Chapter 170 130: As Expected, The Unexpected

RUSTLE... RUSTLE... RUSTLE...

The Soul Giant Soldier's Chain Hammer whistled through the air. With a silent roar, it swung the heavy weapon down toward Li Miao with immense Power.

"Holy shit!"

Li Miao didn't have time to think. He scrambled to the side in an ugly roll to get away.

BOOM—

The spiked, blue Chain Hammer crashed to the ground, kicking up a cloud of soul mist. It looked terrifyingly powerful.

'Looks like I have no choice but to fight!'

Li Miao gritted his teeth, raised his Frost Riding Spear, and threw himself into battle.

SWOOSH!

After charging up for a moment, his body blurred into an afterimage and dashed toward the Soul Giant Soldier.

Although he couldn't use Warfire, his Skills were still available. He wasn't completely without a chance against this thing.

Soon, his Frost Piercing struck the Soul Giant Soldier, injuring its forearm and making it pause for a second.

But the creature quickly let out another silent roar as the wound healed instantly. It stomped its feet and launched another barrage of fierce Attacks against Li Miao, giving him no chance to breathe.

In an instant, soul mist churned throughout the empty room, and Li Miao could only Dodge back and forth.

'It seems injuries in a Soul Body state don't affect movement!'

Li Miao quickly realized this upon seeing the Soul Giant Soldier's condition.

In a normal fight, if an enemy's limb was broken or its body was injured, its subsequent actions would definitely be affected.

But it was completely different in a battle between Soul Bodies.

Injuries had no effect on movement.

The only thing that mattered was the overall "Blood Volume."

This meant it was impossible to find an opening for a one-hit kill.

On top of that, his Skills seemed to have shifted from being limited by Warfire and charge-up time to having fixed "Cooling Times," making the battle even harder...

As these thoughts raced through his mind, the Soul Giant Soldier attacked again. But just as Li Miao was about to roll sideways to create distance, a sudden change made his whole body jolt.

BANG!

Li Miao felt a tightness in his chest, as if he'd been struck by something heavy, and his attempt to Dodge was abruptly interrupted.

And the Soul Giant Soldier showed no mercy.

BANG!

With a dull thud, Li Miao's Soul Body was sent flying into a nearby wall. A mysterious Power swirled on its surface, clearly a force that restrained Souls.

"Fuck..."

Li Miao cursed under his breath and shook his head to clear it.

'What just happened?'

WHOOSH!

Before he could react, the Soul Giant Soldier attacked again.

This time, he managed to dodge in time.

But after he dodged, the same feeling of being hit struck him again!

'My physical body is being attacked!' This time, he instantly recalled the previous game prompt.

The Soul and the physical body were intimately connected. When one was injured, the other would feel the feedback.

This style of combat was completely different from anything he'd experienced before.

Once his physical body was hurt, his Soul Body would also be affected, which in turn would impact the battle on both fronts, creating a vicious cycle just like what was happening now!

BANG!

Just as he figured it out, the feeling of being hit struck him again.

'I can't let this continue! I have to find a chance to counterattack and create a favorable situation for my physical body!'

Li Miao reacted quickly, gritting his teeth and launching an Attack against the Soul Giant Soldier.

ROAR—

At that exact moment, the Soul Giant Soldier also roared. The Chain Armor on its body suddenly burst, and several Chains erupted from it, shooting toward Li Miao to bind him.

'Interrupt it!'

Li Miao made a split-second decision. Ignoring his own perilous situation, he charged his power for a moment and hurled his Frost Riding Spear!

WHOOSH!

His decisive judgment allowed him to strike the Soul Giant Soldier a split second before it could act.

A large hole appeared in its torso. The Soul Giant Soldier staggered, and the flying Chains dissipated into soul mist.

'A good chance!'

'If I seize these opportunities, the battle on my physical body's side will naturally gain the upper hand!'

'Victory won't be far off then!'

Li Miao's eyes lit up, and he surged forward to press his advantage.

CRACK!

Just then, a Whip suddenly lashed out with a whistling sound.

Fortunately, Li Miao reacted quickly and narrowly avoided it.

"Dammit!"

He looked at the whip mark on the ground, furious and alarmed, and then turned to see where it came from.

Just as he expected, the attacker had half his face hidden by a hood. It was that bastard, Le Ti!

"Oho... oho... oho..."

"...What a powerful Warrior..."

"Your body will definitely fetch a good price... hehe..."

Le Ti chuckled. After his failed attack, he slowly retreated and disappeared into the stairwell in the corner.

'He's not a Soul Body. It seems to be some kind of clone or something.'

"Don't run!"

Li Miao's anger flared, and he instinctively started to give chase.

But because of Le Ti's interruption, the Soul Giant Soldier behind him had recovered and was once again roaring and attacking him.

'Damn it!'

Li Miao was seething with frustration but could only refocus on the fight and try to Dodge.

However, the feedback from his physical body came wave after wave, causing him to take several solid hits. His Blood Volume quickly dropped to a critical level.

'That bastard Le Ti must be attacking my physical body!'

Li Miao's blood pressure shot up, and he was consumed with rage.

