Wizard: My skills can be upgraded indefinitely.

With its body hunched over, the fanged creature moved along the jagged rock face like an invisible shadow.

Not far behind him, Rex and the other six intermediate apprentices also held their breath and moved as slowly as possible.

Four days after leaving the "Forge" camp, they cautiously scouted the area designated by the wizard Sterling.

The air was thick with the smell of sulfur, mixed with an indescribable tension; every rustle of wind made one's heart tighten.

Venom Fang could clearly feel the changes in his body. Since taking the bloodline potion, not only had his strength increased dramatically, but a steady and profound foundation of power had also been left in his body.

His strength, stamina, and especially his ability to withstand blows, have improved to a level he never dared to imagine before.

It was as if an invisible, tough padding had been added beneath the skin, the muscle fibers were denser, and the bones seemed heavier, with a rock-like texture.

The newfound power did not conflict with his curse magic; on the contrary, it allowed him to withstand more intense magical backlash and poisonous corrosiveness when he used those insidious methods.

"There's trouble ahead!"

The fang suddenly stopped, its gray-black eyes narrowed, and it looked at a fissure obscured by dark red lava.

He specializes in curse magic and has a far greater sensitivity to life force, malice, and death energy than ordinary people.

Rex immediately waved for the group to stop and cautiously approached. "What is it?"

"The two... their presence was very faint, as if they were blending into the shadows."

Venom's voice was extremely low, carrying a unique chill, "They're from 'Shadow Assassins'."

Rex's expression changed. In their squad, only he and Venom were advanced apprentices. If they were defeated in battle, their other teammates might not even be able to escape.

"Can we go around it?" Rex asked in a low voice.

Venomous Fang slowly shook his head, his fingers pointing almost imperceptibly in two directions:

"They've spotted us and are flanking us. The one on the left is closer, only about 70 meters away, while the one on the right is flanking us, trying to cut off our retreat."

They've been discovered! Rex's heart sank, and he made a decision instantly.

"Prepare for battle! Intermediate Apprentices, form a defensive formation! Venomous Fang, we..."

Before he could finish speaking, something unexpected happened!

From the shadows of the left rock wall, a figure that almost blended into the darkness suddenly lunged out.

It was so fast that it left only a blur on the retina.

He held a short, jet-black blade in his hand, the blade reflecting no light whatsoever, and thrust it straight at a mid-level apprentice in the group who was a little slower to react.

"Watch out!" Rex roared, quickly conjuring a blazing fireball in his hand.

However, he hesitated for a moment, fearing that he might accidentally hurt his teammates.

In that split second, the fang moved.

He didn't recite those lengthy incantations; instead, his hands quickly formed several strange hand seals.

He uttered a few short, sharp syllables: "Touch of Decay!"

A gray-black, almost invisible energy surge shot out instantly.

They struck first, hitting the "Shadow Assassin" member with pinpoint accuracy.

The figure froze, as if some of its vitality had been drained, and its movements slowed down slightly.

This is the only chance!

Venomous Fang stomped his foot, and the rocks beneath his feet made a slight cracking sound.

He shot towards the dark short blade like an arrow released from a bow, his speed not much slower than that of the "Shadow Assassin," who was known for his agility.

"You're asking for death!" A cruel and surprised glint flashed in the eyes of the "Shadow Assassin" member.

The short blade in his hand remained on its original trajectory, thrusting straight at Venom's chest.

He believed his blade was sharp enough to pierce through any apprentice's shield and flesh.

The fangs neither dodged nor avoided, but merely shifted slightly to the side, thus avoiding the vital area of ​​the heart.

At the same time, he spread his five fingers on his left hand, and his dark purple nails suddenly extended, carrying a nauseating smell, as he grabbed at his opponent's wrist.

Pfft!

The short blade pierced Venom's left shoulder, and blood gushed out, but the blade did not penetrate deep into the flesh, as if it were stuck by the tough leather and dense muscle.

The "Shadow Assassin" member looked astonished. He felt as if he had not been stabbed into a human body, but rather into a piece of oil-soaked hardwood!

But Venom's left hand had already grabbed his wrist.

"Corrosive Grip!"

A dark purple light spread out, instantly staining the other person's wrist.

The flesh made a sizzling sound, quickly turned black, ulcerated, and even exposed the bone underneath.

"Ah!" The Shadow Assassin member screamed, instinctively trying to pull back his short blade.

But Venomous Fang's right hand was already raised, unleashing another low-level curse: "Painful Howl!"

An invisible mental shock penetrated the opponent's mind. At the same time, Venomous Fang endured the excruciating pain in his shoulder and clenched his right fist.

