Chapter 140: Unleashing a Massacre

“Careful! That giant skeleton belongs to that little rookie!” Windless Blood shouted in a low voice.

Axe-Bearer was startled as well, while the Chasing-Wind Youth, who had been watching from afar, widened his eyes in disbelief as he stared at Ye Chen. Never in his dreams had he imagined that those four terrifying giant skeletons actually belonged to the rookie he had looked down on.

Moonfrost gave a charming laugh and charged forward with her dagger, following the four Soul Pilgrims.

Axe-Bearer and Windless Blood’s expressions changed at once. Axe-Bearer even roared, “What the hell are you two thinking? There are twenty Soul Crystals here—more than enough for our two teams to split between us. If you want to fight to the death, wait until the third floor! We still don’t know how powerful the Lich is. Why make enemies of each other now?”

They truly were puzzled. If their opponent had intended to attack, why had she not struck during the earlier melee? That had been the perfect opportunity. With a top-tier expert like Moonfrost, four giant skeletons, and six players from the other team, Axe-Bearer and Windless Blood might well have died there.

Since she had not attacked then, there was no reason for her to attack now—unless…

Unless this woman, Scarlet Blade, was absolutely certain she could kill them.

Unless she possessed the composure of a cat toying with a mouse.

Being ignored instantly enraged the two experts, whose confidence had been swelling to its peak. Axe-Bearer pointed at Ye Chen in the distance and shouted to Windless Blood, “Bloodless, kill that little Dark Priest controlling the giant skeletons! Once he’s dead, let’s see what this woman has left to rely on. I refuse to believe the two of us can’t take down one woman!”

After shouting, Axe-Bearer raised his axe and charged at Moonfrost and the four Soul Pilgrims, laughing viciously.

“You had a road to heaven but refused to take it. Now you’ve forced your way into hell! You think I’ve already played all my cards? Then take this—Stone Demon Possession!”

“Ding! Player Axe-Bearer has used the skill Stone Demon Possession. Defense increased by one hundred and fifty percent. Duration: three minutes.”

As the system notification sounded, the illusory image of a massive gray stone giant appeared behind Axe-Bearer. The phantom swiftly crashed into his body, and in an instant, a suit of gray stone armor rose over his entire form.

Moonfrost’s feet flickered. After several feints, she slipped behind Axe-Bearer, her gleaming dagger darting out like a snake from its hole.

Smack!

The blade struck the back of his neck.

-235

A crimson number floated above Axe-Bearer’s head. Moonfrost’s face filled with vexation, and she lightly bit her silver teeth.

“I hate turtles hiding behind shells like this.”

“Bitch! A thief dares fight heavy armor? Just watch me beat you to death!”

Being called a turtle enraged Axe-Bearer. He swung his one-handed axe at Moonfrost.

Whoosh!

Moonfrost slid backward, avoiding the heavy axe with exquisite precision.

“Slow, slow, slow. Far too slow! You think that speed can hit me?”

With a light laugh, Moonfrost twisted forward again. Her Flame Blade flashed.

-328

“Your shell really is hard!”

After landing her strike, Moonfrost retreated once more. Axe-Bearer had grown smarter this time. Knowing that single-target attacks could not touch her, he immediately swept his axe in a wide-area attack.

-216

A red damage figure rose above Moonfrost’s head, and her health dropped by a small portion. It was clear that, despite being a thief, this level-forty rogue’s vitality was far from low. She had at least fifteen hundred health.

-150, -132, -115, -217 (Critical Hit!)

The four somewhat sluggish Soul Pilgrims finally arrived. Axe-Bearer was entangled with Moonfrost and had no chance to dodge. Four heavy blades fell upon him in succession, and his health dropped sharply in a single round of attacks. He hurriedly stuffed a potion into his mouth, but its healing effect was far slower than the rate at which his health was disappearing.

“Windless Blood, finish off that little Dark Priest! I can’t take this anymore!”

Axe-Bearer’s face had gone slightly pale. Four boss-level monsters were no joke. If he had not activated Stone Demon Possession, that attack might have taken more than a thousand health from him. Even with the skill active, he was beginning to struggle. After all, there was still a rogue beside him, constantly stabbing him with attacks that were anything but weak.

Windless Blood answered and swiftly closed the distance to Ye Chen, his footsteps shifting rapidly.

Closer.

Closer.

Closer still.

He drew his dagger and activated Flame Blade. He was confident that he could kill this newly advanced rookie in a single strike.

But at that moment, he suddenly saw the Dark Priest rookie, whose entire body had been hidden beneath a cloak, replace the weapon in his hand. From his bag, Ye Chen drew a golden staff.

That staff… could it be…

“Brother Bloodless, it’s been a long time.”

A hearty laugh came from Ye Chen. He casually pulled away the hood covering his head and flashed a grin at Windless Blood, who was charging toward him at close range.

“It’s you! Night Dawn!”

Windless Blood practically shrieked the words. Aside from surprise, his voice held a trace of fear. He could never forget that black dragon descending from the heavens.

His cry immediately drew the attention of Moonfrost and Axe-Bearer, who had been trading blows and wearing down each other’s health. They were not fools; they naturally heard the fear in his voice.

Moonfrost smiled first, then took a deep look at Ye Chen. She was becoming more and more intrigued by this companion of hers.

She knew of the rogue Windless Blood. Although he was not her equal, he was still a fairly renowned expert in the Fifth District. Yet such an expert had actually screamed at the sight of a face and a nickname.

Without a doubt, the player behind that face and nickname had left Windless Blood with an unforgettable memory.

