Chapter 16: Charging
Stone stood at the front holding a heavy shield, with several timid melee fighters behind him, and dozens of meters further back, Old Wolf and the other ranged firepower.
As the one-eyed giant let out a furious roar, a wave of air spread out. Nearby contractors covered their ears, their steps unsteady—this was one of the giant’s skills.
After roaring, the giant bent down and picked up a "wooden stick" from the ground. It was no stick at all, but a tree half a meter in diameter, about four meters long, with the upper half bitten off, leaving only the trunk and roots.
The trunk was the narrow end, the roots the thick end. The giant gripped the trunk, glaring at the group.
Su Xiao saw this through the scope, aiming at the giant’s single eye.
He steadied his breath, slowly pulling the trigger.
Bang!
The bullet left the muzzle, speeding toward the giant.
Just as the bullet was about to strike the eye, the giant tilted its head.
With a crack, a dent appeared on the giant’s cheek, a bullet embedded inside.
"Tough bastard."
Su Xiao stopped firing. Bullets were expensive; he wouldn’t shoot unless necessary.
As for damage output or chest ownership, he wasn’t worried at all.
Reincarnation Paradise had no such mechanism. As long as a chest fell to the ground, any contractor could pick it up—no ownership issues. Ownership only appeared once it was in hand.
The gunfire ceased. The giant, struck on one side, had veins bulging on the hand gripping the tree trunk.
It first looked up toward the basin’s rim, but found nothing. Its gaze then shifted to the "shorty" in front of it.
Old Wolf and the others were sweating nervously, not daring to attack yet, afraid of drawing the giant’s hatred.
The giant raised the massive wooden club, muscles bulging, and swung it at Stone.
The club whistled through the air. Hearing that sound, Stone’s heart tightened.
Thud!
The massive club slammed into the tower shield, shattering the ground beneath Stone’s feet.
Just as everyone thought Stone couldn’t hold out, the tower shield glowed fiery red, as if the impact had activated some ability.
With a hum, a shockwave erupted from the shield’s front, pushing the giant back several steps until it fell to the ground with a thud.
"Move in!"
Old Wolf shouted, his staff flashing with light. A beam of light shot from the staff, flying rapidly toward the giant.
Boom!
The light beam exploded on the giant’s chest, blasting away a patch of skin.
Not only Old Wolf attacked; a contractor with a bow drew and fired.
An arrow shot toward the giant’s calf, but it seemed to hit an iron wall, shattering with a crack. A faint white mark was barely visible on the calf.
"Such defense..."
Old Wolf’s expression darkened. His spells were decent, but the others were just tickling the giant.
Spells, arrows, automatic rifle bullets—a barrage of attacks hit the giant, making it roar in fury. Though these attacks couldn’t threaten it, they hurt.
The giant swung the massive club again, pounding Stone relentlessly. Somehow, Stone had made the giant hate him deeply.
Being a main tank was a technical job. Reincarnation Paradise wasn’t a game; most monsters here had intelligence, making aggro hard to hold.
Still, main tanks in Paradise had unique methods. Stone used a flame that dealt almost no damage but caused immense pain to enemies.
Some tanks were flashy, some used control skills, some were mouthy—there were all kinds of methods.
Stone belonged to the type that caused intense pain plus mental inducement, making enemies hate him.
Clearly, Stone succeeded. The giant’s eye turned bloodshot, it stomped in rage, gripping the club with both hands to hammer him, sending mud flying.
Stone was tough, no doubt. Any other contractor would have been crushed by now.
The formation stabilized. Stone was in front, while Mr. A and the other melee fighters took the chance to attack, preventing the giant from breaking through.
Old Wolf and the others were dozens of meters behind Mr. A’s group, constantly moving, always staying behind Stone—the safest direction.
Su Xiao was different. He lay on the slope, not needing to move at all. He’d only fired one shot, ignoring Old Wolf and Mr. A’s urgings.
On the battlefield, Stone was getting dizzy from the pounding. Luckily, the young woman healer had some skill, buffing him with various enhancements and keeping his health up. Stone wouldn’t fall anytime soon.
Old Wolf and the others were busy, but the giant’s defense was too strong. If its health bar were visible, it would show 97% remaining—they’d only chipped off 3% after all this time.
And though they hid behind Stone, it wasn’t completely safe. Sometimes the giant threw rocks. One unlucky melee fighter got his head crushed by a rock, his body already cooling.
Bubu Wang stood on the slope, this fool looking thoughtful. Seeming to think of something fun, he raised his head and howled.
At that moment, all the contractors fighting below noticed something—a buff suddenly appeared.
[You have been granted ‘Goddess of Snow’s Blessing (Aura)’, restoring 1 Health Point per second.]
1 HP per second, 60 per minute—a considerable gain.
Main tank Stone held his shield up, glancing back at the young woman healer and nodding.
The healer was confused. This wasn’t her buff! But she was the only healer in the group, confirmed earlier.
"Nice aura."
"Saves a lot of recovery items."
The fighting contractors smiled. Bubu Wang’s aura was indeed powerful.
Why did Bubu Wang open the aura? To help beat the giant? Even if they won, no one would share the spoils with him—at most, Su Xiao would get a single share. To the contractors, Bubu Wang was just a big dog.
Don’t underestimate Bubu Wang’s intelligence. After witnessing the contractors’ scheming, he thought it’d be fun to mess with them.
Just as everyone enjoyed the free aura, it suddenly vanished, replaced by a prompt.
[Yes/No: Activate ‘Goddess of Snow’s Blessing (Aura)’ at a cost of 10 Paradise Coins per minute.]
10 Paradise Coins per minute. Given the situation, the fight would last at most half an hour—300 Coins total.
In that half hour, the aura would restore 1,800 HP—a massive amount.
Everyone knew it was a no-brainer deal, so all ten contractors present chose to pay.
But all ten glared angrily at the young woman healer. She knew she was taking the blame, but she was focused on Stone’s status and couldn’t afford distractions.
Old Wolf also paid to activate the aura, frowning as he scanned the surroundings, but he didn’t look at the healer.