"Whoosh!" The black-armored figure on the rooftop shot an arrow—a real arrow, but its speed rivaled a bullet. One player was killed on the spot, while the other two were intercepted by the black-armored pursuers!
"Polite Bow!"
"The class bell is ringing!"
...
"Social Distance!"
"Close Your Eyes at Nightfall!"
Two players activated their items and characteristics in succession, but only some took effect. When they engaged in close combat, their blade and sword items clashed against the black-armored figures with metallic ringing sounds!
The two players immediately sensed something wrong, but with the black-armored reinforcements arriving, they had no chance to escape. Each was seized by two black-armored soldiers and dragged to the nearest offering eye. As the red light intensified and faded, the forced gazes caused both to lose their sanity in a very short time.
The two who survived returned to the procession, while the dead one was taken away by the black-armored soldiers.
Xu Huo watched the black-armored soldiers leave. At the end of their path should be a massive palace, its width and height exceeding ordinary buildings. However, due to the distance and heavy fog, only a vague outline was visible.
But the procession was heading in that direction, and it was obvious that couldn't be anywhere good.
Dropping the "Desert Windmill" to the ground, he slipped into the adjacent building as the sandstorm swept through. He kicked through two walls in succession, diving into the neighboring street. But before he could use the kite string to retrieve the item, rain suddenly began to fall from the sky, instantly neutralizing the "Desert Windmill"!
The black-armored soldiers caught up. Knowing that ordinary items and characteristics were ineffective against them, Xu Huo grabbed the "Crimson Sword" to block a flying kick!
A tremendous force nearly numbed his entire arm. Xu Huo stumbled back several meters, but before he could regain his footing, the black-armored soldier pressed the attack. He narrowly used the "Mobile Metal" to block three strikes, adjusted his position, and fired a shot directly into the enemy's left face!
The water jet gun's penetration rivaled a bullet's, but it couldn't cut through the black-armored soldier's face—only broke the skin. Still, that was enough, because beneath the torn skin, what was revealed wasn't flesh and blood but black metal!
"Ding!" The lighter clicked, and a burst of flame erupted from the black-armored soldier's abdomen, followed by a massive explosion!
The item "Explosive Aesthetics" came from the artistic-style player Xu Huo had just killed. This item could instantly release a powerful explosive fire from a target. While it looked like flames on the surface, it was closer to a blast. But against the black-armored soldier, he used the lighter in conjunction.
The black-armored soldier staggered back a few steps under the explosion and flames, yet showed no sign of pain. Still wreathed in fire, he charged violently at Xu Huo:
"Boom!"
The "Severing Ties Door" was dented by the impact, and Xu Huo himself was sent flying. He collided with the black-shirted player who had just been chased into the building by black-armored soldiers. They each grabbed the other to steady themselves. At that moment, the black-armored soldier's armor fell away, and the flames died out as his clothes and skin peeled off, revealing his true form.
"This is..." The black-shirted player gasped. "No wonder items and characteristics don't work—they're just machines wearing human skin!"
This was completely unexpected. They had first thought it was a mental-type dungeon, then assumed the Eye Offering Ceremony procession made it a ghostly one. Who would have guessed that machines would show up?
"At least this shows the dungeon boss isn't strong enough!" Xu Huo said with a smirk.
"Easy for you to say, but these machines are no joke!" The black-shirted player dodged incoming bullets and hid behind a pillar.
Only physical attacks could damage the machines. They couldn't match their physical strength, and ordinary blades couldn't break through their bodies. Long-term combat offered no advantage!
Unclear about the machines' construction, Xu Huo tossed out various jamming devices he'd bought in District 011. Unfortunately, none had any effect—they only cost him a few bullets from the black-armored soldiers!
"Magnetic Field Center!" Yi Pei suddenly appeared. Her hands, covered in black scales, stretched out to either side before she ducked and rolled forward. The two black-armored soldiers flanking her actually crashed straight into each other! But it was only for an instant—they quickly separated and resumed their independent actions.
"This is wrong!" she shouted. "Having machines like this rampaging through a dungeon far exceeds D-rank difficulty. Players have no chance of clearing it!"
Mental interference was already tough enough, but now they were facing enemies that rendered items and characteristics useless. Were players just supposed to present their necks and die?
Xu Huo tried attacking the black-armored soldier again but was thrown back. His speed wasn't slow, but "Water Jet Gun," "Beautiful Rays," "Hurt Others, Not Yourself," and "Crimson Sword" all failed to damage the machine. Meanwhile, the machines seemed deliberately to avoid direct player contact, so the "Life Core" was useless.
Seeing more and more people surrounding the building and more and more eyes watching, he simply stabbed through the roof with his sword, closed his eyes, and leaped out.
Even with his eyes closed, he could feel the red light blazing outside. Drums sounded from afar. After a moment of disorientation, he regained his senses and abruptly dodged to the side, but a black-armored soldier kicked him into the street!
The procession closed in. The people surrounded him, shoving the glowing wooden eyes that pulsed with red light—now seemingly alive—against his face.
Without opening his eyes, Xu Huo raised his hand and chopped down several people. He crushed a few wooden eyes underfoot, then looked up at the pursuing black-armored soldiers. He grabbed a nearby corpse and hurled it at them!
A long blade appeared in the black-armored soldier's hand as he cut down the flying body. Xu Huo tapped his ring, and a bubble shot out, crashing into the charging machine!
Under the bubble's effect, the black-armored soldier became weightless and floated up. Xu Huo was about to strike when a wind suddenly swept in from afar. It twisted around the black-armored soldier's head, and the metallic skull was ripped off!
The headless black-armored soldier could still move. Xu Huo quickly slapped its body, and the mechanical frame that swords and blades couldn't damage began to powder from the chest and abdomen!
"Let's go!" Xu Huo turned and sprinted away. He threw on the invisibility cloak that flew over and, carrying the metal skull, leaped into a nearby building.
People from the procession kept pouring in. They smashed through houses, searching and crowding every room, overturning cabinets and tables. The black-armored soldiers prowled the rooftops, checking every spot that stirred.
Xu Huo hung from the wall with the piano wire. He waited until the search party had passed before slowly lowering himself to the ground. Avoiding the eyes of the statues in the room, he slipped silently outside.
"Thump!"
As the drums sounded from afar, the sounds of fighting nearby subsided. The procession quickly returned to normal, and the black-armored soldiers resumed their positions on the rooftops.
Twenty players, and only two black-armored soldiers had been taken down. It was unclear how many players were still alive.
Eyes were everywhere. It was unlikely he could join forces with anyone else. Xu Huo waited for the crowd to thin out a bit before flying through the air toward the great palace ahead.
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