Chapter 41: Contractor Slaughterhouse
Dead leaves scattered as an undead leaped down from a tree. He was barefoot, his muscles not overly exaggerated but brimming with wild explosive power. Though his fingers lacked the claws of ordinary undead, he excelled at using weapons.
This undead was called Anda, a homophone meaning "withered fruit."
Anda tilted his head, sizing up Su Xiao. His brain, severely eroded by plant viruses, processed thoughts slowly, but this came with a benefit—he was exceptionally focused and persistent, which was why he had mastered Throwing Proficiency v69, a low-tier but high-level basic ability.
Having a basic ability versus not having one were two completely different concepts.
As for Su Xiao, he was not the first contractor to arrive here. Apocalypse Paradise had once sent sixth-rank contractors here—a twenty-person team. After fifteen died, the remaining sixth-rank contractors fled in disgrace.
Figures darted out from among the trees. A conservative estimate put the number at over 120. This kind of "welcome ceremony" was even more enthusiastic than Dead Silence City.
That Origin Island was this dangerous was actually to be expected. This world's core had been contaminated. The closer one got to the infection source, the stronger the surrounding creatures became, and Origin Island was that infection source.
Su Xiao's gaze swept the surroundings. Engaging over a hundred highly infected undead simultaneously put him under immense pressure.
Dead Silence City was eerie, Moon God's Underground City was fantastical, and Origin Island was infection, wildness, and madness.
"Roar!!"
Anda let out a guttural cry and charged straight at Su Xiao. The moment he lunged forward, the undead behind him also surged ahead, hurling five spears.
Su Xiao's pupils contracted slightly. His current strength was vastly different from when he entered Dead Silence City. If he faced thirty or fewer highly infected undead, he was confident. Unfortunately, the number was far too great.
Creatures like the Wailing Queen he had encountered before would struggle to take on even one of these undead in single combat and might very well die trying.
As for having the Wailing Queen fight over a hundred highly infected undead at once—best to spare that little sweetheart. She was just a minor boss, after all. On Origin Island, every creature was a minor boss.
His Instinct ability activated fully, slowing everything around him. Su Xiao tilted his head slightly as a wooden spear grazed past his cheek.
Having dodged one, he immediately lifted his left foot as another spear thudded into the ground where he had just been standing, burying itself completely.
Using the impact from beneath his foot, Su Xiao leaped backward.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Three wooden spears struck the ground in a straight line in front of him. The undead who had thrown them had actually predicted Su Xiao's jump, though their timing was slightly off.
Undead Anda lunged in front of Su Xiao, looking as if he had come to die.
Pfft.
The long blade sliced through Anda's neck. With the Epic+13 Dragon-Slaying Flash, embedded with seven gems and enhanced by the Gem Oath Scabbard, one swing severed Anda's head.
So what if he was a sixth-rank creature? Su Xiao, as the first-place holder of the fifth-rank Paradise Arena, was no pushover.
Anda's head was severed, yet a sinister smile appeared on his face. His headless body's muscles bulged as black threadworms burst forth from within.
Boom!
Blood mist exploded. Anda self-destructed, and the black threadworms shot out like steel needles, stretching taut and scattering in all directions, impossible to avoid.
Bang, bang, bang...
Su Xiao was pushed back several steps by the shockwave as black threadworms struck his body. The importance of his crystal layer became evident in that moment.
The threadworms writhed as they hit the ground, but just then, three undead lunged at him.
"Blade Path Sword: Slay."
Su Xiao crouched and swung his blade forward. A crimson arc howled outward, severing the three undead. They let out pained cries, their self-destruction foiled. Blade Path Sword: Slay was a wide-area slash.
With a thud, three mangled bodies hit the ground, but the next moment, these undead—some with shattered heads, others with half their bodies cleaved—rose again.
Highly infected undead were formidable not just for their comprehensive attributes but for their undying nature and infectivity. Those with lower stamina couldn't even engage them in melee without quickly being infected into undead themselves.
Pfft, pfft, pfft...
Su Xiao chopped the three undead into pieces like slicing vegetables. This time, they didn't get up. It proved that the stronger the enemy, the better the cutting feel.
However, that was just four undead attacking him. Over a hundred more remained, and they had already surrounded Su Xiao.
Su Xiao flexed the fingers of his left hand. If all these undead charged at once, he would use Dead Silence Descent to reap a wave, or else activate Demon Hunting Hour and spam Dragon Shadow Flash to flee.
"Ugh bah kah kah!"
An undead wearing a wooden mask, its bark still visible, let out a loud roar.
After this roar, the surrounding undead split into two echelons. The rear echelon pulled spears from their backs, while the front line of nearly fifty undead closed in on Su Xiao.
These creatures, with grayish-white skin and crimson eyes, weren't entirely mindless. At least in combat, their intelligence wasn't low. They knew that a mindless rush was inadvisable.
The reason these undead were so powerful was actually because Su Xiao had inadvertently triggered Hell difficulty.
After all, this was a world of Apocalypse Paradise. In Apocalypse Paradise's judgment, Origin Island's danger level was indeed v53—but only if one entered during the Eclipse period.
Or rather, under normal circumstances, outside the Eclipse period, Apocalypse Paradise wouldn't even issue tasks related to Origin Island. Because sixth-rank contractors who used items to enter this world had all been driven back, let alone sending fifth-rank contractors here.
Under normal conditions, Origin Island's danger level wasn't v53 at all. This wasn't Reincarnation Paradise screwing Su Xiao over. It was Apocalypse Paradise's erroneous judgment that led to Reincarnation Paradise's intelligence plunder going wrong, resulting in the current situation.
A super-high-risk zone, compounded by the unreliable neutral native character Auwuda, made this place even more dangerous. In the intelligence of Apocalypse Paradise's sixth-rank contractors, Origin Island was a contractor slaughterhouse!
Fifth-rank contractors who entered would die, one and all. Even a thousand would perish here—unless they waited for the Eclipse period.
Su Xiao exhaled slowly. The more dangerous the battle, the better his condition.
Bang!
The ground shook as forty-eight undead charged at Su Xiao.
"Blade Path Sword: Super Ring Break!"
Zheng.
A massive ring-shaped blade aura expanded outward. Forcing out a technique still under development, Su Xiao's right arm ached.
The pale blue ring-shaped blade aura spread instantly, severing one undead. Unfortunately, such a fatal wound wasn't lethal to undead.
A large group of bisected undead lunged at Su Xiao from above. Some had cracked bodies, others tore open their own jaws with their hands. This wasn't just fearless—it was a death wish.
Thud!
Blood mist exploded. Trees and vegetation around were blasted into fragments. Su Xiao stood at the very center of the explosion.