Chapter 32: Counter-kill and Hidden Cards
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“Old Gu, don’t be afraid! I’m here! Trust me, I can turn this around!”
Sword in both hands, Lin Yuan shouted as he charged forward, slashing at the black tentacles formed from condensed death energy.
“Lin Yuan! Stop!”
Gu Chen’s expression tightened. He lunged forward, grabbed Lin Yuan by the scruff like a chick, and halted his clumsy assault.
Good grief!
Turn things around?
You’re here to feed yourself to the enemy, aren’t you?
With Lin Yuan’s pitiful health, the slightest graze from one of those black tentacles would kill him on the spot.
Gu Chen set Lin Yuan down. Just then, Lin Qingqing and Su Ran arrived from behind.
“What are you two doing here?” Gu Chen asked irritably.
“To help you!” Lin Yuan answered at once.
“Help me?”
“You couldn’t beat it, could you?” Lin Qingqing said.
“Who?”
“You.”
“What about me?”
“You can’t beat it!”
Gu Chen was so angry that he laughed. “Who said I couldn’t?”
Su Ran once again wore that clear-eyed yet foolish expression. “Didn’t you pull both your summoned beasts back?”
“I was dodging its skills!” Gu Chen said, speechless. “The boss is in a sacrificial state, so its skills have been enhanced. I couldn’t very well leave my summoned beasts there to take the damage, could I?”
Gu Chen looked at the three of them and finally realized that something seemed off about their numbers.
“By the way, where’s Wu Ziyi?” Gu Chen asked.
The moment he spoke, Lin Yuan, Lin Qingqing, and Su Ran exchanged glances.
“Uh…”
“Well, about Wu Ziyi…”
“Actually, you can’t entirely blame us…”
[Party Information]
[Party member Wu Ziyi — Fighter — has left the party]
At that moment, everyone received the notification that Wu Ziyi had withdrawn. Lin Yuan then explained what had happened.
“Forget it. If he wants to leave, let him. It was his choice.”
Gu Chen did not take it to heart. Instead, he turned to Lin Qingqing and Su Ran.
“Why did you stay?”
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Lin Qingqing thought for a moment. “You were acting far too calmly. You didn’t look like someone trapped in a desperate situation. I felt that you still had another trump card.”
“Oh? What gave you that impression?”
Lin Qingqing’s gaze swept around before finally pointing toward the Blood Clan Grand Duke, whose health had fallen to a sliver.
“It. In the past, whenever the Blood Clan Grand Duke was injured, you would heal it immediately. But just now, when it was reduced to critical health, you never once tended to it.”
“I can’t figure out what you’re trying to do, but it’s unusual. It isn’t like your usual style.”
A trace of approval appeared in Gu Chen’s eyes. “Congratulations. You’re right.”
Lin Qingqing’s observation had been remarkably sharp. Gu Chen had deliberately kept the Blood Clan Grand Duke at critical health.
After all, it was a legendary-grade summoned beast. If it performed no better than the Nightmare Overlord, an epic-grade summoned beast, that would be far too pathetic.
After evolving, the Blood Clan Grand Duke had gained a legendary talent: [Blood Frenzy].
[Blood Frenzy: When the Blood Clan Grand Duke’s health falls below 30%, it may unleash an anger enhancement, doubling all attributes for one minute.]
How should “doubling all attributes” be understood?
Those who are bad at mathematics are in luck.
Put simply, its attributes became three times their original values: the original one plus an additional two.
That was Gu Chen’s final trump card.
The reason the Fallen Witch was so powerful came down to three things: high attributes, enormous health, and its sacrificial state.
The Blood Clan Grand Duke’s average attributes were already approaching 180. Tripling them would cause its combat power to soar to a terrifying level.
Even while the Fallen Witch remained in its sacrificial state, it could still be crushed outright.
Screech!
A sound that set one’s teeth on edge rang out as a tentacle of black mist suddenly struck the Nightmare Overlord.
Although the Nightmare Overlord was an energy life-form with exceptionally high resistance to physical attacks, these tentacles were formed from black mist imbued with the power of death. They dealt elemental damage.
The instant a tentacle touched the Nightmare Overlord, it split into dozens of identical tendrils that wrapped around it layer by layer.
Corroded by the power of death, the Nightmare Overlord’s health plummeted. In an instant, it lost two-thirds of its life.
At that moment, obeying Gu Chen’s command, the Blood Clan Grand Duke charged without hesitation toward the Fallen Witch at the altar.
Whoosh!
The aura of death surged forward like a raging tide. The Blood Clan Grand Duke transformed into a streak of dark-red bloodlight and plunged straight into it without dodging.
“Roar!”
The instant it came into contact with the aura of death, the Blood Clan Grand Duke’s health fell below 30%.
Its talent activated.
Brilliant bloodlight burst from its body. An unprecedented and terrifying power surged from the depths of its bloodline, filling every corner of its body.
The bloodlight quickly drew inward. In the next moment, a humanoid figure with a hideous face and roaring blood-red flames wreathing its body appeared beside the Nightmare Overlord.
The black tentacles rushed toward it. Yet the moment they touched the Blood Clan Grand Duke, the bloodflames covering its body incinerated them, causing them to vanish into thin air.
This was not because bloodflames countered the power of death.
It was absolute overwhelming force.
The Nightmare Overlord seized the brief respite, flashed away, and vanished into the dreamscape.
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The Blood Clan Grand Duke transformed into a streak of bloodshadow and charged straight toward the Fallen Witch at the altar.
A wary expression appeared on the Fallen Witch’s face. Even in its sacrificial state, the Blood Clan Grand Duke now made it feel an intense threat of death.
[Withering]
[Wraith Impact]
Perhaps because of the sacrificial enhancement, the Fallen Witch’s skills seemed to have no cooldown at all. One after another, attacks wrapped in overwhelming death energy blasted mercilessly toward the Blood Clan Grand Duke.
The Blood Clan Grand Duke neither dodged nor retreated. It charged forward and endured the attacks head-on.
A battle of attrition!
As fierce and domineering as ever—that was its style of combat.
One skill after another struck the Blood Clan Grand Duke, and they did indeed inflict damage.
But in its [Blood Frenzy] state, its defense, constitution, and health regeneration had all risen explosively.
It could not avoid damage altogether, but every wound healed at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Its health bar fell, then rose; rose, then fell, repeatedly fluctuating while remaining around 30%.
At the same time, the Blood Clan Grand Duke raised both arms. A black muzzle and a silver muzzle locked onto the Fallen Witch ahead.
Bang! Bang! Bang!…
Bullets wreathed in bloodflames poured forth, dense as rain and nearly forming a solid torrent. Like an enraged dragon, they unleashed a heaven-shaking, earth-splitting roar as they exploded against the Fallen Witch.
“Ah—!”
The Fallen Witch shrieked as its health plunged. In a single second, thirty to forty thousand points of life were stripped away.
Around the altar, the black tentacles formed from the aura of death showed faint signs of collapsing.
At that moment, Lin Yuan and the others were utterly stunned.
The Blood Clan Grand Duke’s savage, tyrannical assault struck the Fallen Witch, yet it felt as though every blow had landed directly in their hearts, leaving all three speechless.
What was happening?
Why had the Blood Clan Grand Duke become even more ferocious as its health decreased?
It had saved the Nightmare Overlord with one move, then crushed the Fallen Witch in its sacrificial state with the next.
This battle was becoming impossible to understand.
The three exchanged glances, staring at one another in bewilderment.
They truly could not understand it.
Still, that did not stop delighted, schadenfreude-filled smiles from spreading across their faces.
Because someone was about to regret their decision.