"Yezi, get ready to heal me. This guy might be a cold-blooded killer." The queen felt Su Xiao's aura and suddenly regretted her decision. Maybe the three of them shouldn't have provoked this man.
Su Xiao was alone in his camp, and the benefits he would gain from killing her were too great. As a Level 6 contractor, the queen acted a bit rashly after entering the Level 3 world.
Su Xiao kicked off the ground with great force, charging toward the queen like a cannonball. The queen raised her giant shield to block him.
Holding his knife with both hands, Su Xiao didn’t choose to slash but instead used his left hand to hold the end of the knife and thrust it toward the shield.
"Crack."
The tip of the knife got stuck in the shield. Although the Blade of Dragon Slaying was a top-tier white weapon, it was still a white-grade item. The queen held a green shield rated at 26. If it weren't for Su Xiao's high attack power, breaking the shield would have been impossible.
Seeing the knife tip embedded in the shield, the queen felt her heart bleed. The cost to repair this green shield would be so high it made her question her life choices.
If mages were the masters in the Reincarnation Paradise, then meat shields were like giant pandas. In the early derivative worlds, few contractors developed physical attributes.
Taking hits in the front is not something just anyone can handle. Not to mention how painful it is to get hit without being able to fight back, only holding up a big shield. That would frustrate most contractors.
So, meat shields are usually specially trained. For stable adventure teams, having one main tank and one off-tank is usually enough. After all, the primary goal in the derivative world is to defeat enemies.
After the Blade of Dragon Slaying pierced the shield, Su Xiao kicked the front of the shield hard.
"Bang."
With a dull sound, the queen stumbled back a few steps. Su Xiao's thrust was a test of the enemy's defense, and their defense was beyond what he expected, requiring strategy to overcome.
The sniper above had been silent for a long time, indicating that Shizuo had likely found the enemy. After such a long time without fire support, the queen sensed something was off.
"Heibai, Heibai?"
The queen tried to contact Heibai, but she only heard heavy breathing in her ear.
"Queen, I can't support you right now. The enemy has found me."
"Who?"
"A plot character, Shizuo Ringya."
The queen's expression darkened. Without Heibai's sniping, they had no way to deal with Su Xiao.
"Give me five minutes."
Heibai sounded confident, and the queen seemed to trust him completely.
"I'll try my best to buy five minutes."
The queen took out a potion and bit it open. Although Yezi could heal her at any moment, she was very wary of Su Xiao's ability to break shields with a single blow.
While the queen was talking to Heibai, Su Xiao charged forward again.
The queen immediately countered, swinging her shield forward, which shone with golden light.
"Holy Shield Charge!"
The queen shouted as she rushed toward Su Xiao with her shield.
This strike was powerful, the shield cutting through the air toward Su Xiao.
Su Xiao sensed the unusual power behind this attack; it might be a skill.
As the golden shield approached, Su Xiao calmly met it. Just as the shield was about to hit him, he nimbly jumped up, landing on the shield with one foot and using its force to perform a backflip.
He landed smoothly as the queen's skill ended.
The queen, standing behind the shield, looked at Su Xiao in disbelief, her worldview shattered. "How is it possible to dodge a skill?"
Her 'Holy Shield Charge' was marked as a guaranteed hit skill.
Su Xiao didn’t answer; he just kept closing in on the queen.
This contractor relied heavily on skills, but she didn’t know that skills were just meant to assist in battle.
In combat, one must adapt and use rich battle experience to defeat the enemy.
Reincarnation Paradise is not a game; guaranteed hit skills can change based on the situation.
Su Xiao's evasive move was purely based on his understanding of combat.
"So what if it's a skill?"
Su Xiao planted one foot on the ground and kicked the queen's shield.
Even with the power-boosting aura around her, Su Xiao's kick forced her back a few steps, making her unsteady.
Seizing this opportunity, Su Xiao's figure flickered as his agility of 13 allowed him to circle behind the queen.
Switching from one-handed to two-handed grip on his knife, Su Xiao swung down hard at the queen's back.
With a slicing sound, the Blade of Dragon Slaying cut through the queen's armor, the long knife piercing her flesh, and the special energy of the Blue Steel Shadow invaded her body.
The queen's health bar dropped by 27% in an instant; this blow was brutal.
The weapon's sharpness + Su Xiao's strength + Blue Steel Shadow's true damage combined for a devastating effect.
The pain from the Blue Steel Shadow burning her mana made the queen scream, staggering forward a few steps.
Su Xiao wouldn’t miss this chance and aimed for the queen's neck with another strike.
The Blue Steel Shadow burned another 10 mana points from the queen and dealt 10 points of true damage.
The intense pain from the first hit hadn’t even faded when the new agony hit her.
With two waves of pain hitting her at once, the queen's face turned pale, and the overwhelming agony made her feel an unusual thrill.
This blow caused the queen to lose 31% of her health.
If things continued like this, she would surely die within four strikes.
Before the queen could adjust to her body's pain, Su Xiao's third strike came.
The Blade of Dragon Slaying sliced through the air, making a terrifying wailing sound.
Hearing this sound, the queen bit down hard on the potion in her mouth, swallowing the shards of glass along with it.
"Poof."
Blood gushed out; this strike was even fiercer, causing the queen to lose 34% of her health.
After taking three consecutive hits, the queen felt like she was falling apart. It wasn't just the injuries but the pain spreading through her body that nearly drove her to madness.
The terrifying aspect of the Blue Steel Shadow was revealed; once Su Xiao struck with the first blow, if she couldn’t endure the pain from the mana burn, she had almost no chance to fight back.
In the queen's desperate gaze, Su Xiao's fourth strike arrived.
Her high armor felt as fragile as paper against Su Xiao.
Surprised that three strikes hadn’t taken her down, Su Xiao noted that this shield warrior was exceptionally tough.
After all, even the gecko hadn’t survived three of his strikes.
"Poof."
A slender arm flew off, still holding the large shield; Su Xiao had severed the queen's arm holding the shield.
This strike didn’t target her torso, so it only took away 16% of her health.
If the queen hadn’t taken a potion earlier, she would have been dead by now.
Even so, the queen was left with only 19% of her health.
As Su Xiao prepared to deliver his fifth strike, a green orb suddenly flew in from a distance, entering the queen's body.
Her health quickly recovered from 19% to 34%, and it was still rising.
"Finally, your third teammate has appeared."
Su Xiao swung his knife at the queen, but thanks to the green orb, she had already recovered from the pain.
The queen rolled away just in time to narrowly avoid Su Xiao's strike.
"You freak!"
The queen bent down, gasping for breath, blood dripping onto the road.
She had said she would hold out for five minutes, but only 30 seconds had passed, and she had almost died under Su Xiao's blade.
If it weren't for Yezi, she would already be a corpse.
(End of Chapter)