Chapter 1523: Street Ambush
“Via is right, Sherris, we absolutely cannot underestimate those old Yōkai. I’ll give you a thorough check and prepare some protection when we get back,” I said. She really doesn’t cherish herself enough.
“Yes, I understand,” Sherris replied, lowering her head. Only in front of me would she be so obedient. Of course, she’d listen to Via a little bit too.
“The Trade Fair is almost over here, let’s go,” I said, looking around. Although it seemed like things were just getting started for those Undead, and they’d probably party all night, we had achieved our goal and could leave.
We didn’t need to climb the ladder on the way back. With the black card for high-level members, a staff member specially led us out through a staircase, though the exit still looked like a trapdoor in the ground.
It was already midnight. Even Cando City, which was usually crowded and bustling, had quieted down. Most of the refugees had squeezed into tents, using the body heat of their loved ones to keep warm.
With the increasing number of refugees in Cando City, public security had declined, and cases of theft and robbery were frequent. Recently, there had been many incidents of refugees breaking into homes to steal and rob. Now, even with my God’s Eye, I could see ragged people stealing around.
“Wait! Something feels wrong!” I exclaimed. Via immediately added, “There’s Death Qi gathering around us, centered on us.”
“Someone wants to attack us? But this is the main street!” Sherris said, finding it hard to believe. If they made a move here, the refugees sleeping soundly in their tents would surely be harmed.
“It means the other party is ruthless and insane enough to do this. It’s likely the guy we just had a spat with, I wonder if it’s the Female Ghost or that Lich.”
As I spoke, Via and Sherris stood back-to-back, guarding against the surroundings, while I used my God’s Eye to search for any sign of the enemy, but found nothing for the moment.
To be honest, this enemy is quite bold, attacking us when all three of us are together. Or do they have confidence they can take down all three of us simultaneously?
Death Qi rapidly permeated the area, blocking us from all sides. Then, a grating sound of bones against metal echoed, and gaunt figures emerged from the Black Mist.
It was a large group of Skeletons, each clad in old bronze armor, carrying scimitars and leather shields. They were clearly Undead soldiers being controlled by someone.
The bronze armor on these armored Skeletons was identical, standard issue. Skeletons without souls like these couldn’t forge armor themselves. Even armor found on corpses wouldn’t be this intact and uniform. This indicated that someone had specially forged armor for these Undead.
“They’re not coming out themselves and are sending these low-level Undead cannon fodder to wear us down?” I said, looking around. Then, a large number of Skeletons charged at us.
“Parul (Sister), leave it to me.” Via flew up, her body exploding in an instant, releasing countless flies that landed on the Skeletons and transformed into blood plasma.
Instantly, the Skeletons stopped their charge. Their bodies began to twist and twitch uncontrollably. Some dropped their swords, some had bones falling off, and some even disintegrated, their bones scattering on the ground.
Then, a large amount of black Death Qi emerged from within the Skeletons. Via’s blood plasma also emitted a bright red light. The two forces began a fierce struggle within the Skeletons, neither giving way to the other.
Skeletons that were dominated by the blood light would see blood-red light emanating from their empty eye sockets and would attack Skeletons dominated by the Black Mist. Soon, the two sides devolved into a chaotic free-for-all, the sounds of clanging metal filling the air.
As beings at the top of the Undead hierarchy, Vampires could control most low-level Undead. Controlling soulless Skeletons like these was even easier. If no one were controlling them from behind, they would have immediately submitted to Via.
And that black energy was the Death Qi magic controlling the Skeletons. I was familiar with this aura; I had just consumed the exact same aura earlier. The identity of the attacker was now obvious.
“It’s that Lich! Be careful!” Just as I warned, a massive wave of ice magic shot out from the Black Mist, hurtling towards us. Everything in its path was frozen, even the Skeletons that had been released were turned into ice pops.
“Dodge!” Sherris and I darted to the left and right. With the Murder’s Divine Power, my movements were much more agile than before, and I successfully dodged this ice blast of frost.
However, just as I dodged the ice blast, I felt something was wrong as I looked at the icy path that had formed behind me. I turned back, and the ice blast blew away the Black Mist and continued forward.
Ahead was the street, with many refugees who had set up tents. The sounds of the Skeletons fighting each other earlier had already woken some people up. I saw some of them just emerging from their tents, only to be met by the frost ice blast that froze everything.
They didn’t even have time to scream before the ice blast passed through them, freezing their blood, cells, and bodily fluids solid. They turned into lifelike ice sculptures, capturing the exact same look of terror from their final moments.
More refugees, however, were sound asleep, never experiencing any pain as they were turned into ice sculptures in their dreams.
The ice blast struck buildings, exploding into a layer of frost. The surrounding ground, streetlights, and trees were all covered in a layer of white frost, as if a giant had splashed white paint on the street buildings, creating this pattern.
“Bastard! How dare you?!” I shouted in fury. This madman dared to make a move on the main street without regard for the innocent refugees nearby.
After all, despite the many battles I’d fought in Cando City, whether it was against the Old Day Imprinter or the Alien Parasites, I always fought on their home turf.
I’d rather let them have the home-ground advantage than harm innocent civilians. Even after defeating the opponent at the New Energy Company, I risked going down to extinguish the fire, preventing it from spreading.
Now, this crazy Lich, in order to target me, made a move on the main street without any regard for potentially harming civilians. I was absolutely enraged.
My anger was met not by the Lich’s voice, but by a volley of arrows. These arrows were tipped with white will-o’-the-wisps. With my God’s Eye, I could see rows of Skeleton archers hidden in the ghostly mist, shooting bone arrows tipped with white will-o’-the-wisps.
“Ah!!!” A scream cut through the quiet night. Some refugees had discovered the battle on the street, as well as the Skeletons fighting each other and the ice sculptures with expressions of despair and pain.
Many people were woken up, their minds blank, seeing this terrifying scene and the overwhelming rain of arrows, unsure where to run.
The arrow rain covered a large area. It would be easy for me to protect myself, but the refugees on the street were bound to suffer heavy casualties. I had to save them!
