Soul Trigger

Chapter 302 Attack and Defense
Your character dies

[Death causes you to lose some experience points: Lv.3-Lv.2]

[Your two demon army soldiers died and need to consume spiritual essence to regenerate]

The world was spinning in front of his eyes again, and Ji Li opened his eyes to find himself back between the thrones.

And the Red Crystal's mission came again:

[Devil's Castle Guidance Mission: Raise the Watchtower. ]

[In the inner city of my Demon King's Castle, there is a place called a surveillance tower, which can provide an overview of the entire inner city. It is directly connected to the inner city's fortifications and can raise a barrier to protect against spiritual attacks.]

[The surveillance tower is difficult to destroy, but it has been shut down by the invaders of the Demon King's City. I need to reopen the surveillance tower to gain a view of the inner city, raise the spiritual protection force field, and take over the control of the inner city walls.]

[Task Reward: Discover a feature.]

"Is this the next step in analyzing the Ascension Protocol... But this is not the problem right now."

He ignored the drop in level and the pain deep in his soul, and skillfully pressed the teleportation gem in the armrest and returned to the open-air hall where the throne crystal was located.

Seeing the large charred marks on the ground and the strong spiritual reaction, it is obviously some kind of technique that gathers a large amount of spiritual energy for bombing. I am afraid this is the first problem that needs to be solved at present.

We can't let this thing that came from nowhere continue to bombard the throne crystal.

Amid the charred and carbonized traces of the bombing, there were also weapons dropped by the "adventurers" he had killed. Most of them were damaged, except for a long sword that was shining with a cold light.
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【Apprentice Long Sword】

【Quality: Top】

[Introduction: Weapons born from the outlaw forces, distributed to newcomers who have just knocked on the door of the outlaws. Although such weapons are common in an organization, they are not comparable to the scraps of copper and iron of ordinary blacksmiths. ]
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"That's a bit mysterious."

Ji Li did not comment, holding up the long sword that was constantly dropping carbonized dust.

Currently, the weapons picked up here are basically unable to withstand his enchantments and will basically shatter after one or two hits.

As he picked up the sword, he looked up at the sky, trying to determine the direction from which the attack came.

There seemed to be a track there that had not yet dissipated. Obviously, something was thrown in from outside, but the magnificent columns and circular walls of the crystal hall that were more than ten meters high blocked the view.

While looking around, he also searched the terrain recorded in the Ascension Protocol, trying to find a suitable bird's-eye view point:
"...The scanning range is too small. The doorway between the thrones is quite suitable and high enough to almost see the entire Demon King's Castle, but there is a large distance between it and the Crystal Hall, so timely support is not possible."

The terrain and architectural style of the Demon King's Castle are layered, giving it a full three-dimensional feel.

If I have to describe it, it's probably that you think you are underground, but in fact you are on the top floor.

You thought it was the top floor, but found that it seemed to be flat ground outside.

When you think it's flat ground, you lean over the railing and find that there's a bottomless abyss below, and there are ups and downs of buildings piled up below.

Therefore, various stacked building shapes have formed many footholds and climbing points here.

In the scanning analysis of the Ascension Protocol, outside the giant arch entrance of the Crystal Hall, a path to a high point was highlighted in Ji Li's retina, and he quickly climbed up.

Using the apprentice sword in his hand to pierce the wall for support, Ji Li quickly reached the desired height.

It was at this moment that he heard a dull thud coming from afar, accompanied by the sound of whistling wind, and something was approaching at high speed.

His eyes narrowed under the visor, and he was about to quicken his pace to climb to the predetermined height, but he sensed that the trigger of his soul began to vibrate, and something that could pose a fatal threat to him was approaching at high speed.

This instantly made him stick to the wall he was climbing on without showing his head, and the next moment a powerful ball of fire streaked across the sky, brushing past the height he was about to reach.

It turned out to be a spiritual flame that was several times larger than his throne crystal that was several meters high, and it smashed towards the throne crystal in the center of the hall!
Ji Li grasped the edge of the wall, clenched the long sword in his hand, and swung it out suddenly:

“Enchantment.”

A black ice crescent burst out and collided violently with the speeding spiritual fireball.

With the violent spiritual reaction caused by the collision of the ice waterfall and the powerful flame, the two energies exploded and spread instantly.

Most of the fireball turned into black ice sculptures that splattered in all directions, and a burst of powerful fire exploded above the throne crystal, instantly spreading across a large area of ​​cracks.

"Almost. It seems I am stronger."

Ji Li exhaled, without taking the time to check the throne crystal, he climbed up the high wall edge where he had been hanging for a long time.

You can only die once, and your margin for error is very low.

As for this idiotic crystal, it's fine as long as it doesn't explode.

The high point here is just above the open-air crystal hall, not as high as the throne room where one can overlook the surrounding area.

So even if he looked along the trajectory of the spiritual essence in the air, Ji Li's sight was distracted by the layered Demon King's City in the distance.

As the Ascension Protocol magnified the image in the retina, Ji Li saw a blurry shadow that looked like some kind of instrument:

"Trebuchet?"

He was speechless.

This kind of antique engineering equipment is really indispensable for the otherworldly background of this fantasy film.

At Murphy's, these kinds of things are worthy of being exhibited in a museum.

But the fact is that this thing can indeed threaten him within the rules of this spiritual prison, and it is some kind of spiritual bomb that can instantly make him rise.

After just a moment of thinking, Ji Li turned his head and saw a tall tower on the side——

The layered Demon King's Castle is complex with a large number of tower structures, including a large number of black towers and walls, all with spires in a strong Gothic style.

The Ascension Protocol was faster than his eye power and captured a row of ancient devices installed on the city wall. It also discovered an extremely tall building, almost as high as the throne.

Red Crystal: [You discovered the watchtower.]

Is that the place... Ji Li asked the Ascension Protocol to start calculating the path in real time.

The ancient devices captured by the Ascension Protocol looked like some kind of giant crossbows. Their sizes were extremely exaggerated, and most of them had been destroyed.

Ji Li immediately set off and rushed towards the tower——

Because the Ascension Protocol captured a bed crossbow with the best appearance in his field of vision.

"I only saw one bullet, but there should be other ways..."

According to the prompt, reopening the surveillance tower will raise the spiritual protection and solve the bombing problem of the catapult.

But if he wants to escape from the Crystal Hall of the Throne, he must have a timely delaying method.

If it weren't for these crossbows, he might have chosen to let Faceless Bone deal with it with enchanted weapons and buy some time.

But now that we have discovered these crossbows, we naturally have to give them a try.

At the same time, the dull thump came again from afar—

Ji Li turned his head and saw the grand spectacle of the catapult launching.

It was a giant fireball like a cannonball, burning with billowing spiritual flames, rolling towards him like a meteorite.

After looking at the distance between himself and the tower, Ji Li raised his hand:
"The Demon King's Army!"

Although he always felt that it was a bit strange that the skill had to be shouted out, he was not the kind of person who cared about such small details, as long as it could be used.

As the thick black fog rose, the amount of spiritual essence remaining in the body was reduced by one fifth, and two brand new Faceless Skeleton Lv.2 appeared on the city wall.

One of them quickly operated the crossbow, while the other picked up the only remaining heavy crossbow arrow nearby and put it on, aiming at the incoming fireball.

But when the huge trigger was pulled, the crossbow did not fire.

Sure enough, it's a bad plan... His eyes narrowed under the visor, and the logical boxes of the Ascension Protocol began to refresh the screen, as his mind calculated the risks between [trying to repair the bed crossbow] and [maintaining the original plan].

At this moment, the voice of the watch came:

[Trigger the Demon King's Castle mission: Repair a bed crossbow]

[The resurrected Demon King is facing a severe test. He realizes that he must repair the defense equipment of the Demon King's Castle in order to resist the next attack. ]

[As long as you inject spiritual essence, you can repair the bed crossbow]

[Quest Reward: All crossbows have been repaired]

"You should go play somewhere else."

The mission seemed to be about resolving an urgent problem, but in essence it was about inducing him to use more spiritual essence.

For him, whose ability to recover his spiritual essence was blocked, doing this would be like drinking poison to quench thirst. He couldn't rely on these crossbows to make a living in the future.

Moreover, labor also costs spiritual essence, so this watch would not have any good intentions for him.

Ji Li gathered all his strength and ran away.

