Evil spirit mask?
Wu Tu narrowed his eyes, carefully examining the figure at the foot of the mountain.
For some reason, it felt both familiar and strange to him...
Wu Tu said expressionlessly, "Betrayal... only exists after belonging. I have never belonged to East Continent, so how can I betray it?"
"The Tribunal has treated you well."
The evil spirit said gloomily, "Even if you wanted to leave Nagano, you could have just said so. Why concoct excuses and cruelly kill your innocent teammates who traveled with you to the end?"
"...Apologies, are you very concerned about these ants?"
Wu Tu smiled. "Actually, I didn't want to do it this way, but they insisted on seeing me off, so in the end, I had no choice but to kill them."
Wu Tu's original plan was to apply for a solo mission, using the opportunity to leave Nagano.
But teammates insisted on following, and he couldn't shake them off.
In the end, time was tight, and he had no choice but to kill all these teammates... Only in this way could he successfully board the giant ship bound for Southampton.
As soon as these words came out.
The mountainside and the foot of the mountain fell silent.
The fierce wind blew, and the evil spirit's figure suddenly rushed up the mountain, moving extremely fast.
The next moment.
The dark night of the desolate mountain was illuminated. The barrier 【Sheng Ri】 (Sacred Sun), which Wu Tu had set up in advance, was triggered, and countless blazing rays of light enveloped the surrounding hundred meters.
The evil spirit, who was climbing the mountain rapidly, began to burn all over...
However, the latter did not stop at all. With a swift momentum, he crashed into the 【Sheng Ri】 (Sacred Sun) barrier and raised his hand to fire a shot!
Bang!
A blue-silver bullet was swiftly fired!
Wu Tu expressionlessly took a step back, and at the same time, he casually waved his hand, and the dazzling light surrounding the 【Sheng Ri】 (Sacred Sun) barrier rose from the ground, piling up into a giant wall.
Boom!
The moment the blue-silver bullet touched the giant wall, a violent explosion erupted on the top of the small mountain!
This was not an ordinary physical bullet; it was attached with the user's "spirit," and the domain effect of this "spirit" was explosion!
"?!"
Wu Tu frowned. He felt that this domain ability was somewhat familiar.
After the 【Sheng Ri】 (Sacred Sun) light wall was shattered, the evil spirit had already reached the top of the mountain.
Blue-silver bullets were fired in succession.
Wu Tu used 【Sheng Ri】 (Sacred Sun) to counterattack, and the entire small mountain was constantly collapsing amidst the two people's bombardment. Dust and light fragments flew everywhere. One person retreated, and the other advanced, but the distance between the two was constantly closing!
It wasn't that Wu Tu was at a disadvantage.
During the waiting time, the arrangements he had made were too meticulous.
Just relying on the barrier alone, he could easily consume the opponent.
He was now deliberately retreating, waiting for the target to get closer... After the exchange, Wu Tu realized that Yao Jin had probably overestimated the so-called East Continent "mastermind."
Indeed.
The Church suffered a great loss in the Dongse family case, losing an entire hidden line.
But the "evil spirit" who appeared at this moment didn't seem to be much stronger than himself. Perhaps the other party was skilled in strategy, but his strength wasn't as great as he had imagined.
"Get closer..."
"Get closer..."
Wu Tu constantly manipulated 【Sheng Ri】 (Sacred Sun), creating the illusion that he was losing and retreating.
He stared intently at the approaching evil spirit.
"This guy's strength... is about the same as mine. Using the 【Chi Huang Nu】 (Scarlet Phoenix Crossbow) at this distance might directly kill him!"
With that thought in mind.
He directly raised his sleeve.
In the chaotic wind, a straight golden line pierced through the barrier, directly shattering 【Sheng Ri】 (Sacred Sun). The clamor and chaos of the small desolate mountain ended at this moment. The arrow of the 【Chi Huang Nu】 (Scarlet Phoenix Crossbow) was still lingering with a high-pitched phoenix cry. The evil spirit's advancing steps froze at this moment. He looked down at his shoulder.
A large handful of blood was thrown into the air and then burned to ashes!
Wu Tu's heart skipped a beat.
The moment he raised his sleeve, the other party's body trembled in an extremely strange way—
This caused his crucial arrow to fail to pierce the heart!
"This arrow... I actually missed?!"
Before Wu Tu could react.
The evil spirit instantly retreated and fled down the mountain, while throwing out a one-time sealing item. A large amount of dust and sand danced wildly in the dark night. Wu Tu wanted to shoot a second arrow, but his mental power was blocked by the dust and sand. A second later, when he rushed out of the darkness again, the evil spirit was already nowhere to be found.
...
...
A moment later.
On the small desolate mountain, the wind gradually subsided.
Yao Jin sat in a wheelchair and came to the scene of the battle. A 【Deng Long】 (Lantern) hung over his shoulder. The burning fire of this 【Deng Long】 (Lantern) illuminated the entire mountaintop as if it were daytime.
The battle that had just erupted here was incredibly fierce. The 【Sheng Ri】 (Sacred Sun) barrier was shattered, and even though the fierce wind swept through, the mountaintop still retained the smell of blood.
"...The course of events is roughly like this."
Wu Tu chuckled, "Young Master Yao, you have overestimated the so-called 'mastermind' too much. Judging from the situation of the exchange just now, this guy is nothing more than that."
"The bloodstains... have all been burned clean."
Yao Jin lowered his head, looking at the weeds on the desolate mountain.
He wanted to use 【Ce Xie】 (Profiling) to find traces... but the other party was an expert in this field and did not leave any clues that could be searched.
