Chapter 1624: The Tank’s Sorrow

The factory was filled with heavy breathing and low curses. These were the members of the Blood Gate Adventure Group. Their task was simple: purge the Contractors from this world to ensure that the Artificial Holy Grail plan would not be disrupted.

Iron Rat hid behind the ice wall. He cautiously poked his head out to observe, and the next moment, a loud crashing sound came from behind him, shattering the ice layers.

Startled, Iron Rat ducked his head just in time. Luckily, he was a dwarf; otherwise, the shot might have hit him.

“There are four enemies in total: reconnaissance type, ice type ability user, sniper, and that cat previously detected is also a problem. It’s bait. The sniper is probably about a hundred meters away. Any other questions?”

Iron Rat had a wealth of combat experience. The fact that they were battered so badly was definitely due to being suppressed in terms of intelligence, and this Iron Rat could confirm.

“Prioritize the sniper, then the ice type ability user. Ignore the reconnaissance type for now. If there’s a chance, take out that cat. In five seconds, follow me in charge; I’ll withstand the sniper’s firepower…”

Iron Rat began setting up a breakthrough formation. This factory was nearly a closed room; engaging a sniper here was akin to courting death.

“When encountering an ambush, disperse to minimize casualties. Little Tai, find an opportunity to sneak up.”

Just as Iron Rat finished speaking, the Divine Robe-clad youth beside him gradually merged into the shadows. He was not invisible; he was entering the shadow.

“Wait for my order, 3, 2…”

Just as Iron Rat was about to issue the charge order, a kobold head suddenly appeared in front of him.

“Damn!”

Startled, Iron Rat leaned back and immediately threw a punch.

With a bang, Iron Rat’s arm smashed into the ice wall. The contractors waiting for the charge command nearly twisted their backs, thinking, ‘3…2…Damn’ — what kind of absurd charge command was this?

“Give me… What the hell is this thing.”

The expression beneath Iron Rat’s face armor was somewhat spectacular because that dog resembling a Siberian Husky reappeared. Were it not for his confidence in his resistance, he might have doubted his own eyes.

“Boss Iron Rat, what is this…”

Beside Iron Rat, a mage’s expression was exceptionally fascinating. If it were in the past, Iron Rat would certainly have asked the mage: “Did you see that just now?”

“Stop talking, charge with me.”

“Howl～”

A howl echoed from the far side of the factory. Almost all the contractors involuntarily looked toward the sound source, and a Siberian Husky flooded their vision. An overwhelming thought surfaced among them—to kill this damn ‘Siberian Husky’!

Skill 8, Howl (Passive, Self-Realized Skill): Bubute Ni actively exits the ‘You Can’t See Me’ state, emitting a long howl to disrupt enemy minds, with a chance to attract a large amount of enemy hatred.

…

“Focus fire and take him out.”

Iron Rat made a decisive decision, aware of how threatening Bubu Wang had become.

Firearms, spells, arrows, and throwable weapons simultaneously aimed at Bubu Wang.

Boom!

A loud explosion sounded from above the factory, and a figure descended amidst the shattered ice. With a bang, an ice shield as large as a door panel blocked in front of Bubu Wang.

Roaring and crisp sounds followed, and the smoke from explosives enveloped the ice shield. Blood-red eyes flickered faintly within the smoke.

Thump, thump, thump…

Something rushed out from the smoke—it was A Mu breaking through the smoke. The ice shield in his hand showed varying depths of cracks, yet it remained unbroken.

The concentrated fire from over a dozen ranged contractors failed to break A Mu’s shield instantly. The immense defensive power of the ice shield was evident. Moreover, ice energy surged from A Mu’s hand, causing the cracks in the ice shield to gradually disappear.

Iron Rat’s expression was as grim as ever. They were unbelievably surrounded by three enemies, though it sounded absurd, yet the current situation was exactly that.

“Ignore it, push toward the sniper.”

“Iron, Boss Iron Rat, that… sniper, seems… he’s charging at us?!”

“?”

Iron Rat was momentarily stunned. He turned to look outside the factory, and sure enough, the sniper was indeed charging at them, wielding a knife.

Seeing the knife-wielding Su Xiao rushing forward, Iron Rat’s eyelid twitched because he recognized Su Xiao.

[Hint: Enemy Saber has approached, please promptly notify your Heroic Spirit.]

[Warning: The enemy Saber’s combat effectiveness is nearly exceeding all Heroic Spirits, summon your Heroic Spirits quickly!]

[Balance mechanism activated. If you kill the enemy Saber, you will be rewarded with ‘Epic Loot Box ×1’.]