The red crystal also responded in due time:

[Trigger the Demon King's Castle quest: The Demon King's Vision]

[I am facing a severe test. The way I choose is to repair a bed crossbow to intercept the enemy's spiritual flame projector, but the clumsy low-level demon army can't do it at all. ]

[Time waits for no one, I realized that I need to precisely control the Demon King's army: [By focusing the spiritual essence, I can share the vision of the Demon King's army and precisely control its behavior. ]

[Task Reward: Obtain a batch of crossbow ammunition]

"This is what we call a beginner's guide. You should really learn it."

In Ji Li's peripheral vision, data of the Ascension Protocol flowed like a waterfall.

Ji Li, who was already familiar with the control of spiritual essence, quickly found the spiritual essence operation window that triggered the sharing of vision through the throbbing induction of the soul trigger.

As the focused spiritual essence gradually surged, a new vision appeared in front of his eyes, which was one of the faceless bones——

【mission completed. 】

[I obtained a batch of crossbow ammunition. ]

The next moment, as a small part of the city wall collapsed, a pile of rusty crossbow ammunition rolled out.

A faceless skeleton immediately ran over and picked up the ammunition that were as thick as steel bars.

While Ji Li was rolling and running wildly, he controlled another faceless bone to start checking the bed crossbow.

At this moment, a strong burning sensation approached from behind. He stomped on the ground and grasped the sword tightly:
"Enchantment!"

The black ice crescent burst out and collided violently with the fireball.

The fireball exploded directly in mid-air, turning into a sky full of small fireballs that scattered into the Demon King's Castle, causing a series of fine explosions, but did not affect the throne crystal.

Ji Li had already climbed onto the city wall, and Faceless Bone, who was distracted and controlling the machine, had also completed the inspection of the bed crossbow.

Its structure is very simple, it is antique technology with powerful brick-flying level, and the failure point is the broken parts.

Ji Li directly raised the long sword in his hand. The long sword, which was still in an enchanted state, directly conducted the black ice and violently connected the broken parts by freezing it.

Faceless Bone, who was temporarily acting as a crossbowman, immediately raised the crossbow and aimed at the fireball that was coming with another muffled sound.

Ji Li also enchanted the crossbow arrow with black ice.

But at this moment, Ji Li felt the throbbing of the soul trigger, and without hesitation, he slashed out with a sword wave in the direction of the throbbing -

boom! ! !
A wave of ice swept towards the bottom of the tower, freezing an adventurer who appeared out of nowhere into an ice sculpture:

[Kill an adventurer and you gain a small amount of experience. ]

The man's attire was better than that of the "adventurer" he had encountered before. His leather armor was very tight and had some metal inlaid in key places.

The [Outlaw Vanguard Lv.2] displayed above the head is fading and disappearing rapidly.

Compared with the [Adventurers] at the beginning, these people have faction names and better equipment, at least that's what they look like.

Following the path behind the ice sculpture, Ji Li could see several similar figures approaching this side rapidly.

Judging from its path, it came from the direction of the surveillance tower.

At this moment, a loud noise was heard.

Faceless Bone had already controlled the heavy crossbow to shoot out a thick black ice arrow, which collided violently with the fireball rolling over the Demon King's City, and the whole thing exploded.

Although the power of this crossbow is not as strong as Ji Li's direct swing of the enchanted sword, it can split the fireball a little.

While avoiding the throne crystal, dense fireballs bombarded in all directions like a meteorite rain.

The figures that rushed over were drowned on the spot amid a burst of screams.

[Kill four adventurers and you gain a small amount of experience. ]

[You have upgraded: Lv.2-Lv.3]

Ji Li glanced at the apprentice's sword, which had already had many cracks after two enchanted attacks. This thing could probably last two more times at most.

But the sound of the watch beside my ear did not stop, and continued:
[According to the rules of the Outer Land, every player can gain experience matching their own level and the killed player when killing hostile players and neutral creatures]

[Because you are a cheater: your experience gain efficiency is reduced by 100 times. ]

Red Crystal follows closely behind:
[This unreasonable rule has been forcibly modified: My experience acquisition efficiency has been reduced by 0 times. ]

The watch is not to be outdone:

[This unreasonable rule has been forcibly modified: your experience acquisition efficiency has been reduced by 90 times. ]

Red Crystal tit for tat:
[This unreasonable rule has been forcibly modified: my experience acquisition efficiency has increased 10 times. ]

Watch: [80 times lower]

Red crystal: [increase 10 times]

Watch: [60]

Red crystal: [20]

Ji Li: "You two should fight first."

