Versatile Mage c1-2021, page 638
Mo Fan had met the Enforcer before. He was one of He Feikun's associates, who had come to bring the mentally-unstable old herdsman away.
Mo Fan was clear on the overall strength of He Feikun's squad. If they were thinking of taking out this force of the Black Vatican led by Violet Ghost on their own, they were most likely going to be wiped out instead!
As such, Mo Fan did not expose them to set them up. He was saving their lives! Violet Ghost was no weaker than him, and had four other Blue Deacons with him, including Blue Bat, whose strength remained unknown, not to mention around a hundred Black Clergy. He Feikun would only stand a chance if he brought along a Vice Elder of the Enforcement Union. Otherwise, he was only going to get himself killed!
---
"What are you looking for?" an eerie voice appeared behind Jiang Lin. He quickly turned around in a cold sweat.
He saw a man in a blue outfit, their face full of scars. Most importantly, it felt like something was grabbing onto him firmly. His mouth was covered by two hands, preventing him from screaming for help...
When Jiang Lin stopped panicking, he was shocked to see that his own shadow was grabbing onto him!
-What kind of ability is this?- Jiang Lin had never seen an ability like this before. He stared at the Blue Deacon with wide eyes. He could feel his death approaching.
"Don't panic, listen to me carefully," Mo Fan smiled. He knew the smile on his current face would not seem too friendly, nor was it any convincing, but this was where his temperament came into play. He believed he could explain the situation to the man in the shortest time possible, "You're with He Feikun, right? I'm the Tree of Oath."
"Tree of Oath?" Jiang Lin was astounded when he heard the name.
The Tree of Oath was the Enforcement Union's secret code. Even though there was a chance that the Black Vatican had figured it out somehow, the mention of the name could still ease the atmosphere slightly.
"You do know that it's very easy for me to kill you," Mo Fan continued calmly.
Jiang Lin nodded. He believed in his instincts. If his shadow stabbed him with its claws, he could not even struggle. He was an Advanced Mage, but he had a feeling that the man could kill him as easy as the flip of his hand!
"How many men do you have?" Mo Fan asked.
"He Feikun is in charge; there are three Enforcers, including me, and ten other members of the Enforcement Union," Jiang Lin said honestly.
"It's not enough. The enemy has more, and Violet Ghost is among them, too. Take your men and leave, I'll stay on the trail," Mo Fan said.
Mo Fan had two plans in mind. If the Enforcement Union had enough people, he would immediately lead them to Violet Ghost and take the Black Vatican out. He would then put up an act and save both Violet Ghost and Blue Bat so they would lead him to the Chief Extraditor and Unas, who were the closest to the Cold Prince.
If the Enforcement Union's numbers were not enough, Mo Fan would advise them to leave. First, they would only end up dying if they were to engage the enemy. Second, he had already earned Violet Ghost's trust. This group of the Black Vatican was only a part of the conspiracy. Taking them out now might even mess up his plan!
"What should I tell He Feikun? He's a very impatient guy," Jiang Lin said.
"He's an idiot. It's only going to mess up the whole operation. Tell him the Black Vatican isn't here. They had already withdrawn when you arrived," Mo Fan told him.
Jiang Lin nodded. If he told He Feikun everything, the man would never believe what Mo Fan said. He would lead his men and come here right away. Jiang Lin had worked with He Feikun for a long time, and was extremely familiar with his character. Mo Fan had also met He Feikun at the hospital. He knew how stubborn and arrogant the man was, definitely not the kind to achieve great things.
"May I ask who you are… you must be one of the respectful seniors if you managed to sneak into the Black Vatican as a Blue Deacon?" Jiang Lin asked.
Mo Fan shook his head with a wry smile.
Mo Fan was just a nobody. Taking the identity of Northdeer was made possible by sacrificing endless lives. Even Leng Qing, an Elder of the Enforcement Union, had 'died' to preserve it. Mo Fan only happened to be the last person receiving the baton. The people might cheer him for making it to the finishing line, but they would completely forget about the others that were panting heavily while lying on the spots where they passed on the baton.
"What is happening in the east?" Mo Fan asked as he recalled something.
