41: The hunters have arrived to help; begin the counterattack!

Watching the heated discussion among the guild members on the team channel, Overlord Divine Bow let out a deep sigh.

"The Young Lord might have underestimated the enemy; White Emperor is truly strong!"

Overlord Divine Bow was an athlete in the real world, and his intuition regarding the strong was very sensitive.

For someone like White Emperor, falling behind in Rank for a while was completely inconsequential; his mechanics and reaction speed were what were truly monstrous.

However, the Overlord Guild's momentum was currently soaring, and Overlord Divine Bow didn't dare say anything that might have a negative impact at this time.

"Sigh, I hope White Emperor really does fade into obscurity."

"Swoosh!"

Four arrows were fired simultaneously into the air as Overlord Divine Bow continued to grind wild monsters.

"Ding! You have been affected by a Weakness effect. Your Casting Speed has been reduced by 50%."

"Ding! You have been affected by a Weakness effect. Your Magic Attack Power has been reduced by 50%."

The Black-Robed Man on the cliff wasn't just taking hits passively; while controlling the Demonized Gold-Swallowing Beast, he cast a beam of black light down at Lin Yue.

But he didn't expect that Lin Yue wouldn't be afraid at all. With a wave of his hand, he cast Purify, and all negative statuses were instantly cleared.

Faced with a four-star Purify, these Weakness buffs had no effect at all.

This Adventurer is a handful!

This was what the Black-Robed Man was thinking. For a mere Rank 11 opponent to be able to push him to this point... With the black mist in his hands as thick as ink, he had to quickly finish off the Auspicious Beast and then free up his hands to deal with Lin Yue.

The entire cave shook. Because the Black-Robed Man had increased his output, the Demonized Gold-Swallowing Beast's strength grew even more powerful. The Auspicious Beast, desperate to protect its child, had no power to fight back and let out scream after scream as it was beaten.

"Adventurer, how much longer? I can't hold on much longer!"

The Auspicious Beast's body was covered in huge, bone-deep scars as it rushed out of the cave and shouted.

The Demonized Gold-Swallowing Beast followed closely behind, its bloody maw wide open as it lunged to bite the Auspicious Beast's neck.

With another wail, the Auspicious Beast crashed to the ground, pinned down firmly by the Demonized Gold-Swallowing Beast, unable to move.

"This won't do. I still need at least a few more minutes."

Lin Yue was also getting anxious. Although his current damage included true damage, the Magic Shield was too thick; it would take some time to wear down the Black-Robed Man.

Seeing that the Auspicious Beast was about to fail, he knew that if it died, no one would know the location of the treasure of the gods.

"Adventurer, give up! Once the Auspicious Beast is dead, you will be caught in a pincer attack by me and the Demonized Gold-Swallowing Beast. You cannot win!"

As if seeing the dawn of victory, the Black-Robed Man let out a joyful laugh.

Boom!

The Black-Robed Man's response was a series of fireballs and lightning.

A fireball accurately struck the Black-Robed Man's chin. Although protected by the Magic Shield, he was still knocked off balance and almost fell off the cliff.

The Black-Robed Man steadied himself and angrily manipulated the black mist. "Adventurer, since you refuse the easy way, then just watch how the Auspicious Beast dies."

Lin Yue's expression remained cold.

The staff in his hand never stopped for a moment as he tried to find a flaw in the Magic Shield.

Golden blood continued to splatter, and the Auspicious Beast's aura grew weaker and weaker. It stared fixedly at the offspring it had nurtured, its heart filled with desolation.

Seeing that the Auspicious Beast was about to give out, Lin Yue planned to attack the Demonized Gold-Swallowing Beast first to save the Auspicious Beast.

However, before he could act, seven or eight arrows flew through the night sky toward the Demonized Gold-Swallowing Beast.

Explosive Arrow!

With a boom, the Demonized Gold-Swallowing Beast was knocked over, shaking its head in confusion, not knowing what had happened.

