Chapter 70: Victory and Defeat Decided

"Hmm?"

Three Years Younger frowned slightly, while Night Feather and the other two standing at the edge of the sacred stage looked somewhat surprised.

"I didn't expect the puppet summoned by this guy to actually be able to prevent the use of substitution techniques. In that case, forcing out the slow debuff state makes this move quite brilliant," Old Hu said, touching his chin and pondering for a moment after figuring out what was happening.

"If that's the case, Three Years Younger will probably be surprised, especially since he originally held a steady advantage," Night Feather said with a slight upward curve of his lips, though the surprise in his eyes still lingered.

At this moment, Three Years Younger was still caught in the slow debuff state. Seeing this, Drinking Wine to Troubled Heroes stepped forward and flashed directly past Three Years Younger, a terrifying black light materializing above him.

"Witch Extinction."

A ghost with a ferocious face emerged behind Drinking Wine to Troubled Heroes, who then targeted Three Years Younger's right hand. Instantly, an illusory giant wolf materialized behind Three Years Younger, its terrifying fangs glinting faintly with cold light as if ready to tear everything apart, claws bared as it lunged straight at Three Years Younger.

Drinking Wine to Troubled Heroes brought his palms together, and three black shadows shot violently toward Three Years Younger's position. The moment the three shadows collided with him, Three Years Younger's form was instantly transformed into a vast sheet of black flames, which seemed to swallow him whole in the blink of an eye.

"Witch Spirit."

A look of anticipation appeared on Huang Hong's face as he watched the battle on the sacred stage and muttered to himself, "Did that injure Three Years Younger?"

However, the very next instant, the black flames that had engulfed Three Years Younger erupted in a violent explosion. The black fire instantly dispersed in all directions, blowing apart in the wake of the explosive shockwave.

Three Years Younger swiftly utilized the explosion to burst out from the flames, his health bar depleted by ten percent. Right in front of him, the scene began to distort slightly, as if the space before his eyes was about to be torn directly in half.

Not far away, the charging figure of Drinking Wine to Troubled Heroes vanished completely from Three Years Younger's line of sight, as though he had melted into the void. But the next moment, a black shadow darted straight out of the slightly distorted space in front of Three Years Younger, colliding violently with him.

Boom, boom, boom—

"Hehe, I've caught you!"

A faint smile appeared on the face of Drinking Wine to Troubled Heroes, and that smile carried a distinct teasing undertone.

Three Years Younger couldn't help feeling a bit irritated. Having originally held an absolute advantage, he was being slowly caught up to by Drinking Wine to Troubled Heroes step by step. This alone was enough to fill Three Years Younger's heart with a thick intent to kill. Under the weight of this murderous aura, no matter how formidable Drinking Wine to Troubled Heroes might be, Three Years Younger would not give him a chance to turn the tables.

"Is that so? Are you so sure you've caught me?"

Beneath the icy smile on Three Years Younger's face, his expression gradually turned ferocious.

With that, Three Years Younger abruptly raised his left hand, instantly grabbing Drinking Wine to Troubled Heroes by the neck, while the sacred martial spear in his right hand thrust fiercely toward Drinking Wine to Troubled Heroes's left chest. However, at that very moment, a layer of black flames spread across Drinking Wine to Troubled Heroes's body, transforming into a robe of black fire. A terrifying black flame phantom split directly away from Drinking Wine to Troubled Heroes's body, while the body that Three Years Younger had grabbed suddenly morphed into a battle soldier draped in a magic robe, its entire form radiating an eerie green glow whose intense heat gradually seeped into Three Years Younger's palm.

Boom—

The battle soldier holding onto Three Years Younger exploded instantly. Three Years Younger was not directly caught in the blast; instead, he chose to use a substitution technique to deflect the attack. His true body retreated rapidly, landing at an even faster speed right at the edge of the sacred stage, where he scanned his surroundings.

Following the explosion, the figure of Drinking Wine to Troubled Heroes had completely vanished from the sacred stage—vanished utterly, to the point where even the ambient aura on the stage had grown thin, as if he had already left the arena entirely.

