As the black sphere descended slowly, when it was three meters above the ground, it shattered, forming words in mid-air. 'Perimeter of the ancient ruins, east side of the desolate grassland, life or death.'
This was Lan Jue's declaration of war. He wanted to avoid engaging with Su Xiao on a chaotic battlefield, hence choosing a relatively remote location. It could be a challenge, or it could be a trap.
Su Xiao pondered momentarily, then got up and walked towards the natural maze ahead.
The natural maze formed a circular structure overall. At this moment, numerous contract holders were spread throughout the maze. Su Xiao headed in the direction of fewer contract holders.
The inner side of the maze was occupied by contract holders from the Cycle Paradise, while the outer side was occupied by those from the Dawn Paradise, both sides fiercely engaging each other.
Delving deeper into the maze, a seven-person team of contract holders from Dawn Paradise stood before him. The seven individuals glanced at Su Xiao, gradually spreading and encircling him.
"Resolve him within a minute. This direction has weak defence; there's a possibility of a surprise attack."
"This guy looks somewhat familiar."
"Forget about that. The most important thing is the surprise attack." A mage's staff pointed towards Su Xiao, surging with phoenix elements. "It's unlucky for one person to encounter us." As the mage finished speaking, Boom! Debris flew around.
Clang! A five-meter-diameter blade beam attacked the group. "This guy is abnormal!" The front tank on the team roared. Just as he raised his shield in front of him, a gust of wind hit.A bright blade light entered his vision; his pupils faintly ached, seemingly affected by the blade light.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtSimultaneously, with a slight movement, his shield had been diagonally cleaved into two sections. According to the Cycle Paradise standards, this shield was a purple-quality shield. How could a purple-quality shield withstand a pale golden-quality dragon slash?
Moreover, Dragon Slash's attributes were not inferior to those of a golden-quality weapon; in terms of sharpness, it completely outperformed a golden weapon. "Impossible..." The tank immediately tried to leap back, but it was too late. Su Xiao's blade was too fast; even agile contract holders, let alone a tank, couldn't evade it.
The blade edge sliced through the tank's throat, effortlessly penetrating his body's defences.
With one strike, most of the tank's throat was slashed open. When he saw the battle information, he altogether despaired.
[Warning: You have been pierced.]
[Under erosion of unknown energy, 160 points of your mana have been devoured.]
[You have suffered 240 true damage (unknown energy damage) + 64 actual damage (Demon Seal) + 175 slashing damage + 217 blade damage + 166 fortress damage (throat slash).]
[Warning: You have entered a critical state.]
[Warning: Your remaining health is 6%.]
[Tip: You are under a debuff effect, being judged.]
Warning: This effect ignores judgment. [You will be immobilized for 2.2 seconds.]
...
The tank's body stiffened mid-air, then suddenly plunged into darkness. From the moment Su Xiao struck to decapitating the enemy, it didn't take more than two seconds. Having just killed the tank, his body arched, and attacks from the remaining six contract holders had already come—three energy stabs formed from wind elements and two bullets.
Snip! With a whoosh, Su Xiao disappeared from his original position. While dodging the attacks, he had already rushed towards the mage. This was a Phoenix-type mage with no weak points in attack or survival capabilities.
"Raging Wind Ride." The Phoenix-type mage tapped the ground with his staff, creating a whirlwind around him and blowing in all directions. Su Xiao was struck head-on; a force pushed towards him. He planted Dragon Slash into the ground, half-crouched, and slowly moved backwards.
Sizzle... A wirefrdart shot out, its tip flashing a cold light. After its enhancement to +10, the dart received a boost as well. The dart broke through the raging wind, swiftly aiming for the Phoenix-type mage.The phoenix-type mage was in the middle of casting a spell. If he activated a defensive skill or tried to dodge, the large-scale knockback skill he was currently using would fail.
