Spellcasting Gods

Because they simply couldn't describe how special those eyes were, like a dazzling starry sky, as if a bottomless lake was about to suck them all in.

fortunately!

This state didn't last long. Soon, the barbarian warrior came to his senses, shaking his head vigorously. After a full minute, he asked warily, "Damn it! What did you just do to me?"

"No, I didn't do anything. It's just that your spirit is too weak to withstand the energy I unintentionally released. Remember, don't look into my eyes, or your soul will be affected." Zhang Cheng pulled his hood tighter again, explaining half-truthfully.

As his understanding of the rules deepened, the power within him began to expand at an unprecedented rate, the most typical characteristic of which was that his eyes would release a small amount of energy to the outside world.

Perhaps for the vast universe, such a slight release wouldn't even cause a splash, but for these mortals, even the slightest contact could cause extremely terrible and serious consequences.

"Who exactly are you?"

A woman in a traveler's robe, who looked like a spellcaster, stepped forward and cautiously probed the group.

Unlike her companions who only knew how to solve problems with violence, she could clearly sense the rich magical energy surrounding the mysterious person in front of her, and she understood that someone with such power was definitely not an ordinary adventurer.

"Me? I'm just a traveler. I heard that ancient ruins have appeared here, so I came to see if there's anything that interests me." After saying that, Zhang Cheng turned his head and looked straight ahead.

Just as the woman was about to say something, a mournful cry faintly came from afar.

"Aaaaaaahh ...

"Damn monster! Die!"

"Kill! Kill! Kill! As long as I kill you all, I can survive!"

……

As the sound grew clearer and clearer from afar, several figures soon appeared on the horizon.

They were like madmen, wielding weapons and killing each other; their brutality was astonishing.

Although the members of the adventure team were still completely bewildered and had no idea what had happened, Zhang Cheng had seen everything that had just occurred.

Clearly, it was the Skinning Monster's conspiracy and disguise that drove these people into a frenzy of suspicion and mental confusion, making them believe that everyone except themselves was a monster in human skin.

Little did they know that the skinning monsters who had caused this incident were lurking in the shadows, mocking their foolishness without restraint, and even making bets on who would be the final victor.

However, the ultimate victor did not escape danger, but became the dinner of the skinning monsters.

cruel!

tyrannical!

They derive pleasure from killing and toying with their prey!

This is a monster created by twisting souls!

Although they are extremely intelligent and can continuously acquire knowledge, memories, and various skills by devouring souls, they have absolutely no sense of awe or pity.

They are clowns who love to play pranks, cunning hunters, and ruthless butchers.

Even Zhang Cheng, the creator, did not expect that they would create their own unique social structure and multiply rapidly in such a short period of time.

"My God! What are those guys doing? Are they possessed? Or is it the effect of some kind of charm spell?" An archer carrying a longbow opened his mouth and couldn't help but exclaim loudly.

“No! It wasn’t magic! They weren’t affected by any magic.” The woman cast a detection spell and quickly shook her head in denial.

"If it's not magic, why are they killing each other like madmen?" The barbarian warrior frowned subconsciously.

Because of his background, his knowledge of magic was limited to a few healing spells used by tribal priests and some summoning spells.

The woman rolled her eyes in annoyance: "Who knows what happened! Maybe they fought over the spoils, or maybe they encountered some terrifying monster and had a mental breakdown."

"Don't forget, the person who sold us the information said that this place is extremely eerie. Almost every adventurer who gets close doesn't leave alive. Even if they do manage to come out alive, they become neurotic or become trapped in fear." The archer quickly added.

"Yes! Look at those rotting corpses on the ground, there's definitely something wrong with this place. Let's go, before those lunatics are all dead, we'd better stop them and gather some information while we're at it."

Without another word, the barbarian warrior charged forward at lightning speed, wielding his greatsword. In just a few moves, he knocked the weapons of several men away and then punched the exhausted man to the ground. The whole process was fluid and perfectly timed.

