend.
It wasn't that Su Xiao had revealed a flaw. If not for the process of stripping the Brand, he was confident he could have blended into the Ranger team for an entire world without any of them detecting anything unusual. Unfortunately, the final stripping of the Brand was almost impossible to conceal.
Crack, crack...
The crystal layer gradually detached from Su Xiao's back, eventually wrapping around the buckshot as it fell to the ground.
Su Xiao didn't turn to look at the Firepower Specialist. Instead, he pulled out a cigarette, lit it, took a deep drag, and slightly tilted his head back as he exhaled the smoke.
Duo Luo stiffly turned her head. The smile in her eyes had completely vanished. She was staring coldly at Su Xiao, but only fear remained in her gaze. One-Eyed Captain stood between Su Xiao and Amu, while the Sniper kept watch on Baha, who was high in the sky.
The young Zuo Sa was just four meters away from Su Xiao. Given the sense of crisis that had just erupted, he should have swung his blade at Su Xiao's neck. But now, he didn't dare move an inch.
"It's you, Kukulin. You're the problem."
Duo Luo was still deeply puzzled, after all, she had no concept of an invasion from Paradise.
The Little Healer quickly stepped back, but before she could retreat far, she met Su Xiao's gaze. It was a pair of eyes flickering with red light. A frail Summoning Class couldn't possibly have such a look.
"Zuo Sa, attack!"
One-Eyed Captain roared, his eyes now bloodshot. His perception wasn't particularly sharp, but at this moment, his instincts were screaming a continuous warning. It felt like countless needles were pricking every part of his body.
Zuo Sa's hand, gripping his blade, trembled slightly. His teeth ground together until they creaked, and saliva sprayed from between his clenched jaws. Unless they were facing Su Xiao directly, no one else could understand the feeling Zuo Sa was experiencing now.
Dragon-Slaying Flash appeared in Su Xiao's hand. The ground beneath his feet began to crack.
Boom!!
The Blood Qi that had been suppressed for three days erupted. With Su Xiao as the center, the wild grass flattened outward.
Crack!
It was as if the world itself had sensed Su Xiao's abnormality. In a cloudless sky, a bolt of lightning struck down, shattering a short tree into pieces.
"Time Wind Swallow Stream!"
Zuo Sa roared, his long blade wrapped in wind element, slashing down toward Su Xiao's head.
Clang.
A blue slash streaked across, eventually disappearing into the horizon. Zuo Sa's raised arms fell from behind him, his hands still gripping that Epic-grade long blade.
The moment Su Xiao delivered that slash, he sidestepped to dodge the buckshot flying at his back from behind, his gaze locking onto the Firepower Specialist.
'Blade Path Sword: Blood Blade.'
A straight red slash flashed by. Su Xiao vanished from his spot, reappearing instantly behind the Firepower Specialist.
Pfft!
The Firepower Specialist's torso split apart. Even in death, he hadn't seen how Su Xiao had delivered that strike.
Bang.
A muffled sniper rifle shot rang out. A bullet streaked toward Su Xiao's head.
Clang! The high-speed bullet was shattered by the long blade, turning into fragments that flew past either side of Su Xiao's body. The wind howled. Seeing this, the Sniper, Gulasai, immediately worked the bolt, readying a second shot.
D·Assassination appeared in Su Xiao's hand.
Pfft, pfft, pfft...
Twelve bullets were fired in an instant, each one hitting the head. Even a Melee Class couldn't withstand that, let alone the Sniper, Gulasai.
A headless corpse hit the ground. On the other side, ice spread. One-Eyed Captain was frozen by Amu's ultimate ability. Baha dove down from high altitude. Over the past three days, the poison energy within him had fully recovered.
Crack. A sharp claw pierced the ice layer—this was a weak point Amu had deliberately left.
The sharp eagle claw stabbed into the back of One-Eyed Captain's neck. The notification from Apocalypse Paradise chilled his heart completely.
[Warning: You have been corroded by an unknown toxin.]
[You have taken 310 points of backstab damage.]
[You have taken 560 points of vital damage (back of neck).]
[You are about to take 2300 points of true poison damage.]
[You are about to take 950 points of ice damage.]
[You are about to die.]
...
With a crash, the ice shattered. Baha tore open the back of One-Eyed Captain's neck, even pulling out the vertebrae. When dealing with enemies, Baha was just as brutal as Amu.
One-Eyed Captain, his body covered in ice crystals, crashed to the ground, the light fading from his eyes.
Ten seconds into the battle, and by launching a surprise attack, the Ranger team had suffered 3 deaths and 1 severe injury. The remaining two in good condition were a support and a healer.
In a team fight, take out the tank first—Baha had deeply absorbed this lesson from Su Xiao.
"No... this can't be happening..."
The Little Healer was stunned by the scene before her. The expression on her face clearly showed she was on the verge of breaking down. The Summoner in the team had suddenly pulled out a blade, and with a few slashes, the other teammates were either dead on the spot or left half-crippled.