Scourge Messenger

Chapter 172 is here.
The bunny girl sat cross-legged on the ground, repairing the Seven Steps of Buddhist Recitation.

These days, the 'Hidden Sword Manor Tool Kit' in the warehouse has been used up like water. Even if Yan Qing has the money to buy it, the Qi Kingdom does not have an unlimited supply. Fortunately, he bought a lot of Pharmacist Glue before going up the mountain to handle basic repairs. Even if the tool kit is used up, the Pharmacist Glue alone can keep it running.

The shortage of resources, coupled with the monopoly of power by various aristocratic families, has its drawbacks in every aspect. In the game, the maintenance of tokens only requires a little effort from the player, but in this world, it has become a major problem that countless messengers must take seriously.

No wonder Emperor Taizu Liang used up the Hand of Melting a Hundred Forms; he probably ran out of repair items after continuous battles. But with the enemy closing in, how could he not use the token? Even Foundation Establishment Messengers have to exert themselves to survive.

These are just the maintenance of tokens for mortals; after reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, the trouble will likely be beyond imagination.

While Bunny Girl was repairing her weapon, the others were also busy recovering from their injuries. Prajna had more than a dozen hideous and terrifying wounds on his body, but he seemed to have a healing artifact, and they were almost healed in no time, although many more scars appeared on his body.

Bei You had seven or eight injuries, but they were mostly on his arms. He seemed to be used to using his arms as a shield to absorb injuries, so that it would not affect his movement or even his combat.
The worst off was Xue Xiang. Although he only had three wounds on his chest, they were all so deep that the bone was visible, and the flesh was torn and mangled. Even after taking blood-replenishing pills, they had little effect and could only barely stop the bleeding. Large beads of sweat dripped down his grim face, indicating that he hadn't suffered such a serious injury in a long time.

"Uncles, are you guys still holding on?" Bunny Girl asked. "How about we give you a few days off?"

The Bunny Girl's voice was not sarcastic or mocking, because in the three battles they had just experienced, the three guardians had all made contributions befitting their status.

It's not difficult to lure the white-clad demon away, but the moment the bunny girl attacks the red-clad demon, all the demons will go berserk and focus their attacks on the bunny girl, increasing their movement speed and attack speed by two or three times. In this situation, even if Yan Qing is good at dodging, it will be useless. Without invincibility frames, dodging cannot avoid the attack from all sides.

Despite having the Bodhisattva Jade Pendant, the Mountain Heart-Protecting Mirror, and an unlimited supply of Spirit Jade, Yan Qing wasn't sure if the Rabbit Girl could survive such intense concentrated fire, given the attack power of the third-level demon.

Attacking the white-clad demon first will permanently strengthen the red-clad demon, while attacking the red-clad demon first will cause all demons to go berserk. There are no shortcuts here; it all depends on which situation the messenger is better at handling. But either way, a rock-solid team is needed, and besides the Pharmacist Wish, the Bunny Girl only has three seemingly loyal but actually estranged guardians by her side.

They met the expectations.

From the moment Bunny Girl completed her storm attack until she withdrew from the courtyard, they relentlessly hindered and even blocked the demons' attacks, never allowing Bunny Girl to be put in danger.

Even if their accuracy is reduced to almost zero, they can still use their bodies to block and dodge and parry the attacks of demons, but the price is that they have to endure the demons' frenzied offensive.

Of the five demons, Yaoshiyuan, Banruo, and Beiyou were responsible for holding off the four white-robed demons, while Xuexiang, the fastest of them all, had the most difficult task: he was responsible for blocking the red-robed demons.

Therefore, the Blood Element either remains unharmed or suffers a horrific injury. If the red-clad demon had scratched any deeper, the Great Protector might have died instantly.

I really don't know whether to feel regret or relief.

"Are you tired, kid?" Blood Prime Minister exhaled a breath of stale air. "You can't even hold on anymore?"

The pharmacist ignored Xue Xiang's attitude and looked at Bei You and Ban Ruo: "Can you guarantee that your condition won't decline? If your condition declines, you might as well rest for a few days and come back later."

She had the confidence to say this, because among everyone present, besides the Bunny Girl, she was the only one completely unharmed. Compared to them, the Pharmacist knew far better how to deal with demons, when to use defensive artifacts to block, when to dodge, when to parry... These extremely valuable experiences could only be mastered by those who frequently immersed themselves in secret realms. How could these half-hearted demon messengers compare to her?

