Chapter 193 - 142: First Clash Between the Firewood Thief and Players (2)

Facing the rapidly approaching Deep Sea Worm, a tentacle from the Touch in the Jar extended. After emitting a strange light, its body began to swell at an incredible speed.

In almost an instant, it transformed into a monster of a size comparable to the Deep Sea Worm.

In the sea, the two colossal creatures crashed into each other with a huge boom, becoming fiercely entangled.

Instantly, the waves churned, and the entire ocean began to heave.

However, although the Deep Sea Worm had failed to land its attack, Black Mountain Little Demon’s Giant-tailed Sea Monster seized the opportunity to launch an attack on the Pottery Man from a tricky angle.

BANG!

The sound of shattering pottery rang out.

Another Touch in the Jar had blocked the attack.

Meanwhile, the Frogman player among the three hadn’t been idle, hurling a powerful Fishman Bone Fork from a safe distance.

It was still useless, though.

But the Pottery Man seemed to realize that this kind of fight would put him on the defensive, so he simply let go of the hand squeezing the heart.

"Whew! COUGH, COUGH, COUGH!"

"Shit, what the hell kind of fucked up Skill is this? Even Burning Fire can only offset a small part of it?"

Freed from the grip, Battle Bliss and the others finally escaped that feeling of weakness and suffocation, letting out a sharp sigh of relief.

The Pottery Man’s Attack seemed completely different from ordinary Magic.

Not only did it lack a visible trajectory like Starlight, but it also couldn’t be blocked by a Shield, and Warfire could only reduce some of the damage.

The good news, however, was that it was possible to struggle against this control. If one was strong enough, it wasn’t impossible to break free in a short amount of time.

It probably seemed so powerful because the Pottery Man was a whole Tier higher than them.

BANG!

The massive waves churned as the battle between the two Giant Beasts continued.

"Dammit, all he does is play dirty tricks!" Brother Mangzi seethed, turning to Black Mountain Little Demon. "Bro, give me a hand! I’m gonna fucking chop him to pieces!"

Black Mountain Little Demon nodded.

The next moment, the two sides clashed fiercely once more!

The Pottery Man also revealed more bizarre techniques.

The pot on his head shattered on its own, breaking into countless shards that floated around him like sharp Flying Blades, weaving through the battlefield.

And the Touch in the Jar also manifested a wide variety of Abilities depending on the tentacle chosen.

Self-destruction, Instant Teleportation, poison gas, or a freezing slow—they were overwhelming.

While the other players dealt with these threats, Black Mountain Little Demon’s horde of Summoned Creatures acted as temporary stepping stones in the sea.

Brother Mangzi and Bu Long used these stepping stones to leap and maneuver, and with his Warfire burning, Mangzi unleashed a charged attack that directly shattered a Touch in the Jar.

But the Pottery Man reacted quickly.

As he threw out a clay pot, his entire body and boat shrank into the pot on his head. The next moment, he appeared in a different location.

This Pottery Man seemed to be more of a "Caster" type.

The players’ Attributes were already inferior to these so-called NPCs, and since they had entered as helpers, both the Summoned Creatures and the players themselves quickly began to show signs of fatigue.

Even so, their rich combat experience, combined with Recovery Wax Blocks and the Dodge and Block mechanics, still allowed them to fight the Pottery Man to a standstill.

But this stalemate did not last long.

Because the Pottery Man unleashed his finishing move.

SQUELCH!

Right before everyone’s eyes, a sharp, pointed piece of pottery sliced open the Pottery Man’s chest. The platinum-colored Cultivator was instantly drenched in blood.

Amidst a sea of crimson, the silent Pottery Man reached in without hesitation and once again squeezed his own heart.

The players thought he was about to use the same old trick and tried to stop him.

But something shocking happened next.

The Pottery Man ripped his own heart right out of his chest. As blood vessels and flesh stretched and tore, while the heart was still beating wildly, his body flared with Warfire and he crushed it with all his might.

BOOM!

The vision of every player present instantly exploded in a wash of crimson, as if a basin of thick blood had been splashed in their faces. Wounds appeared all over their bodies, leaking strange-looking blood.

Seizing this opportunity, the Pottery Man launched an all-out counterattack.

RIIIP!

The Touch in the Jar that had been battling the Deep Sea Worm began to madly tear its body apart, showering blood, shredded flesh, and tissue everywhere.

SQUELCH!

Brother Mangzi stared in disbelief at the bloody hand that had pierced his chest.

Bu Long and another player were also killed instantly by a Touch in the Jar.

The moment the tables turned, Black Mountain Little Demon’s expression changed. He yelled to the other two players, "Get to the Spirit Candle and Teleport out!"

