Chapter 29: The Pursuit Squad
The blazing sun hung high in the sky. Although the dense forest below wasn't directly exposed to sunlight, the canopies of the towering trees, like lids, covered the top. Combined with the large broad-leaved plants growing on the ground, the forest was somewhat stuffy. Fortunately, the rainy season was approaching, and this stuffiness hadn't reached an unbearable level.
Several figures passed through the underbrush, leaving no trace behind. They were clearly all skilled at hunting enemies and conveniently covering their tracks along the way.
One figure stopped, and the others behind her concealed themselves, waiting quietly for her next instructions. These people all understood one thing: either don't cooperate at all, but if you choose to cooperate, you must temporarily follow the decision-maker's orders. The decision-maker of this squad was Axiwa.
"Bug Boy, you're at position 19. You don't need to fight. Ice Duke, you're the vanguard when the battle starts. Be careful, you might get your shield broken in a few slashes. Don't bother showing off your Holy Spirit Shield at enhancement level 12. The enemy is at least a Blade Grandmaster.
Little Bai, cover Ice Duke's retreat at all times. Don't sneak close to the enemy, you'll die. Jumping Tiger, don't suddenly leap out of alternate space to get yourself killed. And Cocoa Bean, you'll be relatively safe after the battle starts. You're the enemy's second kill target."
Axiwa arranged the battle formation in the squad channel, clearly experienced in dealing with powerful technique-type enemies.
"I'm the second kill target? Who's the first kill target? I'll grant them Life Sanctuary."
Cocoa Bean spoke in the squad channel. As a healing type, she was usually the enemy's primary kill target.
"The first kill target is Ice Duke."
"Pfft~, is the enemy a sand sculpture? Killing the tank with the highest survivability first?"
"The enemy isn't, and neither am I. When I fight contractor squads, I use the enemy's tank as a shield first, then use my strongest throw technique to kill the tank. The tank's domain suppression is what technique masters hate. Also, control-type, don't try to show off. Blade Grandmasters are immune to control. All mental-type controls are a waste. Understand? If you understand, we'll start the encirclement in 5 seconds."
Axiwa counted down in her mind. Just then, Bug Boy spoke in the squad channel. His tracking ability had failed, but fortunately, the enemy was already within the encirclement.
"Ice Duke, charge! Domain suppression immediately!"
Axiwa growled in the squad channel.
Boom!
Frozen plant leaves shattered. A massive beast head, radiating cold air, charged straight ahead. Trees along the way were frozen and then smashed apart.
Heavy footsteps came. Su Xiao, sitting under a towering tree, turned his head to the right. The enemy had arrived. From the distribution of surrounding auras, the contractor commanding these people had considerable combat experience.
Zzzt~
The Realm Severing Thread tightened. Ice Duke, who was charging forward, felt a binding sensation all over his body. He grinned, straining with all his might as he roared.
Crack, crack~
Large swaths of nearby trees snapped. Ice Duke, his face flushed red, managed to advance a few more meters before he couldn't move another inch. The Realm Severing Thread, with Soul Threads clinging to its surface, wasn't something he could break free from.
Realizing he couldn't advance any further, Ice Duke immediately raised his hands and slammed them to the ground with a bang. Ice spread across the surrounding area.
Su Xiao stood up and sidestepped. When his feet touched the ground, the ice on the surface stopped about a dozen centimeters away from him. The domain-type ability's suppression had failed.
From within the bushes, Axiwa narrowed her eyes as she watched. The enemy's combat experience, instincts, judgment, and perception were all stronger than hers. Her current advantage was that she had 19 teammates, and that was enough.
The moment Su Xiao stepped onto the ground, a force surged from beneath his feet. The soil formed a giant hand, poised to grab him.
With a crackle, a blue arc of electricity flashed under Su Xiao's foot. The newly formed giant hand of earth crumbled, and dirt and dead leaves fell around him.
A wave of energy spread out. Every grain of soil and every leaf in the vicinity took on a different aura. This was a perception-type's perception misdirection ability. It had to be admitted that this ability was quite effective.
With a whoosh, a broadsword nearly twenty centimeters wide slashed from Su Xiao's side. The sword was straight, over 1.8 meters in total length, and aimed directly at his waist, intending to cut him in half.
A crystal layer spread to Su Xiao's right hand. He pressed his hand against the incoming broadsword, using his right hand as a pivot point, and vaulted over the slashing sword like jumping over a railing.
"What the f*ck!"
The male contractor wielding the broadsword, who had put all his strength into the horizontal slash, glared with wide eyes as a dark figure rapidly approached him.
Thump, thump!
A side hook punch and a straight kick later, the broadsword-wielding man fell to the ground with a thud. His chest ached fiercely, many ribs were broken, and his internal organs were severely damaged.
Clang~
The Dragon-Slaying Flash appeared. Su Xiao stabbed downward. Just as the tip of the blade was a few centimeters from the back of the broadsword man's head, ice enveloped Su Xiao.
Crack, crack, crack~
Cold air rose. Ice Duke, not far away, held his right hand forward in a grasping motion. After completing this action, he exhaled a large cloud of white vapor.
"Mental-type control is useless, so I'll just freeze you."
Ice Duke strained with all his might, trying to break free from the Realm Severing Thread. But this thing was incredibly tough. Suddenly, Ice Duke felt his whole body loosen. The metal wire binding him was pulled away.
The Realm Severing Thread dragged an afterimage through the air and disappeared into Su Xiao's sleeve. Ice Duke saw the locking spike at the tip of the thread, and his pupils rapidly contracted. The enemy was right beside him!
Ice Duke roared inwardly. At the same time, an ice arm shield formed on his arm. This wasn't generated by an ability; it was a piece of equipment.
A blue light slashed across. Ice Duke blocked the circular arm shield, nearly a meter in diameter, at his side. With a screech, the long sword slashed across the shield, and a tremendous force transmitted through it.
Just then, a silver bullet flew in, but it missed.
"Behind you!"
A loud shout reached Ice Duke's ears. However, the moment that shout entered his ears, a searing pain erupted from his back. The enemy had spatial abilities.
Pfft!
Blood spurted violently. Ice Duke's eyes suddenly bulged. An indescribable, excruciating pain appeared from behind him, followed by a flood of battle prompts. Not just one, but a whole pile.
[Warning: You are being invaded by an unknown energy.]
[Warning: Your Mana Points have been burned by 657 points.]
[Warning: You are being eroded by an unknown energy. You have taken 1313 points of True Damage + 928 points of Soul Damage + 81 points of True Damage (Demon's Mark) + 363 points of Defense-Ignoring Damage (Soul Reaping Scythe) + 240 points of Physical Defense-Ignoring Damage (Life Severance) + 715 points of Slashing Damage + 619 points of Blade Damage (Slashing Damage and Blade Damage have been reduced by 32.5% due to defensive abilities)...]
[Due to excessive simultaneous damage taken, you will suffer a certain degree of Bleeding Damage: 15-20 points per second, lasting 30-47 seconds (this Bleeding effect can be dispelled).]
[Your Defense is reduced by 8%, lasting 30 minutes (this effect is stackable).]
[Due to excessive simultaneous damage taken and severe back injuries, your body's recovery functions will be reduced, lasting 3-5 minutes.]