From start to finish, Fringilla had done only one thing right: her first blast of fire had crippled the Botchling, stripping it of its ability to burrow away.
"Mensa Dish-Nano!"
Another scorching fireball flew out, and a burnt smell spread through the air.
The Botchling's cries grew feeble, but they continued.
Fringilla gritted her teeth and shouted:
"Geralt! Protect me!"
"Shenmekesaqi-Ouzhilinba-Dieqi..."
She began chanting an obscure incantation at the top of her lungs, heedless of everything else. Chen Xu and Geralt rushed toward her at the same time.
The White Wolf planted one hand on the ground and vaulted over a Ghoul, laying a magical trap shimmering with purple light into the ground as he moved.
The Yrden sign!
Within a five-meter radius, the Wraiths' abilities to turn incorporeal and phase around were immediately sealed!
Chen Xu coordinated seamlessly with him, slashing Moonblade into a Ghoul behind the White Wolf that was about to leap onto his face. Both he and the monster were knocked backward.
Judging by how far each had been driven back, he had lost decisively.
But a long bloody gash stretched from the Ghoul's shoulder to its abdomen, and blood and pus burst out.
The carrion-eating monster roared. Its blood actually began flowing back into the wound, and the split, outward-curling flesh rapidly healed!
Chen Xu lunged forward to finish it off, but the toadlike bumps on the Ghoul's back suddenly flashed blood-red and swelled into terrifying spikes nearly sixty centimeters long!
It was a Giant Ghoul!
Fortunately, mastery-level [Dodge] meant he always held something back. He forcibly stopped in his tracks and swung at its throat without needing [Weakness Insight].
Moonblade became caught between those engorged spike organs. He immediately let go, drew Gram, and stabbed it into the stinking, fang-filled mouth.
[You have slain a Mortal Tier Middle Stage Giant Ghoul. Experience +10]
"You handle the Ghouls! Leave the Wraiths to me!"
Chen Xu swiftly pulled the trapped Moonblade free and shouted to Geralt, switching opponents.
He knew his disadvantage in strength very well. There was no need to stubbornly slug it out with the Ghouls like a brute.
The number of monsters continued to increase uncontrollably. Although Chen Xu posed a tremendous threat to the Wraiths, having to fight at least five or six at once put him under unbearable pressure.
These Wraiths were not entirely mindless programs, either. They had raised their green lanterns high, keeping them away from Chen Xu's silver sword.
They already floated above the ground. With their long arms extended, their weak points were almost three or four meters up.
Calling the situation a dance on a knife's edge was no exaggeration, and he also had to divide his attention to protect Fringilla, who was clearly charging up an ultimate.
Human screams and furious shouts rang out from time to time. Unable to squeeze their way in, the monsters on the outskirts turned to attacking unarmed civilians and soldiers equipped only with iron weapons.
The military camp descended into chaos. With no one keeping them in check, Randall and the other Chosen rushed over excitedly.
After learning about the world's background, they had purchased silver-plated weapons early on.
This was clearly a major event Chen Xu had triggered!
An opportunity! We're getting our share of this!
Randall abandoned his sword. His weapons were actually a pair of pure silver knuckle dusters. He moved with exceptional agility; although less precise than Chen Xu, he was even more nimble.
Max-level [Boxer] plus [Martial Artist] Lv.3, and he had already reached beginner proficiency in [Dodge]!
More than a dozen punches in a second directly dispersed a Wraith's form!
A trace of joy had barely reached his brows when the Wraith phased behind him and spun into a sword strike!
He reacted in time, bringing his silver knuckle dusters up to block. The sword only cut a small gash across the back of his hand.
He was about to seize the opportunity to counterattack, but the Wraith vanished into the void again.
He looked around and immediately felt surrounded on all sides.
Sweat soaked his back...
One Chosen with a pure strength boost was caught between a Wraith and a Ghoul. Backed by immense strength, his silver-plated steel axe sent the Ghoul tumbling like a spinning top under a whip.
But when he lost his balance, the Wraith's blade struck his neck where his armor offered no protection, nearly killing him.
[[Baron's Guard] Chosen Dimako has returned early!]
The notification of a casualty came so quickly, and the monsters were still multiplying without end. The terrifying Giant Ghouls in particular made Randall deeply wary.
The Chosen fled back even faster than they had come.
From a distance, Randall watched Chen Xu rise and fall amid a sea of swords, his expression complicated. Doubt, jealousy, fear, despair, resentment, and other emotions welled up in him all at once.
"Kill him! Kill him..."
He could only grit his teeth and curse, hoping the monsters would put in some effort and kill the real monster!
His curse was about to come true. Chen Xu really was nearing his limit.
With the Chosen who had shared the pressure retreating, the situation instantly became perilous.
The armor on his body had already saved his life several times!
His brain burned. His multithreaded calculations and predictions were clearly running at their limit.
Everywhere he looked was a terrifying ghostly realm, with nowhere to flee, as though he were trapped in a hopeless cycle of reincarnation.
And he had not reserved any points for an early return!
"Gaodi-Astrid-"
"You two! Get off the ground!"
Fringilla had finally finished her chant!
She struggled to control the blazing white ball of light in her hands. Her last words had clearly been directed at Chen Xu and Geralt.
Get off the ground?
How?
The two men exchanged a glance. Before they could think of a way, Fringilla poured the magic in her hands into the pit!
A blue-white beam of lightning pierced the air, illuminating the entire pit and even punching through the sinister ghostly realm.
Heaven and earth cleared!
The Botchling turned to charcoal instantly, without so much as a twitch.
The vegetation on the ground rapidly yellowed, scorched, and caught fire. The Ghouls convulsed where they stood, crackling all over.
The Wraiths floating above the ground received special attention. Tendrils of lightning spread chaotically, dragging even the Wraiths that had not appeared out of the void!
Geralt pulled Chen Xu into his arms and poured everything into the Quen (Heliotrope) sign.
A pale golden spherical magic shield barely kept the lightning out.
Ripples surged across the surface of the shield, which could withstand powerful crossbow bolts, like a tsunami!
Geralt's left hand trembled violently as it held the sign, and he could not stop himself from being driven backward. Fringilla's pretty face flushed red; she was clearly also doing her utmost to control the spell's targets and avoid the two men.
The rampaging current continued for nearly 4.3 seconds. The light in the sorceress's hands faded, and she staggered and collapsed, her face pale.
Worried, the White Wolf immediately ran over to support her, his steps unsteady.
Clearly, even with his constitution, he had overexerted himself.
Most of the Wraiths caught by the current had vanished into smoke. The survivors' green lanterns had dimmed to almost nothing, as though a passing breeze could scatter their forms.
While finishing off the immobilized monsters that were not quite dead, Chen Xu took the opportunity to use [Detection].
-------- Character: Fringilla Vigo Race: Human Main class: Source Sorcerer Lv.7 Secondary class: Magic Apprentice Lv.5 (max) Attributes: Constitution 3, strength 2, reaction 4, soul quality 14, spirit 22, will 16 Dark energy: 0/68 Talent: [Source] (spirit +20%) Specialties: Shared Lineage, Illusion Mastery, Elder Speech, Four-Pillar Elemental Affinity Skills: Four-Pillar Elemental Magic, Atmospheric Portal, Deception Lv.1, Politician Lv.1 Tier: Qi Sense Lower Stage Not much talent. --------
Sure enough, both of them had exhausted their dark energy, and casting spells at their limits had drained their stamina as well.
In this world completed by the gods, the number of signs a witcher could cast within a short time was extremely limited.
"What are you staring at? Hurry up and finish off the ones still breathing!" The sorceress had still noticed Chen Xu's [Detection], but she merely urged him to get on with it.
Notifications of experience gains kept ringing out, mixed with a rustling sound.
He looked back and saw that three Chosen had already crept over to steal kills and loot.
"Don't just hack at the monsters. The emerald dust those Wraiths dropped is good stuff too," Chen Xu reminded them gently.
"Oh, right." One Chosen went to pick it up as instructed, only for the hurled Moonblade to pin his hand through, drawing an agonized scream!
The other two moved to surround Chen Xu. If not for the formidable combat strength he had displayed in the fierce battle just now, they would already have lost patience and lunged in to kill him!
"Everyone who sees it gets a share. Don't take things too far!" The Chosen whose hand had been pierced steeled himself and pulled Moonblade out.
Without a word, Chen Xu drew the steel sword from his back.