Spellcasting Gods

Although he didn't understand why his teammates would suddenly become nervous, he knew that he seemed to be in some trouble.

"What?! Ten hours! You idiot! Why didn't you come back immediately after being bitten?" The half-elf druid roared in fury, his whole body trembling uncontrollably.

"Calm down! Little girl! Tell me what happened?" The dwarf, fearing a heated argument, quickly stood up and stood between the two.

Ignoring the dwarf's tense expression, the druid explained through gritted teeth, "It's bestiality! He was bitten by a beastman! See the wound? Do you think a normal wound would heal within ten hours?"

"Beastification?!" The dwarf's face changed drastically upon hearing the word. "Oh—damn it! It seems to be a full moon today..."

Before he could finish speaking, Joey suddenly stared blankly at the bright moonlight in the night sky outside the window.

next second...

His body began to expand rapidly, his well-developed muscles tore through his clothes in the blink of an eye, his thick body hair grew as thick as grass, and his head, along with his skull, stretched violently, eventually turning into the head of a canine.

"Awoooooo!!! ...

With a loud wolf howl, Joey finally completed his first transformation due to the beastification disorder. His two blood-red eyes were filled with primal and savage desires, constantly scanning the other three people in the room.

"Oh no! Stop him!" The Druid, who was well aware of the werewolf's danger, shouted a warning to his teammates.

However, several other werewolves who had been lying in ambush nearby broke through the window and immediately launched a frenzied attack.

Although Joey completely succumbed to its bestial nature during its first transformation, it seemed to subconsciously recognize its own kind and did not attack the werewolves. Instead, it opened its blood-red maw to its former companions.

"Retreat! Get back to the street!" The paladin brandished his magic sword, repelling two werewolves that lunged at him, and was the first to jump out of the window.

As a symbol of kindness and order, what she finds most unacceptable is involving innocent people in the battle, so leaving the crowded hotel is the only option.

The dwarves and druids followed closely behind, but the cramped space was also unsuitable for them to perform well.

And so, the six werewolves, a small adventure team of only three, set up their formation on the main street of Luscan's East District, ready for a decisive battle.

But before the two sides could begin the second round of competition, a dirty little beggar suddenly ran out of the darkness, carrying a bowl of hot soup and half a piece of black bread that he had begged from somewhere.

Upon seeing this, the young paladin immediately shouted, "Run! Child! Run!"

However, the poor little beggar seemed to be frightened by the tall and fierce werewolf, and stood there dumbfounded.

His weak performance instantly aroused Ian's primal killing instincts. He opened his blood-red maw and rushed over, biting the little beggar's neck.

"No!!!!!!!!!!!!!" The paladin roared in anguish, lunged forward, and with a swift stroke, severed the head of his former comrade.

"You bastard! What are you doing?! You killed Joey!" The dwarf shoved the crazed paladin aside, his eyes filled with rage.

He simply couldn't believe that his best human friend would die at the hands of his own people.

Similarly, the half-elf druid stared in disbelief at the head on the ground that was gradually returning to its original form, and at the little beggar's unseeing corpse.

Undoubtedly, the current development of events has far exceeded their expectations.

Taking advantage of the moment when the three were distracted, the werewolves, having achieved their goal, quickly turned around and jumped into a sewer entrance not far away. Their mission was complete, and there was no need to risk their lives to fight the enemy.

Staring at the dark red blood slicing across the sword, the paladin, who had lost control, seemed to finally come to his senses. He shuddered uncontrollably, muttering to himself with vacant eyes, "I killed Joey... I couldn't save that child... Great Tyre! Where is justice? Where is justice?!"

As the last word slipped out!

A divine light left her body!

Anyone with a modicum of common sense knows that this is because she questioned her own faith, thus losing the blessings of God.

……

Meanwhile, Xini, hiding at the end of the sewer, observed everything through the crystal ball and immediately curled her lips in a sarcastic smile, saying, "Master was right after all! Hypocritical justice usually doesn't last long. Many times, all it takes is a little artificial conflict and contradiction to bring about the inevitable downfall. Now let me see your potential. After all, you haven't fallen too deep yet, and there's still a possibility of redemption."

anger!

remorse!

pain!

despair!

