Chapter 36: Heavy Armor Unit
Deep within the fifth underground level of Dapus Fortress, inside a corridor sealed off by branches.
Slash marks crisscrossed the walls and ceiling, with splattered bloodstains in some places, and several black bone spikes embedded in the walls.
Deep Red Tasha stood on the inner side of the corridor, with the Giant Ape beside her and Poison Claw behind.
Drip, drip～
Blood dripped from Tasha’s chin, and the broad-bladed longsword she held had multiple nicks along its edge.
Compared to Tasha, the Parasite Giant Ape was in worse shape. He had to lean against the wall to stay upright, and a diagonal chunk had been sliced from the top of his skull. Fortunately, he was a Parasite, or he would have collapsed long ago.
Beside him, Poison Claw was down to only his right arm, with a clear penetrating wound visible on his throat. Blood gushed out steadily, but his vitality was tenacious enough to keep him going.
“This… monster.”
Tasha’s eyes were fixed on the other end of the corridor. There, a dozen broken black bone spikes were embedded in the ground, and the branch wall behind them was riddled with large holes.
Su Xiao stood in midair. If observed closely, one would notice he was stepping on a faint cyan thread—this was the Realm Severing Thread. He hadn’t used it in a long time, but the corridor terrain in this battle was well-suited for it.
Blood flowed down Su Xiao’s left arm. He was injured; a black bone spike had pierced through his left shoulder. This was the price paid for taking half of the Giant Ape’s skull and nearly stabbing Tasha through the spine.
Poison Claw’s ability was troublesome. At that moment, Su Xiao tasted a faint bitterness in his mouth. The toxin on the two-meter-long black bone spike wasn’t lethal—it was a spore, one with extremely high activity.
Once this spore entered a wound, detoxification items were useless. It would begin growing near the wound, slowly at first, then multiplying: one becomes two, two becomes four. Within seconds, this exponential growth would reach terrifying numbers.
These spores didn’t invade the body. Instead, they started from the wound and grew on the skin’s surface, hardening as they grew, resembling a kind of purple coral.
At that moment, spores clung to Su Xiao’s shoulder and part of his left arm. They not only hindered his left arm’s movement but also accelerated his stamina consumption.
Zzzt～
Su Xiao retracted the Realm Severing Thread and, as he descended from midair, transformed into a blue afterimage.
Boom, boom, boom!
The Giant Ape wildly swung his fists, smashing the ground ahead, then grabbed a corpse and hurled it forward. With his perception, Su Xiao was too fast—far beyond what he could track—making this kind of indiscriminate, wide-area attack more effective.
A transparent slash flew toward Su Xiao, forcing him to stop. Three black bone spikes shot toward him in a triangular formation.
‘Blade Path: Blood Blade.’
Crimson feathers drifted through the air as a slash crossed the Giant Ape’s chest, sending a spray of blood splattering everywhere.
“Got you!”
The Giant Ape’s face twisted savagely. As he fell backward, he clenched his hand, and a phantom form appeared in his grip, creaking under the pressure. This was the first real chance since the battle began for the three Aberrants to severely wound—or even kill—Su Xiao.
A few meters away, Su Xiao stood still, caught in a massive hand formed of energy.
“Roar.”
Blood aura surged as the Blood Beast coalesced behind Su Xiao and lunged straight at the Giant Ape.
Thud!
The blood aura exploded. Within it, Tasha was knocked back by a single slash from Su Xiao. This wasn’t an opportunity at all—it was bait set by Su Xiao.
With a crash, the Giant Ape’s body hit the ground. His upper torso had been shattered by the Blood Beast’s charge. Even as a Parasite, with a perfect soul-host bond, such injuries were fatal.
[You have killed an enemy leader-level unit: Parasite Ape·Ankidu.]
[Due to the racial particularity of Parasite Ape·Ankidu, you will receive a Dual Chest. This Dual Chest can be combined before opening or opened separately.]
[You have obtained Holy Spirit Chest·Ankidu.]
[You have obtained Holy Spirit Chest·White Ape.]
[You have obtained 185 Merit Points.]
……
As a leader-level enemy, killing the Giant Ape netted Su Xiao 185 Merit Points outright—equivalent to the reward for killing dozens of Contractors. The two chests he dropped could be combined, which was quite interesting.
Su Xiao only glanced at the two chests beside the Giant Ape’s corpse before ignoring them. His situation was far from good. The pounding from the ceiling grew louder, meaning the Fission Beasts in the fourth layer above were about to break through and drop into the corridor.
Moreover, faint sounds came from the corridor entrance. Soon, a large group of Fission Beasts would attack from both behind and above.
Su Xiao’s primary target wasn’t the Giant Ape—it was Poison Claw. Unfortunately, the Giant Ape was an exceptional teammate, using his massive frame to block the corridor. Even with a chunk of his skull sliced off, he refused to retreat, keeping Su Xiao separated from Poison Claw.
The Giant Ape had no standout abilities, but his survivability was extraordinary. Add to that his enormous size, and Su Xiao had to slash him over twenty times before finally killing him with the Blood Beast.
This creature not only had high health but likely three or four defensive abilities, plus absurdly fast regeneration. Two minutes earlier, Su Xiao had cut open the Giant Ape’s abdomen, the wound deep enough to reach his organs. Within 20 seconds, it had shrunk to a mere scar.
Poison Claw, hiding in the distance, was completely cowardly, retreating as far as possible.
Poison Claw knew he couldn’t die yet. He was hiding among over thirty elite Fission Beasts. Though these elites were half-dead from Death Force erosion, they feared nothing and had already taken many blows for him.
Tasha was even more troublesome. She never fought Su Xiao head-on. She was waiting—waiting for reinforcements to arrive, so they could trap Su Xiao here forever. Until then, stalling the enemy was enough. In this regard, Tasha’s decision was sound. This was an Aberrant fortress; Su Xiao couldn’t stay long.
Five minutes and thirty-seven seconds had passed. Su Xiao could sense that the fluctuation preventing him from penetrating space was fading.
Two long blades clashed, sending sword auras flying.
Tasha retreated repeatedly. Her only goal was to avoid mistakes. A single small opening could cost her head.
Clang!
The blades met. Tasha’s strength wasn’t inferior to Su Xiao’s, yet she still retreated. Once reinforcements arrived, the enemy would be trapped here forever.
Boom.
Debris fell from above as a basketball-sized hole appeared in the ceiling. After a few more crashes, the hole widened to several meters.
A Fission Beast in heavy armor, wielding a greatsword, leaped down. The moment it landed, a slash flew toward it.
Pfft.
Blood splattered, but the Fission Beast only staggered back a few steps before gripping its greatsword with both hands and charging at Su Xiao.
One by one, Fission Beasts wielding heavy weapons dropped through the hole above. The Giant Ape had bought time with his life for reinforcements to arrive.
Tasha lightly leaped back, exhaling in relief. The Heavy Armor Unit had arrived. They were a force specifically created to deal with powerful enemies. Even she wouldn’t dare face hundreds of them at once, especially indoors, where their heavy weapons were lethal.
Fission Beasts wielding greatswords or warhammers charged at Su Xiao. All wore full-body heavy armor at least three fingers thick. Judging by the metal density, each suit weighed around 2,500 to 3,000 jin. Without sufficient Strength and Agility, wearing such gear made normal movement impossible, let alone combat. And don’t forget—their weapons were heavier than their armor. These creatures weighed tons.
One Heavy Armor Aberrant charged at Su Xiao. Its speed was slow, even clumsy, but in the confined space, there was little room to dodge.
After running a few meters, this Heavy Armor Aberrant leaped, gripping its warhammer with both hands.
Clang!
A sword aura slashed through. The Aberrant in midair froze, didn’t even grunt, and with a trail of blood, swung its barrel-thick warhammer toward the ground a few meters ahead of Su Xiao.
Thud～
A wave of earthy yellow shockwave spread. Su Xiao was swept by it, with no chance to dodge—the entire corridor was within the shockwave’s range.
Su Xiao felt a slight numbness in his body, negligible enough to ignore.
Thud, thud, thud…
Warhammers, greatswords, and other heavy weapons slammed into the ground. Dozens of earthy yellow shockwaves spread simultaneously.
Tasha and Poison Claw instantly felt drained, nearly collapsing to the ground. This was the Heavy Armor Unit: clumsy, painless, with armor and post-battle modifications granting them tenacious survivability, like living heavy tanks. They weren’t meant for war—too bulky and unwieldy. They were specifically designed to deal with powerful enemies and guard the Aberrant King. Indoors, no one could stand against them.
After being swept by dozens of shockwaves, Su Xiao felt his body growing weak. These Heavy Armor Aberrants were more troublesome than the combination of Tasha and the other two bosses. One or two slashes couldn’t kill them. Earlier, Su Xiao had wondered how the Autistic Brother, who wasn’t weak, had been instantly killed.
With a crash, a figure nearly five meters tall dropped from above. Its armor was even thicker—conservatively estimated at ten centimeters—making it look bloated but unstoppable.
This Heavy Armor Aberrant Leader held a massive axe in both hands. The axe head was the size of a door panel, with a handle nearly four meters long. The blade had a coating to enhance sharpness.
As soon as the Axe Aberrant landed, it gripped the axe with both hands and began spinning in place.
A mournful whoosh of wind spread. The Axe Aberrant spun like a top toward Su Xiao, the rotation creating wind pressure that sucked in nearby debris and corpses.
The Axe Aberrant didn’t care if it died. Its lack of pain meant it wouldn’t stop easily. Its only belief was to kill the intruder.
Other Heavy Armor Aberrants charged forward a few steps before leaping and hammering the ground, unleashing earthy yellow shockwaves without pause. Ahead of them, the Axe Aberrant had already created a spiral of airflow.
These were the reinforcements Tasha had been waiting for: the Heavy Armor Unit—impossible to push back, impossible to crush. They barely even had emotions.