Above an abandoned village, thick clouds obscured the sky, making the daytime as dark as night, devoid of any sunlight.
A light drizzle pattered down, and a bolt of lightning suddenly streaked across the sky.
On the long-deserted main street, a desolate figure let out an unwilling roar:
Following that, there came a sharp clashing of metal, and Lin Yi cautioned:
"Retreat, uncle, to heal up; Silence, you take the front."
Silence immediately activated a skill:
The Cloth Corpse King, initially aiming at the stable-as-a-mountain target, shifted direction towards Silence, swinging its chains:
The chains smashed heavily onto Silence’s shield, and the tremendous recoil pushed Silence back three or four steps before he steadied himself.
Unable to strike down this intruding offender at once, Cloth growled in anger, staggering as it dragged its chains towards Silence.
When close, it swung the chains down again forcefully.
In the split second before the chains landed, Silence sidestepped to dodge the attack.
Seeing that Cloth continued its relentless attack, Silence gritted his teeth, braced his shield, and activated the second transformation skill:
Cloth staggered back half a step, and Red Eyes darted from the shadows, dagger descending from above:
"Sunset Silver Light"
"-759" Critical Strike/Severe Weakness Damage~
Having landed a hit, Red Eyes immediately retreated, not lingering.
Next, Zhan Chen and Handsome Chagi’s attacks came whistling.
Under the seamless teamwork of the group, Cloth Corpse King let out series of unwilling roars.
After over half an hour of intense battle, they gradually discerned some characteristics of this boss.
Despite the boss having terrifyingly high attack power, its speed was remarkably sluggish.
Facing Lin Yi and this group of freaks, it became evidently lethargic in the mid to late stages.
Even the later bursts were narrowly and safely avoided by Lin Yi and the others.
As time trickled away, with Cloth’s health plummeting to less than 30,000, it suddenly howled furiously.
Lin Yi suddenly shouted stop:
"Everyone fall back."
Although confused, everyone immediately followed Lin Yi’s instructions, retreating towards the village entrance.
The group stood not far away, watching Cloth, who was nearly killed, roaring at the sky.
Tian Ci asked in confusion:
"What’s happening? Did we hit it too hard that it’s gone mad?"
Handsome Chagi looked amused:
"Perhaps it’s too excited, finally getting release."
Under their gaze, Cloth’s skin peeled away layer by layer, evoking goosebumps among the group.
"Ugh, that’s disgusting."
Zhang Xinying hurriedly covered Wang Zixin’s eyes,
"Kids shouldn’t see this."
Wang Zixin did not resist but innocently asked:
Zhang Xinying was at a loss for explanation and just said,
"Children shouldn’t ask too many questions."
Wang Zixin obediently responded with an ’oh’ and stopped talking.
At that moment, the sky suddenly turned, with red clouds swirling and gale roaring.
Lightning streaked across the sky, illuminating the shadow that’s roaring in the street center.
An eerie atmosphere emerged in this desolate village.
Everyone felt a chill.
If experiencing this scenario for the first time, few could remain calm.
Zhan Chen instinctively moved to Silence’s side, with a reassuring smile:
"Don’t worry, I’m here."
Silence rolled his eyes at Zhan Chen, tapping the shield in his other hand with his sword, indicating: If anyone is to protect, it’s I protecting you.
Zhan Chen couldn’t help but smile at this girl wielding a large shield; it felt odd.
Suddenly, a gale centered around the Corpse King swept through the street.
The close-by Lin Yi and the others felt it too, their robes and armor fluttering in the wind.
"Let’s step back a bit."
Handsome Chagi asked:
"What’s happening, why aren’t we taking this chance to kill it?"
But Lin Yi, having retreated to the village entrance, said:
"Just keep watching and you’ll understand."
Some things can’t be explained in just a word or two.
Suddenly, the doomsday-like scene before them receded noticeably.
It was replaced by warm sunlight piercing the clouds, shining onto the earth.
The once dilapidated village was renewed in a blink.
Clean, eclectic-style buildings stood along the neat streets.
Lifelike lizardmen, clad in neatly tailored clothes, bustled in the streets and alleys.
Their faces beamed with happiness, a harmonious scene.
Yet, to everyone’s amazement, on the village outskirts or just behind them
it still felt gloomy and desolate; this village alone seemed like a ’Peach Blossom Spring,’ a scene of beauty.
This felt like standing at the juncture of two completely different worlds, unbelievable.
Tian Ci couldn’t help rubbing his eyes,
"Whoa, this, this... what’s going on?"
Handsome Chagi also looked puzzled:
"Is this an illusion?"
"Could this be how the village looked before?"
Zhang Xinying uncovered Wang Zixin’s eyes, who marveled at the sight:
"Wow, where is this? Those people look so strange."
At this moment, a lizardman brought a bag past Tian Ci, who reached out to grab it, but his hand passed right through the lizardman’s body.
Everyone then realized:
"Is this a holographic projection?"
Just then, they noticed all the lizardmen in the street looking towards Lin Yi with frightened eyes.
A moment of harmony abruptly shifted.
Every lizardman abandoned their items in terror, screaming and scattering to take refuge in nearby buildings.
Though no sound could be heard, the panic and unknown terror were evident in their eyes.
Witnessing this scene for the first time, Handsome Chagi and the others instinctively looked back.
Behind the group was nothing but a silent, desolate wilderness, with stark contrast front and back, leaving them astonished.
Tian Ci finally couldn’t help but ask:
The answer soon appeared before them.
Suddenly, three black-cloaked figures appeared before Lin Yi’s group, standing at the village entrance.
Yet they faced away from Lin Yi and the group, obscuring their appearances.
"Damn! Can’t see a thing. Who are these people?"
At this moment, a man holding chains, with a sullen face, slowly walked up from the street’s end.
Seeing this, everyone immediately thought of the figure approaching the same way over half an hour ago through the rain curtain.
Zhan Chen exclaimed in surprise: