The Alchemist's Guide to Flesh and Blood Ascension

call out--!

A jet-black crossbow bolt pierced the air, carrying an extreme aura of death, and accurately struck the gap between a paladin's helmet and breastplate, emitting a vicious, flesh-piercing sound!

"Enemy attack!" The bald leader whirled around, catching a glimpse of the fleeting ratman's tail. "It's a ratman! Shieldbearers, form ranks and stand ready!"

The next moment, a sharp pain surged from his heart, causing him to vomit a mouthful of blood!

Not only him, but also the members of his team... Each person suffered different degrees of "internal injury"!

"What the hell is this thing..." His tone was filled with surprise and uncertainty. "Divide into groups of three, each shield guard listen to my orders... use the fifth-tier combat skill [Peak of the Sky] to protect the team members behind you."

"We absolutely cannot let anyone else be hit by that ghostly arrow, the rest of you..." Marty's gaze fell on the team member who had been hit by the arrow.

The latter's face had already turned deathly pale... Logically speaking, even if an elite paladin like him were hit by a magic-piercing arrow, he wouldn't look like this.

The bald team leader clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction, looked at his deputy, and quietly pointed to the "burden" and made a throat-slitting gesture.

"The rest of you, make sure the [Eye of Holy Light] is maintained, and prioritize dealing with that ratman who shot the arrow," he continued to instruct.

The elite believers immediately did as instructed, taking out "holy water" from their waists and applying it to their eyelids. Then... their pupils glowed with golden light, producing remarkable night vision!

"A crude trap..." Marty kicked away the gray rag covering the ground, revealing sharp spikes gleaming beneath it. "These ratmen are only good at petty theft."

He then looked at his deputy, whose body was stained with his comrade's blood, and continued, "Go ahead and clear the way. I need to keep an eye on the compass at all times."

The second-in-command nodded, using the [Holy Light Eye] to kick away the tattered cloths covering the ground, but a question arose in his mind...

Do those fools underground really think that these traps, which can't even pierce standard armor, can completely stop the Church's iron hooves?

The journey was eerily quiet; apart from that strange arrow that had been shot out out of nowhere, there was not a sound at all.

"Marty, their defensive focus may indeed be on the west side," he tapped the communication crystal clipped to his collar. "Seth sent a message from the west side of the pipeline, saying that a large number of sophisticated traps and a tight defense have been discovered."

"This is the video he attached..."

Marty leaned closer, feeling something was off about him that he couldn't quite put his finger on.

"In that case, let's march at full speed... Everyone, run! Keep your magic flowing, and rush underground in one go!"

Nehta, hidden in the shadows, nodded in agreement. Everything perfectly matched Yonivore's guess—the compass carrying the beacon of holy light could point so accurately to the path to the "Root"...

It was because of the fragments of holy light that had settled at the bottom of the "Great Swamp" that Uriel had clearly thought of this, and that was why he had made the fragments of holy light that he had not yet had time to pour out into the shape of a compass, and then used them as a wayfinding marker.

Moreover, Yonivore's methods were always varied and innovative, which was also known to the Church.

Now that this arrow has been shot, there will inevitably be a second arrow, a third arrow... forcing every member of the "rat-catching" team onto this path of no return.

Nehta grinned, inwardly criticizing the black-robed alchemist's ruthless scheming, while his gaze remained fixed on the dozen or so figures that had begun to jog.

Whoosh—whoosh—

Its ears twitched, taking in all the sounds of splashing water.

The cultists, standing on the iron railings held up by the frogmen, rose and fell, completely unaware of anything amiss. The [Holy Light Eye] had lost its effect at this moment!

This is because the frogmen fighting here have smeared themselves with silt from the "Great Swamp," a highly toxic silt that is enough to obscure their form and even their breath...

"One, two, three..." Nehta counted silently in his mind.

Whoosh—!

The paladin walking in the middle suddenly lost his footing and fell into the pool of sewage that glowed with a dark purple light!

A fishy and bitter taste rushed into his throat through his nasal cavity, then through his trachea, and into his lungs...

Before the paladin could even utter a cry for help, the frogman, wielding an iron spike, pierced through his internal organs through the gaps in his heavy armor, from under his armpits to between his groin armor!

"Damn it, there's something in this water!" Marty growled, stomping his foot hard—it was the fourth-tier warrior skill [War Stomp]!

Boom!

A muffled thud, accompanied by the surging water, exploded rapidly within the narrow pipe!

The two slow-swimming frogmen suddenly let out a shrill croak, their internal organs shattered by the powerful shock, and bright red blood spread out, instantly adding an eerie touch to the murky purple pool of sewage...

"Marty, are you insane?!" The second-in-command gripped the bald leader's shoulder tightly, his voice low and menacing. "Do you want to collapse this place and crush the entire squad?!"

"Then tell me how to find out those scumbags who are up to no good!" Marty was provoked by these words and retorted without any politeness.

"Speed ​​up, we'll run ourselves to death..." The deputy pointed to the communication crystal in his collar, "Seth has already covered most of the distance. Do you want him to steal the credit and live under his watchful eye for the rest of your life?"

"Damn it... let's do it," Marty said grimly. "When we meet up with the other three squads... I'm going to turn their heads into specimens!"

The paladins behind him were almost completely soaked in the sewage.

Two of the paladins had blood seeping from their joint cartilage, their expressions terrified and exhausted, as if they had just escaped death's clutches. They never wanted to see these dead frogs who didn't even care about their lives again...

The instant they fell into the water, they instinctively held their breath, thus avoiding the panic that comes with drowning.

Then, six ferocious-looking frogmen came and, without saying a word, wrapped their arms around their limbs and used their dull iron spikes to stab their soft armor again and again!

They repeatedly activated their combat skills to resist, which is how they survived this encounter where the combat power was completely unequal.

But the reward for surviving wasn't the priest's healing... but rather the deadly raid.

No one dared to say "no," even though their body temperatures had begun to drop rapidly.

This "rat hunt" is far from over...