Chapter 2012

According to the captain's description, the Ranger Squad had just completed a clearing operation. Their main goal was to clear out the Undead in the abandoned city—first to obtain rewards, and second to complete a side mission.

What Su Xiao didn't expect was that the one-eyed captain actually contributed the mission through the contract.

【Hint: The Hunter can accept this mission and obtain rewards.】

【Side Mission: Luodan City】

Difficulty Level: Lv. 42

Mission Information: Clear 10% of the Undead in Luodan City (2.71% cleared).

Mission Deadline: 5 days remaining

Mission Reward: Soul Crystal (Complete) x2 (Originally 3, as the Hunter did not participate in this mission from the beginning).

Mission Penalty: Strength and Stamina attributes -2 points.

Su Xiao's expression remained as usual, but his heart was not calm. First, a fully configured squad coming to complete a Lv. 42 difficulty mission was very 'abnormal'. Under normal circumstances, this squad would have no problem executing missions with difficulty above Lv. 45; the choice at hand was quite 'steady'.

Secondly, the mission reward was truly generous. A Lv. 42 mission gave three Soul Crystals (Complete), and the penalty was minimal. Even if he had to bear such a penalty, Su Xiao felt no ripples in his heart.

【The Hunter has accepted the side mission: Luodan City.】

【Hint: Invasion Degree increased by 3%.】

The one-eyed captain prepared to rest for three hours before starting the next wave of clearing. In this squad, the youth Zosa who used the blade was somewhat hostile toward Su Xiao, or rather, he had this attitude toward everyone; he clearly belonged to the type who was introverted and cool on the outside.

The one-eyed captain, the firepower hand, and the sniper Gulasai had normal attitudes. Little Healer looked weak but was actually neutral, and the support girl Doro was relatively cheerful.

Among these six, Su Xiao had to choose one to strip the brand from. To strip the brand, the first step was physical contact.

"Doro."

Su Xiao looked at Doro, who was holding the handheld console with both hands and pressing buttons randomly.

"Hmm?"

Doro spoke without raising her head, completely focused.

"During battle, are we in the last row?"

"I don't have it as good as you. I'm a support type with some combat ability. It's very bitter during battle, although not as dangerous as those two."

Doro put away the handheld console and stretched. The buttons on her collar were wide open, but there was no need to worry about exposure.

"After the battle starts, I will set up a barrier first. There are a large number of Undead in this abandoned city. Without a barrier, we would all die here in just one battle."

Doro was emphasizing her importance, and the meaning was clear: let Su Xiao's 'summons' look after her during battle.

"Of course, as a Summoner, you can just watch the battle. After all, the summons are the main force. I'm so envious of you."

After Doro finished this sentence, she leaned against the wall and closed her eyes to rest.

Su Xiao tossed another 'candy' into his mouth and simultaneously conveyed a message to Amu and Baha: don't let Doro die during battle. This was the target.

"Woof."

Xiang Ignoring Bubu Wang didn't know when it had approached Doro. Doro, who was about to take a nap, opened her eyes.

"Oh my, don't you need to go guard your master?"

"Woof (Don't have that ability)."

"Uh~, I don't understand what you mean."

Doro saw that Xiang Ignoring Bubu Wang had intelligence; for a summon, this was very normal.

"Woof (It's right that you don't understand)."

"Do you want to communicate with me?"

"Woof (My master doesn't let me play with idiots)."

"So cute, your fur is so soft."

"Woof (Don't touch me, you upright female primate)."

"Pfft~"

Baha, beside Su Xiao, turned its head away. It didn't dare to watch the 'cross-channel chat' over there anymore; it was afraid it wouldn't be able to help laughing out loud.

Time flew by, and soon, three hours passed.

"Everyone, let's go."

The one-eyed captain stood up, and the youth Zosa not far away opened his eyes.

"With a new member joining, we need to rearrange the formation. My formation, the firepower hand's, and Gulasai's remain unchanged. Doro's position changes. Now we have three powerful helpers..."

The one-eyed captain looked at Su Xiao. He didn't know the abilities of Xiang Ignoring Bubu Wang, Amu, and Baha yet. After all, it was a temporary squad, and at most, they would disclose a small part of their data.

"Only two. It's not good at combat."

Su Xiao patted Xiang Ignoring Bubu Wang's head, and the one-eyed captain indicated he understood.

