Team Fight Practice (Part 1)

After telling everyone about the situation, Bai Yi added:

"The exact strength of the aberrations ahead is unknown to me, but one thing is certain: every single one of them is stronger than Tang Zheng."

Tang Zheng's face fell. He had actually become a unit of measurement!

It was not Bai Yi's fault. He could not sense his own rhythm, and Tang Zheng was the strongest person nearby, so Bai Yi could only use him as a basis for judgment.

In fact, Bai Yi had a rough estimate in mind. These aberrations were most likely on the same level as himself without his talent activated.

Although those rhythms were strong, they did not put much pressure on Bai Yi.

So he added, "They should be about as strong as I am normally. I suggest you give them a try, because Rotting Corpses can no longer offer you much improvement."

In Bai Yi's view, the fastest way to improve was through battles to the death.

Facing the strong while weak—so long as one survived, one would definitely grow stronger. Seeking out weaker aberrations to practice against was useless beyond boosting one's confidence.

Bai Yi did not hide anything and stated his views honestly.

He believed the team members should start challenging stronger enemies!

"Brother Dog is right. Isn't that exactly why we came out this time?"

Wang Ziyi nodded and said in agreement, "Shall we do as we discussed before?"

Before setting out, everyone had already discussed their battle arrangements:

Bai Yi and Tang Zheng would hold the line, Zhang Zhen and Li Zihua would attack head-on, Wei Fen would circle around for flanking attacks, Wang Ziyi would provide long-range cover, while Xie Xu would move around the perimeter, using his precognition to assist at any time while also serving as the commander.

After receiving everyone's agreement, Bai Yi led the team forward.

He chose an aberration with comparatively weaker rhythm among those blocking the path.

Three hundred meters, two hundred meters, one hundred meters...

As the distance shrank, Bai Yi grew increasingly cautious. He needed to block the aberration's first wave of attacks from the very front and assess its strength.

If it was too strong, he and Tang Zheng would work together to kill it. If it was not that strong, the others would handle it.

Suddenly, within Bai Yi's perception, that rhythm began closing in at extreme speed.

"It's here."

Bai Yi shouted in a low voice.

Rustling footsteps began to sound from within the black fog, accompanied by low whispers like chattering teeth.

The next second, a humanoid aberration burst out of the black fog.

This aberration's entire body was pieced together from fragments of human skeletons, while unknown black, fibrous matter seeped from every joint.

[You see the Bone-Cleft Whisperer. Sanity -11]

The notification of lost sanity rang in everyone's minds. Yet because of the colors in his mind, Bai Yi's sanity did not decrease.

The muscles in Bai Yi's right arm suddenly tensed. His bone blade carved a silver-white arc through the air, its edge carrying the sound of wind as it cleaved straight downward.

The Bone-Cleft Whisperer raised an arm to block, and the hard bones of its arm forcibly withstood Tang Dao's downward strike.

But at the same time, its forward momentum was firmly halted by Bai Yi. For a moment, the two sides remained locked in place.

The incessant, irritating whispers had no effect on Bai Yi. Once he realized that the Bone-Cleft Whisperer's strength was roughly equal to his own, he decided to let it through.

Screech—

Bai Yi tilted Tang Dao, and the blade scraped against bone with a teeth-grinding sound.

In the instant he crossed paths with the aberration, he followed the force, lowered his center of gravity, raised his right foot, and shot his lower leg out like a spring, viciously kicking its side waist.

The tremendous force sent the aberration flying sideways. At the same time, Bai Yi withdrew and gave the space behind him to the others.

Zhang Zhen charged out fiercely, intending to attack while the Bone-Cleft Whisperer had yet to regain its footing. However, due to the gap in their attributes, he was sent flying back by a single sweep of its arm.

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Fortunately, he had sensed danger and raised his blade across his body in advance.

Xie Xu caught Zhang Zhen's retreating body, while the hand gripping his blade trembled slightly.

"Its strength is immense. We can't take it head-on."