"Planning to go invisible on me, huh? Do you think you can hide?"

Three Years Younger said coldly. Against a class capable of stealth, other classes typically possessed specialized anti-stealth skills. In a flash, Three Years Younger swung the sacred martial spear in his hand, unleashing a sweeping fan-shaped attack forward as layers of crescent ripples radiated outward.

This fan-shaped attack did not deal massive damage, and its expansion speed was not particularly fast, but its coverage was extremely vast, blanketing the entire sacred stage. Since Drinking Wine to Troubled Heroes had utilized a stealth skill, Three Years Younger had no choice but to use such an area-of-effect ability to force him to reveal himself.

Under such a stealth state, movement was restricted; the moment one moved, the opponent would spot them. Of course, while such a skill could be dodged, the act of moving would ultimately reveal the target's trajectory to the opponent, who could then launch a direct attack.

However, a strange scene unfolded.

After the fan-shaped attack swept across the entire sacred stage, Three Years Younger still failed to see Drinking Wine to Troubled Heroes materialize, nor was there any distortion in the scenery caused by movement on the stage. In other words, Drinking Wine to Troubled Heroes seemed to have completely evaporated.

"Where on earth is this guy hiding? Could he be standing in place and taking the attack head-on?"

Huang Hong furrowed his brow slightly, clearly puzzled as to why Drinking Wine to Troubled Heroes, despite being in stealth, hadn't appeared under this wide-range detection skill. Taking the attack purely with his body would allow the opponent to receive feedback from the skill, thereby roughly locating Drinking Wine to Troubled Heroes's position. Yet right now, it was obvious Three Years Younger had received no skill feedback, meaning Drinking Wine to Troubled Heroes had seemingly vanished into thin air.

"No, this guy isn't hiding anywhere. He's been standing in the most dangerous place all along."

Night Feather looked over at the sacred stage, narrowed his eyes slightly, and said with a smile.

Back on the sacred stage, Three Years Younger frowned and muttered to himself, "I couldn't have missed any spot. How could something like this happen? Can stealth skills really allow someone to endure an attack head-on without being detected?"

Deeming such a possibility absurd, Three Years Younger launched another attack. But this time, after the fan-shaped assault once again blanketed the entire sacred stage, he found that nothing had changed; Drinking Wine to Troubled Heroes's location still remained undiscovered.

Sensing that he might have genuinely overlooked a blind spot, Three Years Younger slowly turned around and stood near the edge, suspecting where Drinking Wine to Troubled Heroes might be...

Yet just as Three Years Younger experienced this wave of doubt, the figure of Drinking Wine to Troubled Heroes slowly materialized right behind him. The teasing smile on his face was brimming with mockery as he spoke, "I'm right here, young master."

The moment those words echoed, a flash of realization crossed Three Years Younger's eyes as he thought, "Not good!" He instantly activated "Overclocking Mode." Simultaneously, the moment his own voice finished, Drinking Wine to Troubled Heroes also triggered "Overclocking Mode." The two of them engaged in combat with both parties operating in "Overclocking Mode" at the same time.

However, because Three Years Younger held an absolute advantage in terms of agility, he managed to spin around first and unleash a fierce attack directly at Drinking Wine to Troubled Heroes. The sacred martial spear in his hand struck Drinking Wine to Troubled Heroes's shoulder, and his right hand turned illusory as spear images flickered back and forth. A continuous sound of tearing rustled through the air, making it clear that Three Years Younger was executing a rapid succession of attacks. Due to the high temperature caused by friction, a plume of rolling, scorching steam began to rise from Three Years Younger's right arm, and a faint glow enveloped his limb.

Eight distinct spear marks left by the sacred martial spear instantly etched themselves across the chest of Drinking Wine to Troubled Heroes. His health bar plummeted sharply, while the burning debuff continuously chipped away at his vitality, its stacks having accumulated to a staggering eight layers.

