Chapter 8: Ancient God's Soul
Taste Evaluation: -- (Took a tiny bite. If not for being inside Reincarnation Paradise, I would likely have died instantly. This thing is absolutely inedible.)
...
Su Xiao looked at the small booklet in his hand. This was a hobby of his during his spare time. After recording the words "Fairy Dew, estimated delicious, not planning to taste" on it, he closed the booklet and tucked it into his chest pocket.
Witnessing all this, Fairy Dew shuddered. In her perspective, the small booklet in Su Xiao's hand seemed to emit faint black-red smoke, which terrified her immensely.
Su Xiao stood guard here alone and had fought against over 30 enemy contractors. This was sending a signal to the outside: only he was guarding this place, so they should just surround him.
Su Xiao never expected that the enemy's several hundred contractors would all flood into the fortress and get trapped inside. That was impossible.
Given the caution and judgment of Eighth Rank contractors, they would definitely conduct a thorough reconnaissance before coming, and only after confirming nothing was wrong would they advance step by step.
For example, they would first set up an assembly point nearby, then form a vanguard team of over a hundred people at the front, with several hundred slightly weaker contractors behind them.
The hundred-man vanguard would be responsible for surrounding and killing Su Xiao, while the several hundred contractors behind would guard against any traps or the like. The two groups would maintain distance to avoid being surrounded by Apocalypse Paradise contractors who might suddenly arrive.
As for splitting the several hundred contractors into several groups and sending them in waves while maintaining combat power, this seemed like the best choice, but in reality, it was too idealistic.
Who would go first, and who would come later? The contractors who went in first to attack would face greater risks. Under such circumstances, who would be willing to charge to the front?
The Holy Light Paradise and Watchful Paradise contractors in this world had indeed united, but each person had their own selfish motives.
The two leaders, Sacred Hymn and Olandi, couldn't solve this problem either. It was unsolvable. Those who could fight their way to the Eighth Rank wouldn't die for others just because of verbal encouragement.
Those simps who lost their intelligence upon seeing a beautiful woman and willingly let themselves be used had already been consumed at lower ranks. And those who could be angered or tricked into being vanguards by a few words had also been exhausted at low to mid ranks.
Su Xiao looked at a Scarlet Card in his hand. He had killed over 30 enemy contractors but only got one Scarlet Card. This drop rate was truly baffling.
He estimated in his mind, could it be that the World War caused the Scarlet Card drop rate to decrease? Hmm, that should be it. Thinking this, his mood improved slightly.
Putting away the Scarlet Card in his hand, he checked the kill notifications and found that he had a total of 115 Apocalypse Paradise War Merits.
He needed to sell these War Merits to Molei or Yueshitu as soon as possible. If his identity as an invader was exposed, these Apocalypse Paradise War Merits would either be taken back or become untradeable and worthless.
Meanwhile, on the west side of the Borderlands, at the area bordering the Vassal Alliance territory.
There was a small town here with a population of several thousand. However, calling it a town was more like a settlement, built around a T3-level mobile fortress.
Compared to civilian housing, its greater function was to supply materials to border outposts.
Unfortunately, three days ago, the administrator of this settlement, Captain Jeffrey, suddenly went into shock while having marital relations with his wife. After examination, the doctor said Captain Jeffrey had suffered from cardiomyopathy caused by excessive excitement overstimulating his heart.
The "Border Settlement," which was already somewhat mismanaged, was now even more chaotic. The leaders stationed at several nearby watchtowers had all come to the "Border Settlement" to visit two days ago.
For all the leaders on the border, staying with a few subordinates in watchtowers year-round was unbearably boring. The Borderlands had nothing. Beyond the Borderlands was the territory of Aberrant Beasts. They only needed to watch for beast tides.
The last beast tide had struck two years ago. According to convention, there was no need to worry for the next five years. Thus, even fewer people were willing to go to the Borderlands. Not only was there nothing, but they were also easily targeted by flying Aberrant Beasts.
The soldiers at each border watchtower had only one task every day: look into the distance and daydream. When the day of the beast tide came, they would send a signal and then evacuate through underground passages.
Therefore, the several watchtower leaders coming to the "Border Settlement" to visit their superior was a lie. The real reason was to visit prostitutes. These Vassal Alliance captains hadn't seen a Vassal Alliance woman in so long that even female pig-headed people looked pretty to them now.
Was Captain Jeffrey's sudden cardiomyopathy a coincidence? Of course not. Although the Vassal Alliance's vigilance over the Borderlands was lax, Su Xiao needed to ensure everything was foolproof to gain room for development.