"We don't know either. Our superiors ordered us to work together with the Preventive Committee and deal with the members of the Black Vatican that are hiding here. However, during this period, many fortresses have dispatched their troops to the east. Senior, what's happening here?" Jiang Lin asked.
"We only found out that the Black Vatican is Summoning creatures from the Underworld to invade our land… yet the majority of the troops are being sent east, where a great storm is coming, further weakening our defense. Speaking of adding hail to snow!" Mo Fan sighed.
Mo Fan was angry, too. The information he had gathered was enough to prove that the Cold Prince was up to something, yet the backup he requested never arrived. The members of the Enforcement Union that had been sent here were clearly nowhere enough!
It was like a rat plague was about to happen. The streets were already crawling with rats, but not only was the government reluctant to act, the authorities were placing their attention somewhere else instead. How could he not be disappointed?
However, how could Mo Fan withdraw after learning what was happening?
His face was calm, but his rage had erupted like a volcano when he learned how the Black Vatican had brutally massacred the people of the Qiqige Tribe, let alone the slaughter they were planning to bring to the cities warded by the Northguard Fortress!
There was no backup and response from the authorities. If he gave up, the whole land would turn into Hell. The people being evacuated to Feihuang City would be trampled to death by the creatures of the Underworld!
Mo Fan might be disappointed, but he had no choice but to clench his teeth and stay on the trail. Once he was done here, he swore he would punch the cold-hearted authorities in the face!
"Don't tell anyone you saw me," Mo Fan said.
Jiang Lin nodded. He knew not everyone in the Enforcement Union was trustworthy.
"Can you please pass on a message to Commander Zhang Xiaohou at the Ancient Capital? Tell him to convince the remaining army in the North Valley to hold their line of defense at all costs," Mo Fan said.
"I give you my word, senior...senior, is the situation really that serious?" Jiang Lin asked seriously.
The line of defense at the North Valley...
The scale of the battle sounded like nothing he had been through. He could not help but doubt if the Black Vatican could really stir up something so crazy.
"I really don't want to see an entire city stacked up with dead bodies again," Mo Fan replied.
"Is senior a survivor of the Ancient Capital? Senior, don't you worry, we will not let the Black Vatican get its way, I swear on my life!" Jiang Lin swore.
Mo Fan was slightly relieved after seeing Jiang Lin's determination. It turned out that he was not fighting a lone battle, after all!
"I'll be going," Mo Fan said.
"Take care, senior," Jiang Lin replied.
"You too."
The darker the journey ahead, the more precious it was to find a companion along the way. Mo Fan had no idea if he would see the Enforcer again.
---
Mo Fan stumbled into Blue Bat on his way back.
Blue Bat looked at Mo Fan and asked, "Where is the guy?"
"There, mixed up with the soil. You want to take a look?" Mo Fan asked.
"Violet Ghost told you to stay put!" Blue Bat was displeased by Mo Fan's carelessness.
"Oh, I might consider listening to that if it came from you," Mo Fan replied.
Blue Bat could not react for a moment. She quickly dodged Mo Fan's gaze after calming down and changed the topic, "Let's go; the guy is most likely the Enforcement Union's scout. Things are going to be troublesome when they realize he's dead!"
"It's fine, I'll kill them all when they come," Mo Fan replied.
"Humph, did you forget that you were almost eaten by the condors?" Blue Bat said.
"I admit that I couldn't take the guy on, but one day, I'll hang him on a cliff and let the condors eat him slowly while he is still wide awake!" Mo Fan promised.
Blue Bat had already gotten used to how bombastic a person Mo Fan was. She simply ignored him and did not even bother checking the 'remains' of the Enforcer, quickly leaving with Mo Fan.
Meanwhile, Mo Fan was having a weird feeling, too. He bet not many people could curse themselves so descriptively and blatantly like him!
Chapter 1372 - I Dare to Stop the Ruler-level Creatures, Too!
Translated by XephiZ
Edited by Aelryinth
The Northguard Fortress...
As the ancient wall disappeared, the Yoked carried out their new wave of attacks.