Even in unfamiliar and mysterious places, she was able to perfectly control her pace and never put herself in danger.

"On the contrary, we are in perfect condition right now," Bei You said with a smile. "The more injured a beast is, the more ferocious it becomes."

"Are you sure, uncles?" the bunny girl said. "If we make a mistake, you might get what you want and really have to be reincarnated as animals."

"This humble monk has rested well." Prajna stood up, his body as sturdy as a mountain bear. "Even the torrential rain wasn't necessary, so what are these mere injuries? It's good to let some blood out to warm up my body. Besides, demons can also recover. Since we've made up our minds to pass through the central courtyard, we can't give them time to rest."

Since the three protectors had all said so, Yan Qing naturally wouldn't waste any more words. He actually wanted to break through tonight as well, but if the three protectors felt they needed to rest and recuperate, he could understand.

However, if he were one of the three guardians, he probably wouldn't stop just because of this injury. They were only a hair's breadth away from breaking through the central courtyard and getting the reward. Who could resist such an irresistible temptation? This is a level design that the planners have iterated countless times. People outside the game can't resist it, let alone those of them who are in the game.

Arriving before the Azure Light Array once more, Yan Qing stared into thought as he looked at the health and karma bars above the red-clad demon's head.

Unlike the Skull Tower, which can quickly regenerate health, the Red-Clad Demon regenerates health very slowly. After being brutally beaten three times by the Bunny Girl, its health was reduced to only 16%, and its karma bar was reduced to only 1%, which Yan Qing deliberately controlled. If he guessed correctly, an unprecedented anomaly would definitely occur when the karma bar reached zero, so of course, he had to be fully prepared before triggering it.

So, should we tell the three protectors this? If we take this opportunity...

Just as this thought crossed Yan Qing's mind, the bunny girl on the screen presented a dialogue option.

"There's a high probability of an anomaly happening soon, so be prepared," the bunny girl said casually, glancing at the pharmacist, "Big sister, you should prioritize your own safety."

The Pharmacist neither nodded nor shook his head, merely flashing his spear to indicate he was prepared. Concealing the truth was impossible, unless even the Pharmacist was kept in the dark. Moreover, the three guardians were incredibly astute, and given the precedent of the Skull Tower, how could they possibly be unprepared?

Besides, Bunny Girl isn't that kind of person.

Although the three guardians are bad guys, villains, and may even become enemies in the future, since they are teammates now, there is absolutely no reason for them to deliberately frame her. They are not worthy of Bunny Girl giving up her dignity.

The five rejoined the fray. Four of them lured away the white-clad demon, while the bunny girl faced the red-clad demon alone, triggering a rainstorm!
The instant the karma bar reached zero, the enormous golden wound on the red-clad demon's chest became incredibly dazzling. With a piercing, malevolent shriek, all five demons simultaneously underwent a transformation. Their bodies grew enormous, sprouting two heads and four arms; each demon became a three-headed, six-armed monster, its attack speed and power far surpassing its former glory!
"Prime Minister Fu, give me back my husband's life!"

"Prime Minister Fu, you have unjustly killed innocent people!"

"Prime Minister Fu, I want you dead!"

Retreat, retreat, retreat!

The bunny girl narrowly escaped the claws of the red-clad demon, but five great demons had already attacked from all directions, bringing with them a storm of blood and gore. Compared to them, the bunny girl was just a tender young beast and could not escape their all-encompassing net!

Yan Qing had calculated that to reduce the red-clad demon's remaining 16% health, she would have to use the karmic power of the Seven Steps of Reciting Buddha's Name, waiting seven seconds or forcing it to take seven steps to deal 150% critical damage. But faced with such a desperate situation, could the bunny girl really hold out until after those seven steps?
A lithe figure blocked the white-robed demon from the southeast—it was Yaoshi Yuan. She thrust her spear into the ground; such aimless attacks were unaffected by the negative effects of the grand formation. She gripped the spear tightly, forming a tripwire, and forcefully tripped the white-robed demon!
A roar of fury rang out from the northeast. Prajna actually managed to block the white-robed demon, but the latter shattered her protective barrier with two punches and sent her flying like a cannonball. However, she managed to buy herself two seconds!

