Chapter 365: An Uncommon Battle

Although it was called a fight to the death, the two maintained a considerable distance between them. Every time He Pu waved his conductor's baton, it released the sound of a musical instrument. The pitch and timbre of the instrument's sound could change, transforming into different shockwaves that could both trap people in illusions and deal direct damage.You Qiwen and the others, who were not directly facing the illusions, could only hear the sounds and see irregular rainbow-colored lights floating in the air, releasing faint glimmers that could cause dizziness.

"Don't listen to the sounds!" Wei Landeng took out a pair of earphones and tossed them to You Qiwen. After the two blocked their hearing, the scene before their eyes changed again. Those dazzling, brilliant lights disappeared. With each movement of the baton, shockwaves densely and consecutively shot towards Xu Huo!

Xu Huo, holding his sword, parried and blocked. In the brief gaps, he would occasionally slash out with his sword, but before it could reach He Pu, it would be neutralized by the sound waves.

The moment Liu Zhengping broke free from the illusion, he used his return ticket to exit the game. That left the Chen brothers and Yu Shuai. Seeing that Yu Shuai hadn't left, the two brothers gave him an earplug. "This won't completely block the sound, but it's better than nothing."

The three of them, along with You Qiwen and Wei Landeng, had no intention of leaving. As Xu Huo had said, having come this far, how could they not try to snatch some benefits?

You Qiwen and Wei Landeng exchanged a glance. The former circled around to He Pu's rear, while Wei Landeng conjured several protective gears to shield her vital areas before diving headfirst into the range of the music created by He Pu. She charged through several shockwaves, throwing herself at He Pu with a suicidal, take-you-with-me desperation.

Whether He Pu was unskilled in close-quarters combat or simply being cautious, he swiftly retreated. With a wave of his baton, he sent Wei Landeng flying away. With a tap of his tuning fork, he blasted away Xu Huo, who was waiting for an opportunity to attack, and then turned to head upstairs.

But as he reached the staircase entrance, he suddenly paused. His foot had already stepped onto the stair when he pulled it back. He cast a cold glance at Mr. Dong in the corner. "Don't you want He Pu's corpse anymore?"

Mr. Dong still wore that expression devoid of joy or sorrow. He said calmly, "Someone has arrived."

He Pu's expression changed, then he glared fiercely at Xu Huo. "You actually really led people here!"

Xu Huo raised an eyebrow. He couldn't sense anything for the moment. If Mr. Dong wasn't lying, then someone had truly arrived. It could be people from the Game Government, or it could be local forces from District 011. But regardless of which, He Pu's masquerade game was nearing its end.

"Aren't you going to run?" he deliberately mocked the fake He Pu before him. "Someone like you, who's hidden in an ancient castle for years, not daring to go out, only dares to kill D-level players. Can you be a match for those people outside? How about fleeing for your life while you still can?"

The current He Pu was different from the anger he showed earlier when his identity was exposed, and also different from the mindset of wanting to kill to vent frustration after being played by low-level players he looked down upon. This was a genuine, real desire to kill Xu Huo.

"I'm going to twist your head off!" As soon as he finished speaking, his entire figure drifted towards Xu Huo like a shadow, directly piercing Xu Huo's sternum with his tuning fork!

Xu Huo had no room to dodge, but instinct made him twist his body slightly. The strike didn't hit his heart, and the moment the tuning fork shattered bone, He Pu retracted it, because the Substitute Mirror had taken effect. As the tuning fork retreated, the wound on Xu Huo's body instantly healed, while bloodstains soaked through the front of He Pu's formal attire.

Seizing the chance, Xu Huo grabbed the piano wire and flew upward. After he vacated the space, Wei Landeng immediately pounced with a bear hug!

"Chu River Han Border!" Chen Tu was a step ahead, creating a barrier behind He Pu. Simultaneously, Yu Shuai made a throwing motion with an empty hand towards He Pu. It was unclear what he threw, but when He Pu was about to strike his tuning fork, his right arm was restrained by an invisible force—his retreat was blocked, Wei Landeng was in front of him, Yu Shuai was on one side controlling one of his arms, and a sharp sword was slashing down at him from above. He Pu was successfully trapped!

