Gao Wu: If this BOSS isn't nerfed, is it even playable?

Chapter 162 Shadow Scale Metamorphosis: Perfect Imitation!
Lin Ye was overjoyed.

Another unexpected bonus!

He seemed to be gradually figuring out the system's temperament.

Whenever he takes on a challenging task or finds himself in danger, he always steps in at the right time to issue a side quest with a generous reward.

The side quest in the Black Silk Forest last time gave his Gluttonous Beast a small upgrade.

This time, the reward system is entirely new.

All the mechanisms Lin Ye currently possesses, regardless of their quality, are completely useless.

What will this random mechanism be?
Lin Ye was filled with anticipation.

However, the requirements for this mission are indeed somewhat outrageous.

Assassinate their chief without alerting more than ten members of the Eight-Armed Tribe.

Lin Ye's original plan was to find the place and immediately unleash his full power, advancing all the way in, killing all the chieftains and slave soldiers, no matter what.

It seems we must change our approach and carry out a meticulously planned assassination.

……

More than twenty minutes later.

Lin Ye's figure rushed out of that twisted and eerie primeval dead forest.

He arrived at the edge of a cliff.

A fierce wind blew up from below, whipping up the corner of his clothes.

Using the high vantage point, Lin Ye gazed into the distance, and below the cliff, a massive canyon came into view.

After breaking through to the Condensation Realm, Lin Ye discovered that his five senses had also been greatly enhanced.

With his current eyesight, he can already see the details of the terrain hundreds of kilometers away.

In the canyon, dark red lava flows slowly like a river, radiating a scorching heat.

On the steep, black cliffs on both sides of the canyon, there are numerous caves, clearly carved out by human hands, densely distributed like a honeycomb.

At the only entrance to the canyon, two enormous blood-red banners fluttered in the wind.

That's it.

Kagu's memories of the Blood Slaughter Tribe.

Lin Ye estimated the height of the cliff to be nearly a thousand meters.

Without the slightest hesitation, he took a step forward and leaped off the cliff.

With his current physical condition and protective aura, it would be quite difficult for him to die from falling from such a height.

Lin Ye recalled his experience of controlling that elite Stone Goblin Clan member.

Lin Ye was still somewhat envious of these winged alien races.

It's a pity it still can't fly. If it could fly, it would make many things much easier.

As his body plummeted rapidly, the distance to the ground continued to decrease, and Lin Ye's mind raced.

hum!
A solid crystal wall made of amethyst material materialized out of thin air beneath his feet.

He lightly touched the crystal wall with his toes, instantly dissipating most of the downward force. Using the momentum, he transformed into an arrow, shooting diagonally towards the canyon.

The gravitational potential energy of the fall, combined with Lin Ye's several pushes in mid-air, provided the momentum.

In just over ten seconds, he easily traversed a distance of over a hundred kilometers.

Finally, his feet landed steadily on the solid black ground without making a sound.

This exquisite use of the [Crystallization] skill was something Lin Ye could never have achieved before his breakthrough.

Back then, the speed and hardness of crystallization were far from what they are now.

"Roar!!"

As soon as Lin Ye landed, he heard a roar.

Two patrols of the eight-armed tribe discovered him.

More than a dozen eight-armed warriors, their eyes wide with rage and their bodies faintly glowing with red battle markings, charged towards Lin Ye without uttering a single word.

We are currently outside the canyon. The mission requires us to carry out the assassination inside the canyon without being discovered by more than 10 members of the Eight-Armed Clan.

Therefore, Lin Ye was not worried that the mission would fail directly.

Whoosh!Whoosh!
Before the unarmed eight-armed tribesmen could even get close, a piercing sound of air being torn apart rang out.

Several arrows pierced the air, heading straight for Lin Ye's vital points.

Lin Ye swayed slightly, easily dodging the attack.

He could clearly sense that as he got closer to the settlement of the Eight-Armed Clan, the equipment of these alien races had become significantly more sophisticated.

The powerful bows they wield can fire arrows that are almost as fast as bullets.

A flash of purple light appeared in Lin Ye's eyes, and nearly 20% of the vast spiritual power in his sea of ​​consciousness was instantly extracted by him.

He locked onto four eight-armed archers who were responsible for ranged attacks, dozens of meters away.