The soldiers of the Northguard Fortress had no choice but to face the Yoked head-on. Many Mages had to go down the wall and hope they could survive while being surrounded by the Yoked.
They had to send someone to destroy the Cursed Runes that were enhancing the Yoked's defenses. Otherwise, even Advanced Spells were not enough to kill the Yoked!
To do that, the Mages with the Wind Element, Shadow Element, and Earth Element had to sneak into the enemy's army, resulting in lots of casualties. The majority of them never returned. They were either intercepted by the Yoked or dragged away by the Underworld Monarch Frog's tongue when they accidentally got too close to the creature.
Several Advanced Mages died to the Underworld Monarch Frog. The soldiers of the Northguard Fortress had no choice but to risk their lives just to keep the army of undead at bay.
"Watch for the Yoked with several layers of Runes on them. They are the key targets!" Zhao Manyan yelled.
Many soldiers had died in the first wave. Zhao Manyan had volunteered to help; he could not sit back, knowing they were short on numbers.
He was now with the troop entrusted with taking out the Yoked who were distributing the Runes!
Lingling's analysis and observation discerned that there were two kinds of the Yoked. One was the Yoked that received the defensive Runes from the Underworld Monarch Frog. The other kind were Runic Yoked, who were distributing the defensive Runes to the rest of the Yoked through the chains.
In other words, the Underworld Monarch Frog could not directly transfer the defensive runes to the Yoked at the front. It could only transfer the Runes to the Runic Yoked, and let them distribute the Runes to the rest of the Yoked.
It was a great weakness of the Underworld Monarch Frog. In other words, even without relying on the ancient walls, they just had to kill the Runic Yoked first, and the rest of the Yoked would turn into ordinary Warrior-level creatures. They would then be vulnerable to the magic blasts and the Advanced Spells.
The Runic Yoked's defense was not enhanced by the defensive Runes, so it was possible to kill them. Unfortunately, most of these Runic Yoked were very close to the Underworld Monarch Frog, so when the Mages were close enough to attack the Runic Yoked, they were also within the attack range of the Underworld Monarch Frog! It was difficult to keep track of the range. Many Mages had already died!
Zhao Manyan also had an unyielding spirit too. He had volunteered to join the front line and drive the Underworld Monarch Frog back to the Underworld at all costs.
In terms of defense, Zhao Manyan was clearly no weaker than the Yoked strengthened by the defensive Runes. Most importantly, despite their outstanding defense, the Yoked's attacks were only average. If both sides were similarly sturdy, why would they bother wasting their time on the Yoked?
As a result, the troop that Zhao Manyan was in managed to break through the Yoked's defense and go right at the Runic Yoked hiding at the back of the army.
"I'll attract the Underworld Monarch Frog's attention. Get it done as quickly as possible!" Commander Bin Wei was fighting in the front line now. She used the demon lilies to move through the air and approach the Underworld Monarch Frog rapidly.
The Underworld Monarch Frog's eyes bulged from their sockets. Similar to true frogs, it had bad eyesight. It could only see things that were moving quickly.
Its eyes rolled upward, obviously watching Bin Wei. It suddenly flicked its tongue out and snapped a huge demon lily in half!
Bin Wei crossed her hands in front of her and pulled her fingers apart gently.
Something was moving in the air. It was completely transparent initially, but barely visible when the dust swept past. Countless vines scattered above the Underworld Monarch Frog. Poisonous and thorned, the vines grew rapidly as soon as they made contact with the Underworld Monarch Frog. They completely covered the monster, who was like a small mountain of flesh, in an instant!
The Underworld Monarch Frog let out a loud croak and shook itself. It shattered the thorny vines to pieces with ease. The vines were clearly not strong enough to penetrate the Underworld Monarch Frog's body. If the vines could inject their poison into the Underworld Monarch Frog, they would paralyze the creature temporarily.
The Underworld Monarch Frog locked its gaze on Bin Wei as its body suddenly sank a little. The yellow ground began to crack apart as it could no longer withstand its weight.
The Underworld Monarch Frog bounced up into the air, its pitch-black mouth lunging at Bin Wei like a terrifying abyss. It did not matter which direction Bin Wei tried to dodge in, as it would not make any difference at all.
