Chapter 301: Shadows Capture Ji Ming, Form Up!

It plainly looks only weak and powerless, utterly unremarkable—a most ordinary shadow, yet the plants it brushes over and the undead flesh silently dissolve into the purest energy that surges upward, feeding the source of all shadows and leaving behind a colorless, gray world.

At this moment Ji Ming had already stepped out of the manor gate; the mercenaries' losses in the fierce battle were not small, but the strange lack of reinforcements was gradually cleared, and in the end they achieved final victory.

The survivors were cleaning the battlefield, their weary faces bearing a glaring greed, like a flock of vultures scavenging loot from the corpses of their comrades, teammates, even brothers.

Meanwhile, Ke Li Si Ting and the other main forces sat in a relatively cleaner area; having dared not slack off a bit to stay alive, they fought through the whole arena and are still panting heavily now.

Seeing Ji Ming appear at the gate unharmed, they all crowded over to ask about the situation inside.

Ji Ming, while pondering "I've already slowed down, how did the mercenaries survive so many?" flashed a kind, warm smile.

"Good news, I've destroyed the portal; we won!"

"Oh oh oh! As expected of the Chosen One!"

… Uh.

Ji Ming never imagined that these bandit mercenaries would one day look at him with such admiring eyes, each even showing excited mist in their gaze, tears falling in large drops.

"Wuwuwu, the heart I've been hanging onto finally set down."

"My god, what a nightmare, finally we don't have to fight anymore."

"After this I must ask the Alliance Leader for a long leave; I have to rest hard once…"

Then they raised their blood‑stained loot, began an extremely ugly Deep Forest‑style dance and a hoarse, mocking hymn to the forest god, and even several burly big lords hugged together, spinning enthusiastically in celebration, while the few remaining female soldiers were left bewildered aside.

In fact, Ji Ming's desire to ruin Lao Yang Tou didn't need their help at all; he dragged the mercenaries to the City Lord's mansion merely to find a reason to wipe them out in one go.

Anyway, if they later get brazen enough to idle and challenge players, they'd still have to fight what must be fought, kill what must be killed, and those barely clinging to life would be sent to mine shafts for forced labor until death; better to die honorably on the battlefield now, a proper warrior's end…

Yet just as he finished reflecting on his mercy and intended to see how the players were doing, he suddenly felt a thud in his heart.

Clearly the paradoxical luck was warning him again, but looking back there was nothing, only the manor floor seemed to dim slightly.

"Hmm…"

Though he didn't know what happened, a gentleman doesn't stand under a wall; now running away is surely the right move!

Yet as soon as he took his first step, the rapidly spreading shadows already seeped onto the tiles beneath his feet, the tendril‑like gloom climbing up his ankles.

Sensing the strange force clinging upward, before any high‑dimensional bio‑energy shield could protect him, the righteous Qi and holy light's iron fists slammed down along his legs, one after another.

The ethereal shadow trembled, stiffened from the blows, curling like a mad dog whose head was struck with a club, yet it didn't retreat; instead it leapt over Ji Ming and kept spreading forward.

"Careful, these weird ones still have tricks!"

So even his timely warning was a step too late; these mercenaries, who never cultivate virtue and are instead shrouded in overwhelming blood‑killing aura, are to the shadows like cooked beefsteaks—if anyone blocks them, not biting immediately would be a betrayal of their long journey!

Thus in the next instant, the previously jubilant crowd collapsed, each unable to retract their smile, letting out terrified wails.

"What is this!"

"I feel something inside me being absorbed… No, stop!"

"Ah, save me, I don't want to die!"

Watching the screaming, kneeling mercenaries whose skin rapidly withered, Ji Ming suddenly recalled the Guzheng operation from "The Three‑Body Problem", except this shadow is even more terrifying than those nanotech blades; any living being it touches has all vitality and nutrients stripped away, bone and flesh becoming part of it.

Moreover, everything happened so fast that even with talismans and spray‑type SpiritGathering Liquid to disperse the weirdness, Ji Ming could not possibly save all the mercenaries; time was extremely limited, forcing a rapid decision.

