Negotiation
Bai Xiaowen sighed and severed the Life Sharing with the Rageclaw.
The good news is that Blood Frenzy from Rageclaw is now also active, granting an additional 40% critical Critical Hit chance.
Bai Xiaowen himself, under the passive effect of the Ring of Torment, saw his strength increase by 13 points, bringing his total strength to 44 points, making his output even more powerful.
If they continue to Life Sharing, and if Rageclaw can't dodge in time and gets hit by Moaitaihe's critical Critical Hit... Bai Xiaowen and Rageclaw could potentially be killed instantly at the same time.
Bai Xiaowen's total Life Value, including the Rageclaw, is 610 points. The remaining 60% is 366 points. With Moaitaihe's monstrous strength of 96 points, dealing 300-400 damage with Critical Hit isn't difficult...
After severing the Life Sharing, Bai Xiaowen immediately extracted the Life Value stored in the Blood Essence Stone to restore his health.
Once the life stored in the Blood Essence Stone was depleted, Bai Xiaowen's Life Value rose to 93% again. With each of Bai Xiaowen's Rapid Fire attacks, each shot had a 22% Blood Drain effect, and the Life Value absorbed flowed back into the Blood Essence Stone for storage.
Li Shuyi was unharmed by the Counterattack Storm; she is currently still in Intangibility state, but the six seconds of this state are almost up.
Seizing the opportunity, Li Shuyi thrust out two more swords, detonating five layers of Thunder Mark, plus the burst damage from the Demonfire Dance.
With a loud bang, a combined damage value exceeding two hundred appeared.
Bai Xiaowen's next Piercing bullet once again dealt physical damage that ignored armor!
In the distance, the Bone Warlock peeked out slyly, a Lightning Strike dealing a tiny bit of additional magical damage...
"... No!"
Moaitaihe abruptly stopped. The blue scales on his body trembled violently and then began to fall off rapidly.
During the process of detachment, Moaitaihe's enormous body rapidly shrank, returning to its initial form. Although still very robust and strong, it was far inferior to the physique of the combined monster, returning to the realm of a normal human.
The giant python Basha, covered in wounds, reappeared as a ball of light, then quickly swam away, never to return.
The fusion state is over! Moaitaihe's strength and agility have decreased sharply, and the 20% bonus from Basha has finally disappeared.
Bai Xiaowen let out a sigh of relief.
Although Moaitaihe has weakened somewhat, it is still not easy to deal with. A strength-type BOSS with level 9 attributes, and also has the annoying passive Counterattack Storm skill, it is not easy to mess with.
"The only good news is that the Vengeful Spirit drained his remaining Divine Might... Although it didn't stun him, Moaitaihe's Divine Might should be almost depleted, rendering him unable to unleash any active skills. Next, we can just overwhelm him with summoned creatures!"
However, the next second, a notification from the Spirit Realm Rules arrived, instantly freezing the smile on Bai Xiaowen's face.
"The serpent priest Moaitaihe used food: Juicy Lettuce."
"Moaitaihe's Divine Might has recovered by 6 points, and will recover an additional 9 points of Divine Might over the next 15 seconds..."
After devouring the lettuce, Moaitaihe perked up and landed a Corrosive Strike on Rageclaw. Rageclaw's fur quickly peeled off, revealing a Corrosive Armor mark.
"Holy crap..."
Bai Xiaowen cursed inwardly. Just what he feared most had happened. This guy truly lived up to his reputation as the big boss of the Foodie Sect; he even carried a lettuce with him. Now, those 15 points of Divine Might were essentially wasted...
It can't be said that it was a waste of money; at least it made up for the number of times Moaitaihe used food.
Clearly, the Corrosive Strike didn't consume much Divine Might and had no cooldown, so Moaitaihe unleashed a second Corrosive Strike the very next second! He had obviously determined that Rageclaw was the most threatening enemy among those surrounding him.
After taking two Corrosive Strike, Rageclaw's armor dropped by 40%, and its Life Value also fell by more than half.
"In that case, we can't hold back on this item any longer... Using it will increase our chances of winning from 50% to at least 20%! If we force ourselves to save this item, Shu Yi might be in danger of dying and we'll have to use the return item..."
Bai Xiaowen's Super Brain quickly calculated the situation and made a decision 0.1 seconds later. He took out a bone whistle and blew it loudly.
B-Tier Silver Tier Item: Smooth Bone Flute. When used, it summons a squad of Elite Snakefolk reinforcements that lasts for 120 seconds!
It's a B-Tier Silver Tier item with only one use! This means one thing: this Elite Snakefolk team is either numerous, individually strong, or both... In short, they're definitely not going to be a rip-off.
Whoosh!
A total of 12 Elite Snakefolk, armed with weapons, appeared on the battlefield, creating a cacophony of hissing sounds.
