Chapter 33: Provoked
"Death, descend upon me."
In the midst of the chaotic crowd, a contractor from Reincarnation Paradise lowered his head. His life force rapidly dissipated. He was too severely injured—his heart shattered, a third of his skull cleaved off, and with no healing-type contractors nearby, his death was inevitable.
This contractor, whose entire body was wreathed in rising black smoke, collapsed. From within him floated a wisp of black smoke, which coalesced into a ghostly head. With a *whoosh*, it pierced through the chest of a contractor from Apocalypse Paradise. The latter's defenses were utterly ineffective.
The contractor's face quickly withered, and his barely raised hand turned as brittle as a dead branch.
After the black smoke ghost head passed through the bodies of several more enemy contractors, it dissipated into the air.
A massive energy hand appeared, descending from above to strike down one of their own contractors. With a *boom*, the energy hand shattered. No sooner had it vanished than several more attacks, formed from disposable items, rained down—a wealthy combo from Apocalypse Paradise.
If only the Death Paradise faction were present, they could have leveraged the terrain advantage of the Sun Temple to secure victory. Unfortunately, Death Paradise had allied with Apocalypse Paradise. Their side, with over ninety contractors, was already showing signs of decline. The enemy was simply too numerous.
After an extremely brutal hour of melee combat, the battle situation began to clear. Various energy particles drifted through the fifth floor. Many corpses lay on the ground, the stench of blood thick in the air. The scorched walls were covered in a layer of ice.
On the inner side of the fifth floor, 52 of their own contractors gathered. Some smiled, others coldly stared at the enemy. World Struggle was this cruel—not only did the enemy die, but their own casualties were also heavy.
On the outer side of the fifth floor, Furious Dog leaned on his knees, panting heavily. An energy dagger was lodged in his chest, and six or seven spikes were embedded in his back.
"Too damn stubborn," he muttered.
Molei hid behind a low wall. Her fair face was splattered with blood droplets, now dried by the intense heat.
"This is just the beginning. The ones left will be even harder to deal with," she said.
One-armed Hai Yizuo spoke up. At this point, Death Paradise still had 62 survivors, while Apocalypse Paradise had 159 remaining. Not all were dead—many had used up their items and strategically retreated.
After about a minute of rest, the enemy mage, Yael, emerged from behind a stone wall. Seeing him gave Molei a headache—not figuratively. She had charged close to him earlier, only to be smacked back by his staff. She touched her head and felt a lump forming.
Darkness spread. Just as the one-armed Hai Yizuo prepared to step forward, running footsteps came from behind them.
A beast with pale white skin, two horns on its head, and exceptionally sharp teeth charged up the stairs to the fifth floor. This was a Moon Beast, a fearless summon.
Seeing the first Moon Beast, Hai Yizuo paid it no mind. But moments later, a second Moon Beast rushed up, followed by a third, a fourth...
"What is this?" Hai Yizuo looked at Molei.
Molei shrugged. "It's our strong reinforcement. A piece of advice: get out of here quickly."
"If you had these things, why did so many have to die?"
Hearing this, Molei, who was about to retreat, stopped.
"There's no free lunch in this world. If you're not willing to risk your life, what right do you have to win? The master of these summons is tired of leading a group of teammates who flee before battle."
With that, Molei took advantage of the Moon Beast horde charging forward to retreat to the fourth floor below, leaving Hai Yizuo deep in thought. He felt that Apocalypse Paradise was becoming increasingly difficult to deal with.
The contractors on their side on the fifth floor all stared at the Moon Beast horde ahead. They knew this round was lost.
"Everyone, don't fight to the death. I have no interest in dying alongside summons. What about you?"
"Does taking the World Core mean Apocalypse Paradise wins? These summons must have a master. We need to find and kill that master."
"Then let's begin."
One by one, their contractors charged toward the sixth floor. When all had arrived, they stopped at a corner.
Vengeance Baron punched the wall. Surprisingly, it broke open, and he reached inside.
The Sun Temple was an advantage for the victors of the node struggle. Naturally, there was an escape route. Otherwise, it would be a punishment for winning.
On the sixth floor, a circular formation appeared beneath everyone's feet, bathed in sunlight. All contractors' wounds visibly healed.
The next instant, all their contractors appeared on a circular stone platform in the ancient capital, successfully escaping the Sun Temple.
"I checked the data on those summons. They're called Moon Beasts."
"Moon Beasts?" Vengeance Baron frowned in thought. After a moment, he said, "There's a contractor from Apocalypse Paradise named Yueshitu. She's in the top ten of the Tree Arena. Is there a connection?"
"So that coward is in this world. I've dealt with her. She's a summoner who hides after entering a world. Rumor has it she can summon tens of thousands, maybe more, but I've never seen it."
"That's her. Find her location, use high-power explosives to clear the way, and kill her."
"Give me..." Mage Yael seemed to be recalling the size of the ancient capital. After a moment, he continued, "Give me five minutes. For the next three hours, I can't fight."
"Let's begin. There are 52 of us left. Either we die, or Yueshitu dies."
"..."
Mage Yael said nothing. He gripped his staff and pressed its tip to the ground.
*Thump~*
Darkness spread outward, soon covering a fifth of the ancient capital. The spread accelerated.
At the center of the darkness, Mage Yael's hair gained streaks of white, and his skin grew dull. When the darkness covered the entire ground of the ancient capital, he was completely white-haired, his cheeks sunken to the bone. His mana was insufficient, so he used his life force to compensate.
"Cough, cough, cough."
Mage Yael coughed repeatedly. After taking a labored breath, a map formed from darkness appeared—a map of the ancient capital. A silver light point was located on it.
"Right here? Mummy, prepare to use explosives to clear the way."
The group of contractors rushed toward Yueshitu's location. They would temporarily abandon the World Core, but Yueshitu must die.
In the single-combat zone on the second floor of the temple, within a space connected to a doorless room, a circular arena held a Moon Beast with dull fur and wrinkled skin. It crawled slowly on the ground, aged to its limit, struggling toward its enemy.
"What... is this? Something... seems to be... happening outside."
The Witch tapped the Moon Beast's head with her finger. This was one of her curse abilities: Aging.
The Witch's combat style was interesting. Once engaged, the enemy faced an endless stream of debuffs.
Take the unlucky guy who fought her earlier. He ended up as an old man, with 27 debuffs—slow, weak, dulled perception, reduced stamina—stacked on him. In the end, he could only lean on his weapon and slowly shuffle toward her.
Meanwhile, in an underground space in the ancient capital, Yueshitu sat among a horde of summons, her expression grim. She had been targeted. A group of madmen from Reincarnation Paradise was rushing toward her at full speed.