secret dice.

Chapter 788 Pirate King

"what happened?!"

Upon seeing the change in the magic array, everyone immediately became alert, and then felt a terrifying aura coming from outside the door behind them.

"Everyone get ready!" Golden Rose shouted. Everyone immediately turned around to defend themselves, but before they could even get into position, a thick plume of black smoke flew in from outside the door. Caught off guard, they were sprayed with smoke from head to toe...

When the black smoke swept past them, they clearly felt a mental shock, but it wasn't too severe. It seemed that the black smoke merely swept by, and its true target wasn't them, but rather...

Mulan Shi turned around and saw black smoke surging into the magic circle, instantly forming a black whirlwind, which was absorbed by one of the dim gems. Once all the black smoke was absorbed, the gem emitted a dazzling light, and it could be seen that some circuits within the magic circle had been illuminated…

"This is..." Everyone immediately understood. The black smoke was the key to charging the magic array, and they also had a strange feeling about it, as if it were...

"It's those pirates!" Mulan Shi realized. "When we defeated the third fleet, the ghosts of those pirates turned into this wisp of black smoke and disappeared. So they came here!"

"The pirate crew has a total of seven squads..." The red-robed mage also realized: "There are seven gems here. When we came, the seventh to third squads were wiped out, leaving only the first and second squads. So five of the seven gems were lit up, leaving two. Now another one has lit up, which means that another squad has been defeated!"

"If all the pirate ghosts from those seven squads are wiped out, will all the gems light up?" Mulan Shi frowned. "Then the entire magic circle will be lit up. What exactly will happen?"

"Quick, destroy the magic circle!" Golden Rose suddenly shouted. "Although I don't know what will happen if this thing is fully activated, I have a bad feeling!"

Before anyone could react, another plume of black smoke came from outside and instantly poured into the last gem!

"So fast? The last two teams were defeated at the same time?" the red-robed mage exclaimed in surprise. "Legend has it that the Bloodthirsty Pirates' first and second teams are their strongest elite teams. Their captains are a dark elf assassin and an orc berserker, respectively, and they are the two strongest experts below Bloodfang. How could they be defeated so easily..."

"Forget about all that, let's destroy the magic array quickly!" Mu Lanshi shouted, "I think I know what this magic array does!"

Everyone turned to look, and saw that after the energy of the magic circle was fully charged, it flowed into the huge skeleton of Blood Fang. Powerful magic covered it and turned into translucent flesh and blood. The joints of the skeleton made a cracking sound, and it slowly raised its head. Blood-red flames burned in its empty eyes!

"It's going to come back to life!"

A terrifying pressure swept out, and even after drinking the mental resistance potion, everyone's damage display showed words like "mental damage" and "fear effect"!

"It hasn't fully recovered yet, now's the time!" Golden Rose brandished her greatsword and charged forward, but before she could even get close to the magic circle, she was blocked by a powerful force!

There was even a barrier when I revived!

"Hurry, focus fire!"

At the commander's order, all the mercenaries launched an attack simultaneously, unleashing a barrage of weapons, magic, and skills, but they were unable to break through the powerful barrier for the time being!
Looking inside the barrier, Bloodfang's translucent flesh became increasingly realistic. It slowly stood up, waved its hand, and the rotten wooden box behind it instantly shattered, from which several pieces of equipment flew out.

A dragon-skin vest adorned with gemstones was worn on my body, long trousers engraved with magic patterns covered my legs, colorful magic crystal rings were on my hands, a white robe adorned with golden magic patterns was draped over my shoulders, a staff inlaid with a fist-sized gem was in my hand, and finally, a golden crown carved with a skull was slowly placed on my head!
In his address, he declared that the pirate king who once dominated the southern coast of the empire had been fully revived!

"Is this the fully-formed Bloodfang Trull?" Faced with the terrifying magic power opposite him, the red-robed mage couldn't help but tremble slightly.

“No, he’s stronger than he was back then!” Golden Rose gritted her teeth and looked up at the top of the giant ogre’s head: “According to historical records, Bloodfang was level 83 when he died, but now he’s reached level 90!”

In this world, level is of paramount importance. It not only relates to the strength of attributes, but also has a hidden suppressive effect.

