How Do We Play If This Boss Isn't Nerfed?
Chapter 204 - 133: One Against Three, the Most Monstrous Newcomer
Lin Ye thought to himself, but his steps didn’t falter. He continued toward the cries for help.
Lin Ye was already planning to hunt more of the Shadow Scale Race to see if he could absorb any of their racial traits or a temporary skill through the [Taotie] mechanism.
He wished for more traps like this.
However, this time, as Lin Ye drew closer, he didn’t detect any level indicators near the person crying for help that seemed out of place with the environment, unlike before.
In a brief lull where the sandstorm thinned, he saw a person wearing the same combat uniform as the other trial-takers, collapsed in the lee of a large rock.
The person’s right arm was twisted at an unnatural angle, dripping blood that stained the yellow sand beneath them. Their body was also covered in claw marks deep enough to expose bone.
A clear indicator floated above their head.
[LV.26]
Lin Ye’s gaze sharpened.
’This isn’t an Illusion Technique from the Shadow Scale Race this time? A real candidate was seriously injured here?’
His mind raced, but his feet didn’t stop. He continued to approach.
But a caution bone-deep had him treading carefully with every step. He had already secretly mobilized the Qi and Blood throughout his body, ready to respond to any sudden development.
Closer.
The distance was now less than five meters.
Just as Lin Ye was about to step within three meters of the person, disaster struck!
SWISH!
A flash of a sharp blade, nearly one with the dust and sand, suddenly shot out from beneath the "heavily injured" person without any warning!
It struck like a viper, aiming straight for Lin Ye’s abdomen!
Lin Ye’s reaction was lightning-fast, as if he had anticipated the attack. With a light touch of his toes, his body drifted back a step like a phantom.
The blade’s edge barely scraped past his combat uniform.
The next moment, Lin Ye felt his feet sink abruptly, as if seized by a giant, invisible hand.
The yellow sand at his feet instantly turned into a swirling vortex. An impossibly strong suction force pulled madly from below, threatening to drag his entire body underground!
’A quicksand trap?’
’No!’
Lin Ye made an instant judgment. An ordinary quicksand trap could never produce such a terrifying pulling force.
’This is... Martial Arts Spirituality!’
At the same time, a fierce gust of wind whistled from behind his head!
Another figure, using the swirling sandstorm as cover, had suddenly appeared behind him and launched a deadly sneak attack!
In a flash, Lin Ye understood.
This wasn’t a trap set by the Shadow Scale Race.
It was a carefully orchestrated killing field, set up by other candidates specifically for him!
The person who had been crying for help on the ground no longer showed any trace of pain. Instead, his face was twisted into a savage grin, pleased with his successful scheme.
His right arm, which had been bloody and broken, could be seen squirming and healing at a visible rate, returning to normal in an instant!
The gruesome wounds on his body also scabbed over and fell away in a flash, revealing unblemished skin.
’It’s some kind of regeneration-type Martial Arts Spirituality!’
Lin Ye’s gaze turned icy.
To be honest, whether it was this crude quicksand trap or the exaggerated acting of the "injured" man...
...Lin Ye’s evaluation consisted of four words.
’Inferior to the Shadow Scale.’
"Cripple him! Take his wrist-terminal!"
A crisp but cold female voice rang out from behind Lin Ye.
Before her words had even faded, the figure that had been hiding under the sand finally emerged completely.
It was a skinny young man.
He held two short daggers that gleamed with a green poison, his body low to the ground. He slashed like lightning toward the Achilles tendons of Lin Ye, who was still bound by the quicksand!
And behind Lin Ye, the female Martial Artist’s giant hammer came whistling down with a dull roar, aimed viciously at the back of his head!
Their goal was clear.
Points!
TING!
THUD!
A crisp metallic ring sounded as the daggers scraped against Lin Ye’s ankle, only to be blocked by a layer of purple crystal that had instantly appeared.
And the dull thud was the sound of the heavy warhammer solidly striking the back of Lin Ye’s head, which was also covered in the purple crystal.
It didn’t even tickle.
Lin Ye’s eyes went cold. He put sudden force into his trapped right leg and kicked out!
BAM!
The skinny attacker who had tried to ambush his ankles didn’t even have time to react. He was sent flying over ten meters as if he’d been hit head-on by a warhammer, letting out a wretched scream before crashing heavily into the sand.
Lin Ye’s leg muscles tensed, and a colossal force erupted from him!
BOOM!
The quicksand trap, powerful enough to drag a raging bull underground, was forcibly broken by his sheer strength, sending sand blasting into the sky!
The burly man who had previously pretended to be injured had a vicious glint in his eyes.
He now ignored the woman’s order to "cripple first, then rob." A heavy battle blade, as wide as a door panel, appeared in his hand. With a roar, he brought it down on Lin Ye’s right arm, the one holding his spear!
At that very moment, the terminal on Lin Ye’s wrist vibrated slightly and projected a line of scarlet warning text.
[Ding! Conflict detected between candidates.]
[Rule Reminder: Subduing an opponent allows for the plunder of 100% of their points. Intentionally attacking vital spots and causing death are strictly prohibited!]
Lin Ye understood.
’No wonder that, despite their vicious attacks, they all avoided my head, heart, and other vital areas. They were just trying to restrain me.’
’It’s a hidden rule.’
’The notification only triggers when a real conflict breaks out between candidates.’
Of course, Lin Ye had no intention of killing these three.
But teaching them a lesson was unavoidable.
Facing the powerful, heavy slash, Lin Ye didn’t dodge or evade. He raised his spear with one hand to block.
CLANG!
The blade and spear collided.
The burly man felt an irresistible, terrifying force travel up from his blade. A violent shock ran through his hand, and he was forced back three steps, completely out of control.