Chapter 311 - Shadow Maid

Boom!This time, the roar was indisputably genuine.

It was the death roar emitted by the murderous weapon.

The Blasphemer had timed it too well; the Dwarves Elf Avenger, caught in a state of inertia, had no chance to dodge.

She was blasted point-blank.

This time, the Blasphemer had learned from the last encounter and didn’t aim for the torso protected by the Magic Armor.

Instead, he slightly raised his aim, hitting her chin and neck.

The next second, the unfortunate Dwarves Elf Avenger’s head flew off.

It’s a long story.

From the moment those Dwarves Elf Avengers appeared to launch their attack of revenge to the third roar ringing out, it all happened in less than two rounds (twelve seconds).

The Blasphemer had fired three shots and thrown one shield.

Three Dwarves Elf Avengers were blown away on the spot, and one was petrified.

The remaining five, two of whom were still blinded, couldn’t use their most crucial survival skill, Shadow Technique, since the entire manor had been dragged into the Shadow Plane—the Shadow Technique didn’t literally turn them into shadows, but rather pulled their physical forms into the Shadow Plane, using a portion of Shadow Energy to replace their physical presence.

At this moment, any luck they thought they had completely disappeared.

The Blasphemer’s ability to thwart the Goddess’ plan didn’t rely on luck, but on genuine strength.

Even if the High Priest herself came today, how many blows could she withstand under such an onslaught? Three? Or five?

"Split up and run," said the remaining three unblinded Dwarves Elves, exchanging looks.

Two of them, almost as if by agreement, pushed their two blinded companions from behind, tossing them towards the direction of the Blasphemer.

Despicable, shameless.

The two sold-out Dwarves Elf Avengers cursed furiously in their anger.

They knew if positions were reversed, they would have done the same, but there was a completely different feeling between selling others out and being the ones sold out.

The two Dwarves Elf Avengers dashed towards the direction of the door; the Sacrificer was waiting outside, and as soon as they rendezvoused with her, she would activate the Teleportation Spell and take them away from this deadly Trap.

As to whether the Sacrificer had sensed the danger and retreated early,

they didn’t have the luxury to ponder or dare to think about that question at this moment.

Their primary concern was to escape this room of death.

Another Dwarves Elf Avenger rushed towards the vast glass window. Rather than placing hope on the Sacrificer’s conscience, it was better to rely on his own strength.

Besides, grouping together would make it easier for the enemy to obstruct them.

As it turned out, his decision was the correct one.

The Blasphemer didn’t bother with the two blinded unfortunate ones, nor did he pursue the third Avenger; with a flicker of movement, he positioned his shield in front of the door, the dark muzzle of his gun aimed squarely at the two Dwarves Elf Avengers.

Ah!

The two Dwarves Elf Avengers, not daring to fight head-on, turned and fled like startled rabbits, making the same choice as the other, preparing to follow him and escape through the window.

But by the time they reached the window, what they saw was a scene of despair.

The other who had gone ahead had indeed successfully smashed open the window and flown straight out from a six- or seven-meter height.

For them, that height was hardly a risk at all.

But before joy at the escape could spread across the face of the fleeing Dwarves Elf Avenger, it turned into profound despair.

A vine as thick as an adult’s arm, much like a python, wrapped around her waist. Covered in sharp spikes like the fangs of a python, they bit deeply into her flesh, pulling her violently toward the ground.

The heather in the courtyard wasn’t just a decorative plant—it was a Treant.

Damn it.

They had walked right past it when they entered, so how did they not notice?

But feeling the energy fluctuations now emanating from the Heather Treant, not noticing seemed all too normal.

It wasn’t a rich life force they emitted, but rather a cold, Negative Energy fluctuation.

Even as the Treant began to move, it was still hard for her to associate it with a Treant.

The Dwarves Elf Avenger, entangled by the vines, tried to struggle but found it difficult to leverage her strength. What terrified her even more was a numbing sensation spreading from where the spikes had punctured her waist: as an expert in poisons, she knew that she was being infused with a potent toxin.

No, that’s not right.

This wasn’t merely biological poison; it was Magic Energy.

By the time she realized it, the energy had taken effect; both her soul and body uncontrollably trembled, unable to resist.

And beneath her, the formidable Heather Treant had already readied its stance.

The Dwarves Elf Avenger didn’t land but was smashed into the ground with a slap, then a foot studded with root spikes stepped heavily upon her, and then...

There was no ’then’ anymore.

Though smaller than most Treants, the Heather Treant still stood seven or eight meters tall and weighed seven or eight tons, a colossus. Even without its own strength, its sheer weight alone could crush the Dwarves Elf Avenger alive.

With both weight and force combined, the Avenger crushed into the earth had no human shape left; the gushing blood instantly soaked the dirt and Treant’s roots below in red, a scene as gory as it could get.

What chilled the two watching Dwarves Elf Avengers even more was that the Heather Treant showed no intention of moving its foot. Indeed, countless black roots grew from its foot, burrowing into the Avenger’s body as though they were straws, pulsing as they actively sucked the blood from the Avenger.

In a flash, the roots and the Treant’s foot turned blood-red, and a cloud of blood mist was forcibly pulled from the body of the Dwarves Elf Avenger amidst her piercing, unwilling screams, seeping into the body of the Heather Treant.

That was the soul of the Dwarves Elf Avenger.

