The Queen raised her knight's sword high, but nothing happened. There was no brilliant glow, no surging sword energy.
"Holy Sword Slash! Holy Sword Slash!"
The Queen was perplexed, lowering her raised arm and looking in confusion at the sword in her hand. The situation was extremely awkward.
"Such a 'powerful' move,"
Su Xiao mocked at the perfect moment, causing the Queen to choke with frustration.
It was only then that the Queen noticed the Reincarnation Paradise prompt—she was out of mana.
The Queen couldn't understand. From the start of the battle until now, she had only used three skills. Fearing running out of mana, she had even purchased a necklace that increased her mana by 30 points.
The Queen was at a loss, but Su Xiao understood. His skill, Azure Steel Shadow, had burned through her mana.
The Azure Steel Shadow was particularly effective against fighters with low mana like shield warriors, even though Su Xiao wasn't yet sure how effective it was against mages. After just a few hits, the opponent couldn't even use any skills.
Su Xiao had always wondered how he, as a Shadow of Extinction, could effectively fight mages. If he could get close enough, his ability to burn mana with Azure Steel Shadow would incapacitate any mage. But the real issue was how to close that gap in the first place.
The unawakened skills of the Shadow of Extinction would likely address that problem, but for now, Su Xiao needed to deal with the immediate threat in front of him.
Now that the Queen had no mana left, Su Xiao charged forward.
Even though the Queen had consumed that mysterious liquid and her attributes had risen, without mana, she was like a toothless tiger. As for the sword in her hand, Su Xiao didn't even consider it a threat—she had no idea how to properly wield it.
When Su Xiao closed in, he slashed at the Queen's throat.
His blade whistled through the air, taking a sharp, unpredictable path.
The Queen instinctively raised her sword to block, but Su Xiao changed his slash at the last second, turning it into a sideways cut. A chunk of the Queen's ear was severed cleanly.
Losing part of her ear, the Queen was disoriented and her head buzzed with pain.
Su Xiao's blade was still in motion, so instead of attacking immediately, he pushed forward, almost colliding with the Queen. He raised his knee and struck her hard in the side of the waist, targeting the unprotected spot where there were no armor to shield her ribs.
The Queen, still dazed from her injuries, felt a surge of intense pain as the knee struck her.
Su Xiao stepped back lightly, retreating by about a meter. Before his feet even hit the ground, his blade was already slicing through the air again, leaving a deep cut across the Queen's chest. Her armor was split open, and blood flowed from the gash.
Her energy birds, which hovered above her head, did alleviate some of the pain, allowing her to continue fighting, but the Queen's will was not strong enough. A warrior with a strong mind could ignore much of the pain in battle.
"You bastard, die!"
The Queen screamed in rage, swinging her sword with all her might. Su Xiao dodged it gracefully, leaping backward.
But as soon as his feet touched the ground, he lunged forward again.
The Queen had missed, leaving herself wide open.
"Slash!"
A shallow cut appeared on her throat, causing her to stagger back.
"Huff... huff..."
The Queen's breathing became labored, like she was dragging air through a punctured bellows.
"What's wrong? Where did that confident look go?"
Su Xiao walked toward her slowly. From the beginning of the fight, he had maintained a certain composure.
If he were fighting against the combined forces of a shield warrior, a sniper, and a support simultaneously, he wouldn't be so relaxed. But now, their greatest damage dealer, the sniper, was being kept busy by Juuzou Suzuya.
The shield warrior before him had impressive endurance but was no match for Su Xiao in close combat. The gap between them was astronomical.
Su Xiao realized something from this battle: if most contractors were built for PvE (fighting non-player enemies), his abilities seemed to be tailored for PvP. The Reincarnation Paradise had likely designed him this way, as a hunter meant to kill other contractors.
A tanky shield warrior foolishly trying to engage a killing master like him in melee combat? The outcome was clear.
"This can't be right. My stats, my equipment, my skills are all better than yours. Why is this happening? Something must be wrong," the Queen muttered, unwilling to accept the reality.
"Who knows? But those energy birds over your head are about to disappear."
Su Xiao wasn't completely unscathed either. The Queen had been incredibly tough with her 24 points in stamina. Even his Dragon Slayer sword had trouble cutting through her defenses. It was a warning to Su Xiao that if the gap in attributes was too wide, even his combat skills might not be enough.
However, in the case of this Queen, her strength had been artificially boosted by drugs, so she didn't count.
The energy birds above the Queen chirped one last time before dissolving into countless light particles that merged back into her body.
The healing effects were over, and the Queen's health began to plummet rapidly.
Seeing this, Yoko, who was watching from a distance, turned pale. She had little mana left, barely enough to keep the Queen alive for a few more seconds. However, per the Queen's orders, she was saving her remaining mana for something else—their last hope of victory.
As both the Queen and Yoko fell into despair, Su Xiao had already charged forward, unleashing a series of slashes.
At that moment of crisis, the Queen heard what sounded like heavenly music in her ears.
"Queen, I'm done with my opponent."
Black and White's voice was rough and labored. She coughed violently between words.
"You killed Juuzou Suzuya?"
The Queen was overjoyed.
"No, that guy's tough. He got away at the last second, but he's seriously injured."
Although Suzuya hadn't been killed, the Queen didn't care. Their main damage dealer was finally free.
"I'll fight you to the death!"
The Queen screamed in desperation, throwing away her knight's sword and charging at Su Xiao like a berserker ready to die.
Su Xiao was taken aback. Something was off, so he instinctively retreated.
But the Queen's charge brought her straight onto Dragon Slayer, which impaled her abdomen. Su Xiao tried to pull his sword free, but the Queen gripped the blade with both hands.
With a slicing sound, her fingers were almost cut off, but the Queen didn't care. She lunged at Su Xiao and wrapped her arms around him tightly, like a koala clinging to a tree.
The Queen's strength was currently at 15 points, 2 points higher than Su Xiao's, making it difficult for him to break free through sheer force alone.
Su Xiao gripped the handle of Dragon Slayer with both hands and violently twisted the blade inside her abdomen.
"Ahhh!!"
The Queen screamed in agony, tears streaming from her eyes, but she still didn't let go.
"Bang!"
A gunshot rang out from a distance. Su Xiao had sensed the danger long before, but the weight of the Queen, combined with her heavy armor, made it hard for him to move freely.
In the last moment, Su Xiao managed to slightly turn his body, avoiding a vital hit.
A bullet, as long as a pinky finger, punched through his abdomen, continuing straight through his body and into the Queen's.
This one shot cost Su Xiao 70% of his health.
The Queen's body went limp, her arms weakening.
At that moment, Yoko, who had been standing far off, activated their trump card.
"Judgment!"
With a soft shout, a giant energy cross appeared above Su Xiao's head.
The cross, glowing with holy light, came crashing down on him.
Boom!
Su Xiao's ears rang as the energy cross shattered above him.
[You have been subjected to the 'Judgment' execution ability. Your health is below 15%. Execution activated.]
[Your Anti-Magic Body has passively triggered. Execution failed. You are immune to this execution. 9% of your health has been deducted instead.]
(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.