Chapter 55: Fight Our Way In
The screams from within the One-Line Sky were heard not only by the witches but also by Carmen and the others. The few old-timers exchanged glances, roughly guessing what had happened.
The possibility of a traitor within the team was very low. Without a traitor, only one possibility remained: a prophecy-type witch.
Clearly, in previous years, Moy Nora hadn’t had a white witch with prophecy abilities under her command, otherwise Carmen wouldn’t have chosen to pass through the Dawn Gate.
The screams echoed within the One-Line Sky for a moment before fading. A fierce wind howled, and just as Carmen and the others were about to retreat, about thirty or so witches surrounded them from a distance. This was clearly a trap set long ago, waiting for Su Xiao’s group to arrive.
The situation was grim, but there was good news: the witches’ encirclement wasn’t tight. They had planned to surround Su Xiao and the others from all directions after they entered the One-Line Sky. But who would have thought that before Su Xiao and his group even stepped into the trap, one of their own would act like a pig teammate.
“What do we do? Fight our way out from the back?”
The drunkard’s eyes scanned the surroundings. Though the situation was critical, he remained exceptionally calm.
“Fight straight through. If we retreat now, it’ll be even harder to pass through the Dawn Gate next time.”
As he spoke, Su Xiao pulled out a few smoke grenades, pulled the pins, and tossed them behind to block the vision of the thirty or so witches in the rear.
Hearing Su Xiao’s words, Carmen and the others were stunned. Ahead lay a trap, and Su Xiao clearly intended to walk right into it.
The smoke spread rapidly. An ice-blue arrow shot toward them. Carmen flicked his staff-whip, silver light flashing, and the incoming energy arrow was shattered.
“Stop hiding. It’s come to this. Kukulin’s right. If we don’t fight our way in now, it’ll only be harder to enter Moy Nora’s territory later.”
Silver patterns climbed up the left side of Carmen’s face. His staff-whip also emitted silver light. This power was somewhat similar to elemental witches but had its differences.
“I can’t use mine anymore.”
Blood Bear’s face showed red patterns, also on the left side of his face. Unlike Carmen, the red patterns on his face had almost reached his temple.
“Who told you to be reckless when you were young.”
The drunkard let out a sinister chuckle. His temples pulsed, and yellow patterns climbed onto his face. Judging by the look, though they hadn’t reached his temples, they weren’t far off.
Witch Grave didn’t speak. He took off his black robe and pulled a crossbow from his lower back. This crossbow could fire repeatedly, with a magazine capacity of about ten bolts. Green patterns climbed onto Witch Grave’s face; he had the fewest patterns.
“Kukulin, if we can break out through the Dawn Gate, we’ll stick to the original plan. You head to Mist Fortress, and we’ll go to the Dust Mud Altar.”
“Alright.”
“Good. Let’s fight our way through.”
Just as Carmen was about to charge into the One-Line Sky, over a hundred witches emerged from within. They had already been exposed, so continuing to ambush was pointless.
Leading the witches was an old witch with a face full of scars. This old witch stopped at the entrance of the One-Line Sky, raised a hand to signal the witches behind her not to act rashly. She had something to say.
“Witch Grave.”
The old witch roared, her voice hoarse, as if her vocal cords had been damaged.
Witch Grave Gunter was about to charge forward but stopped. He looked at the old witch with confusion.
“Remember me, you bastard?”
The old witch tore open her clothes. Her body was mottled purple-red, the surface uneven—scars left from being skinned.
“Who the hell remembers you.”
Witch Grave muttered. As soon as he spoke, Blood Bear beside him raised his shotgun.
“Why waste words with her.”
Bang!
Smoke billowed, and a deafening gunshot rang out. Large shards of diamond fragments shot toward the old witch.
The old witch pushed her palm forward. Countless beetles crawled out from under her clothes. These beetles reflected a metallic sheen in the setting sun, fluttering their wings as they flew forward.
After a series of crisp clinks, the diamond fragments were blocked by the beetles.
“Oh? So it’s Man Candice.” Witch Grave seemed to recall something. He immediately shouted, “Drunkard, phosphorescent powder.”
Though the drunkard didn’t know what was going on, trusting Witch Grave, he pulled out a small packet of powder from his pocket. This stuff was the main material for making explosives, so he naturally carried it.
Several hundred beetles flew toward them. But as soon as the beetles appeared, Su Xiao, Amu, Carmen, and the others were already charging toward the Dawn Gate.
They didn’t charge in a group. With over a hundred witches in the One-Line Sky, charging together would make them easy targets. Splitting up was the right choice.
Clang, clang, clang…
Sparks flew. One by one, black beetles were sliced apart by Su Xiao. D·Assassination appeared in his hand. As he charged, he aimed and pulled the trigger repeatedly.
Though D·Assassination’s power wasn’t as great as Duke of Annihilation, in terms of close-range bullet speed and penetration, the legendary-quality D·Assassination was clearly a cut above.
The magazine emptied in an instant. Three black witches were shot in the head, two collapsed clutching their chests, and the remaining bullets were blocked.
Mid-charge, Su Xiao suddenly stopped. A blue fireball flew past him. As soon as it passed, he continued charging, with several energy spikes landing behind him.
This stop-and-go made it hard for the witches targeting Su Xiao to adjust. Compared to them, the curse-type witches had it much easier—at least their abilities hit. As for the effect…
Dragon-Slaying Flash slashed through the air a few times. Blue blade aura shot from the blade. Using the blade aura as cover, Su Xiao closed in on the witches.
“Stop him.”
A witch shouted. The surrounding witches all felt speechless. They were witches, with physical strength that crushed humans. Why would they fear being closed in on by a human?
A witch close to Su Xiao pulled a short knife from her calf and charged at him alongside her avatar, one on each side.
Su Xiao’s momentum slowed. He slanted his long blade and slashed toward the witch with the short knife.
The witch raised her short knife to block. She hooked her finger, and the avatar appeared behind Su Xiao.
The short-knife witch’s plan was good: block Su Xiao’s slash and give her avatar a chance to ambush.
Pfft!
Blood splattered. A severed blade flew through the air.
The short-knife witch suddenly felt her body grow light. It seemed she was flying. Looking down, she saw the ground rapidly approaching.
One slash took out the short-knife witch. A layer of pale blue crystal wrapped around Su Xiao’s elbow as he turned and delivered an elbow strike.
With a crack, large pieces of avatar fragments flew. Su Xiao’s left hand, wrapped in a metal bracer, snatched a dozen fragments from the air.
He tossed his left hand forward, scattering the avatar fragments. A nearby witch screamed, clutching her face.
Su Xiao’s eyes swept left and right. An energy shield appeared before him.
Boom!
Various attacks slammed into the energy shield. Dust and debris flew everywhere.
“Is he dead?”
“Probably… yeah.”
The long blade cut through the dust. A second-stage witch hadn’t even realized what was happening before she felt the world spin and a ringing in her ears.