After he took out a hemp rope and tied the hands of the prisoners one by one, he opened the water bag and poured some water on each person's face.

Unfortunately, these people were clearly exhausted. Instead of waking up, they closed their eyes and fell fast asleep, their snoring clearly audible from dozens of meters away.

"Damn it! Wake up! Wake up! If you want to sleep, wait until you answer my questions."

The barbarian warrior grabbed one of the men by the collar and shook him violently, trying to wake him from his sleep.

Unfortunately, it was all in vain. Exhaustion had put the survivors into a deep sleep, completely unaffected by the outside world.

Left with no other option, he approached Zhang Cheng again and cautiously probed, "Do you have any way to wake them up?"

“It’s very simple! Give them this to drink, and they’ll wake up within a minute at most. However, I must warn you that this drug has a fatal side effect: it can severely damage a person’s mental state, and may even turn a person with neurasthenia into an idiot.”

"It doesn't matter! I'm not familiar with them anyway, so what do I care about their lives or deaths? I just want to get some useful information out of them."

The barbarian warrior snatched the potion and poured it down the throat of one of the men without hesitation.

Chapter 1107 The Perilous Wilderness

As a burly man over two meters tall with arms thicker than an average person's thigh, the barbarian warrior's movements were naturally not gentle.

He pulled the stopper from the vial, roughly pried open the mouth of one of the prisoners, and poured the medicine down his throat. Then he shook the prisoner violently, shouting, "Hey! Wake up! Tell me, what exactly happened to you?"

"Cough cough cough cough!!!!"

Accompanied by violent coughing from choking, the exhausted man finally slowly opened his eyes, covered his mouth, and lay on the ground vomiting violently.

The medicine clearly stimulated his nerves and internal organs, so he appeared to be trembling slightly all the time, and his wounds were constantly oozing blood.

Without a doubt, he had almost exhausted all his life force, and this was just his last gasp before he breathed his last in about ten minutes.

Adventurers who constantly teeter on the brink of death naturally cannot be unaware of what such an early physical condition signifies.

Therefore, the barbarian warriors didn't waste any words and directly questioned them loudly: "Why are you killing each other? What kind of monsters did you encounter in the ruins?"

"Ruins? Hahahaha!" The battered man struggled to his feet, laughing maniacally as he muttered to himself, "No! We didn't even go into the ruins. Those monsters! They can impersonate your closest friends, gain your trust, and then slowly push the entire group into an abyss of no return. Run! Run! Don't get close! Or you'll die too!"

After saying the last word!

He suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, fell backward onto the ground, and his eyes quickly lost their luster.

"Damn it! He died before he could tell us everything he knew!" the barbarian warrior complained helplessly.

But just as he was about to wake up the next prisoner, the woman, whose age was hard to discern, suddenly spoke up to stop him: "Enough! Let them sleep. We already know enough."

"What do you mean?" The soldier blinked, looking completely bewildered.

"Sigh, if only you had half the brains, or even a third, or a quarter of the skills, that would be so great," the archer couldn't help but mutter under his breath.

The woman rolled her eyes at the two of them, then explained, "It's very simple! He just mentioned a monster that's good at deception and disguise. This means that the infighting we saw not long ago was actually a collapse of trust within their ranks, and nobody knew whether the other was actually a monster in disguise."

"Um... according to you, we should leave some kind of mark on each other so that if we find any suspicious behavior or actions, we can use these marks to confirm each other's identities?" The barbarian warrior scratched his head and said the countermeasure he had thought of.

“Idiot! If it were that easy to distinguish them, where do you think these rotting corpses on the ground came from? Obviously, this monster disguises not only its appearance, but also its memories and habits.” The woman gripped her wooden staff tightly and analyzed very seriously.

"Very likely! From now on, we'd better not separate, and definitely not act alone. Even if we need to use the restroom, we should at least make sure we're in pairs."

At this point, the archer suddenly paused, turned around and turned his gaze to Zhang Cheng, who had been standing silently in place: "Sir, could you please explain how you managed to cross this perilous wasteland all by yourself?"

