Chapter 33

As a Wu Gu master of the Saint stage, he possessed a strong immunity to curses. In just two breaths, the black aura shrouding the mage's head rapidly dissipated.

Reason returned! "Bang!"

Guan Ya was the first to act, raising her gun and aiming in an instant. As the trigger was pulled, the long barrel spat out gunpowder. The mage, who had just regained his senses, leaned back sharply, as if struck on the head with a club. A cracking sound came from his forehead as the hard carapace split open, and thick green fluid gushed out.

After breaking through the enemy's defense with one shot, Guan Ya immediately took out half a tube of diluted Life Elixir, held it in her hand, ready to inject at any time, in case the opponent used his injuries as a medium to cast a curse.

Fortunately, she was surrounded by a group of trustworthy teammates. The moment the gunshot rang out, the Queen removed the silver ring from her ear and threw it with all her might.

The silver ring rotated as it flew towards the mage. When it came into contact with the towering two-meter figure, it quickly transformed into a water ring, penetrating his flesh and constricting violently.

This effectively restricted his movements and interrupted the subsequent curse.

Seizing the opportunity created by their teammate (enemy), Li Xianzong and Zhang Yuanqing pounced on the mage, one in front of the other.

The former wielded a steel nail in one hand and a butterfly knife in the other, while the latter held a Vajra Pestle in one hand and the Bloodthirsty Blade in the other.

Both of them possessed weapons of the Enchantress, possessing an armor-breaking effect that could pierce the hard carapace defense.

Just then, the mage, bound by the two water rings, knelt down and muttered something.

Whether it was a coincidence or not, his kneeling allowed him to evade the weapons attacking from both sides, which grazed his left and right ears. The core skill of a level 4 Wu Gu master—Prayer!

Prayer was a type of witchcraft. Wu Gu masters at this level would often gather materials and perform a prayer ritual before taking action, and then pray to a great existence in the darkness through the unique incantations of the Wu Gu master, asking for their blessing so they could act smoothly.

However, when facing an enemy, it was impossible to have enough time to set up a ritual, so this step could be skipped, and the prayer could be performed simply by chanting the incantation, although the effect would be greatly reduced.

Even so, a prayer cast by a Saint stage Wu Gu master was enough to deal with enemies at the extraordinary stage, and could not be compared to Li Xianzong's prayers relying on props.

"Bang!"

The mage burst the water rings with a flex of his arms. Still kneeling, he sprang up, striking forward with a flying knee.

Unavoidable. Zhang Yuanqing, with the Eye of Sharpness, saw through the opponent's actions in advance and hurriedly retracted the Bloodthirsty Blade, summoning the Red Dancing Shoes with a thought.

Two intertwined dark red glows wrapped around his feet, and the running shoes transformed into brand new, oversized dancing shoes.

Since it couldn't be avoided, he would leave it to a prop that could.

Under the control of the Red Dancing Shoes, Zhang Yuanqing's right foot uncontrollably lifted, and his body leaned back, kicking precisely into the oncoming knee.

Bang!

With the immense force of the rebound, his foot went numb, and he was launched back a short distance.

The mage didn't pursue the enemy, instead spinning in mid-air and lashing out with a whip-like leg.

Smack!

Li Xianzong raised his arm to block, but was sent staggering. "All of you will die!"

The mage's voice was low and dignified as he raised his staff high, causing the black gem at the top to emit a dim light.

Everyone present once again experienced the sensation of their hearts being squeezed, as if they could die at any moment.

Li Chunfeng, leaning against the wall, heard a "thump" and his heart sank. He looked in the direction of the sound and saw Chi Ou had fallen to the ground, his pupils dilated.

He was weak and couldn't hold on any longer, losing consciousness on the spot.

But the most dangerous one wasn't Chi Ou, but Li Xianzong, who was closest to the mage.

After releasing the curse on everyone, the mage "flashed" in front of Li Xianzong, raising his staff to smash his head.

"Bang!"

A loud gunshot echoed in everyone's ears, and the mage jerked back to dodge the bullet.

However, there was no bullet at all. The gunshot was a hallucination created by the flat-headed man.

He supported himself against the wall with one hand and placed the other against his lips, imitating Guan Ya's gunshot.

Li Xianzong, in a half-squatting position, had veins bulging on his face, his expression ferocious. This Enchantress, who had once hunted Saints, unleashed terrifying potential in this desperate situation, springing up and slamming into the mage's chest like a phantom.

Pfft!

The butterfly knife pierced the mage's abdomen, penetrating the hard carapace. He didn't use the Cursed Nail because that consumable didn't have an armor-breaking effect.

"Roar!"

The mage roared angrily, and the dark light of the gem at the top of the staff shifted, switching curses.