Beiyou in the west deliberately provoked the white-robed demon, luring it to attack him. Then he ran in front of another white-robed demon and used them to block each other. Although the price was that his protective barrier was shattered by the demon and his hands were cut with deep, bone-revealing wounds, he successfully stopped the two white-robed demons from advancing!
Finally, there's the blood count!
The red-clad demon's hatred for the bunny girl was the most steadfast and unaffected by anything else, so Bloodlust jumped directly onto its face, reached into its eye socket, and brutally crushed the dried-up residue inside!
The red-clad demon did not stop. It had six arms, and the two uppermost arms swatted at Blood Prime like swatting mosquitoes. However, Blood Prime had already jumped in front of it and pulled up a chain from the ground. The end of the chain was used to bind the red-clad demon's feet!

This type of trap, which doesn't require aiming, is also unaffected by the Chaotic Bewildering Array!
The Blood Phase had blocked the red-clothed demon in the same way the first three times, but this time something went wrong—the red-clothed demon was too strong. Even though the Blood Phase tried its best to pull in the opposite direction, it did not interfere with it in the slightest. Instead, the red-clothed demon pulled the Blood Phase in front of it with a forceful tug, and the three large hands on the left side smashed down like iron hammers!
Blood Phase used a somersault to retreat, but was still hit, and his protective barrier was nearly shattered!

However, that's enough. Thanks to Blood Phase's help, Bunny Girl is almost at safety. Even if she is caught up now, she only needs to withstand one round of attacks. Although the Mountain Heart Mirror might not be able to withstand it, Blood Phase has perfectly fulfilled his duty, and it's Bunny Girl's turn to take this risk.

However, Bloodthirsty did something unexpected at this moment: he jumped onto the red-haired demon's head again, put the chain around the red-haired demon's neck, and strangled it tightly!

Once the red-haired demon started running, it was as if it were strangling itself with its own strength. It had no choice but to stop and swat at the fly that dared to stand on its head and act arrogantly with all four arms!

The clapping, loud enough to shatter eardrums, echoed throughout the courtyard, but unfortunately, Blood Phase had already escaped a step ahead. He was only five steps away from the safe zone, a distance he could cover in a single breath.

However, when Xue Xiang looked at the people in the safe area, he could only see warning and fear on their faces!

Without the slightest hesitation, Xue Xiang immediately lunged forward to dodge, and a slap landed heavily on the spot where he had just been, leaving a palm mark an inch deep.

But Xue Xiang felt no excitement about escaping, because he remembered that the red-clothed demon had six hands, four of which were clapping on its head. One had just landed, so where was the other one?

Even though Xue Xiang used all his strength to stand up and escape, it was too late!
Snapped!
A loud bang rang out from the side, and Xue Xiang looked at the palm that had landed on his right, almost unable to react.

The red-clad demon missed its target!
Yes, there's a 50% chance that a demon's attack will miss!

Before Xue Xiang could even feel a surge of joy, the nearest white-robed demon shattered his protective barrier with two slaps, sending him flying out like a fly and crashing heavily to the ground. Since everyone else had already escaped, the white-robed demon naturally targeted Xue Xiang, the only one still inside the formation.

"My husband—my son—don't leave me—"

At the moment the seven-step chanting of Buddhist scriptures concluded, the red-clad demon let out a cry that sounded like a wail or a lament, and his entire body was engulfed in golden flames, leaving only a curtain of red robes. The other white-clad demons cried out "Master" before turning into dust and disappearing, leaving four white robes on the ground.

It seems to have a similar mechanism to the front hall; killing the red-clothed demon first will cause the other monsters to die as well, which saves a lot of trouble.

In the courtyard outside the great formation, the people who had narrowly escaped death were panting heavily. Bei You's hands were almost useless, Ban Ruo had been spitting blood non-stop, and Yao Shi Yuan's hands were cracked at the base of his thumbs.

Xue Xiang refused Prajna's help and stood up unsteadily. He had just dragged himself face down, which had broken his nose. His ceremonial hat had fallen off and his hair was disheveled. His originally sinister face had become disheveled and ferocious.

"Wait, am I the second one to choose my spoils?" he asked, looking at Beiyou and Banruo.

"Yes." Bei You and Banruo nodded.

"Kid, am I qualified to be second in line to choose the loot?" he asked, looking at Bunny Girl.

The bunny girl turned her head away and muttered something:
Yes, there is.

(End of this chapter)