Chapter 523: Yi Jiu vs Men Shi and Bu Quan

Tripleblade racked his brains, thinking rapidly.

Before long, he led a large contingent of mercenaries into the city, heading straight for the small alchemy workshop.

"The big guy's gone mad. He's already iron level now, matching my level. I can't handle him alone."

"Even with other mercenaries, I wouldn't dare kill the big guy outright. Hesitating to strike for fear of collateral damage only wastes our forces!"

"Instead, the small workshop inside the city will surely draw a massive enemy assault. When that happens, our reinforcements will be crucial, we'll finally have a chance to prove our worth."

After weighing these factors, Tripleblade acted decisively.

Within Snow Bird Harbor City.

Yi Jiu concealed himself in the shadows, peering through a window to covertly observe his final target.

It was the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps' small alchemy workshop.

“I've already killed Shi Qi,” Yi Jiu muttered, “but there was an unexpected turn at the Mercury Cave.”

“But that's none of my concern.”

“Destroy this small alchemy workshop, and I'm outta here!”

As a holy warrior of the Dueling God, Yi Jiu had no ties to the kingdom's military. He was a member of the Thieves' Guild, primarily a hired assassin. As he put it: “As long as the price is right, taking on other side gigs is no problem.”

Thus, this time, Mei Lin had hired him to take action with a handsome sum.

Though Mei Lin acted boldly and directly, she harbored reservations, she didn't want to expose the Dueling God or her own military identity.

Thus, she carefully selected a group of retired military sacrificial warriors. Then she hired Yi Jiu, rather than deploying the likes of Gu Dong or Bao Li Gen.

At the gold level, every individual's intelligence was highly prized by major factions.

If Gu Dong or Bao Li Gen had acted, their identities would likely have been compromised.

Under these circumstances, hiring Yi Jiu as an assassin was exceptionally prudent.

As a master assassin, concealing his life force and disguising himself as a low level transcendent was one of his signature skills. Such camouflage greatly facilitated his assassination operations.

Even if the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps or the Snow Bird Harbor City Lord investigated afterward, they would only trace it back to Yi Jiu himself. And his primary occupation was assassin, being hired for such a job was perfectly reasonable!

Yi Jiu's mission this time involved not only eliminating core members like Zong Ge from the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps but also destroying the small alchemy workshop.

Originally, Yi Jiu intended to take out Chi Lai, who was pursuing him, but time was too tight.

With Chi Lai on guard and clad in silver level gear (thanks to the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps' relentless acquisition of transcendent equipment, plus their inventory and loaning system), Yi Jiu abandoned that target.

"Forcing a kill on him isn't impossible. But doing so would make my ‘silver level’ combat power exceed my designated role."

“Even if I take out Chi Lai, a key member, the reward afterward wouldn't match the payoff from destroying the alchemy workshop.”

“If I destroy it and still have time, then I can go after targets like Chi Lai and Men Shi.”

Yi Jiu calculated his gains, prioritizing maximum profit in his actions.

Though he had approached the small alchemy workshop, he did not strike immediately, instead waiting cautiously.

This was because his primary objective remained safeguarding his own life!

After all, he was operating solo this time, conducting an open assassination in a major city like Snow Bird Harbor.

Earlier at the docks, the mage tower's attention had been diverted by the Snow Bird Arena. Moreover, the mage tower never operated at full capacity during routine periods, that's why he'd acted.

After eliminating “Shi Qi,” he feared that the mage tower would target him, so he spared Chi Lai and withdrew immediately.

After lying low for a while, Yi Jiu confirmed Snow Bird Harbor's reaction was not overly intense, easing half his concerns.

“You may proceed,” Yi Jiu relayed to his sacrificial warriors via communication.

“Charge!”

“Destroy the alchemy workshop!”

The sacrificial warriors sprang into action.

They emerged from every corner, some wielding blades and wearing helmets, charging head-on; others using ranged weapons to attack from afar.

Their coordination was seamless.

Those leading the frontal assault quickly triggered the magic traps laid around the workshop.

Flames scorched, thunder struck, and ice froze life after life.

Yet the line of magic defenses was soon breached, a path carved through.

“Too few traps were set.”

“But what choice did we have? Within the city walls, every magic defense requires approval!” Bu Quan's heart began to race.

The city government palace permitted only limited magic defenses, for such power could too easily shift from defense to offense.

In fact, many of the magic traps had been secretly laid by Bu Quan.

The previous number alone wouldn't last even ten seconds.

The sacrificial warriors possessed solid military training and had specific countermeasures against magic traps.

"The enemy is closing in too fast! Miss Bu Quan, retreat immediately!" The dwarf Men Shi was tasked with holding this position. The sacrificial warriors' charge revealed the enemy's elite nature, and their death-defying indifference sent a chill through Men Shi's heart.

Intelligence about the attacks on the docks and other workshops had already been relayed.

Men Shi had prepared his defenses, but the moment combat began, he knew holding this position with his men alone would be extremely difficult!

