Who said this card is outrageous?

Chapter 72 Shattering Shadow Leopard (Please continue reading!)

The lubricating effect of the mucus far exceeded expectations; the attack, originally aimed straight for the vital organs, ultimately only managed to create a shallow cut on the giant frog's back.

Despite the advantage of its weapon, the giant swamp frog was still somewhat injured, but it was far from the Tidal Sea Spirit's initial intention of killing it with a single blow.

The giant frog, in pain, let out a deep croak, its tongue shooting out like lightning.

Immediately afterward, the other giant frogs around also reacted, and their nimble and resilient tongues attacked simultaneously from all directions.

The Tidal Sea Spirit's reaction speed is already among the best in its class, but even it can barely dodge a few attacks of this density.

Ultimately, the [Clever Fighter] talent came into play at the crucial moment, allowing its body to perform several incredible dodge maneuvers in the air, narrowly escaping from the giant frogs' attack net and retreating to a safe distance beyond the reach of its tongue.

Their enormous size and the unique environment of the swamp mean that the giant frogs don't move very fast; otherwise, the Tidal Sea Spirit might have really perished here.

On the other side, Zhang Che, who was watching the battle from a distance, came up with a battle plan: he would first have the Tidal Sea Spirits continue to harass some of the giant frogs, gradually distancing them from the other members of their kind.

Then, taking them by surprise, Zhang Che had the Tidal Sea Spirit wield its trident and activate [Mischievous Spirit], the resulting water waves engulfing all the giant frogs.

Once the first giant frog that had been lured out was far enough away, Zhang Che decisively gave the order: "Six tails!"

The Six-Tails, which had been lurking in the shadows, emerged from the corner, unleashing a torrent of [Frozen Wind].

A biting chill, carrying tiny ice crystals, swept across the area. Before any of the giant swamp frogs could react, the mucus on their bodies froze into a thin layer of ice, leaving them frozen in place, as if a pause button had been pressed for an instant.

Only two giant frogs that were too far away escaped the attack, but they still retained some mobility and quickly launched a counterattack.

Before they could make a move, two ice arrows came one after another, delivering the final blow to the two surviving giant frogs.

Then came the killing. Because the mucus on their skin was frozen, the giant frogs' thin skin couldn't withstand the piercing of the Tidal Sea Spirit's halberd, and they could only fall down unwillingly.

With another seven second-tier crystal cores acquired, plus some extraordinary materials collected along the way, Zhang Che's backpack was now almost half full.

Of course, this load was carried out on the premise that it would not affect his normal activities, and it also included the emergency kit he obtained before entering the fissure, as well as some supplies he had prepared himself.

Left with no other choice, Zhang Che had to reluctantly give up collecting materials from these giant frogs.

On their journey thereafter, they encountered many more extraordinary beings, both in frequency and quality, than before, including several at the third tier.

It truly lives up to its reputation as the core area with the highest energy concentration.

Throughout the entire process, Ahri did not make a move, leaving the rest to the other cards to handle.

As for the two third-tier extraordinary creatures, they were both bitten in two by the Tidal Sea Spirit using [Giant Shark Assault].

The third-tier blue skill card is already quite powerful, and when used by the Tidal Sea Spirit, the damage is even higher, so it is naturally unstoppable along the way.

As the group ventured deeper into the core of the rift, the spatial fluctuations intensified, and the silver mist in the air gradually thickened.

As a result, their vision began to blur, visibility dropped from tens of meters to three or five meters, and the range of their mental power detection was suppressed to an extremely low level.

The dense spatial energy permeated the air, and when it came into contact with his body, Zhang Che could clearly feel a slight stinging sensation on his skin.

Finally, near the border of the grassland region, they discovered traces of a transcendent creature corrupted by spatial power.

Shattered Void Shadow Leopard.

Before setting off, he had read some information about this creature: it was originally a third-tier ordinary extraordinary creature called the Shadow Leopard, which lived in the grassland area.

As the apex predator in the Void Rift, the Shadow Leopard has a relatively high probability of being chosen by the power of space, and the Shadow Leopard that it eventually transforms into is a top-tier, third-order extraordinary creature.

