Chapter 85: A Trap (Part-2)
*Cough* Cough*
A fiery jolt seared his spine. His vision swam, turning everything blurry for a second.
Just then...
*Ding!
[Black reacts to your pain.]
Light flared before him, and the tiny direwolf puppy materialized in front of him.
"Black..." Lin Fang’s lips barely formed the name.
In response, the puppy raised its tiny paw.
A radiant golden aura blossomed, washing over him like liquid sunlight. Warmth surged through his shattered body. Fractured bones knit. Tore flesh sealed. Bloody wounds closed up. The pounding in his skull eased to nothing.
*Hah*
Lin Fang sucked in a sharp breath, feeling the entire pain leave his body. He pushed himself upright, and every injury was gone as if they had never been.
Before him, Black started growing to its giant form, as big as 12 feet, and its level was pushed to 33. The luminous direwolf then planted itself between Lin Fang and the masked assailant with its eyes glowing with quiet fury.
*Woof*
It barked at the assailant, then showed its fangs in a threatening manner.
Across the wharf, the clown-masked man stiffened at the sight of the direwolf. A whisper escaped him, half astonishment, half disbelief. "Where... did this giant wolf come from? Wasn’t he earlier riding a giant bird?"
His hesitation lasted only a heartbeat.
Then his voice hardened behind the mask in realization. "I guess this is the Lord Tier beast I was told about. I don’t know how he did it, but no matter. In the end, it is just too weak."
The clown-masked attacker slung the launcher back over his shoulder with a casual flick.
As it fell to the ground with a faint thud, the attacker raised his hand, summoning a long, black-edged sword.
Mana flared along the blade’s length, releasing an eerie violet light that hummed like a living thing. The air around it rippled, sharp enough to sting Lin Fang’s skin even from a distance.
As Lin Fang’s eyes narrowed to inspect it, the system chime echoed in his head, followed by a holographic screen with details.
Mana sword (Unknown name)
Description: A weapon, forged in mythril, carbon steel, and an undead monster, capable of sucking the target’s mana at the slightest touch. If its wielder has a dark attribute and is compatible with undead, it will release toxic energy into the target’s system that will erode the organs.
"Damn... what a troublesome weapon..." Lin Fang muttered under his breath. Taking a good look at the clown mask, he asked, "Where is Li Liu?"
The latter chuckled under the mask, pulling out a smartphone instead. "Here."
Lin Fang didn’t need further explanation to realize that it was a trap. However, he still couldn’t help but ask. "Who ordered you? Is it the Immortal Guild or Jiang Fei?"
Before the assailant answered, the direwolf, standing beside its master, let out a guttural roar as golden light surged around it and it lunged with one massive paw, sweeping forward like a crashing boulder.
The masked man was swift to react, meeting the strike without flinching.
HSSHHHH!
His sword carved a brilliant crescent through the darkness, releasing an arc of pure dark energy as it met Black’s paw.
The result: Blood sprayed out as the concentrated energy attack struck its paw, slicking it off.
"Black!" Lin Fang’s voice cracked in urgency.
*Graaa*
The direwolf’s roar turned into a pained, heart-rattling bellow. Meanwhile, the severed paw crashed onto the wet planks of the pier with a hollow thud.
"Nice try with distraction, but the difference between us is huge." Letting out a chuckle, the assailant further said. "If you stop struggling, maybe I will give you a painless death with one strike. You won’t feel a thing, I promise."
"Never..." Lin Fang growled at him in anger.
He was about to summon his twin daggers, but in the next second, the attacker bent his knees and sprang upward at blurring speed. Moonlight caught the violet arc of energy as the sword came down.
The Direwolf, putting away its pain, made its move, standing in front of him like a wall.
Raising its head to face the attack, it opened its mouth to gather mana at its mouth tip. But before it could finish the preparations to attack, the sword came down at it.
Lin Fang’s blurred vision snapped into cruel clarity just in time to see the luminous direwolf’s massive body cleaved cleanly from crown to tail.
One half toppled left. The other slumped right.
Just like that, the Commander Tier legendary grade direwolf met its demise without being able to do anything or even tell any farewell words to its master.
And the scene of its death made Lin Fang freeze with his breath locked in his chest. His mind refused the sight before him, making him wonder for that moment whether this was an illusion.
Then, the cold chime of the system cut through the stillness, reminding him of the harsh reality, delivering its death’s confirmation:
Ding!
[Black has died.]
[Nemesis found a suitable host to be reborn]
[Do you wish Nemesis to be reborn in Black’s body?]
For a heartbeat, Lin Fang could only stare at the still-steaming blood pooling around the lifeless halves of his closest companion. He couldn’t see the holographic screen with notifications at all. His gaze was only on the dissected corpse. Streams of tears started flowing down his cheeks on their own, making his vision blurry.
Meanwhile the masked swordsman landed lightly on the pier with his violet blade dripping with fading light.
A moment later, a raw sound tore from his throat—half-cry, half-roar. "Black..."
*thud*
His knees hit the soaked planks with a dull thud. Hot tears streaked down his cheeks before he even realized he was crying.
Behind him, the Lightning Pterosaur staggered, shaking its great head again and again as if to clear the ringing from its ears. Finally, it found its footing and planted itself between Lin Fang and the masked killer, while a low, rumbling growl rolled from its chest.
The clown-masked attacker tilted his head. "So, you would like to be the next?"
With a surge of mana into the sword, purple light bled once more along the length of his blade. He raised the sword once again.
Right then, Lin Fang’s hand shot at his neck, removing the amulet. At once, the seal was removed from his body, and a faint layer of mana formed over his skin on its own.
"Hmm? Mana? I thought he was a plainfolk..." The assailant furrowed his brows under the clown mask, wondering what else his agent had gotten wrong information from the client.
"Combat Merge..." Lin Fang hissed in anger. "Tempest..."