Evil Spirit

Chapter 39: Evil Spirit

Northern Emperor's Tomb Mountain Range.

A bottomless chasm split the land in two. The nearby ground was covered in viscous, thread-like substances. A pitch-black tower rose from the chasm, piercing the clouds.

A massive, dark red eye floated above the tower's spire, occasionally flashing with an eerie light, monitoring every movement in the vicinity.

On the platform at the tower's summit stood a humanoid figure with its arms crossed. It was over two meters tall, its skin a dark red, as if repeatedly scorched by flames. Its eyes were sunken deep into their sockets, like two burning embers, filled with an aura of brutality and destruction.

"It's the aura of a Tidal Rebellion Legion warrior."

Just then, a crack appeared in the Eye of Insight floating above its head, and a hoarse voice came from within.

"What is the origin of the Tidal Rebellion Legion?" the humanoid Evil Spirit asked indifferently.

"According to intelligence shared by other nodes, it's a powerful legion composed of warriors who have abandoned their faith. Their leader is known as Tidebreaker, and they are one of the biggest obstacles to our race occupying this world."

"Abandoned their faith?"

In response to the question, the dark red eye immediately explained:

"You've just arrived from the dungeon world and aren't familiar with this world's background. According to intelligence shared by other nodes, this world once had a powerful deity named Di Zhao. He was the true god worshipped by all life in this world... He perished for some unknown reason. The Tidal Rebellion Legion was established thousands of years after Di Zhao's demise. Their initial purpose was to oppose us. The warriors of the Tidal Rebellion Legion believe Di Zhao abandoned them and have chosen to forsake their faith, revering Tidebreaker instead."

"Meaningless faith." A hint of disdain flickered in the Evil Spirit warrior's eyes.

"Don't underestimate the warriors of the Tidal Rebellion Legion. Our brethren at other nodes have clashed with them multiple times and gained little advantage. The life forms in this world are not comparable to those in the dungeon world you helped conquer. Put away your arrogance." The dark red eye warned solemnly.

The Evil Spirit warrior ignored the evil eye's persuasion, its gaze sweeping towards the Crimson Plains of the Emperor's Tomb Mountain Range. The black goo seeping from its body coiled around it, solidifying into a ferocious armor, with sharp black spikes protruding from every joint.

"I'll go check it out."

With that, the Evil Spirit warrior transformed into a pitch-black streak of light, tearing through the sky and speeding directly towards the Crimson Plains.

Northern Crimson Plains.

Duan Xing stared at the players lurking in the distance, peeking and waiting for him to kill Evil Spirits. He was expressionless, not even having the urge to charge forward and kill.

He had lost count of how many he had killed so far. They were endless.

Sitting dejectedly on the ground, he began to ponder a question.

Should he give up the trial and leave?

Pride and frustration warred in his mind. Duan Xing couldn't help but sigh in dejection.

He wanted to persevere, but he didn't know how to continue.

These mysterious creatures dug three feet into the ground wherever he went, making it impossible to accumulate the required amount of Evil Crystals to complete the trial.

Although his Runes Armor had a recording function that could prove he had killed a large number of Evil Spirits, enough to complete the trial, the overseer never used combat logs as a reference. They only judged the assessment's completion based on the number of Evil Crystals collected. Any setbacks, such as the loss of Evil Crystals, were also considered part of the assessment.

As Duan Xing was deep in thought, he suddenly felt a powerful surge of energy and then looked up sharply at the sky to the northwest.

A ball of black light, carrying a dense aura of death, was hurtling towards him.

"Evil Spirit?!"

Realizing that an intelligent Evil Spirit was approaching, Duan Xing's expression became extremely grave.

He stood up abruptly, placing his hand on his left chest.

Click~ Click~ Click~

The sound of gears meshing echoed. The Runes Armor on his body suddenly lit up, and surging energy rippled outwards from him.

His messy blue hair danced in the wind as the energy surged. Two blades rapidly condensed and extended from the back of his hands.

BOOM!

The Evil Spirit warrior landed in front of Duan Xing, kicking up gravel and dust that scattered in all directions.

As the dust settled, the Evil Spirit warrior revealed its ferocious appearance, its eyes, tinged with a hint of madness, fixed on Duan Xing.

Shing!

The two energy blades in Duan Xing's hands also completed their formation at this moment.

Without a word exchanged between the two figures, they both moved simultaneously, disappearing from their positions and colliding in the center.

Their figures crossed and separated.

The Evil Spirit warrior looked down at the blade mark on its chest, a flicker of surprise in its eyes. It abruptly shifted its body, dodging the next blade strike at a perilous angle. Twisting its body, it unleashed a side kick that sent the approaching Duan Xing flying, then immediately followed up.

BOOM!

The blade in Duan Xing's hand collided with the Evil Spirit warrior's arm guard, sending sparks flying.

A dense aura of death washed over him, and Duan Xing found it difficult to breathe.