"Hehe, what, are you doubting me?" Zhang Cheng couldn't help but laugh.

He couldn't even remember the last time he was questioned, especially since these guys in front of him were just ordinary people who could be wiped out from body to soul with the flick of a finger.

“No, I just want to avoid any unnecessary misunderstandings. After all, we’re in a slightly dangerous position right now, so it’s necessary to be on guard.” The archer was clearly unaware of how dangerous and terrifying the creature he was talking to was. One hand gripped the bow tightly, while the other rested on the quiver, ready to fire at top speed.

"I appreciate your vigilance and courage, but I won't explain. I never like to reveal my private information to strangers. Since you think there's something wrong with me, I'll just leave on my own. Finally, I wish you good luck."

After saying these meaningful words, Zhang Cheng pulled his hood tighter again and walked alone toward the ruins he had personally built.

He had a feeling that the adventure team would soon pass the first test and enter the depths of the underground ruins to retrieve the treasure buried there.

……

Watching Zhang Cheng's receding figure, the archer finally breathed a sigh of relief and said to his companions, "There's definitely something wrong with this guy! His reaction was too calm. I don't believe a traveler could remain unmoved after witnessing what just happened."

“Perhaps it’s confidence? You have to understand, judging from his attire and behavior, he’s most likely a spellcaster. And once a spellcaster becomes powerful enough, they have plenty of ways to deal with a group of monsters who are good at disguise and deception,” the woman offered a different perspective.

"Anyway, it never hurts to be careful." The archer shrugged, not trying to argue.

Being wary of strangers is the first and most important rule in an adventurer's code.

Because you never know if that little girl with a cute smile on the street is actually a terrible killer, or if those seemingly pitiful beggars will suddenly pull out a sharp blade and pierce your heart.

Trust is a stable connection that can only be built through long-term observation and interaction.

Any adventurer with a modicum of sense would not easily trust a stranger they have just met, especially in a perilous environment.

The brief incident did not bother these experienced adventurers. After quickly devising a series of countermeasures, they abandoned the sleeping prisoners and advanced a distance, setting up camp in a tree hollow that was easy to defend and difficult to attack.

They were very clever; unlike most people who arrived here, they didn't rush to the entrance of the ruins, but instead chose a relatively far place to rest for the night.

As night fell, most of the team members lay down by the campfire and closed their eyes to rest, while only two people stood guard at the door, watching the outside world with vigilance.

Especially for the archers, their nerves were on edge the entire time.

As someone with a keen sense of danger, he could detect several pairs of eyes lurking in the shadows within the woods, each filled with blatant malice...

Chapter 1108 Doubt

"Old friend, can you feel it? Those damned monsters have already made me their prey," the archer said with a cold laugh to the barbarian warrior leaning against the tree trunk, drinking soup from his bowl.

The latter put down the empty wooden bowl, drew his two-handed greatsword that gleamed coldly, and replied without hesitation, "It doesn't matter! No matter what tricks they play, as long as we kill all the ones that dare to come near, I can't be bothered to distinguish between what's real and what's fake."

"Haha! You're as straightforward and blunt as ever. But this time, your straightforward and blunt approach might help us solve our current problem."

Having said that, the archer suddenly stood up, took an arrow from his quiver, drew the bowstring taut, and fired it from behind the trees.

Whoosh!

With the sound of an arrow piercing the air, a scream suddenly echoed through the night sky.

"Aaaaaah!!!!!"

"Hehe! Your archery skills are as terrifying as ever. Especially at night, you always manage to find hidden enemies." The barbarian warrior grinned, praising without reservation.

It's important to understand that hitting the bullseye every day and hitting the bullseye every night in complete darkness are two completely different concepts.

The former only requires sufficient training and experience, plus a little bit of talent, and it's not difficult to achieve.

But the latter is simply outrageous!

No one knows why the archer was able to do it, not even the team members who had been adventuring together for many years.