The young paladin's heart was now filled with intense negative emotions. She didn't understand why she had lost control and killed her companion, nor did she understand why she couldn't save the innocent little beggar who was caught in the crossfire. The only thing she could do was to take revenge on the mastermind behind it all and make them pay a bloody price.

Chapter 0487 Trap

The dark sewers of Luscan were once the lair of ratmen, gangsters, and pirates, and even some monsters that crawled in along the estuary.

However, since Zhang Cheng launched the purge, most of them have been wiped out, leaving only a small number of black market merchants controlled by the mage tower who occasionally appear to do some shady business.

But tonight, two groups of unfamiliar visitors arrived. One group consisted of werewolves covered in thick fur, and the other group consisted of members of the Harpists' Alliance who followed closely behind the werewolves.

Especially the young woman at the front of the group, whose eyes burned with fury, had completely lost the most important virtues of a paladin—humility and reason. Like a madwoman, she would cut down anyone she encountered without saying a word.

Her silver armor, now stained with blood and filthy water, seemed to foreshadow the tragedy to come.

“Eleanor! We need to talk!” the half-elf druid said breathlessly, leaning on his staff.

"No! There's nothing to talk about! What happened to Joey and that innocent child is all my responsibility! I have a duty to avenge them!" The paladin gripped his longsword tightly, his face terrifyingly grim.

"That's right! We have to kill those wolf cubs! Blood for blood! That's true justice!" The dwarf gripped his weapon tightly, gritting his teeth as he stated his plan.

Seeing that his teammates were blinded by hatred, the half-elf druid could only sigh helplessly, shut his mouth, and continue walking along the stinking sewer.

After about half an hour, they finally arrived at a relatively dry cave.

Far from the sewers, this place seems to be a secret base that was later dug out by some person or organization. It is filled with not only a large number of tables, chairs and beds, but also rows of weapons and armor of different lengths and types.

The werewolf who launched the attack earlier was standing near the relatively open cave entrance, staring with its two bestial eyes, ready to pounce and attack at any moment.

Not far behind the werewolf stood a beautiful woman dressed as a mage, who was none other than Xini, who had been waiting for a long time.

She glanced at the paladin first, then greeted him meaningfully, "Welcome, dear Eleanor. I've been waiting for you for quite a while. I hope your performance won't disappoint your master too much."

"Who are you? Why did you order the werewolves to attack us? And who is the master you mentioned?" The half-elf druid stopped his companion who wanted to attack directly, probing him with a wary expression.

"Heh, you came to assassinate your master, and you still have the nerve to ask me why I attacked you? Is this the shameless face of the Harpists' Alliance?" Sini sneered sarcastically.

"Damn it! It's that black dragon?! Does it know we're here?" The dwarf looked around nervously, as if a terrifying prehistoric beast might leap out of the darkness at any moment.

Sini curled her lip in disdain: "From the moment you entered Luskan, your every move has been under the master's surveillance. I really don't know how to describe your behavior. Brave? Or is it ignorance is bliss? You have no idea how powerful the master is. In front of it, you are as fragile as ants."

"So you plotted to frame Joey and turn him into an evil werewolf?" Eleanor demanded angrily.

"You know nothing at all, don't you, poor thing? The only thing your master truly wants is you; he wants to see you fall into depravity. Now, let's play a little game, which your master calls a test of humanity. Let me see how long you can hold out..."

The words had barely left his mouth!

Xini suddenly raised her hand and snapped her fingers.

Snapped!

With a crisp sound, two enormous iron cages descended from the sky, trapping the dwarves and half-elves who had no time to dodge.

Immediately afterwards, two arrows shot out from small holes in the walls on the left and right sides, accurately piercing the arms of the two men.

"what!"

"mean!"

……

Ignoring the two wounded men, Xini explained with a smile, “Now, let me describe the rules of the game. As you can see, both of them have been hit by deadly poisoned arrows. In the next five minutes, you must decide who lives and who dies. The selection process is very simple: you just need to kill one of them. But if you refuse to make a choice, then they will both be poisoned to death when the time is up.”

"Shameless! How could you do such a thing, you wicked woman! Don't listen to her! I am a druid! I can..."

Just as the half-elf was cursing and trying to use nature magic to detoxify, one of the werewolves suddenly sprang up and tightened his thick arm around her neck through the iron cage.

The intense suffocation instantly interrupted the chanting of the incantation.

Without a doubt, the detoxification attempt failed.

Seeing this, Sini nodded in satisfaction and continued to say to the young paladin, "You have four minutes left. Friendly reminder: given the damage the toxin will cause to your body, the sooner you make your choice, the better. Otherwise, I can't guarantee that drinking the antidote won't leave any aftereffects."

Eleanor clenched her fists tightly, her whole body trembling uncontrollably, and she kept turning her head to look at her increasingly weak companion.

Although she desperately wanted to draw her sword and immediately kill the vicious woman not far ahead, and find the antidote on her corpse.

But the remaining rationality kept reminding him that since the other party was standing in front of him with such confidence, they must be on guard.

Moreover, mages are notoriously difficult to deal with. Unless it's a surprise attack, killing a mage requires breaking through their various protective spells. If you can't take them down in a short time, your teammates are doomed.

“Three minutes left!” Xini clearly noticed the hesitation and panic in the paladin’s eyes and announced the remaining time once again.

"Pah! You lowly human! You won't succeed!"

The dwarf struggled to his feet, pulled out an arrow, and plunged it into his own eye, intending to end his own life to stop the conspiracy from succeeding.

Before the poisoned arrow could pierce his eyeball, a figure suddenly emerged from the darkness, snatched the arrow from his hand, and chuckled mockingly, "Don't be in such a hurry to die, dwarf. You think your life is still in your own hands? No, it belongs to me now."

After saying that, Zhang Cheng gradually left the cover of darkness and calmly appeared in everyone's sight.

"Master, what brings you here?" Xini blinked, slightly surprised.

“Why can’t I come? Don’t forget, this is a script I wrote myself.” Zhang Cheng said, walking up to the paladin and lifting a strand of his long black hair to sniff it. “Hmm, the smell of corruption. Believe me, you won’t last long. Give up the struggle and embrace the darkness completely. Rather than indulging in Tyre’s hypocritical and boring preaching, you should acquire power by any means necessary. Because with power, you can carry out the justice in your heart, instead of watching tragedy unfold…”

Chapter 0488 The Fallen Paladin

Without any hesitation, Eleanor responded directly with her magical longsword, which was specifically designed to target dragons.

Being so young, she was clearly agitated. Perhaps due to acting impulsively, she didn't consider the consequences at all; all she could think about was killing the enemy.

Unfortunately, before the Dragon Slayer Sword could unleash its full power, Zhang Cheng reached out and grasped it in his palm. The azure magical light seemed to form an invisible energy field, completely blocking the sharp blade.

Sensing the intense malice emanating from the sword, he couldn't help but chuckle and mock, "Poor little thing, you think the Dragon-Slaying Sword can really slay dragons? I can only say you're too naive! This thing is at best a magical weapon, no different from those swords imbued with extra damage like fire, acid, sound waves, and lightning. A high-level protective magical weapon can easily take it down. Tell me, who sent you here to your deaths?"

"To die?!" Eleanor looked up, keenly grasping a key word.

"That's right! Don't you know? I am a dragon! A giant dragon standing at the top of the food chain! The power I possess is even feared by legendary mages and chosen ones of the goddess of magic like Elasdra and Kelburn. And you? You are nothing but a bunch of insignificant characters who don't even understand what power is, yet you want to assassinate me with a magic longsword. If this doesn't count as suicide, then I can only say that it's a miracle that the Harpists' Alliance has survived to this day."

After saying that, Zhang Cheng released the long sword in his hand and took two steps back.

He made no attempt to conceal his intentions, revealing the most contradictory aspects of the entire incident.

Nobody is a real fool!

Despite Eleanor's various personality flaws, it doesn't mean she's incapable of thinking.

After a moment of contemplation, she realized how many loopholes there were in this operation, especially since the higher-ups who issued the orders never provided specific intelligence about the enemy or any support.

Noticing the paladin's uncertain expression, Zhang Cheng pursed his lips and continued, "See, even you've noticed something's off about this, haven't you? While I'm not entirely clear on what happened within the Harpists, one thing's certain: you were discarded pawns. Perhaps it was a test, or perhaps it was to eliminate dissidents. I know you must be furious right now, eager to vent your resentment. But before that, you must finish the game you just played. You have thirty seconds left. Choose, which cage of companions are you going to let live?"

“Wait! I’m willing to make a deal with you! I’ll tell you who’s behind this!” Eleanor interrupted loudly.