Magicians never make wishes

"You bastard, you still say you didn't lead us the wrong way?"

Evil Axe, carrying the red hammer, followed closely behind the Drill Rat.

"Boss, that's right, there's nothing wrong with my mark."

As he spoke, the rat tightened the blood-stained bandage on his left arm and tentatively asked,

"What should the captain do?"

"Let's go out first, then come back to provide backup."

Evil Axe unconsciously touched his injured abdomen, his expression darkening slightly.

"Can you tell now who's real and who's fake?"

Before this, they had been running wildly and hadn't noticed that Ronan, carrying Grayleaf, hadn't followed.

Because Ronan and Grayleaf were already following behind them.

Until one fork in the road, the group stopped to look for a marker.

Ronan and Grayleaf suddenly attacked them from behind.

If it weren't for the timely reminder from the drilling rat, the two of them would have suffered much more injuries than this.

Upon seeing the Corruptor reveal its true form after death, they finally realized that the three of them had long been separated from Ronan.

"I can't tell the difference, but I've thought of a way..."

The rat had a sudden inspiration and said...

"Next time we suddenly run into someone we know, let's try attacking them first."

Seeing the veins bulging on Evil Axe's forehead, as if he wanted to punch himself, Drill Mouse quickly began to explain.

"It's not about actually attacking, but about striking first, making the other side think we're going to attack, and at the same time shouting things like 'It's you again, you imposter.'"

"If it were the real captain, he definitely wouldn't fight back; anyone who fights back must be a fake."

After thinking for a long time, Evil Axe felt that this method was quite reliable, and couldn't help but praise it.

"You're not entirely stupid, kid."

Just as the two were very satisfied with the plan, the firelight in front of them illuminated Chi Xing and the puppet carrying him.

The evil axe and the drilling rat looked at each other, and in the exchange of glances, they both understood what the other meant:

The opportunity to strike first has arrived!

Akahoshi ahead sensed someone approaching.

Looking back,

He saw a dwarf carrying another dwarf on his back, with a halfling beside him, charging towards him, brandishing an axe and a dagger.

"It's you again, you damn imposter!"

The roar of the evil axe seemed capable of shattering the passageway, demonstrating its formidable power.

"What fake?" Akahoshi asked, looking puzzled.

The evil axe paused for a moment.

Turning to look at the crawling mouse, she asked, "Is this for real?"

Why is this not quite what I expected?

"I think so?" the drill rat said, sounding a little unsure.

"Of course it's true!" Akahoshi laughed.

Immediately, his right hand transformed into a blood-red whip, which he lashed out at them.

Evil Axe's expression changed, his blood surged, and he raised his two axes to block the attack.

"Damn it!"

He roared and quickly approached the fake Red Star, coordinating with the Drill Rat that suddenly appeared behind him, the two of them forming a pincer attack.

puff.

The evil axe was struck by an even thicker, blood-red whip shadow and was instantly sent flying backward.

The fake Red Star, disguised as a polluter, stood there dumbfounded.

It seemed to freeze in time, assuming an attack stance, but its head fell off along a line of blood on its neck.

As the rat watched the scene unfold before its eyes, an unprecedented chill shot from the soles of its feet straight to the top of its head.

He held his breath, moved his body little by little, and slowly and mechanically turned his head.

A massive figure appeared in my peripheral vision.

It has four legs, its body is covered with thick blood vessels, and it has some scraps of cloth on its body, clearly indicating that it lives by eating humans.

"Get out of the way, run in different directions."

The evil axe was sent flying by the blow, and feeling the power contained within, he immediately knew that he was no match for this monster.

If they don't run, all three of them will perish in the monster's mouth.

Evil Axe was in a state of great panic.

Why are there other strange things besides the polluters?

We need to find the captain quickly...

He turned resolutely and strode away in the direction he had returned.

As for the crawling rat, it has the ability to hide and is even better at escaping than him, so there is absolutely no need to worry about it.

The drill mouse thought so too.

With the four-legged creature beside him, he didn't hesitate to activate his best skill, "Hidden Strike".

His figure vanished in an instant, rushing forward in another direction.

With his invisibility and current speed, passing four-legged creatures would be no problem at all.

Who knew that at this moment...

The black pollutants that had been hidden behind him suddenly seemed to have gained self-awareness and inexplicably climbed onto his limbs.

This hinders the rat's sprint, making it feel as if it's stuck in a quagmire.

His invisibility ended prematurely, and he suddenly appeared next to the four-legged creature.

Immediately, a long, thin tongue precisely wrapped around his neck.

No matter how much he struggled, he couldn't escape.

Damn it...

The drill rat took out its most precious dagger and began to stab and slash at the tongue wrapped around its neck.

The weapon that Ronan had redeemed for him with points was now completely ineffective against the slender tongue.

The tongue tightened little by little.

As the desperate rat suffocated, it witnessed a flashback of its life before its death.

I could have chosen not to come here...

I shouldn't have kept it from everyone...

It's all my fault...

Captain... Boss...

Be careful...

The rat's bloodshot eye sockets quickly turned black, and contaminants rapidly spread all over its body.

His face was visibly decaying, his limbs were atrophying, and his vitality was rapidly fading away.

Quadrupedal creatures seem to be extremely averse to this type of pollution.

His long, thin tongue sensed the black contaminant, released the drill rat, and swung it in the air for a while before retracting it.

But by then it was too late to retract the tongue.

The burrowing mouse is dead.

Filled with endless regret and resentment, he died completely.

But even though he was covered in black pollutants, he miraculously stood up again.

The pollutants wriggled around, gradually making his withered face rounder and restoring it to its original normal appearance.

He glanced at the four-legged creature slowly leaving, then turned around and hurried back to the passage he had come from.

……

Ronan and Grayleaf walked for an unknown amount of time.

Strictly speaking, it was Gray Leaf who had been gone for an unknown amount of time.

Ronan lay on her back, holding a torch, using his mental network to identify the road conditions and direction.

There were many forks in the road along the way, but he still couldn't find the marks left by Evil Axe and his men.

"Are we lost?" Gray Leaf keenly noticed the problem.

"I have good news and bad news. Which would you like to hear first?"

"What time is it? Just tell me the bad news."

"The bad news is that we're not only lost, but we're also very likely heading back."

"How is that possible? I didn't turn around!"

Did you know that the Earth is round?

"What?"

"What I mean is... this road is very long, and the turns always seem to be in the same direction."

"So if things continue like this, we might end up back where we started?"

"It's not a possibility, it's that we're already back to square one."

Ronan has discovered the corpse of the imposter's wildly imaginative mind through his mental network.

"Oh my god!" Gray Leaf ran a few steps and saw it too, then immediately covered his forehead and wailed.

"Where's the good news? Where's the good news you promised?" She desperately needed some good news to cheer herself up.

"The good news is that your feeling is right." Ronan nodded, confirming her suspicions.

Gray Leaf: ?

"Let's try going back," Ronan suggested.