Chapter 74: It's Time to Treat the Enemy to a Big Pineapple
Light surged, and Yan Chen's eyes snapped open as he sat up with a whoosh.
"Where's my sister?"
Hearing Yan Chen's first words upon waking, the OL beauty and Naitang beside him looked helpless. This guy's sister-complex had seeped into his very bones, completely beyond saving.
"Your sister is 'looking for clues' on the enemy's corpse."
Naitang tried to phrase it as tactfully as possible.
"She's dissecting corpses again? This..."
Yan Chen stopped mid-sentence, instinct telling him some things were better left unsaid.
Sharp pain radiated through every part of Yan Chen's body, and a faint stench of urine lingered in the tent.
"Bai Ye, your method of treating me is really 'gentle.' I think I pissed myself."
Yan Chen lifted the blood-soaked blanket, and the smell grew stronger.
"But still, thanks. I, Yan, will remember this debt."
Yan Chen flexed his slightly sore left arm, which had already regained its flesh and blood form, though traces of crystallization remained in some places.
Su Xiao, who was smoking nearby, exhaled a plume of blue smoke.
"It's nothing. I'm surprised you didn't die. Your will to survive is unexpectedly strong."
Su Xiao looked at Yan Chen. Earlier, when the Cyan Steel Shadow energy invaded the other's brain, it had damaged a corner of some sealing technique. Using the Cyan Steel Shadow energy as a medium, he had sensed fragments of scattered memories. From these fragments, he deduced that Yan Chen might not actually have that special sister-complex obsession. Strangely, whether from rumors or Yan Chen's own words, he always claimed to be a sister-con.
Su Xiao had no interest in digging into others' secrets. Whether Yan Chen was a sister-con or not didn't matter to him. The important thing was that Yan Chen wasn't dead now. The fact that he could block Xi meant his combat strength was definitely not weak. They were in the same boat now—if Su Xiao were severely wounded and near death, Yan Chen wouldn't abandon him either.
Su Xiao yawned. His mana had dropped by over 1,000 points, and he was recovering by chewing [Extra Gum], each piece restoring 75 mana over 5 minutes. After chewing ten pieces, his mana would be sufficient for combat.
"Eight hours."
Su Xiao suddenly spoke, confusing the OL beauty and Naitang.
"I was unconscious for eight hours?!"
Yan Chen sensed something was wrong.
"Yes, eight hours."
"This isn't good."
Yan Chen looked at Su Xiao, who nodded. Both had the same thought.
If Yan Chen could be eroded by crystal energy, Xi, as the instigator, would certainly know this. Yan Chen was one of Reincarnation Paradise's main combat forces. When he was severely wounded and near death, why didn't Xi lead an attack? This was a golden opportunity to break through the stone bridge.
"From what I know of Xi, she wouldn't let such an opportunity slip, unless there was a better one—like something that could turn the tide of battle or wipe us out entirely."
Yan Chen's concern was not unfounded.
"Two hours ago, I scouted the maze and found no large siege equipment, no abnormal fluctuations or auras. It was very calm."
Su Xiao himself couldn't enter the second district maze, but Bubu Wang could.
Just as Yan Chen was about to speak, Su Xiao said, "Xi hasn't appeared at all."
Yan Chen nodded, his estimation of Su Xiao rising several notches. He also realized that Su Xiao was the best partner available, bar none. Though the adventure group leaders had manpower, their selfish motives were too heavy. Compared to the overall situation, they cared more about their own groups' gains. Now that their side held the terrain advantage, this was even more apparent.
"Are those group leaders behaving?"
Yan Chen asked the OL beauty, who shook her head.
"Outwardly harmonious, inwardly divided. After you went down, they had thoughts of pushing Nasha that woman into power. But she's smart and doesn't want to be the first to stick her neck out. After all, Xi's threat is right there. Whoever takes charge has to deal with Xi. Besides you and this gentleman here, it seems no one else can handle Xi."
The OL beauty smiled at Su Xiao. She had long noticed his blood-soaked aura and his combat prowess on the battlefield earlier.
Su Xiao suddenly stood up, his hand resting on the sword hilt at his waist.
"Something's coming."
"Huh?"
The OL beauty and Naitang were confused. Yan Chen struggled to his feet.
Boom!!
A rumbling sound echoed, and the entire Twilight Palace shook for a moment before stopping.
