Chapter 20: Fierce Battle

Terumi Mei did not care about that; her attention was entirely focused on the Ghost General.

Hellfire!

A ring of ghostly blue light appeared beneath her feet.

Her staff unleashed scorching orange flames, which, under the enhancement of the Hellfire state, transformed into cold, ghostly blue infernos.

This was fire from Hell.

It possessed immense burning properties against soul-type monsters.

It was a class skill Terumi Mei's Fire Mage class Awakened after reaching level 8, capable of lasting for half a minute with a five-minute cooldown.

In some respects, its lethality surpassed the Boil Release she had painstakingly trained for years.

"You intruders, daring to step into the polluted land on your own initiative—you are truly courting death!"

The Ghost General emitted a sound, and the nearest Elite players felt their internal organs vibrating with a thudding sound from the noise.

The blood-colored Claymore swept across, whipping up a gale.

It scattered the surging Hellfire, but stray flames landed on its shoulders and legs.

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle...

The Hellfire that burned the soul acted like a deadly poison to its ghostly body, rapidly corroding it.

The Ghost General looked up, realizing the woman above who could release Hellfire was the greatest threat on the scene.

"Ghost Shadow Poison Blade!"

Four Elite players scattered, surrounding the Ghost General in the center.

A dagger flickering with ink-green light was thrown straight at the massive ghost, but it was like a toothpick hitting an Iron Wall, immediately deflected.

Before the Ghost General could launch an attack toward Terumi Mei above, the four had already charged up.

Facing a massive gap in strength, the four never thought they could deal enough damage to the monster; their primary goal was to stall its movements.

Hand of Flame.

Terumi Mei took the opportunity to increase the distance, leaping to a wall lamp further away.

The Hellfire condensed into a giant palm, grabbing the Ghost General before clenching its five fingers tight.

The crackling sound of burning.

The Ghost General's flesh and skin rapidly dissolved, and with it, the HP of the four Elite players was wiped out.

3,100 HP.

Two skills with the Hellfire state applied dealt 700 points of damage directly to the Ghost General.

Although the effect was significant, the losses were even greater.

The Elite players who used their lives to stall the monster required millions of ryo to be poured in for just a single wave of attacks.

The more invested, the less possibility Terumi Mei had of giving up.

After her Blue Potential bar hit bottom, she immediately purchased the most expensive Recovery Potion, and her parched mana was nourished as if it were barren land suddenly receiving rain.

Flame Chain.

A long, narrow flame chain twisted like a fire snake, rushing toward the Ghost General.

But it was dodged by the opponent, only lightly grazing its arm without causing much damage.

The newly revived Elite players had no time to provide cover.

The Ghost General's blood-colored Claymore had already been thrown, piercing through Terumi Mei's abdomen like a javelin, a one-hit kill.

"Lord Mizukage!"

Chojuro roared, leaping high and diving downward at extreme speed with his twin blades aimed at the monster.

Silver Light Falling Blade.

But before the shockwave could explode, the Ghost General broke through his twin blades and swatted him away with one arm.

"I'm fine, continue the attack!"

After Terumi Mei revived on the spot, she quickly put distance between herself and the monster.

The benefit of spending Reward Points to revive on the spot was the ability to revive at full status.

Unlike the cheap city-return revival, where one falls into a weakened state after reviving and must either purchase a Recovery Potion or wait for a slow recovery.

Outside the thick castle walls.

"Just as I deduced, someone has snuck into the castle, wanting to hunt the Ghost General!"

Mabui waved her hand, signaling the players behind her not to make a sound.

She inserted her fingers into the gaps of the rough wall, her internal mana rapidly consumed, and an invisible ripple penetrated the wall and extended inward.

Spiritual Perception.

This was a very practical skill, though it required consuming Reward Points to continuously upgrade the skill in order to expand the perception range.

But its ability to probe things within perception was even stronger than the famous Bloodline Limit of Konohagakure, the Byakugan.

During the Shinobi World War, countless ninja died because they were seen through by the Byakugan.

To say other Ninja Villages didn't covet it would be impossible.

However, the Byakugan possessed a near-cruel defensive measure, capable of direct self-destruction; the method of killing someone to gouge out their eyes simply wouldn't work.

Mabui was not skilled in combat to begin with, so she followed the support-style player path.

The scene of the intense battle inside the castle appeared in her mind.

"It's Terumi Mei of Kirigakure!"

Mabui frowned, feeling it was somewhat troublesome.

If it were those poor wretches from Sunagakure, even though they had raised their levels to the tier of top-line players through their desperate, "die-hard" leveling state...

However, without the support of equipment, there is absolutely no capital to compete with Cloud.

Not to mention others, Samui alone, wearing five pieces of Ghost Armor and activating the set effect, could single-handedly wipe out a five-player team from Sunagakure in the Samsara Game.

Who told Sunagakure to be so poor?

With rolling sandstorms year-round and barren resources, even mission commissions are snatched away by other countries; they simply lack the surplus strength to support the terrifying consumption of wealth in the Samsara Game.

But Kirigakure is different.

Although they closed their borders, that refers to Kirigakure, not the Land of Water; geographically, it is a chain of islands, and whether it is coral, pearls, seashells, or abundant aquatic products, they are all good businesses that can be exchanged for large amounts of wealth.

Mabui quietly spent 50 Reward Points to purchase information on Terumi Mei from players in the Mist Alliance.

Judging solely by attributes, even Samui, the strongest combatant in the Cloud Alliance, is no match for Terumi Mei.

Of course, the gap is not large.

If a real battle were to break out, it is hard to say who would win or lose.

But right now, the Mist Alliance is consuming a huge amount while hunting the Ghost General, and their Cloud Alliance has not exposed themselves, hiding in the shadows and ready to strike; there is a high probability they will snatch this piece of fat meat.

Suddenly,

Mabui's expression tightened slightly as she looked not far away, right against the outer wall of the castle.

The field of vision was empty.

But within her mental perception, there was a team quietly lurking and approaching.

"We've been discovered..."

Asuma, dangling a toothpick, keenly sensed the prying of the Cloud Alliance.

The Chameleon Potion they purchased was of a very low grade; it was already the limit to deceive the Ghost army, and it lacked the ability to shield against mental perception.

Maintaining a safe distance, Mabui smiled and said, "So it is Konohagakure; do you also want to come and get a share of the spoils?"

Asuma did not answer but instead asked, "What about Cloud? Are you here for a stroll?"

Naruto and Omoi exchanged glances, both seeing the hostility in each other's eyes.

"The Mist Alliance is the strongest; if we fight now, we will completely lose the chance to hunt the Ghost General."

"Let's join forces against Mist first."

Both sides were very tacit, not discussing the issue of who the spoils would belong to.

The battle inside Feixu Chengbao was becoming increasingly intense.

At this moment,

The Ghost General's HP was still at a healthy level, but the Mist Alliance had already consumed thousands of Reward Points.

With this kind of terrifying consumption, if it continues like this until the end of the battle, Kirigakure will likely go bankrupt directly.

"Chojuro!"

Terumi Mei's gaze suddenly fell upon the rough and thick wall of the castle.

Chojuro understood immediately, rushing violently to the side of that wall and swinging his twin blades with extreme speed to cut.

The thick wall was like tofu, directly cut into two pieces and collapsed.

"As expected of the Mizukage; we were discovered as soon as the effect of the stealth item wore off."

Samui assumed a combat stance, blocking in front of Mabui, guarding against a sudden attack from Chojuro.

The Konoha Squad were all combat players, so they immediately dispersed, each finding their own angles for attack and defense.

(End of this chapter)