Li Xianzong grunted, his lower abdomen ripped open, and blood gushed out.

The mage raised his staff again, preparing to cast a curse on everyone.

Bang! A gunshot rang out, this time not a hallucination, but Guan Ya pulling the trigger.

The mage trailed afterimages as he dodged the bullet's pinpoint attack. Suddenly, the antennae on his forehead twitched, detecting movement from behind. He turned abruptly, twisting his waist and back to swing the staff down with force.

Clang!

Sparks flew as the staff was blocked by the Bloodthirsty Blade.

He couldn't be allowed to continue casting curses. The attacks had to be tightly linked, otherwise everyone would be finished. Zhang Yuanqing, whose sneak attack had failed, caught sight of the Fire Virtue Star Soldier rushing over, his palm spraying fiery flames that condensed into a blazing red blade emitting intense heat.

The antennae on the mage's forehead twitched, sensing the danger.

Without hesitation, Zhang Yuanqing clasped his hands together in front of his chest. A deafening boom followed as shockwaves and flames spread in all directions.

The antennae on the mage's forehead trembled violently, disrupting his precise senses. It was at this moment that the Fire Virtue Star Soldier arrived, stomping down heavily as he swept the red blade across.

"Pfft!"

The burning, sharp blade accurately struck the abdomen where the butterfly knife had pierced, widening the wound and creating a scorched, hideous gash. The mage roared angrily and raised his staff.

Just then, two rings descended from the sky, one binding his upper body and the other binding his feet, interrupting his spellcasting once again.

"Bang!"

Guan Ya and Li Chunfeng fired simultaneously, bullets peppering the mage's body.

The Queen sprinted wildly, shouting to Zhang Yuanqing, "Give me the blade." Without thinking, Zhang Yuanqing tossed the Bloodthirsty Blade. The Queen reached out, grabbed it, leaped high, held the willow blade, and stabbed it fiercely into the mage's skull.

Pfft! The mage's head twisted as the Bloodthirsty Blade struck his shoulder, and thick, stinking fluid gushed out, splattering all over the Queen.

At this moment, because the Queen was in close combat with the enemy, Guan Ya and Li Chunfeng stopped shooting. The heavily wounded mage roared deeply, breaking free of the water rings and activating a curse.

The Queen's shoulder exploded, but instead of blood and flesh, clear water splashed out.

She had cleverly avoided the curse's backlash using the Water Ghost's abilities. The Queen retreated decisively. Seeing that the mage didn't pursue but staggered in place, she was overjoyed and shouted,

"His condition is deteriorating!"

This shout was both to her teammates and to the evil faction.

As soon as the words left her mouth, she suddenly "groaned," her legs went weak, and her whole body felt powerless. At the same time, her throat itched, her lungs burned, and she began to cough violently.

"Cough, cough, cough!"

Zhang Yuanqing and the Fire Virtue Star Soldier both covered their mouths and coughed violently. Poisoned!

This enemy was a Wu Gu master, a Wu Gu master skilled in poisons.

Guan Ya and Li Chunfeng's hearts tightened. As expected, they pulled their triggers to create an opportunity for their captain.

At this moment, people from the evil faction seemed to see an opportunity. A middle-aged man in a suit put on two finger-tiger gloves and rushed towards the mage in shiny leather shoes.

The withered middle-aged man crouched low, his face stretched, turning into a rat-like face, with thin black whiskers growing on his cheeks. The muscles in his legs ripped his pants, and a forearm-thick tail extended from his tailbone. In the blink of an eye, he transformed into a rat-man. His hands, now claws, grabbed a jet-black bamboo tube from his inventory.

The flat-headed man roared and wrapped his arms around the house behind him, forcibly uprooting the entire house, foundation and all, and hurled it at the mage.

This was, of course, an illusion, but in the mage's perception, danger was approaching.

He instinctively fled to the side, when suddenly, a sharp pain struck his abdomen. A turquoise poison needle pierced the charred blade wound. The poison needle immediately melted, invading his body.

The illusion and the poison needle complemented each other, making for a successful sneak attack.

However, as a Saint stage Wu Gu master, this amount of poison was insignificant to the mage.

From the beginning of the battle, the evil faction had been restrained. Guan Ya, inspired by this, took advantage of the chaos to fire a shot. The sharp rifle bullet accurately hit the back of the mage's head, creating an explosive effect.

The mage staggered forward, crashing into the iron fists of the suit man, who was wearing finger-tiger gloves.

Bang, bang, bang!

A barrage of iron fists rained down on the mage's face and abdomen. Although he was only level 2, the Enchantress was naturally skilled in combat. His fierce combination attacks left the boss unmoved.