The Bone-Cleft Whisperer twisted itself upright. Six eyes within the gaps of its bones stared fixedly at everyone present.

The atmosphere instantly froze, and the unceasing whispers worsened their mental state:

[Psychology: Fear 21/100]

Wang Ziyi was the first to break the deadlock. Her hands moved swiftly as three arrows shot toward the aberration in a triangular formation like streaks of light.

The Bone-Cleft Whisperer quickly reached out and firmly caught the two arrows aimed at its torso, then tilted its head aside to dodge the arrow aimed at its head.

But immediately afterward, an emerald-green energy arrow came whistling in, viciously stabbing toward its chest. With no time to dodge, the aberration could only cross the arms it had not yet lowered.

Whoosh—

The arrow pierced straight through both of the Bone-Cleft Whisperer's arms, stopping just after entering its chest before slowly dissipating.

The aberration's whispers became sharp and ear-piercing, like bones grinding and squeezing against each other.

Its hind legs suddenly tensed, and its heels shot straight out like battering rams as it lunged directly at Wang Ziyi.

Zhang Zhen stepped forward. This time, he had learned his lesson and no longer tried to take the demon's attacks head-on.

His left foot slid half a step forward, and his blade swept diagonally from above his left shoulder to his right hip, its edge forming a forty-five-degree angle with the ground.

The Bone-Cleft Whisperer's flung arm scraped past the Tang Dao. Zhang Zhen used the momentum to deflect the demon's advance.

Seeing the opportunity, Li Zihua's pupils narrowed. Locking onto the demon's opening, he flicked his wrist and sent the blade forward, the edge slicing precisely into a gap in the armor like a scalpel.

"Screech—"

The piercing cry rang out again. The Bone-Cleft Whisperer was thoroughly enraged by the repeated attacks.

It raised a hand and gripped the bone blade embedded in its body, then sent Zhang Zhen flying with a straight kick.

Sensing trouble, Li Zihua decisively abandoned his weapon and retreated, barely evading the demon's attack. But then the demon pulled out the bone blade and hurled it fiercely at him.

Li Zihua was still backing away. How could he possibly change direction in time to dodge the Tang Dao hurtling toward him?

Bang!

Just as the Tang Dao was about to pierce his body, a gunshot rang out. The bullet struck the Tang Dao, knocking it off course. It spun through the air and embedded itself in the dirt beside Li Zihua.

The shooter was Xie Xu. With a gun in his left hand and a fog lamp in his right, he fired toward Li Zihua, then immediately turned back without hesitation and fired repeatedly at the demon.

The demon was currently tied down by Wei Fen. After throwing the bone blade, it had chased after Zhang Zhen, intending to deal with this little bug first.

But Wei Fen intercepted it halfway. She was now struggling to fend off the demon's attacks. If not for Xie Xu and Wang Ziyi restraining it from range, she would probably have been killed instantly.

Not far behind her, Zhang Zhen struggled up from the ground. He quickly stuffed a pill into his mouth and swallowed it together with the blood in his mouth.

Feeling the pain in his body rapidly fade, he did not dare waste any time and hurried to his feet to provide support.

Wei Fen was suffering in silence. She had done her best to deflect every one of the demon's attacks, but the overwhelming difference in strength had left her wrists aching and beginning to go numb.

She could only rely on the surrounding trees to help block its attacks. Zhang Zhen's arrival gave her a chance to catch her breath, and Li Zihua soon rejoined the battle as well.

After suffering a few minor setbacks, the group's coordination gradually became more seamless.

Zhang Zhen and Li Zihua alternated in blocking the Bone-Cleft Whisperer's attacks. Whenever it tried to switch targets and attack the others, Wei Fen would act in time, working with the two of them to pin it in place.

By now, the demon's body was covered in arrows. Most of its damage had come from Wang Ziyi.

As for Xie Xu, he rescued his teammates whenever they were in danger.

The situation gradually stabilized.

But in the very next second, a sudden change occurred!