"Auspicious Beast, we've come to save you!"

The Hunter's voice rang out, and immediately after, other NPCs from the Novice Village followed behind him.

"What's going on?"

Lin Yue didn't react for a moment as a warm current suddenly surged through his body.

"Ding! You have received a buff from Nick, the Novice Village Mage. Your Casting Speed has been temporarily increased by 1."

"Ding! You have received a buff from Tiffany, the Novice Village Priest. Your Magic Attack has been temporarily increased by 50%."

...A series of colorful lights covered his body. Lin Yue's Casting Speed, Magic Attack, Critical Hit, Accuracy, and several other attributes all received temporary buffs.

The Auspicious Beast's large eyes widened as it looked incredulously at the dozen or so NPCs that had appeared. "You all..."

The Priest quickly cast a Heal on the Auspicious Beast. "We've come to save you."

The Hunter drew his bow and continued to fire at the Demonized Gold-Swallowing Beast. "The commotion on the mountain was so loud that we heard it from below long ago."

Ignoring the pain all over its body, the Auspicious Beast rolled over and pinned down the Demonized Gold-Swallowing Beast, then said, "Go help the Adventurer; I can hold out here."

Now with the help of over a dozen NPCs, Lin Yue's attacks became even more precise. With a Casting Speed of 5.0, the rate of his fireballs was comparable to a Gatling gun.

The Hunter's Multi-Shot, the Mage's Frost Spell, the Priest's Light Orb, and all the other attacks rained down on the Black-Robed Man like a torrential storm.

"None of you will leave here alive!"

Being focused down by everyone's attacks, the Black-Robed Man finally couldn't take it anymore. He directly abandoned his control over the Demonized Gold-Swallowing Beast to deal with Lin Yue and the NPCs with all his might.

Demonization!

He threw back his black robes, and over a dozen streams of black mist erupted, sweeping toward everyone in the valley.

"Be careful, you'll be demonized!"

Lin Yue warned. This wasn't the first time he had seen NPCs corrupted and demonized by the black mist. If these dozen or so streams of black mist demonized the Novice Village NPCs, it would be disastrous.

Radiant Shield!

Tiffany the Priest activated her skill, and immediately, all the NPCs, including Lin Yue, were enveloped in a layer of shimmering white shields.

As soon as the black mist touched the Radiant Shield, it was dissolved and obliterated, leaving not even a trace behind.

The Black-Robed Man on the cliff nearly had his eyes pop out of his head. His invincible black mist had actually been countered. While shocked, fear began to grow in his heart.

"I didn't expect that a tiny Novice Village would be such a hidden den of experts, even having a Priest who knows Light Magic."

"Evil creature, don't even think about controlling everyone!"

Tiffany the Priest's body glowed intensely, as warm as a breeze and full of heroic spirit.

So cool!

Lin Yue also cast an Eye of Insight over and discovered that the Priest was the most impressive NPC in the crowd—a Rank 15 Priest, an existence comparable to the Village Chief.

Explosive Flame, Lightning Spell, Multi-Shot, Explosive Arrows, Light Orbs... In the moment the Black-Robed Man was dazed, the torrential magical attacks fell again, and even his protective Intermediate Magic Shield began to show a crack.

If he kept fighting, he really would fall here.

The Black-Robed Man became increasingly alarmed as he fought. Since even Demonization was useless, his only option was to flee.

Thinking of this, the Black-Robed Man decisively gave up the struggle, planning to leave the valley before the Magic Shield broke.

However, just as he turned around, his pupils suddenly constricted. He had a very bad feeling.

"Where are you going? You minion of the Demon God, how dare you bully our village's Auspicious Beast. Have you asked for my opinion as the Village Chief?"

At the top of the valley, the white-bearded Old Village Chief stood with the Blacksmith and the Apothecary, looking down at the Black-Robed Man with a smile.