At this moment, inside the "Border Settlement," on the dirt road streets, pedestrians flowed endlessly. The dense population made people feel crowded but also gave it a lively atmosphere.
Today, many outsiders had come to the "Border Settlement." All of them were dressed as scavengers, making the locals uneasy.
Captain Jeffrey, who had slightly recovered from his illness, had assured the residents that these scavengers would behave themselves and were just passing through to rest.
That's right, these several hundred "scavengers" were the several hundred contractors from Holy Light Paradise and Watchful Paradise. They were all veterans. Before arriving here, some contractors had already greased Captain Jeffrey's palms through their connections with the Vassal Alliance's upper echelons.
Inside the small theater on West Street of the settlement, with windows and doors covered by curtains, the theater was brightly lit. Dozens of contractors sat scattered inside, some sitting on the edge of the stage.
These contractors wore various outfits, some normal, some very distinctive. Among them, two groups stood out.
One group was mostly female members, led by a woman with long hair tied up, wearing a white long dress.
The cuffs, hem, and other parts of her dress had light gold embroidery, adding a touch of holiness. Her appearance gave people a natural, friendly feeling like a kind older sister from next door. This person was the leader of the Holy Light Paradise side this time, Sacred Hymn.
Was Sacred Hymn gentle and friendly? Yes. Without this personality, she wouldn't have become a healing type. Sacred Hymn was indeed like this, but the 12 "Dual-Blade Mad Dogs" she summoned were not.
Also, Sacred Hymn's gentleness and friendliness were only for her friends, teammates, and family. To enemies, she would smile as she watched them get killed.
After the enemy died, the classic part came. Sacred Hymn's position was Cherubim, related to the faith deity system. The "12 Mad Dogs" she summoned, also known as the "Holy Song Knights," were also a faith-based group.
After dealing with the enemy, if time permitted, Sacred Hymn would not only have the 12 knights bury the enemy, but she would also conduct a simple funeral for the enemy as a clergy member. The process was: the 12 knights carried the coffin, lowered it into the grave, covered it with soil, etc., while Sacred Hymn recited a short holy eulogy. If the dead could speak, the guy in the coffin would probably say, "I thank you so much."
Please don't laugh. Sacred Hymn and the 12 knights would be very solemn throughout. They did this both to enhance their power and because of faith issues.
"Olandi, why did you call me here so urgently?"
Sacred Hymn spoke softly. Over a dozen Holy Light Paradise contractors stood behind her, looking serious. Although they were now allied with the Watchful Paradise side, after defeating the Apocalypse Paradise side, the two sides would go to war. The people opposite them would be enemies in the future.
On the other side, the most conspicuous among the dozen or so people were bare-chested, their muscle lines particularly prominent.
The leading man wore a swim cap and had a small mustache on his chin. Although his muscles weren't like a bodybuilder's, they gave a feeling of toughness, as if nothing could defeat this man.
This man was named Olandi, the leader of the Watchful Paradise side this time. His gaze swept over the dozen or so Holy Light Paradise contractors opposite him. The female contractors didn't feel much, but several male contractors turned pale and dared not meet Olandi's eyes.
Seeing this, Olandi raised his hand to touch the swim cap on his head, the corners of his mouth curling into a devilish smile.
"Olandi, did you come here to make my innocent teammates unable to sleep peacefully tonight?"
Sacred Hymn was smiling, but she was clearly displeased. Seeing this, Olandi coughed lightly and said in a loud voice, "Sorry, I came to ask for your help this time."
"Ask for... my help?"
Sacred Hymn was puzzled. She and Olandi were both leaders this time. They wouldn't easily use the word "help" with each other.
"Please save my subordinate. He's about to bleed to death."
"Bleed to death?"
Sacred Hymn was even more confused. Could an Eighth Rank contractor bleed to death in a non-combat situation? High-quality recovery potions alone could solve bleeding problems.
Under Sacred Hymn's puzzled gaze, a man wearing a deer antler hat with many branches and draped in animal skin walked over. He was holding a little boy in his arms. The little boy's face was pale, and his torso was wrapped in thick bandages. Even so, blood was still seeping through.
The man wearing the deer antler hat and animal skin, who called himself a Druid, placed the little boy on a long table. This little boy was Little Pei, who had barely escaped after the battle with Su Xiao.
The Druid removed all the bandages from Little Pei. A wound that hadn't damaged any internal organs slanted across Little Pei's entire chest. This was a cut from the blade of the Blood Spear.
