Chapter 31: Death Woodland
At the edge of the water source area, a wooden shed was covered with large patches of vines. Inside this shed hung a weathered skull bleached gray-white, covered in many black spikes, representing the Rainhowl Tribe.
Several contractors were standing or sitting near the wooden shed, their expressions far from pleasant. Two of them were shirtless, treating wounds on their bodies.
"Ice Jue, don't you have something to say?"
The female contractor carrying a sniper cannon spoke up. Faint bloodstains could still be seen on her face.
"What do you want me to say? The encirclement plan was set by Axiwa. I charged in the direction he specified."
"Are you brain-dead? If there's a trap, can't you go around it?"
The female sniper glanced at Ice Jue, a hint of contempt in her eyes. She had seen plenty of tank-types, but this was the first time she'd heard one scream so miserably after being cut.
"Easy for you to say. Try making a turn when you're charging at max speed. You were comfortable hiding far away, weren't you?"
"Stop arguing. It's the perception-type's fault."
Someone tried to mediate. Now that someone was missing, they could shift the blame to avoid internal conflict.
"Including me, we're all a bunch of rabble."
The female sniper's words silenced everyone. Under normal circumstances, if they had all gone all out, even if they couldn't win, they wouldn't have lost so miserably.
In the previous battle, aside from Ice Jue, the assassin-type Razor, and Axiwa, no one else dared to charge at Su Xiao first. One melee-type guy even pulled out a green-quality shotgun and blasted Su Xiao a few times to ease his embarrassment at not daring to charge. As for actual effect, it was basically zero.
Now, Shotgun Brother was standing with his arms crossed, discussing the battle with the others. His voice was loud, and he acted as if he would have charged forward immediately if not for Axiwa's plan.
"What weapon did you use during the fight?"
A slightly hoarse female voice came from behind Shotgun Brother. It was Axiwa returning.
"Secret weapon. Don't underestimate gunpowder weapons."
Shotgun Brother tried to salvage his last shred of dignity. Axiwa turned her head to look at him, her gaze piercing.
"I really underestimated you."
Axiwa's words left Shotgun Brother smiling awkwardly.
No one spoke again. In the silence, a figure emerged from the bushes. Seeing this figure, Axiwa breathed a sigh of relief. The team's healer, Cocoa Bean, was still alive.
"Ten people left. Where do we go after everyone gathers? To find Naji·Ga? I don't like that guy. Compared to him, I'd even trust the illusionist more."
Ice Jue asked in a deep voice, seeking Axiwa's opinion. Her choice to cover the retreat earlier had earned some trust from the others.
"Besides going to Naji·Ga, we have no other choice. Luck is also a form of strength. Besides, Naji·Ga... is very terrifying."
Axiwa seemed somewhat disgusted or afraid of Naji·Ga, but she still needed him now.
Just as everyone was discussing Naji·Ga, another figure emerged from the dense forest.
"Darkwood, you need to explain to me right now, immediately, how you perceived the terrain earlier. That trap was so obvious, and you didn't notice it?"
Ice Jue stood up. The healer Cocoa Bean and Shotgun Brother beside him both grabbed him.
"It was a mistake. Those threads blocked perception."
The perception-type called Darkwood walked out of the dense forest, found a sky-reaching tree, and sat down against it.
The leaves above rustled in the wind. Su Xiao released his perception and withdrew it after a moment, fulfilling his duty as a perception-type. Disguising with enemy blood had almost no flaws, but the time was short. Even with enough blood collected, it could last at most six to seven hours.
Infiltration successful. Now, just wait.
"Ice Jue, everyone makes mistakes."
Axiwa glanced at Ice Jue, then turned her gaze to Su Xiao, tilting her chin toward him, signaling him to say something.
"Yes, yes, everyone makes mistakes. Ice Jue, calm down."
Shotgun Brother patted Ice Jue's shoulder. Ice Jue shoved his arm away, causing Shotgun Brother's expression to stiffen.
As the saying goes, the more you endure, the angrier you get; the more you retreat, the more you lose. Remembering his miserable state when he was cut, Ice Jue strode toward Su Xiao.
Ice Jue walked over aggressively. Shotgun Brother seemed to want to persuade him again but was glared at by Ice Jue.
"Perception-type, if there's a next time, I'll endure the temporary contract penalty and settle this with you to the death."
"Oh."
"You bastard."
The anger in Ice Jue's heart grew stronger. He finally snorted coldly, not daring to go too far since this was just a temporary team.
After waiting nearly an hour, no other contractors came to gather. Originally, sixteen people should have been alive, but only six had gathered: Su Xiao, Ice Jue, Axiwa, the female sniper, the healer Cocoa Bean, and Shotgun Brother. No one else came.
"Could it be..."
Cocoa Bean thought of the worst possibility: that aside from those present, no one else would come to gather.
"Even if they died on the way back, there should have been sounds of battle. Did you... hear any?"
Axiwa's gaze turned to Su Xiao, signaling him to conduct a large-scale detection of the surroundings.
Su Xiao pressed one hand to the ground, fully releasing his perception to maximize its range. As for precision, his perception was designed for melee combat. Once the range expanded, it was far inferior to a true perception-type. But for close-range tracking of enemy attack trajectories, he completely outclassed perception-types.
After a moment, Su Xiao opened his eyes.
"Ten suspicious corpses found, all distributed around the area."
"Is there any trace of that guy?"
"None found. Only the blood energy released during the battle remains, along with... a barrier-like ability dissipating."
Hearing Su Xiao's words, Axiwa's expression turned grim. The deaths of these ten people were somewhat inexplicable. In her judgment, even if Reincarnation Paradise's Bai Ye was strong, he couldn't be strong enough to prevent these ten from even resisting. The problem should lie with that barrier-like ability, which masked the sounds and fluctuations of the battle.
Of course, the barrier didn't exist. But Su Xiao was the perception-type now. If he said it existed, it existed. If anyone disagreed, the dead wouldn't raise any objections.
"Axiwa, should we go confirm the condition of those corpses?"
Ice Jue spoke. Clearly, after the previous battle, he no longer trusted Su Xiao, who was disguised as a perception-type.
Axiwa hesitated. But what she didn't know was that if she chose to risk checking those corpses, Su Xiao would strike directly.
"Retreat. This place is no longer safe. Pay attention to the fluctuations around us."
Axiwa stepped forward toward the central area of the water source region, which had now become the base camp for the survivors.
"Are we going to find Naji·Ga? To be honest, I'm a bit afraid of this person."
Cocoa Bean frowned deeply. Every time she saw him, she felt a deep fear, as if in his eyes, she was no longer a living being but livestock on a slaughter table.
"We have no other choice. Naji·Ga knows how to open the altar. Without the altar to get White Amber, we can't pass through the Death Woodland. According to Naji·Ga, beyond the Death Woodland lies the territory of the 'Dia Tribe' and the 'Tiger Bee Lord.' That's the true face of this world. We're actually trapped in these three major areas: the Water Source Zone, the Swamp Zone, and the Tiger Bee Zone. Killing one hunter per team is the entry qualification set by Naji·Ga."
Axiwa's words made Ice Jue and the others feel even worse. As long as they passed through the Death Woodland, they wouldn't have to worry about the threat of hunters and could even reap significant benefits.