Versatile Mage c1-2021, page 376
After Da Tong turned into a dried corpse under the crowd's gaze, it continued to turn dark like burned charcoal. His skin peeled off like gray ashes as the breeze swept past and scattered in the wind.
"This...this..." The Hunters froze.
Without a sign!
A man who was well alive a moment ago had died just like that!
"Da Tong!" Pan Jin yelled. He almost went crazy.
Dead, his brother who had fought alongside him for many years, had died a horrible death from an unknown cause!
"Captain, he might be poisoned. Your face is still stained with his blood, hurry up and wipe it..." The Hunter with a beard came over with a piece of cloth, yet his voice suddenly disappeared before he could finish.
The man with a beard was startled. He tried to say something, yet he could not make any noise.
It felt like his throat was stuck with phlegm. He subconsciously spat it out, yet it turned out to be black-colored blood. He spat it on the ground beside his foot. A small patch of grass immediately wilted when the blood made contact with it.
The man's face immediately turned pale...
"Big Beard!" Pan Jin immediately realized something.
"Gray Hand, Gray Hand!"
A few other teammates immediately realized Big Beard showing the same symptoms. The Healer called Gray Hand hurriedly made his way over.
Big Beard's throat was obviously throbbing as the black blood rose within it. The man immediately closed his mouth tight after what happened the first time. However, his throat continued to expand as if it was going to explode in any second!
"Ahhh!"
Finally, Big Beard could not hold it in further. The blood was spat a few meters high up into the air. The Hunters nearby immediately backed away.
Gray Hand quickly inspected Big Beard, yet not only did he fail to find the cause, he immediately felt terrified when he was soaked in the black blood.
The blood was pouring out rapidly. Big Beard fell backward onto the ground. He was exactly the same as Da Tong. His blood had turned black, and it kept pouring out from his mouth...
As he vomited up all the blood, his body began to dry up and darken.
A few minutes later, the rather muscular Big Beard had turned into a skinny, dried corpse, gradually turning into a piece of burned charcoal!
When the first person died, the others assumed that he had carelessly contracted some deadly poison or he had fallen victim to someone's poison. However, as the second person died the same death, they were immediately stricken with fear...
"Captain, captain, Li Ming is!..." a rookie Hunter came over in a panic to report something.
Captain Pan Jin immediately cleared a path heading toward Li Ming, yet his side glance caught a glimpse of the rookie opening his mouth without being able to say a word.
Pan Jin turned around and saw the rookie spitting out black-colored blood!
Everyone had yet to recover from witnessing Big Beard's death when the same scene happened once again, and this time, it was happening to a few people simultaneously!
Fear immediately spread among the crowd like a plague. The poison was spreading at a shocking rate. They initially thought an invisible demon was massacring them randomly, yet they quickly realized that there was more than one demon butchering among them, as more people began to vomit black blood!
Chapter 886 - The Demon's Nest
Translated by XephiZ
Edited by Aelryinth
"Leave, quick, leave this place!" yelled Pan Jin.
The number of people collapsing to the ground was still increasing. Everyone felt like they were going to be the next victim. Black blood stuck in their throat, turning into black charcoal and scattering in ashes. No one would want to end up like that!
The Magicians of the Golden Battle Hunters started fleeing, rushing toward the manor.
More people continued to fall as they were fleeing. There were more than twenty casualties already...
When they finally reached the barrier to run away from the random massacre of the invisible demon, they saw their leader Ge Ming stopping the people from leaving the ranches.
"Leader, we are under attack by something unknown. It seems it could spread through the air at a terrifying rate without any sign," Pan Jin's voice sounded like he was about to burst into tears.
He had been a Hunter for over ten years, fighting against lots of terrifying demon creatures and monsters, and had gotten used to seeing his comrades dying. However, he almost had a mental breakdown as he witnessed the unexplainable deaths of the people around him, dying as if they had all been poisoned. His only thought was to get his teammates away from the place!
Ge Ming stepped aside slightly to let Pan Jin see what was happening outside the barrier...
Black blood. The whole place was covered in black blood. The rather viscous liquid was flowing across the grassland outside the ranches, and had acc.u.mulated into a small pool following the slope.
One black corpse after another laid on the ground. When a random breeze swept past, their skin scattered in the air like flying ashes!
"Those who left the boundary of the ranches are all dead, not even a single survivor!" said Ge Ming to the people fleeing for their lives in a deep voice.
The Golden Battle Hunters had brought almost a thousand people. The group that conducted the operation at the manor only consisted of a small part. The remainder of the group was on standby outside the barrier, preventing the people of the Black Vatican from escaping after they were alerted. The ranches were quite spacious, so they needed quite a number of people to guard every direction.
When the people under Pan Jin's lead started vomiting black blood, the people outside were showed the same terrifying symptoms too! Some immediately backed off in fear, but those who stepped outside the boundary died in less than fifty steps...
As a result, the number of corpses that turned into black ashes outside the barrier was the highest. The black blood could already form a stream.
