Chapter 18: The Pea Rain Deception

The barrage of spells was already proving lethal, yet this was merely the beginning of their onslaught.

Evidently, the melee combatants of the opposing guild were not content to remain idle; with ferocious roars, they unleashed their charge skills, converging to encircle us and effectively sealing off Su Yingning’s path forward.

With her escape route blocked, a fleeting shadow of despair crossed Su Yingning’s eyes, but she refused to yield.

Instead, she tightened her grip around my waist with one arm, drew her weapon with the other, and, steeling herself, plunged directly into the fray.

“Die!” one bellowed, a cruel laugh escaping their lips. “Haha, my apologies, fellow mages! This woman’s head belongs to me!”

“In your dreams!” another retorted. “Let’s see whose movements are swifter today!”

Every gaze fixed upon Su Yingning was akin to observing a cadaver; they saw no opponent, only an object for their mirth, as they exhausted every humiliating word they could conjure.

Yet, in the very next second, their laughter abruptly ceased.

“Look overhead!”

“What… what is this? Is it raining? A shower of meteors?”

“No! It’s that woman’s skill! Run! Quick, run! Get away from here!”

Approximately two seconds prior, I had been squeezed by Su Yingning with unexpected force, and the peas clutched in my hand, as if beyond my control, scattered across the open expanse before us.

More accurately, they didn’t merely scatter onto the ground; they soared into the… sky above that open expanse!

No one, not even Su Yingning, had truly registered our actions; they all assumed I had simply fumbled and inadvertently dropped the peas.

But would I truly be so clumsy as to lose my grip on a mere handful of peas?

“Damn it! What a brilliant maneuver! This woman is formidable! I concede!”

The cascade of peas, descending from the heavens, unerringly enveloped both Su Yingning and me within its falling radius, instantly making the approaching melee combatants wary and causing them to scatter far and wide.

The sheer visual impact of this pea rain was overwhelming, sending shivers down the spines of players who had previously endured the torment of Holy Light Peas, eliciting screams of terror.

Prompted by their panicked warnings, the melee players hastily dispersed, and our path forward instantly cleared.

No longer did any close-combatant dare to obstruct our escape; for a startling moment, the encircling throng of players was literally carved open, forming a distinct passage by the celestial pea shower!

It was not until an assassin was struck by a pea, losing a mere two points of health, that they remembered with a jolt of anger and surprise: [Holy Light Blessing] was a skill whose damage scaled with the distance of the throw!

The pea rain, for all its grand spectacle, was nothing but an elaborate bluff, utterly devoid of any actual damage!

And yet, they had truly been scared away like utter fools by their opponent!

There was simply no denying it; even if it was a mere feint, the special effects generated by that pea rain were undeniably breathtaking—a spectacle without an ounce of exaggeration!

The instinctive first reaction of anyone who witnessed it was to take evasive action!

All these events unfolded in the blink of an eye; traversing the open ground took a mere five seconds.

By the time the warriors finally regained their composure, they had already squandered their sole opportunity to attack.

“Damn it all… a dozen of us, outwitted by a single woman? Now, our only hope lies with the mages!”

Indeed, their only recourse was to rely on the mages; however, a sight that made them want to vomit blood in frustration reflected in their bewildered eyes.

A fireball had, in fact, already struck Su Yingning, and with just a touch more damage, she would have been beyond salvation.

Though spells relentlessly assailed both Su Yingning and me, with each incoming attack, a shower of white light simultaneously pattered down upon us, causing a flurry of green ‘+14 +14 +14 +14’ numbers to constantly bloom.

While individually small, the sheer volume of these healing increments proved overwhelming.

Each magical assault inherently possessed an interval, making absolute simultaneous impact an impossibility.

Moreover, in their frantic haste, the enemies lacked the time to concentrate their firepower, aiming haphazardly, causing the spell damage to strike Su Yingning and me in successive waves.

Yet, that dense pea rain, too, descended upon us in relentless waves, instantly replenishing every point of lost health.

A truly bizarre spectacle unfolded before their eyes.

Like figures of legend, we advanced through the magical curtain, facing an unending torrent of fire and ice spikes, our forms continuously erupting in dazzling, multicolored radiance.

A stunning female warrior, clad in gleaming silver mithril armor, cradling a fragile, weakened fox demon whose lips were stained with blood, soared forth from the ceaselessly flashing flames and explosions.

This indelible image was seared into the minds of all present, captured by their internal cameras, and thus immortalized.

At last, Su Yingning’s foot landed successfully on the periphery of the small mountain.

Our figures, subsequently, vanished into the depths of the eerie, secluded forest.

This perilous crossing, lasting no more than five seconds, felt impossibly protracted—so long, in fact, that after our forms disappeared from view, everyone remained in a stunned stupor for a significant duration before someone finally managed to utter, their voice dry and hoarse: “This… damn it… it’s practically cheating…”

And truly, it was! Nothing short of an exploit!

Initially, she had made some effort to dodge, but towards the end, she simply ceased evading altogether, directly confronting the bombardment of dozens of spells head-on!

What kind of person was this!

Not only could she manipulate a seemingly trash skill like [Holy Light Blessing] into an overpowered cheat, but she also commanded a nine-tailed fox as a pet!

Could she possibly be the game company CEO’s own daughter?

****

“Are we still pursuing them?”

Yujian Lin gritted his teeth, his voice laced with venom.

“Pursue? How could we not!

If we don’t compel her to relinquish what isn’t rightfully hers, wouldn’t all our efforts and losses be utterly in vain?”

“But the mountain is a high-level monster spawn zone! No one who has ventured inside has ever emerged!”

“We must still pursue!” Yujian Lin declared, his resolve unyielding.

“Those stationed at the respawn point are to maintain their vigil.

Additionally, dispatch a contingent of our brethren to search the mountain.

As for the majority of us, we will encircle this entire mountain!

It is not wide, and its slopes are exceptionally steep, largely consisting of near-vertical ascents.

It will be arduous enough for them to climb, let alone defend against attacks from behind…” A cruel glint appeared in Yujian Lin’s eyes as he spoke, his gaze fixed on the mountain peak that pierced the clouds like a jagged spike.

“This time, I shall drive her to such despair that she will leap down herself! To her death!”