Chapter 156: Reinforcements Descend from the Heavens

Chapter 156: Chapter 156: Reinforcements Descend from the Heavens

Perhaps because he bore the divine grace of the God of Destruction, every time Raphael circulated magic elements, his entire body was dyed in a layer of destructive aura that made opponents’ skin crawl. The signature scimitar of this class also belonged to the finest category of weapons.

The game rules suppressed realms. What Raphael’s original realm was remained unclear, but currently, it was at Intermediate Stage Five-Star. While Leon was at Intermediate Stage Three-Star.

The two clashing, judging solely by realm, Leon was naturally at a disadvantage. But in actual combat, his capabilities far exceeded Raphael’s. Thus, dragging on for a full hour, the two were still deadlocked without a clear victor.

Only two hours later did Leon, due to depleted magic power, gradually get pressed into a disadvantaged position.

Today was the eighth day. Currently, there were only one hundred and eight Mice and one hundred and twenty-six Cats left. Being eliminated now wasn’t a big deal.

Leon had already prepared himself mentally to lose.

If it were a normal day, he would have let go the moment he guessed the outcome. But every time that thought kindled, the figures of his teammates inexplicably appeared in his mind.

Then, just as inexplicably, he managed to hold on until now.

Until the final moment, when the pair of Crescent Blades was tightly bound by Raphael’s threads, unable to be retracted, did Leon completely abandon the thought of continuing to "survive".

He condensed his remaining sliver of magic power, waiting for the opponent to close in to counterattack with one strike.

Even if he couldn’t eliminate him, as long as he used illusion magic to restrain Raphael, he could pin down his movement speed, at least buying a bit more time for his next target.

Edge of the Labyrinth of Hidden Shadows.

Jeremy and Mouse No. 16 took a full seven days to escape the Labyrinth of Hidden Shadows.

During those seven days, they only managed to gather three fragments: Light, Wood, and Earth.

Each map area only contained exactly three different types of fragments, the rest being duplicates. To find other types, they were forced to leave.

The two’s initial plan was to disband after seven days, and in reality, they had settled on that. But just past midnight, a massive horde of monsters swarmed over. The two had to go with the flow and extend their teaming duration.

And the exact moment the Sacred Weapons appeared, both sides recognized each other’s identity.

To Mouse No. 16, right from the moment she saw him handle the magical beast flock, Jeremy gave her an indescribably familiar feeling. By the time the Death Scythe revealed itself, she immediately confirmed it: the captain of the Genius Team — Asaro.

Furthermore... he also discovered another point.

Throughout the past few days, while already suppressed by the game’s rules in cultivation level, Asaro even forcefully pressed her own realm down another notch. From the Intermediate Stage Five-Star ceiling, she voluntarily lowered it to Intermediate Stage Three-Star. Only when the Sacred Weapon materialized did the true number pop out.

No wonder when clearing the Intermediate Stage Five-Star enemies, her performance remained as effortlessly light from start to finish.

Regarding this point, Jeremy could only say: this must be the capriciousness of the strong.

As for Asaro, from the fourth day, she vaguely guessed who this Mouse No. 1 was.

Ultimately, this person’s combat style, coupled with that desperate recklessness, was almost no different from the Eclipse Team captain who once faced off against her previously.

The only difference was that he was more refined, more formidable. Clear progress.

Thus, the moment Jeremy revealed his Sacred Weapon and skills, she didn’t feel much shock either.

But... upon seeing the card form that had never appeared before along with the accompanying skill, Asaro began to doubt her judgment.

Being a royal princess, she naturally grasped the matter of the Valmont family’s eldest young master returning, as well as the fact that for the first half of the semester, that person’s soul resided in his younger brother’s physical body.

But what exactly this extra card skill was about, she was completely blind to.

Before the match ended, no one was permitted to directly mention their true identities. To verify her speculation, Asaro decided to tail this person for the following days.

And if she guessed wrong, it didn’t matter. The performance of Mouse No. 1 in all aspects suited her taste very well. If the other party was willing, after the match concluded, they could try interacting more deeply.

After clearing the magical beast horde, Asaro proactively suggested continuing to team up.

It wasn’t a mandatory request. But the killing intent yet to be fully retracted after a slaughter made the proposal carry double the pressure.

Jeremy didn’t care about that point. If he didn’t want to, anyone forcing him would be useless. But after weighing the pros and cons, he ultimately still nodded.

