281: Chapter 282 Interesting Props

Since Lin Muyang had already activated the universal Language Translation Aura for Alice, the conversation between those few Atlantis World Class Transferees was clearly transmitted into his consciousness and automatically understood.

"They're actually a group of... tomb robbers?" Lin Muyang felt a hint of surprise.

The remains of Vampires actually had such a use? They could be used to refine high-level items? This perhaps explained why Alice's clan had been subjected to such a thorough purging. The drive of profit was often more persistent and lethal than simple fear or hatred.

However, no matter what these people's purpose was, since they had set their sights on this ancient castle—Alice's only remaining ancestral land and home—he absolutely could not let them succeed or allow them to destroy and desecrate the graves.

"No need for warnings. Resolve it directly, leave no survivors," Lin Muyang issued a concise command to Alice through their soul link.

In fact, even without Lin Muyang's orders, when Alice saw with her own eyes and heard with her own ears the conversation of this group, a cold and surging rage had already risen in her heart. She finally understood why humans had launched a near-extinctive hunt against her clan. It wasn't just out of fear and so-called purification, but because her clansmen, even the shells they left behind after death, were viewed by humans as precious materials!

This slaughter and plunder rooted in greed was the fundamental reason why the Vampire race had withered away, forcing her ancestors to huddle in this sunless underground like rats, and ultimately leaving even this last refuge on the verge of being lost!

All of this was intolerable to Alice. Even without Lin Muyang's command, she would never let these greedy people go—those who defiled her ancestral land and coveted the remains of her ancestors.

Almost the instant Lin Muyang's voice fell, Alice made her move.

She remained in a state of perfect Divine Concealment, floating in the dim mid-air like an invisible judge. She elegantly raised her right hand and lightly clenched it toward the several Class Transferees gathered together, who were currently excited by the hope of successfully cracking the barrier.

[Black Hole Vortex]!

In an instant, the area where those five people stood saw space abruptly collapse inward! A pitch-black vortex over ten meters in diameter, emitting a terrifying suction force, was generated out of thin air! Violent dark energy gathered and spun crazily like a miniature black hole, seeking to swallow and crush all matter and energy within its range! The air let out a sharp hiss, and the rubble and dust on the ground were easily swept up and sucked into that endless dark center.

Immediately after, Alice joined her fingers like a blade with her left hand and swung forward.

[Blood Shadow Flying Dagger]!

Over a hundred slender, crimson light-shadows, moving at extreme speeds like an enraged swarm of bees, burst forth from the void beside her! They sliced through the dim light of the underground space with ear-piercing whistles, accurately shrouding the five Class Transferees from different angles—those who were already struggling to remain steady and showing looks of horror due to the pull of the Black Hole Vortex!

With Alice performing this two-move combo through the link trait, although the effect was 30% lower than the original version, under the terrifying stacking of Lin Muyang's full set of God-Tier Auras and Elena's class effects, its actual power was not at all inferior to the original!

Lin Muyang's perspective was synchronized with Alice's as he calmly analyzed the combat situation.

"The level of these people's Auras isn't weak... but compared to the Nation-Guarding Level Experts of Blue Star, they seem a bit lacking in both energy condensation and combat awareness. The best equipment on them is only legendary-grade at most; there's no Aura of the mythic grade."

"It seems that even in the Atlantis World, which has developed for hundreds of years, top-tier resources are still monopolized by a few powerful individuals and factions. For ordinary Class Transferees, even if they reach a high level, obtaining mythic grade equipment or skills is incredibly difficult."

This discovery gave Lin Muyang a preliminary concept of the power distribution in the Atlantis World. Concentrated resources and solidified social strata perhaps meant that the gap between top-tier experts and ordinary experts would be massive.

At this moment, facing Alice's sudden lethal strike, the reaction of those five Class Transferees also confirmed part of Lin Muyang's judgment.

The appearance of the Black Hole Vortex caused all their faces to change color.

"Enemy attack! Watch out!" The lean leader was the first to react, shouting sharply while several layers of shield light lit up on his body.

"It's a black hole type skill! The level is super high, it has forced attraction and magic-breaking effects!" the woman in the mage robes cried out in terror; she could feel the annihilation power contained within that vortex, which made her mana sluggish.

"Use the najie talisman! Fast!" the burly man carrying a battle-axe roared. Without hesitation, he pulled a scroll-like item flashing with complex ice-blue runes from his bosom, injected spiritual power, and threw it fiercely toward the center of the Black Hole Vortex!

The item called the najie talisman was activated the moment it was thrown, erupting with intense spatial fluctuations! It didn't directly attack the Black Hole Vortex but instead tore open an unstable spatial rift about two meters long in front of the vortex! Inside the rift was chaotic void turbulence, generating a peculiar, directional suction force!

