Scourge Messenger

Chapter 171 The Born Evil Little Devil

One characteristic, or rather the design, of the game "The Messenger" is that most of the tokens and class traits obtained between levels 10 and 39 enhance the player's own strength, with virtually no skills that weaken enemies, and even those that strengthen teammates are rare.

This design is actually just to make it easier for new players to get started. After all, requirements like 'applying buffs' and 'applying debuffs' are indeed a bit of a barrier for newbies. It's better to let new players focus on their own rotation when playing dungeons and not have to look at information like 'vulnerability' or 'group buffs'.

However, you can't be so careless after reaching the Foundation Establishment stage. Most of the game's mechanics are concentrated during the Foundation Establishment period, including various support and weakening mechanisms.

A 15% to 50% reduction in hit rate is, even from the perspective of a complete novice to online games like Yan Qing, considered a rather lackluster skill. While it can reduce hit rate by up to 50%, when do players actually kill lower-level monsters? Most of the time, they're fighting monsters of the same or even higher level, so a 20% reduction is already considered good.

Moreover, this only applies to hit rate; it has no effect on the boss's wide-area attacks. The most critical aspect of high-difficulty dungeons is that the boss possesses a full-screen skill capable of wiping out the entire raid, requiring damage reduction to be weakened to an acceptable level for players. Reducing hit rate only alleviates the healing pressure on the tank player (the player holding the boss's aggro).

Yan Qing never expected that the weakening mechanism of reducing hit rate, which is very common in games, would have such an amazing effect in reality. Not to mention a young man like Yao Shiyuan, even the three great protectors who have been in charge of Shudao Mountain for many years were so frightened that their faces turned pale.

However, what these guys were saying was too outrageous. They talked about altering thoughts, distorting senses, and interfering with the body. Yan Qing thought it was some kind of magical ability that only appeared in a doujinshi. In the end, it turned out to be just a reduction in hit rate, which was a little disappointing...

But thinking about it carefully, the effect of reducing hit rate, which is easy to achieve in games, does seem a bit inexplicable in reality.

After all, hitting is hitting, and missing is missing. What does it mean to reduce the hit rate by 50%?
The reason why you think you can hit the ball but can't is nothing more than misjudging, misreading, or not using the right arm strength. Yan Qing has experienced this firsthand when playing badminton. Every time she thinks she can smash the ball, she ends up swinging it in the wrong direction.

Yan Qing's biggest exercise every day used to be running to the cafeteria, so it was understandable that he would make mistakes. But the three guardians were third-level messengers, each with strong blood and qi, skillful techniques, and calm minds. Reducing their hit rate by 50% was equivalent to turning them into Yan Qing, who would make mistakes even when playing badminton.

And it wasn't just once or twice; they were this incompetent throughout the entire process. They made mistakes in judgment every time, misjudged things every time, and put in the wrong effort every time. No wonder they were terrified.

"Uncles, you didn't hit a single time, or at most you hit once out of four attempts?" Bunny Girl asked, arms crossed. "That shouldn't be the case. Are you uncles not trying hard enough?"

"You brat—" Xue Xiang gritted his teeth, about to curse.

Prajna stopped him and nodded: "Benefactor Rabbit is right. Although it is very uncomfortable inside, long-term training inside should improve attack accuracy, but..."

The fierce-looking monk with a face full of scars revealed a bitter expression: "This humble monk is not afraid of pain, suffering, or injury, but facing such a bizarre foundation-building method, it is truly difficult to muster the courage to adapt."

It turned out to be the case.

Compared to game characters, who are data-driven figures whose credentials are permanent and who are always at their best, real-world messengers are more susceptible to negative effects.

Like the poison masters Ye Kai and Chen Afu whom they encountered before, their poisoning effects were so-so, with no other negative effects besides blood loss. But even the pharmacist Yuan was affected, though she managed to endure it. If it were an ordinary messenger, they would probably be unable to exert half their strength due to the pain of poisoning.

For a game character, reducing the hit rate is equivalent to making her carry a heavy load on her entire body. Even if it is severely affected, the game character's movements are still flawless. But for a real-world messenger, the moment they are burdened, they are already pressed to the ground. They have never experienced anything like this before. They even have to practice standing up, let alone moving.

"Carrying a heavy load" is a euphemism. According to their description, the experience of reducing the hit rate by 50% is like being possessed by a ghost, which would scare anyone.

"What about archery?" Bunny Girl asked. "Since they won't leave the courtyard, haven't you tried attacking them from outside?"

"Nonsense," Blood Prime said irritably. "Do you think Foundation Establishment techniques are so easy to break? Even if you shoot an arrow from outside, it will deflect as soon as it goes in, like it's been blown away by the wind. To hit it, you need at least a bow and arrow with locking capabilities."

Huh? You don't have a bow and arrow as a token?
They just used a regular bow and arrow!
Even though he had been in this world for a long time, Yan Qing still found it hard to get used to the poverty they occasionally showed, even though he himself wasn't exactly rich.

"But uncle, you can hit them occasionally, right? You could slowly whittle down these demons," said Bunny Girl. "Or maybe you're just too lazy to do it?"

"While not as extreme as the Skull Tower, most demons still possess a certain degree of regenerative ability," Prajna said. "Unless the Blood Lord works tirelessly for several days until he kills a demon, the demon can recover most of its injuries as long as he sleeps."

"Oh!" Bunny Girl clapped her hands in sudden realization: "So it's because the old man can't do it."

