Chapter 46: Beaten Back
It had to be said, the little fatty had impressive survivability. After enduring six slashes from Su Xiao, he still showed no signs of falling. Not only that, he even had the ability to dodge or raise his shield to block.
Su Xiao swung his blade toward the little fatty, who immediately used his gold-quality shield to parry. He tilted the shield slightly to deflect the force—a clear sign of an experienced main tank.
Su Xiao clashed head-on with the little fatty, while Umbrella Brother had upgraded from a "sticky plaster" to a "shit-stirring stick," thoroughly annoying the little fatty.
Umbrella Brother hadn't actually done much—he just found opportunities to "snatch" the shield from the little fatty's hands. The little fatty hadn't used any skills or equipment abilities for several minutes, which made Umbrella Brother even bolder.
Su Xiao slashed at the shield a few times, then delivered a straight kick to its front.
Bang.
The little fatty took a step back, shield in hand, his mind beginning to waver. He hesitated over whether to activate his emergency escape method. If he used it, even if he could leave the Holy Grail World, Stan might skin him alive.
While the little fatty wrestled with his thoughts, Umbrella Brother lunged forward without any defense, his mechanical gauntlets spread wide, grabbing for the shield.
"You..."
The little fatty glared, only to be met with Umbrella Brother's shameless laughter.
Creak~
The mechanical gauntlets seized the shield. Su Xiao naturally wouldn't miss such an opportunity.
Cyan Steel Shadow Energy surged along Dragon-Slaying Flash. Gripping the blade with both hands, he swung with all his strength.
"Hmph~"
The long blade came down, and the little fatty let out a pained grunt. The strike landed on his right arm—the hand holding the shield.
Dragon-Slaying Flash sank into the little fatty's upper arm, cutting through muscle and striking bone, even severing half of it. Compared to Dragon-Slaying Flash's 32-point sharpness, the little fatty, without activating his ultimate ability, clearly couldn't withstand such a cut. A weapon with high sharpness slicing through flesh was incredibly satisfying.
With a crack, Dragon-Slaying Flash stopped. The little fatty's face had lost all color. Just as he thought the slash was over, Su Xiao raised his left leg and stomped down on the blade's spine.
Shrrrk, an arm holding the shield fell to the ground. The third-rank main tank's arm had been severed!
Facing such a desperate situation, the little fatty didn't panic. He had long lost count of how many times his limbs had been cut off.
The shield on the ground vanished—the little fatty had remotely stored it in his inventory. How he did that was unclear.
As he stored the shield, a potion appeared in his hand. He tossed it directly into his mouth, chewing and swallowing the bottle along with it.
Flesh buds sprouted at the stump of his arm. He actually had a potion capable of regenerating severed limbs. The main tank of a large adventure group was disgustingly wealthy.
Just as the little fatty waited for his arm to regrow, his expression suddenly changed. He glanced sideways at the severed arm. A energy shackle had latched onto the wound.
Supreme Blade Effect 2: Ten Thousand Blades Sect (Passive), Sharpness +10. If a slash inflicts a severed limb on an enemy, the enemy cannot restore that limb through surgery, potions, skills, bloodline abilities, or any other means below the fourth rank. (This ability evolved from "Sharp as a Razor (Passive).")
It was Dragon-Slaying Flash's ability. Clearly, the little fatty's potion hadn't reached fourth-rank recovery power, so the arm couldn't be restored.
Realizing this, the little fatty held his shield with his left hand, facing off against Su Xiao and Umbrella Brother, and contacted Huang Fen again.
"Huang Fen, boss, how long until you get here? I... can't hold on much longer."
Outside Fuyuki City, Huang Fen, riding a magma beast, paused.
"Five minutes."
Huang Fen's expression was grim. He had already guessed what was happening. Though Die usually flattered him, Huang Fen had long seen through her ambition. He understood people well—he wasn't as silent or obedient as he appeared.
"Huang Fen, boss... sorry."
Receiving this message, Huang Fen felt a flash of anger, but the corner of his mouth uncontrollably twitched upward. He seemed to be smiling.
"So this is your choice?"
Huang Fen closed the team chat and sped up his journey.
Elsewhere, the little fatty, now missing an arm, let out a bitter laugh.
"Of course I've made up my mind. Compared to dying here, Stan's wrath is nothing. At worst, I'll take a hit to my attributes and leave the group. I'm a main tank—I eat shit and take losses every day, and the benefits aren't great. If the Blood Gate won't keep me, someone else will."
The little fatty watched Su Xiao charge at him and made his decision.
Clang.
A pale blue blade aura shot toward the little fatty's throat. After Blade Mastery reached LV.30, the size, sharpness, and speed of the blade aura had all noticeably improved. Now, an ordinary slash produced a three-meter-long blade aura.
The blade aura flew past, but the little fatty didn't dodge or even raise his shield.
The blade aura passed through him harmlessly. The space around him was extremely unstable, with ripples spreading outward.
