Chapter 207: Turnaround (2/4)

Chapter 207: The Turnaround (2/4)

Zhang Yuanqing paid no heed to the thick-skinned, tough-fleshed Corpse No. 1, sidestepping a single pace as if he had anticipated this all along. His hands simultaneously drew the Rioter's Gauntlets, his fist rocketing toward the Level 4 Yin Corpse's face like a cannon shell.

Bang!

"Lord Zhao" planted his feet and raised his elbow, accurately intercepting the incoming punch.

Amidst the sickening crunch, Zhang Yuanqing heard the sound of his own finger bones snapping.

A mournful, piercing flute melody rang out without cease, the continuous sonic assault preventing the Night Wanderers present from entering Night Roam.

Both active attacks and suffering blows would interrupt Night Roam.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

Explosive fist impacts detonated beside Zhang Yuanqing's ears, fists and elbows, feet and knees intertwining. "Lord Zhao" single-handedly held off both Corpse No. 1 and the Primordial Heavenly Venerate, relying on his Level 4 physique to forcibly withstand the trampling of the Red Dancing Shoes.

Zhang Yuanqing nearly took hits several times, but each time managed to barely entangle his opponent by relying on a Scout's foresight and a Fire Master's agility.

The Music Obsessive's flute is too disgusting... He and Lord Zhao both only have three points left. As long as Yuan Ting makes one wave of reports, he could directly eliminate both of them... While parrying, Zhang Yuanqing glanced toward the distance.

Yuan Ting was trapped in a Ghost Wall, charging left and right, now forward, now back.

Now is not a good time to report... Zhang Yuanqing helplessly chose to endure.

That guy Yuan Ting is being controlled to death by Sun Miaomiao. He can't exactly tell Sun Miaomiao: That guy is one of ours, let him go quick.

If he said that, Yuan Ting would never dare to backstab Lord Zhao.

Both are Level 3 Night Wanderers, but in terms of soft assets like Spirit Servants and Yin Corpses, Sun Miaomiao and Lord Zhao utterly crush the same-level Yuan Ting.

This is the difference between grassroots and second-generation spirit aristocrats.

On the other side, Sun Miaomiao pressed one hand to her head, enduring the pain, while the other whipped her lash, striking at the Music Obsessive and Lord Zhao's main body.

The lashes repeatedly struck empty air.

Zhang Yuanqing roared: "Old man, you awake yet?"

"Awake, awake." The Land God clambered from the ruins amidst the clatter of broken bricks and shattered tiles, rolling his neck, stretching his waist, cursing as he went: "That Zhao brat, no martial virtue, sneak attacking an old man, knocked me senseless."

As he spoke, he gripped his narrow-mouthed long saber and charged forth.

At the sight, Lord Zhao's main body shifted in aura, his skin turning cyan-black, roots of cyan-black veins bulging, eyes bloodshot, ten fingers extending sharp black claws.

With his aura skyrocketing, he took the initiative to meet the charge, clenching both fists, slamming them crossed before his chest.

Boom!

The narrow-mouthed long saber hacked against the arm armor, the impact like a terrible explosion, pulverizing all surrounding clods and tiles, blasting them outward.

With the Music Obsessive's flute assisting, the arm armor's enhancement, and the "Berserk" state activated, Lord Zhao fought one against two with divided focus, not the least bit disadvantaged.

Zhang Yuanqing tangled with the Yin Corpse on one side, while pondering the characteristics of each artifact on the other:

“The gloves' explosive effect is useless against a Saint-realm Pyromancer; aside from boosting my Agility, they deal no lethal damage. The Burst Pistol is the same. The Scarecrow could shatter Zhao Chenghuang's sanity, but no—he could casually hand the Tone-Deaf a relic that protects the spirit form, proving he isn't lacking in such items…”

“Unfurling the Yin-Yang Robe would make me untouchable, yet flames cannot harm a Yin Corpse, and water is even more useless—Yin Corpses are dead to begin with, they don't need to breathe… The Red Dancing Shoes' offense falls short; they can assist, but play no decisive role… The best way to deal with this Yin Corpse is like Jiang Jingwei did—break its limbs. But if I had that kind of combat power, I wouldn't need items in the first place…”

“Try going berserk? No, the pills are only enough for one dose. If I go berserk on the second stage, I won't be able to fight the final battle. Think of a way first; if all else fails, then go berserk and fight to the death…”

After thinking it through, Zhang Yuanqing suddenly realized: Why am I locking horns with Zhao Chenghuang?

