NOVEL NEXT Chapter 178: Black Iron Lieutenant
The Overlord's body seemed to be forcefully pushed forward, staggering and stumbling.
Although this sniper shot wasn't fatal, it broke the Overlord's strongest big move, forcing him to activate his life-saving ability: the Giant Rhinoceros Soul!
Furthermore, right in front of the Overlord was Bai Pu.
Bai Pu seized the opportunity, leaping high into the air, carrying with him a fierce cyclone as he struck down from above! The Wind-Stepping Slash was initiated, the cyclone surged, and the Overlord's form lightened, his entire body filled with Qi Force, involuntarily rising into the air.
Bai Pu struck with his saber, triggering the Wind-Seeking Effect for a second slash, followed by three slightly smaller blades of light, all rushing toward the Overlord's neck.
The Five Linked Blades—should they hit, even the damage reduction ability of the Giant Rhinoceros Soul would be useless!
The Overlord could only roar unwillingly, his figure gradually fading and disappearing. He had already used a forced withdrawal item and left the world of [Flesh and Blood Plague: Deformation].
Bai Pu looked towards the direction from which that fearsome sniper bullet had been fired.
On the opposite ridge, Crazy Zen stood beside two Awakened individuals, one of whom was slowly putting away a dark, heavy sniper rifle.
The sniper rifle gleamed with a Black Iron-like hue, appearing to be fixed to both the ground and the Awakened individual. Just dismantling the base and the individual's fixings took a whole three minutes!
It wasn't that the Awakened individual, who was packing away the gun, was clumsy; on the contrary, his movements were skilled and practiced. The time-consuming process was due to the overly complex assembling and disassembling steps of the sniper rifle itself.
The two middle-aged Awakened standing behind the Overlord were merely in support roles. Faced with this scene, they had no good solutions. Though experienced, and equipped with a few special moves of their own, it was too much to ask them to risk everything against the Crazy Zen Squad, especially since Bai Pu, Blood Spider, and Mad Rhino Luz were also present and would not stand idly by.
Bai Pu received a hint from the Spirit Realm Will that, due to external interference, the duel's stakes were automatically canceled. This meant that the remaining two Awakened of the Overlord's team did not have to leave.
However, the middle-aged man surnamed Yi had the demeanor of a wage-earner, showing no intent for revenge on behalf of the Overlord. Instead, he smiled and said, "Gangxin, Crazy Zen, you're not thinking of keeping the two of us here, are you? I bet you don't have the hands to spare."
Bai Pu didn't blink an eye, waving his hand as he said, "Feel free to leave, both of you."
"Please forgive the offense this time. After all, our factions differ, and mission conflicts are unavoidable, really just a chance the Overlord happened to take advantage of," the middle-aged man explained.
"It's alright, I understand." Bai Pu said, hiding one unsaid thought—it wouldn't matter to him if he sabotaged the Overlord's critical mission once in the future to even the score.
The middle-aged man surnamed Yi shot a deep look at Bai Pu and turned to leave.
Below the cliffs, the Hidden Snake Team had already been startled by the Crazy Zen Squad's sniper shot, all looking up to discover Bai Pu and the others!
Bai Pu and Crazy Zen charged forward like tigers down the mountain!
Bai Pu dashed toward the battlefield, while Crazy Zen headed toward the cliffside, where several Awakened individuals manned the Harpoon Cannon.
Originally, Bai Pu hadn't intended to clash directly with Hidden Snake, not until the Crimson Wings had expended another card or two from the Hidden Snake Team.
However, plans couldn't keep up with the changes. The Hidden Snake Team had already realized something was wrong and couldn't risk outputting against the boss while risking a Backstab.
Thus, Bai Pu seized the opportunity to strike. Currently, Hidden Snake's professional skill: Shadow Walking was on cooldown, and having already used two or three formidable skills, their strength had diminished significantly!
Moreover, there was an Enhanced Leader—the presence of Crimson Wings! She had already engaged in true battle with the Hidden Snake Team, making an excellent aid for Bai Pu.
"So you are Gangxin!" Hidden Snake's snake-like eyes suddenly narrowed, his face cold and sinister. "I've been looking for you, and you came to me on your own!"
Bai Pu remained silent, charging straight down the cliff. One member of the Hidden Snake Team blocked his way, but with a powerful chop, he was sent flying, blood streaming from his tiger's mouth!
Bai Pu's first target was not Hidden Snake.
But the Illusionist: Golden Butterfly!
Having suffered before at the hands of "Hundred-eyed Demon," Bai Pu well understood how this support profession, seeming not very threatening, could become a massive hindrance to Close Combat Professions if finely manipulating illusions to warp visuals!
Golden Butterfly had seemed passive just now, only because Crimson Wings was too fast! Her speed exceeded Golden Butterfly's capture limits, and before the illusion could even activate successfully, the Crimson Wings had already moved to the next position!
Golden Butterfly raised her hand, and the scenery before Bai Pu instantly blurred. Suddenly, there were three images of Golden Butterfly, one charging toward Bai Pu, while the other two ran to the left and right.
This was Golden Butterfly's professional skill: Mirage Tower's Level 4 Effect: Illusion Theater! It allowed illusions to form false bodies, each performing different actions, making it hard to differentiate between what's real and what's not.
Bai Pu sneered, ignoring the two "Golden Butterflies" fleeing to his left and right, instead swung his saber at the one charging toward him!
The Golden Butterfly's face showed surprise, her steps forcefully coming to a halt, her golden robe billowing like a sail, forming a shield as if inflated.
Bai Pu's strike was deflected.
With two soft pops, the phantom images of the Golden Butterflies that had fled left and right vanished into thin air.
"How can you see through my skill!" Golden Butterfly couldn't help but ask.
Bai Pu let out a light snort. For someone with monstrous observation skills like him, recognizing the true and false among the three clones wasn't difficult! But he saw no need to explain. He drove the Long Saber straight at Golden Butterfly's abdomen.
This strike was solid and direct, and with Bai Pu holding the saber in both hands, Golden Butterfly's inflated robe wouldn't deflect it!
With a thunderous explosion, the inflating blast of Golden Butterfly's robe exploded, sending her spiraling backward as if a balloon had burst. At the same time, the blast wave caused shock damage and slowed Bai Pu!
"Nice equipment, probably enhanced to +7," Bai Pu thought to himself, his feet moving without pause as the Iron Spike Shoulder Guard glowed, triggering a Charge, doubling his speed, shadowing Golden Butterfly as he crashed toward her.
The dazzling blade light formed a web of blades that enveloped the Illusionist, blurring reality and illusion!
Clang!
A metallic clanging sound echoed, and Hidden Snake suddenly emerged from Bai Pu's shadow, blocking Bai Pu's Long Saber with his twin swords!
Hidden Snake's form trembled, disbelief spread across his face, as he suddenly realized his strength was inferior to this Level 3 Enhanced Elite in front of him!
Bai Pu's furious wave of attacks was also hindered by Hidden Snake, due to the immense pressure Hidden Snake brought upon him! In an instant, Hidden Snake simultaneously appeared at Bai Pu's left, right, and rear, launching an attack!
This wasn't Golden Butterfly's illusion; rather, it was Hidden Snake reaching terrifying speed with his high Agility, creating an overwhelming effect!
Simultaneously, a majestic blue light flashed across Hidden Snake's body, causing Bai Pu to tremble as he received a prompt from Spirit Realm Will.
[Hidden Snake used the Black Iron Lieutenant's authority to initiate rank suppression against you!]
[Your rank: Corporal, suppression active.]
[For (300) seconds, you cannot use any items related to Space abilities!]