The bard fantasized again.

Chapter 71 The more they curse, the more energetic they become.

Catherine is a shrewd person.

She always manages to calculate gains and losses with perfect clarity.

Her innate beauty always allows her to earn substantial profits.

Therefore, she cherishes this face.

But she doesn't believe that the price of 'beauty' is higher than that of 'life'.

Moreover, Tang Qi and Sui Shi were only staying by his side because of their bastard father's dying wish.

She was already very grateful.

Then I must never let myself become a burden to two people, causing them harm because of it.

If disfiguring her face could save her the trouble and resolve this ridiculous conflict, she had no reason to cling to that face.

Unfortunately, she was a girl from a farming family.

She possesses remarkable decisiveness, yet lacks sufficient understanding of the world.

They know even less about the spellcaster.

'Skull' was indeed taken aback for a moment by her bravery.

But it was only for a moment.

He did not regret losing a collectible.

On the contrary, some people admired it:

"Commendable courage."

However, the emergence of [Rejuvenating Gel] has already filled the gap of the past limitation that scars could only be repaired using the Six-Ring [Medical Technique]—although its price is still high.

Since I need to stitch up the gaps in my limbs, how could I possibly prepare more than two bottles?

Why does the caster of a spell represent sublimity?

Because they are almost omnipotent.

"gravel!"

The moment Tang Qi realized that Catherine's actions had failed to deter the 'Skull's' intentions, he snatched the 'Snake Kiss' and shouted.

Meanwhile, the shards of stone, already close enough to charge and waiting patiently, raised their shields and fiercely slammed them into the 'skull's' shoulder.

"[Shield Charge]!"

This was a battle technique that had always been invincible to him; the shockwave had even knocked down the giants of the north, forcing them to look up at him.

But with a deafening roar, he found that the 'skull' in front of him remained completely still—

A twisted and dark aura enveloped him, revealing a dark sternum that covered his entire body like armor.

No spellcaster would be foolish enough to save on even a [Mage Armor] ring slot.

As the impact slammed into the 'skull's' shoulder, the 'armor' seemed to isolate all the force, not even causing the 'skull's' feet to shift in the slightest:

"So, this deal is off?"

"Let me smash the light bulb in your head first!"

With a loud roar, Shattered Stone was about to swing the nail-headed hammer in his hand.

But just as he raised his hand, a bolt of azure lightning shot out from between the 'skull's' fingers.

The electric current released by the electric claw is extremely small, only producing a "buzzing" sound.

But it was enough to be transmitted to his plate armor and even his entire body through the tower shield of rubble.

A strange, tingling sensation surged through the dwarf's skin, his beard curled with electricity, and his whole body trembled, almost paralyzed in place.

"【Earth's Grasp】——"

A pitch-black spellbook, inlaid with bone fragments, floated in front of the 'skull,' turning to reveal a page depicting a hand.

His throat then emitted hoarse, foul language, which echoed in everyone's ears like a sound from an empty valley.

The ground beneath Catherine's feet suddenly began to churn, and Tang Qi felt a sharp, pricking sensation all over his body. He gripped the girl's hand tightly and pulled her away to a distance.

The sound of sand and gravel collapsing suddenly rang out behind them—

A slender, skeletal, giant, dark brown hand suddenly emerged from the ground. Seeing that it could not grasp them, it immediately moved across the land, about to attack them.

"Ambi, protect her!"

Tang Qi held the 'Snake Kiss' and estimated the distance between himself and the hand. Seizing the opportunity, he stepped forward.

His waist and arm spun together, and the black scimitar whistled through the night!
"flutter--"

Tang Qi believed he had struck it squarely.

The sensation of the blade reaching the hand was like sinking into a wet clay sculpture, a pool of sticky mud—the blade had slashed a gap in the thin, bony palm, but the mud at the opening seemed to come alive and stick together.

"Rua!"

A piece of ice crystal pierced the night, extending into a dark blue ray.

It struck the hand that was about to grasp Tang Qi, and snow-white frost covered the web between the thumb and forefinger on the back of the hand. As it spread outward, the speed at which the hand moved suddenly slowed down.

The beast-like physical characteristics gave Anbi the speed of a jackal.

She ran over on all fours, then quickly scooped Catherine into her arms and fled to a safer distance.

Tang Qi dodged to the side, barely avoiding the binding effect of [Earth Grab]—

"Well done, Kuru..."

He wanted to praise him, but when he glanced at the source of the [freezing ray], he found that Kuru had already run far away and was lying on the ground, about to merge with the huge fern leaves.

At the same time, it kept making a "shh" gesture towards Tang Qi, seemingly not wanting people to focus their attention on it.

It's playing dead!

Tang Qi almost laughed out of anger.

However, he also understood that Kuru, a kobold who had only learned [Silent Illusion] and was not even a proper mage, could not provide much help.

He could only twist his waist, turn around and slash the 'snake kiss' across the finger bones of that giant hand.

At the same time, the brief tingling sensation gradually subsided from the muscles irritated by the rubble.

With the 'skull' still within reach, he slammed his shield into the ground. A violent tremor shook the earth, and the ground around the shield suddenly cracked and collapsed downwards.

The 'skull' cried out in surprise and tried to run away, but it couldn't keep up with the speed of the collapse beneath its feet. Staggered in the earthquake, it fell to the ground.

"Ha, now you can finally look up to me, right?"

Ignoring the flying debris scraping against his skin, the shards of gravel strode forward, raising the mace in his hand once more, ready to smash it heavily onto the 'skull's' forehead.

"damn it."

Knowing he couldn't dodge, the 'Skull' muttered incessantly. Just before the shadow of the hammerhead covered his nose, a dark force field suddenly unfolded before his eyes.

"boom!"

The mace slammed into the [Shield Spell], and the recoil made even the broken stones feel numb in the palm.

"I refuse to believe I can't smash your turtle shell!"

His exceptional control over his muscles allowed him to quickly steady his arm, and he was about to deliver a second blow to the 'skull'.

Oops.

The gravel murmured that something was wrong.

It seemed the recoil made his grip insufficient, resulting in an off feel to the hammer.

Just as the stone fragments thought they were about to fail, a lively song reached his ears:

"We dwarves simply love the coldness of beer, not because we can't reach the grapevines!"

It was like a harmless electric current, penetrating his eardrums, flowing into his blood, stimulating his heart, and unleashing his hidden limits with each beat.

A surge of exhilarating and immense power suddenly welled up and was about to be channeled into the hammer; he even felt his biceps bulge out—

"Tang Qi, go to hell!" Sui Shi roared in fury.

The moment the hammer touched the barrier, it smashed it into pieces!
"How can it be!?"

The 'skull' could no longer maintain its previous calm; its eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, staring wide-eyed like copper bells.

But it was too late for him to react!
"boom!!!"

A foul-smelling, dark red spray of blood exploded onto the face of the rubble.

Looking at the 'skull' lying on the ground, its forehead had been carved out with a dent, and a small gap revealed a scarlet but writhing brain.

"Damn, when have I ever been this strong?"

The gravel was startled by its own actions and hesitated as it looked toward the source of the singing.

The giant hand that was fighting Tang Qi crumbled into pieces as the hammerhead slammed down.

"What have you done now? Why do you get more and more worked up the more I scold you?"

Tang Qi finally had a chance to catch his breath, and stubbornly refused to admit anything:
"Hey, don't talk nonsense—"

I'm clearly trying to motivate you!

Finish him off!

(End of this chapter)