As long as I eliminate the Tone-Deaf, this support, allowing Sun Miaomiao and me to recover, then join forces with the Earth God—would we still fear losing to him?

Besides, I still have Yuan Ting, this mole.

The thought struck him, and he immediately disengaged from the battlefield, leaving the Red Dancing Shoes and Undead No. 1 to entangle "Zhao Chenghuang," then turned and sprinted toward the Earth God, saying:

"Old man, give me the helmet. I'm going to slaughter the Tone-Deaf."

With the helmet, he could ignore the sound waves and use Night Roam to assault a Musician—no problem at all.

That breastplate had already been "heavily damaged" by the Earth God; he had too many ways to breach its defense now—Bloodthirsty Blade, the formation of the unfurled Yin-Yang Robe, or at worst, control the Tone-Deaf, seize the bamboo flute, and clamp the Silencer's Mask on him.

The ambush had to be carried out by him; the Earth God was a soil monster, lacking ambush skills. To kill the Tone-Deaf, he couldn't bypass Zhao Chenghuang.

The Earth God was vastly experienced; he instantly grasped the Primordial Heavenly Venerable's intent.

At once, he swung his saber to knock back Zhao Chenghuang, tore off the helmet, and hurled it to the ground.

The muddy earth split open, swallowing the helmet in one gulp; then, the ground at Zhang Yuanqing's feet bulged, and the soil pushed the helmet back up.

This effectively prevented any accidents like the enemy intercepting or snatching it.

Zhang Yuanqing picked up the helmet and put it on; instantly, his mind cleared, the stabbing pain originating from his soul vanished. The flute's melody remained mournful, but it could no longer affect him.

Hesitating no longer, he immediately cast Night Roam.

Seeing this, the Tone-Deaf's eyes sharpened, and he swiftly moved toward Zhao Chenghuang.

The Earth God stomped his foot, commanding: "Rise!"

The ground beneath the Tone-Deaf bulged, a wall of earth rising to stand between him and Zhao Chenghuang.

Zhang Yuanqing's figure manifested in turn, appearing before the Tone-Deaf, gripping the Bloodthirsty Blade with both hands and driving it into the crack in the breastplate.

The dim energy barrier instantly caved in, and amid violent trembling, finally collapsed into pure motes of light.

The Bloodthirsty Blade pierced the breastplate, stabbing into the Tone-Deaf's chest.

The Tone-Deaf could no longer maintain his playing; the flute music cut off abruptly.

A Musician unskilled in melee, with his abilities countered by the helmet, was as weak as a mere child before Zhang Yuanqing.

Yet the breastplate still provided excellent physical defense; the Bloodthirsty Blade wasn't long enough to pierce the heart and send him packing from the dungeon.

Zhang Yuanqing kicked the Tone-Deaf down, then planted a foot on his chest, about to finish him with a slash—when, at that very moment, he caught sight from the corner of his eye: on the other side of the earthen wall, Sun Miaomiao's figure emerged behind the Earth God, whipping her arm to draw out an illusory long whip.

Woo woo…

Amid the shrill ghostly wails, the Earth God's entire body stiffened, his face instantly twisting, his pupils turning vacant and scattered.

Sun Miaomiao didn't stop; another crack of the whip lashed out.

The Earth God froze rigid in place, his eyes vacant and dull.

He possessed an invincible defense at the Transcendent stage, yet Sun Miaomiao’s whip struck the soul directly, transcending the physical plane.

Witnessing this, Zhang Yuanqing’s pupils contracted violently. Without a second thought, he hurled the Bloodthirsty Blade at Sun Miaomiao with all his might.

He could not afford to worry about the Tone-Deaf; he sprinted toward the Earth God, attempting a rescue.