The first he saved was naturally Ai Li Nuo, who could be sheltered as a student by a hidden Archbishop of Sheng Guang Jiao Tang, and also backed by her teacher, a 100% exiled noble of the Holy Tree Kingdom; this noble's clout is solid, destined to become a prominent power broker in Hui Guang Kingdom, so her death here would be a loss to his own circle.

The second to rescue is the Deputy Officer of the Mountain Mercenary Alliance, currently the smartest among the mercenaries; clever people tend to value their lives, so saving him once will likely make him cooperate greatly when Sunlight City formally expels Deep Forest forces, saving a lot of unnecessary trouble.

As for the third to save… it's the Shuang Ju Ren beside Ke Li Si Ting; after all, as a level‑40 professional, the shadow can't affect Ke Li Si Ting at all, only serves to weaken attributes; if he hadn't pulled her in the critical moment, she might have died on the spot…

That would be like blowing hard when the dust is about to settle, idly wanting to taunt himself again.

Under the effect of Precision Throw, Ji Ming's placement was pinpoint accurate; the potion bottles wrapped in several Calamity‑Restraining Talismans hit the ground, and the burst of golden light and vitality shattered all surrounding shadows, automatically forming a shield that, no matter how the shadows tried, could only emit a sizzle like fat hitting a hot pan.

However, the others weren't so lucky; after Ji Ming tossed those three batches of bottles, the mercenaries, already low‑level and in a weakened state, vanished without a trace, leaving only wails echoing in the night sky.

The shadows came fast and went fast, greedily devouring all surrounding life and energy before swiftly retreating back to the manor; if not for the now‑clean equipment and wealth scattered on the ground, it would seem they never appeared.

Even players would be terrified by such a scene; after all, undead and spiders, however disgusting, are real monsters, and this thing is a genuinely immersive, bizarre horror—knowing it's fake still makes one break into cold sweat—so after the light shield faded, the few faces turned an even whiter than the next.

"What… is this?"

"What it is doesn't matter! Foolish kids, run!"

Interrupting Ai Li Nuo's trembling doubt, Ji Ming drove them to flee toward Sheng Guang Jiao Tang; now the players had fully seized control, and for the NPCs that direction was the only sliver of hope.

Yet Death God's footsteps came too fast; before they could exit the first intersection, what was once only Ji Ming, now everyone else as well, felt their hearts being squeezed hard.

It's the revulsion living beings feel when they see countless holes, eyes, tentacles, and limbs; it's the inevitable cold hands and tingling scalp when danger looms; it's the last gasp of a dying soul; it's the terrifying predator rapidly closing in.

Even Ke Li Si Ting felt her heart pounding like a drum, her chaotic thoughts repeatedly surfacing the cruel memories she tried to forget in childhood—memories that still jolt her awake from nightmares, a darkness she can never escape.

And just as she, angry and impatient, tried to glimpse what was behind, she heard Ji Ming's stern shout.

"Don't look back, keep running!"

This was a warning from the bizarre‑incident research expert; the four flinched at the words, even the Deputy Officer, who had been covertly peeking, immediately ducked his head.

But Ai Li Nuo is a proper academy mage; the Deputy Officer, to cooperate with Fei En, also allocated more points to intelligence; the Rejuvenation Elixir isn't a celestial pill that lets one soar from the ground, so when they sprinted desperately to the fourth intersection, even though stamina barely waned, they inevitably fell behind.

Since he decided to save a life, he must see it through; as a permanently neutral figure who anyone can speak to, Ji Ming resumed command.

"Ke Li Si Ting Alliance Leader, Shuang Ju Ren lady, could I ask you to help carry Ai Li Nuo the priest and the Deputy Officer? They're about to collapse."

"Alright!"

The face still had to be given; after all, they're just two skinny folk not yet as thick as their own arms, no trouble at all; they each lifted and shouldered them, packing them up to carry away.

After receiving Ai Li Nuo, Ke Li Si Ting didn't speed up; instead she took two steps back, wanting to ask Ji Ming if he would also sit on her horse, as there was still plenty of space.

Yet she had already fallen several steps behind, and hadn't seen Ji Ming appear at her side or continue to coldly rebuke her, so she had to speak up herself.

"Ji Ming the Chosen One, where are you?"

