Chapter 61: Declaration of War
Yanchen stood atop the Dusk Palace, having seen through Xi’s plan. But seeing through it was useless—the greatest advantage of a clear scheme was that it feared no exposure.
“It’ll take about ten minutes to clean up these orcs. That woman really played me.”
Yanchen sighed, his eyes narrowing as if considering countermeasures. Suddenly, memories surged into his mind.
“Don’t show me this!”
Yanchen’s expression twisted with rage, but a few seconds later, it calmed again.
“Just an illusion.”
Letting out a long breath, Yanchen refocused his attention on the Contractor Free-for-All.
The Contractors of Reincarnation Paradise didn’t need ten minutes. In less than eight minutes, the ten thousand orc soldiers were completely wiped out.
However, before the orcs were fully dead, the Contractors of Apocalypse Paradise had already charged to the front of Zone 2.
“Split into four teams, four breakthrough points.”
A female gunner from the Apocalypse Paradise side shouted. The Contractors behind her quickly divided into four teams of over two hundred each. At the front of each team were defense-specialized Contractors, followed by melee fighters, then ranged attackers, and finally support-type Contractors at the rear.
The Zone 2 maze had four large entrances, and the Apocalypse Paradise side seemed familiar with the terrain.
The Apocalypse Paradise Contractors rushed into the maze. A main tank wielding a heavy shield charged like a battering ram toward a Reincarnation Paradise Contractor.
“Idiot.”
That Reincarnation Paradise Contractor flipped off the main tank. The main tank sneered, but then—suddenly—a skull icon appeared above him, drastically reducing his equipment’s defense for a short time.
Bullets from sniper rifles rained down on the main tank, sparks flying. The immense impact made it hard for him to hold his shield—this was a synchronized sniper attack from ten Reincarnation Paradise snipers.
In less than two seconds, the main tank’s shield was riddled with dents. After five seconds, cracks appeared, and he could no longer grip it.
Without his shield, the main tank’s fate was sealed. Bullets tore into his flesh, each one carrying energy or skill effects. In an instant, he was knocked to the ground. Three seconds later, he was blasted into a pile of gore. The tank was dead! This fallen tank ranked among the top ten defense-type Contractors under Xi’s command.
This was the Contractor free-for-all. No matter how strong a main tank was, once debuffed and focused down, death came in just over ten seconds. For melee fighters, it took no more than five. Ranged attackers fared even worse—even without debuffs, they could be instantly killed.
In this kind of Contractor melee, the opening phase was critical. Anyone who acted too arrogantly risked being focused and eliminated. That was why Xi, Yanchen, and Su Xiao hadn’t shown themselves. Being targeted by a dozen ranged attackers was manageable, but if dozens focused fire, even they wouldn’t last long.
Both sides’ Contractors surged into the natural maze formed by the ruins of Zone 2. In such tight quarters, formation coordination was nearly useless. The space was too small; splitting large groups into smaller ones was the only correct choice. Both sides did the same, forming teams of five to ten Contractors.
Bang, bang…
Bullets zipped through the broken walls, ricocheting wildly. Pockmarks appeared on the heavily weathered stone.
An arcane mage hid atop a stone pillar. When a squad of Apocalypse Paradise Contractors approached, elemental energy surged around him.
Hum!
Several linked magic circles activated on the ground. Spikes of arcane energy shot up from beneath, engulfing the Apocalypse Paradise squad.
After a burst of screams, four of the five-man squad fell—three severely wounded, one dying.
Pfft, pfft, pfft…
Bullets followed, finishing off the four wounded. The healing potions they’d been reaching for dropped to the ground.
The surviving defense-type Contractor gasped for breath, blood dripping down his cheek. Despair crept into his eyes.
“I… I surrender. I give up this war mission.”
Hearing this, the mage and gunner on the stone pillars exchanged a surprised glance. Then spells and bullets flew toward the defense-type Contractor.
He rolled on the ground.
“Do you have to kill everyone? I’ll offer three pieces of equipment…”
Pfft, pfft, pfft…
Three bullets pierced his skull. His eyes quickly lost their light.
The gunner ejected his magazine and muttered, “What are these guys thinking? They can surrender?”
“Who knows. Maybe it’s a thing on their side. Let’s set up for the next wave. How many have you killed?”
The mage hid in a recess atop the pillar.
“Six. You?”
“Four. You bastard, always stealing kills.”
“What can I say? My bullets hit harder.”
The mage and gunner were both freelancers. They were decently strong and got along well, so they’d formed a temporary team.
Inside the maze, a six-man Reincarnation Paradise Contractor team.
They were drenched in blood, surrounded by over twenty Apocalypse Paradise Contractors from three squads.
“Not good. Looks like we’re all going to die here. Brothers, even if we weren’t close before, it seems we’ll die together.”
“Heh, I’ve been expecting this day. I’m surprised I made it to Second Rank.”
“Don’t talk like that. We still have a chance.”
The Reincarnation Paradise Contractors muttered among themselves as the Apocalypse Paradise Contractors closed in.
“Hey, brothers. See that mage? The cocky one. We’re dead anyway, so let’s take him down together.”
“Good idea.”
“Agreed.”
All six locked eyes on an Apocalypse Paradise mage, who suddenly felt a chill.
“Kill them.”
The moment the mage spoke, the six Reincarnation Paradise Contractors charged at him recklessly.
Minutes later, seven corpses lay on the ground. The surrounding Apocalypse Paradise Contractors wore grim expressions.
“Jonathan is dead. What now? He was our main force.”
A female Contractor looked away, unable to bear the sight of the mage’s remains—it could no longer be called a corpse, just a mess of flesh.
“These bastards are insane. They were scheming against each other before, but suddenly united when facing death.”
…
Multicolored lights flashed through the maze. Gunfire, impacts, and screams merged into a cacophony. Contractors with diverse abilities clashed in chaos. Casualties mounted rapidly on both sides. It was like an elimination round—only the strong would survive.
Before the Dusk Palace, Su Xiao watched the distant battlefield from afar. He wanted to charge in, but now wasn’t the time. As long as Lan Jue lived, he was a thorn in Su Xiao’s side.
Lan Jue’s metal arrow was perfect for ambushes. If Su Xiao was locked in a fierce fight and Lan Jue appeared, he’d be in grave danger.
But Lan Jue faced a similar dilemma. He didn’t dare enter the battlefield either. If someone pinned him down and Su Xiao closed in, Lan Jue was as good as dead.
Neither side dared to act rashly. Su Xiao grew impatient. After all, each Apocalypse Paradise Contractor killed earned 3 to 5 merit points, and merit points determined rewards in this world.
In this battlefield format, the top-ranked Reincarnation Paradise Contractors in merit likely received extra rewards—though Reincarnation Paradise hadn’t announced it, to avoid internal conflict.
Hum~
A mechanical bee flew over the battlefield. Its compound eyes flashed red, quickly locking onto Su Xiao’s position before diving.
Seeing the bee, Su Xiao already had a good idea what was coming.
As the mechanical bee passed overhead, it dropped a walnut-sized black sphere.