The next moment, four crystal spears shimmering with a cold purple light tore through the air at a speed more terrifying than arrows, covering a distance of tens of meters, arriving first despite being behind!
puff!
Four muffled sounds of flesh being pierced rang out almost simultaneously.

The four eight-armed tribesmen who had just fired their first volley of arrows suddenly froze, a gaping hole appearing precisely between their brows, and the fierce light in their eyes quickly dimmed.

Lin Ye's heart stirred.

Crystallization, in his hands now, can be used as a ranged attack method that extends even further than Gang Sha.

However, using it this way is indeed a bit extravagant.

The 20% of spiritual power he just drew out is more than twice the amount he had at the peak of the Qi Opening Realm.

A series of even angrier roars rang out.

He witnessed his companion being killed instantly by this human using bizarre methods.

The remaining dozen or so eight-armed tribesmen showed no fear whatsoever; instead, they were like wild beasts that had been thoroughly enraged, and their speed increased even further.

Along the way, Lin Ye had also figured out the habits of the two main alien races in this area.

Both the Stone Goblin Clan and the Eight-Armed Clan are social creatures and both have rudimentary social classes.

However, the Stone Golems are more cunning, skilled in ambushes and long-range harassment, and will not hesitate to flee if they cannot win a fight.

The eight-armed race was the kind of monster Lin Ye liked the most.

The word "retreat" seems to be completely absent from their vocabulary. Their fighting spirit is so high that it borders on obsession. Even if they know they are no match for the enemy, they will fight to the death.

The dazzling golden aura of energy on the Piercing Star Spear in Lin Ye's hand reignited.

He then began cleaving.

A flurry of intense gunfire swept out.

After counting the breaths.

The battle ended with the last eight-armed warrior being severed at the waist by a spear thrust.

Lin Ye waited in place for a while, two minutes later.

Apart from the four corpses whose heads had been blown off, the remaining sixteen eight-armed clansmen all staggered to their feet and then knelt down on one knee in unison towards Lin Ye's direction.

Lin Ye closed his eyes and switched his temporary skill to [Silk Puppet] again, his consciousness entering the remaining memories of these new puppets.

Before long, a clearer picture of the tribe was formed in his mind.

There is indeed an eight-armed tribe called Bloodlust in the canyon.

Within the tribe, there exists a true chief with eight arms, who is also the leader of the entire tribe.

In addition, the chief's guard consists of ten men.

Although they all only have six arms, their strength is much greater than that of other elite six-armed captains.

Then there were more than fifty elite eight-armed warriors in the canyon, and the rest were more than three hundred four-armed slave soldiers.

Of the twenty-odd people Lin Ye just killed, only one was an elite, and he even shot him in the head.

That's about all the information that can be extracted from the memories of the remaining slave soldiers whose brain tissue is intact.

Their status in the tribe was that of cattle and horses, responsible for all the dirty, hard, and dangerous jobs.

Looking at the corpses scattered on the ground, Lin Ye fell into thought.

He has a [stage transition] and a second life as a margin for error, and the bracelet can also activate spatial folding teleportation at any time.

After completing the assassination, even if he were besieged by the entire tribe, it was highly unlikely that he would be caught off guard and die there.

The biggest problem now is how to infiltrate.

According to the memories retrieved, there is only one entrance to the canyon.

Not only are there dozens of sentries guarding the entrance, but more importantly, there are several barriers at the entrance that will automatically trigger an alarm if any non-tribal member approaches.

Lin Ye originally planned to infiltrate the Shadow Scale Clan's lair first, just like when he infiltrated it last time, and then take advantage of the Shadow Scales' stealth to find an opportunity to kill them in one fell swoop.

However, if one simply uses the invisibility effect of [Shadow Scale] to force their way in, it will definitely trigger those restrictions.

As for the option of sliding into the canyon from above, Lin Ye also rejected it.

Based on the memories retrieved, the canyon was covered by layers of canopies built entirely by the eight-armed slave soldiers.

Entering from here is extremely conspicuous.

The risk is extremely high.

In short, he can only enter through the main entrance at present and cannot trigger the alarm yet.

Given the warlike nature of the Eight-Armed Tribe, they would surely come out in full force once the alarm sounds.

At that point, the mission would have failed.

Thinking about this, Lin Ye couldn't help but feel a little troubled.

No wonder it's a challenge mission; just the step of infiltrating the canyon without triggering an alarm is enough to give him a headache.

Lin Ye forced himself to calm down.

