Chapter Five: Making a Move

And so, the six of Night Feather made their way into the Taishan Forbidden Ground.

The map of this region was as though it had been soaked in crimson, that blood-red expanse seeming washed over by slaughter. Within this peculiar forbidden land, nearly eighty percent of the monsters took human form.

These creatures were cultists of a wicked church, and the very lore of this place told of a holy ground belonging to an evil faith that sacrificed living men.

The humanoid monsters here had all abandoned their own flesh, offering their bodies to demons from hell, and what now remained was a kind of ghostly, half-formed physique.

But this sacrifice was a drawn-out process, so most of the monsters here wore cloaks, beneath which their bodies seemed almost wraithlike. Some had already lost their skin entirely, exposing the hideously twisted network of veins beneath for all to see.

“How are we supposed to fight these things now? When these monsters are near death, they’ll simply choose to sacrifice themselves to that so-called demon. The monsters that emerge afterward are much harder to deal with, and there’s no experience or loot. And if a monster dies by sacrificing itself, there’s still no experience or loot.”

Cup of Wine Traps Heroes looked toward a special formation ahead in the Taishan Forbidden Ground, its scarlet glow flickering brilliantly. That formation was constantly drawing in the surrounding monsters.

“Actually, it’s simple. We just need to destroy that formation,” Night Feather said, pointing to the array beneath the cultists’ feet. “As long as we break it, they won’t be able to sacrifice themselves. Once we kill them, we’ll still get the normal drops.”

As he spoke, Night Feather took out the ancient zither and let it hover before him. Purple radiance transformed into several beams that shot toward the positions of several cultists in the distance, striking with perfect accuracy and destroying the formation on the ground. Then the dozen or so cultists within the array fell into a crazed berserk state, their eyes filled with a fierce and bloodthirsty light as they stared at Night Feather’s group before surging forward like a tide.

“Though it’ll throw these monsters into a brief frenzy, this is the only way to get their drops and experience,” Night Feather said. Then his hands swept across the zither strings, and as the music rang out, several more purple beams shot forth. The razor-sharp radiance condensed into blades; each one that struck a cultist would forcibly pin them in place, unable to move. Yellow Horn and Lowe exchanged a glance, stepped forward together, and blocked a portion of the cultists, engaging them in battle.

The cultists pinned by Night Feather did not rush to break free. Instead, a strange smile appeared on their faces as they looked at him. They then drew crimson-soaked silver needles from their sleeves and hurled them toward Night Feather. With his accelerated state activated, Night Feather merely tilted his body slightly and avoided every needle with ease. Then his left hand swept fiercely across the strings, the zither’s tone changing; this time, several cultists were forcibly immobilized, unable to perform any action.

“Don’t let their attacks hit you. The silver needles carry a corrosive poison that deals heavy damage over time. If it stacks high enough, it can kill you outright, so be careful. Don’t give them a chance to land a hit. Their AI is a little smarter than we expected.”

Night Feather’s warning came just in time, and under his reminder, everyone became more cautious as they dealt with the cultists.

“You mean we can still die even if our health isn’t fully gone?”

After hearing Night Feather’s reminder, Luo Feng asked the question aloud. Nearby, Yellow Horn had also been about to ask the same thing. By then, Luo Feng had joined the fight as well. Though his role was that of a healer, the damage he could still deal to these monsters was far from negligible. Yellow Horn moved closer to Luo Feng to protect him, and his attacks became even more forceful. A sweeping spear strike took down several cultists, and then the agile Yellow Horn darted back and forth among several more, his attack skills dazzling beyond measure.

“Exactly. That affliction will deal you damage over time. On the surface it may not look like much of a threat, but once it stacks to a certain point, it will take your life directly. Even a healer won’t be able to bring you back. So when you’re fighting them, be sure to handle them with care.”

“Understood.”

Everyone responded at once and dealt with the cultists before them with great caution. Qu Zheng stood beside Night Feather, and with him there, any silver needle hurled from any angle would be cleanly knocked down by his dagger, leaving not a single gap.

Night Feather’s group was fully engaged in battle when Cup of Wine Traps Heroes raised both hands. Black mist billowed continuously from around his body, that mist seeming like a sea of black fire at searing temperature. In the blink of an eye it surged outward into a vast cloud, and then as Cup of Wine Traps Heroes formed hand seals, a giant demonic beast condensed within that black inferno. Yet this time, the massive beast was unlike the one Night Feather and the others had seen before. No matter how one looked at it, this creature felt far stronger than the one they had encountered at the inn before, and its eyes flickered with a terrifying brilliance.

Clearly, this beast was already stronger than the one from last time, and the rank beside its name was also higher than before.

“So the monster summoned this time has already reached the elite rank of a boss instance monster. Can this also keep growing stronger?”

Night Feather naturally noticed the beast summoned by Cup of Wine Traps Heroes and thought to himself.

At the sight of it, many of the cultists gathered together and shot toward Cup of Wine Traps Heroes’ position like arrows.

Although the beast summoned by Cup of Wine Traps Heroes belonged to him, it was also treated as a target that monsters would attack first, ignoring aggro. Cup of Wine Traps Heroes’ body transformed into a mass of black mist, his movements suddenly becoming extremely swift, drifting unpredictably like a ghost as he appeared behind Night Feather. The summoned beast likewise lunged forward with explosive force, pinning one cultist beneath its claws and killing him instantly.

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