The Wood Sprite youth, who had been watching from the sidelines, steadily dragged away several of his poisoned teammates, took out pills from his pocket, and distributed them to Zhang Yuanqing and the others, saying,

"Chew them before swallowing."

As he spoke, he took out a finger-thick incense stick from his inventory. "Fire Virtue Star Soldier, can you light this for me?"

The Fire Virtue Star Soldier looked dejected, chewed the pill, and rubbed two fingers against the incense stick. Green smoke curled up, and a refreshing, herbal fragrance filled his nostrils. He felt a jolt of energy, and the problems in his throat and lungs were alleviated.

"Wait a little longer, and your poison will be cured," the Wood Sprite youth continued, letting Zhang Yuanqing and the Queen smell the incense before immediately snuffing it out. "This is a consumable, so use it sparingly."

Having a recovery type in the team was very reassuring, Zhang Yuanqing thought, his eyes fixed on the battle in the distance.

The mage raised his hand, grabbed the suit man's neck, and slammed him hard onto the ground.

Bang!

The floor tiles cracked, and blood oozed from the suit man's mouth and nose.

The rat-man hurriedly provided ranged support, shooting poison needles one after another. Some were deflected by the carapace on the mage's body, while others pierced his wounds. Apart from causing intense stinging pain, they couldn't shake the Saint stage Wu Gu master.

Li Xianzong, his lower abdomen covered in blood, approached the mage like a leopard, and slammed the Cursed Nail into the fractured carapace at the back of his head.

That was the wound Guan Ya had created.

The mage snapped the suit man's neck with a crack, then squatted down, causing Li Xianzong's sneak attack to miss. He swung the hand holding the staff towards the top of his head.

Smack!

The staff struck Li Xianzong's wrist heavily, shattering his arm bone. The Cursed Nail immediately fell.

Li Xianzong's expression didn't change. He gently lifted his foot and kicked the Cursed Nail towards the rat-man.

After completing this action, he was prepared to be attacked by the mage at close range, but at this moment, a gunshot rang out in the distance, hitting the mage in the chest and piercing his armor, creating a finger-deep wound.

The boss's condition had indeed declined, and he could no longer avoid bullet attacks. Li Xianzong's eyes lit up, and he stepped forward, thrusting the butterfly knife into the left chest wound caused by the bullet.

"Ah"

The knife pierced his heart, and the mage screamed shrilly, "You curs of the imperial court, you will all die"

He mustered his last strength and raised his staff, the black gem at the top blossoming with a dark light.

Everyone present turned pale, their hearts aching as if stabbed by knives. Pain and suffocation engulfed them like a tide. After being hit by three consecutive curses, the effects stacked, and everyone felt their life rapidly draining away, as if they were about to die at any moment.

Li Xianzong, Zhang Yuanqing, the Queen, and the Fire Virtue Star Soldier felt it especially intensely.

Zhang Yuanqing's vision blurred, and his mind went blank, unable to think.

So, so painful, I'm going to die. Li Chunfeng's face was pale, and he staggered to the side of the unconscious Chi Ou, grabbed the scarecrow on the ground, pinched its head with both hands, and exerted force.

The mage's body stiffened, and a layer of black aura enveloped his head, interrupting the curse.

Li Xianzong was the first to regain consciousness. He crouched down and pounced into the mage's chest, wrapping his arms around his waist, while simultaneously tightening his muscles, achieving the effect of a thousand-pound weight.

"Quick, attack the back of his head!" Li Xianzong roared.

The rat-man immediately inserted the Cursed Nail into the bamboo tube, took a deep breath, and blew out all the air in his lungs in an instant.

Pfft!

The Cursed Nail successfully penetrated the wound at the back of his head.

The mage's body froze, his spirit rapidly dissipating. After standing stiffly for a few seconds, he collapsed with a loud crash.

It was over!

Seeing this scene, everyone felt a sense of relief, panting heavily, as if they had just finished a long journey and finally reached the end, a wave of fatigue washing over them. At the same time, the Spirit Realm prompts echoed in the ears of the Spirit Realm participants from both factions:

[Ding, you have successfully killed the evil mage. Please immediately obtain the reward and kill the opposing faction.]

Instantly, everyone in the evil and law-abiding factions stood up or sat up, their eyes simultaneously falling on the staff beside the corpse.

Unlike the others, Zhang Yuanqing received a second prompt:

[Ding! You have completed the hidden mission - The Greedy Mage (3/3)]

[The Greedy Mage: In order to plot for the treasures left by Yin Yang Sanren, he colluded with Zhao Yuanwai and Wang Popi in the town to murder the descendants of Yin Yang Sanren, but other than a staff with a powerful curse, he got nothing.]

[Note: You will stay in the town forever like me] [Mission item: Yin Yang Magic Robe (unclaimed)]