Chapter 282: Escape
What if… he tried using his Bohemian Requiem ability to manifest the Elf Goddess statue in front of him?
Zhou Ning quickly calmed himself, and a thought immediately flashed through his mind. But the moment it appeared, he dismissed it himself. No, absolutely not. This Elf Goddess statue carried traces of divinity. If he forced it into awakening, it could cause a violent spiritual backlash. Even draining all of his Focus wouldn't be enough.
Drink that cup, and then see what happens?
Even less possible. In the world of Apocalypse, everything followed the principle of equivalent exchange, especially before deities. That three-leaf elf who drank that cup seemed to have strengthened his soul, but on the other hand, he might have also come under the influence of a mythic creature—his body mutating, or being parasitized by spider eggs, turning into a half-mad fanatic.
Zhou Ning could already picture the consequences: his own appearance irreversibly twisting into something like a spider-man, very likely losing control altogether.
That was something he absolutely could not accept.
At that moment, the second three-leaf elf also removed her hood. She was a female elf—unlike the shadowy wraith from before, she was a corporeal undead. But her face too was covered in clusters of compound eyes and jagged fangs.
She accepted the cup of water from the elder elf and, without hesitation, downed it in one gulp.
This time Zhou Ning saw it clearly, especially when the elder elf poured the water. Illusory insect eggs flowed down along the cup wall from the bottle. As they churned, the sight was indescribably revolting.
As for drinking that kind of filth—whoever wanted it could have it.
Then the third and fourth three-leaf elves did the same, either undead or shadowy wraiths. This confirmed Zhou Ning's earlier suspicion: the elves of this mirror world were tightly bound to the Dark Spider Mother Matalita, in a parasitic relationship—she gave them survival, they gave her faith.
Now, only one remained before it would be his turn. Zhou Ning felt the urgency of time pressing down. No more analyzing. He pulled back his gaze, exhaled sharply, and activated his Clan Ability.
Guns suddenly appeared in his lowered hands. Without warning, he pulled the trigger, firing straight at the elder elf who was pouring the water.
Bang!
The deafening gunshot shattered the silence of the chapel.
A brilliant bullet spun out from the ebony barrel, flames coiling around it, dazzling against the darkness. It struck the elder elf squarely in the head, snapping his skull back.
As a ranged fighter, Zhou Ning's ambush technique was flawless. With precise control, he triggered the extraordinary power of the bullet. The shot dealt -739 damage, and the ripple flame entwined around it set the elder elf's hood ablaze.
With a whoosh, pale golden fire spread.
The status panel flashed open:
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Meditation Society High Priest: Solia Lane
Level: 71 Boss Creature
Class: Dark High Priest (Super-tier)
Attributes: Strength 125, Agility 135, Endurance 270, Spirit 215, Will 152, Charisma 67
HP: 14,061 / 14,800
Status: Arachnified Undead
Specialties: Dark Affinity, Super Resilient Life, ???, ???, ???
Skills: Dark Blast (Master), Telekinesis (Expert), Wraith Transformation (Advanced), ???, ???...
Zhou Ning's heart lurched. That shot, with his Clan Ability active, was practically his peak damage—yet it only shaved 736 HP off the elder elf's head. This was the absolute suppression of a super-tier class against a high-tier one.
Moreover, with 270 Endurance and the Super Resilient Life specialty, this boss had a staggering 14,800 HP. A true tank. And his skills and specialties were formidable, especially Dark Affinity, boosting his dark magic damage by 45%. A level 71 boss indeed.
Solia Lane groaned in pain, his cup clattering onto the table. Swarms of illusory insect eggs billowed out in black smoke. He ripped off his burning hood, revealing an aged face bristling with compound eyes—all of which suddenly slit into vertical pupils.
"tur-amor-joh-re!"
A violent resonance echoed in Zhou Ning's ears, his pupils briefly unfocused. Darkness exploded around him, even the air seeming to split into fragments.
But Zhou Ning's reflexes were razor sharp. Using the recoil from his shot, he launched himself away, barely evading the blast. At the same time, the Traveler's teleportation effect triggered—the ring on his hand flared, shifting him a distance to the right.
He saw it clearly: the elder elf had abruptly shifted into wraith form. Raising his right hand, he gripped at Zhou Ning's body in his sight.
-429!
A chill shot through Zhou Ning as thin ice crystals spread across his body, freezing him briefly in place. High-level wraith attacks often carried cold effects—but this was useless against him. His Ripple ability was the nemesis of undead. At Expert level, his Ripple Breathing circulated naturally through his body, dispersing cold effects with ease. Even mid-teleport, in midair, he twisted his body, donning a layer of black armor. The Phoenix Battle Suit instantly cloaked him, its cloak unfurling into wings. While back-flying, he fired another shot at Solia Lane.
But the elder threw out a talisman. In midair it sketched a gaping mouth, which opened wide and swallowed the bullet whole.
Zhou Ning: …
This was the first time he'd seen a boss counter his attack like this—using a talisman to draw a mouth-shaped shield that could devour any ranged attack. Utterly inhuman.
And somehow, a heavy dread pressed in Zhou Ning's chest, as if something terrible was about to happen.
Then chaos erupted. Countless five-leaf, four-leaf, and three-leaf elves rose from the ground, growling incoherently, lunging at him.
Facing the first oncoming five-leaf elf, Zhou Ning immediately switched weapons. His Cortés Sword flared with azure light, striking four times in a blur.
[Two Sleeves of Green Serpents: You can unleash four defense-ignoring strikes with a sword weapon. Damage scales with your Agility and Swordsmanship level.]
-1456! -735! -1746! -1432!
Fortune was with him—three of the four strikes hit weak points, dealing nearly 5,000 damage in an instant. The elf's long health bar evaporated as he collapsed.
Step!
Zhou Ning sprinted past him. Mid-dash, he switched back to firearms, his wrist flicking as bullets rained down on several charging elves.
These bullets carried Armament, Observation, and Conqueror's Haki layered with Ripple energy, glowing brilliantly. Two three-leaf elves ignited instantly, turning into blazing golden torches.
In just three seconds, Zhou Ning burst through the first encirclement. His movements were as swift and natural as lightning and shadow.
Of course, a super-tier like the elder elf wouldn't just let him have his way. His figure abruptly vanished, reappearing directly in Zhou Ning's path.
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