From a diagonal angle, a figure lunged forward—precisely Zhao Chenghuang’s Yin Corpse. Just as Deceased No. 1 had intercepted him moments ago, it now blocked Zhang Yuanqing’s path.

*Bang!* Zhang Yuanqing was knocked flying.

Mid-air, he saw Zhao Chenghuang drop his waist, sink his hips, fists clenched tight, drawn back to his waist.

*Hum!*

Fists riding a shockwave, they slammed heavily into the dazed Earth God’s chest.

The Earth God was instantly sent hurtling away, crashing into distant ruins, utterly motionless.

In the next second, his body vanished from the dungeon instance.

He had not "died" by Zhao Chenghuang’s hand; rather, his spirit had been scattered by Sun Miaomiao’s lash, eliminating him from the game.

Zhang Yuanqing hit the ground in sync, springing up instantly. He entered Night Roam, fleeing a vast distance before manifesting his body again.

He fixed a dark, grim gaze on Sun Miaomiao: "You played me?"

Sun Miaomiao stuck out the tip of her tongue, chuckling: "Sorry, sorry."

Zhao Chenghuang spoke indifferently: "Primordial Heavenly Venerable, you have lost. I told you, you cannot beat me."

Zhang Yuanqing drew a deep breath, his gaze sweeping over the two of them, and asked:

"When did you two form an alliance? Was all of this calculated by you?"

Zhao Chenghuang curled his lip:

"From the moment you exploited the reporting rule to screw everyone out of their points, I knew—I couldn't outplay you at the rules. Heaven Return Fire and the others surely thought the same. The logical move was to ally with you first, to eliminate us Taiyi Sect players.

"So I dispatched a Spirit Servant to find Sun Miaomiao, hoping she would feign an alliance with you, exploiting your desperation to win, lurking by your side. And you fell for it hook, line, and sinker."

Zhang Yuanqing looked at Sun Miaomiao, his voice low:

"So your fondness for Spirit Servants was fake?"

Zhao Chenghuang answered for her:

"Sun Miaomiao genuinely likes little Spirit Servants; that comes from the heart. You saw that yourself, didn't you? Otherwise, why would you have been willing to ally with her? As long as you wanted to win, you would never pass up that opportunity. As for whether you trusted her, it was irrelevant—because that was merely my first step."

Sun Miaomiao smiled:

"Primordial Heavenly Venerable, I asked you, didn't I? Whether you were willing to make a deal with me. I asked twice, and you refused both times. If you had agreed, I would definitely have helped you take down Zhao Chenghuang, no lies.

"Did you really think painting a pretty picture could make me turn on a fellow disciple? I'm not an idiot. Comparatively, what Zhao Chenghuang promised me smells far sweeter than your empty promises."

Zhang Yuanqing ignored her, asking: "What was the second step?"

Zhao Chenghuang said: "The second step was having Sun Miaomiao urge you to ally with the Earth God, dividing your Five Elements Alliance players. I then seized the momentum to propose an alliance with Heaven Return Fire; he would inevitably agree."

Zhang Yuanqing fell silent for a moment, then spoke:

"So you two were acting all along, pretending to be trapped by the 'Ghost Wall,' just to watch us slaughter each other and reap the benefits?"

Zhao Chenghuang nodded:

"Didn't expect you to hide your strength, dispatching Qingsongzi so easily. Sun Miaomiao had no choice but to feign having her illusion broken by me, dragging me into the fight to save Yinchi. Right, Yinchi served another purpose too—forcing you to borrow the helmet from the Land God."

No wonder this woman had been slacking off the whole time, looking like a pro but actually securing zero kills... Zhang Yuanqing realized:

"That artifact you lent him blocked my ability to use Spirit Servants and Corruption, all to steer me toward borrowing the helmet."

Zhao Chenghuang considered this his most brilliant move, and laughed:

"The Land God's defense is too strong; with the helmet protecting his spirit body, taking him down would be too hard. That's why Sun Miaomiao held back, waiting for an opening."

"Impressive, truly impressive!" Zhang Yuanqing sighed, gazing at Yuan Ting in the distance, and asked:

"Then why did you trap Yuan Ting..."