"Kill!"

Facing the Rage attack of the Evil Spirit warrior, the fighting spirit in Duan Xing's eyes blazed fiercely.

This wasn't his first encounter with an Evil Spirit, but the Evil Spirit before him was different from any he had fought before. Its combat skills and regenerative abilities were several times stronger.

The wounds left by his blades on the Evil Spirit were quickly repaired, but his own injuries continued to mount.

The light emanating from his battle armor dimmed with each successive collision. After more than ten minutes of high-frequency combat, Duan Xing began to weaken.

BOOM!

Just then, the Evil Spirit warrior's heavy fist pierced through a gap in the defensive stance of Duan Xing's twin blades and slammed into his chest. Duan Xing was sent flying backward, coughing up a mouthful of blood. He tumbled further on the ground due to the momentum, kicking up a cloud of dust before finally stopping.

As Duan Xing gritted his teeth, preparing to fight again, a pitch-black figure pierced through the swirling dust, attacking with a kneeling knee strike that slammed hard into his chest.

Two black spikes tore through the battle armor's defenses and plunged into his chest.

BOOM!

Duan Xing's body was driven into the earth, his eyes, which had been emitting a red glow, briefly returned to pure white.

As Duan Xing's consciousness flickered, his Runes Armor seemed to be activated by some power. The energy spring on his left chest began to turn automatically.

Immediately, surging energy erupted from the armor, flinging the sneering Evil Spirit warrior away. The overflowing energy continued to surround Duan Xing, rapidly healing his injuries.

Duan Xing, now standing again, felt his aura steadily rising.

Sensing this new power, a look of astonishment appeared in Duan Xing's eyes:

"Father."

The Evil Spirit warrior attacked again. Duan Xing met him head-on, summoning his blades once more to clash with the Evil Spirit warrior's fists.

BANG!

With each consecutive collision, energy ripples spread outwards in layers from their point of engagement.

Duan Xing, his injuries healed, had clearly improved significantly in strength. However, he was still at a disadvantage in his fight against the Evil Spirit warrior, with a considerable gap in both combat technique and power.

After an hour of intense battle, Duan Xing was a bloody mess, his wounds reopened in multiple places. He swayed precariously, looking as if he could collapse at any moment.

Yet, his gaze towards the Evil Spirit warrior was still filled with boundless fighting spirit.

In contrast, the Evil Spirit warrior's condition was also grim.

Its pitch-black battle armor, which could rapidly repair itself, was now covered in cracks. Its left arm was broken and hung limply from its shoulder, unable to heal any further.

BOOM!

Duan Xing, no longer able to sustain the fight, finally collapsed.

Seeing this, the Evil Spirit warrior's lips curled into a ferocious grin. It waved its hand, conjuring a black spike, and slowly approached Duan Xing, stopping before him.

Just as the black spike in its hand was about to pierce Duan Xing's face, a voice suddenly rang out:

"Taunt!"

Following the cry, the Evil Spirit's memories were automatically pieced together.

Intense hatred surged from its depths. The black spike aimed at Duan Xing uncontrollably shifted, turning towards the direction of the voice.

However, the inexplicably rising hatred lasted less than a second before the Evil Spirit warrior's will broke free. To its astonished expression, a plump figure was sliced into black mist and dissipated by the black spike in its hand.

"Rule power?"

Just as the Evil Spirit was about to turn to finish off Duan Xing, another voice came from behind:

"Hey, look over here!"

Hatred struck again. The Evil Spirit uncontrollably turned, flinging the black spike behind it with boundless animosity.

The target was killed with a single blow, but new hatred welled up from its heart, causing it to subconsciously turn its head towards a figure not far away.

Simultaneously, the regional voice chat and player forums exploded:

"Brothers, requesting reinforcements! The God of Wealth is about to kick the bucket! Hurry and save him, we can't hold them off much longer!"

"Calling all brothers from every region for urgent support (Coordinates attached)! If the God of Wealth is gone, who will send you red envelopes from now on?"

"Holy crap, is the God of Wealth really going to die? I absolutely refuse! I was counting on the God of Wealth to open my third Star Vein! He absolutely cannot die. I'm bringing my brothers over right now. Brothers nearby, hold on, keep fighting!"

"No, no! I haven't even received a red envelope from the God of Wealth yet! He absolutely cannot die! Protect him, protect him!"

News of the God of Wealth's impending death instantly spread like wildfire among the player community.

Over the past week, the wealth brought by the God of Wealth had allowed many players to unlock their second Star Vein slot.

In their eyes, the God of Wealth was a walking red envelope dispenser, a chance to get rich quick upon encountering him.

While many players hadn't received a welfare red envelope from the God of Wealth, it didn't mean there wouldn't be future opportunities. If the God of Wealth died, their chances of receiving red envelopes would be completely gone.

Upon hearing the news, players rushed towards the coordinates.

(End of this chapter)