143 Shapeshifter

The giant bat slowly descended from the sky, gently flapping its blood-red wings. Once the dust on the ground was raised, it had quickly transformed into a tall and thin middle-aged man. He wore a black suit with a white shirt, and had a pale yet handsome face. If it were not for those blood-red eyes, nobody would have thought that this charming middle-aged man was actually an infamous undead creature, a high-level vampire…

During the polite greeting of the vampire, everybody had simultaneously held onto the Teleportation Scrolls. This was not a joke. The strength of level-18 could kill any one of them instantaneously. The gap between both sides was too wide, and was not something a few mages could stand up against.

Facing this terrifying reality, their only choice was to escape. As for this mission, they could only blame it on their luck…

"Let me think, how many years has it been since I last saw a human? A hundred years or a thousand years…" After the vampire landed, his pale face had a grin. His gaze towards them was as if he had been starved for a hundred years and suddenly saw a sumptuous dinner. That gaze was as if he was salivating, causing them to feel a chill down their spines.

Lin Li did not speak, only staring at the Vampire. He held his teleportation scroll in one hand, while the other inched towards his back, making gestures to signal an escape towards his companions that had just recovered from Petrification.

One party was staring intently at his dinner, while the others were trembling with fear and trying to escape. At that tense moment, nobody noticed that the last remnants of the black fog had seeped into crystal. After the last remnants of black fog had seeped in, the crystal that was abnormal since the day it had been dug up started to undergo some changes…

The crystal that had been glittering and translucent now became completely crimson in color. From afar, it looked like a piece of solidified blood, yet that crimson was not like an immutable solid. It was as if there was life force struggling within the crystal, using all its might to be free of a leash of some sorts. From the looks of it, it was about to succeed…

"No matter what, I have to thank you all. Humans, thank you for delivering me dinner!"

Once the hoarse voice had fell, the black suit was waving in the wind and flapped ferociously. Under the crescent moon, the vampire let off an incomparable aura. Even Lin Li felt suffocated under this strong aura filled with bloodlust.

He frowned, and was about to open the teleportation scroll in his pocket…

Yet, at this moment, the crystal on the floor had suddenly radiated a blinding flash of red.

Everyone heard a roar, which was followed by an explosion of an equally strong aura. Before they could understand what was happening, a crimson shadow shot out like an arrow with the "ta, ta, ta, ta" sound of trotting hoofs, forming a crimson shade in the air.

"Shape… Shapeshifter…" The others did not know what was happening, but Lin Li understood clearly. This was the treacherous Shapeshifter from the Nightmare Mountains. Gazing at that crimson shadow, Lin Li was panic-stricken at that moment. He was in a daze with his mouth open for a while before uttering out two words. "Oh, f*ck…"

This time, they were in deep waters.

The companions behind Lin Li were stunned; it was as though somebody shoved an egg down their throats. They were about to be driven crazy from the fright. First a vampire, and now a shapeshifter. They were mentally prepared not to be shocked even if a Fire Dragon was to appear right now…

"Felic…" Mason looked straight with a voice that was like he was sleep-talking. "What, what, what… What is that…"

"Accordingly, it's called Shapeshifter…" Lin Li was no better than Mason's. It had mysteriously disappeared from the Nightmare Mountains, and randomly appeared in the Shadowglen; moreover, it was filled with a peculiar aura. This peculiar and strange feeling caused Lin Li to be unable to breathe.

While the two of them conversed, the vampire screamed.

Lin Li looked over in horror. He saw that a red and a black shadow were locked together under the crescent moon. The four hooves of the Shapeshifter were blazing, and with a roar, it had pierced a hole in the Vampire's suit with its unbreakable horn…

The humiliated Vampire was unyielding; it used its razor-sharp fangs and claws to leave wound after wound on the half intangible and half tangible body of the Shapeshifter. As both were level-18 creatures, they used immense strength. Even a moment of contact would scatter radiating flares.

Both were a formidable existence proficient in Dark Magic, and both had an incomparable brute strength. Just a moment of contact, and both were inseparable. As the Shapeshifter had a half intangible and half tangible body, it had strong immunity towards physical and magical attacks. On the other hand, a vampire could drain the strength of its opponents. Although each attack it dealt did not cause much damage to the Shapeshifter, it had constantly drained the Shapeshifter's strength. It was as if after every attack, the crimson radiance dimmed a little.

Even though this battle between two level-18 creatures was not as immense as the battle between the undead in the morning, the intensity was on par with it. An immense amount of Dark Magic flowed out, resonating with a powerful magical wave in the surroundings. The magical elements were strong after each consecutive wave; the pressure left everyone breathless. The razor-sharp claws and the unbreakable horn had splattered blood around the battlefield, dying the earth red…

Only at this point did Lin Li realize that this strange battle might bring about some results…

This was indeed a chance gifted from the heavens…

Everybody had spent a lot of effort on this mission. If they were to abandon it right now, everyone would not be able to take it lying. The mysterious appearance of this Shapeshifter had given them a chance to gamble. They had to gamble once, regardless of whether they made the right choice. Even if they did make the wrong gamble, they had their Teleportation Scrolls in their hands. There would not be much loss.

Lin Li hesitated for a moment before making up his mind quickly. He tightly clenched his teeth, and spat out two words. "Kill him!"

Mason was totally terrified. After hearing those words, he unusually asked, "Kill whom?"

"Idiot." Orrin's voice came from the back, and at the same time, a fireball flew past…

"F*ck, just you wait…" Mason snapped back into reality, and glared at Orrin while he hastily recited a spell.

The first thing that struck the vampire was not Orrin's fireball, but Larry's Flaming Storm. This level-9 mage might not be lucky, but his reaction speed was much faster than Mason's. Lin Li's voice had just fallen, and he had already cast his Flaming Storm, setting the vampire's body on fire.

"Despicable. Both of you are equally despicable." With two fire spells blasting it simultaneously, even a powerful level-18 creature would not come out unscathed.

There was only a furious shriek coming from the battlefield, a shriek as sharp as the cries of a nightbird. The bombardment from the two fire spells had thoroughly enraged the Vampire. It endured the Shapeshifter's Death Ripples, and slashed two gaps in the Shapeshifter's body with its razor-sharp claws before withdrawing. It metamorphosed into a blood-red bat in the air, charging furiously towards the mages that had backstabbed it.

"A level-18 bullying a level-9, yet you dare to say I am despicable?" Mason scolded fiercely, and threw an Icy Spear. When the Icy Spear that was as strong as Flaming was thrown, even a level-18 Vampire would have to briefly dodge it.

Yet it was this brief moment that bought the Shapeshifter enough time.

With the resounding roar of the Shapeshifter, everyone felt a surge in Dark Force. In that instance, everywhere was pitch-black. Even the crescent moon in the sky seemed to have lost its radiance at that moment. The Shapeshifter had cast the Obscurus Spell, it was stronger than the one used by the Fantama Panthera in the Nightmare Mountains. In a blink, it had covered an area of more than a hundred metres. Even if it was a level-18 Vampire, it would have been at its weakest under this Obscurus Spell.

The blood-red bat was flying at blinding speed, but under this endless darkness, it flew with abnormal difficulty. From afar, it looked like a red snail carrying a heavy mountain while crawling in the air. Just a short distance of tens of metres was like the difference between heaven and earth.

At this moment, Lin Li had finished reciting his spell. The magical crystals on the Winter Staff started radiating a bright light. The violent magical elements created a deafening blast in the air…