Chapter 35: Chapter 32: Combat Shackles

A look of disbelief flashed in Mad Dog’s eyes as he instinctively clutched his throat. His figure gradually faded away and disappeared.

It seems that in the instant the blade reached his body, Mad Dog realized the situation and chose to leave the Boundary Land, saving his life.

“Be careful—” Word Spirit Master Qilin, with the highest Spirit Attribute, couldn’t even finish the warning before seeing Mad Dog forced to retreat. A slim figure charged towards him, dagger slashing wildly!

After the intense battle, Qilin didn’t even have enough Spiritual Power to cast a Shield of Truth on himself. He could only rely on his painstakingly practiced Level 3 Fighting Specialization, fighting while retreating.

Golden Bull quickly stripped the gear off the Skeleton Mage Leader and tossed it into the Storage Space. He then charged forward in big strides, wanting to assist Qilin. However, a point of light shot from afar, transforming into a field of twisted brilliance, trapping Golden Bull as if in a mire, slowing him down significantly.

Qilin had to face the terrifying enemy alone; the opponent was obviously specialized in Agility, attacking in close combat like the wind! With similar fighting specializations, Qilin had no strength to resist, suffering continuous injuries. Soon, three or four deep, bone-revealing blood scars appeared on his body!

The physical pain was secondary; what truly chilled Qilin to the core was the message he received from the Spirit Realm Will.

[An unknown enemy’s ordinary attack dealt 27 points of Sharp Damage to you, and you have been poisoned, currently at: 1 layer. Poison Effect: Lose 3 Life Value per second.]

[The unknown enemy’s skill: Death Cross, dealt you 19 and 21 points of Sharp Damage; you have been poisoned, currently at: 3 layers. Poison Effect: Lose 9 Life Value per second.]

Such a domineering poison, it can even stack!

Qilin realized something was wrong; who knows how many layers this poison could stack! With just over a hundred points of Life Value, enduring two more hits might result in a poisonous death!

Even though there were antidote artifacts in the Storage Space, Qilin decided not to struggle and instead directly retreated, vanishing in a flash of light. The opponent’s sneak attack had already “eliminated” Mad Dog, causing the loss of their strongest member; continuing the fight would only lead to defeat.

On the frozen river, in front of the tomb, only Golden Bull remained.

He finally managed to escape the slow zone, only to be blocked by the short and thin Awakened wielding a dagger. Golden Bull glanced back, noticing a woman in a white magic robe holding a magic wand with a cold expression not far away.

“Who are you?” Golden Bull asked hoarsely. He realized that neither enemy activated their Spiritual Cameras, obviously planning this for a long time, even at the risk of violating the military rules for the Boundary Land!

“Don’t ask what you shouldn’t. If you want to keep going in the Boundary Land, obediently hand over your Spiritual Camera,” the short Awakened said with a hoarse voice.

Golden Bull shuddered: “What do you want the Spiritual Camera for?”

“What do you think?” the short Awakened sneered.

“You want to deal with Bai Pu?”

Golden Bull considered the possibility. His Spiritual Camera was a standard issue from the military, which, aside from having a tracking function and viewing the locations of several friends, didn’t seem to have any other uses.

He also confirmed the identities of the opponents, which must be members of the Superstar Alliance! He had heard a little about the enmity between Bai Pu and the Superstar Alliance.

“Don’t worry, in the Boundary Land, we can’t kill people. It’s just to teach him a lesson.”

The short Awakened opened his palm, which contained two quietly lying Spiritual Cameras. He coolly said, “Even if you don’t give yours, the cameras left by your two companions are enough for us to track Bai Pu’s location.”

“Then why do you still want mine…?”

Golden Bull stopped abruptly halfway through his question, realizing the opponent’s intention—

To prevent him from sending information to warn Bai Pu!

If he handed over the Spiritual Camera, Bai Pu would be found by the two and expelled from the Boundary Land; if not, he would be expelled on Bai Pu’s behalf!

The reason they weren’t attacking him and forcibly taking his camera was probably because as a Tank Profession with thick skin and flesh, they had no confidence in killing him instantly. If he managed to send a warning to Bai Pu, all their efforts would be for naught.

Golden Bull struggled internally for a few seconds before obediently handing over his Spiritual Camera.

“Scram.” The short Awakened waved his hand.

Golden Bull cautiously retreated, backing away to a safe distance before turning and fleeing.

The short Awakened ignored him, lowering his head to examine the three Spiritual Cameras.

