At that, Ryan did not need to think twice before directly "broadcasting" the message to Jonathan and the others.
Adler had no idea what was going on. When he saw Jonathan, that persistent nuisance, appear once more, his expression darkened to the extreme.
"I'll deal with that guy. You take down Caslathdi," Kasa said.
He was confident he could handle Jonathan, but he had no confidence at all against Caslathdi.
Adler's eyes flickered slightly before he finally nodded. "End this quickly."
He scanned the surroundings, trying to find Ryan, but failed. Still, he had already agreed with Ryan that he would act at the critical moment. Though Ryan was not particularly strong, Caslathdi trusted him completely. Thinking of that, Adler relaxed somewhat.
Ryan, I'm counting on you!
"Achoo!"
"Damn it, who's cursing me behind my back?"
In a corner atop the Clock Tower, Ryan rubbed his nose and watched the battle below from afar.
It was a two-on-two. There was no need to watch Jonathan and Kasa; they were old rivals, and neither could do anything to the other. The key was still the fight between Caslathdi and Adler.
If this were in the game, Caslathdi could never defeat Adler one-on-one. After all, Game Characters were routinely nerfed once they fell into players' hands. Even gods could fight mortals on equal footing when they entered the field.
But now, judging by her performance, Caslathdi was no weaker than Adler.
Her class was Holy Word Master of the Janus Path, a pure-blooded mage with extremely high burst spell damage.
However, Adler's class was Soul Eater. It was not much in other respects, but its durability was first-rate. Its devouring and conversion traits had once made players want to curse their mothers when fighting Adler.
There was no other reason. His hide was too thick. As a boss, his damage was not low either. You absolutely had to bring a healer against him, or you simply could not win.
Ryan watched from afar, waiting for an opportunity.
It would be best if Caslathdi could kill Adler. If she could not, he would have to step in. In particular, Adler could not be captured. Even if the latter did not speak voluntarily, there was no guarantee Caslathdi did not have some special means.
Like hypnosis or something.
After all, hypnosis was hardly an unusual ability in shooting games.
Boom!
An explosion rang out.
Jonathan, in the distance, was the first to erupt. Golden flames ignited across his body, radiating brilliance like the sun.
Among the Son of the Sun's class skills was an ability that granted a burning state, boosting all attributes, though the effect could only last for a period of time.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Every one of Jonathan's strikes erupted with terrifying force. He was practically a different person from before.
"You lunatic! The Augustus Empire is already like this. What is there worth giving your life for?" Kasa grew more and more stifled as the fight continued and could not help cursing.
Why else did Ryan say Shadow of Wit was such a trash class?
Though the shadow's combat ability was decent, its class growth was too low. It could not compare to the Silent Nun at all.
No matter how skilled you were, the other side could crush all techniques with sheer strength. There was simply no way to play!
Jonathan locked onto Kasa's true body. Under his all-out burst, Kasa could not withstand him at all. The shadow's role had changed from assisting attacks to passively defending.
"I was born an imperial citizen. I do whatever duty comes with whatever position I hold, and my conscience is clear! Do you understand honor? Do you understand a sense of duty? You don't understand shit! You don't understand a fucking thing! Why didn't your father shoot you onto the wall?"
Jonathan roared, and blazing flames rose from his staff.
A skill?
No, it was merely momentum!
The greatest difference between reality and the game was that the use of class abilities did not depend solely on attributes. Just as Jonathan had once told Ryan, courage and resolve mattered. When one possessed a sufficiently powerful will, perhaps even the gods would cast their gaze upon them.
At this moment, Jonathan was not being watched by the Sun God, but his powerful will briefly allowed him to merge more deeply with the Sun Path and unleash even greater power.
"Hah!"
With this blow, the ground beneath his feet shattered. The burning staff shadow broke through the shadow's defense and sent Kasa flying along with it.
"He's really strong."
Ryan was somewhat surprised. No wonder the Son of the Sun was so popular despite being an ordinary class. Its class traits were right there.
Shadow of Wit really was trash. Pah! Complete trash!
Seeing Kasa fall completely into a disadvantage, the pressure on Adler's side instantly surged. He had originally been evenly matched with Caslathdi and had hoped Kasa would deal with Jonathan before coming to help him. Yet now, the situation had completely reversed.
If he had that Tier 3 Supernatural Item in hand, the situation might still have been uncertain.
That useless bastard! He can't be relied on for anything!
Adler cursed inwardly.
"I'll risk it!"
He gritted his teeth and raised his left hand. The dark ring he wore suddenly emitted a brilliant glow.
In an instant, darkness blanketed the earth. The entire barrier space was covered in cold gloom, and wailing cries like ghosts sobbing rose from every direction. Caslathdi retreated two steps, only for ghostly hands to burst from beneath her feet and lock around her ankles. These hands were invisible and intangible, merely clumps of gathered energy. They were not strong, and Caslathdi could break free with a slight push of power, but there were simply too many of them.
Evil spirits lunged at her in an endless stream. Caslathdi could only cast defensive spells to protect herself, but soon, a low chant of curse magic reached her ears.
"O supreme God of Death, great lord who governs the return of all things to death,
Your devout believer beseeches you in humble posture, offering you the souls of the departed..."
Bzzzt!
A piercing cry that struck directly at the soul rang through the air. Caslathdi immediately raised her staff, and the relic she had hidden in advance rang out at the same time. The soul attacks canceled each other out, sparing her from harm.