"With two powerful helpers entering, Doro doesn't need to take too many risks."

"Yay!"

Doro made a peace sign. The one-eyed captain looked at her; one shouldn't interrupt when arranging a combat formation.

"37d, you stay in your original position. Kukulin, you choose a safe position yourself. You are the freest during battle. If you have any close-combat or ranged abilities, don't hide them."

The one-eyed captain turned his gaze to Su Xiao. Su Xiao shook his head, indicating he was just a Summoner.

"Then that's it. Let's go. This time we're going to Zone C; the number of Undead there is the smallest."

The one-eyed captain took out a diamond-shaped shield. The shield was metallic, about 1.2 meters high, with several rows of very short metal spikes on the outside.

Led by the one-eyed captain, the youth Zosa followed closely, the firepower hand followed Zosa, the sniper Gulasai walked upstairs, and Little Healer and Doro walked together because they were close.

"Should I go all out?"

Baha spoke in a low voice. If it went all out, it had the confidence to solo everyone present except Su Xiao and Amu. If it were an assassination, it could kill them instantly if the opportunity was right.

"See the situation. Amu, use magma form for now; this squad has a tank."

"Moo."

Amu began to transform into its magma state. In this form, it was stronger than Baha.

Su Xiao stood up and walked out quickly. Just as he reached the exit of the abandoned building, he saw the one-eyed captain and the others peeking outside, and Doro was doing the same.

"What are you looking at? Make way."

Su Xiao patted Doro on the back of her shoulder, and Doro's body shook.

"You scared me to death! Do you walk without making any sound?"

Doro saw it was Su Xiao and let out a long breath. Su Xiao stepped back half a step, 'almost' bumping into the youth Zosa unintentionally.

"Watch where you're going. Even if you're a Summoner, you should at least have the most basic close-combat quality."

Zosa remained in his cool demeanor. In his view, only close-combat ability was reliable in a crisis.

Su Xiao didn't speak, because just a moment ago, he discovered something very interesting: the target for stripping the brand wasn't just one, but two could be chosen at the same time. After 64 hours, he would choose one from the two to strip.

Therefore, Su Xiao chose Doro and Zosa. One was an agility-inclined type, and the other was a support type; their survival probability was not low.

"We don't have a perception type, and Doro's ability is more inclined toward barriers."

The one-eyed captain sighed; this was the 'Ranger Squad's' fatal weakness.

"It is."

Su Xiao pointed to Xiang Ignoring Bubu Wang. Xiang Ignoring Bubu Wang's dog face looked awkward; it also wanted to 'slack off'.

"That's good news. Are there any enemies nearby?"

The one-eyed captain and the other four all looked at Su Xiao.

"Yes."

"Where!"

"Directly above."

As soon as Su Xiao finished speaking, the sound of stomping came from the roof of the abandoned building.

Bang!

An afterimage flashed, and a figure landed. Her skin was grayish-white, and her eyes were blood-red. This was a female Undead. Unlike other Undead, she had a head full of fluffy white hair that almost reached the ground. Just by standing there, she gave people a strong sense of oppression.

"Wailing Queen, the boss we encountered yesterday."

Cold sweat seeped from the one-eyed captain's back, and the other four were also facing a great enemy. They had encountered this Undead once before; if they hadn't run fast, they would have suffered casualties long ago.

The Wailing Queen clearly had intelligence. Her gaze swept over everyone, a feeling like a tongue covered in meat thorns licking everyone's body.

When the Wailing Queen's gaze looked at Su Xiao, she just glanced and skipped over, but the next moment, she immediately turned her gaze back.

With a confrontation of at most a fraction of a second, the Wailing Queen arched her body. Based on Su Xiao's combat experience, he immediately judged that the other party was going to escape.

"Moo!"

With a boom, Amu crashed through the wall and rushed toward the Wailing Queen. This one had to be silenced, and Amu had just finished traveling through a world a while ago and was very angry. Now that a punching bag had arrived, Amu wasn't targeting anyone, just wanting to hammer the enemy to death.

"Fight for it!"

The one-eyed captain roared, and he, Zosa, and the firepower hand all rushed forward.

Initially, the Wailing Queen was indeed here to kill these humans to avenge her subordinates, but now, she just wanted to escape. Just a moment ago, she had vaguely sensed something very terrifying.