Chapter 18: Melee
At the entrance of the corridor, seven tanks rushed to the front of the crowd, most of them stained with blood.
"What happened?"
Kuron saw the miserable state of these seven, feeling a mix of fear and shock.
"There's no way to break through. The guy in the passage is a melee fighter, an extremely strong melee fighter. Just two slashes, and Yoni was left there forever."
The scarred brother who narrowly escaped wiped the cold sweat off his face. The Yoni he mentioned had been standing right beside him, only to have his shield shattered by the enemy's first slash and his neck severed by the second, killed instantly.
The scarred brother's worldview was shattered. He had never imagined that within the same rank, someone could kill a tank in two slashes.
"Two slashes..."
Kuron's expression grew darker. His gaze swept over the Apocalypse Paradise group. At this moment, more or less, everyone was starting to feel the urge to retreat.
"If we tough out the penalty, we'll all die. A 40% reduction in all attributes means none of you here will survive the next world."
Kuron knew there was no turning back now.
"Then, should we organize a second wave of frontal assault?"
"Of course we need to organize. Waiting any longer will only lead to a slow death..."
Before Kuron could finish, a slightly plump contractor interrupted him.
"Why don't we throw explosives into the corridor? As many as we can."
"How could that possibly work..."
"Good idea."
Kuron lowered his voice. Although he knew it would be almost ineffective—the captain's door was also made of high-strength metal—after the first wave of tanks was driven back, the hundred-plus contractors present were all afraid. That was not a good sign.
Ten tanks charged in, and only seven came out alive. If they went in, it would be no different from suicide.
Kuron agreed to the explosive plan just to boost their morale.
"Contractors with high-power explosives, step forward."
Kuron spoke in a low voice. Soon, over thirty contractors moved to the front of the line.
"If the explosive power is strong enough, it's not impossible to blow open the captain's door. Then we can just use explosives to level everything."
Under Kuron's command, the contractors all took out their explosives: magnetic mines, detonation bombs, and so on.
Kuron gathered these explosives together and signaled everyone to retreat behind the airlock door. The moment he threw the explosives, he would close the door.
Under the watchful eyes of all the Apocalypse contractors, Kuron hurled the bundled explosives.
Beep, beep, beep...
A rapid electronic sound came, and the airlock door at the far end of the corridor closed.
Boom!
The entire spaceship shook, and flames filled the corridor.
Su Xiao leaned against the inside of the captain's door, gently rubbing his ears with one hand. The door panel behind him was scorching hot.
Although he didn't know what was happening at the other end of the corridor, Su Xiao knew the contractors outside were preparing for a second wave of assault. The first wave was just a probe.
Su Xiao still wasn't clear about the severity of the enemy's mission penalty. If the penalty was harsh enough, those Apocalypse Paradise contractors would fight to the death just as well.
If this were a war world, the Apocalypse side would have mineral resources as a safety net, so the penalty might not be too severe. But this time, Su Xiao was here to plunder resources, directly threatening their foundation.
Su Xiao never believed that Apocalypse Paradise contractors wouldn't dare to fight to the death; it was just that the penalty wasn't severe enough.
Su Xiao stood with his eyes closed in front of the door. A few minutes later, he faintly heard a hissing sound—the airlock door at the other end of the corridor had opened.
Pulling open the captain's door, Su Xiao returned to the corridor. A wave of heat hit him, and the air had a pungent, burnt smell. However, this odor was quickly dissipating, as the exhaust vents on the ceiling had been completely blown open.
Su Xiao stepped forward and stopped before the corner of the corridor. Dense footsteps came from behind the corner. The Apocalypse Paradise contractors were about to risk their lives.
A whining sound of breaking wind rushed toward him. Over a dozen golden lightning spheres flew out from behind the corner, crackling.
Clang, clang.
Crossing blade auras slashed through. The Law-Destroying characteristic of the Cyan Steel Shadow energy activated, and the golden lightning spheres were devoured and annihilated in the air.
"Charge with me!"
A sharp shout came from behind the corner. Then, a group of contractors rushed toward Su Xiao. This time, it wasn't tanks, but several melee fighters, with ranged attackers behind them.
Clearly, the Apocalypse Paradise contractors understood one principle: only magic can defeat magic. Melee fighters should naturally be dealt with by melee fighters.
The two contractors at the front, one wielding a long spear and the other holding a hooked blade, were clearly planning to first restrain Su Xiao's longsword, then use the spear to severely wound him.
Behind these two were three tanks with grim faces. They knew how strong Su Xiao was, but this time they only needed to provide backup in critical moments.
Behind the tanks was a large group of support-type contractors.
Various abilities flashed with light. A massive wave of control abilities flew toward Su Xiao—not just a few, but a whole sea of them, countless.
Crack, crack, crack...
Ice froze beneath Su Xiao's feet. Vines coiled up around him. Several energy chains appeared out of thin air, wrapping around his left arm.
At least twelve energy streams entered Su Xiao's body—mental, charm, and soul-type control abilities.
In an instant, Su Xiao was trapped by all kinds of physical control abilities.
"Now!!"
Kuron shouted from the middle of the formation. The contractor with the long spear at the front quickly stepped forward.
"Dragon·Aurora!"
A blazing white light burst forth on the spear, forming a white dragon that coiled around the shaft. The spear thrust forward, unstoppable.
Crack!
Shattered vines and energy chains flew everywhere. The spear stopped ten centimeters from Su Xiao's head, unable to advance another inch. A hand wrapped in a crystal layer grabbed the spear tip. All controls were nullified.
The contractor with the long spear remained in his thrusting pose. What had been a very stylish thrust now looked like a salted fish's pathetic stab.
Su Xiao only grabbed the spear for a moment before letting go. The spear passed by his ear.
Pfft.
A very ordinary, very natural slash. The blade cut through the spear contractor's chest, and blood splattered.
Ding!
A hooked blade stopped in front of Su Xiao's neck, blocked by the spine of his sword.
The longsword turned. The contractor holding the hooked blade felt a pulling force in his hand, as if he were a bull being led by a nose ring.
The hooked blade man staggered forward two steps, only to be met by the gleaming blade. This was not a difference in strength or agility, but in technique.
The longsword slashed through his neck. A headless corpse fell behind Su Xiao.
'Blade Path: Azure Demon.'
Su Xiao slightly lowered his body and made a virtual slash forward with the longsword. A cyan-blue blade aura flew out.
The blade aura had only traveled three meters before it was blocked by a metal shield.
After a screeching sound of cutting, the cyan-blue blade aura dissipated. The main tank holding the shield was hiding behind it, but he could still see Su Xiao because a slash mark now spanned across his shield, cutting through the middle section.
"We're at this point now. Don't be afraid. If he dies, we live!"
Kuron's shout resonated with the other contractors. A 40% attribute reduction was equivalent to a slow death. It was better to fight it out here. Besides, the reward for killing Su Xiao was so generous it was almost unbelievable.
The fear of death and the temptation of profit reignited the fighting spirit of the Apocalypse group. They weren't unwilling to fight; they just hadn't been pushed to the brink. As the saying goes, even a rabbit will bite when cornered, let alone contractors.