Chapter 76: Blood Array Paving the Way

Chapter 76: Chapter 76: Blood Array Paving the Way

As the thought flashed by, Jeremy’s train of thought instantly froze in place.

The current situation forced him to inevitably associate it with the worst-case scenario. Cult fanatics were inherently cold-blooded and ruthless. Judging by the interaction atmosphere among these Beastmen, there was absolutely no such thing as a life-and-death bond; the core of their relationship was a high probability of mutual exploitation.

Jeremy took a step forward, closing the distance with Los. He decisively acted out a cliché script, the corners of his narrow eyes slightly lifting, sowing an extremely provocative tone into the air: "Betraying your comrades without changing your expression, tsk, your methods are truly despicable."

This provocation tactic wasn’t guaranteed to be effective, but Jeremy sincerely hoped the person in front of him suffered from the typical villain’s excessive talking syndrome. Regardless of whether Los could answer his doubts, at the very least, the more the opponent talked, the more time Jeremy gained to formulate a counter-strategy.

Los lazily lifted his eyelids to glance at the young man in front of him, his Adam’s apple vibrating violently as he let out a sneer: "So what? You humans think you’re so noble? No one is cleaner than anyone else."

Just as the words fell, his wrist snapped. The bone fan spun, tracing a sharp arc, and a barrage of razor-sharp bone spikes tore through the wind, aiming straight for the chests of the five of them.

The bone spikes carried thick death aura, and the pitch-black venom dripped onto the ground, sizzling. Knowing full well the power of the attack, all five rhythmically scattered and retreated backward.

Los smirked, tilting his head slightly, the mockery in the depths of his eyes unconcealed: "Having said that, you should be kneeling and thanking me. If I hadn’t intentionally turned a blind eye, do you think relying solely on a few low-tier mages, you would have had the chance to drive them into a dead end?"

His tone was freezing cold, arrogantly pronouncing their sentence: "Therefore, being allowed to die last is already a favor. Be properly grateful, you ridiculous fools..."

Obviously, Los had no leisurely mood to stand around detailing the whole story. Having delivered his venomous words, a terrifyingly evil chilling aura suddenly erupted around him.

Bright red blood mist surged forth, swallowing the already cramped space of the passageway in the blink of an eye.

Even without wasting words to explain, his actions had provided the answer. Jeremy’s speculation was entirely correct.

But right now, right or wrong had lost all meaning. The most important thing was how to keep their lives.

As soon as the blood mist spread out, the decaying stench mixed with the nauseating fishy smell instantly multiplied, assaulting their nasal cavities and causing their chests to tighten in suffocation.

"This mist is highly toxic." Phoenix warned in a low voice, the green veins on the back of his hand bulging clearly.

Hearing this, the four immediately held their breath. However, accidentally inhaling even a trace of the remnants in the air for a split second was enough for the toxin to invade. Pitch-black streaks like spiderwebs began to crawl jaggedly along their biceps.

Catching that moment, a smug smile clearly appeared in Los’s pitch-black eyes, his murderous intent surging to its peak.

He slowly took out a murky, dark red orb.

The exact moment the pale light shone on the orb’s surface, Jeremy’s pupils contracted. He recognized it immediately. That was one of the extremely dangerous evil artifacts – the Curse Resentment Orb that the Beastmen had mentioned earlier.

Jeremy’s knuckles tightened around the hilts of his twin blades, his green veins bulging.

If the sacrificial ritual did not discriminate by race, requiring only five hearts and an equivalent life force... then the five Beastman corpses from earlier were absolutely enough for the Nightmare Demon to complete its evolution process!

Was this madman planning to activate the forbidden magic right here?

Before Jeremy could react, Los proved his cruelty. He muttered a string of tongue-twisting incantations, the sound screeching like demonic whispers, then swung his arm, throwing the Curse Resentment Orb forcefully toward the rubble.

Jeremy lunged forward, intending to intercept it, but Los’s figure twisted and vanished into the void. The next second, Los was standing imposingly right in front of the ruins.

The orb thrown earlier dissipated into black smoke. That was just bait. The real Curse Resentment Orb was still resting securely in his palm.

Truly cunning.

Realizing Los intended to clear the passageway, Evelyn drew her bow. The bowstring was pulled taut to the limit, her magic power condensing into a brilliantly glowing arrow, intending to launch an all-out strike. But Los’s speed was vastly superior. He pulled out a high-tier magic tool, detonating it point-blank, forcibly pulverizing the massive boulder blocking the way.

At the same time, he pressed the lock button on his defensive ring.

As the explosion struck, the highly toxic mucus from the magic tool Jeremy had thrown earlier splattered everywhere. The violent shockwave caused the already rickety stone cave to shake violently; spiderweb cracks crawled jaggedly across the stone walls, and the ground swayed.

"Crash!"

A massive boulder split open, tumbling down right above his head. Jeremy narrowed his eyes, nimbly rolling his body to dodge, the hem of his coat whipping decisively in the wind.

But the true disaster did not stop there.

With the sealing mucus broken, the Nightmare Demon, which had just enjoyed a full meal, was instantly alerted. It slithered out of the dark water. Its deformed, twisted, ulcerated face still had chunks of minced meat and fresh blood clinging to it, radiating a suffocating pressure.

In stark contrast to the group’s tension, Los appeared incredibly leisurely. Unbothered by whether the Nightmare Demon would attack him, he continuously used invisibility and teleportation to close in, plunging the Curse Resentment Orb into the most vulnerable part of the monster’s abdomen.

Pierced by the foreign object, the Nightmare Demon let out an ear-piercing roar, its body writhing in agony. Taking advantage of its loss of control, Los immediately swung his hand, scattering revealing powder that blanketed the entire cave in stark white.

The bone fan swept forcefully, creating a cyclone that blew away the obscuring toxic mist. The entire position of Jeremy’s group was completely exposed to the monster’s maddened eyes.

Los’s silhouette gradually faded. Before disappearing completely, his cold voice, carrying a malicious smile, echoed: "Just play with it for a while. I hope you guys can survive until this beast finishes its evolution. Remember to die beautifully; don’t disappoint me."

The exit behind them was collapsing at a terrifying speed. Rocks tumbled down one after another amid billowing dust. They had absolutely no route of retreat left.

At this point, Leon’s expression maintained its apathy, the tail of his eyebrow lifting slightly: "It seems we’re truly at a dead end."

"Since we can’t live, then let’s drag him down to hell with us."

Leon’s eyes darkened, overflowing with freezing murderous intent, the intention of mutual destruction clearly displayed on his sharp face. Evelyn didn’t refute him at all, nodding decisively. Obviously, she also agreed with this insane plan.

"Wait a minute..." Jeremy twitched the corners of his mouth, his temples throbbing. Were these people truly so decisive that they didn’t even care about their own lives?