"It's useless, Caslathdi!"
Adler's furious voice came from all around her. Chilling energy turned into mist and spread across the ground. A massive figure emerged from the black fog—twisted features, a bloated body, and utterly disproportionate limbs made Adler look like a deformed Monster!
Ugly. Incomparably ugly. Under the corrosion of deathly power, Adler's body had gradually become contaminated and was beginning to transform into a Monster.
This was the side effect of the relic he had used. High-level relics were undoubtedly powerful, but the risks of using them were enormous. It was also a Tier 3 relic, but Kasa's was not particularly powerful, which was why he could use it without being affected.
As for Adler's, if possible, he never wanted to use it!
"You would rather offer your soul to the Outer Gods. Adler, you have completely abandoned your dignity as a human," Caslathdi said with disgust.
"Shut up! You don't understand our resolve at all!"
Boom!
A fist came crashing down.
The terrifying force nearly shattered Caslathdi's defensive spell.
She unleashed a Holy Word attack. Milky-white light dispelled the black fog and shot out as a wave of radiance.
But Adler merely opened his mouth and actually swallowed the attack whole!
The Soul Eater's class ability negated most of the damage. Under the relic's enhancement, the remaining power could not harm Adler at all.
Realizing this, Caslathdi hurriedly retreated to widen the distance.
Adler pressed his advantage. He stood over three meters tall and perhaps weighed four or five hundred jin. His bloated body was like a pig piled high with fat, yet his strength was immense and his speed was not slow. Every step shattered the ground, and every punch blasted out a huge crater.
Caslathdi fought while retreating, but every attack that landed on Adler was devoured by him.
Soul Eaters did not need weapons. Every part of their bodies could absorb and convert magic power.
It sounded powerful, but the class ceiling was not particularly high, which was why Ryan considered it average.
But as a pure meat shield, it was indeed quite good.
"What's going on? Caslathdi isn't going to lose, is she??"
Hidden in the Clock Tower, Ryan could not see clearly through the dense fog. But he could vaguely hear Adler's arrogant laughter, as well as occasional figures appearing in the mist. Adler was clearly hunting Caslathdi down.
Just as Ryan was hesitating over whether to have "Lin Qi" make a move, a beam of white holy light suddenly tore through the black fog. Then Adler's miserable scream abruptly rang out.
"Aaaaaaahhh!!!"
"Adler, you didn't think you were the only one with a relic, did you?"
Sizzle, sizzle!
The sound of burning.
A massive greatsword appeared in the sky.
Kael's Sword of Judgment.
Ryan recognized it. It was a bonded relic Caslathdi would use in the game's story.
Its power was extremely strong. Once used in the story, it killed whoever stood before it.
But the fucked-up thing was that once Caslathdi came under player control, this thing could not be used at all.
The moment Ryan saw the sword appear, he immediately relaxed—this was in the bag. Completely in the bag.
Boom!!!
The Sword of Judgment descended, setting off a massive roar across the plaza.
"Adler should be dead now, right?"
The moment he finished speaking, intense magic power suddenly surged beside Ryan. Then, with a bang, Adler fell out of thin air.
He had returned to his normal size, but he was covered in wounds and bleeding. There were even burn marks across his skin.
"Huff, huff... Aah..."
Adler let out pained, unbearable groans.
"Lord Adler?"
"Ryan?!" Adler turned his head, his expression brightening. "Quick! Take me away! Get me out of here!"
"How did you get here?"
"I used a relic for escaping... Don't worry about that. Caslathdi will definitely catch up soon!"
He had used an escape puppet, but it was only a Tier 1 relic. It could leave a fake body in place and randomly teleport him to a nearby location.
"Wait, this is... where is this? Why are you here?"
Adler looked around and only then realized they were atop the Clock Tower.
"Oh, Caslathdi told me to stay here and provide support," Ryan said unhurriedly as he pulled out his gun. "But Lord Adler, don't worry. They won't be able to find this place for the time being."
"Is that so? But I can't get out now either..." Adler carefully dragged his injured body to the edge of the Clock Tower and glanced down. The black fog was too thick to see anything clearly. "Ryan, the plan has failed. We have two choices now. Either we find a way to escape with everything we have, or you take this opportunity to kill Caslathdi. What do you think?"
Capturing Caslathdi was completely impossible now. Escaping was extremely dangerous. If Ryan was willing, he could use Caslathdi's trust in him to kill her... In any case, if the Grand Duke questioned them later, they could say there had been no other choice and that it had been Ryan's decision.
"I think there's a third option," Ryan said leisurely.
"A third option? It is..."
Bang!
Just as Adler turned his head, a gunshot suddenly rang beside his ear. The bullet flew out and struck him between the eyebrows!
Adler's pupils contracted violently.
"You... why???" he asked in disbelief.
Ryan shrugged. "Adler, I'm sorry. I'm a good person."
"A good person... a good person... a good person..."
"Aaaaaaahhh!!!"
Boom!
Even with a bullet lodged in his brain, Adler still did not die. With a furious roar, his originally thin body began to swell.
He was transforming again!
Even if he could no longer endure the side effects of the mental corrosion, his rage drove him to kill Ryan!
"Traitor! I'll kill you!!!"
Whoosh~
A black shadow suddenly burst out from Ryan's shadow.
Before you continue