Chapter 8

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Chapter 8: Crisis, Qin Baoyi!

Mu Xiaofeng and Zhang Wenyu had already charged forward with all their might, but Xi Mo had planned everything out in advance. Just as they were about to make contact, Xi Mo and the tall boy tore off their wet robes, revealing gleaming armor underneath.

Xi Mo held two shields in his hands, while the tall boy was also armored, wielding a sword in one hand and a shield in the other. The two forcefully shoved their shields forward, catching Mu Xiaofeng and Zhang Wenyu off guard and sending them flying several steps back, injuring them due to the strong recoil.

Mu Xiaofeng hadn’t anticipated that Xi Mo would have such a brilliant strategy. They were by the lake, significantly weakening Qin Baoyi’s powers. Moreover, Xi Mo used a disguise to render their initial attack ineffective, leaving them unprepared for the counterattack.

Of course, Mu Xiaofeng had no idea that Xi Mo had already gathered intelligence on them and mistakenly thought that Xi Mo was just highly skilled. Seeing Mu Xiaofeng fall victim to Xi Mo’s scheme, Qiao Zi felt a twinge of sympathy.

Mu Xiaofeng and Zhang Wenyu, realizing they couldn’t afford to drag out the fight, retreated to Qin Baoyi’s side. Meanwhile, Xi Mo and his two companions emerged from the lake, and the two sides faced off, a great battle on the verge of breaking out.

But at that moment, Xi Mo remained motionless, simply standing there in a standoff with Mu Xiaofeng. Time seemed to have frozen.

It was clear that the longer they waited, the more the situation would favor Xi Mo. Mu Xiaofeng decided they could wait no longer. Clenching his heavy sword, he stepped forward and charged, shouting, “Let me see how strong your shield is!”

Just as the tall boy was about to step forward to confront Mu Xiaofeng, Xi Mo stopped him with a gesture. Xi Mo, naturally, wanted to deal with Mu Xiaofeng himself.

So Xi Mo picked up his shield and took heavy steps towards Mu Xiaofeng. Mu Xiaofeng swung his sword, and Xi Mo raised his shield to block it. But Xi Mo, using only one hand, couldn’t fully withstand the force of Mu Xiaofeng’s heavy sword, causing him to stagger and fall to one knee.

Mu Xiaofeng pressed on with his attack, slashing with a second strike. Xi Mo barely managed to block it with both shields raised.

Seeing Xi Mo struggling to defend himself, the tall boy rushed to help. Just then, Zhang Wenyu accelerated towards him, aiming to take him down directly.

The tall boy, seeing Zhang Wenyu charging at him with fierce momentum, raised his shield to block, intercepting Zhang Wenyu’s dual blades. He swung his sword, but it only sliced through an illusion. Since Qiao Zi’s team lacked a shadow walker, their scouting abilities were significantly weaker. In fact, what stood before the tall boy was just an illusion created by Zhang Wenyu, who had already circled around to his back.

Zhang Wenyu raised his blade, concentrating his energy until it was enveloped in a silver glow, sharp enough to seemingly cut through steel. He whispered in the tall boy’s ear, “Try my newly learned Armor-Piercing Strike!” Cold sweat dripped down the tall boy’s forehead, but it was too late for him to dodge. Zhang Wenyu’s short blade pierced through the back of the tall boy, punching a hole through his armor. The tall boy collapsed, immobilized.

Seeing the tall boy struck down by Zhang Wenyu, Xi Mo panicked. He slammed his shields together with all his strength, unleashing a Shield Roar. This technique, unique to dual-shield warriors, creates a disorienting shockwave that can daze nearby enemies, though it also inflicts significant damage on the shields and the user, making it unsuitable for frequent use.

As Xi Mo unleashed the Shield Roar, Mu Xiaofeng’s vision blurred, and he lost control of his body, collapsing to the ground.

Xi Mo quickly rushed to the tall boy’s side, glaring at Zhang Wenyu as he shouted, “Qiao Zi, hurry and heal him!”

Let’s not forget that Qiao Zi was a Priest, the soul of any team, capable of healing allies and restricting enemies. The fact that Mu Xiaofeng hadn’t targeted Qiao Zi at the start showed that he still considered them friends, even in the heat of competition.

Hearing Xi Mo’s cry, Qiao Zi raised his staff, chanting, “Great God of Life, have mercy on this wounded soul. I ask for your power to heal him with my life force.” As he spoke, the staff emitted a brilliant white light, and the tall boy’s wounds began to heal rapidly, though his armor still bore a large hole.

Priests are mainly divided into three types: Herbalists, who use the power of herbs to strengthen and heal their teammates; Poison Hand, who attack enemies with various toxins; and lastly, Saints, a creation of the divine race, capable of quickly healing their teammates’ injuries.

Under Qiao Zi’s healing, the tall boy quickly regained consciousness and slowly stood up, recalling everything that had just happened.

Meanwhile, Mu Xiaofeng also recovered, though his head still ached, likely an aftereffect of the Shield Roar.

At that moment, a sudden burst of fire descended from the sky, exploding nearby and filling the area with dust, obscuring everyone’s vision. Zhang Wenyu seized the opportunity to cloak himself, preparing for a sudden attack.

