Chapter 18: Retaliation
Su Xiao stepped up to the honeycomb cocoon. The surrounding tiger wasps swarmed forward, their sharp stingers oozing venom. The tiger wasps' stingers had no barbs, meaning they wouldn't die after stinging an enemy, unlike bees.
"Tamisha probably craves the Black Scales even more."
"Ta... Tamisha."
Afra inside the honeycomb cocoon spoke with a trembling voice, showing just how terrified she was of Tamisha. Tamisha had evolved more perfectly, even able to control certain powerful abilities of the ancient elves, unlike Afra who was a half-baked version.
"Don't go looking for Tamisha. She'll kill you..."
Hive Queen Afra's words cut off mid-sentence as she sensed the bloodlust emanating from Su Xiao. In an instant, Hive Queen Afra confirmed one thing—Tamisha would not kill the human outside the cocoon, because their auras were of the same type.
"You're... sent by Tamisha. She's decided to kill me."
The honeycomb cocoon opened, and Hive Queen Afra knelt on the ground, head lowered. Faced with Tamisha's orders, she didn't even dare to resist. The consequences of resistance were more than just death.
"I'm interested in your books..."
Before Su Xiao could finish, Hive Queen Afra suddenly spoke.
"No Black Scales, no ancient elven books. Even in death, no."
Hive Queen Afra was stubborn despite her cowardice. It was easy to imagine how much Tiger Wasp Lord Tamisha had been infuriated by her, to the point of deciding to semi-exile Hive Queen Afra.
"Afra."
Su Xiao crouched down, looking at Hive Queen Afra with a smile, placing one hand on Afra's head.
"If you could replace Tamisha, what would you do?"
Su Xiao whispered in Afra's ear. At that moment, Afra felt as if a demon was whispering to her, tempting her to do something terrible.
"Replace Tamisha..." Afra seemed to think of something delightful, her eyes lighting up with excitement as she continued, "After replacing Tamisha! No one will bother me. I'll keep reading in my honeycomb cocoon! Hey? Where are you going? Why are you leaving?"
Hive Queen Afra looked utterly confused, but Su Xiao didn't stop, quickly walking out of the hive. Hive Queen Afra's ambition was far too 'grand.'
Walking through the hive's corridors, Su Xiao pondered. He had encountered many difficult people to negotiate with—cunning, cruel, insane, treacherous, even some deranged individuals—and he could work with all of them.
But this time, he met the hardest one yet: Hive Queen Afra, both cowardly and stubborn. What made it worse was that Afra had no ambition at all. Her only wish was to find more ancient elven books, slowly decipher them, and become an ultimate shut-in.
Although he couldn't cooperate much with Afra, Su Xiao felt she was very useful. Afra had read many records about the ancient elves and knew many secrets.
Currently, Su Xiao had three options. First, find the Black Scales and obtain the 'Second Era Alchemy: Poisons and Potions' from Afra first—that book was valuable.
Second, establish a connection with Tiger Wasp Lord Tamisha's side. That faction was Chaotic Evil. Such factions were dangerous to others, but for Su Xiao, it was easy to blend in.
Third, rest temporarily, use [Nature's Blessing] and [Stinger Wasp Venom] to enhance his strength, and seize the Life Dragon's Essence tomorrow.
Su Xiao planned to proceed step by step. Today, he would scheme, sending Bubu Wang and Baha out first to lay the groundwork. Tomorrow, regardless of success or failure in obtaining the Life Dragon's Essence, he would contact Tiger Wasp Lord Tamisha afterward.
...
In the dense forest outside the hive, three figures were crouching in the bushes.
"Are you sure this will work? There are so many tiger wasps. If we're discovered, it won't just be a matter of getting stung into a pig's head."
A girlish voice came from the bushes. The three figures were all female. Molei lay on the left, beside her was a little girl with a chubby face, and then a well-built girl in a black sailor uniform. Molei and the chubby girl called her Senior Sister.
"Relax, you chubby bun. Don't you trust me? Every noon is when the tiger wasps are quietest."
Molei pinched the chubby girl's face. Earlier, in the space transfer station, they had clearly acted like mortal enemies, but in reality, they were friends. They had been putting on a show for others. Molei was a Battle Angel of Apocalypse Paradise, and the chubby girl was a Contractor of Reincarnation Paradise. Their friendship was quite peculiar.
"It's precisely because I trusted your evil schemes that I ended up here."
The chubby girl tilted her head, trying to free her cheek from Molei's grip.
"You two, shut up. Don't attract the tiger wasps."
Senior Sister's voice was very low, but her cheek was trembling because the chubby girl's hand was restless.
"Half an hour left. Then, chubby bun, you sneak in."
Molei's smile was as malicious as possible, and utterly smug.
"What about you two?"
Molei: "Cheering you on."
Senior Sister: "Praying for you."
The chubby girl nearly snapped. Just then, her expression suddenly turned serious, and she said urgently, "A Contractor just came out of the hive. It's someone from my side."
The three watched Su Xiao walk out of the hive, and Hive Queen Afra poked her head out at the entrance to shout something. Only after Su Xiao had walked far away did the chubby girl and Senior Sister breathe a sigh of relief.
"Here we go again. That monster is starting to recruit native forces."
Molei muttered under her breath, her pupils trembling as she recalled the scene of Su Xiao leading hundreds of thousands of beast cavalry. The black dragon spewed black flames in the sky, the beast cavalry trampled everything on the ground. With a single command, a fortress city with a population of over a hundred thousand turned into a living hell, and the strongest Seventh Rank Violator, Feishi, let out an unwilling roar amidst the chaos.
"What are you talking about? Molei, what's wrong with you? Hey, you're shaking."
"I knew it. Entering the same world as this monster never ends well."
With her mental state shattered, Molei didn't respond to the chubby girl and Senior Sister. She just wanted to find a safe place to hide, because in her view, this place might soon turn into a hellscape.
...
Inside the dense forest, Su Xiao pushed aside the banana leaves blocking his path and soon reunited with Bubu Wang, Amu, and Baha.
"Where's Xibier?"
Su Xiao looked around but saw no trace of Xibier.
"Xibier? Boss, is there someone named Xibier..."
Baha's words cut off mid-sentence as he suddenly remembered that Xibier was the healer they had captured. Some ability had been affecting him just now.
"Did she show any abnormalities earlier?"
As he spoke, Su Xiao checked the status of a contract. The contract was normal. Xibier hadn't triggered the contract's penalty yet, and she wasn't dead. This was likely a limitation of the enemy's ability, or perhaps the enemy was also from Holy Light Paradise, and killing Xibier would incur a penalty.
"She said she had a cold, just dizziness and sneezing."
"I see."
Su Xiao walked forward. Clearly, this was someone's ability. They had captured Xibier, and before being affected by that ability, one would experience symptoms like dizziness and sneezing, resembling a cold.
Being targeted was something Su Xiao had anticipated. Earlier, he had snatched a white supply crate. At that time, many Contractors were watching from the dense forest nearby, some with bizarre abilities. Moreover, he had offended the Illusionist this morning.
"Ah... ah... ah-choo!"
Baha sneezed. After shaking his head, his eyes glowed red. This time, he was the target.
"Keep moving."
Su Xiao's left index finger flicked, and the Realm Severing Thread silently shot out, wrapping around Baha's leg.
After traveling several hundred meters through the forest, Su Xiao felt a wave sweep over him, followed by a battle notification.
[Warning: An unknown enemy attempted a Soul Interference on the Hunter. Interference failed.]
Su Xiao lowered his head, sensing Amu ahead. Amu suddenly stopped, standing frozen in place. Su Xiao also stopped immediately, hanging his head.
The sound of footsteps on dead leaves came from the side and behind, accompanied by whistling. The sound grew closer. The enemy was savoring the feeling of approaching their prey.
"Only one at a time, too slow. Once they're all restrained, I'll open that place. Can't stack kill rewards, not even a Scarlet Card."
A lazy male voice sounded, followed by more whistling. Thin mist spread at Su Xiao's feet.
Ten meters, five meters, three meters. Close enough.
Su Xiao drew his blade and slashed backward. The sensation of the blade cutting through flesh was clear. Blood sprayed out. The newcomer's body was very fragile, only about Sixth Rank Contractor level.
With a thud, the body, cut in two, fell to the ground, followed by screams.
"Soul Hypnosis... how did it fail... We'll... fight you... to the death."
Swish~
The long blade pierced through the head. This was a Contractor covered in light spots on his skin, with beard-like translucent tentacles under his chin.
Against overwhelming power, all bizarre and unpredictable abilities were just flashy tricks.
Confirming the kill notification had appeared, Su Xiao pulled out Dragon-Slaying Flash. This person was likely sent by the Illusionist. Only the Illusionist could precisely locate everyone's position.
A crack appeared in mid-air, and the unconscious Xibier fell out, covered in translucent tentacles.
The Illusionist's retaliation came faster than expected. Su Xiao decided to ignore him for now. If his plan succeeded, even if the Illusionist gathered all the remaining survivors, he could still deal with them.
Spatial fluctuations appeared in the distant sky, conservatively over fifty kilometers away. This supply drop would bring out most of the survivors, but this supply contest wouldn't be the most intense. Tomorrow's fight for the [Life Dragon's Essence] would be a chaotic battle involving everyone.