Legendary Son-in-Law: The Man with Poison Talismans

He withdrew his gaze and then scanned the city once more.

The barrier needs a continuous infusion of energy to maintain itself. In many corners of the city, squads of Golden Guards and awakened civilians gathered, squatting in a circle, their hands pressed on the faintly glowing rune nodes at their feet, continuously channeling energy into them.

Those nodes are the key support points of the barrier. People sat around them in circles, like adding firewood to a furnace. When one group of people was exhausted, the next group would take their place.

Just as Lin Mu was about to look down further, there was a sudden commotion inside the gate tower of the west city wall.

The curtain was lifted, and a group of people escorted a figure out.

The newcomer wore a long black robe, a golden crown on his head, and held a scepter that looked like a twisted tree root. Lin Mu recognized the scepter; it was the Soul Devouring Staff. The man stood atop the highest point of the city wall and glanced down, his aura so heavy it seemed to weigh down the entire battlefield.

Lin Mu looked closely and saw that it was the Empress.

The Empress said nothing and raised her staff.

The staff was made entirely of twisted and coiled dark brown ancient vines. The staff was gnarled and tangled, rough and uneven, with no smooth paint finish, giving it a weathered and ancient feel.

The staff is long, slightly thinner at the handle, and the vines coil more and more intricately as it goes up, twisting into a tangled mess of branches at the top. It is not inlaid with any gorgeous gems, but faint wisps of gray-black demonic energy emanate from the gaps, making it look like a tightly twisted rope.

That's the mage's ultimate weapon, the Soul-Devouring Staff.

Chapter 295 Burning the Camps

The light on the tip of the empress's raised staff suddenly solidified, and a shadow burst out from her body, like a soul that had been ripped away, and swiftly stopped 5 meters away from her.

The moment the shadow landed, its blurry outline solidified rapidly, becoming clear from semi-transparent, and in an instant, it became a figure exactly like the Empress.

The black robe, golden crown, and soul-devouring staff, even the calm and composed demeanor between his brows, were exactly the same.

That's the clone technique.

As soon as the clone appeared, it bowed to the Empress in a slow and deliberate manner, like a mirror reflecting another living person.

Then the clone straightened up and raised the Soul-Devouring Staff in its hand.

Two clusters of energy, one blue and one yellow, suddenly condensed on either side of the clone, resembling two crescent-shaped arcs of light.

Arcs of energy converged on the clone from the left and right.

With a crisp "thud," yellow and blue light converged, merged, and solidified around the clone, instantly forming a layer of yellow and blue magic shield.

The surface of the magic shield shimmered with light, appearing to be more than one layer thicker than the magic shields of ordinary mages.

Lin Mu recognized it at a glance; it was a level four magic shield.

Then the clone suddenly moved.

It raised its staff again, and then a flash of white light appeared around it. As if it had been pulled by something, it vanished from the city wall in an instant, and the next breath it appeared in the center of the monster horde below the city.

Lin Mu's pupils contracted slightly. Was that a teleportation ring? Or... teleportation?

But he didn't have time to think about it, because the moment the clone stood firm in the monster horde, it had already raised its staff.

Suddenly, a huge circular magic circle lit up beneath the clone's feet, with crimson lines rapidly spreading, intersecting, and converging on the ground, like a giant burning net being spread out.

The monsters sensed the clone's presence, reacted, and turned to pounce on it.

Melee warriors like the Woma Warriors and wild boars swung their weapons at it, while ranged Dark Warriors and Axe-throwing Skeletons turned around, raining down stone spikes and flying axes.

However, when those attacks landed on the level four magic shield, they only caused a few shallow ripples on the shield's surface, like a stone thrown into deep water that couldn't even make a splash. In an instant, the shield returned to its original state.

Only two orc leaders swung their axes, the force of which was like that of battering rams. They slammed into the same spot on the shield, causing the entire shield to dent inwards. The clone's body also swayed slightly, as if it had been shaken.

Lin Mu could see clearly that the health bar above the clone's head was not the usual red, but a deep blue like the calm sea.

That's the symbol of a protective ring.

In the game, protective rings convert damage taken by the wearer into mana cost.

For every 10 points of damage received, 15 mana points will be deducted. As long as the mana bar is active, the damage will not touch the health bar at all, effectively giving the wearer an extra layer of life protection.

Only when mana is completely depleted will the actual damage be applied to health.

