Chapter 56: The Assault Team
Just as he exited the Wizard Guild headquarters, Su Xiao saw a group of desperadoes carrying crossbows, walking in small clusters along the street. Clearly, these were the outlaws of Bone Harbor.
Earlier, Laurent had mentioned that enemies had attacked Heru City, but were driven back by the desperadoes of Bone Harbor.
These outlaws were indeed notorious for their misdeeds, but when enemies came knocking, they showed astonishing unity. As for who the enemy was, judging by the severed limbs and broken bodies on the roadside, it was clear they were the feral beast-transformed residents of Eisnera.
Su Xiao stopped one of the desperadoes. This man, with green-tinged eyes—a clear sign of having injected some magic potion—halted. His gaze shifted from hostility to confusion, and finally to a hint of unease.
"What do you want?"
The green-eyed desperado eyed Su Xiao warily.
"Where did the Eisnera residents attack from?"
"Mist Graveyard."
Leaving that remark, the green-eyed desperado hurried away.
"Are we just going to charge straight through from there?"
Mr. J frowned slightly.
"Of course."
Su Xiao understood Sfenx better than Mr. J did. By now, Sfenx had surely set up an inescapable trap in Eisnera City.
"This plan is a bit too straightforward."
Mr. J expressed his objection tactfully, and he had no choice but to be tactful—Su Xiao currently had the temporary authority to forcibly execute him at any time.
"..."
Su Xiao said nothing, simply heading toward the Mist Graveyard. As long as the Remnant Moonlight could easily cut through the bodies of the Eisnera residents, no matter how many of them charged at him, he had nothing to fear.
"In that case, we can indeed destroy the Bronze Gate in the shortest time. You'll command the strike team?"
Without any verbal exchange, Mr. J understood Su Xiao's plan. This was the benefit of working with an old schemer.
"You handle it. I'll be busy later."
Su Xiao's meaning was simple: the "strike team" would be commanded by Mr. J.
"You madman, you really plan to charge over there alone."
Mr. J shook his head. He hadn't expected Su Xiao's plan to be so simple and brutal. But the simpler and more brutal the plan, the fewer the flaws.
After half an hour of walking, Su Xiao and the others arrived at the Mist Graveyard, which was now surrounded by desperadoes.
"You—"
A desperado began to speak, but the minor leader behind him yanked him back.
"Let them through."
"If Blood Sail Lord finds out—"
"Shut up. Let them through."
The minor leader in the crowd nodded to Su Xiao, and the desperadoes made way.
A few hundred meters into the Mist Graveyard, Su Xiao saw a pitch-black spatial rift. Seeing this, Mr. J tore off another finger and tossed it into the rift.
"This leads straight to Eisnera. There are many Eisnera residents on the other side, but it probably wasn't Sfenx's arrangement. They seem to be blocking the way on instinct."
With Mr. J's confirmation, Su Xiao deduced what had happened. Most likely, the Bronze Gate had descended on Heru last time, connecting the two locations, given their similar natures.
"According to the plan, we'll split into two teams."
Su Xiao looked at Mr. J, who indicated he had the same idea, though with a slight deviation.
Mr. J's original plan was for Su Xiao to take Bubu Wang, Amu, and Baha to draw Sfenx's attention, while he alone went to the Bronze Gate and destroyed it.
But the current plan was for Mr. J, Kaiser, Xia, Amu, and Baha to form the strike team, while Su Xiao and Bubu Wang would be the frontal assault team.
Logically, the strike team shouldn't have so many people—it would be too easy to expose. But in reality, this was exactly what Su Xiao wanted.
Baha and Amu, the golden duo, had formidable survivability. As for Xia, she didn't need to protect herself at all; at worst, she could forcibly return to Reincarnation Paradise. And Kaiser? If that guy died, Su Xiao would be surprised. That bastard had survived dealing with the Dominator.
The so-called strike team was really just meant to draw Sfenx's attention. With Mr. J around, he could handle the details.
If they ignored the strike team, Mr. J would find a chance to destroy the Bronze Gate.
As for Su Xiao's side, though it was called the assault team, he wasn't just there to attract the enemy's attention—that was secondary.
His real goal was this: if the Remnant Moonlight worked as well as Gus had claimed, he would kill his way straight to the Bronze Gate. Was the Bronze Gate hard to destroy? No problem.
At that moment, in Su Xiao's storage space, he still had two normal Apollos. He planned to throw both Apollos at the Bronze Gate. If that didn't destroy it, it was fine.
Don't forget, Bubu Wang was with Su Xiao's team. He would set the coordinates of the [Wolf Clan Heirloom] on Mr. J. When Su Xiao fought his way near the Bronze Gate, Bubu could safely arrive there too.
At that point, Bubu Wang would teleport Mr. J over, letting him destroy the Bronze Gate. That was the real trump card.
Whether it was the assault team or the strike team, both were heading straight for the Bronze Gate. No matter which team Sfenx focused his firepower on, the other would have a chance to achieve the ultimate goal.
If Sfenx had people guarding the Bronze Gate, even better. Su Xiao would clear the area with Apollos first, then Mr. J would take the opportunity to destroy it. Even if blocked, Bubu Wang could help him at a critical moment.
"Huh? What's the difference between the strike team and the assault team?"
Xia looked at Su Xiao in confusion. Before Su Xiao could answer, Mr. J spoke.
"There's a difference. He'll charge straight over; we'll sneak over. But the ultimate goal is the Bronze Gate."
"But I don't have any stealth abilities."
"That doesn't matter. We're also responsible for drawing the enemy's attention."
"So in the end, I'm still cannon fodder."
Xia finally understood. She was still disposable cannon fodder, but the kind in a very safe position.
"Let's move."
Su Xiao reached his hand into the spatial rift, and a crystal layer climbed up his arm.
The light and shadows twisted before him. When Su Xiao emerged from the spatial pull, he was already beneath the walls of Eisnera.
A pair of eyes turned toward Su Xiao—dozens of Eisnera residents. Checking their information, he learned their exact name was Dark Watchers.
Dark Watchers were the general term for Eisnera residents. Farmers, fishermen, and the like, after being corroded by the Bronze Gate, became Dark Watchers. Animals, after corrosion, were stronger than humans. As for the Mad Wizards, they turned into massive beasts, unable to maintain human form.
Dozens of Dark Watchers charged at Su Xiao. Some held torches, others carried bloodstained weapons. But they all shared two traits: withered skin and tattered clothes.
Su Xiao drew the Remnant Moonlight from his waist. He rarely used swords, but a sword was similar to a long blade, and it felt smooth enough.
Su Xiao vanished on the spot, reappearing in front of the dozens of Dark Watchers.
The air whimpered as the blade edge cut through it. Su Xiao slashed out three blade arcs in a cross pattern, and then there was nothing more.
Limbs and severed bodies flew. Su Xiao leaped back, glanced down at the Remnant Moonlight in his hand, and felt no resistance at all as he had slain the dozens of Dark Watchers.
It wasn't that the Remnant Moonlight was sharper than the Dragon-Slaying Flash, but that this weapon was specifically designed to deal with this kind of enemy.
A few minutes later, Bubu Wang entered the spatial rift behind him to relay information to Mr. J and Xia. They could come over now; the entrance had been cleared by Su Xiao.
When Xia passed through the spatial rift, what met her eyes were at least several hundred Dark Watcher corpses. No, they were more like remains. These creatures had long been dead; what kept them moving was their frenzied instinct.
Boom!
A head the size of a house crashed down in front of Xia. The wind pressure blew past, and Xia raised her arm to shield her face. She looked at the head before her—it seemed exceptionally powerful.
Following the trail of Dark Watcher remains, Xia saw a sight she would never forget. At that moment, Su Xiao was sitting atop a massive pile of corpses, a heap over thirty meters high.
"Don't just stand there. Follow this path."
Su Xiao patted Bubu Wang's head, signaling him to start drawing the enemy's attention.
"Woo-woo~"
Bubu Wang howled at the sky. Within twenty seconds, over a thousand Dark Watchers surged from the distance, charging forward in a frenzy.
Seeing this, Xia, who had already walked away, slowed her pace.
"Is this... okay?"
"Of course not. And it's a big problem."
Baha said this because he was worried that Su Xiao's Charm attribute, which was already down to 1 point, might drop to 0 from all this killing, given the sheer number of enemies.