According to the records, it can slip into shadows and spatial crevices, is extremely fast, and excels at stealth and ambush. It is the most mobile supernatural creature in the Echoing Rift and one of the opponents that the expedition team least wants to encounter.

Zhang Che took a deep breath and, following the dense spatial energy fluctuations, found the figure of the Shattered Void Shadow Leopard.

At that time, it was lying in a silvery mist, its body shrouded in a hazy halo.

The Shattered Void Leopard is about the size of an adult cheetah. Its body is jet black, covered with silver stripes, as if someone had drawn a complex map on its body with silver paint.

Its breathing was very light, almost inaudible, and its entire body seemed to blend into the surrounding mist, appearing and disappearing intermittently.

Zhang Che had already recalled all his cards except Ahri the moment he saw his target, and slowed down to quietly approach him.

However, for the Shadow Leopard, which has mastered spatial abilities, this level of stealth is not enough.

Its eyes snapped open, a pair of silvery-white pupils shining through the mist like two cold lanterns, staring straight in the direction of Zhang Che.

The next second, its body turned into a black afterimage and suddenly disappeared from the spot.

Zhang Che's pupils contracted sharply. Without thinking, he immediately activated the defensive card [Guard] in his hand to form a barrier around himself, while reminding Ahri that the enemy had discovered them.

The moment the sound faded, the Void Shadow Leopard's claws emerged from the spatial rift, bypassing the barrier and Ahri blocking its way, and lunged straight at Zhang Che's face.

If this blow lands, given Zhang Che's fragile little body, he'll probably be crippled if not killed.

Fortunately, the [Mist-like Body] remained active, so when the claws touched Zhang Che's body, it was as if they were passing through a cloud of mist, causing him no harm.

Thank goodness, the Void Shattering Shadow Leopard, which had fused with the power of space, only possessed limited space-based skills. Otherwise, if its claws had been imbued with more space-based energy, Zhang Che would have died just the same.

The attack missed its mark, and the Shattered Void Shadow Leopard's body fully materialized from the spatial rift, landing on the ground with a hint of confusion flashing in its silvery-white pupils.

But it didn't have time to think about it anymore.

The attack that nearly killed Zhang Che had finally caused the Nine-Tailed Fox, who had been guarding him closely, to reveal its full power amidst its raging fury.

"Die!"

With a roar, Ahri's body soared into the air, her nine flaming fox tails unfurling wildly behind her, each tail tipped with a ghostly blue flame that caused the surrounding silver mist to churn and surge.

Her eyes turned a deep pink, and the silhouette of the Shadow Leopard was reflected in her pupils.

Chapter 73 A Long and Arduous Road Ahead

An invisible shockwave of mental energy spread outwards from her, and before the Shattered Void Shadow Leopard could react, it was struck head-on by this force.

Its mind was instantly suppressed, its body suddenly stiffened, its silvery-white pupils became unfocused, and its movements became noticeably sluggish.

[Enchanting Spell]!

Zhang Che seized the opportunity and summoned the Tidal Sea Spirit and the Six-Tailed Fox. The former set up a water array around the Shattered Void Shadow Leopard, while the latter simultaneously released [Frozen Wind], blocking all possible escape routes for the Shattered Void Shadow Leopard.

However, the Shattered Void Shadow Leopard was no ordinary creature. The moment it was controlled, the spatial energy within its body spontaneously erupted, directly breaking through all the control effects.

Its silvery-white pupils refocused, and it let out a low growl before turning to disappear into the spatial rift.

But Ahri didn't give it that chance. A pink gem condensed in her palm, transformed into a stream of light, and shot out, accurately hitting the back of the Shattered Void Shadow Leopard.

【The Deceptive Jewel】!

With a loud "boom," the Shattered Shadow Leopard's body was blasted away, rolling several times on the ground. A large patch of fur on its back was blown off, revealing the charred muscles and bones underneath.

The Shattered Void Shadow Leopard struggled to its feet, and for the first time, a look of fear appeared in its silvery-white pupils.

The vitality of a top-tier Tier 3 transcendent creature far exceeds what ordinary people can imagine. This level of injury is not enough to render the Shattered Void Shadow Leopard incapable of fighting, but it is enough for it to realize that the prey in front of it is not something it can easily control.