The Underworld Monarch Frog's mouth was big enough to swallow a cloud. Bin Wei quickly grabbed up, feeling a strong sense of death approaching!
An invisible vine appeared in her hand out of nowhere. Its other end was connected to the clouds. With a mere thought, the vine dragged Bin Wei high up into the sky at its fastest speed!
The black mouth had already trapped her, but just as the Underworld Monarch Frog was about to close it, she soared higher into the sky.
Bin Wei looked at the vine that had descended from the clouds and let out a relieved sigh.
She had the Cloud Vines and the Demon Lilies, two special plant species. The Cloud Vines allowed her to move freely in the air!
However, just as Bin Wei was feeling relieved after escaping from the Underworld Monarch Frog's mouth, the creature flung its enormous tongue at Bin Wei as it was falling, taking her by surprise.
"Water Curtain!"
Zhao Manyan quickly tossed a huge Water Curtain into the air. The Water Curtain stood between Bin Wei and the Underworld Monarch Frog, blocking the deadly tongue.
Bin Wei was quite experienced. She immediately soared higher with the Cloud Vine after receiving the help to distance herself from the Underworld Monarch Frog.
BANG!
The ground cracked into pieces when the Underworld Monarch Frog landed heavily. The surrounding Yoked and Mages were knocked to the ground by the enormous impact.
Zhao Manyan had long braced himself for it, yet he still staggered a little...
Unfortunately, a Yoked that was knocked flying by the impact happened to come right at him!
Zhao Manyan managed to react in time. He avoided the crash by twisting his body beyond the normal capabilities of a human in mid-air.
"It's a Runic Yoked!" Zhao Manyan turned around and instantly noticed the brighter Runes on the Yoked.
They were desperately searching for the Runic Yoked, but one of them had suddenly shown up right in front of them. Zhao Manyan stabilized himself and slammed his palms onto the ground heavily!
Obvious ripples appeared along the ground and swiftly spread to the spot where the Runic Yoked had landed. The perfectly-timed wave knocked the Runic Yoked back toward Zhao Manyan like a fish's tail flip.
"Get him!" Zhao Manyan yelled at the soldiers around him, since he did not really have any move that could kill the creature instantly.
Several destructive spells were fired at the Runic Yoked before it could even land, blasting it into pieces, that were then burned to ashes by a Fiery Fist: Nine Halls!
As soon as the Runic Yoked died, the Yoked receiving the defensive Runes through the chains connected to it basically lost their armor.
It was very easy to identify the Yoked that had lost their defensive Runes. The soldiers on the walls of the fortress cheered whenever they saw the Yoked without their outstanding defense, followed by a rain of Elemental Spells pouring down on them. Those Yoked had no chance of survival against spells after losing their defenses!
"Well done!" Bin Wei exclaimed, standing on a Cloud Vine. Her impression of Zhao Manyan changed completely after seeing him take down another Runic Yoked for the troop.
His Water Curtain had come at a very opportune time, too. She might have died if not for that!
The Underworld Monarch Frog was an unusually slow but powerful creature. Most attacks could not inflict any damage on it, but if they managed to dodge a few of its attacks, the fleshy creature would have to rest for a period to recover its strength!
"There's one here!" the captain of a Summoner troop riding a Fiery Wolf yelled from not far away.
The man was extremely bold. He had woven through a few hundred Yoked alone and dragged the Runic Yoked out with him. He was handling himself perfectly even after taking on a group of the Yoked on his own for more than ten minutes.
"Don't let him run away. Eyes of the Rock Demon: Petrify!" Zhao Manyan cast the Advanced Earth Spell decisively when he saw the man was being chased by a huge number of the Yoked.
Zhao Manyan's casting speed was a lot quicker than the rest of the Advanced Earth Mages. As a Mage who owned a Soul-grade Earth Seed, his performance in a battle also significantly outmatched the Advanced Mages who only had normal Spirit-grade Seeds!
A few dozen of the Yoked froze in their tracks when Zhao Manyan glanced into their eyes. Another Earth Mage using the same spell only managed to petrify nine Yoked, who managed to break free from the spell just a brief moment later.
