Chapter 630: But the MVP Was Still Stolen

The evening wind of early July brought the sweltering heat of high summer to Crow Cry City, but in the dense forest of its northern suburbs, the air was thick and chilling, like dew congealed on tombstones.

Wildly growing grass blades were flattened by swift-moving figures, then sprang back, emitting faint rustling sounds, accompanied by the squeaking of rats gnashing their teeth.

Two hundred Pest Fang assassins moved like a gray tide, swiftly passing through the silent forest.

"Hurry up, all of you! You swine who haven't eaten enough!"

Shi Laike muttered under his breath, his pea-sized green eyes glinting with both fear and cruelty in the darkness.

On his back he carried a heavy iron tank, bound with leather straps, its contents sloshing like the saliva of death itself.

Pour this into the wells of Crow Cry City, and within three days, the human vermin living there will become a living hell of the undead!

Thinking of this, Shi Laike nearly laughed aloud, his rat-like eyes alight with the joy of vengeance fulfilled.

He had no doubt that the foolish human guards were now sound asleep on the walls, unaware that the fangs of death were already pressed against their throats!

Night—

Was the domain of rats!

But these rats had suffered the consequences of their ignorance, unaware that above the cave entrance lived another creature called "bat."

The Bloodline were at least one of the higher demons blessed by the Demon God Baelith—what was this Ge Luo, the Gluttonous Rat?

Let its true form come here and speak!

"Squeak—"

A brief, agonized cry came from ahead, jolting the triumphant Shi Laike into instant alertness; he instinctively halted his steps.

As their leader stopped, the advancing formation froze abruptly, eyes scanning the surroundings warily—almost convincingly so.

"What happened?" Shi Laike growled in Rat Speech, but the scout ahead gave no reply, as if swallowed by the night.

That single brief cry seemed the only clue.

Shi Laike's expression grew increasingly uneasy; his furred paw gripped the poisoned dagger at his waist, every nerve in his body taut.

Time flowed silently in the silence.

The once-noisy insect chirps had vanished; the entire forest was unnervingly still, save for the mournful whisper of the evening wind through the treetops, like the breath of a carnivorous beast.

Fear began to spread among the ratfolk; eyes beneath their hoods grew wide with dread, their powerful hind legs instinctively retreating.

At that moment, a faint mist crept in from the forest's edge. Though slow-moving, it filled the entire woodland within mere breaths.

Shi Laike's nerves finally snapped—just as he was about to order a retreat, a soft laugh reached his ears.

"Kukuku…"

The laugh was crisp and melodious, yet carried a chill that plunged one into ice.

"Playing hide-and-seek before the Daughter of Night? Don't you think that's a bit self-important?" A sinister voice rose from the mist, its tone laced with mockery, like a cat tormenting its prey.

The moonlight pierced through the clouds at that exact moment.

Shi Laike's pupils shrank sharply.

Before him, on the open ground, a figure had appeared—unseen moments before—a girl dressed in a black robe edged in white, like a nun.

Her hair flowed like blooming violets; her eyes, brilliant as rubies, glowed with a thick, blood-red hue. A sacred veil covered her head, yet it brought no warmth, no comfort—only deeper desecration—

As if the true nun had been devoured, and only a bat had taken her place.

"Who are you! Who dares block the path of Master Shi Laike!" Shi Laike shrieked in panic, drawing his dagger like lightning.

One must admit: rats are clever, yet they still cling to their habitual patterns. When danger strikes, they flail wildly, as if begging others to notice their bluster.

Vivian's eyes narrowed slightly. Aside from one person, no one had ever dared speak to the "Little Tyrant of the Demon Capital" in such a tone.

Without her uttering a word, twenty knights clad in polished steel light armor emerged silently from the night, their crimson eyes gleaming like unsheathed blades.

"Shi… what? Whatever. Your name doesn't matter. Like your plot, blame only yourselves for provoking a being you shouldn't have—"

"Kill them all!" Shi Laike screamed, fear driving him to strike first, "They're only twenty!"

Though their terrifying aura chilled the bones, lower-tier transcenders facing higher-tier ones still had a sliver of chance.

Two hundred Pest Fang assassins roared forward, their poisoned blades glinting with a deathly blue hue under the moonlight, determined to tear off a piece of flesh!

Yet—

This was destined to be an asymmetric hunt.

They never even saw the weapons in the knights' hands—before they could react, crimson afterimages had already surged before them.

"Squelch—"

The first muffled sound of fabric tearing echoed.

The foremost rat assassin didn't even see the enemy's motion—his chest was pierced clean through by a pale hand.

The knight in polished silver armor didn't even glance at the heart in his grip; his sharp nails became a crimson streak, imprinting the assassin's mad expression onto the eyes of each rat.

Then came the second, the third!

Squelch—squelch—

A succession of explosions bloomed like crimson mandalas in the night—pure, one-sided slaughter!

These blood knights were at least at the peak of Silver Rank, with immense combat experience; most Gold Rank transcenders weren't their match.

And their leader, the silver-haired knight captain, possessed peak Gold Rank power. Her thrusting sword spun into an impenetrable web of steel, cutting down the elite rat assassins like a tiger among sheep.

Shi Laike's eyes finally revealed fear—but he did not retreat. His gaze locked onto the sinister-smiling nun.

If he could capture that thing—

Five elite assassins leapt high, attempting to flank Vivian—but before they could begin their descent, invisible force froze them midair.

"Squeak—!"

They shrieked in panic, thrashing wildly, their rat eyes filled with terror, no trace left of their earlier bravado.

Vivian didn't even turn her head. She merely smiled and snapped her fingers, just as her most revered elder brother would.

"How… terribly ungraceful."

Snap!

The crisp snap shattered the night. Five rat assassins' bodies erupted into horrifying blood holes; veins ripped open, spilling blood into thousands of crimson threads that wove into a blooming bouquet in the air.

The threads, like invisible crossbow bolts, pierced the chests of another dozen rats within moments, delivering their hearts to the nun standing amid the blood.

Broken limbs and organs rained down from the sky.

Watching the drifting debris, Vivian's fingers glided gently, placing the bloodied flesh of dozens of rats to the side.

If that were truly a nun, no demon could be more evil.

Seeing this scene of hell, Shi Laike's fur stood on end—he finally realized the terrifying nature of his opponent.

Platinum Rank!

This thing was at least Platinum Rank!

And who knew what powerful artifacts it carried!

Fear etched into his very genes awakened—the instinct of prey facing a supreme predator.

Shi Laike didn't even glance at his men being slaughtered; he grabbed the iron tank strapped to his back and bolted straight into the thickest depths of the forest!

Run!

Must escape!

Once inside the dense woods, once inside a rat hole, no one could catch a rat determined to flee!

At this moment, Shi Laike had clearly forgotten how he'd been captured here—his only thought was to flee for his life.

The howling wind rushed past his ears; the screams behind grew distant. Just as he began to relax, he slammed headfirst into an invisible wall.

"Thud!"

A dull crash!

Shi Laike was flung backward by the impact, crashing into muddy, leaf-strewn earth, his nasal bone numb.

Pain finally registered on his brow; he ignored his injuries, scrambled forward on all fours, trembling fingers reaching out.

Nothing was there.

But when he tried to extend his paw further, an invisible force struck his fingertip, sending him stumbling backward in pain.

A barrier!

Fear etched itself across Shi Laike's face.

Their escape route had been sealed all along!

"No…"

Shi Laike's knees buckled; he knelt, pounding his head against the ground like a pestle.

"Don't kill me! Don't kill me! I was forced!"

He wept and sniveled, holding the iron tank labeled "Black Death" high above his head like an offering.

"Shi Laike surrenders! Shi Laike was ordered! I have intel! You don't know how evil those Gravekeepers are—I know everything!"

In rat code, loyalty meant nothing—only survival mattered.

As long as he lived, betraying anyone was acceptable.

At that moment, a cold laugh suddenly echoed from above the treetops, slithering like a ghost up Shi Laike's neck, making every hair on his body stand rigid.

"I knew it—rats are never trustworthy."