The Shattered Void Leopard's body began to turn transparent, attempting to merge back into the spatial rift and escape.

Ahri's nine tails swung simultaneously, each tail tip shooting out a ghostly blue flame.

Nine demonic flames converged in the air, transforming into a vast, all-encompassing net of fire that descended upon the Shattered Void Shadow Leopard.

【Mysterious Foxfire】!

The flames were mixed with a powerful mental shock, which interfered with the movement of the Shattered Void Leopard, causing it to fail several times in its attempts to squeeze into the spatial rift.

The net of fire fell, the eerie blue flames scorching its fur and spirit, causing it excruciating pain with every touch.

The Shattered Void Leopard launched a desperate counterattack, ignoring the flames on its body and suddenly turning around to pounce on Ahri. All the silver patterns on its body were glowing, clearly indicating that it had concentrated all its power into this attack.

Ahri didn't dodge, but stood steadily in front of Zhang Che, her nine tails unfurled behind her, a cold smile curling at the corner of her mouth.

She turned her body slightly to the side, allowing the Void Shadow Leopard's claws to graz her shoulder.

A wisp of spatial power exploded, and a deep wound appeared on Ahri's shoulder. Dark blue blood seeped from the wound and dripped onto the ground.

But her expression didn't change at all, as if it wasn't her own body that was injured. Then she stretched out her right hand and grabbed the Shadow Leopard's claw, which had lost most of its strength.

The Shadow Leopard's eyes widened suddenly. It tried to pull its claws back, but Ahri's hands held it firmly like iron clamps.

"it's over……"

She raised her left hand, and a larger pink orb appeared in her palm.

A ghostly blue flame swirled on the surface of the jewel, where spiritual power and the power of the flames intertwined and merged, emitting a deep humming sound.

The pearl flew out of his hand and struck the Shattered Void Shadow Leopard directly in the chest at extremely close range.

boom--

Amidst the deafening explosion, the Shattered Shadow Leopard was blasted away once more, finally crashing heavily to the ground.

A large hole was blasted open in its chest, and silvery-white spatial patterns flashed wildly on its body surface a few times before quickly dimming, and its pupils gradually lost their luster.

Ahri stood still, her nine tails swaying gently behind her, her long hair flying in the air currents, but her body remained motionless, and the wound on her shoulder began to heal slowly, a self-repairing ability unique to card summons.

The smoke of battle has cleared.

Zhang Che returned to his physical form from the misty state of his [Misty Body], walked over the charred grass to the corpse of the Shattered Void Shadow Leopard, and carefully took out a thumb-sized silver crystal from its body.

……

As expected, even with the energy from the Echoing Crystal, it was still not enough to transform Ahri into a purple card, so they could only continue to target the Echoing Rift.

Fortunately, Ahri then mentioned that after fusing with the second Void Crystal, combined with her powerful mental strength, she was already able to sense spatial energy fluctuations within a certain range.

Within this rift, the strongest spatial energy fluctuations undoubtedly originate from extraordinary beings or materials that have fused with spatial power.

In previous raid logs, there were occasional instances where teams encountered two or more spatial-type extraordinary creatures in the rifts: some were lucky enough to get double the loot, while others were forced to give up due to poor condition.

"Let's go and see other places!" Zhang Che made a decision immediately and led Ali towards the grassland area to the northeast.

A day later, thanks to Ahri's perception, they successfully located their second target, a Tier 3 Cracked Claw Wolf.

As its name suggests, its application of spatial power is mainly to attach it to its claws to enhance its attacks.

This extraordinary creature is weaker than the Shattered Void Shadow Leopard, otherwise it wouldn't have ceded its territory in the central wetlands to the other.

Facing this melee fighter, Ahri, a ranged mage, handled it with ease. She simply kited it and killed it in no time, successfully acquiring the second Void Crystal.

Later, Zhang Che and Ah Li spent another two days searching the entire grassland area, but they still couldn't find a third extraordinary creature that had fused with spatial power.

They could only return to the dense forest area to the southwest to continue "casting their nets," and there they unexpectedly found a supernatural plant-like creature that was extremely well hidden.

This is a type that Zhang Che has never seen in the records, which means that it had been hiding very well and had not been discovered by the expeditionary force that entered the rift.