After all, the feeling of traveling together these past few days wasn’t bad. Working with someone where nonsense isn’t needed, where just a look is enough to understand each other — in this game, it was truly a rarity.

Furthermore, if Asaro was a class-changer, with that absolute strength, she could eliminate him at any time without needing to beat around the bush.

Naturally, if she made this decision purely out of a desire to toy with him, it wouldn’t have a major impact on him either.

In short, the hope of the whole team’s victory wasn’t placed entirely on him alone. He only needed to contribute the proportionate amount of effort, and that was enough.

Having settled it, the two dumped all their accumulated points into drawing clues and skills.

The result they received was the clue for the Dark elemental fragment, along with an instant teleportation skill to another map area.

That teleportation skill was too overpowered, so it could only be used once. Coincidentally, the destination for both of them was the exact same — the Endless Sea.

Without any hesitation, they chose to go immediately.

Upon setting foot in the Endless Sea, the two hadn’t walked far when they discovered a battle going on at the edge between a Cat and a Mouse.

At this moment, Mouse No. 13 was clearly driven to a dead end, tightly bound by Cat No. 11’s threads, lacking the strength to resist. Cat No. 11 was closing in step by step, preparing to finish off the prey.

The moment he saw the pair of Crescent Blades, Jeremy didn’t hesitate for half a second, immediately raising his hand to draw the bow.

As a temporary partner, seeing him act so decisively, Asaro didn’t stand still either, directly activating her Spirit Covenant skill to bail out the trapped mouse.

Under that coincidence, the timelines of Jeremy and Leon’s group completely collided.

Right as Raphael stepped forward, preparing to crush the badge, several ink-colored sharp arrows descended from the sky like drifting clouds, blocking his path.

While the threads tightly binding Leon were cleanly severed by the blade aura from Asaro’s scythe.

"Underworld Guide — Manifest."

A chilling incantation rang out. Black mist instantly surged, death aura spreading in the blink of an eye. Ten thousand ghosts materialized simultaneously, baring fangs and brandishing claws as they lunged towards Raphael.

He cast a glance, also summoning similar undead magic.

Taking advantage of him being drawn into battle, Leon hastily recalled the pair of lunar blades he just regained, looking up.

Two Mice.

[Mouse No. 1] and [Mouse No. 16].

The scythe of Mouse No. 16 looked familiar. Leon rummaged through his memories for a beat and got it immediately: the captain of the Omnia department’s Genius Team, the owner of Holy Covenant No. 16 — Asaro.

As for the other one, not summoning a Sacred Weapon, only holding a long ribbon and an ink-wash-colored bow in hand. But just by looking at the faint magic power radiating, Leon recognized the opponent’s identity in a flash.

If it wasn’t his own team captain, who else could it be.

Leon retracted the magic power he had just condensed in his palm, quietly retreating to stand next to Jeremy.

"Are you hurt?" Jeremy turned to him.

No name called. But that intonation clearly stated that he also perfectly knew who the other party was.

Leon cleared his throat: "No."

Even if he was, he wouldn’t confess. Otherwise, after this is over, he’d have to eat an extra portion of supplementary training from his teammates.

Looking at that awkward, evasive demeanor, Jeremy instantly guessed what he was thinking. He took a healing potion exchanged with points from the spatial pouch accompanying the outfit, tossing it over: "You adjust your breathing first. Leave Cat No. 11 to us."

Leon nodded: "Alright."

While the two conversed, Asaro had already opened a new solo round with Raphael.

Same realm, but Raphael had already been drained of two-thirds of his magic power by Leon, so he was clearly at a disadvantage.

With Jeremy joining the fray, his predicament became even more apparent.

He cast a glance at Jeremy, not saying a word. But mist instantly surged around his body, swallowing him inside.

Jeremy and Asaro stood back-to-back, guarding against a sneak attack.

But when the mist dispersed, Raphael’s figure had completely vanished.

"Consider him fast at running." Asaro casually dropped a sentence. The Sacred Weapon in her hand dissipated.

Jeremy put away his weapon, turned back to stand in front of Leon, asking directly: "How many fragments have you gathered?"

Leon’s starting point was definitely the Endless Sea. If he had already picked up the Dark fragment beforehand, they wouldn’t need to go deep inside anymore.

"Two pieces." Leon didn’t disappoint, digging out two fragments from his pouch, handing them straight over: "If you need them, take them."