Seeing this phenomenon, Su Xiao and Umbrella Brother immediately retreated. In Reincarnation Paradise, anything unfamiliar was basically dangerous.
"Don't think you beat me. I lost to greed. You're called Bai Ye, right? See you in the third-rank world—provided you reach third rank before I hit fourth."
There was no resentment in the little fatty's eyes. Fighting was routine for him. On the contrary, he acknowledged Su Xiao's strength. Though his own power was suppressed, he was still a cut above ordinary second-rank contractors. His enemy hadn't chosen to fight him head-on but had cleverly used abilities to weaken him and secure victory.
Take Umbrella Brother, for example. His strength was far below the little fatty's, but he didn't care. Instead, he used his own durability to tie the little fatty down.
"Slashing to devour enemy mana—annoying ability."
The little fatty gave a simple smile, glancing at his severed arm.
"I'll remember you, Blade Law Bai Ye."
Seeing the little fatty's expression, Su Xiao frowned. A pulse spread from his sleeve—he activated the imprint effect of the Gale Wind Coat to interrupt spatial abilities.
A pale gold pulse swept out, and the spatial fluctuations around the little fatty stopped for a moment—but only a moment.
The little fatty's body gradually turned transparent, a sign of returning to Reincarnation Paradise.
"Hey, you cheeky kid over there."
The little fatty nodded toward Umbrella Brother, who looked puzzled.
"A qualified main tank doesn't use trash talk to hold aggro..."
His voice faded, and the little fatty disappeared. At the same time, Huang Fen's body near Fuyuki City also began to turn transparent. The three of them had entered this derivative world using a prop. Once one chose to return to Reincarnation Paradise, it forced everyone to return.
Huang Fen's face showed no emotion. He was acting on Stan's orders. Whether they succeeded or not, he didn't really care. What Huang Fen craved was something so special that if it were exposed, Stan would kill him immediately.
...
After the third-rank main tank vanished, Su Xiao and Umbrella Brother exchanged glances.
"We... won?"
A smile had just begun to spread across Umbrella Brother's face when the wounds on his face made him suck in a sharp breath. He hadn't felt pain during the fight, but now it was excruciating.
"No, there's still one more."
As Su Xiao spoke, a notification from Reincarnation Paradise appeared.
[Announcement: All high-rank contractors in the derivative world have returned. Due to unknown factors causing increased difficulty, all contractors in this derivative world are rewarded with 5% World Source.]
Seeing this notification, Su Xiao was somewhat surprised. He had thought he'd have to hide for the rest of his stay. He hadn't even planned to continue his main mission—completing it under Huang Fen's nose would have been suicide. Now, it seemed he could proceed.
Die and the little fatty weren't frontline fighters, yet the two of them had nearly killed Su Xiao and Umbrella Brother. The gap between third and second rank was a full tier.
If Su Xiao hadn't been able to defeat Die, Umbrella Brother might have ended up a corpse.
With the threat gone, Umbrella Brother smiled even wider.
"Bai Ye, why am I feeling dizzy?"
Umbrella Brother shook his head. Su Xiao appeared double in his vision.
Crackle, crackle~
Tree sprouts emerged from Umbrella Brother's abdomen. The catheter inserted into his stomach had broken during the fight. Now that Umbrella Brother relaxed, the Hashirama Cells erupted.
Seeing this, Su Xiao rushed to Umbrella Brother's side. A chill spread through Umbrella Brother's abdomen, followed by searing pain.
Pfft, Dragon-Slaying Flash pierced through Umbrella Brother's lower abdomen. At the same time, a potion bottle was shoved into his mouth.
Su Xiao pushed up on Umbrella Brother's jaw, shattering the bottle. Umbrella Brother's eyes began to roll back.
"You don't have to kill the donkey this fast... at least give me some water."
Umbrella Brother's voice was slurred as he slowly collapsed. Cyan Steel Shadow Energy rampaged through his body, causing damage while also suppressing the Hashirama Cells. As for the potion, it was called No. 1 Potion—drinking it instantly restored 85% of health, then continued to restore 2 health per second for 30 seconds, along with healing some internal injuries.
Su Xiao crouched down, examining the fallen Umbrella Brother.
"Looks like another surgery. Should I try to separate the Hashirama Cells this time? No, too weak—he might kick the bucket any moment. Since we fought side by side, I won't let you die so pathetically."
Su Xiao picked up Umbrella Brother and walked away. Though Umbrella Brother's breathing was weak, he wouldn't die anytime soon.
Even a villain has limits. Su Xiao's limit was that he wouldn't raise his blade against a teammate who had fought beside him moments ago. Stabbing someone in the back was never his style—though stabbing an enemy in the back didn't count.
That's It
Today I went for lithotripsy. One kidney stone is down, and I'll go again next week.
I'm feeling a bit off, so I'll take a day off. Please bear with me, dear readers (I'll add an extra chapter tomorrow).
"Reincarnation Paradise" That's It
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