"You're saying that the other party's strength is not much different from yours?"
Yao Jin raised his head and asked this question.
"If I didn't have the 【Chi Huang Nu】 (Scarlet Phoenix Crossbow), he probably wouldn't be able to kill me either."
Wu Tu recalled for a moment and said seriously, "It's hard to say who would win or lose in a real fight... This person does have some strength, but there's no need to be so wary."
Yao Jin asked again.
"If that's the case, why didn't you directly shoot him to death when you were fully prepared?"
"I..."
Wu Tu was stunned for a moment.
He didn't know how to answer. The situation at the time was indeed very strange. After he shot that arrow, the other party's body suddenly trembled, as if he had a warning in advance, and actually dodged the vital point.
"A lion uses its full strength even when hunting a rabbit."
Yao Jin said calmly, "Although I don't know the strength of that 'mastermind,' I still asked for the 【Chi Huang Nu】 (Scarlet Phoenix Crossbow) for you. This kind of mistake shouldn't have happened."
"I... I am willing to accept the punishment."
Wu Tu said in a low voice, then anxiously said, "Although I didn't kill him, this person has been shot by the 【Chi Huang Nu】 (Scarlet Phoenix Crossbow). We can follow the 'mark' to find him... We should be able to find him."
"Mm."
Yao Jin nodded and said, "You don't have to worry about the rest. Just leave it to me. After tonight, you still have to go back to the West Sea and wait for a few days."
He sat in the wheelchair, slowly turning around.
The lantern fire on the small desolate mountain also swayed, and the aura of light pointed to the depths of the dark night...
That was where the 【Chi Huang Nu】 (Scarlet Phoenix Crossbow) mark was.
...
...
The cold wind howled, as sharp as a knife.
The intense pain woke Zhong Fan up. He looked down at the blood flowing from his shoulder, and his entire vision was blurred and hazy.
There was a very faint light in front of him.
A man was standing in front of him. Due to excessive blood loss, the "man" in Zhong Fan's eyes was composed of countless overlapping images, sometimes condensing and sometimes spreading, swaying uncertainly.
"Who... are you?"
Zhong Fan gritted his teeth, trying to sit up.
"Nagano Tribunal, Fourth Arbiter, Zhong Fan."
The voice that responded to him sounded unemotional. The other party did not answer the question but directly stated his identity.
Zhong Fan wanted to see the face of the man in front of him clearly.
But...
He couldn't do it.
He could only see that the other party's face was hidden in the warm firelight.
"You're the one who just saved me?"
Zhong Fan opened his mouth in a hoarse voice. When that ray of golden crossbow arrow was shot out just now, his body trembled inexplicably, uncontrollably shifting by ten centimeters.
It was this ten-centimeter shift that allowed him to survive.
That arrow was aimed at his heart!
"You shouldn't waste words with him."
Gu Shen stretched out his palm, and Zhong Fan's blood-stained ghost mask flew into his palm.
Seeing this ghost mask, Gu Shen's heart was filled with mixed feelings.
This was specially copied by Zhong Fan. The patterns on the mask were exactly the same as the one he wore in the 【Bing Hai Yi Ji】 (Ice Sea Relic).
He knew that this young man was a promising young talent recently recruited by the Gu Wen Hui (Ancient Literature Society), exceptionally talented and extremely diligent. He had been advancing all the way in the Tribunal, which was why he had just taken action to save him. After rushing out of Guang Ming Cheng (Bright Light City), Gu Shen's "Chi Huo" (Blazing Fire) captured the coordinates of the desolate mountain, and the battle had already begun.
And when he arrived, the battle on the desolate mountain was already coming to an end.
It was Zhong Fan's luck that he could save him.
Gu Shen said coldly, "Since you are an arbiter, how can you not know the dangers of transcendent combat? If you are not sure of victory, how can you speak easily? Didn't you realize that Wu Tu had already made thorough preparations? He had set up a barrier and left behind a backup plan!"
"..."
Zhong Fan closed his eyes. He had already resigned himself to fate. If the guy in front of him wanted to kill him, he would have already done it.
Since he had been saved, he had nothing to guard against.
What's more.
His current physical condition couldn't defend against anything.
"I had to say those words. If it happened again... I probably would still say them."
Zhong Fan smiled hoarsely, "Even if he had made more preparations, I would still try... He was alone tonight. This opportunity would be gone if I missed it."
Gu Shen was silent for two seconds.
He wanted to scold him, but in the end, he swallowed those words back.
Gu Shen spoke again, "Didn't Mr. Shan tell you that the Nagano's trip to the West Sea this time doesn't require intervention in the 'Wu Tu' matter?"
"He did, but I couldn't let it go."
Zhong Fan smiled with lowered eyebrows, "There was a brother who grew up with me in Wu Tu's team... I knew that tonight was a trap, so I thought it would be good to die with him."
"...Idiot."
This time, Gu Shen didn't hold back. He scolded angrily, "Who taught you to act like this?"
"...Some things always have to be done by someone."
Zhong Fan shook his head, his voice without regret.
He suddenly realized something and quickly asked, "Who exactly are you? Why do you know so much about Nagano?"
He struggled to sit up.
He looked up and was dazed for a moment.
Under the moonlight, the "mysterious man" who was surrounded by warm firelight was putting the ghost mask that he had deliberately made on his face.
Zhong Fan was stunned in place.
He had seen this scene in the Bing Hai Yi Ji (Ice Sea Relic).
Exactly the same.
"Senior... is that you?!"
...
...
(I'll adjust my biological clock tonight, so there are only two chapters! There will be another update before 12 noon tomorrow!)