He gathered all the power that had surged throughout his body and slammed it hard into the opponent's chest and abdomen.

boom!

A muffled sound rang out, faintly resembling the cracking of bones.

The "Shadow Assassin" member's eyes bulged out, and his body was bent like a shrimp.

He was sent flying by the punch, crashing into the rock wall behind him and slowly sliding down, black blood mixed with his internal organs spilling from his mouth. He was clearly going to die.

All of this happened in just two or three seconds.

Only then did another "Shadow Assassin" member emerge from the shadows, clearly not expecting his teammate to be eliminated so quickly.

"You..." The Shadow Assassin was both shocked and furious.

With a swift movement, he transformed into several afterimages, indistinguishable from the real thing, attacking Poison Fang from different directions, each wielding a poisoned short blade.

"Shadow trick?" Venomous Fang scoffed, his shoulder wound bleeding profusely, but he seemed oblivious to it.

"Earthbound Poisonous Mist!"

Centered on him, a dark purple poisonous mist suddenly burst from the ground, spreading rapidly and covering an area of ​​several meters around him.

The afterimages slowed down dramatically in the poisonous fog, becoming clearly discernible.

The venomous fangs' gray-black eyes quickly locked onto one of the figures with the most concentrated aura, and the venomous fangs formed a hand seal once more.

"Weakness!" "Pain!" "Slowness!"

Three curses fell upon the true form almost simultaneously.

The "Shadow Assassin" member suddenly felt his body become as heavy as a mountain, his life force rapidly draining away, and a faint black shield appeared on his body.

Venomous Fang charged forward at breakneck speed, its slender body carrying a heavy sense of oppression as it slammed into the opponent's shield.

*Poof!* The opponent's shield shattered instantly, and he quickly raised his sword to thrust forward.

Venomous Fang raised his fist, which was covered with a layer of dark purple energy, and slammed it directly into the side of the short blade.

Amidst the clang of metal on metal, the short blade was smashed and tilted.

The fangs rammed into the opponent's arms, its shoulders, elbows, knees... every part of its body became a weapon.

Combined with simple yet ruthless close-quarters combat techniques, and power far exceeding that of ordinary curse wizards, he unleashed a torrent of attacks upon his opponent.

Card wipe!Card wipe!

The sound of bones breaking rang out one after another, and the "Shadow Assassin" member was knocked to the ground like a rag doll.

With a final, powerful stomp, Venomous Fang ended his life.

Battle over!

From the attack to the deaths of the two "Shadow Assassins," the entire process took less than thirty seconds.

The defensive formation of the six intermediate apprentices had not yet been fully deployed, and Rex had not yet had time to throw the fireball in his hand.

The scene was deathly silent.

The only sounds were Venom's slightly heavy breathing and the faint sound of blood dripping from the wound on his shoulder.

Everyone stared in disbelief at Fang, at the two corpses of Shadow Assassins at his feet.

This is the infamous "Shadow Assassin"!

Rex's mouth was slightly open, almost big enough to fit an egg.

Is this still the same curse wizard who needs to hide in the shadows to cast spells and whose body is relatively weak?

This is practically a humanoid monster with humanity on its side and a mastery of curses!

"Fang...you..." Rex's voice was somewhat hoarse.

Venom took a deep breath. He quickly pulled out hemostatic and antidote medicine from his pocket and treated the wound on his shoulder.

His face was somewhat pale; the continuous bursts of energy had taken a toll on his mental and magical abilities.

"Clean up the battlefield, check them for any intelligence, and be quick! The commotion just now might have attracted other people."

"Oh... okay!" Rex snapped out of his daze and quickly directed his still somewhat bewildered teammates to get moving.

Soon, they found some items on the two "Shadow Assassins":

Several signal stones from the Crimson Royal Court, some poisons and hidden weapons, and a small amount of magic stones.

In addition, there was a simple hand-drawn map marked with some symbols and routes, and a piece of encrypted bone fragment.

Venom and Rex studied the map and bone fragments, and after attempting to decipher them using arcane magic, the bone fragments shattered, but they also obtained some crucial information.

"They have a gathering point of no fewer than 50 people in the 'Black Rock Cave' area, about 30 miles to the west, including at least ten senior apprentices!"

"Moreover, it seems that an attack is about to be launched on the flank and rear of the 'Furnace,' on a scale far exceeding the last one."

"We must go back and report immediately!" Rex said decisively; this information was too important.

Venom nodded, looked at his wound, felt the surging power within him, and his gratitude towards Ian deepened even further.

"Let's go, full speed ahead and back!"

……