"Blood Spear Grandmaster Lv.50 Ultimate Ability: Blood Death (Passive). After an enemy is wounded by the Blood Spear, they will suffer a total of True Bleeding Damage equal to the Hunter's Agility Attribute × 2.3 over the next 10 seconds."
The bleeding effect caused by the Blood Spear seemed low at first glance, but that wasn't the case. Any ability, when datafied, was estimated based on standard enemies of the same rank to calculate damage values.
For example, if the Blood Spear pierced Olandi's chest, it would only cause a few hundred points of subsequent bleeding damage. That was because of Olandi's powerful physique.
But if it pierced Little Pei, there was no need for subsequent True Bleeding Damage. The piercing damage from this Blood Spear alone would exceed 8,000 points. This was because Little Pei's Endurance Attribute was low. His muscle toughness, bone density, etc., were far inferior to Olandi's, so the damage he received was different.
This caused the True Bleeding effect to become extremely troublesome when acting on Little Pei. Several types of potions couldn't stop the bleeding. Forcibly suturing the wound would cause internal cavity blood accumulation, which was even more troublesome.
Sacred Hymn's fair hand hovered above Little Pei. Gold-green light particles scattered and sank into the wound.
Hiss~
Blood smoke drifted out of the wound, causing the gold-green light particles to evaporate. The True Bleeding effect continued.
Once the True Physique Attribute was below 180, or if it wasn't the True Endurance Attribute, being wounded by Su Xiao's Blood Spear was a nightmare.
First, there was the "Blood Death" effect from Blood Spear Grandmaster Lv.51. Even more deadly was the characteristic of Su Xiao's Blood Qi. Part of his Blood Qi came from killing, but more was absorbed from the Ancient Battlefield.
Ask, what was the Ancient Battlefield? It was a battlefield where Spellcasters and Law Destroyers once fought. Besides these two, there were other Void races that supported both sides. They fought there, and over 90% died there.
The Void races qualified to participate in this level of war were all powerful beings in the Void. Plus, Spellcasters and Law Destroyers died there. After everyone died, their blood, body energy, and soul energy mixed. Combined with the geographical environment of the Ancient Battlefield, this caused a qualitative change, forming a new type of energy: Blood Qi.
The Blood Qi from the Ancient Battlefield, filtered and purified by the simplified Devouring Core, became purer, maximizing the True Bleeding Damage brought by "Blood Death."
As long as the Endurance Attribute was below a certain level, those wounded by the Blood Spear, even if they escaped, had a high probability of dying from True Bleeding. As the Blood Spear Grandmaster level increased, this trait would become stronger.
Sacred Hymn looked at the Blood Qi drifting out of the wound on Little Pei's chest. Her delicate brows furrowed slightly, sensing that things were not simple.
"There's another thing I need to tell you."
Olandi spoke. Sacred Hymn and the contractors behind her all looked at him.
"This time, the enemy's stronghold is a semi-abandoned fortress."
Hearing Olandi's words, Sacred Hymn said, "I know that."
"According to our investigation, there's only one Apocalypse Paradise contractor guarding that fortress."
"I know that too. It's a trap."
"It's not."
As Olandi spoke, the corners of his mouth curled up again, revealing his unique devilish smile.
"Oh?"
Sacred Hymn looked at Olandi, waiting for his follow-up information.
"I've confirmed it multiple times. Those Apocalypse Paradise people have had a falling out."
"A... falling out?"
A Holy Light Paradise girl's expression was a bit strange. She wanted to laugh but didn't.
"That's right, a falling out. Most of the Apocalypse Paradise side don't want to be the defenders first, facing a two-on-one situation. The one who took the World Core wants to use the terrain to defend, which means only he is guarding the World Core."
After saying this, Olandi's expression was a bit odd. This situation where the enemy had a falling out before the fight even started caught him off guard.
After listening to Olandi's account and seeing the various intelligence he provided, the other contractors also confirmed that the enemy had indeed had a falling out this time.
The 670 Apocalypse Paradise participating contractors were either in Freedom City or scattered in the war zone mining. No matter how you looked at it, they had no intention of going to that fortress to defend.
"Before the fight even starts, the enemy is about to surrender. As expected of Apocalypse Paradise."
The Druid draped in animal skin spoke. Several Holy Light Paradise contractors on the opposite side chatted and laughed. Sacred Hymn and Olandi both knew that this siege battle was basically secured.
Compared to the relaxed crowd, Guang Mu, sitting to the side, had a complicated mood. As a traitor, she didn't want this. She was also desperate.