Fortunately, the alchemy workshop contained a teleportation formation for retreat.

Yet Bu Quan refused to heed the warning. She shook her head, clinging to optimism: “The workshop won't fall so easily.”

“We must hold our ground. The other workshops have fallen. This is the most crucial one, it absolutely cannot be lost!”

Men Shi's heart sank. He instantly realized Bu Quan lacked combat experience and had made a grave misjudgment of the situation. The dwarf hurriedly pleaded again, "Miss Bu Quan, compared to the alchemy workshop, you are the most important! You absolutely cannot be lost. If anything happens to you, the commander will blame me."

Mentioning the dragonman youngster worked like magic. Bu Quan immediately stood tall and firm, her resolve to stay and fight strengthened.

For the sake of her beloved, she would defend this last remaining potion production base.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

After clearing a path with their lives, the sacrificial warriors charged fiercely at the workshop's entrance.

But when swords and axes struck the door, they only triggered a defensive barrier.

A metallic sheen enveloped the entire workshop, leaving no blind spots. This thin layer of light simultaneously withstood the slashes and impacts of numerous weapons, producing a series of clanging metallic sounds.

Inside the workshop, Men Shi frowned deeply, directing his dwarven subordinates to deploy their limited forces to the most vulnerable defensive points.

Bu Quan smiled: “See? I made plenty of preparations in advance.”

Men Shi sighed and said nothing more.

Battle skill - Stealth.

Battle skill - Silencing.

Battle skill - Wall Walking.

Battle skill - Eavesdropping.

Empowered by four battle skills, Yi Jiu had already crawled onto the workshop's roof.

From the sounds emanating inside, he swiftly discerned the dwarves' troop distribution and main force positions.

He lightly stroked the ring on his finger, and a magic glow flashed across its surface.

In the next instant, the enchantments on the alchemy ring activated, releasing their effects upon Yi Jiu.

Enchanted Spell - Cat's Agility.

Enchanted Spell - Ox's Endurance.

Enchanted Spell - Frog's Leap.

This was the Three Beasts Power Ring. When Yi Jiu had devised its alchemy, he had deliberately chosen the cat, ox, and frog.

Cat's Agility granted him enhanced agility; Ox's Endurance allowed him to adapt to more environments and slightly increased his magic resistance. Frog's Leap dramatically boosted his jumping ability.

After applying the spells, Yi Jiu touched the ring ornament on his forehead. This was his primary defensive item, containing the arcane spell Counter Spell.

Should a powerful spell strike him, he just had to channel his spirit to nullify it.

“The strongest fighter in the workshop is Men Shi. He's only silver level and specializes solely in defense.”

“The real threats to me are Bu Quan's magic abilities and her alchemy tools!”

Yi Jiu, although holding a significant rank advantage as a gold level fighter, remained extremely cautious and unwaveringly vigilant.

Battle skill - Wall Penetration!

Battle skill technique - Piercing Force!

Wall Penetration allowed Yi Jiu to effortlessly traverse walls and other obstacles. Piercing Force was one of the techniques applied to battle skills, granting piercing attack effects.

To ensure absolute success, Yi Jiu not only employed the gold level Wall Penetration but also layered on Piercing Force.

This allowed him to instantly pierce through the magic protective aura of the alchemy workshop, then penetrate the roof, landing directly inside the workshop.

The moment he succeeded, a shrill alarm blared throughout the workshop.

Bu Quan cried out nervously, “Watch out! An enemy has infiltrated!”

“Where?” Men Shi asked urgently.

The dwarves also looked around frantically, tension mounting.

But no matter what methods Bu Quan tried, she couldn't locate the invisible Yi Jiu.

A heavy weight settled in Men Shi's heart as he urged again, "Miss Bu Quan, you really should leave this place immediately. A powerful stealth user must have breached the defenses and could be anywhere in the workshop now. It's far too dangerous here!"

Bu Quan still couldn't quite believe it: "Nothing's been damaged, and I haven't detected any enemies either. Maybe it was just a false alarm?"

Men Shi grew increasingly anxious inside. In this kind of battle situation, Bu Quan was actually pinning her hopes on a false alarm, how naive!

But no matter how he tried to persuade her, Bu Quan refused to leave.

Instead, she reassured Men Shi: "Maybe it really is a false alarm. Don't worry, our defenses are solid. Don't underestimate me, I can be a huge help to you all."

“If it comes down to it, I can always use the teleportation formation to leave. It's not too late.”

Men Shi froze, about to protest, but Bu Quan had already spoken.

The dwarf's voice grew increasingly muffled as he cautioned, “The enemy is likely lurking nearby, Miss Bu Quan. Next time, don't recklessly reveal our trump cards.”

“I... I'll be more careful next time.” Bu Quan covered her mouth, suddenly realizing that when Men Shi had urged her to leave earlier, he hadn't mentioned the teleportation formation at all. Yet she had exposed it voluntarily.

“Sigh...” Men Shi let out a deep sigh, thinking to himself, “I hope reinforcements arrive soon!”