Just a second ago, witnessing the tank being instantly defeated, the Phoenix-type mage, sporting a small goatee, swore to the heavens that he wouldn't let this monster, capable of swiftly taking down tanks, get close within ten meters. Once the skill successfully repelled the enemy, he would immediately flee. He didn't want to fight a monster from a completely different dimension in terms of strength.
Pfft! The wirefrdart pierced the Phoenix-type mage's thigh. The Phoenix-type mage's expression didn't change; he could easily ignore this slight injury. As the wind pressure gradually pushed back Su Xiao, he activated the Azure Steel Shadow energy.
The skill description of Azure Steel Shadow was: "Each melee attack burns 160 points of the enemy's mana and inflicts true damage equal to the burned mana x 1.5." And now, the situation was somewhere between close combat and ranged attacks.
The Azure Steel Shadow energy rapidly spread towards the Phoenix-type mage along the wireframe. "Electric?" The Phoenix-type mage activated a skill from an item on his body, temporarily increasing his resistance to fire and electricity.
The Azure Steel Shadow energy infiltrated the wound on the Phoenix-type mage's leg just as he was prepared to withstand the electric shock. A nearly unimaginable pain suddenly struck his brain.
The Phoenix-type mage's eyes rolled back, saliva dribbled from the corners of his mouth, his spellcasting halted, and his body slumped forward. Before he hit the ground, a pale blue blade beam had already slashed at his throat.
The blade beam sliced through his throat, a gush of blood spraying out. The Phoenix-type mage didn't even feel the pain; those Azure Steel Shadow energies that entered his brain weren't just superficial damage and control effects. The Azure Steel Shadow energy directly disrupted his mana flow, temporarily 'crashing' his brain.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmTaking care of two core members of the seven-person team, Su Xiao glanced at the remaining five people. The Phoenix-type mage's skill had also forced these five back. This was a real battle; there was no talk of immunity from teammates. Sometimes, friendly fire was more dangerous than enemy attacks.
At this moment, the remaining five didn't even glance at Su Xiao. They were all rushing at full speed to escape the natural maze. They were terrified by Su Xiao's power of attack.
Three minutes later, a contract holder lay on the ground, his face and hands covered in blood. Su Xiao stood with one foot on his back.
"Don't... don't kill me. I can give you..." Swoosh! A sharp blade cut through the flesh; the slaughter knife slit the throat of the contract holder beneath Su Xiao's foot. Unlike the anime-based worlds, this guy had a unique ability, seemingly from a different world entirely.
This was one of the five contract holders who had fled earlier; two managed to escape, while the other three were chased and killed by Su Xiao. Dozens of meters away from Su Xiao, a contract holder from the Dawn Paradise hid in a crevice between rocks.
She was a petite girl; otherwise, she wouldn't have fit into such a small crack. She was a perception-type contract holder, capable of completely masking her presence. At this moment, the girl with heightened perception was trembling.
She was one of the members of the seven-person team who had faced off against Su Xiao earlier. The sound of footsteps appeared, drawing closer. Her heart was racing; tears streamed down her cheeks, her hands covering her mouth.
Recalling a few minutes ago, she suspected she was dreaming. Her team had surrounded an enemy, thinking it would be an easy resolution. However, in just a few seconds, the nightmare began. Her teammate's seemingly impregnable shield was cleaved by a single strike, and then they were beheaded. It didn't end there; their team's mage inexplicably collapsed and was subsequently killed.
The enemy didn't say a word from start to finish; they did nothing extra beyond killing, savage and sharp, offering no chance to beg for mercy. While the girl trembled in the rock crevice, Su Xiao exited the natural maze, heading towards the edge of the ancient ruins.
"Indeed, killing enemy contract holders is the fastest way to gain merit in paradise."
Not long after Su Xiao left the maze, Bubu Wang trotted out from within, following him.
Su Xiao checked his merit in the Cycle Paradise as he walked: 22 points.
When he was in the Black Soil Fortress, Su Xiao had only gained 3 points of merit after such a long war. But now, at the beginning of the contract holders' grand melee, he had already earned 19 merit points.