Chapter 55

Chapter 29: Night Raid

"Thorn Tower, what are you talking about, I don't understand!" Looking at Ye Qi with a gaze that seemed to mock him, Viven's brain, clouded by jealousy, finally began to clear. He immediately said to the female cavalry captain, "Ails, you have to believe me..."

The female cavalry captain looked at Viven suspiciously. Although she had initially believed him because of his injuries, Ye Qi's mention of the Thorn Tower made her doubt the truth of Viven's words.

The Thorn Tower, though feared, was also known for its fairness—at least to those who had not been exposed to the secret information kept by the upper echelons. Ye Qi, who had heard about it from a shady merchant, knew this, but he would not reveal it to Viven.

"Clack, clack..."

The crisp sound of hooves broke the tense atmosphere. As the stern-faced man and the headquarters guards appeared, everything was settled—Viven, under the control of the stern-faced man's five senses, had no choice but to confess everything.

"Sorry just now..."

The female cavalry captain looked at Ye Qi apologetically, her face slightly flushed. Viven had not only revealed the names of the other rangers involved but had also mumbled a lot of admiring words about the female cavalry captain. Coupled with her embarrassment over misunderstanding Ye Qi, she now found it awkward to speak to him.

"It's no problem! You were just being used by Viven's friendship!" Seeing the female cavalry captain frown at the word "used," Ye Qi, knowing when to stop, smiled and changed the subject: "Where is my tent? I always dreamed of sleeping in a tent when I was a kid!"

...

In the newly set up tent, after sending off the female cavalry captain who had refused his invitation to share a pillow, Ye Qi smiled and lit the oil lamp. Although it was an oil lamp, the light was sufficient for him to read "The Eye of Momo." After reading it for half a year during the Midwinter Festival, Ye Qi had become quite familiar with it. However, as he learned more, he realized that he could not use the spells in it at all! The spells in "The Eye of Momo" were fundamentally designed for demon worshippers, and as a complete human, Ye Qi could not use them!

Despite this, Ye Qi continued to read "The Eye of Momo" for several months after the Midwinter Festival, and there was a reason for it. When Ye Qi decided to stop reading "The Eye of Momo," the strange wolf appeared again and told him a mixed piece of news—because Ye Qi had signed a sharing contract with it, even though its power was mostly sealed, it could not deny that it was a high-ranking demon. Therefore, even without offering his soul, Ye Qi could use the spells in "The Eye of Momo"! However, because it was a sharing contract and not a soul contract, the spells Ye Qi cast from "The Eye of Momo" would be less powerful, and there was a risk of failure. Additionally, because of the contract with the strange wolf, Ye Qi would no longer be able to receive healing from the church's priests, and even holy water would be ineffective on him.

After thinking about it, Ye Qi relaxed his frown. The relationship between demon hunters and the church was not harmonious, and even if it were, the substantial healing fees were beyond his means. Although he had some wealth, the blacksmith had taken a significant amount for reforging the Yama Blade, and the remaining money, even with the black market merchant's contributions, was not enough to pay the church for a priest's help. Besides, wouldn't it be better to use that money to buy better equipment? Why bother with the church, which was more bloodthirsty than vampires and could be described as a place that devours people without spitting out the bones?

Seeing that Ye Qi was not as angry as expected, the strange wolf began to tempt him with the promise of fully or even surpassing the power of the spells in "The Eye of Momo" if he signed a soul contract. Of course, with the system, Ye Qi was not swayed! Not even a Sunlight-level holy artifact could make him give up his soul!

Taking a deep breath, Ye Qi closed "The Eye of Momo"—the basic spells, Shadow Warrior and Skeleton Warrior, were fine, but while the Shadow Warrior was useful, it also had obvious weaknesses. The combat ability of the Skeleton Warrior was also questionable. As for the higher-level zombie, he could not summon it with his current half-baked skills.

However, solutions could always be found. When Ye Qi saw the spell list in the system's attribute panel, his eyes lit up—Darkness.

Darkness (darkness): Cast a spell to create a dark area around you. Effect: Creates a 20-foot radius of supernatural darkness, providing concealment to creatures within, making it impossible to be illuminated, and rendering darkvision ineffective. Duration: 5 minutes per level.

Seeing this spell description, Ye Qi jumped up. He had always focused on attack, defense, or support spells that benefited him, and had mostly glanced over these niche spells without much attention. But this accidental discovery gave him a new perspective on his spells!

Supernatural darkness that blocks light, paired with the Shadow Warrior, which fears sunlight, was a perfect match! Add the restraining effect of the Web spell, and it would be an excellent choice for eliminating enemies!

Excited, Ye Qi walked around his tent twice. If he had a spell slot, he would have immediately added Darkness to his spell list and then gathered hundreds of Shadow Warriors!

At that time, he would first cast Darkness, then Web, and finally release hundreds of Shadow Warriors to attack. Even though Ye Qi had never seen a Moonlight-level apostle, and the instructors, the stern-faced man and the giant, were only top-tier Starlight apostles, he was confident that with their vision blocked, bodies restrained, and facing hundreds of Shadow Warriors, even a Moonlight-level apostle would meet their end!

"Clang, clang..."

"Enemy attack!"

Just as Ye Qi was pondering the synergy between the spells, a shrill alarm bell rang. Immediately, he put away "The Eye of Momo," picked up the Yama Blade, and walked out of the tent.

Looking in the direction of the camp's chaos, Ye Qi was stunned. He saw five monsters, each over twelve feet tall, with huge bodies, bald heads, and pale gray skin, wielding massive wooden clubs thicker than an adult's waist!

Trolls!

Seeing their distinctive appearance and the smell of old socks mixed with public toilets, even from a distance, Ye Qi immediately identified them. However, his frown deepened.