booktalesy Chapter 4367 Escape from Death
Chapter 4367 Escape from Death
Chapter 4367 Escape from Death
Upon hearing this, the stronghold instantly descended into chaos.
One-Eyed Dragon instinctively waved his hand, signaling everyone to quickly retreat back into the burrow.
They had already witnessed the eeriness and danger of evil spirits, and in the past, they had always kept their distance and never dared to confront them head-on.
But the moment he raised his hand, his gaze fell on the truck full of military supplies. The cowardice in his eyes faded instantly, replaced by a fierce and greedy look.
"What's the panic! We're well-equipped with weapons this time, all top-of-the-line equipment. What are we afraid of, some evil spirit?!"
"All of you, come here! Quickly equip your weapons and prepare for battle!"
"After being so frustrated for so many days, being chased like a stray dog by this evil spirit, this time we're going to teach that bastard a lesson and let him know how powerful the Forty Thieves are!"
After One-Eyed Dragon finished speaking, the surrounding bandits, though still somewhat hesitant, were eventually drawn to the brand-new weapons on the vehicle and, inspired by their leader's imposing presence, stepped forward to retrieve their equipment from the cart.
The vast majority of them chose bows and arrows.
The Forty Thieves had the most scouts, all of whom were skilled archers. Even One-Eyed Dragon himself casually picked up a longbow, his fingertips tracing the cold bowstring, his eyes filled with ruthlessness.
After obtaining the weapons, One-Eyed Dragon ordered everyone to scatter and find good hiding places so that when the evil spirit arrived, they could send it home with a hail of arrows.
The Forty Thieves lived up to their reputation as elite troops that even the Church struggled to subdue. After One-Eyed Dragon gave his orders, the thieves moved swiftly and without hesitation. Their movements were as agile as cats, and in the blink of an eye, they scattered and disappeared. The area around the withered tree instantly returned to silence, with only the rustling of the wind through the leaves remaining. Without careful observation, one would not be able to detect the dozens of people hiding in the shadows.
Only the one-eyed dragon and Kemai remained in front of the withered tree.
One-Eyed Dragon noticed Kemai at this moment. He hesitated for a moment, then said in a hurried and impatient tone, "I promised you the information, but I'll tell you after we've finished hunting the evil spirits. You should find a place to hide nearby and not get in the way."
Without saying much, Ke Mai immediately turned his gaze to the tree hole not far away.
Currently, tree hollows are undoubtedly the safest place. Not only do they have external defense mechanisms, but they also have traps and narrow passages inside, so even if evil spirits get close, they can temporarily avoid their attacks.
But just as he was about to take a step, the one-eyed man immediately shouted to stop him: "No tree hole!"
If I were in the tree hollow, I wouldn't mind if Ke Mai went in to hide, but now all the bandits are outside, and there's no one in the tree hollow. It also contains the treasure that the forty bandits have accumulated over the years, so there's absolutely no way I'd let Ke Mai go to the tree hollow alone.
Ke Mai frowned. Although he was dissatisfied, he knew that this was not the time to argue.
The evil spirit could appear at any moment. He was alone and unarmed, so he had no choice but to follow the one-eyed man's instructions. He turned around and quickly walked towards a thick tree not far away.
Using the dense vines and branches, he found a secluded corner to hide in, and at the same time quietly activated his illusionary concealment ability to completely hide his aura, leaving only his eyes fixed on the open space in front of the withered tree.
The one-eyed man also ran behind the dead tree and hid among the branches.
Not long after.
The fog suddenly became even heavier, and a chilling coldness spread silently.
A solitary figure slowly emerged from the mist.
The knight's tattered armor was rusty and covered with dark brown marks; his eyes beneath the helmet were gray and lifeless; his skin was a patchwork of blue and black, making him look no different from a corpse.
This was the second time Kemai had encountered it, and he was certain that it... was indeed the evil spirit of the Misty Swamp Forest!
The evil spirit wandered aimlessly, seemingly drifting without a destination. Although it headed towards the dead tree, it did not actually step into it, but instead continued deeper into the dense forest, brushing against the tree.
It was as if its arrival this time was truly just an accident.
This is true.
This wasn't the first time the Forty Thieves had encountered an evil spirit. In recent days, it had wandered near the dead tree many times, but had never entered the tree hole... After all, the evil spirit had no intelligence and it was normal that it couldn't find the sealed tree hole.
Normally, they would quietly hide and wait for the evil spirit to wander away.
But today is different.
The weaponry brought by Kemai fueled the one-eyed man's ambition.
As the evil spirit walked past the withered tree and gradually disappeared into the distance, the one-eyed dragon secretly peeked out, his eyes fierce, his bow fully drawn, the arrow tip locked tightly on the hesitant, moving figure.
Just as the evil spirit was about to disappear into the thick fog, the one-eyed man suddenly shouted, "Release the arrows!"
shhhhh--
Dozens of arrows pierced the mist like streaks of white silk, shooting densely towards the evil spirit with a whooshing sound!
The arrow struck precisely, embedding itself in the rusty armor with a crisp clanging sound.
Just for a moment.
The evil spirit transformed from a wandering, lonely soul into a hedgehog covered in arrows.
The evil spirit, which had been wandering leisurely, suddenly froze.
Just when the one-eyed man and his gang of thieves thought they had made a decisive victory, the motionless evil spirit suddenly reached out from the front and, as if nothing had happened, pulled out several arrows stuck in the back of its head and back.
No blood flowed from the wound left by the arrow; instead, a faint black mist emerged.
The wound disappeared in the area shrouded in black mist in just a moment.
What shocked the Forty Thieves and Kemai even more was that the evil spirit, which had seemed quite dazed at first, suddenly began to ooze a blinding crimson color when it lowered its head and used its withered, stiff fingers to remove the arrow stuck in its armor.
The evil spirit, which had been slowly turning its back to everyone, suddenly turned its head without warning.
As if awakened from the depths of his heart, a monstrous ferocity flashed in his gray and empty eyes, cold and piercing, carrying a murderous aura that could destroy the world!
Even from dozens of meters away, Kemai could clearly sense the change in the evil spirit, which had transformed from being "unaware" at the beginning into a terrifying "demon" in an instant.
That chilling sense of oppression swept over us like a tidal wave, almost suffocating us.
The black mist surrounding the evil spirit surged wildly, instantly rising several meters higher. From a distance, it looked like a burning black flame, eerie and deadly.
Seeing the evil spirit's sudden change, Kemai suddenly recalled the scene of the caravan encountering the evil spirit.
At that time, the evil spirits were merely wandering slowly around the caravan camp.
They even look somewhat harmless.
But when the rangers in the caravan shot an arrow as a warning, the evil spirit suddenly changed and began to go on a killing spree, killing the rangers who shot the arrows and anyone who tried to stop it on the spot.
Although the others around them escaped unharmed, they too were struck by the "Whispering Curse" and fell into a coma.
The things of that time are just like the things of today.
Moreover, this time the evil spirit looks even more furious than before!
Even when Ke was dozens of meters away, he couldn't help but tremble all over, just like a human's unconscious self-defense when encountering a natural enemy.
No... If I stay here any longer, I'll definitely die!
Kemai's heart was pounding wildly, as if it would burst out of his chest. All he could hear was his own heavy, rapid breathing and the constant screaming of fear in his heart.
Without daring to hesitate for a moment, and without even having time to think, he activated his illusion concealment technique to its maximum, then suddenly lowered his body and, like a frightened trapped beast, ran wildly away from the dead tree stronghold with all his might.
He dared not look back, but just kept running wildly in the direction of the wind.
After running for a few seconds, he heard the bandits' short, shrill screams coming from their hideout.
These screams of agony tell you that the Forty Thieves are definitely not in a good situation right now.
Even so, Ke Mai did not pause for a moment, fearing that if he turned around, he would attract the attention of the evil spirit.
The energy of the Illusionary Concealment Technique was rapidly depleting. Black mud splattered all over his trouser legs, and sharp branches tore at his arms, causing a stinging pain. But Ke Mai was oblivious to it all. He had only one thought in his mind: run, run as fast as he could, run as far as possible.
He plunged headlong into the thick fog and dense forest, frantically weaving through the wild grass and vines, daring not to stop for a moment, nor to cancel his illusion technique. Even as his breathing became increasingly rapid and his strength gradually gave out, he still gritted his teeth and charged forward.
I don't know how long I ran.
There was no sound behind him anymore, and the suffocating sense of oppression completely disappeared, allowing Kemai to breathe a slight sigh of relief.
However, he still dared not relax easily. After confirming his location on the large map, he switched to the small map, keeping an eye on the "enemy targets" on the small map while carefully walking towards the camp.
Throughout the entire process, he maintained the illusion.
Even when no one was around, he dared not relax. —Although the evil spirit was not nearby, he feared the curse was still present. If he were to dispel the illusion and be ensnared by the Whispering Curse, he would be finished.
It was only thanks to Angor replenishing his illusion node that he was able to withstand this high-intensity illusionary invisibility drain.
It took about half an hour.