Even if you manage to even out your stats with equipment and other factors, if your opponent's level is higher than yours, you'll still feel a significant difference in combat!
Correspondingly, as your level increases, the experience points and money required to level up also increase exponentially. Even if you do quests and fight monsters day and night, it will be extremely difficult to level up again!
Take Golden Rose, for example. She's been a mercenary for years and is a renowned powerhouse in the Gulf Province, yet she's only level 76! Even level 83 enemies are incredibly difficult for her to deal with, let alone Bloodfang, who, as an ogre, has stats far exceeding those of ordinary humans! Now, facing the reborn, level 90 Bloodfang, all she feels is despair!

"I did it?" Bloodfang looked at his hands and the surging magic emanating from his body, and let out a laugh that was unlike any human's after marriage: "Hahahaha, that's amazing, I did it!"

That laughter alone instilled a deep-seated fear in everyone, including Golden Rose.

"Run!" Golden Rose roared, "This is no match for us, run!"

Without her reminder, everyone turned and fled outside, getting as far away from the terrifying room as possible.

"This way!" Back at the previous fork in the road, Mulan suddenly reminded them, "Going back the way we came, we still have to pass that treasure room, and that road is too narrow! Let's go to the other fork in the road; that should also lead outside!"

"Wouldn't the narrow passage be perfect for trapping that big monster?" the petite thief disagreed.

“Xiao Mu is right!” Golden Rose shouted, “Bloodfang’s power won’t be limited by a narrow cave. If we’re all crammed in there, one spell from it and we’ll all be done for!”

The thought of being stuck in a narrow cave with a huge fireball shooting from behind made everyone shudder and immediately run towards a wider passage!

The road was indeed clear, and they soon saw the light of day again. As soon as they came out, they saw a large number of shipwrecks and two tattered and rotten pirate flags.

"I've seen it in a book!" the red-robed mage shouted. "Those are the flags of the Bloody Pirates' First and Second Squads!"

“Look!” Mulan pointed to the surrounding ground, where gel-like residue from the dead spirits could be seen everywhere. “They really were killed!”

"Forget about them!" the purple-haired thief shouted as he ran forward, "Get out of here quickly..."

boom!
Before she could finish speaking, a huge figure descended from the sky and trampled her underfoot, instantly reducing her health bar to zero!
"Cough..." The thief coughed up blood, the excruciating pain rendering her unable to move. "Human..." Bloodfang uttered a low, resonant voice, raising his hand to grasp the severely wounded thief's head and lift her up. The petite, purple-haired girl looked like a kitten in the hands of this gigantic ogre...

"Boss... help me..." The thief reached out to Golden Rose, but before she could finish speaking, the thick, clawed fingers exerted force, completely emptying her last bit of health, which scattered into scattered specks of data...

[Game] The killing scene wasn't particularly bloody, but Mulan Shi felt as if she could see the girl's head being crushed...

Looking at the dispersing light, Bloodfang took a deep breath, inhaling all the data into his mouth.

"Its experience bar has increased a little..." Golden Rose obviously also has the Eye of Insight, and given her level, the authority of the Eye of Insight is naturally higher, even allowing her to see the other party's leveling progress.

"It can absorb the data of those it kills to strengthen itself! Its experience bar is already over 90%, if it absorbs a few more people, I'm afraid..."

"Even if he reaches the maximum experience level, it won't help..." Mu Lanshi gritted her teeth and said, "If he doesn't go to the training ground, he can't level up, right?"

“It’s different… This guy has now transformed into a monster, and its leveling mechanism is different from ours… It was able to level up seven times in a row through that magic circle, which means it has betrayed the God of Power and can level up on its own without being given a level!”

"You can do that?" Mu Lanshi looked completely bewildered.

"Only the weak need faith!" the giant bloodfang sneered. "The true strong can become the faith of others!"

As it spoke, it raised its staff, and the gem at its tip suddenly flashed a red light. In its wake, several mercenaries' health bars were instantly emptied, and they too turned into starlight to be absorbed by it...

"It's going to devour us all!" Seeing another beam of red light shooting towards them, Golden Rose charged forward with her greatsword, activating the skill "Perfect Parry." A burst of sparks flashed, and although the sword blocked Blood Fang's attack, its durability dropped to about a third.

"Human, you are quite capable." Bloodfang chuckled coldly, "But unfortunately, when I roamed the seas, I killed countless experts like you!"

