The Queen charged toward Su Xiao with her shield held high, slamming into him.
Su Xiao slightly lowered his stance to stabilize himself. Her speed was too fast to dodge. He placed his sword, Dragon Slayer, horizontally in front of him, ready to block the impact.
The Queen, like a raging bull, crashed directly into Su Xiao.
Su Xiao gripped the hilt of his sword with one hand, while the other braced the blade's back.
"Boom!"
The two collided, sword against shield, causing the asphalt beneath them to crack and split.
"Not bad, strong," Su Xiao muttered as he pushed harder with his sword.
The Queen, though specialized in endurance, couldn't match Su Xiao's raw strength. Her previous charge had only made her seem his equal.
The Queen's face flushed purple as Su Xiao steadily pushed her back. Sparks flew from her iron boots as they scraped across the ground.
"As long as I stand, you'll never harm my teammates!" she shouted defiantly.
Her strength was lacking, but her words were fierce.
Su Xiao exerted even more force, pressing down from above, causing the Queen to drop to one knee.
For someone who called herself "Queen," a woman as proud as she was couldn't stand the humiliation of kneeling before Su Xiao. Her pride surged.
"I'll kill you! Ahhh!!" The Queen struggled to fight back, but the strength gap was too overwhelming.
Su Xiao grabbed the edge of her shield, ready to yank it aside. He wasn't going to waste time trying to hack through it—this wasn't some game. Since his strength surpassed hers, he'd simply rip the shield away and then strike directly at her.
The Queen's face twitched. She had never encountered an enemy like Su Xiao, who would just grab her shield. Weren't they supposed to have a proper fight?
Su Xiao violently tore the shield to the side and thrust his sword at the Queen's throat.
Just as his blade was about to strike, a sharp pain tingled across Su Xiao's back.
It was the sniper! With what little time he had, Juuzou hadn't been able to reach the rooftop to deal with them.
Thinking quickly, Su Xiao swung the Queen's shield behind him, using her as cover. The Queen stumbled, nearly falling.
"Bang!"
A bullet struck the shield, leaving a deep dent, with the bullet embedded in it. That small area even glowed slightly red from the heat.
Su Xiao's hand went slightly numb from the impact.
Taking advantage of the moment, the Queen yanked the shield back and retreated several steps.
For the first time, this endurance-specialized warrior had encountered someone as odd as Su Xiao, who had started the fight by trying to steal her shield.
The Queen felt humiliated but also frustrated. She resolved to invest in more strength the next time she returned to Reincarnation Paradise. Getting her shield taken away in a fight was just too embarrassing.
If she hadn't held on for dear life, she would have already lost her shield, and no amount of endurance would have saved her from being sliced to pieces.
"A sniper working with a shield-bearer, interesting," Su Xiao said, now understanding the dynamic between his enemies.
This was his first time fighting contractors, and he was beginning to get the gist of it.
The Queen in front of him was likely focused on endurance and defense, with no real offensive capability. The main attacker was undoubtedly the sniper.
It was a good combination. If they had a healer too, it would have been perfect.
But Su Xiao wasn't afraid. His own skills were well-rounded, and aside from having low health, he had no real weaknesses.
Other contractors operated in teams, but Su Xiao could fight as a one-man army.
"Yoko! Switch me to strength! I don't need endurance anymore, this bastard is stealing my shield!" The Queen sounded exasperated.
In the alleyway, Yoko was still in shock but quickly switched the Queen's aura from endurance to strength.
"You shameless brute! Face me in a fair fight!" the Queen shouted, holding her shield as she appeared gallant in her knightly armor.
"I'm curious about something," Su Xiao said, smiling faintly. "That aura around you—what exactly is it?"
"Or rather, besides the sniper, how many more teammates do you have?"
The Queen's face remained expressionless, not betraying anything.
If she showed too much emotion, it would expose Yoko's existence. Yoko's combat abilities were weak, and in close-range fights, she was almost useless.
"You idiot, it's my own aura!" the Queen sneered.
Su Xiao smirked. "Really? Let me guess—where's your third teammate? On the roof? Inside a building? In an alley?"
He wasn't sure how many there were, but it didn't matter. His words were just a probe to put pressure on the shield-bearer.
"Enough talking!" the Queen barked, charging at him again.
This time, she was smarter. She moved more cautiously, focusing on defense rather than speed.
Su Xiao barely glanced at her. He wasn't going to waste time with her anymore—first, he needed to take care of the sniper.
He suddenly dashed away, quickly widening the distance between them.
The Queen's heart sank. Her worst fear was becoming reality. The man in front of her wasn't interested in a prolonged fight—he was going after her teammates instead.
"Don't even think about it!" she shouted, raising her hand as a silver chain shot from her palm.
The chain, semi-transparent and finger-thick, wrapped itself around Su Xiao's arm, merging into his skin.
[You have been affected by 'Mithril Chain.' Strength test in progress…]
[The caster's endurance is 2.33 times higher than yours. Test failed. You cannot move more than 30 meters away from the caster.]
Su Xiao stopped abruptly, not by choice but because he was forcibly halted. He glanced at the semi-transparent chain on his arm and slashed at it, but his sword passed through without effect—the chain wasn't physical.
Of course, Su Xiao thought. A strength-focused tank like her would need a way to stop enemies from simply running away.
"I told you—you're not going anywhere!" the Queen said, her voice full of confidence now that she had him trapped.
For the first time since the battle began, the Queen felt like she had the upper hand. She believed in Black and White's marksmanship. If she could just keep Su Xiao pinned down, it would only take one or two more shots to finish him off.
Su Xiao turned his head and looked at her, murderous intent blazing in his eyes.
"Do you really want to die that badly?"
His words, coupled with the cold gleam in his eyes, sent a shiver down the Queen's spine. Su Xiao had just massacred over a hundred ghouls, and the chilling bloodlust in his gaze made it clear that he was no stranger to killing.
How many people had this man killed? Even in the most violent mission worlds, most contractors wouldn't kill more than a handful, maybe a dozen at most.
Yet this guy—his aura was thick with the weight of countless deaths.
"Stop bluffing. Sure, your strength is higher than mine, but killing me? You're not strong enough," the Queen said, trying to hold her ground.
Su Xiao stretched out his sore left arm and cut through his heavy battle uniform, discarding it on the ground. He was done holding back.
The Azure Steel Shadow energy surged to life, crackling with blue lightning across his sword's edge. Contractors typically had low health, so the true damage from the Azure Steel Shadow would be especially effective against them.
With a fierce push off the ground, Su Xiao charged at the Queen, bare-chested and serious for the first time.
Before, he had only been toying with her, trying to break away to deal with her teammates. But now, he was going all out.
As he approached, the pressure bearing down on the Queen intensified.
(End of Chapter)
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Translator's Note :- I am Not that familiar with a lot of the fictional worlds mentioned in the story. So if I make a mistake naming something please correct me by writing a paragraph comment on the mistake. Thank you.