Kemai finally returned to the caravan camp.
When Kemai saw Juka and Captain Darkman inside the tent, the panic in his heart slowly subsided.
Although they are now also under the "Whispering Curse," at least they are still alive... With familiar people around, his anxious heart can finally find its anchor.
Kemai walked to Duckman's side and quietly dispelled the illusion.
When he removed the illusion, he was actually prepared to be "cursed," and even thought that it wouldn't be bad to just stay here and fall into a coma with the captain.
But he was lucky; nothing changed after the illusion was removed.
He survived.
Kemai felt a sense of joy at surviving a disaster, and even wanted to cry.
But his sense of adult dignity made him restrain himself.
Just then, a feeling of dizziness descended.
It wasn't a curse, but rather the backlash from overexerting my energy.
Fortunately, he was safe now. He lay down next to Darkman, panting heavily, his limbs trembling as he slowly regained his strength.
I lay there for almost two hours.
Just as Kemai felt his body recover slightly and was preparing to go outside to organize supplies and carry out the next plan... he heard footsteps coming from outside the camp.
Ke Mai was startled.
He turned around and saw a young girl leading a middle-aged man toward the camp...
The visitors were Blanche and Uriel.
……
“That’s roughly the situation.” After saying that, Ke Mai’s expression turned slightly sad: “I’ve really messed up this time. I was originally planning to go to the Forty Thieves to exchange weapons and supplies for the truth, but not only did I get nothing, I also lost a batch of weapons…”
“Don’t feel like you’re losing out. I think it’s a good thing,” Blanche comforted her. “Think about it. Most of the weapons you brought this time are bows and arrows, and as you just said, evil spirits go berserk when they encounter bows and arrows.”
"This is valuable intelligence!"
"If an arrow is in a caravan camp, it's like a landmine."
"By handing over the bow and arrows to the Forty Thieves, you've essentially thrown away a thunderbolt."
Therefore, in Blanche's view, this is actually a good thing.
“Arrows…” Kemai paused for a moment, then said softly, “I don’t know why that evil spirit reacts so strongly to arrows. It was the same at the caravan camp before; it went berserk whenever it encountered arrows.”
After Kermaine finished speaking, Uriel, who had remained silent until now, spoke softly, "I might know why he's so concerned about bows and arrows..."
Blanche and Kemai both turned to look at Uriel.
Ke Mai asked in surprise, "You know?"
Could it be that this man named Uriel has uncovered new information? But didn't he and Blanche just enter the instance?
Uriel nodded slightly: "I can probably guess."
Under everyone's gaze, Uriel slowly said, "You just mentioned that the true identity of the evil spirit is Priest Sean from Eveninglight Harbor."
Kemai nodded: "Yes, that's what One-Eyed Dragon told me."
Uriel: "In reality, I have some connection with Father Sean..."
Kemai: "???"
In reality?
In reality, what is this copy of?
Before Kemai could understand what he meant, Uriel continued, "I have read the relevant files of Father Sean and learned that he was robbed by the Forty Thieves while escorting an informant of the Forty Thieves and eventually disappeared."
"But according to the file keeper's speculation, Priest Sean should have been dead, because there were a large number of arrow remnants at the scene, as well as fragments of Priest Sean's armor that had been pierced by arrows..."
"Therefore, according to the records, Father Sean was most likely killed by a hail of arrows from the Forty Thieves."
He was shot and killed by an arrow before his death.
Seeing a bow and arrow after death will trigger his malevolent energy.
Logically speaking, it makes sense.
However, for Kemai, these things are not important. What is important is... why are there "related people" in the real world involved in this instance?
What exactly is going on with Uriel?
Aren't you a challenger?
Ke Mai was completely dumbfounded.
At this moment, Angell seemed to have guessed the doubts in Kermaine's heart, and spoke up at the opportune moment:
"The prototype of the Wonderland instance comes from reality."
"The rule of Dream Crystal Plains is that anyone can enter it as long as they have a login device, regardless of whether they are related to the prototype of the instance."
"Therefore, there is no contradiction between 'the prototype of the copy comes from reality' and 'relevant people in reality enter the copy'."
"For example, if you come from the Charles Palace, and if the Dream Crystal Plains releases a dungeon based on the Charles Palace in the future, as someone from there, entering this dungeon will naturally make you someone related to the dungeon, and you will have more additional information compared to other challengers."
"Uriel's situation is similar to this."
"He just happened to be from the world that this Misty Swamp Forest dungeon is based on, and by chance he entered Dream Crystal Plains, just as this dungeon opened, and by chance he entered this dungeon... and that's how you see him."