Although Moaitaihe worshipped the Snake God, these half-human, half-serpent beings from the Black Tide Plane clearly did not evoke any sense of familiarity in him. With a single sweep of his staff, the nearest Elite Snakefolk was left with half its health, Moaitaihe quickly followed up with a second strike to finish it off.
"These Elite Snakefolk... can withstand two normal attacks from Moaitaihe, not bad." Bai Xiaowen smiled slightly. He discovered that the Elite Snakefolk reinforcements had a racial passive ability that could reduce a certain amount of physical damage.
Bai Xiaowen first summoned all the creatures, then manipulated the Rageclaw to activate the Howl ultimate move. A long Howl rang out, and the attack power and attack speed of all the creatures increased dramatically.
Now may not be the best time to activate the Howl buff, but Rageclaw is in grave danger, so Bai Xiaowen has no choice but to activate this powerful team fight weapon first.
The two Elite Snakefolk brandished their spears and used a Charge together.
With two muffled thuds, Moaitaihe remained motionless, while the two Elite Snakefolk were sent flying backward. However, Bai Xiaowen's expression remained unchanged, and he once again manipulated four Elite Snakefolk to launch Charge!
This time, even someone as strong as Moaitaihe was momentarily unsteady on his feet. The next attack was a combined Charge from five Elite Snakefolk, which finally forced Moaitaihe back a step!
It was that one crucial step that allowed Rageclaw to pounce from behind, unleashing his ultimate Suppression.
Although Rageclaw only had 28 points of strength, it still managed to tackle Moaitaihe had 83 points of strength, to the ground despite being out of balance and smaller than itself, and being attacked from behind. What followed were five lightning-fast rips, with blood flowing freely.
Affected by the opponent's resilience, Bai Xiaowen, Li Shuyi, and all the summoned creatures unleashed a barrage of attacks within the precious 1.25 seconds of Suppression time. Bai Xiaowen and Li Shuyi, in particular, landed almost all their attacks on vital points, causing extra damage and frequently triggering Critical Hit!
With a pop, a surge of air erupted, and Moaitaihe flipped to his feet, reaching out to grab the Rageclaw, ready to smash it down with force.
However, Bai Xiaowen's Spell Talisman followed perfectly, a Confusion Talisman hitting Moaitaihe's face, freezing him in place, and then he suffered another wave of damage. But his powerful hand still firmly gripped the back of the Rageclaw's neck, not letting go at all.
After the Confusion Talisman wore off, Moaitaihe unleashed its Rageclaw, slamming them to the ground, and the Giant Serpent Scepter crashed down with a deafening roar.
With a mournful Rageclaw, the creature, whose armor was already rapidly depleting and whose Life Value was below zero, was instantly killed.
Bai Xiaowen had no time for sadness. He manipulated the Snakefolk reinforcements to cover Li Shuyi and went on a crazy attack. Facing the Boss Tier with a tenacity of 50%, there was really no good way but to rush down the boss and see who could hold out for the first time.
Fortunately, the Howl skill before Rageclaw died still contributed, and the team's output was boosted by the buff. Moaitaihe's seemingly thick health bar dropped rapidly like an avalanche.
"Witness my fury!"
Moaitaihe raised his scepter high, drawing a powerful and beautiful arc, and then slammed the scepter down with tremendous force— Earth-Shattering Strike!
Five Elite Snakefolk were blasted away in front of Moaitaihe.
Immediately afterwards, Moaitaihe swung his scepter in a wide arc, like hitting a baseball, striking the first floating Snakefolk. The subsequent Snakefolk were smashed and thrown away one by one, exploding into blood mist in mid-air.
Fortunately, Li Shuyi hid behind the BOSS while he was charging up his attack and was not hit.
The remaining six Elite Snakefolk, under Bai Xiaowen's ruthless manipulation, were almost sent one by one to Moaitaihe's Giant Serpent Scepter.
In a total of 20 seconds, all 12 Elite Snakefolk were wiped out.
However, this resulted in Li Shuyi's safe output, while Moaitaihe's Life Value were reduced to below 400.
Bai Xiaowen continued to control the Skeleton Sword-and-Shield Soldier, using the number of summoned creatures to overwhelm the BOSS.
The remaining Skeleton Sword-and-Shield Soldier are all wiped out; the BOSS has 230 Life Value points remaining.
The blue- Bone Warlock is defeated, and the BOSS has 180 Life Value remaining.
After killing Kitz, Moaitaihe grinned and swung his club at Li Shuyi. Without the cover of her allies and without any means of survival, Li Shuyi seemed to have no way out.
With a whoosh, an iron chain flew from the side, carrying Li Shuyi away from the battlefield.
