Today's third update, over seven thousand words in all. Please show your support!
"What did you do to my husband?" Seeing the Snake Demon suddenly change into this state, the Fox Demon was shocked and furious. She no longer bothered to keep up her act. A pale red ripple flashed from her hand, instantly enveloping the newcomers who had been entangling her. At once, their vacant-eyed but ferocious attackers slumped to the ground, snores rising from their mouths. They had fallen asleep!
It was the Fox Clan's innate talent skill—Dream Return!
The Fox Demon had planned to wait until the Snake Demon had finished his sneak attack and taken out one of the enemy's main fighters, then use Dream Return to crush the others' will to fight and wipe them all out.
She hadn't expected the Snake Demon to be caught in a counterattack the moment he appeared. With no other choice, the Fox Demon, deeply devoted to her husband, had to use her skill early. Little did she know, every move she made was unfolding just as Tang Mei'er had predicted, drawing her ever closer to a deadly trap.
Once free of the newcomers, the Fox Demon hurried toward the Snake Demon. But halfway there, her expression suddenly froze, and terror filled her eyes as she stared at Tang Mei'er nearby. Through gritted teeth, she said, "You're using their bodies as a battleground, struggling with me for control of their minds? You don't care if they die?!"
Although any injury would end the sleep caused by Dream Return, people trapped in a dream couldn't protect their vital points. If the Snake Demon's giant sickle struck them now, the outcome was obvious!
To break Dream Return midway, one needed either a skill specifically suited to the task or enough mental strength to invade the target's mind and forcibly purge the Fox Demon's power.
Unless one had an overwhelming advantage, this approach could easily cause irreparable damage to the target's brain. True allies would never use it.
But this was precisely the moment Tang Mei'er had been patiently waiting for. She knew that the Fox Demon's Dream Return, like her own charm, consumed a tremendous amount of energy. If either of them gave way midway, the immense backlash could prove fatal.
So Tang Mei'er clung fiercely to the Fox Demon's power, preventing her from withdrawing it. With the advantage of striking first and no need to worry about the newcomers' lives, she giggled, her face finally revealing the smug confidence of someone in complete control. "Instead of worrying about whether they live or die, why not think about your husband? Haven't you noticed that he's stronger than before? The only downside is that he doesn't seem to recognize you anymore! Hee-hee!"
The Fox Demon had never imagined this enemy would be ten thousand times more vicious than she was, stopping at nothing to get her way. Under the influence of the Berserk Demon Art, the Snake Demon now knew only how to kill. He had no idea how to cooperate, while she herself was being held at bay. The situation had already taken a sharp turn for the worse!
The Fox Demon was decisive. Realizing her enemies had come prepared, she put aside all other thoughts and focused entirely on fighting Tang Mei'er.
Now the drawback of the Succubus bloodline became clear. The newcomers served as a buffer, so Tang Mei'er didn't have to fight the Fox Demon directly, but the drain on her mental energy was still more than she could bear. Worse, because she had transformed into a Succubus early, she had little time left in her transformed state.
Tang Mei'er drew a deep breath, her eyes filled with heartache, then took a bloodline-enhancement potion from her Emblem's space and drank it.
At once, her mind grew intensely energized, forcing the Fox Demon's power back step by step. One of the newcomers on the ground had already started to stir, as if about to wake.
The Fox Demon's face turned deathly pale, and her health began to slowly drop. Clearly, she had no choice but to burn through her life force and fight to the bitter end.
"Fifteen seconds, and the Fox Demon's power will be completely depleted. Then I'll just have to detonate my mental energy and blow the newcomers' brains apart. The massive backlash will send her straight to ruin and force her to reveal her true form! This is the method with the highest chance of obtaining her core. Add the Loot Drop Bell, and success is guaranteed!"
Tang Mei'er silently counted down, almost hearing in advance the Fox Demon's wretched, despairing cry as the newcomers' brains burst.
What a beautiful sound! After all that planning and sacrifice, the moment to reap her reward had finally arrived!
Just as excitement flushed her cheeks and made her tremble, Qin Guang and Zhu Hao's cries for help suddenly rang out over the team channel:
"Boss, help us! These guys are too tough—we can't hold on!"
Tang Mei'er shot an impatient glance toward the Snake Demon, but her expression soon turned grave.
After knocking down three story characters, the Snake Demon hadn't bothered to finish them off. With his current intelligence, he had no interest in Xu Lang and the other two, who lay on the ground half-dead. So no matter how craftily Qin Guang and Zhu Hao tried to position themselves, they inevitably became the Snake Demon's targets.
The Berserk Demon Art lasted a full forty seconds. In the original plan, the Snake Demon would first kill the dozen or so girls fleeing in all directions. Then the three story characters would interfere, drawing the brunt of his most ferocious attacks. Qin Guang and Zhu Hao's task wouldn't be too demanding.
But now that the girls were out of the picture, the three story characters who had fought the Snake Demon head-on had lasted only ten seconds. With three quarters of his rampage still to go, could Qin Guang and Zhu Hao handle him?
The answer was—no!
They said that the first burst of effort was strongest, the second weaker, and the third weakest. After defeating the story characters, the Snake Demon was, unfortunately, still in his first burst. Qin Guang's vision blurred. A blood-red whirlwind suddenly swept up in front of him—the Snake Demon had taken up his sickle again and was slashing at him with blinding speed!
Faced with that lightning-fast assault, Qin Guang had time only to raise his blue round shield in front of him. A force too immense to resist crashed into him. His ears rang, and his whole body flew through the air like a cannonball, slamming into the stone wall with a boom. His health plunged by nearly half!
Seeing Qin Guang, with his high health and defense, brought so low, Zhu Hao felt his scalp tingle and turned to run. They had thought they could dance around the Snake Demon and outlast the rampage. They had no idea that after flying into a rage, the immensely powerful Snake Demon would also become much faster!
In fact, Zhu Hao was already agile, and after drinking an Agility Potion, he was even slightly faster than the Snake Demon. But the gap between their auras was simply too great. The Snake Demon was like a tiger descending from the mountains, while Zhu Hao was like a mouse darting for cover. His legs had gone weak with fear—how could he possibly dodge effectively?
A fight was still a fight, and once all your courage was gone, the outcome was bound to be grim. The scraping of the thick snake tail behind him drew closer and closer. Instead of thinking about how to strike back, Zhu Hao wailed for help over the team channel.
Tang Mei'er had already been willing to sacrifice these two subordinates, but she hadn't expected them to be so useless. At this rate, the two of them wouldn't last fifteen seconds before joining the story characters!
If the Snake Demon entered this side of the battlefield, the hard-won advantage would be destroyed in an instant. Even with his mind muddled, he couldn't possibly attack the wife he shared a bed with first.
"Sorry, but in this situation, we can only sacrifice you for the greater good!" A flicker of sadness crossed Tang Mei'er's lovely face, as though she truly grieved for the fate awaiting her loyal subordinates. But there was not a trace of hesitation in her voice. Calmly, with a hint of encouragement, she said, "Zhu Hao, use that move I told you about and give the Snake Demon a nasty surprise! Qin Guang, once Zhu Hao succeeds, get in there with your shield. You should be able to hold him off long enough!"
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