Only the whooshing wind filled his ears; three seconds later, the only sound came from behind.

"What's wrong?... Ah! Ji Ming the Chosen One, are you still there!?"

Yet Ai Li Nuo's voice was drowned in the unanswered silence; a panicked her tried to ask again, but the next moment she felt a thought arise in her mind.

At this moment Ke Li Si Ting was still battling internally, torn between seeking Ji Ming or fleeing for her life, when she felt someone pat her shoulder.

"Don't worry about him, run quickly, Alliance Leader Ke Li Si Ting!"

Ai Li Nuo's voice was full of excitement, and even her eyes began to overflow with holy light.

"I just received a divine revelation from the Divine Lord; He said He will descend! With the God‑chosen body, He will slay the world's filth!"

So it was just that the boss called me to work overtime, huh? Then it's fine.

Ke Li Si Ting finally relaxed, answered with a shout amid the Frost Giant's puzzled cry, quickly accelerated to catch up with her again, and kept fleeing toward the Sheng Guang Jiao Tang.

The God of Arrangements really did make another arrangement this time, but only a secret letter for Ai Li Nuo, because today Ji Ming plans to personally settle the final account with Lao Yang Tou.

Watching the NPCs disappear into the far end of the dark street, he turned his head to look at the thing relentlessly pursuing him from behind; it was a black colossal silhouette with two exaggerated horns, stout powerful limbs, treading through rolling dense fog, and it turned out to be a fairly intact incarnation of a deity.

The two locked eyes briefly, and Ji Ming's body surface erupted with frantic flashes of righteous Qi and holy light, forcibly canceling a total of eighteen extremely vile curses before it ceased.

Good fellow, you hate me so much?

Moreover, besides the magical attack, He also thrust a hand toward Ji Ming, clearly impossible to grasp him at the current distance, yet it kept enlarging, as if there was no escape!

Ji Ming naturally didn't sit and wait for death; he also cursed Lao Yang Tou in return, but even that nearly made his hand shake like a flower, and it had no effect at all.

Indeed, shadows don't cramp or fart, so how could they be afraid of that?

"Hehe…"

Seeing his embarrassed expression, the Demon Shadow couldn't help but emit a low chuckle; having failed to struggle, he was squeezed into the giant hand and rose into the air with it.

The surroundings shifted like wind and clouds; finally, this elevator stopped in a place where gray dense fog surrounded it on all sides, and only two gasoline‑lamp‑like red lights suddenly flared before his eyes, followed by a muffled thunderous sound.

"Good evening, Ji Ming the God‑chosen; how many times have we met?"

Uh, well…

The first time was when the Eye Demon Zawara, who had stealthily infiltrated the dungeon, was discovered by me; after a bout of fighting, it fell into the hands of the angels as a captive, and Lao Yang Tou, under the banner of apology, came to claim the person but was rejected by me, marking the start of mutual enmity.

The second time was when I, together with Ai Li Nuo, searched for traces of the evil god's followers, then, together with the Mastiff Person and the deity incarnation, after the olive we made a phone call to mobilize troops and accuse; Wen Di Ge meekly stated that he had already stopped, and would never again cause trouble for the Sovereign of Living Beings.

The third time, the most trustworthy, kindest, and never‑causing natural disasters evil god Wen Di Ge sent the lich's abandoned son Rodrigues, who opened a small undead calamity in the basement of the Adventurers' Association building; after he and the holy‑light trio destroyed the portal, he used the Sovereign of Living Beings' alias to call him, but this time there was no dialogue, and he opened with a lethal musical performance, tearing the masks off both sides completely.

The fourth time, Assassin Leader Hei Bai stepped up for Suo La, while I struck in the form of the Mysterious Merchant; merely by the divine aura on my body I frightened away Wen Di Ge, who felt it was completely unworthy to risk his life here.

And the final time, right here.

He carefully recalled the warm and sweet moments with Lao Yang Tou, this you‑die‑I‑live, dying and reviving, back and forth, a complex, more heartbreaking than a youthful school‑yard trauma drama, Ji Ming tilted his head.

"That should be the second time, then; the Divine Lord, who is kind, skilled in musical performance and strange basic education, has missed it several times compared to me."