Drinking Wine to Troubled Heroes gritted his teeth, his form transforming into a cloak of black flames. The black spear in his hand underwent a distinct and striking transformation; a fatal seven-foot scythe materialized in his palm. Above his brow, a hooded skeleton imprint emerged, exuding a faint aura of annihilation—an aura steeped in a dense sense of death and destructive power.

Swish—

Drinking Wine to Troubled Heroes took a single step forward, shooting out like a terrifying black shadow. He passed straight through Three Years Younger's body, his right hand flashing through Three Years Younger's torso, while the seven-foot scythe in his hand swept outward, dragging along an illusory shadow whose appearance mirrored that of Three Years Younger himself.

"Witch Ghost: Soul-Harvesting Judgment."

The illusory figure of Three Years Younger was impaled directly upon the seven-foot scythe of Drinking Wine to Troubled Heroes. A faint cold light poured continuously into the illusory body, and as Drinking Wine to Troubled Heroes raised his right hand, slowly lifting the scythe high, Three Years Younger's illusory form instantly shattered into pieces.

Meanwhile, Three Years Younger's true body, standing not far away, let out a muffled groan and spat out a mouthful of fresh blood. He staggered backward, looking at Drinking Wine to Troubled Heroes with a gaze carrying a profound trace of wariness from the depths of his eyes. By this point, twenty percent of Three Years Younger's health had been shaved away.

The two turned simultaneously to face each other, dense murderous intent burning in the depths of both their gazes.

Swish—

Swish—

Two figures shot forward, charging directly at one another, only for their forms to cross paths in a fraction of a second.

"I said I would let you witness my wrath!"

Drinking Wine to Troubled Heroes slowly turned around, the seven-foot scythe in his hand appearing dazzlingly bright at that moment.

This was one of the trump-card state skills from the customized talent tree that Drinking Wine to Troubled Heroes had researched himself. Displaying it now was undoubtedly a way of proving to Three Years Younger and the RG Club behind him that he was not limited to just two combat forms.

At this moment, Drinking Wine to Troubled Heroes could truly be described as a pure-attack Witch-class player in the truest sense of the word. Without a doubt, he had carved out his own unique growth path within the Witch discipline.

Three Years Younger looked at Drinking Wine to Troubled Heroes, a look of incomprehension on his face. At the same time, a sudden commotion broke out in the spectator stands.

As jeering and noisy laughter rang out one after another, drawing all eyes toward him, Three Years Younger's brow furrowed slightly. He looked down to find a trail of black flames clinging to his armor, continuously burning away at it.

It appeared that Drinking Wine to Troubled Heroes had indeed snatched back the advantage that had previously been widened. The gap between the two was now undoubtedly balanced, with Drinking Wine to Troubled Heroes even faintly seizing the absolute upper hand.

Realizing this, Three Years Younger felt a surge of anger rise within him, and the cold chill in his eyes grew increasingly piercing.

The curve of Three Years Younger's lips took on a rather ferocious angle—a savage smile that seemed to signal the making of a final decision.

"Do you really think you've secured the advantage?"

Three Years Younger's voice was exceptionally low, yet the murderous intent in his eyes required no further explanation.

"Hehe, I never assumed I had the advantage. Besides, if my guess is correct, the outcome has already been decided, hasn't it?"

Drinking Wine to Troubled Heroes's seven-foot scythe dissipated, and the black flame robe he wore gradually faded away as well. He crossed his arms over his chest, looking at Three Years Younger with a smile.

"Hehe, in that case... farewell!"

Three Years Younger let out a cold snort. Instantly, the spear marks left by the sacred martial spear on Drinking Wine to Troubled Heroes's body flashed with a dazzling crimson light.

If this impending explosion detonated and successfully injured Drinking Wine to Troubled Heroes, it would undoubtedly trigger his death-immunity effect. Following that, Three Years Younger could immediately unleash a fatal strike to annihilate Drinking Wine to Troubled Heroes on the sacred stage in one fell swoop.

The pupils of Drinking Wine to Troubled Heroes contracted sharply as he watched the crimson light flare across his body!