Chapter 227: Curse

The giant bear slammed into Murphy with a "bang," almost sending him flying, but Murphy didn't let go of the giant wolf; instead, he clamped the giant wolf's neck with his right arm.

He flew up, his giant wings flapped, and thunderclouds immediately gathered in the sky. With a "boom," bolts of lightning struck the giant wolf's body one after another.

Seeing that the giant wolf was in a bad situation, Alexei tapped the leather drum again. "Spirit of Thunder, Goron! Praise your true name, hear my decree! Disperse quickly!"

In an instant, the thunderclouds in the sky seemed to be blown away by a strong wind, and they actually scattered in all directions.

What the?!

Murphy was almost dumbfounded.

What kind of outrageous ability is this, to be able to disperse the celestial phenomena summoned by others with just one sentence?

Distracted, the giant wolf suddenly broke free from his restraint, and then turned back and bit his arm. The wolf teeth pierced through the scales on his body surface, and blood spilled down like rain.

"Beast!" Murphy was furious. His left palm joined together, and lightning surged on it. Like a great spear, it stabbed into the giant wolf's abdomen, and then he let the electric sparks explode inside it.

"Boom!"

As if poking a balloon, the giant wolf actually exploded in front of him. The lightning and air waves left him dizzy, and he fell from the sky.

"Bang!" He finally regained his balance and landed on his feet, but before he could stand steady, a pair of large pincers suddenly clamped onto his waist, rushed out a few steps, and pressed him against a giant tree.

The giant crab's pincers kept tightening, seemingly wanting to snap him in two.

On the other side, Alexei tore a clay doll from his waist and came to the place where Murphy's blood had spilled just now, finding a few drops on a withered leaf.

"Detain the enemy's essence and blood, seal the enemy's evil soul... Ancestral Spirit, descend punishment on the enemy's body, punish him at the hand." He chanted a few spells loudly and smeared those few drops of blood on the clay doll's face, drawing a crying face.

Then he took out a needle and blew on it lightly, and the needle suddenly ignited with fire.

"Ancestral Spirit, descend punishment on the enemy's body, punish him at the arm!"

After speaking, he stabbed the needle heavily into the doll's left arm.

Murphy was struggling to break free from the giant crab's pincers when suddenly his left arm felt a sharp pain. Looking over, a hole the size of a child's fist appeared out of thin air on his upper arm. Black smoke was rising from the hole, as if the flesh and blood had been instantly evaporated by something extremely hot.

His left arm lost its strength, and the pincers he had pried halfway snapped back. Murphy felt a darkness before his eyes from the pain, but seeing the giant bear rushing over from the other side, he knew he couldn't delay. He flipped his right hand, a flamethrower fell into his hand, and he pulled the trigger at the giant crab's eyes.

"Squeak—" The giant crab felt the pain and let him go. Murphy instantly transformed into lightning and escaped into the sky. He could no longer summon lightning, so he could only throw himself at Alexei.

The fire eagle suddenly jumped out, blocking in front of the shaman, and was smashed into the ground by Murphy again.

Just at this moment, Alexei had already taken out the second needle. "Ancestral Spirit, descend punishment on the enemy's body, punish him at the abdomen!"

"Puff!" A large hole was opened in Murphy's abdomen, but what flowed out was not blood, but water.

What kind of bizarre attack is this? A curse?

Fire, water, and then it should be wind and earth, right?

No, that's not right. Did that guy count the time the wind wolf bit me just now?

If that's the case, then there's only one last attack left?

Hand, arm, abdomen... the damage is gradually deepening. The next attack will definitely be a fatal blow!

The giant eagle and giant crab kept tangling over, while the giant bear guarded Alexei's side. They were desperately trying to stop Murphy from approaching the shaman.

And Murphy was also thinking.

This should be a ritual; otherwise, Alexei could have stabbed the needle directly into his heart without needing to start from the attacks on the arm and abdomen.

He first established a connection with himself through his battle with the giant spirits and his own blood, and used the forms of earth, fire, water, and wind to cause damage to himself...

No, that's not right!

Murphy was suddenly startled.

Why... did Alexei want me to see this ritual of his?

If the way this curse takes effect only requires the giant spirits' attacks and blood, shouldn't he be more covert?

But when he was chanting the spell just now, he seemed to wish that everyone could hear it.

The only explanation is: he needs me to know this ritual!

He needs me to understand the steps and general cause and effect of this ritual.

Because... only in this way will I have expectations for the curse phenomenon that might happen next.

Only through the preceding steps of hand, arm, and abdomen can he make me believe that his next attack will be a fatal blow.

Almost all magic can be seen as a kind of mental path, and the essence of the mental path determines that the minds of others are absolutely indestructible—unless, you let the opponent believe a lie first, open a gate in that indestructible city wall, and actively accept the external attack.

Now, isn't Alexei's curse making me believe that the curse will truly happen to me through continuous, regular phenomena?

This belief might be the most important link for the curse to take effect.

In other words, perhaps as long as Murphy denies from the bottom of his heart that Alexei can cause him fatal damage, then the fatal blow will not truly happen.

But... can it be done?

At such a life-and-death moment, how can he guarantee that what he thinks is correct? Maybe this curse has some other settings? Maybe it really will inevitably happen? Maybe it has already been formed into a conventional rule by the "Magic Net" over thousands of years, and relying solely on the "denial" of the recipient is not enough to resist this rule?

There must be a catalyst that allows me to deny it...

People cannot completely deny a phenomenon out of thin air, but if some settings are made, it's different.

It's like when you stand naked in front of a gun, it's hard for you to believe that you won't die after the gun goes off, but if you set up a wall in front of you, give yourself a shield, and put on a bulletproof vest, you can make yourself believe "after the gun goes off, I won't die."

Just at this moment, Alexei raised the needle in his hand again, and it turned into the color of a rock.

He looked at Murphy, his gaze filled with murderous intent. "Ancestral Spirit, descend punishment on the enemy's body, punish him at the heart!"

The stone needle stabbed the doll.

At the same time, Murphy's right hand also covered his chest.

With a "puff," a large hole was suddenly pierced through his left chest, but the hand he was holding over his chest was completely unharmed.

With a thud, Murphy fell to the ground, blood gushing out, soaking a large area beneath him.

Alexei felt relieved in his heart, and the three giant spirits immediately came to Murphy's side. The fire bird opened its mouth wide, preparing to cremate Murphy.

Suddenly, several bolts of lightning leaped from behind Murphy into the fire bird's mouth, and then with a "boom," the fire bird's head suddenly exploded.

From its severed neck, three or four crows flew out, flapping their wings. "Caw! Idiot! Eat a bomb! Caw caw! Idiot eat a bomb!"

The next instant, Murphy's corpse also suddenly transformed into lightning and disappeared, appearing beside Alexei. At this moment, the giant bear was no longer protecting the shaman.

Murphy swung his greatsword diagonally, and it turned into a silver light that grazed the shaman's neck.

In the blink of an eye, Alexei only saw that inside the large hole in Murphy's chest, a heart was still beating; it didn't seem to have been attacked at all.

How is that possible?

How did he do it?

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 228 =====