“Finally, it’s done! Getting the Fire Elemental King to lend me a hand was really difficult!” The long-forgotten Qin Baoyi was now stretching lazily beside a tiger engulfed in flames. It seemed that she had just summoned the Flame Tiger.

Qin Baoyi smiled at Mu Xiaofeng and shouted, “Mu Xiaofeng, I wasn’t slacking off, okay? It’s just that the Fire Elemental King is so stingy. It took me a long time to persuade him to lend me the Flame Tiger, and I used up a lot of energy!”

The Flame Tiger, a unique summon for Fire Element Scholars, was covered in flames, incredibly fast, and fiercely aggressive. It was one of the pets of the Fire Elemental King and the easiest summon for Fire Element Scholars.

Seeing the Flame Tiger, which stood as tall as two of himself, Mu Xiaofeng was both surprised and delighted. It seemed that their chances of defeating Xi Mo and his team had significantly increased.

Mu Xiaofeng nodded to Qin Baoyi, who then pointed at Xi Mo and commanded the Flame Tiger, “Go, Flame Tiger, tear apart that guy with the two shields.”

Receiving Qin Baoyi’s command, the Flame Tiger charged at Xi Mo, with Mu Xiaofeng following close behind, dragging his heavy sword.

The Flame Tiger struck with its claws, and Xi Mo, gathering energy into his shield, tried to block the attack. But Xi Mo’s strength wasn’t enough, and the Flame Tiger knocked him to the ground. Mu Xiaofeng took advantage of the situation, raising his sword to strike Xi Mo. The tall boy rushed to his aid, using his shield to block Mu Xiaofeng’s sword.

However, the tall boy’s strength was no match for Mu Xiaofeng, and he was forced back several steps. Zhang Wenyu then appeared behind the tall boy and used another Armor-Piercing Strike on the hole in his armor.

This time, with no armor to protect him, the tall boy was directly stabbed by Zhang Wenyu’s short blade. He let out a scream and collapsed once more.

At that moment, Qiao Zi waved his staff, and another flash of white light appeared, quickly healing the tall boy’s wounds again.

Seeing that Mu Xiaofeng and Zhang Wenyu were reluctant to attack Qiao Zi, Qin Baoyi realized that as long as Qiao Zi was there, they would have to defeat their opponents multiple times, which was not a good strategy.

Maintaining the Flame Tiger consumed a lot of energy, and Qin Baoyi couldn’t hold on for much longer. She then ordered the Flame Tiger to target Qiao Zi directly.

The Flame Tiger left Xi Mo and charged towards Qiao Zi. Seeing Qiao Zi in danger, Xi Mo gathered all his energy into his shield and threw his left shield at the Flame Tiger.

The Shield Throw was a highly risky move, as abandoning a weapon was an all-or-nothing gamble. However, it was extremely powerful and could inflict massive damage if it hit.

The Flame Tiger couldn’t dodge the shield in time, and it struck its waist directly. The Flame Tiger let out a wail that shook the entire arena.

Qin Baoyi felt a surge of blood rush to her throat, but she forced it down and continued to command the Flame Tiger to attack Qiao Zi.

The Flame Tiger, stunned by the shield, quickly regained consciousness and charged at Qiao Zi again. Knowing he couldn’t defend himself, Qiao Zi ran towards the nearby forest, with the Flame Tiger in pursuit.

The Flame Tiger closed in on Qiao Zi, who saw that he was now trapped at the edge of a mud pit with no way out. It seemed that Qiao Zi had reached his end.

As the Flame Tiger slowly approached Qiao Zi, it crouched and leaped forward with all its might. Being the lowest-level summon of the Fire Elemental King, the Flame Tiger wasn’t very bright. Its overly powerful leap allowed Qiao Zi to duck under it, causing the Flame Tiger to get stuck in the mud pit, unable to move.

Meanwhile, Xi Mo was now left with only one shield. If he didn’t retrieve the other one soon, he knew he would be defeated eventually.

Zhang Wenyu seized the opportunity to charge at Xi Mo. Mu Xiaofeng, understanding Zhang Wenyu

‘s intentions, followed closely behind, aiming to finish off Xi Mo and claim victory.

Realizing his teammates were in trouble, Qiao Zi took a deep breath, raised his staff, and started chanting an incantation. “Oh great God of Life, in your merciful light, may all life be reborn. Grant me the power to revive my fallen friends and bring them back to the battle!”

At that moment, the sky filled with a bright light, and everyone felt as if they were bathed in the warmth of the sun. The light was blinding, and Xi Mo’s vision became blurry. When the light subsided, Qiao Zi found himself standing in a circle of white flowers, with Xi Mo kneeling before him.

Xi Mo had planned to retrieve his shield and continue fighting, but he realized his body was growing weaker by the second. It turned out that the light had drained his energy, and he no longer had the strength to fight.

Seeing this, Qin Baoyi quickly recalled the Flame Tiger and threw a fireball towards Xi Mo. The fireball hit its mark, and Xi Mo fell to the ground, defeated.

Seeing Xi Mo fall, Mu Xiaofeng and Zhang Wenyu breathed a sigh of relief. They had finally won this hard-fought battle.