As helpers, their death would only mean the loss of some Candle Charcoal.

But Xiaoma and his group wouldn’t be able to summon any more players for help in the short term.

Without their help, they would have trouble dealing with even the Touch in the Jar, let alone the Pottery Man.

That’s why Black Mountain Little Demon had shouted the warning.

Unfortunately, it was too late.

After the three helper players dissipated into Ashes, the Pottery Man’s blood-soaked hand shot out and clamped around the necks of the two remaining players.

A moment later, the two players also turned into small clay pots.

The Pottery Man silently placed his shattered heart back into his chest cavity, simultaneously taking out some worms to clamp the wound shut.

But blood still streamed out, and his other internal organs writhed within.

The Pottery Man was not the least bit flustered by this. He raised his hand, and a Touch in the Jar returned to his grasp.

The next moment, he shattered the Touch in the Jar, and a bizarre, tri-colored liquid of black, purple, and red, mixed with unidentifiable organ tissue, flowed directly into his throat.

"Ah..."

A high-pitched wail came from the other Touches in the Jar. Their tentacles thrashed about, yet they didn’t dare to truly struggle.

The Pottery Man’s wounds scabbed over and healed rapidly.

After doing all this, under the watchful gaze of the three players’ Wandering Souls, he actually walked over to the location of the Milestone Spirit Candle and casually tossed out a clay pot.

The pot wavered in the air for a moment before gradually turning transparent and disappearing.

’Shit, what’s this asshole doing?’

’Marking the spot?’

’He seems to know the location of the Milestone Spirit Candle?’

’Dammit, this was a total fucking loss. If I’d known, I wouldn’t have fought. Why call for backup? I should have just bailed!’

"..."

Xiaoma and the others were in agony over their losses.

Xiaoma was the most devastated of all. He could only cover his mouth to keep himself from sobbing too loudly.

’It’s gone... It’s all gone...’

’Retiring my ass! Now I have to go back to being a bottom-feeder!’

In the end, a swirling Teleportation Gate opened, and the three could only watch helplessly as the Pottery Man departed.

However, before he left, a faint, almost invisible azure power fell into the clay pot.

The first direct confrontation between a Firewood Thief and the players had ended in the Firewood Thief’s complete victory...

...

Luo Ge silently watched all of this unfold.

Before the Firewood Thief could take the Candle Spirit Body, he had already made it self-destruct. All that mattered was not letting the Firewood Thief leave with it.

He could have helped, but there was no need.

First of all, this Pottery Man held no particularly special research value.

The last burning had already provided sufficient feedback; burning an identical one this time was unlikely to yield any additional discoveries.

The mastermind behind the Pottery Man had come prepared.

Secondly, the Firewood Thieves, the Shadow of Deceit, and other factions had already taken notice of them. Incidents like this would only become more frequent in the future.

The players couldn’t always rely on him for a rescue. For him to abandon his own development and research into other matters to act as their firefighter would be putting the cart before the horse.

If he was going to be a babysitter, then what was the point of summoning the players in the first place?

What’s more, if he showed up to save the day every single time, wouldn’t that make the players suspicious?

’An NPC being this proactive?’

Therefore, Luo Ge was willing to pay the price of a few Candle Spirit Bodies to let the players suffer a bit and grow from the experience.

Besides, one should never underestimate this group of players’ capacity for independent thought and initiative...

...

The world chat had already exploded.

"The fuck? You lost?! What the hell are you guys good for? I told you not to take my spot!"

"Smacks his head, Black Tiger Steals the Heart, then goes ’tatakai’ on his own heart? What kind of fucked-up skill does that Pot Head have? It’s so damn bizarre..."

"I don’t care what kind of son of a bitch is under that shit-pot, that’s no excuse for you guys losing the fight!"

"..."

Although the words were harsh, most of it was just teasing. After all, this was a virtual reality game where you were bound to run into each other, so it wasn’t like the flame wars of the old internet.

But there was definitely no shortage of teasing and passive-aggressive sarcasm.

One player’s comment, in particular, completely broke through Brother Mangzi’s defenses.

"Brother Mangzi, you fight like a bot on easy mode. Go ask Lin Daiyu to be your master and teach you how to fight."

BANG!!!

"AAAAAAH! What a disgrace! An absolute disgrace! To be utterly defeated the very first time I go to help someone... I’m so pissed!" Brother Mangzi was beside himself with rage, his face flushed crimson. He had never been so furious.

This wasn’t about catching Xiaoma and his group anymore; this was a blatant slap in his face!

Bron Really Not Deaf: "..."

He felt like Brother Mangzi was about to boil over...