Chapter 72: The Collapsing Battlefield
The Disciple reached into his chest with one hand, and almost simultaneously, the coral-like substance on Su Xiao's right arm dissipated. The Disciple wasn't here for a sneak attack; this felt more like a greeting.
The Disciple pulled a gold coin from his chest, tossed it up, then caught it between his hands in an odd posture, slowly raising his left hand.
"The probability of me dying today... is very high."
Dropping the gold coin, the Disciple spread his arms out to both sides, his smile growing even brighter. Clearly, he belonged to the most insane echelon within Reincarnation Paradise, on the same level as Black Blood, Little Fatty, and others.
Meanwhile, Gulu, Mu Xiao, Flame Master, and others were watching this scene from a distance. Among them, Gulu was from the Northern Border faction, looking for an opportunity to gain benefits, while Flame Master and Mu Xiao were from the Duoyin faction, preparing to ambush the Chaos Legion's rear.
"Someone actually went?"
Mu Xiao watched the distance with interest. It wasn't time to reveal themselves yet; they had to wait until the battle grew more intense.
"I bet 100 Soul Coins that's a contractor from Reincarnation Paradise."
Hearing Mu Xiao's words, no one responded. Gulu suddenly leaped out from her hiding spot, rushing toward the distance at top speed. She recognized the Disciple.
Seeing Gulu's reaction, Mu Xiao and Flame Master were momentarily stunned, not understanding what was happening.
Mu Xiao seemed to realize something, and she too leaped from her hiding spot, trying to get as far away from Su Xiao and the Disciple's battle location as possible.
Mu Xiao had just covered about a kilometer when a shockwave came from above and behind her.
Boom!
A deafening explosion rang out from high above. A white sphere of light, a full 2,000 meters in diameter, appeared in midair. After completing its first round of detonation, the sphere began to contract, and the next instant, a black sphere of light expanded outward.
Boom!!
A second explosion occurred. Mu Xiao's ears rang as she shielded her face with one hand. Through the gaps in her fingers, she saw the massive black sphere in the sky collapsing like a black hole, pulling in rocks on the ground, Flame Demons, and even War Treeants, crushing them all into powder under the gravitational force.
"Madman Paradise."
Mu Xiao muttered to herself. Nearby, Gulu, who had been sent flying by the shockwave, got up from the ground, brushing off her Gothic dress.
"Black and White Rose is pretty useful, huh. Worth 500 Soul Coins."
Hearing this, Mu Xiao took half a step back.
"You wouldn't..."
"Yeah, I have some too. Two more. Want to buy one? 1,000 Soul Coins each."
In Gulu's small hands appeared two marble-sized, black-and-white spheres. In the eyes of most Seventh Rank contractors from Reincarnation Paradise, this was standard supply—something to take the enemy down with you before dying.
"..."
Mu Xiao turned and walked away in silence, wanting to get as far from Gulu as possible.
At that moment, below the explosion point, Su Xiao exerted force with one hand, tearing a piece of coral-like substance from his shoulder with a crack. Before the enemy could self-destruct, he used Dragon Shadow Flash to appear behind him, delivering a full-force upward kick that sent the enemy flying into midair.
Su Xiao had a general understanding of the Black and White Rose's structure, but he couldn't manufacture it. It was an explosive combining tech-side and mystic-side elements. Once subjected to electromagnetic impact, it would take at least 2.5 to 3 seconds to detonate after activation.
[Notification: You have obtained Scarlet Honor x3.]
Su Xiao waited on the hill for another half hour. The Disciple's self-destruction had completely deterred anyone else from coming. Even the occasional perception sweeps stopped extending in this direction.
Noticing this, Su Xiao temporarily gave up on obtaining more [Scarlet Honor]. He could only hope for another opportunity in the future.
Surveying the battlefield ahead, his own Flame Demon army had become fully entangled in chaotic combat with the enemy. Both sides had too many troops, and the battlefield was divided into five major zones.
The three central battlefields were the most brutal, where both armies clashed fiercely. These three zones were now connected, and it looked like they would soon merge into one massive battlefield.
On the left flank, the Duoyin side held the advantage. There were many supernaturally enhanced beasts with inscribed runes on their bodies. On the right flank, Su Xiao's side was winning, about to break through the enemy lines. The Wolf Cavalry Legion was over there.
Through Baha's reconnaissance, Su Xiao received these battle reports immediately. After a moment of thought, he decided to stick with his original strategy: first, pull back the Wolf Cavalry Legion.
On the current battlefield, magma scattered across the ground emitted thick smoke. A War Treeant, its entire body ablaze, swung its branch-woven arms left and right, smashing a large group of Imperial soldiers into chaos, their screams filling the air. But soon, the War Treeant collapsed with a thunderous crash, boosting the morale of the surrounding Imperial troops.
Blood burned, iron melted, and gleaming longswords were stained red. A small meteorite wreathed in black flames whistled down from above.
"Meow, meow, meow!"
Biting Cat pounced onto a Flame Demon, clawing wildly. In just a few strikes, the Flame Demon's upper body shattered.
Killing a Flame Demon earned 5 Battle Merit points, bringing a smile to Biting Cat's face. But she quickly noticed that her furry paws were on fire. This magma was different—it seemed specially treated.
Biting Cat calmly thought for a moment, then began clapping her hands to extinguish the flames. The serious expression on her face contrasted sharply with what she was doing.
Biting Cat was having a blast killing, but a sense of helplessness welled up inside her. Compared to the sheer number of Flame Demons, the ones she had slain were like tossing a pebble into a lake—barely causing a ripple.
Hmm~
A horn sounded from the distance. The War Treeant that had blown the horn collapsed a few seconds later, a thick hunting arrow embedded in its body.
This arrow had originally been prepared for Barbatos, but it proved ineffective. To the Duoyin side's surprise, it worked exceptionally well against War Treeants—one arrow, one down.
Behind the enemy lines, Duoyin's Supreme Commander, Gate, stood on a high platform, surveying the battlefield below.
From the current situation, the Chaos Legion would show signs of defeat by tomorrow morning at the latest. The enemy was far too chaotic, but that wasn't enough. Gate wanted to crush the enemy as quickly as possible and secure a glorious victory.
"It's time. Release them."
"Yes, sir!"
A messenger hurried off. A few minutes later, a series of dull thuds came from behind the Duoyin lines.
At some point, the Duoyin side had hollowed out the ground behind them. Achieving this in secret would have taken at least several days.
Dozens of energy creatures resembling small wyverns flew out from underground passages. These creatures were icy blue all over, with faint, ethereal runes inscribed on their bodies.
In Duoyin, these were called Ice Wings. They were formed by extracting ice energy from the 'Yatade Wall' and constructing energy creatures through runes. They had no consciousness, only pre-set energy circuits via runes to guide their movements.
At least a million Ice Wings flew above the battlefield before diving downward.
Boom, boom, boom...
Explosions rang out one after another. Over four-fifths of the battlefield was covered in spreading ice, with low temperatures spreading across the area. What was even more surprising was that runic inscriptions appeared on the armor of every Imperial soldier.
These inscriptions were one-time use. After a few fire patterns clung to each soldier's armor, the runes dissipated. The fire patterns on the armor protected the Imperial soldiers from the cold.
Flame Demons, once exposed to low temperatures, suffered a 25% reduction in all attributes, a 47-point decrease in physical defense, and a 1,200-point reduction in maximum health. This weakening was fatal to the current battle situation.
If the low temperatures persisted for several hours, over 90% of the Flame Demons could die, causing Su Xiao's front line to collapse.
If that happened, defeat in this battle would be inevitable. The enemy would then charge into Su Xiao's territory, slaughtering entire cities. If that came to pass, Su Xiao's main mission would fail.
As the ice spread, the Duoyin side's morale soared. Many contractors were also slaughtering large numbers of Flame Demons. Some even began sensing Su Xiao's location again. Once the Chaos Legion was defeated, they would immediately swarm him.