Who Is the Real Villain?

With the deal finalized, Linia Abbendis departed, and Xiao Yu began preparing for tomorrow's operation.

He had already reached level 55 and had just learned a new skill that he could use in tomorrow's battle.

Open the skill bar; this time, four skills appear, from which you can choose one.

Option 1, Frost Ray, fires an energy ray filled with the power of ice to attack enemies in a straight line (requires channeling), dealing continuous ice damage and inflicting the Chill status. After five stacks of the Chill status, the target will Freeze.

Option 2, Blazing Sun Ray: Fires a beam of energy filled with fiery power at enemies in a straight line (channeling required), dealing continuous fire damage and inflicting a burning status. The power of the Blazing Sun Ray gradually increases over time, triggering a "Flames Engulfing the Body" effect when it reaches its maximum, dealing massive damage and having a chance to Execute the target. The chance of Execute the target decreases as the target's template level increases.

Option 3, Lightning Pulse, fires a continuous Lightning Pulse attack on an enemy (requires channeling), dealing continuous lightning damage and granting the enemy an electrode every five seconds. After five electrodes are stacked, a lightning strike effect is triggered, dealing massive lightning damage to the target and stunning them for five seconds.

Option 4, Petrifying Ray, fires a ray of energy imbued with the power of the earth to attack enemies in a straight line (requires channeling). It deals continuous damage to enemies and petrifies them, slowing them down but increasing their defense. After five stacks of petrification, the target will be turned into a statue.

Xiao Yu glanced at the descriptions of the four skills; they all seemed like pretty good skills. But then he found himself in a dilemma.

All four skills are single-target skills, which are obviously very powerful for one-on-one combat. They are all useful against the Dreadlord Balnazzar. However, for dealing with demons, Blazing Sun Ray should be better because its biggest advantage is that it has a chance to trigger Execute effect. That Dreadlord's health is probably very high, and it would be troublesome to decide the winner by fighting it out. This one is good, let's use it.

System notification: You have learned a new skill, Blazing Sun Ray.

Xiao Yu went to bed early that night, and set off with some of his men early the next morning.

On the morning of the fifth day, the Eastern Plaguelands, this Curse land, remained as deathly as ever. Even after the Scarlet Crusade cleared away the surrounding Undead, the restoration of human life was not something that could be achieved in a short time.

The absence of the Undead meant that even the only thing that moved was gone, and the surrounding wilderness presented an utterly desolate scene. Only the occasional crow flying overhead added a touch of dynamism to the picture.

Amidst this deathly silence, a group of people were slowly making their way along the main road, heading towards Stratholme.

Standing on the hillside, Xiao Yu watched the Scarlet Crusade marching down the continent below, his heart Boiling. His Annihilation state had now reached its fifth layer, and at this moment, his entire body was beginning to decompose. The swirling elemental vortex was becoming increasingly Enrage, putting his body in an unstable state where it seemed as if it could explode at any moment, at least from the outside.

Every now and then, Xiao Yu could feel the elemental power within his body surging, as if it might get out of control at any moment.

Fortunately, Xiao Yu knew he wouldn't actually explode. As long as the seventh day hadn't arrived, he was still safe. After all, no matter how realistic the game was, it was still just a game. Since the description of the Annihilation state said it would explode after seven days, it definitely would. However, Leah Bloodmoon next to him always looked very nervous.

Leah Bloodmoon (Great Elementalist): "Are you sure you won't explode? By the way, if you're about to explode, remember to remind me, I don't want to die with you." As she spoke, she cast an Elemental Empowerment on Azathoth.

Azathoth (Water Elemental Lord): "Shut up, Blood Elf. If you don't want to die with me, then heal yourself."

His gaze fell upon a Water Elemental beside him. This Water Elemental was a player, and also a full-time employee of his studio, who had previously worked in marketing and planning.

Azathoth (Water Elemental Lord): "Liu Qiang, is the camera sprite ready?"

"Everything's ready, boss. Don't worry, I've arranged five photographers to capture your impressive display of power in defeating the Scarlet Crusade in the best possible light."

Xiao Yu nodded in satisfaction. Having been a boss for so long, he had unconsciously learned and become accustomed to the businessman's mindset, striving to maximize profits in everything. This time, the confrontation with Dathrohan was still very risky; after all, the opponent was a four-skull-level BOSS, and might be even stronger after transforming. Balnazzar was, after all, a character who had appeared in the main storyline of the Sky World. Although not as important a character as Queen Sylvanas with her protagonist's halo, her strength should not be underestimated.

"Therefore, this battle cannot simply end quietly. In order to maximize his gains, in addition to reputation points, treasures, and the loyalty of Scarlet Glory, he also needs to further enhance his reputation to prepare for the promotion of the strongest BOSS. And the video of today's battle will surely bring him tremendous reputation."

Just then, Dathrohan and his guards slowly approached the foot of the mountain.

Just as Dathrohan was passing by the foot of the mountain, Xiao Yu made a move.

Like a black hurricane, it burst out of the forest where it was hiding and swept down the mountain. Wherever it passed, grass, trees, soil and rocks were blown away and crushed in the face of the powerful elemental force.

This mass, resembling a black hurricane, naturally attracted the attention of the marching group at the foot of the mountain.

Herod (Crimson Warrior): "Marshal, be careful! A monster is charging down from the mountain."

Doan (Crimson Arcane Mage): "It's Elemental Lords! My God, how could there be traces of Elemental Lords here?"

Dathrohan (Grand Warrior): "Elemental Lords, who are you? Why are you here? Abbendis, what brings you with this Elemental Lords?"

Besides Leah Bloodmoon and some elemental followers, Xiao Yu was also accompanied by Linia Abbendis, which was arranged beforehand.

Linia Abbendis (Scarlet Crusade Commander): "Hahaha, don't you understand, Dathrohan? You're old and useless. You're not fit to lead the Scarlet Crusade at all. I am the best candidate to lead this organization. Today you will die here, and I will become the new leader of the Scarlet Crusade."

Upon hearing Linia Abbendis's words, Dathrohan (Balnazzar) breathed a sigh of relief. He had thought he had been exposed, but it turned out that she wanted to seize power. That made things easier. The evil and despicable nature of humanity was indeed always unexpected. This kind of inexplicable yet blatant betrayal could probably only be done by humans.

Dathrohan (High Warrior): "Why? Why did you do this? We should unite to fight the Undead, not kill each other for power and profit. Don't you understand? It was because we couldn't unite in the past that the Scourge had an opportunity. Now you've repeated the same mistake. You've disappointed me so much, Linia."

Dathrohan wore a pained expression, as if he were genuinely saddened by Linia's fall from grace. Xiao Yu thought to himself, "These two are really good actors; each one is more convincing than the last."

The reason Abbendis didn't expose Dathrohan's true identity right away, but instead acted like he was the villain, was to lull the other party into a false sense of security and make him misjudge their purpose. Balnazzar probably never dreamed that his identity had already been exposed.

Linia Abbendis listened to Dathrohan's words with a complicated expression. She seemed to regret her choice, feel uneasy about the future, and find it hard to give up her goal. After a long while, she shook her head.

Linia Abbendis (Scarlet Crusade Commander): "I'm sorry, General, but I'm afraid I have no chance to turn back."

Dathrohan (Grand Warrior): "No, child, it's never too late to mend your ways. If you abandon this evil thought, I'm willing to keep this a secret." He glanced at the two henchmen bosses beside him.

"You two will keep your mouths shut, right?"

Linia Abbendis (Scarlet Crusade Commander): "Really? But I—"

Azathoth (Water Elemental Lord): "Enough! We've already made a pact. I'll help you kill Dathrohan, and you and your Scarlet Crusade Warrior will pledge allegiance to me. It's too late to back out now. Either fulfill the agreement, swear allegiance to me, and become my servant, or die with Dathrohan."

Dathrohan —also known as the Dreadlord Balnazzar —thought to himself, "What the hell? How did an Elemental Lords suddenly appear? An elemental being recruiting the Scarlet Crusade as subordinates? Doesn't that seem a bit off?" And this Abbendis, usually so meek and obedient, suddenly turned evil. He's really good at hiding it. Humans are indeed evil creatures; they seem even more evil than us demons! They betray us at the drop of a hat. I haven't even had a chance to tempt you yet!

This elemental creature looks a bit intimidating; should I reveal my true strength?

Balnazzar the blink of an eye, Xiao Yu had already unleashed a Blazing Sun Ray.

P. S.: I'm so sorry, it's my dad's birthday today, and I've been busy all day. I can only update once tonight. I'll resume three updates a day starting tomorrow.