This suction force didn't oppose the Black Hole Vortex but cleverly guided it! The raging Black Hole Vortex saw part of its energy and pulling force forcibly diverted and swallowed by this spatial rift! The originally stable and expanding vortex instantly became violently distorted and fluctuated, its scale shrinking at a speed visible to the naked eye, its power greatly reduced!

"Oh? That's a bit interesting." Lin Muyang's eyes flickered slightly. The principle of this najie talisman seemed to be creating a temporary spatial gap to absorb or deflect specific energy attacks. If used properly, it could indeed counter many large-scale energy-type skills, including the Black Hole Vortex.

Unfortunately, the enemy they faced did not have a singular means of attack, and the speed exceeded their reaction limits.

Just as they breathed a slight sigh of relief for temporarily suppressing the Black Hole Vortex and had their attention drawn away, those hundred-plus crimson Blood Shadow Flying Daggers had already arrived before them!

Too fast!

So fast that they had only just seen the red light flash when the flying daggers had already penetrated the shields and armor they had hastily propped up; they didn't even have time to make an effective dodge or block!

"Puchi!" "Chila!" "Ugh—!"

The muffled sounds of sharp weapons piercing flesh and short screams rang out almost simultaneously.

The movements of the five people froze at the same time. They lowered their heads, looking in disbelief at the terrifying puncture wounds suddenly appearing on their chests, necks, or foreheads, which were gurgling blood. Those flying daggers were not only incredibly fast, but their Penetration power was even more unimaginably strong; the defenses on their bodies, which were sufficient to withstand several attacks from experts of the same level, were like paper before the flying daggers.

Vitality rapidly drained away with their blood, and their consciousness fell into darkness. Until death, they were unable to see where the attack came from, never even seeing a shadow of the enemy.

Five corpses fell powerlessly from mid-air, hitting the dust and rubble-strewn ground in front of the castle with dull thuds. The squad that was just dreaming of making a fortune was wiped out in an instant.

The battle ended cleanly and efficiently; it could hardly even be called a battle, but rather a one-sided, crushing execution.

"The advantage brought by attribute suppression is demonstrated vividly in this kind of encounter," Lin Muyang summarized in his mind. "Skills like Black Hole Vortex that require a brief gathering of energy are easily targeted by special items or fast reactions. But physical attacks like Blood Shadow Flying Dagger, which rely purely on speed and Penetration—under an absolute speed advantage, the opponent doesn't even have the chance to use items or skills."

Speed, in many cases, was the key to victory or defeat.

His attention was then drawn to the najie talisman used by the burly man. After being used, the spatial rift it created had slowly closed and disappeared, leaving only a tiny bit of residual spatial fluctuation.

"The items on them have some research value. Especially that najie talisman," Lin Muyang said to Alice. "First 'resurrect' one of them to ask about the origin and usage of this thing, and have them hand over all the valuable items on them."

"Understood, Master," Alice responded softly. She felt no mercy for these tomb robbers who coveted her ancestral graves.

Still invisible, she drifted down beside the five corpses. Her gaze swept over them and selected the burly man who had initially used the najie talisman. She raised her fair palm and made a phantom clenching motion toward the man's corpse with her five fingers.

A deep, icy power of laws, as if originating from the depths of the Nine Serenity, flowed out from Alice's hand and enveloped the burly man's corpse. This was the talent skill [Yamas Life Extension] from Gui Wanwan!

Under the link trait, Alice could likewise use this eerie skill involving the laws of life and death. The hideous wound on the burly man's chest, pierced by the Blood Shadow Flying Dagger, actually wriggled and healed at a speed visible to the naked eye! A hint of color quickly returned to his pale, deathly face, though it remained as white as paper.

"Cough... cough cough!" The burly man suddenly snapped his eyes open and began to cough violently, coughing up black clotted blood. His eyes were first vacant, then quickly filled with boundless terror. He struggled to sit up, finding himself sitting among the corpses of his companions; though his chest was no longer bleeding, waves of hollow, sharp pain and an indescribable sense of weakness washed over him.

"I... I'm not dead? No... I clearly..." He spoke incoherently, looking around in a panic. The ancient castle still stood silently, and the dim underground space was terrifyingly quiet; besides himself and the corpses covering the ground, not another living thing could be seen.

But that cold, oppressive feeling—as if being watched by a prehistoric behemoth, like thorns at his back—was everywhere.

"Who?! Who's there?!" He began to howl hoarsely, his voice distorted by fear. "Come out! If you have the guts, come out!"