Chapter Thirty-Six: The End (Please recommend and add to your collection)

"No need!" Tang Ao refused Ade's support outright.

As one of the few with maxed attributes in the beginner zone, his spirit was naturally higher than Ade's, making him more resistant. Zhao Jun cast a cold glance at Ade before withdrawing his gaze. Ade gave an awkward laugh—he'd forgotten that these two were much stronger than he was.

"What was that thing?" Monkey, now recovered, was still shaken. Had Ade not pulled him back just now, he would have fallen victim to it.

"It is indeed formidable," Tang Ao nodded. He hadn't been entirely unaffected himself, but thanks to his strong spirit, he'd recovered in an instant.

Meanwhile, Lan Nuo was rampaging through the rat horde, completely unscathed. With his long-handled battle axe swinging, the surrounding night rats fell like wheat before the scythe. Corpses piled up on the ground, their fluids pooling into a reeking puddle, making the stench even more unbearable.

Lan Nuo's eyes were now bloodshot, as if he'd lost all reason—none of this affected him in the slightest.

At this, the Rat King's mental pressure withdrew from Mu Rongxun, and its form vanished from where it stood, only to reappear beside Lan Nuo. Despite its massive size, its speed was astonishing. Its strength, too, was immense; a single swipe of its claw against the axe's shaft forced Lan Nuo back three steps.

Monkey's eyes widened in disbelief; he knew all too well the raw power Lan Nuo possessed. To drive him back so easily, the Rat King's figure lunged forward, claws once more slamming onto the axe, while its long tail spun around, lashing at Lan Nuo's head from behind.

"Ade!" Tang Ao called.

Without a word, Ade flicked out a talisman. A burst of flames exploded beside Lan Nuo, forcing the Rat King to withdraw its tail.

"Killjoy," Lan Nuo shot Ade a disgruntled glare. "It's not every day I get to meet someone who can match my strength."

Ade opened his mouth but refrained from saying anything.

Not far off, with the Rat King's pressure gone, Mu Rongxun was preparing to make his escape, only to feel a familiar spiritual force lock onto him—the same presence that had targeted him at the courtyard entrance previously.

Tang Ao looked at him with a half-smile. "You've got guts, little brother," he said with a chuckle.

He was surprised by how young the newcomer seemed—more importantly, the man looked every bit a rookie. There were none of the telltale signs of Paradise enhancement on him, something easy to spot.

Mu Rongxun met his gaze in silence, a sinking feeling in his heart. If the other could lock onto him with spiritual force, it meant the disparity in power was vast. He quickly considered ways to escape, but against such an old hand, he saw little hope.

With a cold snort, Mu Rongxun suddenly produced a large bow and, without hesitation, loosed an arrow.

A laugh sounded behind him—it was Monkey. Confidently, Monkey slashed at the incoming arrow with his dagger, intending to scatter it as he had before. But he didn't know that, unlike the previous five arrows which only contained basic energy, this one packed a far greater punch. Caught off guard, Monkey was forced a few steps back.

After firing two more arrows, Mu Rongxun quickly dodged aside as Ade hurled a fire talisman at his original position.

"Interesting," Tang Ao watched coldly. "So Little Jing's Golden Bow ended up in your hands. That's an unexpected bonus." He had thought it lost for good after the last test, but perhaps he could recover some of his losses now.

Monkey, meanwhile, was being chased in circles by several arrows, barely keeping his wits. Watching this, Tang Ao sighed. If he had better men at his disposal, he would never have tolerated such incompetence on his team. Aside from the first arrow, the rest were basic—yet Monkey couldn't even tell the difference and still called himself a scout.

"You go help out. Capture that kid quickly, then assist Lan Nuo. This LV3 is an unexpected windfall," Tang Ao commanded.

"But..." Zhao Jun hesitated. "Your injury..."

"It's fine," Tang Ao smiled, his words brimming with confidence. "I can handle myself."