However, this was only how it appeared on the surface. Although He Pu's right arm was temporarily immobilized, he still had the tuning fork in his left hand. Raising it overhead, the tuning fork emitted an unprecedented, ear-piercing sound under the slash. A semi-illusory, semi-real light sphere erupted from his body, blasting away the Chen brothers and Yu Shuai. Wei Landeng, who had her arms wrapped around He Pu's waist, was sent flying sideways like a kite. The characteristics they used all disintegrated, and even the Substitute Mirror they had deliberately placed in the distance was shattered!

Xu Huo, who was directly above the tuning fork and had collided head-on with it again, received the greatest recoil. His entire body was embedded into the second-floor floorboards. He spat out a mouthful of blood first, then stabilized himself to avoid falling further. He flung out the "Tangle-Free Thread" to entangle the still-vibrating tuning fork. The moment He Pu looked up, Xu Huo's eyes locked onto his gaze.

His Super Evolution could only project his mental power outward to affect others in special environments. In combat situations, aside from creating mental pressure on opponents, it had no obvious effect. But He Pu himself was also skilled in using illusions. What others couldn't see, he might be able to see!

"Come in!" With a focused stare, he successfully pulled He Pu into his Mental World!

The mental connection lasted only an instant. He Pu only saw a white, spiraling staircase that kept growing and extending downward before immediately snapping back to consciousness. His eyes widened in fury. As he stepped forward, he encountered resistance. Looking down, he saw that Wei Landeng, who was still clinging desperately to him, hadn't let go. Blood was flowing from her ears and nose as she raised a black metal handle. "The courage to go down together!"

"Zzt!" A faint electric current flowed from the metal handle, instantly shooting towards the area behind He Pu, away from the tea hall. You Qiwen stood before a lamp, one hand holding a severed electrical cable, the other gripping an identical metal handle!

"Boom!" The faint currents twisted together into a pillar of electricity, surging back from You Qiwen's direction towards Wei Landeng!

Electric light flared. Those around could only barely see He Pu kick Wei Landeng away before their vision was drowned in the intense light caused by the electrical current!

This electrical pillar appeared massive, but its actual radiation range was only two or three meters, merely connecting You Qiwen, He Pu, and Wei Landeng together.

The intense light lasted about half a minute before fading. On a patch of scorched blackness, three figures stood, two standing and one lying down. Wei Landeng, lying on the ground, showed no signs of life. The skin of He Pu, who stood before her, was cracked from the electrocution. He trembled slightly, and the fake skin on his face turned to ash and fell away, revealing several uneven patches of clean skin.

The next second, he appeared before You Qiwen, thrusting his tuning fork towards his throat!

You Qiwen was greatly shocked and instinctively retreated. At that moment, the wall turned to mud, forming a concave human shape. The mud at the edges extended, grabbing his head and limbs and pulling him into the wall!

The tuning fork struck the hard brick and stone. You Qiwen, now encased in soft mud and moving sideways along the wall, was shaken out of the wall by the vibrating sound waves!

The one who had saved him just now was Yu Shuai. But the tuning fork was simply too powerful. Having bought only a fleeting moment, You Qiwen now knelt on the ground about two meters from He Pu, gasping heavily.

Xu Huo controlled the Short Arrow to fly in for an attack, but He Pu merely flicked his baton, sending the Short Arrow embedding into the wall. He wasn't in a hurry to kill You Qiwen. Instead, he took out a disc the size of a human head. On it were concentric circular strings. Casually tossing it to the ground, the object immediately fused with the floor. As wave-like circles spread out, everything on the ground began sliding towards the center. He Pu himself also began walking towards the black hole at the center, which seemed to connect to somewhere unknown!

Xu Huo knew he was about to flee, but it seemed he intended to take all of them along. Controlling the piano wire to resist the pulling force, he took out the Fifty-Fifty Air Window.

Just as he prepared to escape, the ancient castle suddenly grew dim and gray.