A tragic one.

Axe-Bearer’s expression, meanwhile, changed drastically. He did not know what the nickname Night Dawn represented, nor did he know how strong this Dark Priest who had been pretending to be a rookie really was.

But he knew one thing: Windless Blood was under immense pressure facing him.

Yet the most horrified person present was not one of the four combatants. It was the Chasing-Wind Youth, who had been hiding in a corner and clinging desperately to life.

His eyes were wide as he stared at Ye Chen, who remained calm and unruffled. His thoughts finally began to connect. He could not understand how, in the blink of an eye, a hen had turned into a duck.

The rookie had actually been an expert!

“So what if it’s you? Die!”

Windless Blood was still Windless Blood. He instantly suppressed his fear, and excitement instead made his body tremble faintly.

At such close range, he was completely confident that he could kill Ye Chen. He was now level thirty-seven, with every attribute point invested in agility. His movements were as fast as lightning. He did not believe Ye Chen could still evade his attacks as he had in his twenties.

Whoosh—Flame Blade!

As Windless Blood struck, his excited expression twisted slightly. He could already see Ye Chen’s corpse kneeling before him. At last, he would wash away his humiliation.

Clang!

The dagger struck Ye Chen squarely in the chest.

Windless Blood froze for a moment. He could not understand why Ye Chen, who was so skilled in close combat, had not even tried to dodge this time.

Before he could think further, the damage number floating before his eyes left him utterly stunned.

-337

“Impossible!”

Windless Blood cried out. He had absolute confidence in his attack power. Against the spellcasters from earlier, his Flame Blade had dealt at least six hundred damage.

Yet against Ye Chen, the damage had been reduced by half.

And Ye Chen’s health bar had fallen by less than a quarter.

Windless Blood’s mind became a tangled mess. Before he could process what had happened, a scorching glow rose from the tip of Ye Chen’s staff.

Fireball Barrage!

Critical Hit!

At such close range, there was no way Windless Blood could dodge. His slight moment of shock made it even easier for the three black fireballs to strike him head-on.

Poorly equipped though he was, the top rogue of Lieshan City possessed more than twelve hundred health in his full bronze set. Yet when the second fireball exploded, he had already lost his life. The third black fireball merely ravaged his corpse.

“Ding! Player Windless Blood has died. Because this player previously killed three people, consecutive-level death penalties apply. Level reduced to thirty-four.”

As the notification rang in their ears and they watched several pieces of equipment fall from Windless Blood’s body, the entire hall fell briefly silent.

Only the four Soul Pilgrims continued roaring faithfully as they attacked Axe-Bearer.

The other three players stared at Ye Chen with wide, disbelieving eyes.

A heavy artillery cannon.

A genuine heavy artillery cannon.

That was the only thought remaining in their minds.

One burst of fire, four thousand damage—what did that mean?

It meant instant death.

“I’ll fight you to the end, you fake rookie Dark Priest!”

Axe-Bearer roared with bloodshot eyes and charged at Ye Chen like a tank.

This was the Berserker skill Assault.

Moonfrost’s expression shifted slightly. This was her mistake. She had been stunned for a moment and now wanted to catch up, but it was already too late.

“Come, then. Let me enjoy killing you.”

There was not the slightest trace of fear on Ye Chen’s face. He slowly raised his right hand, and a dragon’s roar exploded through the air.

How much mana did Ye Chen have now?

Three thousand one hundred.

After deducting the one hundred mana consumed by Fireball Barrage, he still had three thousand remaining.

Axe-Bearer’s total health, meanwhile, was barely above two thousand.

An illusory black dragon, half the size of a man, appeared before Ye Chen. With a roar, it charged straight toward Axe-Bearer.

“Dragon magic?!”

Even though Axe-Bearer had already prepared himself for death, he could not help crying out in shock.

Moonfrost also let out a soft gasp.

As for the Chasing-Wind Youth, he had become completely numb with shock. Dragon magic was universally recognized as the most destructive form of magic. It might have difficulty killing a fully healthy, heavily armored tank in one strike, but killing a half-dead tank was absolutely no problem.

Boom!

The black dragon devoured Axe-Bearer and then exploded violently.

A damage figure of three thousand rose into the air.

When the smoke cleared, there was no sign of Axe-Bearer—not even scraps remained. Only two pieces of equipment were left behind, including his one-handed great axe.

Ye Chen did not hurry to collect the equipment. Instead, he swallowed a Mind-Clearing Pill and slowly walked toward the Chasing-Wind Youth crouched in the corner.

“You—you can’t come over! Don’t kill me, expert, please don’t kill me! I’ll just stay here and do nothing. Once you finish the quest, I can be teleported out with you. Please, don’t kill me. It wasn’t easy for me to level up!”

The Chasing-Wind Youth put on a pitiful expression and spoke in a trembling voice.

“Is that so? But you seemed very interested in me earlier.”

Ye Chen smiled lightly. Sparks of light began gathering at the tip of the Abyssal Staff.

He was deeply displeased with the Chasing-Wind Youth. That fellow had tried to kill him more than once. Ye Chen had never shown mercy to anyone who wanted him dead.

The Chasing-Wind Youth still wanted to say something, but Ye Chen’s Fireball Barrage had already left the staff. Under his despairing gaze, the spell struck him directly and emptied his health bar.

Thud!

The Chasing-Wind Youth collapsed to the ground and became a corpse.

At last, only Ye Chen and his teammate Moonfrost remained in the enormous Witch Temple.

The twenty Soul Crystals were secured.

The next stage would be the Lich.

To be continued.

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