Chapter 34: Resurrection

Boom!

As the fist struck him, Wang Liang felt a sharp pain in his head, his vision went dark, and when he opened his eyes again, the world had dissolved into shades of black, white, and gray.

Everything seemed to fall silent. He saw Maisie, the one who had just killed him, rush toward another direction—where two white-robed figures who had previously shot at her with bows stood.

The two white-robed figures threw aside their longbows and lunged at Maisie, rapiers springing into their hands as they stabbed at her eyes.

Maisie struck out, her fists sending the hearts of the white-robed men flying from their chests, but not before one of them managed to shatter her right eye with his blade.

At that moment, Niccolò and Matteo, who had been hiding behind the Loom of Fate, finally broke cover. They had been guarded so carefully, not because they lacked strength, but because they were the soul of this party. They knew Hublai, and without them, even if the Paladin and his companions managed to reach Yuan Dadu with the artifacts, it would be meaningless—they wouldn’t be able to deliver their prize.

Thus, the brothers had remained hidden throughout the battle. But now, the situation was clear. With the last two white-robed men dead and only two frail women left alive on Niu Xuangang’s side, the Paladin leader barely clinging to life, they realized that if they didn’t act now, they would surely be wiped out.

So both drew their swords and faced Maisie head-on.

Just then, a red prompt box appeared before Wang Liang’s eyes.

[Warning: You will be ejected from the game in 15 seconds. You still have one unused resurrection opportunity. Would you like to use it?]

Wang Liang was startled—he could still revive! He glanced down and saw a gray prompt had appeared before him, though he hadn’t noticed it earlier.

[You have fallen in battle! You have activated your Talent: Dreamwalker, First Level—The Dreamer Cannot Die in Nightmares. After falling in battle in each game, you are granted one chance to revive and rejoin the fight (equivalent to an in-game resurrection or revive effect). Would you like to revive? (Countdown: 60 seconds)]

He didn’t quite understand what a “resurrection or revive effect” was, but he realized now that in every game, he had one opportunity to come back and fight again.

Staring at the pulsing red light before him, Wang Liang immediately chose to revive.

The instant he made his choice, Maisie had already reached Niccolò, shattering his skull with a single blow.

Though Niccolò was an NPC, he was still a high-level one—around level forty-five. He knew attacking would mean his death, so he gathered every ounce of his strength for this final act. As his head was crushed, he seized Maisie’s arm and drove his sword deep into her body.

Seeing his brother fall, Matteo let out a furious roar and hurled himself at Maisie in a flash of white light. The attack looked powerful, but its effect was limited—Maisie, relying on her monstrous body, took the blow and responded by smashing Matteo to pieces with a single punch.

Only then did the Weeping Girl reach Maisie. Swinging her glaive, she brought it down with deadly force.

With the last of her enemies slain, Maisie let out a thunderous roar, her form now that of an enormous raptor. Her body was jet-black, striped with gold from neck to tail, her tail truncated, and her head larger and more ferocious than any normal raptor, with red spots around her eye sockets.

Several weapons still protruded from her body, the deadliest being the short swords lodged in her temple and right eye.

Yet it was clear her wounds were already beginning to heal, and it wouldn’t be long before she returned to full strength.

That could not be allowed.

After so much effort to bring her to this state, neither the Weeping Girl nor the Paladin leader was willing to let Maisie live.

The Weeping Girl leapt forward, her feet kicking off her shoes to plant her fair bare soles upon the earth, and swung her glaive down upon Maisie.

Without her Rouge Horse, the Weeping Girl could no longer compete with Maisie in speed. She could only rely on another of her abilities: grounding herself to the earth and drawing power from it.

This fighting style was undeniably effective. After several strikes, fresh wounds appeared on Maisie’s regenerating body.

More importantly, with each blow, a yellow glow spread across Maisie’s form, steadily slowing her movements.

The residual effects of Zhao Gongming’s explosive formation had not yet faded, so Maisie was accumulating more and more negative statuses.

Now Maisie felt herself reaching her limit. Lowering her head, she charged at the Weeping Girl.

Ordinarily, the Weeping Girl would have dodged such an attack easily, but now, with her feet rooted to the earth, though her strength was enhanced, her mobility was lost. She could not evade—not even a slow approach, let alone a sudden charge.

As Maisie thundered toward her, a white light flashed nearby—the Paladin leader had thrown himself at Maisie.

He put every last ounce of his strength into the collision. Already close to death, he now struggled even to breathe.

But the impact was enough to knock Maisie off course.

Seizing the opportunity, the Weeping Girl brought her glaive down, slicing through half of Maisie’s right forelimb, crippling one of her attack points.

Infuriated, Maisie twisted and bit down on the Paladin leader, thrashing him violently.

His armor was no match for Maisie’s jaws. With a wrench, she bit clean through the steel.

Knowing escape was impossible, the Paladin leader closed his eyes and unleashed his final skill, turning himself into a blaze of white light and detonating in Maisie’s mouth.

The resulting explosion nearly blew Maisie’s head to pieces. Even with her incredible vitality, it was clear most of her teeth were destroyed, and her mouth filled with blood—she was now all but incapable of fighting.

The Weeping Girl seized the moment, swinging her glaive down upon Maisie once more.

At the same time, Ghost-Head Sister joined in, showering the Weeping Girl with every buff she had left—they both knew this was their final chance.