Under the moonlight, dozens of gray figures appeared like phantoms across the forest.

They wore tattered gray robes, pale masks over their faces, radiating the decay of the undead.

They were unquestionably alive—yet more ghostly than the dead, thirty in number. Among them stood a masked middle-aged man, radiating a terrifying aura even higher than the nun standing in the blood.

At the sound of that voice, Shi Laike, kneeling and begging, nearly dropped the iron tank in terror.

Master Merlin!

These bastards have been following me all along—they never believed me in the first place!

They just used me as a decoy to test the waters!

Merlin didn't even glance at the fully armed knights, nor at the rats nearly slaughtered.

He stared at Shi Laike, his eyes cold as ice, like he was looking at a dead rat.

"Since you've failed, take your secret to the grave."

He raised his withered right hand and lightly tapped with his index finger.

Without any incantation, a jet of pitch-black deathlight erupted instantly from his ring, striking straight for Shi Laike's third eye!

Shi Laike's eyes widened, too stunned to even scream.

Just as the black deathlight was about to pierce the ratman's skull, an anomaly suddenly occurred!

"Hum—"

The air twisted unnaturally; the blow capable of instantly killing a Golden Core-tier warrior struck an invisible mirror and was violently deflected aside!

"Boom—!"

A hundred meters away, an oak tree, thick as three men could embrace, was cleanly severed at the trunk, its cut surface left charred black.

Shi Laike, terrified out of his wits, scrambled and rolled into the nearby bushes, dragging with him the jar on his back filled with "Black Death."

"Who?!"

Merlin's pupils shrank sharply; he whirled his head toward the shadow a hundred meters to his left.

The night there seemed denser than elsewhere, even moonlight unable to penetrate. And at the deepest heart of that darkness, a terrifying pressure silently spread…

It was not a sharp killing intent, but a supreme, godlike gaze from above—making his soul tremble involuntarily!

Like an ant crawling on a dune suddenly sensing a boot hovering above its head!

Wei Weian felt it too.

But unlike the "Gravekeepers" standing in the shadows, her crimson eyes blazed with genuine delight.

"Elder Brother!"

Elder Brother?!

Merlin froze in shock for an instant.

Before he could decipher the meaning behind that intimate cry, a deathly premonition—like a blade pressed against his nape—stabbed his third eye.

No hesitation!

His body instinctively recoiled backward with explosive speed!

Almost the instant he left his original spot, a jet of pitch-black flame silently lapped over the space where he'd stood.

No explosion, no searing heat tearing through space—only a deathly silence that devoured all light and warmth!

Five Gravekeepers who reacted too slowly never even screamed; they were swallowed whole by the gentle black flame, reduced to ash, their fear dissolved into the boundless night.

Merlin landed on tree roots ten meters away, his back soaked in cold sweat, staring warily at the man standing in the shadows.

"Who are you?"

"Do you people only know how to ask that one question?" Luo Yan said slowly, his tone laced with weariness toward a dull performance.

"Kukuku! My Elder Brother is famed far and wide—huhhh%￥#!!"

Wei Weian, giddy with pride, had just opened her mouth to boast—when an invisible hand suddenly appeared, clamping over her lips. Her babbling dissolved into muffled whimpers.

"Shh."

Luo Yan raised a finger to his lips.

Wei Weian's body shuddered as if struck by lightning; a strange flush spread across her cheeks, her chatter turning into soft hums.

Ah—

This was the feeling.

She was fine.

The only regret: it wasn't the real Elder Brother's hand.

Behind them, Xue Nite and the other Blood Knight knights deliberately turned a blind eye, focusing intently on their enemies and ignoring the mentally unstable little mistress.

Anyone who reached their position wasn't a fool. Neither the next heir of the Corin family nor the terrifying Demon Lord himself were topics for "outsiders" like them to gossip about.

Watching Wei Weian, eyes closed in bliss, Luo Yan felt his wand growing uncomfortably hot.

How could his subordinates be so bizarre, always trying to show off for him? He was actually a very low-key person—especially when he couldn't decide which Ma Jia to wear.