It wasn’t surprising that there were a few abnormally powerful individuals capable of fighting above their rank among the two-hundred-plus Apostles participating in the Domination War, since they were all elite Elf Apostles.
Actually, within this Domination War zone Qin Lun was in, there was more than just one or two such abnormally powerful individuals who could fight above their rank. Even among Novice Apostles, there were differences. Compared to so Apostles who were on the verge of advancing to the Second Order, a little guy like Qin Lun, who had just stepped into a profession, had a significant gap in both quality and quantity of personal skills.
To be honest, Qin Lun could at best be considered mid-tier among these two-hundred-plus elite Novice Apostles. This was exactly why Mafa had advised him not to take part in the Domination War originally.
After all, he had only gone through four Otherworld Missions. Even with substantial gains each ti, it only leveled the playing field against the average Novice Apostles in terms of accumulation. Compared to other elite Apostles, his gap in personal skills and equipnt remained wide.
Especially concerning professional skills. While Clock Eye, Pentagram Crystal Mirror, and Detection Aura were powerful, they were rely support skills. His true combat abilities rested solely on Combat Gunmanship and three low-level gun skills.
If it weren’t for the formidable power of Burial of Light and Darkness, many elite Apostles here could simply ignore his attacks and trade blows directly. It would have been like the choice that one-eyed sniper made back then. That sniper had mistakenly believed Qin Lun was a close-combat focused Magic Warrior, leading to him losing the initiative in the gunfight and being suppressed to death.
Had he faced opponents like Long Feng or that Assassin capable of cross-rank challenges, Qin Lun’s chances of winning would have been much slimr. Of course, this deduction excluded the Serial Killer using other underhanded tactics.
…
“So, this is what they call a Treasure Map Fragnt?” A beautiful young woman dressed in a white judo uniform squinted her eyes, holding the scrap of paper up to the sunlight. “Huh? There are actually white lines inside!”
Cough, cough. “Ahem… can we leave now?” Two apostles exchanged a look, slowly backing away.
“Go on, go on… wait! Get back here, both of you!” The two hadn’t retreated far when the young woman’s eyes suddenly darted, calling them to a halt.
“Miss nlo, what else? We really don’t have any more Treasure Map Fragnts on us!” Staring at the young woman, hands on hips, glaring fiercely at them, these two Apostles finally wilted, adopting the expressions of bullied victims.
It wasn’t that these two lacked the backbone expected of elite Apostles. It was simply that this judogi-clad beauty was a uniquely notorious, fiendish existence in their Apostle City – Tyrant City.
This young lady had an older brother, the Leader of one of Tyrant City’s top three major teams. But when people ntioned this leader, they always spoke of him as ‘nlo’s older brother’ first, rather than the Leader of such-and-such major team. In other words, within Tyrant City, the na ‘nlo’ held more weight than that of a Legendary Apostle.
Outsiders would likely struggle to understand the nuances, but imagine soone who persistently challenges others to bets in the Arena of an Apostle City, year after year, starting out without a single win but ultimately becoming undefeated against anyone of the sa rank. Soone who feels restless all over if they don’t fight at least five or six bouts every day. Such a person could definitely achieve nlo’s level of influence.
That’s right. nlo was that kind of battle maniac. Any Novice Apostle still in Tyrant City, if they ever set foot in the Arena, had surely suffered defeat at this young lady’s hands. nlo also had a nasty habit: the path to her victory always involved fists connecting solidly with flesh; she wouldn’t stop until she was satisfied.
Therefore, when these two Novice Apostles from Tyrant City found themselves blocked by this young lady, they felt utterly hopeless. Just as they were about to voluntarily undo their Invitation Letters, nlo surprisingly let them go, demanding only their Treasure Map Fragnts.
These two were smart enough; they didn’t dare argue and instantly handed over the three map fragnts they possessed. However, both knew that Young Lady nlo, besides loving to beat people up, had another bad habit: she loved leaving things half-finished. Until the very end, you weren’t truly off the hook.
“Tsk, look at the pitiful state of you two, no future here.” nlo puffed out her chest – unfortunately, her chest was too flat to reveal any curve no matter how she tried. “This Grandma will elevate you today. Go lure those folks holding Treasure Map Fragnts here. Hehe, Grandma’s going big this ti!”
“Huh?” The two Tyrant City Apostles froze for a second, looking troubled. “Miss nlo, the honor is ours if you want us as bait… But we genuinely don’t know who has the fragnts. Acting too boldly will attract unwanted attention!”
“Mhmm, no problem, Grandma’s itching for a fight. How about five at a ti? Don’t overload the plate! Do it a few tis, we’re bound to get sothing!” nlo waved a hand dismissively, radiating a rogue-ish air. “Relax, after we deal with them, you’ll get a cut. We’ll split it fifty-fifty: I get five, you two get two!”
Did ‘twenty-one divided to make five’ calculate like that? The two Apostles exchanged an impassive glance. However, their hearts quickly grew excited. nlo’s strength was clear to them. Taking five alone wasn’t possible – this wasn’t Tyrant City. But with their assistance as well, it should be no problem at all.