The leader Ge Ming almost lost his mind when that happened. The Golden Battle Hunters had more than a thousand people, yet almost four hundred had died already from some unknown cause. Almost half of their group was wiped out! Most terrifyingly, they had no idea what had killed them, and were clueless who the next victim was going to be. The ranches had suddenly turned into Hell with black corpses scattered across the place. On top of that, those who tried to run away would immediately fall victim to it...
"You can't leave, you must not go out there!" ordered Ge Ming sternly.
"I don't believe it, I can't wait and die here. Their deaths were too horrible. It must be a contagious disease spreading through air!" A female Hunter had totally lost her calm. She ran out of the barrier despite others' efforts trying to stop her.
Pan Jin wanted to stop her, but Ge Ming immediately grabbed onto him.
Pan Jin lowered his head and realized that he almost stepped outside the fence of the ranch. Meanwhile, the female Hunter had already run ten meters past...
"Ahhh!"
Fresh blood poured out from the woman's mouth. She finally halted in her tracks and tried to run back to the barrier!
Pan Jin watched her running in his direction while vomiting black blood. She desperately tried to scream as if she was asking for help, or begging the deadly unknown existence to spare her life.
However, as she reached the barrier, she collapsed to the ground, yet continued to crawl forward. Her hands, now covered in blood, grabbed onto the fence, trying to force her way in, as if she would be able to survive if she made it in.
Her body began to dry up. She finally moved past the tiny gap. Half her body was inside the barrier, but she had stopped moving.
Obviously, the deadly existence would not feel sorry for her just because she had realized her mistake in time. Half her body was stuck outside the fence as her skin gradually turned into black ashes...
Tears ran down Pan Jin's cheeks as he watched it happen. There was sorrow, pain, and terror!
No one could explain what was going on. It felt like everyone from the Golden Battle Hunters was being targeted by a demon visiting the mundane world. They were forced to obey the rules of the demon's game. No one was allowed to leave the circle it had drawn, yet everyone still had the chance to become its next target!
They could only hide in the cage and wait hopelessly until they were picked by the demon to be the next victim!
----
The sudden turn of events scared the guests of the manor to death. The whole place turned utterly chaotic, as the Hunters were not the only one falling victim to the strange curse, but the same thing was happening among the fifteen hundred visitors and the workers, although the rate of it happening was significantly lower than the Golden Battle Hunters. That being said, it was still extremely frightening!
The members of the Golden Battle Hunters realized that the same thing was happening to the guests at the manor, too. They were startled when they saw the guests running to the outside.
"Quick, stop them, set up the barrier! Don't let them cross the fences!" yelled Ge Ming. He immediately contacted the Hunters standing close to the fences around the ranches.
"Do we really have the time to care about them now?" said Pan Jin.
"What are you talking about? We are the ones that started this! If innocent lives are involved, the Golden Battle Hunters will be taking all the blame. We don't know how all of this is happening, but we can't simply watch them die, even if you are going to be the next victim!" snapped Ge Ming furiously.
Most people in the Hunter Group had gone through situations of life and death before. As the rate of death slowly decreased, the Hunters calmed down and stopped the terrified guests from leaving the ranches, and led them back to the manor.
Luckily, they had yet to withdraw the barrier and were able to use it to save many lives. Otherwise, the field outside the ranches would be covered in corpses!
"Leader, I think the poison has stopped!"
"A Magician managed to sneak out of the barrier just then, but he died not long after!"
"The poison must have stopped spreading, but leaving the ranches is still suicide. Ask everyone to calm down!" Ge Ming ordered his people amid the chaos.
The minds of many people had already gone blank from fear. They were simply following their instincts to stay alive, but in certain situations, it would cost them their lives. Pan Jin had to admit that he was quite impressed by how Ge Ming was able to remain calm in the current situation.
That being said, none of them was able to comprehend the situation.
It was supposed to be a carefully-planned operation to take down the Black Vatican, yet somehow, they had all ended up in a demon's nest!
Chapter 887 - The Source of the Poison, Part One
Translated by XephiZ
Edited by Aelryinth
----
Mo Fan had watched it all happen.
He could not help but admit that he too was terrified by what he saw. He was extremely cautious with every breath due to the fear that he might be the next person vomiting black blood!
"The odds of the Golden Battle Hunters contracting the poison are relatively higher. We should be relieved that there are more than a thousand people here. Based on the number of casualties, our odds of becoming the next victim are one percent," Lingling quickly inserted the information into her laptop.
"Unbelievable, how can you say that so calmly under the current circ.u.mstances?" Mu Ningxue looked at Lingling. She suddenly felt that the little girl was simply a monster.
Many a.d.u.l.ts around them had already wet their pants due in fear, yet Lingling was quietly observing it happen as if it was none of her business.
"This is bad, Lingling, we have really entered the Abyss of Death," Mo Fan said with a wry smile. He tried to think of Lingling's statement as her way of comforting them.
A chance of one percent, there's no way his luck could be that bad...
The problem was, when Mo Fan saw the victims vomiting black blood and their skin turning into black ashes, he could not convince himself that the odds were something he should be relieved about. What if everything was only the beginning?