Zhao Jun nodded and joined the fray. Under Ade's barrage of talisman attacks, Mu Rongxun kept shooting, though none of his arrows were imbued with spirit—they lacked the speed to threaten Monkey, so he didn't waste his reserves. After all, his spirit was still declining.

Ade dared not take the arrows lightly; he was, in the end, just an ordinary man. Without talismans, he was powerless. He slapped a golden talisman onto himself and then unleashed a variety of spells—fire, ice arrows, vines—forcing Mu Rongxun to keep moving.

As Mu Rongxun sprinted, someone suddenly appeared in his path. Instinctively, he slashed with his short sword, but the opponent retaliated just as swiftly. Their swords clashed, and the force nearly knocked Mu Rongxun's blade from his hand.

Zhao Jun pressed his advantage, his Han sword chopping down relentlessly. Mu Rongxun abandoned all thought of dignity, rolling on the ground to put distance between them. When the sword proved unwieldy, Zhao Jun kicked him hard, sending Mu Rongxun flying.

A grunt escaped Mu Rongxun as pain lanced through his body, his organs feeling as though they'd shifted, his back burning from the impact. Before he could recover, Zhao Jun strode over, sword raised high, ready to finish him.

But then, oddly, the sword didn't land. In his final moments, Mu Rongxun was stunned to find an ancient piece of parchment floating above him, blocking the strike. He scrambled to his feet as the parchment, its power spent, drifted back to him. Zhao Jun's sword struck only the earth.

"Quite a stash of treasures," Tang Ao sneered. A bagua pattern suddenly appeared behind him, spinning as icy arrows materialized and shot toward Mu Rongxun.

Seeing this, Mu Rongxun turned pale—he sensed death in those arrows. His intuition screamed that they were as inescapable as his own shots. Heart aching, he produced a jet-black pearl.

"Run!" Tang Ao shouted, abandoning his spellwork to flee. The others needed no prompting—everyone scattered faster than rabbits.

To their surprise, Mu Rongxun charged straight at the Rat King, still entangled with Lan Nuo.

A thunderous explosion rocked the ground, smoke and dust billowing. As the dust settled, Mu Rongxun's figure began to fade before their eyes, about to vanish completely.

Ignoring his own injuries, Tang Ao struck out, but the parchment reappeared, blocking his attack, allowing only a marker to be left behind as he watched Mu Rongxun disappear.

A massive pit now marred the ground, from which a blackened hand stretched out. The group rushed over to find Lan Nuo, his entire body sooty as if he’d crawled from a chimney, hair standing on end.

Ade quickly shoved a pill into his mouth, checked his pulse, and lifted his eyelids before finally letting out a sigh of relief. "He's alive, just knocked out."

The others visibly relaxed. Having lost two already, another casualty would have been a crippling blow.

"What luck does that kid have? The Golden Bow is one thing, but to also get his hands on an Annihilation Pearl?" Monkey ran over, now free from the pursuing arrows.

The Annihilation Pearl had been their trump card, reserved for survival or mutual destruction—who would have thought it would be used against them?

"That kid is a newcomer," Tang Ao said, his face dark. He had tried to attack in the final moment, only to be blocked by the parchment, forced to watch helplessly as the boy vanished.

"Impossible!" the others exclaimed in shock. If he were an old hand, perhaps, but a rookie being this formidable?

"He must have come here to kill a certain number of anomalies, and at the end, he used the Annihilation Pearl—either against us or the Rat King." As he spoke, Tang Ao frowned subtly and glanced at Zhao Jun.

Zhao Jun understood, moving quietly to his side and supporting him discreetly.

"Let's carry Lan Nuo back first. I've marked that kid. Our next mission is a war mission—then, we'll see how a rookie like him survives."

Beneath his calm exterior, Tang Ao was seething. To be played like this by a newcomer, when he was on the verge of a promotion task and had no time to train new recruits—losing two men now was a serious blow.