The monster's attacks barely scratched the clone's mana bar.

Just then, something in the sky seemed to be ignited. Dark red flames shone through the depths of the clouds, growing brighter and closer. Countless burning meteorites, trailing long fiery tails, fell from the sky, covering an area of ​​10 meters around the clone.

It is the ultimate area-of-effect skill that mages can only master at level 47: Meteor Shower.

And judging from the sheer force of this meteor shower, it's clearly no ordinary event.

Before the monsters could launch their second attack, the giant, burning flaming rock, trailing a long fiery tail, crashed down from the sky, slamming into the surrounding monsters and hitting them in the face.

The exploding flames and rubble resembled blooming crimson flowers, sending the nearby Woma warriors and wild boars flying backward and crashing into the monster horde behind them, creating chaos as damage numbers jumped up in dense clusters.

The sound was like the sky collapsing, booming into our ears and making the city walls tremble slightly.

But the clone did not stop.

Before the embers of the meteorite had even completely settled, it had already raised the Soul-Devouring Staff again, pressing the tip of the staff down, and a wall of fire stretched out along the ground.

That wall of fire was completely different from the ones laid out by ordinary mages. Ordinary walls of fire burn slowly, like a quiet bonfire, with gentle and steady flames.

But the wall of fire created by the Empress's clone burned bright red, like a blower at its highest setting under the embers of a clay stove. The flames leaped up rapidly and fiercely, distorting the surrounding air.

The monsters screamed as they were scalded by the fire wall, and damage numbers popped up one after another above their heads.

Upon seeing the wall of fire spread out, the orc leader in the distance immediately began to shout at the top of his lungs. His rough and grating voice carried far across the battlefield.

Immediately afterwards, Lin Mu saw the monsters begin to walk around the wall of fire.

Instead of charging in headfirst, they dodged along the edge, and those who got burned immediately took a step outward to get out of the flames' range. Although they inevitably lost a layer of blood from the burns, it was better than stepping directly on the fire.

But I can't do that. You want to hide? Then I'll just pave my way through.

It laid down walls of fire one after another along the route where the monsters were densely packed. The flames crisscrossed the battlefield, burning the monsters' originally orderly battle formation to pieces.

The monsters' attack rhythm on this side of the west city wall was completely disrupted. Ranged units were forced back by the fire wall, melee units were separated by the flames, and obvious gaps appeared in the connection between the echelons.

The fire wall was laid out more and more completely, until it finally reached the edge of the orcs' encampment and siege ladders that they had set up behind them.

The wooden ladders and tents were quickly set ablaze by the fire wall, crackling and burning, with flames shooting into the sky.

The orcs panicked and began frantically trying to put out the fire.

They tried to cover the fire with their claws and their bodies, but the fire wall was a skill they couldn't extinguish or burn out.

The soil they covered only made the flames burn brighter, and the thick smoke forced them to retreat, emitting harsh roars from their throats.

Only the tents and ladders ignited by the fire wall could be put out with water and soil.

The problem is that the fire wall is still burning in the same place, the flames standing tall and red, reigniting what they had painstakingly tried to extinguish.

Unless all the flammable materials are moved outside the fire wall, any attempt to extinguish the fire will be in vain.

The orcs were so busy that their thick arms were covered in burns and soot.

They were too busy extinguishing the remaining embers to advance, and thick smoke and the smell of burning filled the edge of the battlefield.

However, at this moment, the blue of that clone finally ran out.

Chapter 296 Alone?

After using Meteor Shower one last time, the clone's outline began to blur and become transparent from the edges, like a piece of paper being soaked with water, before silently dissipating on the battlefield.

The people on the city wall fell silent for a moment upon seeing this scene.

Lin Mu was staring blankly at the spot where the clone had disappeared when he suddenly felt someone stand up beside him.

He turned his head and saw a dark figure standing beside him at some point. The figure wore a golden crown, a long robe, and carried a Soul-Devouring Staff, just like the clone from before, except that the figure's aura was deeper and more stable. It was a living, breathing real person.

Liu Qingshuang, who was standing next to her, was the first to react. She bowed slightly and called out, "Your Majesty."

Lin Mu then turned around and bowed in return.

The Empress nodded slightly and spoke first, saying, "Minister Lin, you've worked hard at Bai Ri Gate."

His tone was calm, but his gaze lingered on Lin Mu for a moment longer, as if to check if he was injured.