“Master Fish Intestines, did you succeed?” the woman in the white magic robe asked.

“Yes, we saw with our own eyes that all three of them added ’Bai Pu’ as a friend,” the short Awakened spoke hoarsely, emphasizing “Bai Pu” with a file-like hatred.

The woman in the white magic robe spoke with resentment, “It’s all that damned test subject Bai Pu’s fault that we’re in this situation. If only he had obediently let us capture him! But dared to scheme against us, resulting in the loss of our precious anchor, simply unaffordable!”

The short Awakened glanced at her coldly, “Don’t forget the vengeance for Ju Que.”

These two were the remaining members of the Poison Thorn Squad: Fish Intestines and Hanguang!

A flash of shame appeared on Hanguang’s pretty face as she said, “Of course I remember, but Ju Que is already dead, and we still have to live. If we don’t eliminate Bai Pu, we’ll never recover.”

The Poison Thorn Squad had lost their Evolutionary Source Blood and, by agreement, had to compensate, but how could they afford that?

Fortunately, General Manager Xiao Wu of the Superpower Group already declared that as long as Bai Pu dies, their debt for the Source Blood would be nullified!

Upon Bai Pu’s death, the Superpower Group, under clinical medical protocol, had the right to acquire Bai Pu’s body. The lost Source Blood could naturally be extracted once again.

Of course, the actions of the Poison Thorn Squad’s two were personal vendettas and unrelated to the Superpower Group.

Fish Intestines peered at the location on the Spiritual Camera, squinting his eyes, “Bai Pu is in the Black Mist Valley. Remember, this time our target isn’t to force Bai Pu out of the Boundary Land, but to kill with one strike!”

Hanguang was surprised, “In the Boundary Land, we can’t kill him, right? Wasn’t the target this time to expel him?”

The usual training areas for Awakened included three: the Wilderness Area, the Boundary Land, the Spirit Realm Plane.

The Wilderness Area, part of the real world’s wilderness, is teeming with countless Mutant Monsters and various bizarre Demonized Demonic Plants. Grudges among Awakened are often settled in the Wilderness Area, as long as there’s no evidence, and the bodies are destroyed!

Spirit Realm Planes have main task restrictions, making it hard for Awakened to get away. Most escape tools have a 10-second uninterrupted preparation limit!

But only in the Boundary Land, it’s inconvenient to kill. An attacked Awakened need only a thought to leave the Boundary Land and return to the real world! Just like Mad Dog and Qilin did moments ago.

Thus, Hanguang initially learned the plan was to expel Bai Pu from the Boundary Land, leaving him with nowhere to go and forcing him to enhance his power in the Wilderness Area or Spirit Realm, which was the right opportunity to strike.

Fish Intestines spoke nonchalantly, “You can rest assured, I was prepared for this long ago!” He set the item in his hand to an exhibition state as he spoke.

[Combat Shackles: Bloody Artifact. Can be used on Awakened, causing the user and the target’s spaces to be in a static state, during which neither can return from Spirit Realm to reality nor transport from reality to the Spirit Realm. Duration: 60 seconds.]

The Boundary Land, being a convergence of reality and the Spirit Realm, is also affected by the Combat Shackles’ effect.

“A Bloody Artifact!” Hanguang exclaimed, “It’s my first time seeing… such an artifact; it’s strictly prohibited to use in the Boundary Land, right?”

“Are you scared?” Fish Intestines asked coldly.

“No, I’m not…” Hanguang replied with some lack of confidence.

“That’s why I didn’t tell you initially.” Fish Intestines’ eyes glimmered with a deep light, “It’s not about whether we want to use forbidden artifacts, but about having no choice! Can you afford to repay the Evolutionary Source Blood?”

Hanguang shook her head dejectedly.

“Finish this job, and we’ll head to Southeast Asia to lay low for a while,” Fish Intestines said calmly.

Hearing there was a fallback plan, Hanguang slightly relaxed.

She seemed to realize her earlier weakness and quickly tried to make amends, offering advice, “Master Fish Intestines, should we use this Spiritual Camera to send a message to Bai Pu, so he can meet up with his friends?”

“No. Bai Pu and those three are just part of the same organization; they’re not that close. Otherwise, if they were fighting a boss, they definitely wouldn’t abandon Bai Pu to act alone.”

Fish Intestines analyzed, “Especially without knowing this Bull’s relationship with Bai Pu! If they get along badly, wouldn’t sending a message alarm the snake in the grass?”

…

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep