Chapter 285 - 29: An Evil God Priest Appears, Mo Ning’s Crushing Strike

Chapter 285: Chapter 29: An Evil God Priest Appears, Mo Ning’s Crushing Strike

So-called "Evil Gods," in the understanding of Wizards, typically referred to powerful entities that did not belong to the Wizard World but possessed the ability to project their power into it.

Their purpose in descending was, of course, not to perform good deeds, but to seize power from this world.

Their arrival, however, often created chaos, disorder, and even immense disasters.

Therefore, like Dark Wizards, Evil Gods were primary targets for the academy.

And based on the logic that "the enemy of my enemy is my friend," the two often colluded to oppose the academy.

Mo Ning was almost certain that a simple Evil God Altar was very likely hidden within the Screaming Goblins’ lair.

He was also somewhat relieved he hadn’t recklessly charged straight into the lair. Otherwise, he would have been in deep trouble.

The mother of that Star-Patterned Lynx had probably been sacrificed by this band of goblins to please their Evil God.

Mo Ning really hadn’t expected that coming out on a whim to test his Witchcraft on some monsters would lead him to stumble upon such a "grand prize."

So, that brought up the question: what should he do now that he’d encountered the minions of an Evil God?

Mo Ning glanced at the metal dragonfly, and a sudden realization dawned on him. ’Right, could this be one of Lord Martin’s tests?’

Yes, to use gaming terms from his past life, he had just walked into the next stage of a scenic quest chain.

He felt the possibility was very high.

Otherwise, given that the academy had always utterly detested Evil Gods, why would Flower tolerate a horde of their minions squatting around the Cabin in the Woods?

Mo Ning was instantly lost in thought.

’Since there’s an Evil God Altar, there must be an Evil God Priest.’

’Based on the Shadow Leopard’s reconnaissance, this tribe has no more than 200 Screaming Goblins.’

’Judging from experience, the probability of there being one Evil God Priest is over 95%.’

’Of course, I can’t rule out the small chance of there being two Priests.’

’For instance, an old Priest nearing the end of his life might be training a younger one as a successor.’

’According to the archives, the Evil Magic that Evil God Priests excel at usually involves bizarre methods like corruption, desecration, and curses, which are completely different from a Wizard’s combat style.’

’The Priest also most likely commands one or two forms of group Evil Magic that can boost their kin’s morale, making them fearless in the face of death and even temporarily increasing their combat power.’

’The level of this Evil Magic is equivalent to Second Level Apprentice Witchcraft at most.’

’Therefore, the key to dealing with this Goblin Tribe is... to take out the Evil God Priest.’

With a thought, a holographic panel quietly materialized before Mo Ning, and he began running a battle simulation.

「Three seconds later.」

The 100th simulation concluded.

The corners of Mo Ning’s mouth turned up slightly. He had reached a conclusion in his mind—this battle was winnable!

For a First Level Apprentice facing a Goblin Tribe that had an Evil God Priest, the wisest course of action would be to retreat.

But he had his ways.

In any case, the worst-case scenario was merely retreating to the Cabin in the Woods with his tail between his legs.

No, it should be called a "strategic advance to the rear" toward the Cabin in the Woods.

「Three minutes later.」

"AH—"

The tranquility of the Birch Forest was torn apart by two piercing shrieks.

The two Screaming Goblins that had been disguised as branches were struck in the chest by two bullets, letting out bloodcurdling wails.

The bullets pierced their beast-hide armor, tore through skin, crushed their hearts, and flew out their backs, delivering a chillingly clean shot straight through.

The goblins fell from the trees. Even after hitting the ground, they let out ear-piercing howls, struggling for a few moments before they died.

It was a testament to their tenacious Life Energy.

Through the Shadow Leopard’s eyes, Mo Ning immediately saw the commotion near the lair.

"AH—AHH—AH—"

A rhythmic howl with extreme piercing power emanated from the lair.

The Screaming Goblins working and moving about outside chaotically rushed back into the lair.

A dozen or so seconds later, a group of over twenty old and weak goblins, led by two strong ones, approached the sentries’ corpses, holding wooden spears tipped with sharp stone heads.

A slight smile touched Mo Ning’s lips. ’So the Evil God Priest discovered the Shadow Leopard long ago, just as I thought.’

This battle, in the end, was a game of wits between him and the Priest.

Seeing this scene, he instantly saw right through his opponent’s scheme.

From what he had read in books, Evil God Priests possessed many strange and bizarre abilities. It wasn’t surprising that one could detect a Shadow Leopard that even an Apprentice would find difficult to notice.

And yet, even though the Priest had clearly spotted the Shadow Leopard, the goblins showed no unusual reaction, continuing to go about their business as usual.

This was proof enough that a trap had been set in the tribe’s lair, just waiting for him to walk right into it.

When Mo Ning had formulated his plan, he had already decided to play it safe and steady.

He didn’t choose an unorthodox strategy, nor did he need one.

Because an unorthodox strategy meant taking risks.

「Soon.」

SWOOSH! Bullet after bullet flew out, carving astonishing S-shaped arcs through the air.

They curved perfectly around the birch trees, often skimming past the bark, and struck the chests of the Screaming Goblins with pinpoint accuracy.

The goblins had no way to dodge. From their perspective, the bullets simply appeared from behind the tree trunks.

They had no time to react, so how could they possibly evade them?

Every bullet struck the same spot: the heart. A one-hit kill.

This was Powerful Curve Throw, a minor improvement Mo Ning had developed after deeply optimizing Powerful Throw.

Because the improvement was minor while the Casting difficulty increased significantly, he didn’t want to tarnish his reputation as a genius and decided to keep it for his own personal use.

Mo Ning performed the Trick twice, consecutively firing two waves of bullets—sixteen in each wave—wiping out the entire group of goblins.