Chapter 30: The Trap

A moment later, Aili returned after a cursory probe of the three small passages.

This superficial probing brought him no danger, nor did it bring him any extra reward.

“Now that all the Transcendent Gates here have been opened, we should have already obtained everything we could.”

“So…”

Aili’s tone grew cautious and serious.

“We should discuss how to… counter-kill those waiting for us outside.”

As Aili’s words fell, everyone’s gaze involuntarily converged on Gunei.

Earlier, it was Gunei who had spoken of counter-killing.

Gunei had already thought of a counterattack plan.

“We’ll do this: first…”

Gunei lowered his voice and began to explain his plan softly.

…

Howling Canyon.

The mist remained thick and undispersed.

In fact, the fog was now even denser than before.

At a corner about fifty meters from the “Void Gate.”

The Blood-Ear Elves “Xuelong” and “Ximo” were waiting quietly there.

Beside them, the second-tier transcendent creature, the Komo Dire Wolf, lay prostrate on the ground, dozing with its eyes closed.

“It’s been almost a day now. Could they have died in there?” Ximo spoke softly during the wait.

A day was indeed a bit long for exploring a “Void Small Realm” like this.

“Highly possible,” Xuelong nodded slightly.

“After all, it’s the habitat of a top-tier Transcendent Master. Those apprentice transcendents, though they have some strength…”

“When facing real danger, the chance of death is still high. It wouldn’t be surprising if they were wiped out by a single mistake.”

“Let’s wait another day. If they don’t come out by tomorrow, we can basically conclude they’re all dead inside.”

“At that time, I’ll seal the entrance with a sealing spell. For a while, we won’t have to worry about others discovering this place.”

Xuelong had already formed a rough plan in his mind for the subsequent situation.

Suddenly.

From deep within the thick fog came a sound.

It seemed like footsteps.

Then a “thud,” as if a massive object had fallen.

The noise immediately put the two on alert.

The Contract Master, Xuelong, let a blood-red light swirl in his eyes as he quickly communicated with his second-tier contracted creature, the “Mystic Soul Ghost.”

The second-tier transcendent creature “Mystic Soul Ghost” was a spirit entity that the Contract Master “Xuelong” had signed from the depths of another dimension using a special contract ritual spell.

The Mystic Soul Ghost was naturally gifted with the ability of “Astral Walk.”

And this second-tier transcendent spirit entity, the “Mystic Soul Ghost,” was precisely the means Xuelong had used earlier to monitor that team.

As Xuelong communicated.

The images seen by the Mystic Soul Ghost were perfectly presented before Xuelong’s eyes.

Before the Void Gate, on the ground.

A burly youth lay fallen, miserably battered.

His body was covered in thick, viscous blood.

The youth seemed to be struggling still, coughing up blood from his mouth, his breath very weak.

Despite such misery, the youth still clutched tightly in his hand a long sword that faintly radiated a secret silver glow.

“A secret silver-grade long sword? They got something good?” Seeing this, Xuelong couldn’t help but feel a surge of joy.

However, Xuelong did not act rashly.

Instead, he continued to wait in place using the Mystic Soul Ghost.

A full five or six minutes passed.

Apart from this injured, dying burly youth, no one else came out, and his breath grew even weaker.

“It seems… the others must have died inside.”

With a light exhale, Xuelong stepped out from the corner.

At the same time, the Komo Dire Wolf and Ximo followed him out.

An injured, dying apprentice knight posed no threat to them whatsoever.

“A secret silver-grade weapon is extremely valuable. Sold, it’s worth at least 1,500 gold pounds. Enough for me to prepare some transcendent materials to advance to third-tier, and I can even replace this robe of mine with a new one.”

“This Blood Curse Master’s habitat… is truly a treasure trove.”

Thinking thus, Xuelong was already envisioning his future in his mind.

“Once I get all those treasures, I might even advance to become a high-tier transcendent…”

Just as Xuelong’s heart surged with excitement over his glorious future.

The situation abruptly changed.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…

Several sharp flaming arrows shot through the mist.

These sharp flaming arrows were all aimed at “Xuelong.”

The arrows were so fast that by the time Xuelong reacted,

the first arrow had already struck his chest.

With a dull “thump,”

the impact force of the arrow exploded heavily on Xuelong’s chest.

Hum!

A hazy black light spread across Xuelong’s chest, forcefully blocking the sneak-attack arrow.

The Contract Master Xuelong still had some defensive means.

Then, the second and third arrows arrived as expected, equally fast and hard to react to.

Bang!

Bang!

Two fourth-level Fire Arrow spells burst open on Xuelong’s chest, flames spreading.

Having now reacted, Xuelong quickly dodged to one side.

He had barely shifted his position a little

when the fourth Fire Arrow shot through swiftly.

After taking three consecutive fourth-level Fire Arrow blasts,

the black light protecting Xuelong seemed to have reached its limit.

Under the power of this fourth Fire Arrow, the black light shattered with a crack.

Thud!

Then the Fire Arrow tore through Xuelong’s robe and cloak, piercing his chest.

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle!

A stream of subsequent Fire Arrows

all plunged into Xuelong’s body.

In less than a second,

Xuelong’s entire chest cavity was pierced by over eight Fire Arrows.

Flames blazed fiercely, filling Xuelong’s vision.

“Instant spellcasting, too fast.”

With this last thought,

Thump!

Xuelong fell to the ground.

The sudden turn of events was far too swift.

The Shadow “Ximo” reacted the moment the Fire Arrows came into view.

But unfortunately, Xuelong’s reaction was far slower than hers.

Thus, Xuelong was pierced through by the Fire Arrows and died.

“At least ten Fire Arrows per second, and easily breaking Xuelong’s ‘Defense Spirit Guardian.’ This is a powerful Spellcaster.”

Seeing Xuelong killed, grief and anger swirled in her heart. A desire for revenge made her eager to kill that enemy.

But Ximo’s reason and fear of the powerful enemy prevailed.

“I must leave. If I don’t, I’ll die.”

After a nimble roll, she quickly retreated.

However, though she wanted to leave, the enemy in the mist showed no intention of letting her go.

Zzzzz…

A large patch of purple lightning arcs flashed and wove together.

These arcs spread over an area of five or six meters, forming a veritable net of lightning.

The arcs were so fierce that if she were hit, she wouldn’t escape either.

“Awooo—”

A piercing scream rang out.

The Lightning Arc spell had struck the Komo Dire Wolf.

Ximo’s path of evasion was behind the Komo Dire Wolf.

Now the wolf being electrocuted was also being used by someone—it was just unlucky.

With its master dead and the contract dissolved, the Komo Dire Wolf, suddenly hit by such a powerful spell,

let out a scream and then fled with its tail between its legs.

Taking advantage of this moment, Ximo, who had already retreated and hidden, vanished from sight.

The “Mystic Soul Ghost,” also freed from its contract, disappeared as well.

The battle

had begun and ended abruptly.