Chapter 30: Bringing Su Xiao to Fight the Boss?
On the main street at the front gate of Doom Town, a giant fist formed from energy descended from the sky, smashing toward the Immortal One.
With a sharp slash, a long blade with slight rust marks on its blade cut through, cleaving the energy fist in two, causing it to explode. Seeing this, Eysi, standing atop the totem pole, showed a worried expression, hesitating whether to go all out. Her healing-type role was a fake, and at this level of fighting, she felt the urge to charge in.
Compared to Big Milk Eysi and Killer Bee, White Bull and the Captain were having a terrible time. The two of them were engaged in close combat with the Immortal One.
With a bang, the Immortal One kicked White Bull in the chest. His strip-like clothing fluttered as he swung his blade in a backhand strike toward White Bull's neck.
White Bull leaned back with all his might, but before the enemy's blade even reached him, he felt blunt impacts on his right leg, abdomen, and shoulder.
With a wet tearing sound, a large chunk of flesh covered in exoskeleton flew off. The Immortal One stepped onto White Bull's head with one foot, and with a thunderous crash, stomped him into the ground.
The ground around the depression cracked extensively. If this were a lower-tier world, White Bull would have been driven a hundred meters deep by that stomp.
With a gush, White Bull spat out a mouthful of blood. Dark light flickered in his eyes, and a sudden wave of energy erupted.
'Die, die, die!'
White Bull's right hand slowly clenched. The Immortal One floated in midair, his entire body cracking and popping.
With a whoosh, an afterimage rushed in front of the Immortal One. A fist wrapped in a metal gauntlet slammed down.
Boom!
The air exploded. The Immortal One slightly tilted his head, and a few strands of gray hair were shattered.
The Captain used the recoil from his punch to retreat rapidly, but before he could land, a long blade thrust toward his face.
With a sharp slash, the long blade pierced through the Captain's shoulder, then immediately withdrew. Almost simultaneously, three bloody gashes appeared on the Captain's body—fast, fierce, and sharp. That was the Immortal One.
"Bee, now!"
Bang!
After a crisp gunshot, the Immortal One staggered sideways a few steps. His long blade was held horizontally in front of his neck, with a silver bullet covered in engravings embedded in it.
"Eysi, if you don't act now, we're all dead today!"
White Bull roared, blood streaming down the exoskeleton on his body. His health was only 51% left. He had endured over a dozen strikes from the Immortal One, and without Eysi's healing abilities, he would have been finished long ago.
"I'm just a fragile healing type. Don't overthink it."
Eysi still stood on the totem pole with her arms crossed. With her imposing figure, she was anything but fragile.
"After we sell the furnace, you get one-third! If we don't get the key, there's nothing!"
The Captain shouted. Hearing this, a smile appeared on Eysi's resolute face.
"Why didn't you say that earlier? Little Hornet, check the situation nearby."
Eysi leaped down from the totem pole. The "Little Hornet" she referred to was Killer Bee not far away.
"Always bossing people around."
Killer Bee pressed her fingertip to her temple. With a hum, a shockwave spread outward. Perception was mostly useless in Doom Town; even a perception-type contractor would have their range suppressed to within twenty meters. Killer Bee's ability was clearly not perception.
As the shockwave spread, Killer Bee's pupils rapidly contracted.
"There's someone outside the high wall! Four heat-signature lifeforms!"
Killer Bee's words startled the other three. They were already dealing with the Immortal One, and being caught between two fronts would mean certain death.
"Retreat!"
The Captain made a snap decision to pull back.
"No, Captain. You and I hold off the Immortal One. White Bull and Killer Bee, go deal with those people."
Eysi clearly didn't want to retreat. Leaving now was pointless; being cornered from both sides was already a foregone conclusion.
"Wait, hold on."
Killer Bee's delicate face showed disbelief, then a smile spread across it.
"There's only one contractor outside the high wall. The other three are summons."
"Damn! A summoner!"
The Captain cursed under his breath. The higher the rank, the more troublesome summoners became.
"Not sure which paradise they're from. Can't get specific data either. Doom Town is suppressing my detection gear, but their mark is sixth-rank."
When Killer Bee said this, she was both helpless and amused. Helpless because a sixth-rank contractor had accidentally wandered into Doom Town, and amused because they had been scared like this by a sixth-rank contractor.
It wasn't uncommon for sixth-rank contractors to enter a seventh-rank world. This usually happened when breaking through the 150-point attribute barrier. Such sixth-rank contractors came to seventh-rank worlds just to complete a task and pass the barrier assessment. In such cases, there would be no main quest or world settlement.
"A sixth-rank contractor? Next time, don't make me jump like that. Scared the hell out of me."
The Captain wiped the blood from his face, his eyes fixed on the Immortal One. Strangely, the Immortal One hadn't charged at them but seemed to be searching for something.
This was a golden opportunity. The Captain thought for a moment and decided to let White Bull retreat first. White Bull was the most injured. It was time for Eysi to stop hiding her strength and let her hold off the Immortal One for a while.
"White Bull, make it quick and recover your health."
The Captain spoke half-instructively while staring at the Immortal One. A sixth-rank contractor was easy to handle.
"Alright, five minutes to finish."
"Nonsense. I'll give you one minute at most."
"Tough boss."
White Bull held the back of his neck with one hand, rotating his slightly aching neck. That stomp from the Immortal One had nearly crushed his spine.
"Boss, I think we've been spotted. That horned guy is walking toward us."
"Moo?"
"Not you."
Baha lightly tapped the back of Amu's head with his wing.
"Hey, little sixth-rank brother outside the wall, want to come fight the boss with us? It's the gatekeeper boss of a hidden area. Kill it and you get Soul Coins. If you help, we'll share a few with you."
The exoskeleton on White Bull's face, covered in cracks, shattered, revealing his honest-looking face. He was smiling, a very friendly smile.
Su Xiao stepped out from beside the high wall's gate, one hand resting on the hilt of the blade at his waist.
"Don't worry, I mean no harm. In this damn place called Doom Town, cooperation is the only way to win. Don't you agree, little brother?"
White Bull spoke as he walked forward slowly. He didn't dare move too fast, afraid Su Xiao would run. In truth, White Bull was overthinking things.
"What you said... makes sense."
A smile also appeared on Su Xiao's face. Bubu Wang, Amu, and Baha all stepped out from beside the gate.
White Bull, who was walking slowly, suddenly stopped. To his disbelief, he sensed danger. He looked around but saw no other Doom Town residents nearby, which only confused him more.
When White Bull's gaze shifted back to Su Xiao, he saw four pairs of eyes glowing with red light.
"I... damn it!"
White Bull turned to retreat, rushing toward the gate of the high wall. He swore to the heavens that no sixth-rank contractor could have such an aura. He could already smell a faint scent of blood.
"Brother, what's the matter? Leaving so soon?"
Baha had somehow appeared on White Bull's shoulder. Tanks weren't known for speed, and Baha was a space-type.