…

Seeing the Reincarnation Paradise’s prompt, Iron Rat cursed under his breath. He wasn’t blinded by the Epic Loot Box; the higher the reward, the stronger the enemy’s combat power.

The sound of cutting wind approached, and Iron Rat instinctively put his arm in front of him, careful not to block his vision.

With a thud, something hit the ice, leaving traces of blood on the crystal-clear ice. Iron Rat looked down to see the young boy from the Divine Robe he had sent out earlier. The boy now lay lifeless, only the upper half remained, with the wound smooth as a mirror.

Compared to the charging Su Xiao, the members of Blood Gate were bombing A Mu relentlessly; over thirty ranged and melee contractors forced A Mu to retreat repeatedly, the ice shield in his hand on the brink of shattering.

Iron Rat quickly called for help on the adventure group’s public channel, then roared angrily. Despite the dire situation, Blood Gate had only lost a few contractors, and it happened during an ambush, showing their formidable combat skills.

Iron Rat sent four melee fighters to block A Mu. He could see A Mu was a tank. As for the remaining 30 contractors, they formed formations quickly; Iron Rat, the main tank, was at the forefront, behind him were several melees, then mages and spearmen, with healers and support at the far end.

This was the adventure group’s most common and practical formation. Iron Rat was confident he could hold Su Xiao off. As long as he held him off, it wouldn’t be hard for the teammates behind to take Su Xiao down.

At this point, Iron Rat was in no rush to lead the charge outside. To deal with snipers, you had to rush out, or you’d be picked off one by one. Facing melee was different; this area could serve as a temporary defense zone.

Clang, clang, clang

A few slash marks appeared on the ice wall; under Su Xiao’s blade, the solid ice became strangely fragile.

“Here he comes.”

Iron Rat clenched his right fist tightly, and a crisp metallic clanging sound followed; an arm shield appeared on his right arm. The shield wasn’t large, only around half a meter in diameter.

Boom!

The solid ice shattered, and a figure flashed through the debris. In the eyes of those magician contracted ones, it was just a blue lightning flint flash.

Iron Rat took a deep breath, and the shield on his arm emitted a dark black glow.

“Gravity Field.”

With a buzzing sound, the ground within ten meters around Iron Rat sunk significantly, and Su Xiao suddenly appeared in front of Iron Rat.

“Got you.”

Iron Rat simulated clenching his fist, grinning with bared teeth, his front teeth especially prominent, resembling a rodent. Just as Iron Rat clenched his fist, the gravity around Su Xiao increased several folds.

With a bang, the ground around Su Xiao cracked, and Iron Rat was deeply alert, but then, nothing happened.

Squelch!

The sound of sharp blades slicing through flesh echoed, Iron Rat’s pupils contracted to the extreme. In front of him, the pit was empty; Su Xiao had vanished.

At that moment, behind Iron Rat, Su Xiao slashed a melee contractor, cutting off the contractor’s head. The enemy’s head and half a war hammer’s head simultaneously flew into the air.

Su Xiao stepped forward with his left foot, abruptly stopping his charging figure. He sidestepped a scorching laser beam; moments ago, he used the Dragon Shadow Flash ability to bypass Iron Rat, the tank with strong control ability; there was no need to tangle with him. Even a slight delay meant potential concentrated fire.

The tragedy of the main tank wasn’t being broken through defensively but ignored by the enemy entirely, just like Iron Rat now.

Within the intuition ability, everything around Su Xiao seemed to slow down. He swung his blade horizontally, blue steel shadow energy surged along the blade, shattering the incoming blue fireball. Simultaneously, an arrow stuck his shoulder.

There were six melee contractors beside Su Xiao, including the one he had just cut down. There were seven in total; his phantom-like figure accelerated again, suddenly appearing before a melee contractor.

The melee contractor’s eyes widened, instinctively placing the heavy sword in front; witnessing the previous teammate’s gruesome death, he recognized Su Xiao’s slash.

Su Xiao’s muscles subtly bulged on the arm holding the blade, raising his hand and delivering a powerful slash.

Ring～

The melee contractor froze in place, a bloodline appearing on his face. The Epic Level Enhancement +10 Dragon Slash severed the heavy sword with a single stroke.

Two melee contractors fell; as they collapsed, the ranged contractors at Blood Gate’s rear entered Su Xiao’s view.

“Stop him!”

The shout of a ‘Mage Lord’ distorted; melee were knocked down in one slash. If Su Xiao got into their group, it would be a massacre.

Boom, boom, boom…

Several attacks struck Su Xiao. As for the incoming control abilities, they were completely ignored; the Counter Shield enveloped Su Xiao as he charged straight towards the ranged contractors continuously pouring fire upon him.