Mysterious Assailant, Poison and Curses, Lehman's Hard-Fought Battle (Two-in-One, 4,600 Words)

Who is it?

Raymon roared, and countless bolts of lightning crackled and poured out of his body like a flood, outlining a blue-purple lightning giant that was eighty or ninety meters tall on his body.

The giant lightning was surrounded by a hurricane, the blue and green hues merging to illuminate the entire square, creating a magnificent and awe-inspiring spectacle.

Hiss!!

The black hydra, formed from condensed shadow energy, emitted a piercing hiss that could shake the soul, before engaging in a fierce battle with Raymon.

At the same time, the moment the Shadow Hydra appeared, it was as if countless black hands were tightly gripping the hearts of everyone present. A faint aura of decay and curse seeped out from the void, engulfing all the other Stormclaw Squad members, including Gustavo.

Their blood began to throb, gradually moving towards chaos and mutation.

"This is... poison, no, and also the power of a curse!" Gustavo was horrified as he felt the strange changes occurring within his body.

Who exactly is this enemy?

They were actually able to attack the remaining dozen or so Ninth-Rank Transcendent Individual, the worst of whom were at least at the Tier Six, while simultaneously attacking a ninth-tier Transcendent.

Moreover, judging from the fact that the effects of the poison and the curse are constantly increasing, it is clear that some medium is at work.

However, the only thing that relieved Gustavo was that the power of the mysterious toxin and curse was actually quite small. Although it had some effect, it did not significantly reduce his combat strength.

During this period, Gustavo's [Poison Calamity Body] skill has been upgraded to the intermediate talent level by him, greatly increasing its effectiveness.

The specific data is as follows.

[Poison Calamity Body] Passive -- Toxin Resistance +30, Abnormal Resistance +20, Health +800, Physical Defense +30%. Your Life Essence becomes more active and robust under the stimulation of toxins, moderately increasing your growth rate.

Toxins, and corresponding toxin resistance.

Curse, corresponding to abnormal resistance.

With a full 30 points of poison resistance, 20 points of abnormal status resistance, plus the boost to health and physical defense, as well as Gustavo's own various resistances, he was basically unaffected by the unknown toxins and curses.

But while he's fine, the situation might be different for others.

Puff!

Just as Gustavo was pondering, Nelson and the others behind him began to cough up blood from the corners of their mouths, their breaths as unstable as candle flames flickering in the wind.

The blood overflowing from their mouths was a dark purple, carrying a strong aura of decay and curse, which startled Gustavo.

Looking at Harry, he is indeed Tier Eight dragon vein sorcerer, specializing in defense, with relatively high resistance to abnormal statuses and poison. He did not become listless like the other three.

However, the dragon-man's face turned deathly pale, and his body swayed slightly, clearly indicating that he had suffered considerable injuries.

"Be careful! Someone's trying to ambush us... an aura... a spellcaster!"

Nelson struggled to stay upright, his voice broken and fragmented. Despite constantly taking recovery potions, the toxins and curses in his body were clearly extraordinary, and removing them wouldn't be easy.

The other High-Rank Transcendent were in the same state, teetering on the brink of collapse, not to mention the six Tier Six Mid-Rank Transcendent who had completely lost their fighting ability.

Seeing this, Gustavo also controlled the three puppets, including the Fairy Puppet, to pretend to be seriously injured. He himself also lay on the ground, looking listless.

As a result, the only one whose combat strength remained basically intact was the Tier Eight dragon vein sorcerer Harry.

Oh, and Raymon Brothers, who fought against Hydra.

"Nelson, cast Shield of Protection on me! The rest of you, leave the plaza in an orderly fashion."

As he spoke, Harry turned around, his aura spreading out in full force, his entire body suddenly swelling up, and finally transforming into a Red Dragon soaring with outstretched wings.

Nelson, bracing himself, cast the 7th-circle spell Shield of Protection on the Red Dragon. The dragon snorted, sending sparks flying, then swung its thick tail and joined the battle, fighting alongside Raymon against the hundred-meter-tall hydra.

With the Storm Giant and the Red Dragon joining forces, the Hydra was forced into a deep retreat.

Seeing this, Nelson and the others breathed a sigh of relief, held their breath, and dragged their heavily injured bodies away from the square.

During the evacuation, Gustavo feigned unconsciousness while mentally comparing the toxins permeating the plaza with those of Hades. "This toxin's persistence is lacking. Although it's not weak, it can't compare to my Hades. Even Hades Prototype would be far stronger."

"It seems the enemy's methods are strong, but not exceptionally so. I'd estimate they're a spellcaster at the Upper Tier Nine?" Gustavo pondered, while simultaneously deploying his [Spider-Sense] to search for the hidden enemy.

Wow!

In mid-air, invisible and intangible threads of perception spread out from Gustavo across the entire square.

Soon, Gustavo detected a faint, almost imperceptible aura.

However, he remained expressionless, his pupils tightly closed, using only his senses to explore in a certain direction little by little.

The opponent was clearly well-prepared, or perhaps skilled in stealth and assassination, which is why Raymon and his men never sensed any danger approaching and were able to launch the sneak attack.

However, Gustavo also has an advantage: he is hiding his true strength.

Moreover, two layers of shields were set up.

The first layer consists of Harry, Nelson, and Raymon, among others.

The second layer consists of his three main puppets.

Even if the enemy wants to fight, they will definitely deal with Raymon and the others first, then the puppet. As for a stupid, poisoned mount, they probably won't care too much.

This gave Gustavo the initiative to counterattack. His opponent would never have imagined that Gustavo was immune to poisons and curses and that he could detect his presence using his Spider-Sense talent.

A silvery, starlight-like energy surged within him. Gustavo stood firmly on the ground, becoming more intimately connected with the surrounding space. Everything around him seemed to become a part of his body, allowing him to perceive extremely subtle things.

Gustavo listed Spider-Sense as one of his top five talents to prioritize for development because of its extremely high precision and breadth of perception. This allows him to anticipate enemy moves, detect hidden enemies, avoid being ambushed, and greatly enhance his melee combat abilities.

Imperceptible threads of perception, like spider silk, silently spread out, drifting slowly toward the location of that aura.

Finally, Gustavo discovered the man hiding in the shadows.

This was a human Mage wearing a cloak and hood, with extremely pale skin covered in small, snake-like black patterns.

This mysterious figure was hidden in the shadows, seemingly blending into the space. In fact, he was not far from Raymon, but the latter did not notice him, which shows how superb the mysterious figure's ability to Concealment was.

What surprised Gustavo even more was that this mysterious man didn't use a magic wand, spellbook, or any other type of prop when casting spells; he relied solely on his own physical body.

His spellcasting technique was extremely skillful. He did not use any spellcasting tools, but with just his two palms, the flow of Magic Power was incredibly smooth and without any stagnation.

This made Gustavo narrow his eyes, and a flood of Inherited Memory rushed into his mind.

"So it's the Angus School, no wonder," Gustavo murmured to himself.

The Angus School, a major school of spellcasters, also known as the Demon Body School.

The core tenet of this school is to use the human body as a tool for casting spells, believing that this is the only way to get closer to the mysteries of magic and to unlock the Gate of Truth.

Whether the principles of the Demon Body Sect are correct is still uncertain, but when it comes to the speed of casting magic, this school is certainly quite skilled.

Because of the demonic modifications made to the human body, these guys' body parts, or even their entire bodies, are much faster at transmitting Magic Power than spellcasters using spellbooks and staves.

Just like this attacker lurking in the shadows, a pair of hands glowing with black light, ten fingers rapidly flicking in the air, countless tiny magic circles appearing and then arranging themselves.

Defense, offense, weakness, blessing...

The mysterious attacker wielded various forms of magic with ease, effortlessly neutralizing Raymon and Harry's attacks while maintaining control of Hydra. He also firmly grasped the initiative in the battle with a suppressive stance.

Without a doubt, this mysterious attacker was also Tier Nine combatant, and Gustavo's guess was correct; even among Ninth-Rank Transcendent, his strength should be among the top.

Because this guy was proficient in shadow magic, dark magic, and negative energy magic, despite launching a series of attacks, Raymon and Harry were unable to find his true form and could only bombard the energy hydra with attacks.

However, this resulted in Raymon and his partner wasting their efforts, and their performance gradually declined.

"This can't go on. Looks like I need to help them out." Gustavo muttered to himself, having been watching the battle unfold, and shifted some of his consciousness to the ratman April puppet.

Clang!

The metal combat boots made a crisp sound as they struck the ground. Nelson's expression changed, and he looked warily at the ratman puppet. "What are you going to do?"

"Give the leader a hand."

After giving a brief reply, the ratman puppet ignored Nelson and, upon reaching the plaza, slowly pulled out the Flameblast Shotgun from its back.

The gun barrel is long and slender, with a surface pattern resembling a solar corona interspersed with Lava patterns. This is a Transcendent weapon of the three-star premium level, with extremely strong attack power. If Gustavo hadn't been poisoned by the ratman April in the Alternate Space Prison, leaving him with less than one-tenth of his combat strength, he would definitely not have fared well if he had taken a few shots.

"Huh? What's he going to do?"

When the ratman puppet emerged, Raymon and his companion, along with the mysterious figure hidden in the shadows, all frowned, utterly puzzled as to why this severely injured Transcendent was out there. Was he just showing off?

However, the ratman puppet's actions in the next moment drastically changed the course of the battle, which was originally unfavorable to Storm Claw.

Load, raise your gun, aim, fire!

All movements were fluid and natural.

After a roar like a volcanic eruption, dozens of metal projectiles, each the size of a little finger, shot towards an empty spot in the square, engulfed in flames.

Damn it!

The mysterious man cursed under his breath, for the metal bullets were aimed directly at him.

While his ability to Concealment himself was indeed powerful, it was not a spatial magic technique. Faced with such a powerful attack, he was bound to reveal a weakness.

But he couldn't afford not to defend himself, because if the metal bullet hit his body, the mysterious man would also be exposed.

"You wretched rat, how dare you ruin my plans! I'll kill you!"

The mysterious figure's eyes were cold and sinister. As he exited his Concealment state, he waved his hand, and a giant skull burning with black and blue flames charged towards the rat-man puppet with a cacophony of cackling laughter.

Eighth Ring Spell, Blackfire Skull.

Faced with this attack, the ratman puppet's expression turned serious. He raised his Flameblast Shotgun and fired wildly, attempting to destroy it.

Meanwhile, as soon as the mysterious attacker emerged from Concealment, Raymon and Harry immediately spotted the despicable fellow.

Raymon was overjoyed, "Well done!"

Unexpectedly, this Black Spider Squad proved so useful at the crucial moment, not only leading him out of the maze but also helping him discover the hiding place of the mysterious attacker.

Raymon decided that after the battle, he would reward the Black Spider Squad handsomely and train them to be his trusted confidants.

Simply put, they are incredibly useful, and the Black Spider Squad's actions have proven their loyalty and reliability.

Thoughts flashed through his mind like lightning, but Raymon's hands moved with lightning speed. A near-mad rage and Berserk intent, along with an extremely violent power, roared within the body of this Transcendent being with the blood of the Storm Giant.

Brush!

Suddenly, Raymon flipped his hands, and a spear appeared in each of his hands.

On the left, a flying spear was wreathed in lightning; on the right, a hurricane.

The overwhelming killing intent and thunderous rage that had been brewing within him surged forth, breaking through the barriers of his body and pouring into the two three-star Rare- quality flying spears.

"Kill!"

Like the roar of an ancient behemoth, Raymon, his body like a powerful bowstring, suddenly unleashed two beams of light that pierced the heavens and earth.

Because of the excessive energy poured in, the flying spear left behind a trail of residual energy wherever it passed.

Raymon's earth-shattering attack startled the attacker who had just revealed himself, and his expression turned extremely solemn.

Although his overall strength was much greater than Raymon's, faced with the latter's all-out, Berserk attack, this mysterious attacker had only one thought in his mind at this moment—to dodge!

The power of these two flying spears was outrageous. Even before they reached the attacker, it felt as if countless steel needles were piercing his body, the stinging sensation was so real.

Under the threat of death, the attacker gripped the necklace tightly in his right hand, and uttered a series of complex and difficult syllables from his dark purple lips. Then, a flash of silvery-white light appeared, and his figure vanished abruptly.

The moment the mysterious attacker vanished, two long rainbows shot down from the sky.

Boom!

Boom!

An unparalleled surge of power erupted, and the violent explosion sent the entire plaza engulfed in Berserk torrent of air.

The metal-paved ground was violently torn apart, and countless fragments were swept into the air before falling back down.

But this terrifying attack power did not make Raymon particularly happy.

Because his real target, the mysterious attacker, is still alive; that's what truly troubles Raymon.

Um?

A sense of foreboding arose in his mind, and without hesitation, Raymon moved to the left.

Bang!

A dark purple energy beam attacked from behind, judging from the angle, it was from the upper right rear.

Thoughts flashed through his mind like lightning, and in an instant, Raymon had already made a fighting move.

With a shift in his stance, his abdominal muscles twisted, transmitting powerful force layer by layer. Then, with a "bang," the Storm Giant soared into the sky, unleashing a heavy punch accompanied by thunder and storm.

Instant activation!

Sizzle!

With a flash of lightning, the punch had barely been thrown when a spiraling gust of wind rushed straight towards the attacker, its momentum exceptionally fierce.

"Hmph! Storm Giant!"

With a deep, hoarse voice, the attacker neither dodged nor evaded, but instead made a series of tapping motions in the air with one hand.

With each tap, a dense black Magic Power surged from his fingers, then flowed and combined in a peculiar trajectory.

Finally, a diamond-shaped energy shield, black as iron, appeared before the mysterious attacker, blocking the raging gale-force winds.

However, this was just the aftermath; the shield couldn't withstand Raymon's Berserk punch.

The mysterious attacker clearly understood this principle as well. Immediately afterward, a black energy shield appeared, and streams of negative energy magic flew from his hands, ultimately blocking the punch steadily.

"Your bloodline is quite good..."

Seeing the battle developing in his favor, the mysterious attacker relaxed, his eyes filled with intense greed as he tightly enveloped Raymon, his malice palpable, as if he were appraising a precious item.

Raymon felt a pang of pain from that gaze. Since he had grown up, no one had dared to covet his noble giant bloodline.

"Kill!"

Raymon roared, and together with Harry, who had transformed into Red Dragon, they attacked the mysterious attacker from the left and right.