The queen charged at Su Xiao with her shield, slamming it hard against him. Su Xiao slightly lowered his body to steady himself. The queen was fast, and he barely had time to dodge. He positioned his sword, Dragon Slayer, in front of him to brace for the impact.
The queen crashed into him like a raging bull. Su Xiao gripped the hilt of his sword with one hand and pressed the other against the back of the blade.
“Boom.”
They collided, the sharp blade meeting the sturdy shield, and cracks instantly appeared on the asphalt beneath them.
“Nice strength,” Su Xiao said as he pushed against the queen.
The queen was strong, but her physical power couldn't match Su Xiao's. Earlier, she had only been able to hold her ground against him using a charging skill.
Her pretty face turned a deep purple as Su Xiao pushed her back, her iron boots scraping against the ground and creating sparks.
“With me here, you won't hurt my teammates.”
She might not be strong, but her words were tough.
Su Xiao continued to apply pressure from above, and soon the queen couldn't hold her ground anymore and dropped to one knee.
The fact that she, a proud queen, was kneeling before Su Xiao was unacceptable to her.
“I will kill you!” she shouted, trying to struggle against him, but her efforts were weak against his overwhelming strength.
Su Xiao grabbed the edge of her shield, ready to pull it aside. He wasn't going to chop at her shield; this wasn't a game. His strength was greater, so he would simply use brute force to yank it away and then strike.
The queen's cheeks twitched. She had likely never faced an opponent like Su Xiao, who would directly grab for her shield without engaging in a fierce battle first.
He yanked the shield aside, and his sword aimed for her throat.
At that moment, he felt a sharp pain in his back.
It was the sniper. There was no time; the sniper hadn't reached the rooftop yet.
Thinking quickly, Su Xiao yanked the queen's shield behind him. The queen stumbled, almost falling.
“Bang.”
A bullet hit the shield, creating a dent, and the bullet embedded itself in that spot, which even turned slightly red.
Su Xiao's hand went numb from the impact.
Seizing the opportunity, the queen forcefully pulled her shield away from him and stepped back a few paces.
This shield warrior, who excelled in physical strength, had never encountered an opponent like Su Xiao, who would just grab for her shield right away.
Feeling both humiliated and frustrated, the queen decided that once she returned to the Reincarnation Paradise, she would have to boost her strength stats. It would be too embarrassing to have her shield taken away by an enemy.
If she hadn't clung to her shield so desperately, it would have already been lost. Even with her high stamina, she could be killed if she lost it.
“The combination of a shield warrior and a sniper is interesting,” Su Xiao mused.
This was his first time fighting a contractor, and he was starting to understand them better.
The shield warrior in front of him likely only enhanced one attribute and was focused on defense, while the sniper was the main attacker.
It was a good combination; if they had a support class, it would be perfect.
Su Xiao wasn't afraid. His enhancements were well-rounded, and aside from having low health, he had almost no weaknesses.
Other contractors usually fought in groups, but Su Xiao was a one-man army.
“Yezi, switch to strength for me. No more stamina; this jerk stole my shield!”
The queen sounded a bit helpless. Yezi, in the alley, looked stunned but quickly switched her aura from stamina to strength.
“Shameless! Do you dare to fight me head-on?”
The queen, holding her shield and dressed in knight's armor, looked bold and spirited.
“I’m curious about one thing: what is that changing aura around you? Or do you have other teammates besides that sniper?”
Hearing Su Xiao's words, the queen's expression remained unchanged.
If she showed too much emotion now, it could expose Yezi's presence. Yezi was weak and not suited for close combat.
“Dirt bug, this is the aura that belongs to this queen.”
A smile appeared on Su Xiao's face.
“Really? Let me guess where your third teammate is.”
The queen scoffed, pretending to be dismissive, but inside she felt anxious.
“If it were me, I’d hide my support teammate where? On the rooftop? Inside a building? In the alley?”
Su Xiao's seemingly pointless questions were actually probing the shield warrior in front of him.
He didn't know how many people she had; he was just guessing randomly. But putting psychological pressure on the enemy during battle was essential.
“Stop wasting time.”
The queen shouted and charged at Su Xiao with her shield.
This time, she was much smarter, slowing her pace and focusing on being steady and careful.
Su Xiao merely glanced at the shield warrior and decided to ignore her for now; he needed to deal with the sniper first.
Suddenly, Su Xiao ran off in the distance, quickly creating space between himself and the queen.
The queen's heart raced. The worst thing she feared had happened; the man in front of her wasn't engaging with her but was going straight for her teammate.
“Don’t even think about leaving.”
The queen raised one hand, and a silver chain appeared in her palm.
The silver chain was semi-transparent, about the thickness of a finger, and moved incredibly fast, wrapping around Su Xiao's arm and merging with him.
[You are bound by the 'Secret Silver Chain,' stamina check in progress.]
[The caster's stamina is 2.33 times yours. You have failed the exemption; you cannot leave the caster's 30-meter range.]
Su Xiao's steps abruptly halted. He wasn't stopping on his own; he was forcibly held back.
Looking at the semi-transparent silver chain on his arm, he tried to slash it, but it had no effect. His sword passed right through the chain; it wasn't a physical object.
It made sense; if the queen, who specialized in physical strength, didn't have a limiting skill, she wouldn't be able to hold an enemy.
“I told you, you’re not going anywhere.”
Since the battle began, the queen finally gained an upper hand, and she felt a surge of excitement.
She believed in the sniper's marksmanship. As long as she could hold Su Xiao back, the sniper would be able to take him down in just two shots.
Su Xiao turned his gaze to the queen, his killing intent boiling.
“Do you really want to die?”
He had just killed over a hundred ghouls, and his killing aura was palpable, a cold glint flashing in his eyes that startled the queen.
She thought to herself, how many people has this guy killed? Even in a derived world, executing a mission usually meant killing just a few, maybe a dozen at most.
Even so, most contractors would feel immense mental pressure.
“Stop bluffing. My strength may not match yours, but you’re not qualified to kill me.”
Su Xiao moved his sore left arm and ripped off the heavy combat gear he was wearing, tossing it aside.
He was serious now. If he didn’t kill the shield warrior in front of him, he might end up dead.
He activated his Steel Shadow ability. Contractors had low health, and the real damage from Steel Shadow would be effective against them.
Blue arcs of electricity surged along the blade of Dragon Slayer as Su Xiao pushed off the ground and charged at the queen, bare-chested.
During their previous fight, he hadn’t taken it seriously; he had just wanted to shake her off and kill her teammate first.
Now that he was serious, the queen felt the pressure closing in on her.
(End of Chapter)