While the two guys were arguing, Ji Li had already enchanted the batch of rusty bed crossbows. Compared to summoning two faceless skeletons, the consumption was only half.

“…Stop him!!!”

Loud shouts came from the direction of the surveillance tower. Ji Li looked up and saw two [Outlaw Vanguards] appear again.

One of them held a bow and arrow in his hand, and a sharp arrow flew towards Ji Li, who caught it directly:
"The Demon King's Army."

Two faceless skeletons appeared around the dark-colored and terrified outlaw vanguard in the swirling black air, instantly tearing it into pieces, and one-fifth of the total spiritual essence evaporated again.

One of them picked up the opponent's bow and arrow and put it on his back.

The other one took out a scimitar from another corpse and threw it at Ji Li.

Only one-third of the total spiritual essence remains.

Ji Li jumped down from the tower, grabbed the scimitar, and rolled over to the ground:
"Take good care of the crystal."

A dull bang was heard again in the distance, and a spiritual fireball was fired again. The Faceless Bone on the city wall also pulled the trigger to intercept it.

Amid the flames that exploded and fell all over the sky, Ji Li and the two faceless bones quickly rushed towards the surveillance tower.

The path here is relatively narrow, and two faceless bones are blocking the front to prevent hidden arrows.

Ji Li followed closely behind.

Along the way, we encountered many guys with "Outlaw Vanguard" on their heads.

At first, there were Lv.2 guys, and gradually, Lv.3 guys began to appear, and even Lv.4.
But he was no match for Ji Li and the two Faceless Bones. As for the Level 4 one, he was chopped into pieces of ice by the enchanted sword that Ji Li gave to the Faceless Bones.

Soon the full view of the surveillance tower appeared in front of Ji Li, along with a whole team of [Outlaw Vanguard] standing ready:
"The devil is coming! Get ready!!!"

The spiritual essence was becoming less and less, but Ji Li evaporated it again without hesitation. Two faceless skeleton figures appeared in the crowd and pounced directly in.

The Faceless Bone on Ji Li's side drew his bow and shot down a Lv.2 adventurer.

The other one rushed in holding the scimitar enchanted by Ji Li and chopped down a Lv.3 one.

Ji Li ignored everything and broke through the crowd towards the surveillance tower.

Anyone who tried to intercept was blocked by the scimitar faceless bone.

Those who shot arrows from behind were dealt with first by the bow and arrow master, Faceless Bone.

Just as he was about to rush into the gate of the surveillance tower, a dark shadow fell from the sky.

boom! ! !
A figure covered in heavy leather armor and shiny metal pieces appeared in front of Ji Li. A huge axe directly split the ground into a huge crack, and a layer of blue spiritual essence rose into the sky.

"A third-level lord actually has such a strong initial army... but your life ends here."

The man raised his head and suddenly grasped the huge axe:
"I will kill you and then escape from this damn place completely..."

[Outlaw Vanguard Captain: Lv.8]

Instantly, the sound of the watch came:
[Congratulations adventurers! The latest expansion pack has a new development:

[Notice to the Demon King City area: Apply justice buff to all adventurers in the Demon King City——]

[Blessing of the Lightless One: When facing the forces of the Demon King's City, all attributes are increased by 20%, and the vulnerability to the forces of the Demon King's City is increased by 50%]

Those people were stunned for a moment, and then they were overjoyed. Several of them pounced towards Ji Li on the spot.

But the red crystal vibrates:

[This unreasonable rule has been forcibly modified: Double-edged Sword of the Lightless: When facing the forces of the Demon King City, all attributes are increased by 20%, and the damage received is increased by 20%. The vulnerability to the forces of the Demon King City is 50%, and the Demon King City forces are 50% more vulnerable to themselves.]

Those who jumped out and were still in the air were suddenly dumbfounded:

"what?"
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PS: I only slept for four hours today. I should be done with my work recently and will be on vacation soon. I should be able to return to my normal updating rhythm soon.

(End of this chapter)