Ingrid’s eyes widened in astonishment. That black ice serpent had killed four of her teammates and had nearly claimed her life twice, yet the members of Invincible Black Cyclone were this confident! Was Team China really this strong?
Shadowkill... she hadn’t heard that name in the global server announcements before either.
Looking at it that way, the four remaining cooperative missions might actually end up being advantageous for her side! One person being strong wasn’t the real skill—having strong people around you who were still willing to follow orders—that was the mark of true capability.
Qi Xu’s molars were practically grinding from the cringe. Bro, you’re putting on an act even more over-the-top than Little Xie!
If Ingrid hadn’t been right there, Qi Xu would have thrown dozens of eye-rolls at Shadowkill’s face.
“Those who walk with the wise grow wise” — the old proverb really held up.
The first time he’d met Shadowkill was in the amusement park dungeon. Back then... he’d been a bit theatrical too, but definitely not greasy. Instead, he had that “polished rogue” vibe going on.
Now? He was a straight-up clone of Little Xie 2.0, without even Little Xie’s charm to back it up.
Ingrid took a deep breath. “Are you sure you want to arrange it this way? Can your teammate handle it? If you can maintain your current formation until the end of the rift, your team will be the biggest winner.
Right now, only the six of us are still alive in this entire rift. Your Chinese team is at full strength. Taking this kind of risky kill might not guarantee a payoff, but what is guaranteed is that you could lose everyone.”
Qi Xu gave a confident, carefree smile, casually wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth.
“I still have that fighting spirit in me. If you want to grow stronger, you can’t fear any powerful opponent—otherwise, you’ll slowly lose yourself to one cowardly retreat after another. And besides, I trust my friend. He’s excellent.”
Shadowkill smiled modestly, not saying a word, also aware just how nauseating that expression he’d just made must have been.
Ingrid carefully thought through the logic of the situation. No matter how she analyzed it, she couldn’t lose out on this deal.
Facts proved that the black ice serpent simply couldn’t be beaten. Even at full strength, with four teammates coordinating, they’d failed. Let alone now.
Ingrid had also keenly noticed that the black ice serpent’s aggro was focused on her team, while the Cat-Snake Monster’s primary aggro was on Invincible Black Cyclone’s team.
Aside from the Cat-Snake Monster’s berserk state, the black ice serpent was definitely the stronger of the two.
So having Invincible Black Cyclone’s people hold off the black ice serpent, while her own team teamed up with them against the Cat-Snake Monster, was clearly to her advantage.
The only real concern was... if they did successfully kill the Cat-Snake Monster, would Invincible Black Cyclone double-cross them and just run off with their team?
But Ingrid thought about it and decided that was unlikely. If that were her intention, she wouldn’t have proposed this plan at all.
Shadowkill, who could single-handedly lure and hold the ice serpent, was likely no weaker than she was.
So that made the whole thing redundant, not to mention the two life-saving interventions Invincible Black Cyclone had already made. It was worth taking a gamble and trusting them this once.
“I have no objections either.”
Worried about arousing Ingrid’s suspicions, Qi Xu deliberately had Wang Buyu refrain from sensing her thoughts. But seeing her agree, he couldn’t help the corners of his mouth curling upward. All the groundwork he’d laid earlier hadn’t been in vain—it had paid off.
“Great. I’ve got a feeling this is gonna be a jackpot!”
Bad Ball hadn’t mentioned that counter-killing another nation’s folklore monster would yield rewards—probably because it never occurred to them that anyone could actually pull off a counter-kill. But once it succeeded, knowing Bad Ball’s... well, personality, it would definitely bend over backward to send the rewards over. That, Qi Xu was quite certain of.
Qi Xu coughed lightly and shook his head. They hadn’t even killed the monster yet, and he was already daydreaming about rewards. That really wasn’t the right attitude. They should at least show the Cat-Snake Monster a bit of respect.
Everyone deliberately weakened their aura, spread out from each other, and took a moment to recover their state while buying a little more time.
The Cat-Snake Monster didn’t grant them much of a breather. Snake—clearly having its own role to play—quickly chased after them, heading straight for Ingrid.
Qi Xu checked the time. It was about time for the Cat-Snake Monster’s next berserk trigger.
He shouted directly, “Go!”
Then he unloaded his skills straight at the Cat-Snake Monster’s face like they cost nothing.
The moment its entire body began emitting a red glow, confirming it had entered berserk mode, without another word, he turned and ran!
But the berserk Cat-Snake Monster’s movement speed was also much faster. Even with his blink ability, Qi Xu could barely stay ahead.
Glancing back at Snake, who was still dealing with Ingrid, Qi Xu flashed a grin and charged straight toward them.
Just as he was about to collide with Snake, he nimbly leaped over Snake’s body and kept running.
The Cat-Snake Monster was huge, and unlike Qi Xu, it couldn’t just blink past Snake. It had to veer to the side and go around Snake’s massive form, so the ground it had just regained was immediately lost again.
Qi Xu had found his sweet spot—and the perfect way to outlast those 10 minutes.
He kept darting back and forth around Snake’s body, having the time of his life. Snake, to keep the act a little more convincing, occasionally let out fierce roars at Qi Xu.
The Cat-Snake Monster desperately wanted to shout, “Aren’t you supposed to have a violent temper? Are you just going to let this human player keep bouncing around you? Show me the fire you used to beat me up! Lose your temper again, just give me a glimpse!”
Qi Xu’s relentless provocations, the merciless laughter of the other ants around, and the ice serpent’s obvious favoritism—all of it drove the Cat-Snake Monster completely mad, completely forgetting the beating it had taken from the ice serpent earlier.
Determined to catch Qi Xu, it launched itself straight over the ice serpent’s body. It was almost upon that detestable human when Snake got annoyed. Who did this thing think it was?
Snake flipped its body upward and coiled around, slamming its massive head into the Cat-Snake Monster, sending it tumbling a full ten meters back.
The 10-minute berserk timer had officially run out.
Qi Xu flashed his big white teeth, hands on his hips, standing still in the most smug pose imaginable. “Finally, it’s our turn!”
Shadowkill was at Snake’s front in an instant. “Big black snake, I’m your opponent now.”
Snake froze for a moment, then let out an amused, angry huff. Two streams of white smoke shot out of its nostrils, and with a quick tail whip, Shadowkill went flying into the air.
If you added a “I’ll be back!” to that, he wouldn’t be any different from that cartoon protagonist.
Ingrid stared in shock, then turned back to Qi Xu in disbelief. “Are you sure... your teammate can hold off the ice serpent all on his own?”
“I’m positive. He’s insanely strong. He’s... ah, I’m not at liberty to say.”
...
