Chapter 2024: Melee

At the entrance of the corridor, seven tanks rushed to the front of the crowd. Most of them had bloodstains on their bodies.

"What's going on."

Kulong saw the miserable state of these seven people, his heart filled with both fear and shock.

"There's no way to break through at all. That guy in the passage is a melee fighter, a very strong melee fighter. Just two slashes, and Yoni was left there forever."

Scar Brother, who had escaped by luck, wiped the cold sweat from his face. The Yoni he spoke of had been standing beside him just a moment ago, broken shield by one slash, neck severed by another, killed instantly on the spot.

Scar Brother's worldview was refreshed. He had never thought before that someone in the same tier could kill a tank with two slashes.

"Two slashes..."

Kulong's face became even uglier. His gaze swept over the people of the Apocalypse Paradise. At this time, these people were more or less thinking of retreating.

"Resisting the punishment, we will all die. All attributes reduced by 40%. Everyone here won't survive the next world."

Kulong was clear that there was no way back now.

"Then, organize a second wave of frontal assault?"

"Of course we must organize. Waiting will only lead to chronic..."

Before Kulong could finish his sentence, he was interrupted by a slightly chubby Qiyuezhe.

"Why don't we throw explosives into the corridor? Throw as many as there are."

"How could it be effective..."

"Good idea."

Kulong lowered his voice. Although he was clear that doing this was almost ineffective, after the first wave of tanks was killed back, all the more than a hundred Qiyuezhe present were afraid. This was not a good sign.

Ten tanks rushed in, and only seven came out alive. If they went in, it would be no different from sending themselves to death.

Kulong agreed to throw explosives, just to boost the morale of his side.

"Qiy

Kulong spoke in a low voice, and soon, more than thirty contractors arrived in front of the formation.

"If the power of the explosives is strong enough, it's not impossible to blow open the door to the captain's quarters. When that happens, we'll just push through with explosives."

Under Kulong's command, the contractors all took out explosives, such as magnetic mines, incendiary bombs, and the like.

Kulong gathered these explosives together and signaled everyone to retreat outside the airlock door, indicating that he would close the door the moment he threw the explosives.

Under the gaze of all the Apocalypse contractors, Kulong threw the bundled explosives.

Tick, tick, tick...

A rapid electronic sound came, and the airlock door on the outer side of the corridor closed.

Boom!

The entire spaceship shook, and flames filled the corridor.

Su Xiao leaned against the inner side of the captain's quarters door, gently rubbing his ear with one hand; the door panel behind him was somewhat scorching.

Although it was unclear what the situation was on the other side of the corridor, Su Xiao knew that the contractors outside were about to launch a second wave of assault; the previous wave was just a probe.

Su Xiao did not yet know the severity of the enemy's mission penalties; if the penalties were strong enough, those Apocalypse Paradise contractors would also fight for their lives.

If this were a war world, the Apocalypse Paradise side would have mineral resources as a fallback, and perhaps there wouldn't be such severe penalties, but this time, Su Xiao was here to plunder resources, which directly threatened their foundation.

Su Xiao never believed that Apocalypse Paradise contractors wouldn't dare to fight for their lives; it was just that the penalty wasn't severe enough.

Su Xiao stood before the door with his eyes closed. A few minutes later, he faintly heard the sound of venting gas; it was the airlock door on the other side of the corridor opening.

Pulling open the door to the captain's quarters, Su Xiao returned to the corridor. A heatwave rushed toward him, and there was a pungent, charred smell in the air, though this smell was rapidly dissipating; the ventilation vent on the ceiling had been completely blown open.

Su Xiao stepped forward and stood before the corner of the corridor. Dense footsteps came from behind the corner; the Apocalypse Paradise contractors were about to fight for their lives.

A wailing sound of wind breaking rushed toward him, and a dozen golden lightning balls flew out from behind the corner, crackling.

Clang, clang.

Intersecting blade flashes cut through, and the Blue Steel Shadow's anti-magic property took effect; the golden lightning balls were devoured and extinguished in the air.

"Charge with me!"

A sharp shout came from behind the corner, and then a group of contractors rushed toward Su Xiao. This time, it wasn't tanks, but close-combat fighters, with ranged support in the back.

Clearly, the Apocalypse Paradise contractors understood one principle: only magic can defeat magic; close combat must, of course, be handled by close-combat fighters.

The two contractors charging at the very front—one holding a long spear, the other gripping a hook blade—were clearly prepared to first restrain the long blade in Su Xiao's hand and then use the spear to severely injure him.

And behind these two were three tanks with ashen faces; they knew how strong Su Xiao was, but fortunately, they only needed to provide reinforcements in moments of crisis.

And behind the tanks was a large group of support-type contractors.

The light of various abilities shone, and a large swath of control abilities flew toward Su Xiao—not just a few types, but a massive amount, countless in number.

Crack, crack, crack...

Ice froze beneath Su Xiao's feet, vines wrapped around him, and several energy locks appeared out of thin air, binding his left arm.

At least 12 energy streams entered Su Xiao's body; these were mental, charm, and soul-type control abilities.

In just an instant, Su Xiao was trapped by various physical control abilities.

"Now!!"

Kulong, in the middle of the team, shouted loudly, and the contractor holding the long spear in the front stepped forward quickly.

"Dragon: Aurora!"

A white-hot light suddenly appeared on the long spear, forming a white dragon that coiled around the shaft. The spear thrust forward, unstoppable.

Snap!

Shattered vines and energy locks splattered. The long spear stopped ten centimeters from Su Xiao's head, unable to advance a single bit. A hand wrapped in a crystal layer grabbed the spear tip; all control was ineffective.

The contractor holding the long spear remained in the thrusting posture. What was originally a very dashing thrust now looked very much like a "salted fish thrust."

Su Xiao only grabbed the long spear for an instant before letting go, and the spear thrust past his ear.

Puchi.

A very ordinary, very natural slash; the blade cut across the chest of the spear-wielding contractor, and blood splattered everywhere.

Ding!

A hook blade stopped in front of Su Xiao's neck, blocked by the spine of his blade.

Su Xiao turned his long blade, and the contractor holding the hook blade felt a pulling force from his hand; he felt like a cow being led by a nose ring.

The hook-blade man stumbled forward two steps, and what greeted him was a gleaming blade. This was not a gap in strength or agility, but in technique.

The long blade slashed across the neck, and the headless corpse fell behind Su Xiao.

"Blade Dao: Blue Ghost."

Su Xiao leaned his body slightly forward, slashing the long blade through the air, and a cyan-blue blade flash flew out.

The blade flash had only flown three meters before it was blocked by a metal shield.

After a harsh cutting sound, the cyan-blue blade flash dissipated. The main tank holding the shield was hiding behind it, but he saw Su Xiao, because a slash mark had already crossed his shield, and the middle section had been cut through.

"It's come to this, don't be afraid. If he dies, we can live!"

Kulong's shout resonated with the other contractors; having 40% of their attributes deducted was equivalent to a slow death, so they might as well fight it out here. Moreover, the reward for killing Su Xiao was unimaginably generous.

The fear of death, combined with the temptation of profit, reignited the fighting spirit of the Apocalypse Paradise group. It wasn't that they didn't dare to fight, but that they hadn't been pushed to the edge. As the saying goes, even a rabbit will bite when pushed to the limit, let alone contractors.