Duoze had only one thought in his mind at this moment:
This child must not be allowed to live!
"Frost-crystal soldier, kill her!" Duoze roared, his face twisted in a hideous grimace as he waved his hand.
Following his command, the frost-crystal soldier moved as fast as a startled rabbit. Its speed was several times faster than the shadow lizard, leaving a long trail of ice in its wake.
Gexi's anger flared at the sight.
"You dare?"
With a sharp cry, the four wings of her angel form unfurled behind her. She was about to intercept the frost-crystal soldier when she suddenly froze, sensing a searing aura of danger from her side.
She glanced sideways and saw the war-flame troll raising its giant flaming axe. With a momentum that seemed capable of shattering mountains, it lunged forward, intent on crushing Gexi in a single blow.
At the same time, Duoze was focusing all his attacks, prepared to risk everything to keep Gexi pinned down.
Gexi gritted her teeth in fury, pointing her crystal ball toward them as violent mana surged within it. "You think you two can stop me?"
She wasn't joking; it was a fact. Without the frost-crystal soldier to harass her from the flank, Duoze and the war-flame troll alone could not withstand her full power in a direct confrontation.
But Duoze no longer cared.
A top-tier mage could easily take down two spirit-rank opponents; how could he possibly give such a terrifying monster room to grow?
He was willing to pay a heavy price just to ensure that girl died here!
Gexi saw that Duoze was dead set on stopping her, and though she ground her teeth, she was helpless to do anything else.
She channeled all her rage into a burst of power, gathering it all into the crystal ball.
"True Life-Devouring Flame!"
As a pillar of light, even thicker than before, blasted outward, Grinya Loran felt a sudden chill.
Her body abruptly stiffened, making her unable to move.
It wasn't a suppression caused by mental pressure, but rather frost condensation that had slowed her movements. The shadow lizard beside her was similarly slowed.
"Oh no!"
Grinya Loran's expression turned grim. She could only use her peripheral vision to watch the frost-blue shadow draw closer and closer.
The blade of frost was about to tear through the air!
Yet she could hardly make a single move.
"Trying to handle a saint-rank with this body is still too much."
"If only... if only Lord Xun Shen were here..."
Grinya Loran recalled the time in the alley when she faced Gexi. The evil god had controlled her body to perform a very strange evasion maneuver. That movement had left a deep impression on her because, at that moment, she felt her body become ethereal, as if she didn't exist in this world.
The evil god called it invincibility frames. She didn't understand what that meant, but she knew that movement could dodge any attack in the world.
Including the icy twin blades of this frost-crystal soldier!
She wanted to perform that move, but it was simply too difficult.
She could mimic the form, but she couldn't grasp the essence.
If the evil god were still here, it would surely have a way to dodge this attack.
But she couldn't.
However, she had another way.
Purple stars appeared out of thin air at that moment, erupting with a brilliant radiance. The frost-crystal soldier dazed for a moment at the sight, its movements involuntarily slowing.
A purple Life Star!
Grinya Loran's expression turned solemn.
Life Star skill, Air-Piercing Sword Dance, activate!
In the next second, the light from the Life Star suddenly extinguished. Grinya Loran blinked, not quite reacting to what had happened.
But then, she felt her limbs gradually slipping from her control, and her consciousness began to drift.
This familiar feeling immediately made her think of one thing:
The evil god was back!
She was overjoyed.
This was great. Although the Life Star skill had failed to activate, seeing the evil god's invincibility frames again would be an even greater surprise for her.
It seemed the evil god understood her thoughts and had stopped her from using the Life Star skill because it intended to teach her personally.
Grinya Loran focused her mind, preparing to feel the sensation with all her heart and soul.
...
"What the hell!"
As soon as Lu Xun logged into the game, he saw two icy-blue sword lights coming straight for him. He was startled, nearly jumping out of his chair.
Was there something wrong with this game? Every time he logged in, he was thrust into a battle. Why did this game always enter some bizarre plot the moment he joined?
And it was another face-to-face ambush. Fortunately, he was a veteran of many battles, and his reaction speed far exceeded that of an ordinary person. At a time like this, all he had to do was lightly press the shift key to perfectly dodge the opponent's attack.
So, although Lu Xun was startled, he didn't panic once he calmed down.
He curled his lips into a cold smile. "Trying to sneak attack me?"
"How naive..."
Before he could finish his sentence, a message notification suddenly popped up on the interface, occupying nearly half the screen.
Lu Xun froze at the sight.
...
"Trying to sneak attack me?"
"How naive..."
After hearing the evil god's incredibly confident voice, Grinya Loran's consciousness couldn't help but relax completely.
She knew it. This kind of attack was beneath the evil god; it could easily...
Grinya Loran was sent flying. Her body soared through the air like a fish leaping over a dragon gate, though she looked a bit dazed and bewildered.
Although there was no pain, her head felt heavy and dizzy.
Perhaps it was because the attack had been too fast.
And in her blurred vision, she seemed to see her father's and mother's faces in the blue sky, smiling at her.
There was also Uncle Rust from next door, and Phyllisia, Bessie, Albert...
She seemed to see everyone's faces.
She recalled the little moments she had shared with her friends, playing in the fields, stealing grapes from Uncle Weberhan's house, and accidentally falling into the ditch only to be scolded mercilessly by her parents when she got home...
All the memories of the past surfaced in her mind one by one.
A peaceful smile appeared on her face:
"That damn evil god!"
...
"What the fuck!!!"
Inside the rented room, Lu Xun looked at his emptied health bar and let out a roar so loud the ceiling seemed to vibrate!
Dammit, he had just revived!
He was insta-killed the moment he revived!
What the fuck am I playing!
Did this stupid game have to pick the exact moment he went online to pop up a message!
Stupid game, fuck you!
Lu Xun's mental state crumbled as he cursed incessantly at the black-and-white screen in front of him.
On the monochrome display, only two choices awaited him.
One was to select another character to start the game, which was equivalent to abandoning the current character.
The other, just like last time, was the resurrection button.
Last time, Lu Xun had chosen so quickly that he hadn't noticed, but there was a line of small text below the resurrection button: Consumes 5% Faith Energy (Insufficient) or consumes a resurrection item (Current Quantity: 1).
Lu Xun's cursing gradually quieted down.
He didn't know what Faith Energy was, but it seemed he had used it all up when he revived the character last time.
But this resurrection item... where did he get a resurrection item?
He silently minimized the resurrection interface first. The message interface that had popped up earlier was still on the main screen since he hadn't closed it.
【Andrew Wayne has completed the main story quest: Rise of the Bloodflame, Part 1】
【Obtained Essence of Bond Faith (This gacha pull is guaranteed to yield a purple-quality item), Destiny Soul Essence (Can be used to upgrade Life Star quality), Golden Life Soul (Can be used to upgrade character quality)】
【Andrew Wayne has completed the side quest: Dark Magic Wave】
【Obtained one Resurrection Coin (Can be used on a deceased character; restores the character to peak form upon resurrection)】
【Andrew Wayne has completed the side quest: Soul of Arcana】
【Obtained Arcane Woven Scale (Purple equipment)】
Lu Xun stared at the long string of message notifications on the interface, falling into a long silence.
He licked his lips with a hint of bitterness, wanting to say something, but he held it back.
He remained speechless for a long time.
Rate on N.U.
