The Highest Bounty

On the battlefield, Ulrif knew the three-minute limit Lex gave was not a joke. If he did not finish off the fight himself, Lex would interfere.

Ulrif, who had been on the defensive up till then, suddenly pinched his right wrist with his left hand. At the same time, the various wounds on his body started vanishing at an imperceptible speed. Strange symbols started appearing all over his right hand. Those words seemed to come alive as they slowly slithered toward the center of his palm. His palm was slowly enveloped by what looked like a black fog. The scene looked strange yet somewhat eerie.

That layer of black fog gradually dispersed. The vines met by the black fog started wilting speedily as if the life was being sucked out of them.

Ulrif slowly stood up straight too and gave Lancelot a spine-chilling smile. “Gigolo of the Army, our fight ends here…”

Lancelot seemed to have realized something too. Controlling even more vines, he increased the speed of his attack and tried to engulf Ulrif, wanting to gain back the advantage he had earlier.

However, Ulrif’s feet moved with a sudden burst of speed, and he charged directly at Lancelot. Lancelot manipulated the vines to bind him, but all of the vines wilted in an instant and could not restrain Ulrif in the slightest.

In a flash, Ulrif appeared in front of Lancelot. Smiling savagely at him, he placed his black fog-covered right hand over Lancelot’s heart.

Lancelot extended a hand out to stop him but to his surprise, Ulrif’s attack did nothing more than push him back a few feet. However, he soon noticed the black fog now engulfed the palm he had used to make the blocking motion. The layer of black fog seeped into his skin and weird symbols began to form, quickly spreading from his palm and covering his entire body in a matter of seconds.

For a brief moment, the symbols completely disappeared, but a frightening sense of pain overwhelmed his body. He looked down at his own body. It had become a mess of flesh and blood in a flash, and the gorges on his skin were the same as the ones that had appeared on his opponent’s body earlier. Very soon, he noticed his body was starting to have serious spasms, and he very quickly lost the ability to control his body. He knew that was the effect of the neurotoxin kicking in.

He only then realized that his opponent possessed a cursing ability. He started regretting not focusing all his energy on killing his opponent from the beginning, but his consciousness was starting to fade slowly…

Seeing Ulrif’s sudden turnaround, Gu Ding and Liliath both felt a mix of awe and fear.

When encountering someone who possesses a cursing ability, the only correct method of dealing with them is to kill them with the first attack. If they were not dealt with in this manner, the attacker would be in for a world of pain. Some cursing abilities’ effect only lasts for a brief moment while others follow their victims to the grave. This type of opponent was one that nobody would want to face.

As for Liliath’s request, Lex was a little hesitant. He did want to go to the central battlefield, and aside from Ulrif, he did not plan on bringing any team members with him. This was because he was very clear that in the central battlefield, his and Ulrif’s strengths were lone boats in a vast ocean, and they could already barely protect themselves. If they brought Lili, there was no question he would be hindering himself. Moreover, at a battlefield with that level of chaos, the probability of Liliath losing her life was extremely high.

“Lili, they’ve helped us enough.” Gu Ding shook his head at Liliath, not allowing her to make her request.

“Uncles, thanks. Lili and I should be leaving.” Gu Ding walked to Liliath’s side.

“Uh-huh, thank you, uncles.” Liliath nodded and smiled at Lex.

Seeing the two of them leave quickly, Lex shouted at Gu Ding, “Punk, take care of the little girl, or I won’t spare you.”

“I will!” Gu Ding waved, then he and Liliath very quickly disappeared from the Blood Sac Pirates’ vision.

“Kids are the most troublesome.” Ulrif pursed his lips.

“Let’s return to the direct route!” Lex said to his military adviser Alcher.

“But if we meet other blockades, wouldn’t that just be a waste of time?” Alcher felt this route did not make sense.

“They’re only major generals. I’ll deal with them.” Although Lex’s words sounded arrogant, his teammates all knew their captain’s words were not an exaggeration of his ability.

After making this decision, they walked toward the central battlefield.

On the other hand, Gu Ding and Liliath had snuck around the two remaining major generals’ and reached the central battlefield’s outer boundary, successfully meeting up with Robert.

“How did you manage to bypass so many blockades?” Liliath asked curiously.

Robert retrieved two insects from his Inventory. “I used mechanical insects to determine everyone’s locations. Avoiding them wasn’t hard.”

Liliath picked up the mechanical insects and noticed that the mechanical insects he crafted were remarkably realistic. Even with her closely examining it, she could not see anything abnormal about them.

“How interesting…” Gu Ding picked one up too and thoroughly examined it. He could not find any flaws either.

“Mechanical insects are the simplest things in the mimicry machines. Back in our generation, if you couldn’t craft a mechanical bug that was exactly the same as a real insect, you wouldn’t be able to pass the Mechanic Apprenticeship Assessment.” Robert did not think this was a big deal.

“But now, this kind of craftsmanship is something only grandmaster-level mechanics can do,” He explained further. Liliath was surprised at the craftsmanship of the mechanical civilization’s apprentices.

“Do you know what the situation is on the central battlefield?” Gu Ding guessed Robert would have already made at least a preliminary check.

“I used the mechanical insects to capture some footage. You guys can take a look.” As Robert said this, he projected the video recording.

Two of the Army’s generals stood at the top of two excavators. Another three colonel generals stood guard at the three corners of the pit.

The rest were the general’s people who were situated at the center. Gu Ding saw Grandma, whom he had seen at the port previously. She stood with a big and strong old man.

“So, he’s someone from the Liberty Alliance.” Liliath determined the old man’s identity after seeing him.

“You know him?” Hearing Liliath say this, Gu Ding looked at the old man too.

“He was the one who treated me to a Sapphire at the bar that one time.” Liliath stuck out her tongue. “But it seemed he was the only one who came from the Liberty Alliance then. I think they must’ve sent more people to help out after hearing about us.”

As the video moved along, Gu Ding even saw the black-robed masked man he had seen at the port.

Apart from these familiar faces, there were also three teams of centaurs. Gu Ding and Liliath had never met any of them, but it was obvious they were quite strong.

The entire battlefield was a picture of harmony. Nobody made a move. Gu Ding knew this meant their group had no chance for the time being.

Just then, another two people appeared in the video—it was Lex and Ulrif.

Lex’s gaze swept over everyone there and finally locked on Sharp, who was situated at the center. He tugged down on his collar and loudly yelled at Sharp, “Sharp, I—Lex—want to challenge you!”

After he finished yelling this, he jerked his head toward Ulrif and asked, “Hey, did you record what I just said?”