71: Zhao Zihan's Extreme Sniping

While Chen Hu and Wu Qiong's two separate teams were fighting hard on their respective battlefields...

Zhao Zihan had also arrived at the end of the Road of Death alone.

After parting ways with Chen Hu, she followed that narrow fork in the road, heading straight ahead.

Along the way, she encountered some stray undead creatures, such as Corpse Beetles crawling out of wall crevices or Mummy Hounds pouncing from the darkness.

But for her, who had already undergone a complete transformation, these posed no threat at all.

Often, before those monsters could even get close, she would pierce their throats with an arrow, pinning them to the wall.

Soon, she exited the fork, and the view before her suddenly opened up.

A massive circular altar, resembling an Ancient Roman Coliseum, appeared before her.

Rings of ghostly blue flames burned around the altar, illuminating the entire space with an eerie and grim light.

And at the very center of the altar, atop a ten-meter-high throne built from white bones,

a black weapon, shaped like a pair of scales, was quietly inserted.

The key of death!

Found it!

Zhao Zihan felt a surge of joy in her heart.

She vigilantly observed her surroundings and found that no monsters were guarding it.

Could it really be this simple?

She didn't dare to be careless. Gripping her compound bow, she carefully walked toward the throne at the center of the altar, step by step.

One hundred meters.

Fifty meters.

Ten meters.

Everything was calm and peaceful.

Zhao Zihan's heart relaxed slightly.

She reached out her hand toward the black key of death, moving to grab it.

At the very moment her fingertips were about to touch the key,

a sudden change occurred!

Gua—!!!

A piercing, crow-like screech suddenly rang out from the darkness above the altar!

Startled, Zhao Zihan subconsciously looked up.

On the dome above the altar, hundreds of creatures resembling bats but with stone wings and sharp claws were hanging upside down in a dense mass!

Gargoyless!

They had been disguised as statues just now, concealing all their presence so well that even Zhao Zihan hadn't noticed them!

As the first screech rang out, all the Gargoyless woke up!

Their stone-like eyes lit up with a crimson glow, and they all simultaneously locked onto the tiny human at the center of the altar!

"Not good!"

Zhao Zihan cursed inwardly, immediately giving up on the key and turning to retreat.

But it was already too late.

Gua! Gua! Gua!

Hundreds of Gargoyless, like black lightning, descended from the sky, diving toward Zhao Zihan!

Their speed was astonishing!

Moreover, they attacked from all directions, a full 360-degree assault with no blind spots!

Zhao Zihan's face turned pale instantly.

She knew she was surrounded and had nowhere to run!

"I have to fight!"

She gritted her teeth, a flash of determination in her eyes.

She stopped retreating, drew her bowstring, and fired at the Gargoyles diving the fastest!

Puchi!

The arrow accurately struck the Gargoyles's eye!

However, the Gargoyles merely shrieked, its body swaying for a moment before stabilizing, its sharp claws still lunging fiercely toward the crown of her head!

The vital spot of these monsters isn't the eyes!

Zhao Zihan's heart sank.

As she watched the sky full of sharp claws about to tear her to shreds,

at this critical juncture,

a familiar voice rang out in her mind.

It was Su Yuan!

[Emergency Quest: Wind Hunter]

[Quest Description: An excellent sniper should not be bound by the ground. Spread the wings of the wind and dance in the air.]

[Quest Reward: Temporary Skill: Winds Blessing]

With the quest's announcement, a cool current of air, like a gentle breeze,

suddenly appeared out of thin air, lightly lifting Zhao Zihan's body.

Her body became as light as a swallow.

With a light tap of her toes, she could float backward several meters!

"This..."

Zhao Zihan felt the marvelous change in her body, filled with both surprise and joy.

She had dodged the first wave of the Gargoyless' lethal siege!

"It's not over yet!"

Su Yuan's voice rang out again.

[Intelligence Support: The Gargoyless' core is at the joint where their wings meet their backs! That is their only weakness!]

The wing joints!

Zhao Zihan's eyes instantly lit up!

She looked at the Gargoyless pouncing toward her again, a confident curve appearing at the corner of her mouth.

"Now, it's my turn to fight back."

