Chapter 257

Ghostly figures swept across the courtyard; Du Zhengyi watched them coldly. After the mist dissipated, their figures were no longer intangible, but seeing them clearly only made one feel even more chilled to the bone.

Those figures seemed to have grown by challenging the limits of human physiology; just looking at them made one feel fear and despair. Whether it was a Mage or an ordinary human, as long as they were human, most psychological principles applied, and the demons in human oil paintings all bore some resemblance to them. Du Zhengyi heard Luo Qi cursing his own ancestors; he could understand Luo Qi. To be honest, even he wanted to know which Progenitor Mage had created these Seal Beasts, and whether he had gotten the inspiration from a nightmare.

Luo Qi became somewhat sluggish behind him, and Du Zhengyi knew he had entered the Consciousness World again. Du Zhengyi did not complain and automatically took on the full burden of defense. He had no prior experience working with a Mind Mage; it was said that fighting alongside a Mind Mage was more or less like this: the Battle Mage needed to charge into the fray while also ensuring the safety of the Mind Mage. Mind Mages rarely acted alone; at the very least, they needed one Battle Mage to team up with them, though a three-person squad was better. If it were a rare Mind Mage, it was best to expand the team to five people so that they could better exert their effectiveness. At the very least, when the Mind Mage appeared to have fallen into a stupor, the squad had to be able to protect the slow-moving Mind Mage; as long as the Mind Mage was protected, the group would not be wiped out.

However, although Du Zhengyi had never worked with a Mind Mage before, it did not matter; he was not unfamiliar with this feeling. It was not just that Luo Qi looked a bit dull after entering the Consciousness World; he had not been very sharp in tense environments before either. His entering the Consciousness World and his zoning out looked basically the same. Du Zhengyi was already accustomed to Luo Qi's rhythm and could skillfully deal with his sudden bouts of stupor.

Du Zhengyi parried several sneak attacks from the Alien Psychic Beasts; the situation was not optimistic. He calmly recited the first passage of the Secret Language, struck back at a Psychic Beast, and simultaneously recited the second passage, the third passage... His vision and hearing were both heightened to the upper limits of his body. His optic nerves' ability to capture dynamic targets was strengthened, and the world appeared in minute detail before his eyes. The frequency range his ears could perceive was increasing, desperately capturing the subtle vibrations of the sound membranes within the Psychic Beasts' bodies.

Another black shadow attacked, its trajectory clear within his field of vision. He backhanded his blade toward the only tentacle on the Psychic Beast's exterior not covered by a shell. The Psychic Beast dodged easily, but that was also because its original target was his waist, approaching from his lower-left blind spot; failing the strike, it immediately dodged, and relying on its superior jumping ability, it darted up to a second-floor window and vanished from sight.

Du Zhengyi continued to release Auxiliary Magic. His neural reaction speed was enhanced to the highest level, and his muscles were reinforced, with an additional strength-enhancing Auxiliary Magic applied. He did not believe he could win against the monsters through this kind of pure melee combat, but this was the magic that consumed the least energy. He certainly knew of more efficient ways to win, but casting such magic would overdraw too much of his power, and he did not want to die at this moment. Moreover, Luo Qi had already seen Fan Shi appear in the vicinity. Now that they were both here, Fan Shi would surely be wary of an occasion where a Mind Mage and a Battle Mage were together. If he exhausted his power on these monsters, or even died at this time, then Fan Shi would not let Luo Qi go.

In the current situation, Du Zhengyi knew he could not be impatient; even a war of attrition was a better outcome. As long as it dragged on, the variables would increase.

He parried a few more attacks from the Alien Psychic Beasts, but not one of his own attacks had taken effect. The situation was barely moving in the direction of a war of attrition, but Du Zhengyi, who had long experienced the battlefield, felt vaguely uneasy. There was some logic to his wanting a war of attrition, but a pack of beasts not going for the kill did not make him feel lucky; it only made his skin crawl.