"I told you, even we can't do anything about it, how could these two short-sighted girls possibly have any ideas?" Xue Xiang sneered. "In the end, we can only slowly adapt to the changes here. It's the same whether they're here or not."

"It's different. Five people are always faster than three. Don't forget, there's an elite demon here," Bei You said, pointing to the red-clad demon. "I don't want to find out later that even the three of us combined can't defeat it. And we can't see anything like a lotus platform right now. But will Si Wuxie really let us pass so easily?"

Bei You's words sounded strange; even using Foundation Establishment techniques, how could it be considered easy? But compared to the front hall, which had been blocked by countless people for nearly a hundred years, the central courtyard, which only required time to adapt, was indeed very easy. Xue Xiang snorted, but did not continue to object.

Just then, a proud yet childlike voice resounded throughout the courtyard:
"Why bother with all that trouble? This heroine can take it all by herself."

As she spoke, the bunny girl took a step into the circular formation. Yan Qing then saw a debuff appear on the bunny girl's health bar: "Mixed Yuan Bewitching Formation: Hit Rate -50%". At the same time, the demons also looked over immediately.

Si Wuxie, that old bastard, set up this formation quite well; it perfectly overlaps with the demons' targeting range.

The white-clad demon rushed in to attack. The bunny girl dodged, triggering the rainstorm. The Seven Star Sword's brilliance was activated, and the Hundred-Image Hand's direct strike was activated. In an instant, she thrust out thirteen swords. Six of them missed, but the remaining seven left star-studded sword marks on the white-clad demon.

Yan Qing did not intend to kill the demon in one go. As soon as the rain ended, he retreated to a safe area. Ten seconds later, a dazzling sword mark erupted, leaving a dense array of wounds on the white-robed demon. Not a drop of blood flowed from the dried corpse, only wriggling maggots and foul-smelling pus gushed from the wounds. The white-robed demon's health dropped by half immediately.

Even so, that was enough. Bunny Girl turned around to face the shocked gazes of the crowd, but what appeared before her was the back of Pharmacist Yuan, and the uncertain gazes of the three guardians.

It seems that this performance was over the top.

Yan Qing quickly realized the delicate nature of the situation: once the Bunny Girls were able to effectively damage the demons of the Corpse Forest, the balance between them and the three guardians was completely broken.

The three guardians are the strongest and most powerful figures in Shudao Mountain. Previously, Pharmacist Yuan and Bunny Girl were both the weaker party and the assistants, so they only received the assistant's reward. Everyone can accept that the strong get more and the weak get less.

But now Bunny Girl can easily break through the Central Court alone without the help of the three guardians. So how should the spoils of war in the Central Court be distributed?

If the three guardians simply hand over the spoils of war from the Central Court, they will inevitably find it hard to let go and will hold a grudge; but if they ask Bunny Girl to share the spoils, they will surely assume that Bunny Girl also harbors resentment, putting themselves in her shoes. The already crumbling alliance will now be further fueled by hatred.

Yan Qing was no stranger to this scene; Jiang Shi had done the same thing before. When your strength is insufficient, if you demonstrate the ability to seize most of the rewards, you yourself become a source of conflict.

So, what choice will the Demonic Path make? Yan Qing touched the hilt of Bingzi Jiaolin's sword, ready to lend it to the Bunny Girl at any time.

"Wow, that's amazing." Bei You suddenly laughed, "Should I say it's due to family tradition or something? Heroine Xingyu, you seem to have adapted to Si Wuxie's bizarre formation in an instant."

Upon hearing this, Prajna and Xue Xiang's sharp eyes became hesitant.

Yes, without prior training, how could Bunny Girl have resisted the effects of the Azure Light Array?

Either an elder has a Foundation Establishment messenger, or the family possesses Foundation Establishment techniques. Either way, driving her away is a poor strategy; if she leaves today, she might bring people to cause trouble tomorrow.

The demonic messenger is not afraid of retaliation, but this is a crucial time to conquer Si Wuxie's legacy, and he must not cause any unforeseen complications.

"Is it just my imagination?" Prajna asked. "Or has the red-robed demon really grown larger?"

Everyone turned to look and noticed that the red-clad demon seemed to have grown slightly larger. If before the red-clad demon was only an inch taller than the white-clad demon, now it seemed to be a full head taller.

Yan Qing could see it more clearly on the screen because the red-clothed demon's health and karma bars had changed, and had been extended slightly out of nowhere!

Originally, it only had 68% of its karma left, but now, because the karma bar has been extended to 105%, its karma has also increased to 73%!

"I've heard of this mechanism; when ordinary demons are injured or die, the strength of elite demons is enhanced," the Pharmacist said calmly. "I just don't know if this mechanism is inherent in the Corpse Forest or if it's an effect of the golden light injury of the red-clothed demon."

This mechanism is similar to the previous Skull Tower. In the Skull Tower, if you don't deal with it, there will be an endless stream of monsters. Here, if you don't clear out the red-clad elite demons first, you will eventually raise a powerful enemy comparable to the Demon King.

"It seems that, just like the Skull Tower, we also need to deal with the Red-Clothed Demons first, while the White-Clothed Demons are under siege here." The Bunny Girl turned to the three guardians: "Uncles, celebrate! You're useful again now, and you won't be killed by me for being useless."

"How did you, a born evil brat, manage to survive until now..." Blood Prime's lips twitched, his face as ugly as if he had eaten shit, but his hands, which were taut behind his back, slowly relaxed.

(End of this chapter)