Whoosh!
Boom!
A magic-infused arrow shot straight towards Hosen and his four companions, yet it soared past them, detonating just a short distance ahead. The resulting shockwave effectively blocked their escape route.
“What was that?” Kairan exclaimed, raising a hand to ward off the residual shockwave. He struggled against its force.
“What kind of being is this Merlin?” Horker’s face instantly paled. While the shockwave itself didn’t inflict significant damage, it was merely the aftermath of a single arrow. If one shockwave could force all five of them into a defensive stance, the consequences of a direct hit were simply unimaginable.
“You already know I can teleport, so why bother running?” Yue Wu materialized before Hosen and his group, the crimson longbow still clutched in his hand.
“Was that last attack from this weapon?” Kairan quickly noticed the bow in Yue Wu’s hand, radiating a potent magical aura.
“Are you referring to ‘Falling Star’ in my hand? That last strike was indeed a regular attack from Falling Star.” Yue Wu lowered his gaze, inspecting the longbow.
[Item: Falling Star]
[Grade: Divine Artifact]
[Type: Weapon (Bow)]
[Description: Legend says it was formed from a divine meteorite that fell from the heavens. Each arrow shot is like a falling star, its power amplified by the user’s magical strength.]
Even if Hosen had managed to block it, this weapon, ‘Falling Star,’ was something Yue Wu had acquired by defeating a boss in the Huaxia region of the Asian continent. Its attributes were exceptional, and its damage output was formidable. The only drawback was that no one else in the guild could wield it, so it had remained in storage until now.
“Don’t worry, I won’t use a divine artifact to finish you. I’ll deal with you little by little. Besides, I have hundreds of ways to instantly kill you.” Yue Wu put away Falling Star, replacing it with the Kirihitoha, a katana coated in a slow-acting corrosive poison.
“So, will you come at me one by one, or all at once? Personally, I suggest you attack together, otherwise, you’ll all die very quickly.” Drawing his blade, Yue Wu, amplified by various passive sword and blade skills, could instantly dispatch them. However, he had no intention of doing so; he wished to torment them, which was why he had chosen the Kirihitoha, imbued with its slow-acting corrosive poison.
“Aren’t you being a bit too arrogant?” Brunstin, unable to contain his temper, drew two scimitars. Just as he lunged forward, Hosen intercepted him.
“Don’t be so impulsive, Brunstin.”
“I really want to kill him right now!” Even restrained by Hosen, Brunstin’s intent to slay Yue Wu remained fierce.
“We should attack together for mutual support,” Kairan proposed. Hosen and Easton nodded in agreement.
“Hmph!” Though Brunstin harbored his dissatisfaction, he remained cooperative in this critical moment.
“Dark Wheel!” Hosen condensed magic into a sword, then swung it forward. A large, black gear-shaped projectile hurtled towards Yue Wu.
“Your combat strategy is terrible, truly terrible.” Yue Wu slowly raised his hand, casually deflecting Hosen’s attack. Yet, he wasn’t finished. The scabbard in Yue Wu’s left hand swept horizontally behind him, directly sending Easton flying.
“I’ll kill you!” Brunstin moved with extreme speed. Seizing the moment Yue Wu attacked Easton, he appeared at Yue Wu’s side and thrust his scimitar directly towards Yue Wu’s abdomen.
Brunstin, however, did not succeed. The scabbard in Yue Wu’s left hand suddenly snapped back, striking Brunstin’s face with considerable force. It sent him flying and left a vivid red mark on his cheek.
“Bone Dragon!” Seven skeletal dragons erupted from the ground beneath Yue Wu’s feet. However, they posed no real threat to him. Yue Wu wasn’t in a hurry to dispatch the bone dragons beneath him; from his elevated position, he simply gazed down at the five individuals below.
“Hellfire!” Kairan raised his hand, and a fiery red magic circle materialized before him. A spiraling flame shot out from its center, rapidly soaring towards Yue Wu.
“Bone Prison!” A purple magic circle appeared beneath Horker’s feet. Standing atop the bone dragon’s head, Yue Wu suddenly felt that what he was stepping on was no longer solid bone, but a white swamp. Two hands emerged from the mire, seizing Yue Wu’s wrists.
Boom!
Yue Wu watched helplessly as the Hellfire surged towards him, engulfing him in an explosion.
“It worked.” Horker flashed a triumphant smile.
“You truly are too weak.” Yue Wu’s voice echoed nearby, accompanied by the distinct sound of a blade slicing through the air.
Thwack!
Kairan instantly dropped to one knee, a blade having pierced his abdomen. Blood trickled down the blade’s tip. As Yue Wu withdrew the weapon, Kairan collapsed, writhing on the ground and howling in agony.
“Undead Army! Protect me!” Horker, utterly terrified, hastily summoned an undead army for protection. This time, it was a legion of one hundred thousand undead, composed of warriors, archers, throwers, mages, knights, and more. The spectacle was truly magnificent.
Despite the protection of his undead army, Horker could not escape his destined demise. Yue Wu ended Horker’s life by piercing his heart with a blade. He knew that undead summoners were immune to the Kirihitoha’s poison and could even recover injuries through their summoned undead, so a direct kill was the only viable option.
With Horker dead and Kairan’s body slowly corroding, the remaining three realized that victory was no longer within their grasp.
“You’re next.” In the blink of an eye, Yue Wu appeared to Brunstin’s left. Brunstin instinctively swung his blade to the left, but found no one there.
Thwack!
The blade pierced Brunstin’s abdomen. Yue Wu had chosen the abdomen because, unlike an arm, leg, or shoulder—which an opponent might sever to halt the poison’s spread—the abdomen offered no such easy sacrifice, short of abandoning one’s lower body entirely.
“Let’s go, quickly!” Hosen and Easton decided to flee.
“You won’t escape.” Yue Wu, having grown tired of the game, extended his right hand. The Ring of the Netherworld materialized on his finger, and rusted chains erupted from his palm.
Perhaps it was an assassin’s naturally keen sixth sense. Easton took control of Kairan and Brunstin, pulling them behind him. Ultimately, the chains extracted Kairan’s and Brunstin’s souls, but Hosen and Easton successfully escaped. Moreover, they had both witnessed firsthand Yue Wu tearing souls from bodies.
The escape of Easton and Hosen might, in the future, bring catastrophic disaster to Yue Wu’s identity as Merlin. As for what Easton and Hosen would do, that depended on their choices: would they announce to all continents that Merlin possessed soul magic, or would they use this leverage to force him into cooperation?
Regardless, the evil force known as the Serpent of Andumali had been utterly eradicated from the European continent, now merely a relic of the past.