"What's going on?"
"Not sure. It sounds like something hit the Twilight Palace."
"Let's go check it out."
Chaotic shouts came from outside the tent. Su Xiao, Yan Chen, and the others rushed out, with a sleepy-eyed Bubu Wang following behind Su Xiao.
When Su Xiao reached the palace's exit, he saw that spiky crystals had blocked the entrance. All three exits of the Twilight Palace were the same.
"Not good, not good, not good."
Ignoring his injuries, Yan Chen took out his staff, transformed it into a magic spear, enchanted it with fire attribute, and began destroying the crystals blocking the door.
Soon, the crystals at the entrance melted into liquid, revealing a thick layer of crystal ahead.
From a high vantage point, one could see a river of crystal enveloping the three stone bridges and the Twilight Palace, forming an elliptical solid crystal sphere over a kilometer in diameter.
Inside this crystal sphere were several hundred contractors from Reincarnation Paradise, trapped like insects in amber, fixed within the crystal and assimilated with it.
In the second district maze, the crystals floating around Xi shattered. Her face was pale as paper, and her body rapidly crystallized.
With a crackling sound, the crystallized Xi shattered, crystal shards flying everywhere. The ground within dozens of meters quickly crystallized. A cat's phantom appeared, forming a sphere. Soon, a fair arm reached out from within the sphere.
The moment this arm touched the air, it began to crystallize. A few seconds later, the sphere crystallized and shattered.
This process repeated three times before the exhausted Xi collapsed to the ground. She would no longer die. In that brief period, Xi had died three times. She had four revives left, five lives remaining.
Xi wasn't the only one pale and collapsed. The hundred or so contractors from Apocalypse Paradise around her were the same. They shared one trait: they were all magic-type contractors with high mana reserves.
All of them were exhausted, twitching unconsciously on the ground. Some even died on the spot—their mana had been rapidly overdrawn by external force, triggering a natural brain response.
Xi's subordinates carried her and the fallen magic-type contractors away quickly. Xi had used three of her own lives, plus the lives of dozens of magic-type contractors, to eliminate 403 enemies in total.
The contractors guarding the stone bridge were almost entirely wiped out. This was the opportunity Xi had been waiting for. To achieve it, she had disregarded casualties to drive Reincarnation Paradise's forces out of the second district maze. Only with their contractors densely packed could this crystal sphere over a kilometer in diameter achieve maximum lethality. This was a plan Xi had devised when she first learned of the ancient ruins' terrain.
After executing this plan, regardless of success or failure, Xi's prestige would take a massive hit.
The initial orc army charge, the desperate battle in the maze, and even severely wounding Yan Chen—all were part of Xi's plan. Only with Yan Chen heavily injured and Reincarnation Paradise's forces leaderless could the risk of executing this plan be significantly reduced. To this end, Xi had deliberately died once during her fight with Yan Chen.
Reincarnation Paradise survivors: 255 people.
Apocalypse Paradise survivors: 783 people.
The numbers now showed a threefold difference. In the ensuing war, it would be three against one.
However, Apocalypse Paradise didn't know that the ones they had killed were the relatively sane contractors. Those who still had the leisure to sleep in the Twilight Palace with the enemy at their doorstep were all mentally unstable individuals. The sane ones, who were constantly on guard against Apocalypse Paradise's attacks, were all dead.
The current situation was that this group of mentally unstable contractors had been pushed to the brink.
Inside the Twilight Palace, Su Xiao tossed a Sun God Apollo in his hand. With Reincarnation Paradise's current numbers, holding the stone bridge was clearly impossible. They could only retreat to the second floor of the Twilight Palace, where the upward passage was single, greatly reducing defensive difficulty.
Su Xiao felt it was time to treat the enemy to a "big pineapple." Though the second floor's terrain wasn't suitable for using Apollo, the fourth floor's terrain was perfect.
"Yan Chen, I have a good plan. If the timing is right, there's a chance to wipe out the enemy completely."
Hearing Su Xiao's words, the grim-faced Yan Chen laughed, a bit maniacally.
"Coincidentally, I have a plan too. Let's see whose is more ruthless."
A few minutes later, Yan Chen nodded thoughtfully: "Your plan is more ruthless. Let's go with yours."
The OL beauty beside them was in despair. Her thought was: Shouldn't they choose whichever plan was more reasonable? Was her worldview just wrong?