She then changed the subject, her tone tinged with doubt: "Why did you suddenly return to Bichon? How is the situation at Bai Ri Men?"

Lin Mu straightened up and answered truthfully: "The city of Bai Ri Men is temporarily stable. The monsters have retreated and dare not approach the vicinity of the city walls. The power of the Crimson Moon also seems to have weakened a bit. However, I have been there for these past few days and have never seen the shadow of the Two-Headed Vajra, the Two-Headed Blood Demon, or the Crimson Moon Demon."

He paused, glancing at the ravaged battlefield below the city. "After Lord Liu arrived at Bai Ri Men, he said that the demonic energy was moving towards Bichon. I was uneasy, so I came back with him."

The Empress's brows twitched slightly after hearing this, but she did not respond immediately.

Liu Qingshuang, who was standing nearby, took the opportunity to speak and gave a detailed account of what she had seen and heard at Bai Ri Men.

From the moment the barrier stabilized and the morale of the city's inhabitants recovered, to hearing Xue Gui's description of Lin Mu leading a divine beast and a skeleton to block the monster horde at the breach, and then to the monsters being blocked outside the barrier and not daring to rush up, trying to buy time to deplete the city's resources and energy.

Liu Qingshuang's tone quickened slightly as she spoke: "Later, when everyone was at their wits' end, Lord Lin went out of the barrier alone to clear out the monsters. When I arrived at Bai Ri Men, I saw Lord Lin standing alone in the middle of the monster horde, fighting. Outside the city, there were spiders and blood zombies everywhere, and he was just standing there in the middle of the monster horde."

Upon hearing this, the Empress turned her gaze to Lin Mu, her eyes filled with scrutiny, but even more so with curiosity and deep doubt: "Out of the barrier? Alone? How could a Taoist priest like you deal with so many monsters?"

She asked directly because even as the empire's strongest mage, she wouldn't dare venture alone into a monster horde of that size for too long.

Although the mage's area-of-effect skills are powerful, their mana consumption is too high. Meteor Shower can only be cast a few times before you have to retreat and drink potions.

So it's no longer a matter of courage, but rather that she simply can't understand how a Taoist priest could gain a foothold in that kind of environment.

Before Lin Mu could speak, Liu Qingshuang excitedly picked up the conversation, speaking even faster than before: "Your Majesty, the poison Lord Lin used... He poisoned those steel-fanged spiders one by one, I saw it clearly. After those monsters were poisoned, high damage numbers jumped above their heads, and they fell one after another. Lord Lin's poison can spread from one to several around it, and after they die, it will also release poison mist outwards."

As she spoke, she gestured with her hands, her eyes filled with a lingering sense of amazement that hadn't completely faded after witnessing it firsthand.

The Empress raised an eyebrow and looked at Lin Mu: "Aren't Taoist poisons supposed to have low damage and only be able to poison one person at a time? What's wrong with your poison?"

This time, Liu Qingshuang didn't interrupt, but Lin Mu wasn't going to explain further either. Was it all Chang Wei's doing? So he simply replied, "My poison is a bit different; it's more potent." His tone was flat, as if he were just saying he'd had dinner, without any intention of elaborating.

Liu Qingshuang waited for a while and realized that Lin Mu really didn't intend to continue, so she had no choice but to suppress her still unsatisfied curiosity.

She cleared her throat and continued, as if to fill the quiet atmosphere: "Most of the monsters outside Bai Ri Men City have been cleared out, and the rest have retreated to a place 500 meters away from the city, not daring to go forward. The barrier energy inside the city is also sufficient, so there won't be any major trouble for the time being. After Lord Lin finished arranging things there, he and I teleported back to Bichon together."

After hearing Liu Qingshuang's words, the Empress's gaze lingered on Lin Mu for a moment.

Her mind raced; Liu Qingshuang had been teleported there alone, while the teleportation ring could only teleport one person at a time.

But what Liu Qingshuang just said was, "After Lord Lin finished arranging things over there, he and I teleported back to Bichon together."

Teleporting together? If the two of them are teleporting together, it means Lin Mu also has a teleportation ring and a memory set.

She didn't say it aloud, but just thought it through in her mind.

It seems Qingyi gave the ring to Lin Mu beforehand. Thinking this, the Empress lowered her gaze slightly, no longer looking at Lin Mu or asking any further questions.