Besides, even if nlo took the lion’s share of the profit, having this young lady as their shield ant their risks in this Domination War would plumt. It was a safe bet with no loss. Where else would they find such a sweet deal?
…
“Dammit! Only the fifth one finally gave
a Treasure Map Fragnt! This drop rate is even worse than a Lololoth ga!” A burly, bare-chested man with a gleaming bald head and an oily sheen rubbed his head roughly as he spoke.
This strapping bald man wore only an animal-skin loincloth; even his bare feet were exposed. Apostles participating in the Domination War generally kept their Storage Space closed. Judging by his appearance, this big man seed to have brought only one piece of Apostle equipnt. And that assud the loincloth he used for decency was Apostle gear.
Scattered haphazardly around the bald man were at least five or six Apostle corpses. Strangest of all, the injuries on the bodies seed characteristic of self-infliction. For instance, the one using a gun looked like he was shot by bullets. The swordsman appeared to have suffered multiple sword wounds. The hand-to-hand fighter had it worst; his whole body was swollen purple and bruised.
Compared to the bald strongman’s gleaming bronze skin and near-naked look, this scene inevitably gave an impression of extre, unsettling weirdness.
…
Thud! Accompanied by a high-pitched shriek, a long spear flew fast from the distance, piercing through the back of an Apostle sprinting desperately away. It pinned him firmly to the trunk of a large tree.
Clip-clop, clip-clop… A rhythmic sound of hooves approached steadily from afar. A knight in plate armor, riding a tall warhorse clad in full barding, slowly ambled closer.
Leaning down, the knight grasped the spear’s shaft firmly with one gauntleted hand and yanked the weapon free from the tree. With a casual flick downward, the knight shook the droplets of adhering blood from the spearhead. The Apostle who’d been pinned to the tree slumped lifelessly to the ground. Blood gushed from his mouth; while not yet dead, he was clearly close to the end.
“You… War Shackles!” Barely clinging to life, the Apostle raised a trembling finger, his eyes revealing a sliver of desperate entreaty.
“Hand over the Treasure Map Fragnt, and I’ll give you the chance to undo your Invitation Letter voluntarily,” ca an unexpectedly crisp and cold female voice from behind the knight’s helt.
“Okay…” A glimr of desperate hope flickered in the Apostle’s eyes. His trembling hand fumbled inside his robe, pulling out a small piece of paper. But before he could place it onto the knight’s offered spear, his gaze unfocused, and he expelled his final breath.
“Dead? So unlucky!” The knight spat in mild surprise. She removed her helt, shaking out a cascade of golden hair tied in a ponytail. She pushed an errant lock away from her ear and gazed towards the slowly darkening horizon.
…
“Surrender the Treasure Map Fragnts, and I’ll spare your lives!”
Within the confines of a small clearing, a chaotic battle raged between seven figures. Strangely, only about half of these figures looked human; the other three were creatures seemingly made of tal, yet not entirely tallic. Judging by the flow of the fight, these three monsters seed to hold the overwhelming advantage.
That arrogant demand had just been issued by the most massive of the three tallic monstrosities.
“Bullshit, Yao Yin! If we can’t win, we’ll just escape. See how you, a re Puppet Master, chase all four of us!” A burly man among the four Apostles, grinding his teeth, retorted sharply. “And to think we even considered cooperating with you! Didn’t expect you were set on betrayal all along!”
“Cooperation? Since when do lions cooperate with ants?” A tallic, grating voice resonated from the monster once more. “You should have fled earlier. Now it’s too late. Look around!”
As the Puppet Master finished speaking, the periter of the small clearing was silently encircled by seven or eight swift-moving Wolf-type and Panther-type puppets. The chilling red light emanating from the eyes of these nurous puppets caused the four Apostles’ faces to finally blanch with fear.
Puppets held one advantage over summoned creatures: as long as materials were sufficient, their rank faced almost no restrictions. Yet puppets remained puppets. Even with artificial intelligence installed, they lacked the innate cleverness of summoned creatures and required constant, extensive control by the Puppet Master.
The Puppet Master’s limitation lay not in the quality of their puppets, but in how many they could simultaneously control. If a Puppet Master mastered controlling one puppet with Elite Apostle-level precision, then each additional puppet effectively doubled their combat power.
This Puppet Master before them, Yao Yin, commanded three lee puppets capable of holding their ground against four elite Apostles. Moreover, Yao Yin had silently laid this trap. Even if these beast-shaped puppets lacked the fluid Agility of the humanoid ones, their sheer numbers clearly granted Yao Yin the power to challenge opponents above his rank.
…
Similar events continually erupted throughout this area of the Domination War. Had Qin Lun known his plan would attract such a terrifying array of abnormal monsters, he might truly have reconsidered going through with it. Given the current trend, even if only twenty or thirty Apostles remained in this zone at the end, Qin Lun would likely still be the weakest amongst them.
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