The system will never release an insurmountable dead end.

There must be some way.

Suddenly, a scene he had long forgotten flashed through his mind without warning.

Back in the occupied territories of Linchuan, the first Shadowscale Clan member he encountered used only a tail to create a lifelike illusion of a human woman pleading for his help...

A bold idea flashed through Lin Ye's mind. He switched his temporary skill from [Silk Puppet] to [Shadow Scale].

The next moment, Lin Ye's figure disappeared from the spot.

He stared at the nearest eight-armed puppet in front of him.

Then, the black shadow scales covering his entire body rose and fell like living waves.

The luster and color on the scales are rapidly changing and recombinizing.

Lin Ye's figure gradually reappeared amidst a strange distortion.

However, this time, his combat uniform was gone, replaced by dark and muscular muscles, and four thick arms that kept clenching and unclenching their fists.

He transformed into the likeness of the eight-armed corpse he was gazing upon.

Become!

Lin Ye was overjoyed.

He originally just wanted to give it a try, but he never expected it to actually succeed.

As he continuously enhanced the [Shadow Scale] skill, its abilities went far beyond mere stealth and concealment.

He can even mimic the appearance of other creatures!

Lin Ye began to refine the details of his disguise.

The black skin on his body, formed from shadow scales, began to show red battle patterns, which eventually settled on a pattern exactly the same as that of the slave soldier.

If a third person were present at this moment, they would be surprised to find that Lin Ye's imitation was perfect.

From appearance to aura, they were exactly the same as the real eight-armed slave soldiers.

It is estimated that even the Eight-Armed Clan themselves would have difficulty detecting the abnormality.

After completing his disguise, Lin Ye reviewed the behavior patterns of the Eight-Armed Clan in his mind once more.

Using the memories shared by the [Silk Puppet], it's not difficult to make one's behavior resemble that of the Eight-Armed Clan.

Lin Ye came to a puddle nearby and, imitating the eight-armed tribe he remembered, took a few steps.

Indeed, at least in his own opinion, it was truly indistinguishable from the real thing.

everything's ready.

Lin Ye took a step and walked towards the huge canyon entrance.

As they gradually drew closer...

Lin Ye's gaze was focused on the two blood-red banners on either side of the canyon.

The banners were dozens of meters high, fluttering in the wind blowing from the depths of the canyon.

The battle flag was painted with an unknown pigment, depicting a muscular, twelve-armed, heroic war god.

The dozens of sentries guarding the gate looked puzzled when they saw Lin Ye return alone.

One of the six-armed elites stepped forward, blocked Lin Ye's path, and rudely questioned him in the eight-armed tribe's language: "Where are the others? Why are you the only one who came back?"

Lin Ye forcibly suppressed the tension in his heart.

He was not attacked immediately, but was only questioned.

This means his makeup imitation was successful.

But Lin Ye's heart was still beating much faster than usual.

He wasn't afraid of dying, but rather of being exposed.

If the mission fails, the infiltration will be pointless.

The deep, booming voices of the six-armed elite echoed in my ears, like a string of meaningless syllables.

What are you babbling about?

Lin Ye, of course, couldn't hear it.

Even if the Silk Puppet allows him to read memories, it cannot enable him to instantly master a complex foreign language.

Fortunately, he was prepared.

Lin Ye raised his head, waving his four arms incessantly, looking somewhat anxious.

At the same time, his expression was that of a simpleton, and even a trickle of saliva, simulated by shadow scales, dripped from the corner of his mouth.

“Abba…Abba Abba!”

He opened his mouth, mumbling incoherently.

The six-armed elite frowned even more, a hint of impatience and disgust flashing in his eyes.

Just then, a guard who was also on duty came over and whispered a few words to the elite leader.

After hearing this, the elite leader glanced at Lin Ye again, his disdain no longer concealed.

He waved four of his six arms impatiently, as if shooing away a fly.

The tension in Lin Ye's heart finally eased.

He secretly rejoiced that among the patrol team he had previously killed, there happened to be such an oddball.

The eight-armed person he was impersonating was someone who wasn't very bright and had a congenital intellectual disability.

But it is obedient to orders and has amazing endurance; it is known in the tribe as a big, simple-minded beast.

Otherwise, the language barrier alone would have kept him stuck at the door.

Having been given permission to pass, Lin Ye maintained his foolish persona and walked into the canyon with heavy, somewhat clumsy steps.

