Chapter 21: Fierce Battle
The parasitic species were quite troublesome. The first contractor to die in battle among their ranks was caused by a parasitic species. As a top-tier branch of the alien races, parasitic species might not look like much, but they were top-tier assassins and infiltrators.
Once parasitized, not only would the victim's body be taken over, but the parasites would also connect their own nerves to the victim's brain. This was why humanity in this world had fallen so far—it all started with the parasitic species. They disguised themselves as human high-ranking officials, sabotaging advanced weapons, power supplies, and so on.
The defensive battle had barely begun, and within less than a minute, a pile of ground-walker corpses had formed in front of Su Xiao. With the contractor beside him having just fallen, even more ground-walkers surged toward him.
The advantage of his cumulative passive ability became evident now. After activating Blade Flame Shadow, Su Xiao cut down one ground-walker with each slash. If the ground-walkers were close enough, he could take down two or three at once.
Killing parasitic species earned merit, but ground-walkers did not—though that might also be due to the low kill count.
Wave after wave of ground-walkers charged over the corpses of their comrades toward Su Xiao. Just as he was about to swing his blade, a heavy pressure descended from above.
With a *shlash*, four ground-walkers were cleaved in two by Su Xiao. One of them, though only its upper half remained, still opened its massive jaws and bit down on Su Xiao's left arm.
A sense of restraint and stinging pain came from his left forearm. Su Xiao swung the hilt of his blade, smashing the ground-walker's skull to pieces, sending blood and bone fragments flying.
The sudden pressure earlier—Su Xiao was certain it wasn't the work of ground-walkers. Another type of alien, likely a fission species, had hidden among them and struck amidst the chaos.
The blood of the ground-walkers stained the ground beneath Su Xiao's feet. He deactivated Blade Shadow Flame; his mana was already maxed out. Even without Blade Shadow Flame, just activating Cyan Steel Shadow Energy was enough to kill one ground-walker per slash.
Swing his blade, kill. The ground-walkers kept coming, seemingly endless. This kind of brutal, large-scale battle was something Su Xiao hadn't experienced in a long time. Now, it was a test of endurance: which side would break first—would the Reincarnation Paradise forces have their base camp overrun, or would the aliens be slaughtered into submission?
From an aerial view, the scene was shocking. The contractors formed a circle, protecting their base camp at the center. In the surrounding area, as far as the eye could see, there were nothing but ground-walkers. The original green of the grassland was gone, replaced by black.
Ground-walkers were tenacious. They feared nothing, and their front claws inflicted true damage with each scratch. Thirty-five points might not seem like much, but even ants could kill an elephant when there were enough of them—and there were far more ground-walkers than ants.
Hundreds of ground-walkers formed a near-spherical mass. Within that mass was a one-armed man pressing a locket to his forehead. The person he cared about most—he would never see them again. He had been ambushed by a fission species, causing a momentary lapse. In that instant, ground-walkers covered his entire body, and more piled on, swallowing him whole.
After three hours of fierce fighting, the contractors had all left the ground, standing atop a pile of corpses. The bodies of ground-walkers had piled up around the base camp, nearly burying it.
Now, the contractors stood on a high ring of ground-walker corpses, fighting the creatures as they came. As the battle continued, the pile grew higher.
Two more hours later, the corpse pile had risen above the base camp. The contractors fought on, bathed in blood atop this mound.
The advantage of this terrain was that only a few people needed to stay in the rear compartment of the base camp to ensure ground-walkers couldn't dig their way in.
There was no longer any need to defend the base camp—it was beneath their feet.
Su Xiao scanned his surroundings. The contractors had split into three groups. The first, centered around the suicide squad, formed a circular formation, covering each other.
The second group, with Amu and the Golden King at its core, guarded the area directly above the base camp.
The third group, led by the Dean, also formed a circle, with Widow West and the Mad Doctor among them.
Bubu was inside the base camp; it absolutely could not fall. Its aura was key to the war. Baha was scouting from above to ensure Su Xiao wasn't ambushed.
Su Xiao fought alone. He wasn't afraid of being surrounded. Without allies nearby, his combat power actually increased.
Ground-walkers charged at him from all directions, their eyes filled with hatred and fear. But the "King's" command left them no choice but to advance.
Seeing the hundreds of ground-walkers around Su Xiao, Baha shouted from above:
"Ring Break warning!"
As Baha's shout faded, the Dean and others near Su Xiao all crouched low, nearly lying flat on the ground.
Su Xiao kicked away a charging ground-walker, sheathed his long blade, and began to gather power. He aimed to maximize the range of Ring Break—beyond its limits. This kind of range was usually useless, but now it was a divine skill.
His long blade sheathed, Su Xiao crouched slightly as ground-walkers surged toward him from all sides, about to engulf him.
'Blade Path: Ring Break.'
*Clang!*
The blade was drawn. A pale blue ring-shaped slash spread outward, passing just over the Dean's head, nearly giving him a "trendy" scalping-style bald spot.
A large number of ground-walker corpses fell. The area fell silent for a moment, but two seconds later, more ground-walkers came charging.
Five kilometers away, a female fission species shielded her right eye with one hand. Her form was similar to a human woman's, and she even wore earrings.
"Many of our kind have died. Should we continue, King?"
She waited for a moment, as if receiving an order, then her gaze hardened. The King's command was to continue—today, these humans must be driven out.
What the King decided, the fission species and parasitic species dared not defy, let alone the ground-walkers. Though they were the strongest as a group, they also suffered the most casualties in every war. They were the main force, always at the front.
Normally, the King's decision was inevitable. But today, the King's plan met a crushing defeat. Too many ground-walkers had died.
From around 8 a.m. to 5:46 p.m., the battle raged for 9 hours and 36 minutes. The setting sun on the horizon was like blood, and neither side had won.
The Reincarnation Paradise forces had lost 42 contractors. The ground-walkers, fission species, and parasitic species combined had suffered over 130,000 deaths. Want to wipe out the Reincarnation Paradise forces? Fine—just keep feeding them alien lives.
And the contractors who died were all the weaker ones, falling in the prolonged battle.
The alien commander directing the war was dumbfounded. Why? Because the two other human factions nearby had retreated to their ships after just two hours.
As for the other group, they held out for three hours before also retreating to their ships, too afraid to face the aliens head-on, getting pushed back.
But this group—the ones with the ф-shaped mark—refused to retreat no matter what. What shocked the alien commander even more was that this group had even sent a squad to assassinate him! And they had gotten close!
The alien commander had begged the King for reinforcements seven times, pulling ground-walkers from other units to bolster the main battlefield. Each batch died on the main battlefield, which was like a giant meat grinder. It seemed that even throwing in hundreds of thousands of ground-walkers would be torn apart.
Yes, the area around the Reincarnation Paradise base camp was now the main battlefield—the madmen versus the aliens.
As for the orcs, after seeing the battle reports, they strongly requested to attack the Apocalypse Paradise base camp. The King agreed, because sending orcs to the main battlefield would lead to a rout.
At 5:58 p.m., the battle temporarily ceased. The alien army was driven back, retreating from the main battlefield.
The twilight sun cast its rays. Su Xiao stood atop a massive pile of corpses, blood dripping from his long blade. Behind him were his fellow madmen, their eyes reflecting red in the dying light.