Chapter 58: His Pretentious Flex Reminds Me of a Friend of Mine

"Watch out!"

Baili Dao roared, brandishing the nine-ring broadsword, now stained completely dark red, and slashed at his companion beside him.

The other person neither dodged nor paraded.

He simply let the blade descend.

A ghostly villager that had silently materialized beside him, clutching a sharp blade in its hand, was split vertically in two by Baili Dao in the blink of an eye.

After dealing with the ambushing ghostly villager,

the two men stood back-to-back, breathing heavily. Their eyes were a chaotic mix of irritation, exhaustion, helplessness, and even despair.

"Are you fucking kidding me, there are way too many of these? Who on earth cleared this nightmare-tier dungeon? Is this really something a human being can accomplish?" Baili Dao said helplessly, "Can't we ask the people outside to call us back?"

They were still surrounded by hundreds of ghostly villagers. Even though they had already cut down dozens, the numbers showed no sign of thinning out.

Unsurprisingly,

these ghostly villagers were merely standard mobs within the dungeon, while the true boss remained over at the sacrificial plaza.

Even so, the two of them felt that their chances of escaping were exceedingly slim.

The sheer numbers were bad enough, but these ghostly villagers also performed a ritual dance every two minutes, triggering a powerful mental shock that assaulted them both.

Even with the protective talismans provided by Minister Xiezhi to fend off this mental shock,

the two of them were completely incapacitated while resisting the impact, forced to stand in place and wait out the ghostly villagers' dance.

Only to face the crushing despair of overwhelming numbers all over again.

This was an inescapable, vicious cycle.

"The message has already reached the people outside. No one is going to step foot into the village now; we have to rely on ourselves to escape," his companion said helplessly.

Ever since the seal of the Marriage Deity was broken, all electronic equipment within this region had ceased to function.

At the very beginning, he had used a carrier pigeon-type item to transmit the minister's order to evacuate the vicinity.

Yet, after fighting their way out for so long and finally catching their breath, they realized

that the two of them apparently couldn't get away.

God knows why there were so many of these damn ghostly villagers!

"I have a wide-area restriction item here. It can cause all creatures with a mental power of less than 10 points within a thirty-meter radius to fall into a state of paralysis, lasting for about three minutes." His companion retrieved a strange device that looked like a lightning rod from his backpack.

Upon seeing this, Baili Dao's face lit up with joy.

These mindless ghostly villagers obviously could not possess more than 10 points of mental power.

With such a massive range and duration,

it was more than enough to break through the encirclement!

Patting his companion on the shoulder, he said, "Pal, why didn't you pull this good stuff out sooner? My hands are about to go limp from hacking away."

His companion retorted irritably, "You think I wanted to save it? The side effect of this thing is way too stupid."

Baili Dao froze.

He instinctively asked, "What side effect?"

With an ugly expression, his companion replied, "After using it, I myself will fall into a five-minute state of paralysis, completely devoid of any ability to resist."

"?"

Are you kidding me, pal? You restrict the enemy for three minutes,

while your own side effect lasts for five.

What kind of retarded item is this?

Baili Dao finally understood why his companion hadn't used this thing from the start.

It was indeed somewhat foolish.

"There's no breaking through using normal methods anymore, or else I wouldn't have brought out this stupid item. After it's activated, you should be the only one within a thirty-meter radius capable of movement. Carrying me on your back and running should be fine, right?" His companion asked, massaging his temples.

"You trust me that much?"

Baili Dao looked somewhat surprised.

Although they were both members of the Strange Affairs Bureau, this was the first time they had ever met. Trusting someone by directly placing one's life in their hands like this was far too rash, wasn't it?

What if he just turned and ran?

Once the three minutes were up and the ghostly villagers recovered from their paralysis, he would just be lying there waiting for death.

"No, I trust Minister Xiezhi." His companion's gaze grew firm as he said, "You were brought up by him. I believe he wouldn't misjudge a person and train an ungrateful wretch who abandons his teammates."

Hearing these words, a trace of pride surfaced on Baili Dao's face.

He patted his chest and declared, "Alright! For the sake of your trust in my boss, even if I die today, I will definitely die before you do! My name is Baili Dao, what's yours?"

"Xu Hu." The companion planted the device into the ground, and seeing the ghostly villagers closing in again, he said, "Stop talking about dying. Save whatever you have to say for when we make it out alive."

"Are you ready?"

Baili Dao shouted, "Let's do it!"

Snap—

The moment the words fell, Xu Hu slapped the switch on the device.

Bzzzz—

An eerie electrical hum echoed within the device. Xu Hu swallowed dryly, his palm beginning to tremble by reflex.

He had used this thing once before.

The memory was not particularly pleasant.

Boom—

Baili Dao heard a massive commotion erupt behind him. Looking back, he was startled to find that a bolt of lightning had inexplicably appeared in the sky,

striking heavily onto the pointed tip of the device.

Xu Hu, who had been pressing the switch with his hand, was instantly electrocuted into a comical afro hairstyle, trembling as he collapsed onto the ground in spasms, black smoke puffing from his mouth.

The next second, a bizarre blue electric web spread across the ground, instantly blanketing a thirty-meter radius.

The ghostly villagers within the affected area collapsed to the ground one after another, unable to rise again. Just like Xu Hu, they twitched on the ground, falling into a paralyzed state and losing all mobility.

"Damn it! Is this thing actually a fucking lightning rod?!"

So the side effect was that it had to shock you first before working, is that it?!

Cursing, Baili Dao grabbed the paralyzed Xu Hu off the ground, hoisted him onto his shoulder, and broke into a mad sprint toward the exit of the village.