This heather treant possessed the ability to devour souls.

No.

It was the ability to manipulate and imprison souls.

For the soul of the Dwarves Elf that had just been swallowed emerged once again from the body of the heather treant, turned into a ghostly form, looking fiercely at the third-floor window, at her former companions who were peering down.

The two Dwarves Elf Avengers immediately understood the message in their former companion’s eyes; she longed for them to descend, to join her ranks, to share the agony of a trapped soul.

Clang!

The two Dwarves Elf Avengers followed their hearts, dropping their poisoned swords, and raising their hands high, fell to their knees on the ground, proclaiming aloud in the common tongue, "We are willing to surrender."

"I am quite willing to accept prisoners," the Blasphemer sauntered over, saying coldly, "but not Dwarves Elves, especially Followers of the Evil God. Go on down you two."

Gaven booted one avenger after another out of the window.

"Evil blasphemer, you will not die a good death."

"The Goddess will not let you off; we are just the beginning. More avengers will come to make you pay for your sacrilege."

"I curse you, I curse you to eternal life in the Goddess’s realm, unable to live, nor to die."

"The Goddess will surely visit divine retribution upon you."

The two desperate Dwarves Elf Avengers cursed Gaven like mad as they fell through the air, knowing they could not escape the same fate as their previous companion.

The Touch of Agony of the Black Nanmu, like a venomous snake leaving its lair, coiled and waited in the air.

This time, they got two for the price of one.

They wrapped up the two Dwarves Elf Avengers at once and slammed them to the ground with force.

The impact left them in a battered heap, nearly out of breath.

The Dwarves Soulsnare, looking monstrous and ferocious, pounced on her former companions as if they were sworn enemies.

Like clockwork, the Black Nanmu transformed the two Dwarves Elf Avengers into its new Soul Prison servants with a stomp.

As for the two blinded Dwarves Elves, they too could not escape; they had already become corpses on the ground, their souls extracted from their bodies, turned into Dwarves Shadows.

In Weizemay Manor, it wasn’t just Gaven alone; there were two other undisputed masters—Estelle and Amanda.

The moment this group of Dwarves Elf Avengers stepped into the territory of the manor, they instinctively sensed something and naturally gathered in Gaven’s room.

However, compared to Gaven, they had been ordinary people before and even as Earthbound Spirits, they relied on instinct in combat.

By the time they had come to their senses, Gaven had already taken absolute control over the battlefield.

Only the two blinded Dwarves Elves were left for them.

The method to deal with them was remarkably simple.

They transformed into Spirit Form, silently approaching them, and then embraced them.

The Special Ability to drain life would suck their life force dry.

Moreover, the blind Dwarves Elves faced not just two Earthbound Spirits, but also four Dwarves Bound Wraiths.

They were the very four Dwarves Elves whom Gaven had previously killed and petrified.

Dwarves Bound Wraith

Life Force: 40 (Life Dice: 6D8+12)

Attributes: Strength 8, Dexterity 18, Constitution 14, Intelligence 11, Perception 13, Charisma 14 Tʜe sourcᴇ of thɪs content ɪs ɴovᴇl(ꜰ)ir(e).nᴇt

Sunlight Sensitivity (Special Ability)—Under the sun, they enter a weakened state, with greatly impacted attack and perception abilities.

Amorphous (Special Ability)—Shadows can easily pass through small crevices.

Shadow Meld (Special Ability)—Shadows can merge into one with shadows.

Strength Drain (Special Ability)—The Shadow’s attack contains intense negative energy, sapping the enemy’s strength. If the target’s strength drops to zero, they die instantly.

Dark Arts (Special Ability)—Able to conjure a supernatural darkness enveloping a six-meter radius for ten minutes, once a day.

Earthbound Wraith (Special Ability)—Like the Earthbound Spirits that control them, they cannot leave the manor.

Undead Creature Traits: Prone to radiant damage.

Resistance against damage from strong acid, cold, fire, lightning, thunder, as well as non-magical bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing attacks.

Immunity to toxin and negative energy damage.

Immune to exhaustion, panic, grapple, paralysis, petrification, poisoning, prone, and restraint status control.

These Earthbound Wraiths were somewhat different from the shadows Gaven remembered.

Normal shadows appear as shapeless black mists, making it hard to discern what creatures they had been in life, as hard as distinguishing race information from a ground shadow.

The Earthbound Wraiths were different; they had the distinct outlines of a humanoid form, also made up of pitch-black shadow, but were clear enough for one to tell their original appearance, at least to see they were transformed from the Dwarves.

Instead of the rage and resentment usually seen in ordinary shadows, their eyes held more reason and tranquility.

These Earthbound Wraiths were indeed from the transformed souls of those Dwarves Elves, retaining some of their former memories; however, the alignment they transformed into was determined by the summoner, all like Estelle—neutral, tending towards lawful good.

The strengths of these six Dwarves Earthbound Wraiths were not all the same—the weakest had four life dice, while the strongest had nine, but their Special Abilities were fairly similar.

The Dark Arts clearly belonged to the innate abilities of the Dwarves Elves, brought over with the transformation.

This variation was apparently determined by the convertor’s strength in life; the stronger the soul, the stronger the Earthbound Wraith summoned.

What was most interesting was that their attire was strikingly similar to what Estelle wore—maids’ outfits, only made of shadow.

Clearly, they were also influenced by their master’s appearance.