But there was nothing he could do.

'Who knew this damn Ritual Array would pull something like this?'

'I'm really screwed now. According to the official info, my body is probably going to be stolen by that bastard Le Ti!'

'I can't even imagine how great the loss will be then.'

'Fuck, goddammit!!!'

Li Miao gritted his teeth as the situation grew more and more desperate.

But just then, a familiar, steady voice sounded in his ear.

"Warrior of the Spirit Candle... you look like you need help..."

[Attention!]

[If you agree, the Candlekeeper will take control of your body to help you handle this crisis.]

To Li Miao, this voice and prompt were like a gift from the heavens.

'I'm finally saved!'

'Dammit, Le Ti, you despicable bastard! Two against one, huh?'

'I'm under the Candlekeeper's protection!'

'Time to call in backup!'

"I agree!"

Li Miao roared without hesitation, as if to vent all his pent-up frustration and anger.

...

Just after Li Miao agreed, down in the large, empty cavern on the lowest level...

The Giant Soldier led the charge, completely overwhelming the Candle Spirit Body, which was now without a Soul to control it.

Le Ti, who had appeared at some point, had also joined the battle. He lurked sinisterly on the sidelines, looking for the right moment to strike the Candle Spirit Body.

"Even without its Soul, its combat techniques are so refined..."

"No wonder those guys wanted a body like this..."

Le Ti clicked his tongue in amazement.

Even under the combined assault from him and the Giant Soldier, Li Miao's body instinctively used various combat techniques to minimize the damage it took.

This was why it had taken him so long to successfully claim the Candle Spirit Body.

But... it would be soon!

CRACK!

Le Ti's Whip lashed out in another sneak attack from the side, interrupting the Candle Spirit Body's offense.

The physical Giant Soldier also roared, swinging its Chain Hammer down hard on the Candle Spirit Body.

BANG!

After a dull thud, the Candle Spirit Body lay on the ground, struggling to get up but seemingly exhausted.

"Oho... success." Le Ti put away his Whip, his gaze shifting to the nearby Giant Soldier. He drew his Dagger and silently approached it.

With a squelch, corpse fluid flowed from the Giant Soldier's neck, and its massive body collapsed limply...

It seemed he was very familiar with the habits of these monsters.

"Next, it's time to reap my reward..."

The corners of Le Ti's mouth turned up as he slowly turned his head.

However, what met his eyes was not the weak and helpless Candle Spirit Body.

Instead, it was a tall figure clad in Heavy Armor and holding a Lance, along with an unidentified lump that was rapidly growing larger...

Le Ti's pupils contracted.

SPLAT!

"Ah! Dammit!"

The lump hit Le Ti square in the face. A powerful stench brutally assaulted his nose and mouth, the pungent smell making it almost impossible for him to think.

It was a lump of dung!

And as he screamed and tried to claw the unidentified object off his face, the heavy Lance was already whistling through the air, speeding toward him!

BANG!

The next moment, his body was sent flying backward, slamming hard into the cavern wall. His mind went blank.

But this was far from over.

"Ptooey, dammit, what is this..."

Le Ti's stunned words were cut short.

Another lump of dung was stuffed directly into his mouth, making him feel like his insides were being torn apart.

The next moment, heavy fists burning with Warfire rained down like a torrential downpour.

THUD THUD THUD...

"Aaaargh..."

The sound of fists hitting a face, mixed with muffled howls, continued without pause.

Finally.

"Stop hitting me... stop..."

When Le Ti had been beaten to within an inch of his life by the iron fists, Luo Ge stopped.

'To be honest, I didn't expect it to go so smoothly,' he thought.

'I thought this Le Ti fellow had used some Ability to control the Giant Soldier's body. But now it seems he just understood the monster's habits, observed the battlefield, and used sneak attacks to achieve his goal.'

'This naturally meant that if he wanted to seize the Candle Spirit Body, he first had to eliminate the Giant Soldier.'

'And he did exactly that.'

'If nothing unexpected had happened, he would have actually succeeded, since Li Miao was still upstairs getting beaten up.'

'But, as it happens, the unexpected did happen...'

He smiled and grabbed the man by the collar. "Celebrating with champagne at halftime is never a good habit..."

With that, an azure Candlefire instantly consumed Le Ti's body, and the Candle Spirit Body's head gradually drooped.

...

BOOM!

Before Li Miao's Soul Body, the Soul Giant Soldier's body shattered, turning into a cloud of soul mist that gradually dissipated.

The feedback of being beaten that had been coming from his physical body also vanished instantly.

He knew what had happened, of course. It only made sense if the Candlekeeper had helped.

"Holy crap, that was instantaneous! The Candlekeeper is amazing!" Li Miao let out a sigh of relief, but he was also a little puzzled. "Why wasn't there a kill notification?"

'Could it have been a story-related battle?'

Just as Li Miao was wondering about this, a game prompt appeared that made his face fall.

[The Candlekeeper is no longer in control of your body.]

[100 Wax Oil has been deducted from your inventory.]

'Fuck, they even pluck the feather from a passing goose!'

'This Candlekeeper actually charges an appearance fee for helping out!'