Fortunately, the strength buff provided by the [Bloodthirsty Ring Saber] lasted for a full minute, and having killed so many ghostly villagers just now, he had long since maxed out its stacks.

Now, with his strength soaring, he moved like the wind even while bearing the weight of an adult man.

Five meters... ten meters... thirty meters!

In just a few strides, Baili Dao charged past the thirty-meter mark. Looking back at the scattered, sprawling ghostly villagers behind him, he could not help but let out a sigh of relief.

Those guys would remain paralyzed for another two minutes or so; it was utterly impossible for them to catch up to him now.

Next came soaring into the sky like a bird let loose!

Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud—

Right at that moment, a dense wave of footsteps echoed from ahead.

The expression of Xu Hu, slung over Baili Dao's shoulder, grew increasingly unsightly, the helplessness in his eyes gradually morphing into despair.

He saw countless ghostly villagers

rushing toward them from ahead.

The number was easily double what they had just faced!

They had barely broken through the encirclement!

He still had at least four minutes of paralysis left.

Could Baili Dao single-handedly fend off a horde of ghostly villagers even larger than the one that had previously pushed them both to a sweat-drenched stalemate?

Obviously not.

Right now, that charging mob of ghostly villagers was still a short distance away. If Baili Dao were to put him down, there might still be a chance to dash into the forest before they arrived.

Once inside, escaping would be much simpler.

"Brother Baili, put me down..."

"Shut up!"

Baili Dao cut off Xu Hu's forced words.

He pulled a rope from his backpack and tightly bound the man to his body, then gripped the hilt of his saber with both hands as the crimson in his eyes gradually flooded his pupils.

Word by word, he declared, "I said it before, you will absolute not die before me!"

[Trustworthy Berserker • Baili Dao]

The system prompt echoed in Baili Dao's ears.

His title had changed.

Yet Baili Dao had no spare attention to spare for the effects of his new title; he only wanted to carve out a path to survival.

In the blink of an eye, the charging ghostly villagers were right in front of them.

Instead of retreating, Baili Dao pressed forward.

With a swift lunge, he wielded his blade in sweeping, expansive arcs. His sword techniques, blending wildness with a hint of violent aesthetics, instantly cut down three ghostly villagers, leaving Xu Hu, strapped to his back, dumbfounded.

This guy... was he always this fierce just now?

Thud, thud, thud, thud—

The charging footsteps did not stop.

Xu Hu immediately noticed something bizarre.

This group of ghostly villagers...

were they not attacking the two of them?!

They continued to sprint toward the center of the village. Even though several of them were cut down midway by Baili Dao, the ghostly villagers beside them didn't even pause to glance at the two men.

It was as if some immense terror was pursuing and driving them from behind, leaving them completely devoid of any mind to deal with the two intruders.

Although Baili Dao and Xu Hu were instantly swallowed up by the crowd, they were merely blending in rather than being surrounded and besieged.

The ghostly villagers brushed past them one after another.

"Wait! Brother Baili! Is there something behind them?" Xu Hu immediately shouted a warning.

The crimson in Baili Dao's eyes gradually faded.

Slowly, a slender figure emerged at the end of the road.

The person was unremarkable in appearance, wearing a hoodie and black-rimmed glasses. Clearly out of place in this Marriage Village, he dragged a rusted, broken sword in his hand.

He walked step by step,

unhurriedly, just like taking a stroll after a meal, coming in from afar while casually whistling a relaxed tune.

Occasionally, when a few ghostly villagers tripped over their own companions and collapsed with broken legs, the youth merely passed by these incapacitated entities.

They would instantly emit a miserable scream before disintegrating into piles of ash and dust.

The ghostly villagers that had driven the two of them to the brink of despair

could not even spare a second glance or stay for a single moment in front of this person?

"Who... who is this?"

The overwhelming strength and relaxed demeanor displayed by the other party made Baili Dao and Xu Hu hold their breath.

If this person was a player, surely only someone at the level of a Strange Affairs Bureau branch director or higher could possibly possess such terrifying strength?

For a moment, the two of them even forgot to break out.

Because the ghostly villagers had already fled far into the distance.

They were now essentially certain that those ghostly villagers were fleeing precisely from this youth, which was why they had acted so abnormally.

Clack, clack—

The youth walked right up to them.

He glanced sideways at the blood-soaked Baili Dao.

Then, he lazily spat out a single sentence: "Practice more if you suck."

With that, he turned and walked toward the very center of the village without looking back.

Xu Hu turned his head to look at the departing figure.

The youth's completely unguarded back was left wide open to the two of them, as if he had no concern whatsoever that they might pose a threat.

What a terrifying level of self-confidence!

Moreover, that line—"Practice more if you suck"—felt vaguely familiar, as if he had seen it somewhere before.

Wait! On the server-wide announcement!

Could he possibly be the big shot who solo-cleared the nightmare-tier dungeon?!

"Brother Baili, let's go. I'll use the carrier pigeon item to notify the minister and the others later. That big shot is here to deal with this disaster zone," Xu Hu said with a sigh of emotion.

However, Baili Dao did not move right away, still staring with a furrowed brow in the direction the youth had left.

Although his physique and voice didn't match at all, the back of the youth walking away into the crowd of ghostly villagers gradually overlapped in his mind with the image of the widow walking toward that group of students in *Young and Dangerous*.

Too similar...

Equally unassuming, yet isolated and individualistic to the absolute extreme.

Damn, that was so cool!

"Brother Hu, you might not believe what I'm about to say."

"The way this big shot flexes is just like a friend of mine."

Xu Hu: "?"

You actually know this kind of master?!