Chapter 67: On the Run Again

“They’re coming!” Yorick squinted his eyes.

No sooner had he spoken than a loud buzzing sound filled the air!

The archers at the far left had unleashed a volley. A dense rain of arrows tore through the sky, their whistling descent covering the area where the Shadow Isle stood.

Yorick did not move.

The man with the long tongue waved his soul-calling banner, shrouding the three of them in a cloud of black mist.

Arrows fell thickly upon it, but as if frozen by some invisible force, they dropped harmlessly to the ground.

The Hydra raised her longsword again. This time, the soldiers in the front row on the left stepped forward.

Seeing this, the long-tongued man brandished his banner, sending streams of black energy surging toward the advancing formation.

Many of the crab and shrimp soldiers were broken down by the black mist, shattering into stone fragments scattered across the ground. Some managed to raise their shields, but the mist pierced through them with ease.

In a single wave, nearly half of the formation collapsed. The ground was littered with black gravel and broken limbs. Even so, some battered shrimp soldiers, dragging their mangled bodies, crawled expressionlessly toward their goal.

Then, with a sweep of the Hydra’s sword, all the spearmen scattered and began their charge.

Yorick still remained motionless.

The Weapon Woman smiled faintly, and with a wave of her hand, the rubble gathered into a stone monster.

Calmly standing amid the black mist, she flicked two fingers, and the stone beast lunged at the horde.

Wherever it passed, the crab and shrimp soldiers were smashed to pieces.

Xiao Zhang watched from afar, eyes wide with astonishment.

No wonder those people dared to be so arrogant—their strength was undeniable!

Lia, seeing Xiao Zhang’s dumbstruck look, patted him, “Come on, look here!”

With a single sword stroke, Lia dispatched the charging soldiers—they were all finished.

Xiao Zhang glanced at Lia beside him and thought, this woman is even more formidable!

Weapon Woman stood behind the banner with an expression of disdain, sneering, “Boss, these monsters are far too weak, and the points are pitiful. Kill three or five, and you barely get anything.”

But as soon as she finished, her expression changed!

Several catfish-like monsters began ramming the stone beast together.

Clearly, these catfish had much greater strength than the ordinary crab and shrimp soldiers. After repeated collisions, the beast’s rocky armor started to crumble.

Finally, after the catfish were shattered, a sword-wielding soldier struck the beast’s nearly broken leg.

With a crack, one of the beast’s legs turned to gravel and fell.

Stunned, the beast lost its balance, collapsing and was quickly overwhelmed by the horde.

“Damn it!” Weapon Woman shouted angrily, pressed her hands together, and the rubble nearby formed an even larger beast.

The new giant beast turned the tide again, scattering the monsters’ ranks.

With a sweep of the Hydra’s hand, a humanoid guardian with a shrimp head charged at the beast.

“A stronger one’s coming!” Yorick pointed at the guardian rushing forward.

Because the beast blocked all the monsters, Yorick had a moment free. He planted his soul-calling banner into the ground, and a paper sword shot toward the shrimp-headed guardian.

In the next instant, he appeared before the guardian, aiming a sword slash at its neck.

The guardian’s defense was clearly far superior to the others—the sword had no effect.

Several more slashes followed, but the result was the same.

The long-tongued man, growing frustrated, put away his paper sword. His tongue whipped out, and his form suddenly expanded!

In a blink, he transformed into a zombie-like creature, radiating a fierce aura. He punched directly at the guardian.

The shrimp-headed man turned, blocking with his longsword, and a tremendous clang echoed.

The force of the blow sent several monsters flying; a few unlucky ones were shattered outright.

Now zombie-like, the long-tongued man roared furiously, fighting the armed guardian hand-to-hand.

Though weaponless, he relied on brute strength, overpowering the guardian who could barely defend himself.

...

“Are all these people so strong?” Xiao Zhang muttered in shock.

The situation was peculiar: at one end of the plaza, a shrimp-headed man had joined the fray, and the left-side monster formation was launching a full-scale assault against the four from the Shadow Isle.

Yet on this side of the plaza, though the monster soldiers stood poised and watchful, they remained stationary, showing no sign of attacking.

This stark contrast created two entirely different scenes in the plaza.

There had been some action earlier, but Lia had wiped it out with a single sword strike.

Even so, being surrounded by so many monsters made everyone uneasy.

Zhao Bai watched the unfolding battle and commented, “Looks pretty impressive!”

Zhao Tai stood beside him, feeling dejected. He had thought Ghost Lantern sincerely invited him… who knew it was all just for exploitation...

“They’re not that strong,” Lia replied.

She squinted, a smile in her eyes, watching the distant battle with keen interest. Hearing their comments, she laughed, “The Hydra up there is probably at A-level. As for the shrimp-headed one, B+ at best.

Do you think they’re having an easy time? That woman can summon maybe two more stone beasts before she’s spent, and as for the other guy—how long do you think he can keep up that form?”

Xiao Zhang glanced at Lia, wondering who she really was. Qi Guan Bei and his group didn’t know her, but with such power, surely she must be famous. Could she be a lone wild player? A solitary master with no affiliation?

“What should we do? Just sit here and watch?” Xiao Zhang eyed the white dragon, now reduced to only its tail, growing increasingly uneasy.

And the Hydra hadn’t even made a move yet. If Qi Guan, possessed by the white dragon, joined the fray…

Plus, there was still a hidden white dragon lurking somewhere, its whereabouts unknown.

Weighing the risks, Xiao Zhang made his decision, “Let’s get out of here! Break through! Head for the palace exit!”

“What?” Lia stared at Xiao Zhang, “You’re giving up on the quest?”

“It’s too dangerous,” Xiao Zhang replied calmly. “Forget the Hydra—the guards behind her are more than enough to give us trouble, and the big boss hasn’t woken up yet!”

He glanced at the system timer, then at Lia. “Besides, as long as we survive another hour and forty minutes, we’ll still complete the mission!”