Chapter 77: Admitting Defeat?
Inside a rainforest, continuous booming sounds echoed. Su Xiao sat on a thick tree branch, holding a tablet in his hand.
The distant booming lasted for over 20 minutes before a figure in powered armor, its gender indistinguishable, burst out from between the trees.
"Finally, I've caught you."
From the slightly breathless voice under the faceplate, it could be determined as male. This was a Battle Angel from the Apocalypse Paradise.
"..."
Su Xiao didn't speak. He simply put away the tablet in his hand and drew the long blade from his waist.
Boom!
The tree beneath Su Xiao shattered, and the next moment, he appeared before his enemy.
The long blade slashed diagonally, the edge singing. With a clang, the blade was blocked by an alloy rod. The Battle Angel's feet plowed the ground as he retreated rapidly for over a dozen meters.
Having just blocked Su Xiao's slash, the Battle Angel felt a sense of crisis from behind.
The long blade cut through the powered armor and sank into the Battle Angel's back. Just as the Battle Angel was about to use his flame jet ability, a blunt impact struck the back of his knee.
Bang!
The Battle Angel dropped to one knee. That wasn't the end; a sword hilt smashed into the area behind his ear.
Woom~
A buzzing sound filled the Battle Angel's mind, and then he knew nothing more. When he regained consciousness, he was already sitting on the sofa in the lounge.
"Damn it!"
Though the Battle Angel wanted to curse, he wouldn't allow himself to be so crude, so he could only express his frustration with "damn it."
Inside the rainforest, Su Xiao checked his current arena ranking.
[Competitor: Su Xiao.]
[Status: Good.]
[Paradise Arena Ranking: 31500 (Sixth Rank).]
[Consecutive Wins: 105.]
[Top Ten Honor Rewards: Not Obtained.]
...
After 28 matches, Amu had been fighting the entire time, so Su Xiao was in good condition. During this period, he had basically tested Amu's current strength.
In terms of defense, ordinary Sixth Rank contractors couldn't do anything to it. As for its attack ability, it was still as hard to watch as ever: raise the hammer, smash.
It wasn't that Amu didn't know how to adapt, but its speed was slow. The "raise hammer, smash" move, while seemingly unimpressive, was executed the moment an enemy attacked it, making it hard to dodge.
When an enemy injured Amu, it was at most a flesh wound. But if Amu hammered the enemy, the enemy would be slowed down, and additionally covered in ice flames, forming a layer of ice on their body. These effects were enough to drive most enemies crazy.
A teleportation sensation appeared. Su Xiao returned to the lounge and began matching for the next match.
In less than half a minute, he successfully matched an opponent. The arena was a non-public type.
The blazing sun hung high. A small wooden cabin stood on the grassland, its windmill turning slowly.
A girl with short hair, wearing a gorgeous robe, stood in front of the cabin. A long staff spun in her hand, and a faint smile played on her lips. This girl gave off a mischievous vibe, but people like that were usually easy to get along with, appearing mischievous on the outside but sincere on the inside.
"Melee + summoning, huh. Pretty troublesome."
The mage girl tilted her head and smiled. She could tell that the enemy's ranged abilities probably weren't strong; his aura was simply too sharp.
Seeing this mage girl, a smile appeared on Su Xiao's face. For some reason, the mage girl suddenly felt a sense of foreboding in her heart.
"Amu."
Su Xiao signaled Amu to engage the enemy. Once the enemy had consumed a certain amount of mana, he could test the Energy Blockade.
Amu charged forward with large strides. The mage girl thrust her staff into the ground. Hundreds of white-hot fireballs materialized, one by one flying towards Amu.
Boom, boom, boom...
A series of explosions rang out. Amu's health suddenly dropped by 19%. This mage girl also possessed combat power that didn't match her ranking.
"Moo!"
Amu charged out from the white-hot flames. The smell of burning spread, and the surrounding ground had been vitrified by the high temperature.
Amu had only taken a few steps when strands of energy threads suddenly appeared, binding it tightly.
Another hundred or so white-hot fireballs appeared, forming a line and blasting towards Amu to ensure no firepower was wasted.
Sss～
Amu's body was scorched black. Its muscles bulged, and with a snap, it broke the energy threads one by one.
"Hah～"
The mage girl covered her mouth with her small hand, yawned, then tapped the top of her staff with her index finger. Nearly 300 white-hot fireballs materialized.
"Why bother? Let it block my Day Flame while you try to break through. Wouldn't that be a better choice?"
The mage girl looked a bit confused. This match just felt off somehow.
Amu charged forward again, enduring wave after wave of bombardment.
Ten minutes later, the mage girl was a bit dazed. Fighting this Minotaur felt like fighting a Sixth Rank boss. Its survivability was just too strong. As for the other enemy, he was a hundred meters away and extremely fast.
"That should be enough."
Su Xiao muttered, stepped forward, and Banishment detached from his sleeve, flying straight towards the mage girl.
Banishment vanished instantly, leaving a faint blue arc of electricity in the air with a crackling sound.
The mage girl immediately became alert. However, Banishment only flew near her before suddenly turning around and flying back in front of Su Xiao, attaching itself to his sleeve in a fragmented blade form.
"Huh?"
The mage girl tilted her head, looking at Su Xiao in confusion. The next moment, faint blue arcs of electricity surged over her body.
"This is..."
The mage girl checked the battle log. There was no prompt. This situation was actually worse; she couldn't determine what ability the enemy had used.
Su Xiao drew the long blade from his waist, making a move to charge.
Seeing this, the mage girl tapped the top of her staff with her index finger. It was the most regrettable action in her 21 years of life.
The mage girl's "luck was overflowing." After being afflicted with the Energy Blockade effect, her first spellcasting triggered the Energy Blockade effect.
Crackle...
Faint blue arcs of electricity instantly enveloped the mage girl. Her pupils trembled. The excruciating pain at that moment was unforgettable. Her mana was burning inside her body. Before losing consciousness, she received a prompt.
[Warning: Your spellcasting has been interrupted. You are about to suffer the Paralysis effect and the Mana Detonation effect. You will take True Damage equal to 0.8 times your lost Mana Points (3510 points of True Damage).]
The mage girl's entire body went numb, and she fell to the ground with a thud.
Su Xiao made a move to step forward, ready to finish her off. A match was still a fight; he wouldn't let his guard down.
But the moment the mage girl fell, golden energy enveloped her. With her small physique, 3510 points of True Damage instantly killed her.
A few seconds after the mage girl was teleported away, Su Xiao received a prompt.
[Prompt: The Hunter has been added to this match's competitor's "Refusal to Fight List," resulting in a matchmaking block against the Hunter. If matched with this match's competitor again, the Hunter will immediately win.]
After successfully testing the Energy Blockade ability, Su Xiao left the arena. The remaining stay time was running out.
Returning to his Exclusive Room, Su Xiao began concocting [Radiance Potions]. With Bubu Wang cooperating to restore his mana, he successfully concocted 12 bottles of [Radiance Potion] within five hours, failing on the remaining 8 bottles.
Beini, meanwhile, started selling them bottle by bottle while Su Xiao was concocting. After selling them all, the net profit was 1,750,000 Paradise Coins. She was a professional at this.
After setting aside Paradise Coins to replenish consumables, Su Xiao, as usual, first went to Sha's place to help Sha regulate her hidden ailment, then headed to the Land of All Beings, Fifth Layer.
Paradise Coins flowed away like water. Three hours later, on the Fifth Layer of the Land of All Beings, amidst the howling wind and snow, an exhausted Su Xiao sat on the frozen ground.
[Prompt: Reincarnation Paradise stay time has reached its limit. About to return to the Real World.]
[Hunter has received a letter from the void. Accept/Decline this letter?]
[Source of this letter: Friendly Deity.]
Seeing this prompt, Su Xiao chose to accept the letter and opened it. It was just ordinary paper, with the following written on it:
'I, the Goddess of Fortune, am not afraid of you all, hmph! As a deity, I won't make the same mistake twice. You'll never find me! If you can see this letter, I'm very happy. It'll drive you crazy!'
This short letter refreshed Su Xiao's understanding of friendly deities. This was the first time he had seen someone describe running away so boldly. Besides, why would the Goddess of Fortune run away?
And judging by the letter's meaning, although her words were tough, this was clearly an admission of defeat. The meaning was obvious: 'I was wrong, I've already run away, don't come looking for me, and you won't find me.'
For Su Xiao, this was undoubtedly bad news. His Fate Dominator still needed the Goddess of Fortune's "help" to unlock its ability.