He must admit that everything totally suited the Black Vatican's style, making their move without any signs beforehand, bringing death like a sudden storm. Even those who had gone through a lot in their lives would still suffer a mental breakdown.
"The poison seems to have stopped for now," said Mu Ningxue.
"I'm afraid it is only temporary," Lingling promptly said the unpleasant words.
"Do you have anything in mind? Is it some kind of curse?" asked Mo Fan.
Nothing made sense at all. How did everyone contract the poison so suddenly? Was it some kind of contagious disease spreading around the ranches?
However, how would that explain why the people would die instantly as soon as they stepped out of the ranches, and also why the deaths had stopped for now...
"If a curse is this strong, it must be the work of a Forbidden Magician," said Lingling.
Applying a curse to a single target was fairly simple. For example, the Demon Torture would strike a target once the appropriate Star Constellation was constructed. However, it was almost impossible for a single person to cast a curse on multiple targets!
"What should we do now?" asked Mu Ningxue.
"There's nothing we can do. Anyway, we can't afford to expose ourselves before we learn whether the poison can be applied to a specific target," Lingling told Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue in a soft voice.
It was obvious that the Golden Battle Hunters had infuriated the Black Vatican, and so the Black Vatican was trying to take revenge in return. Even the guests at the manor were in danger!
"What if they decide to kill all of us? We can't just sit here and do nothing," Mu Ningxue said worriedly.
She had finally witnessed the true cruelty and savagery of the Black Vatican today, finding herself in a situation where she could die of poison at any second. She was extremely cautious even when breathing.
The Golden Battle Hunters were keeping the situation under control. However, the uneasy atmosphere among the Hunters clearly implied that even they had no clue how to resolve the situation. Their communication devices were cut off, preventing them from contacting the outside world. Even if someone from the outside noticed that something had gone wrong, considering how fast the poison was spreading, most people would already be dead by the time help arrived.
"Wang Xuxu is missing, Wang Xuxu is missing..." Guo Wenyi cried out in a panic as she suddenly realized something.
"Yeah, where is Wang Xuxu? Zhao Pinlin, have you seen Wang Xuxu around?" asked Wang Bing.
Finding someone missing, considering the current circ.u.mstances, was the scariest thing.
"Who knows, I haven't seen her for the whole night. She said she was staying in her room as she was feeling uncomfortable. Wouldn't she be in her room still?" Zhao Pinlin answered curiously.
"Asshole, why didn't you look after her, if anything happened to her..." Rong Sheng was enraged. He almost went up to drag Zhao Pinlin's collars.
Zhao Pinlin pushed the enraged Rong Sheng away and said with a cold grin, "She locked herself in her room. What the heck can I do?"
"I've already looked, she wasn't in her room..." said Guo Wenyi.
"Don't tell me she has turned into one of those black corpses?" asked someone among the group.
Everyone was stunned. Rong Sheng and Guo Wenyi immediately snapped, "Stop talking nonsense, she will be fine!"
"We can't even identify the corpses, how can you be so sure?" said Zhao Pinlin.
"Why would you say something like that!" Rong Sheng totally lost himself. He was like an enraged beast, lunging at Zhao Pinlin.
The two immediately ended up in a fight. Rong Sheng was obviously a lot stronger than the nerdy Zhao Pinlin. He managed to leave a few bruises on the nerd.
The others immediately pulled the two away. Zhao Pinlin touched the bruises on his face and looked at his torn shirt. His eyes flickered viciously.
However, he did not act too obviously. He took a deep breath and left.
"Zhao Pinlin, where are you going?"
"Don't go somewhere else, it's too dangerous!" Wang Bing and the others tried to stop him.
"I'm going back to my room, stop bothering me!" shouted Zhao Pinlin furiously.
"Rong Sheng, what the heck are you thinking? Zhao Pinlin already said he didn't see Wang Xuxu the whole night, why would you still pick on him?"
"Alright, calm down, just be quiet. Are we seriously arguing among ourselves when we don't even know if we are going to be the next victims? Let's head over to the window. The Magic Association will send someone here to save us soon," someone immediately stepped forward to maintain order.
Everyone hid in the room with the French windows where they had first arrived at the manor. They all looked extremely pale.
"I'm feeling quite thirsty. Can we ask the butler to prepare some tea for us?" said a man.
"Who has the mood to serve you at a time like this? Everyone might end up like the corpses out there. It's contagious!" snapped Wang Bing coldly.
Lingling was still typing rapidly on her laptop. She was trying to organize the information she had gathered before and after the poison broke out, to find some clues about it. If they could not understand how they were poisoned, it was impossible for them to resolve the situation.
"Tea?" Mu Ningxue mumbled softly.
Lingling and Mo Fan raised their heads. They both assumed she was feeling thirsty and was trying to get something to drink. It was normal for anyone nervous to drink some water to ease their nerves.
"Mo Fan, Lingling, do you remember the black tea that the butler and Carly served us when we first arrived? They said it was a unique kind here," said Mu Ningxue.
"Do you think something is wrong with the tea?" Lingling asked quickly.
Mo Fan was startled, before he smilingly said, "I don't think so. Everyone here has drunk it, including those before us, but none of them were poisoned."