Before he could finish speaking, a large fireball shot towards him, but it seemed to hit a transparent barrier a meter away from Bloodfang and vanished with a bang.

Jin Qiangwei was taken aback. She turned her head to look at the red-robed mage who had just launched an attack and the others who had drawn their weapons: "Run! What are you waiting for!"

"Captain, we won't abandon you!" The heavily armored female warrior stood in front of Golden Rose, raising her heavy shield: "Level 90, even S-rank mercenaries can't handle this kind of monster, right? Let me see what it's like!"

The others also stood beside Golden Rose, saying, "If we're going to die, we'll die together."

Looking at her united team members, Mu Lanshi was torn... She had grown fond of this team over the past few days, but the thought of her staying here to die with them was simply...

Just as she hesitated, Jin Qiangwei smiled with some relief: "Everyone, thank you for your company... I am proud to have comrades like you."

As she spoke, she turned to Mu Lanshi and said, "Little Mu, we'll hold her off. You should leave now. You've only just joined; it's not worth it for you to die here with us!"

Upon hearing this, Mu Lanshi felt as if she wanted to cry but had no tears. "If you say that, won't I be even less able to leave?"

If the other party were really just an NPC made of data, that would be fine. But Mulan Shi just heard them mention that most of them were also "players" from the Lost Land. Wouldn't that mean they were living, breathing people?

Although their exact origins are unknown, it is clear that these are human beings with real feelings and real lives.

Just then, a notification popped up in front of Mulan Shi.

"Hidden quest triggered: Defeat the resurrected Bloodfang. Accept?"

"Have you left your last words?" Bloodfang sneered, then raised his staff. At the same time, a ring on his hand lit up. He then tapped the ground with his staff, and a terrifying circle of flames spread out from him!
"Such a powerful fire elemental! Everyone, hold your ground!" The red-robed mage and priest cast spells simultaneously, and a barrier of flames fused with holy light appeared before everyone, blocking the surging flames!
At the same time, Mulan drew her bow and shot an arrow. With the aid of her control abilities, the arrow, imbued with light elements, shot straight at Bloodfang's face with incredible speed and force! The others followed suit with their spells!

However, Blood Fang snorted coldly, and the gem at the top of his staff lit up, instantly shooting out a beam of red laser light. Wherever it passed, everyone's skills were neutralized, and even Mulan Shi's arrows were knocked down!
How can an offensive spell possibly block a flying projectile?

However, Bloodfang's attack was not over yet. The thick laser finally struck the shield erected by the priest and the red-robed mage. The immense force almost instantly shattered the shield, vaporizing the two spellcasters into starlight!
Without the protection of the shields, the surging fire element instantly devoured the Rose Mercenary Group. Those who were not high enough in level or equipment had their health bars emptied in an instant. After the flames swept over, only Golden Rose, the fierce female warrior, and Mulan Shi were left alive.

Jin Qiangwei survived because she was the highest level and strongest female warrior, possessing specialized defensive equipment and abilities, and also having the highest health. As for Mu Lanshi, although she was only level nine, she was originally a high-level cultivator with base attributes far exceeding those of the others, which allowed her to hold on.

Unlike the two who were still standing, Mulan Shi had already collapsed and was unconscious. His health bar was almost empty, with only a trace of red remaining, triggering the state of severe injury and unconsciousness.

Golden Rose and the Fierce Warrior are also in dire straits, with their health dropping to less than a third, making them unable to withstand the next round of attacks.

"Is it all over..." Watching her companions, transformed into starlight, fly towards Bloodfang, Golden Rose was plunged into immense pain and despair. With tears in her eyes, she hysterically cursed at Bloodfang: "You monster, all you wanted was my life, so take it!"

However, Bloodfang did not rush to make a move. Instead, he greedily absorbed the light, and his upgrade progress continued to rise until it finally reached its limit!
"That's awesome..." Bloodfang exclaimed with delight, his body glowing with the light of an upgrade, and the number above his head changing from ninety to ninety-one!

"My guess was right after all! This is the best way to become stronger!" Bloodfang laughed heartily, then looked greedily at the last three remaining people: "Give me your power too!"

As he spoke, he unleashed another red laser!
Just then, a figure suddenly appeared and blocked the way for the three of them!
boom!
The laser struck the figure squarely in the face...

(End of this chapter)