A wave of scorching heat hit me, carrying a strong smell of sulfur.

The rock walls on both sides of the canyon are not naturally formed, but rather resemble a group of volcanic lava caves.

Countless man-made caves, like a honeycomb, are densely distributed on the steep cliff face, and strong eight-armed tribesmen can be seen coming and going from time to time.

At the bottom of the canyon, a dark red river of lava flows slowly, radiating a chilling heat that casts a dark red hue over the entire canyon.

In the very center of the canyon stands a massive altar.

Behind the altar is an even more magnificent honeycomb-shaped fortress, entirely constructed of solidified black basalt pillars, connected to the cave complex on both sides of the mountain wall, clearly the residence of the tribe's high-ranking officials.

In the center of the altar, supported by the entire rock face, is a statue of a god tens of meters tall.

The statue had three heads and twelve arms, with crimson flame patterns wrapped around its body. Its three faces were all wide open in anger, with expressions of either rage or hatred, and were incredibly lifelike.

The six arms on one side of the statue are in different hand gestures, while the six arms on the other side are holding a battle axe, a spear, and a chain hammer, respectively, in a posture of charging up an attack.

Lin Ye only glanced at it, but he felt a strong mental shock coming towards him, as if the three pairs of eyes on the statue were staring straight at him, scrutinizing his soul.

This feeling... is surprisingly similar to that of visualization diagrams, both having the effect of tempering the spirit.

A question arose in Lin Ye's mind.

As far as he knew, the eight-armed tribe had at most eight arms, and certainly no three-headed ones.

The statue before them was less of their ancestor or war god, and more of a foreign deity with some connection to them.

Just as he was pondering, a stern rebuke came from his side and behind.

Lin Ye turned around and saw a six-armed elite soldier striding towards him, his face filled with undisguised anger, his target clear: Lin Ye.

As he walked, he kept yelling and babbling at Lin Ye.

Lin Ye's heart skipped a beat.

It's over.

He was once again completely bewildered, unable to understand anything, but judging from the other party's aggressive demeanor, it was definitely not a friendly greeting.

This elite soldier clearly recognized the big, dumb guy he was currently impersonating, and had come specifically to find him.

Lin Ye sighed inwardly, knowing that his pretense had come to an end.

Fortunately, he has successfully infiltrated the canyon, achieving his goal of concealing his identity.

He quickly glanced around; no other eight-armed tribesmen nearby seemed to have noticed him.

Before them stood only this one enraged elite eight-armed tribesman.

Opportunity is fleeting.

puff!
Just as Lin Ye's shadow scales faded and his disguise was removed...

A crystal spear shimmering with a cold, purple light appeared out of thin air without warning.

It then precisely pierced the back of the eight-armed elite's neck, exiting through his throat and drawing out a stream of scalding blood.

The elite roar abruptly ceased, replaced by a hissing sound as it escaped.

He lowered his head, staring incredulously at the purple crystal tip protruding from his throat, his eyes finally revealing horror and realization.

He wanted to scream, to warn others, but his pierced vocal cords prevented him from making a sound.

The next second, the crystal spear located inside his cervical spine suddenly extended upwards, piercing out another thinner and sharper spike that instantly pierced through his brainstem.

The tall, muscular body of the eight-armed elite trembled violently, the light in his eyes dimmed completely, and then he slumped forward.

Almost at the same moment he fell to the ground, Lin Ye had already switched the activated temporary skill from [Crystallization] back to [Shadow Scale].

His figure rapidly faded amidst a distortion of light and shadow, transforming into an almost invisible, transparent outline that blended into the surrounding scorching air.

Continuing to disguise oneself as an eight-armed person will only lead to repeated embarrassing situations like being recognized by acquaintances.

Now that you've successfully infiltrated, concealing your whereabouts is the best course of action.

Lin Ye had a sudden thought and brought up the task panel.

The requirements for the challenge mission have indeed changed.

[You have been discovered by one Eight-Armed Clan member. If you are discovered by nine or more Eight-Armed Clan members, the mission will fail!]

Lin Ye's heart sank.

Sure enough, even though he swiftly killed the discoverer, the system still took this exposure into account.

He needs to be more careful.

The remaining nine chances represent all the room for error he has to complete the assassination mission.

　A new month, a new monthly pass!

　　First update, please vote with monthly tickets!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)