She took a deep breath. With the help of the Winds Blessing, she moved like the most elegant ballet dancer, shifting and dancing among the swarming Gargoyless in the air.

Every dodge perfectly evaded the lethal claws.

And the wind walker compound bow in her hand turned into the scythe of the Grim Reaper!

Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!

She no longer aimed but relied on her superhuman intuition, enhanced by the t-virus, to perform near-instinctive rapid shots!

Every arrow seemed to have eyes, accurately flying toward the wing joints of those Gargoyless!

Puchi! Puchi! Puchi!

One Gargoyles after another wailed in the air as their wings were pierced, falling from mid-air like kites with broken strings and smashing into piles of rubble on the ground!

"Seven Stars Aligned!"

After dodging another siege, Zhao Zihan seized an opening, took a deep breath, and used her ultimate secret technique!

She fired seven arrows in a single second!

The seven arrows actually formed a straight line in the air, like the legendary Big Dipper!

The target was the largest Gargoyles, clearly the leader!

The first arrow hit its left wing!

The second arrow hit its right wing!

The third, fourth, fifth, and sixth arrows blocked all its possible escape routes!

And the final arrow!

The seventh arrow!

Struck right between its eyes!

Although it couldn't deal a fatal blow, the massive impact caused it to let out a painful roar. Its crimson eyes were deeply slashed by the fletching of the arrow, temporarily blinding it!

"Now's the time!"

Zhao Zihan seized this chance, nocking another arrow—an explosive arrow—and firing it at the wing joint of the leader!

Boom!

A violent explosion rang out in mid-air!

The Gargoyles leader's proud stone wing was forcibly blown off!

It let out an unwilling wail, its massive body crashing heavily onto the altar.

With the fall of the leader, the remaining Gargoyless seemed to lose their backbone, letting out terrified screeches and scattering in all directions.

The battle was over.

Zhao Zihan landed on the ground, panting heavily, her face somewhat pale.

That sequence of extreme maneuvers just now had been a massive drain on her mental and physical strength.

But looking at the rubble all over the ground and the bone throne in the distance, a victorious smile appeared on her face.

She walked forward and firmly grasped the black key of death in her hand!

"Reporting to Captain! The 'key of life' has been obtained!"

..."Reporting to Captain! The 'key of death' has also been obtained!"

Almost at the same time, Wu Qiong and Zhao Zihan's voices rang out in the team channel.

"Great job!"

Wang Yi's voice also carried a hint of joy.

He had also just finished his battle and successfully obtained the sun key.

Guarding the Sun Altar was a group of elemental creatures called 'Sun Guards,' whose bodies were composed entirely of fire, making them immune to all physical attacks.

But before Wang Yi's lightning-wrapped fists, these elemental creatures were like they had met their natural enemy, being electrocuted into a disorganized mess.

All three keys had been collected!

"Return to the central hall immediately! Regroup!" Wang Yi ordered.

Ten minutes later.

The three teams, dragging their more or less exhausted bodies, met again in the magnificent central hall.

When Chen Hu saw that Wu Qiong and Zhang Wei were almost unscathed, with only their clothes a bit messy, his face—somewhat pale due to the Berserker aftereffects—was filled with envy.

"Holy crap! Did you guys go on a tour over there? How is there not a single injury?"

"Heh," Zhang Wei proudly patted the last piece of C4 remaining in his backpack, "This is technical work, not like you guys who only know how to kill and fight."

"What did you say?!" Chen Hu's stubborn temper flared up immediately.

"Alright, that's enough from both of you."

Wang Yi interrupted their daily bickering.

He looked at the gathered team members; although most were injured, not a single person had died, and he felt a sense of relief.

"Give me the keys."

Wu Qiong and Zhao Zihan handed the key of life and the key of death they had found to Wang Yi.

Wang Yi placed the three keys side by side.

The sun key was a golden Scarab emblem, emitting a scorching aura.

The key of life was a green Ankh cross, filled with the breath of life.

The key of death was a set of black scales, emitting a cold silence.

The moment the three keys were placed together, they suddenly resonated!

Buzz—

They all levitated simultaneously, slowly rotating in mid-air before merging together to form an ancient golden key emitting three different types of light.

[Obtained Key Item: Key to the Soul Altar]