The Butcher finally made its move. Previously unsuitable for a siege due to its enormous size, the Butcher had waited until now. It stepped forward, blocking Moaitaihe, activated its Rot skill, and began hacking wildly with its cleaver.
Bai Xiaowen crouched on the ground, bullets flying wildly through the Butcher's crotch.
The Butcher's massive size and 720 Life Value became Bai Xiaowen's last wall, and the final straw that broke the camel's back.
Moaitaihe's massive body collapsed with a thud.
Bai Xiaowen and Li Shuyi both let out a long sigh of relief. This battle was incredibly dangerous. As the big boss of the Silent Tongue Sect, Moaitaihe, with the Strength Prayer buff, was simply outrageously strong.
Of course, this prayer buff only works next to the Golden Snake Disc; otherwise, it would be too overpowered.
After Moaitaihe's death, a Large Golden Treasure Chest was unearthed, and the Golden Snake Disc that was connected to it, with its last and most central serpentine mark, finally lost its light and became dim.
"Phew, all that's left is to destroy the disc and submit the mission." Li Shuyi breathed a sigh of relief.
"Wait a minute."
Bai Xiaowen approached the Golden Snake Disc. He carefully observed the disc surrounding the golden snake, and after a moment's thought, he released a wisp of Divine Might to cautiously probe its surface.
Boom! A phantom portal appeared before Bai Xiaowen's eyes, and his Divine Might was uncontrollably drawn to it, as if he had traveled through endless space and time in an instant.
Bai Xiaowen's consciousness "saw" a space shrouded in mist. It was more like a complete plane than a plane, with black land, flowing rivers, and even the sun and clouds... However, the space was relatively small, and the edges could be seen at a glance. It could not be called a plane, but only a subspace.
From the air, the black land even shows signs of cultivation.
However, at this moment, this space was rapidly collapsing, the sky was cracking open, the Earthshaking Tremor, and a scene of falling stars flashed by.
Before Bai Xiaowen could react, the sliver of her consciousness that had been separated was kicked out of this subspace.
Everything that just happened seemed like an illusion.
"What's wrong?" Li Shuyi asked with concern. She noticed that Bai Xiaowen's face was a little pale.
"It's nothing..." Bai Xiaowen squinted at the Golden Snake Disc in front of him. "I really want to get this disc... It holds many secrets. If I can get it, it would be worth giving up the mission and the Luck Coin reward."
However, according to the rules of the Spirit Realm, awakened beings can only take away spoils of war or mission rewards from the Spirit Realm. The Golden Snake Disc is clearly not included in this category.
Bai Xiaowen attempted to communicate with the Spirit Realm Rules:
"I'll forgo the mission rewards in exchange for ownership of the Golden Snake Disc, is that acceptable?"
"No." The Spirit Realm Rules gave a very brief response this time.
"Then can I destroy the disc first and just take the wreckage?"
"No."
"Then I won't complete this mission. The Golden Snake Disc will remain in the Ramses Plane World. It's none of my business whichever Spirit Realm figure gets it later." Bai Xiaowen seemed to have been provoked by the two consecutive cold "no"s.
In fact, Bai Xiaowen wasn't angry at all—in his understanding, the Spirit Realm Rules were just a high-level program, and getting angry over a bunch of data? Not a chance.
Bai Xiaowen made this statement primarily because he wanted to negotiate with the Spirit Realm Rules —or rather, to have a "friendly consultation." Based on his past experiences dealing with the Spirit Realm Rules, this "advanced program" is highly intelligent. It may lack human emotions, but it can weigh the pros and cons like a human, and when it "tricks" awakened individuals, it often provides some compensation.
For example, in the Black Tide Plane, Bai Xiaowen encountered an accident, and the main quest of the Spirit Realm Rules was almost altered. After this obviously abnormal situation occurred, Bai Xiaowen received compensation from the Spirit Realm Rules, which provided a lot of hints. Moreover, the Spirit Realm rules answered almost every question Bai Xiaowen asked, unlike their usual aloofness.
If these hints are just minor details, then the unique Doom Bracelet Dark Gold Equipment, which evolves from the Fate Slate, is a tangible form of compensation.
This time, Bai Xiaowen also planned to negotiate—his initial goal was to obtain the Golden Snake Disc, and then slowly study its secrets.
However, given how much the Spirit Realm Rules value this disc, even going so far as to issue a level 3 Scavenger mission, this goal is likely to be difficult to achieve. Bai Xiaowen then decided to settle for second best and try to get some extra benefits in the mission rewards.
However, negotiations always need a basis. If the Spirit Realm Rules remain aloof, how can negotiations begin? Bai Xiaowen's threat not to hand over the mission or destroy the disc, leaving it in the Ramses Plane World, is merely a negotiation tactic.