Chapter 16

"Whew…………"

Staring at the ground covered with spirit dust, Rod wiped the sweat from his forehead, feeling somewhat exhausted. Along the way, the three of them had encountered quite a few wraiths, about fifteen or sixteen in total. This wouldn't have been a big deal for a well-equipped five-person team, but now Rod only had one combatant under his command, so he couldn't just send a tank to take the hits while everyone else focused on dealing damage. Instead, he had to carefully lure each wraith one by one, have Lige cast positive energy to weaken their defenses, and then quickly kill them.

Since the wraiths were at least level 10 elite monsters, even with weakened defenses, they were still difficult to handle. To maximize damage, Rod not only relied on the attribute bonuses of his Star Scar but also aimed to hit their vital points with every strike to deal maximum damage.

However, humans are not machines. Even in a game, such high-demand attacks consume a lot of energy, let alone when Rod was using his own body. In the game, failure could be retried, but here, if he failed, he might face death.

This pressure was almost too much for Rod to bear. He lifted his head and looked at the ruins shrouded in mist, and only after confirming that no more monsters would appear did he breathe a sigh of relief.

"Mr. Rod, do you want to rest for a moment?"

The girl who followed closely behind looked at Rod with concern. As a spirit master, she didn't fully understand the significance of each of his actions, but she could sense the pressure he was under.

"No………now………"

Rod shook his head. Although they had cleared the area of small monsters, he still felt a faint sense of danger. He looked around vigilantly but couldn't pinpoint the source of this weak sense of danger. According to the distance, they hadn't reached the boss's territory yet, so they shouldn't encounter too much danger. Rod was also quite familiar with the distribution of undead creatures here, and logically, the monsters should have been cleared.

So, where did this sense of danger come from?

Rod looked around again but found nothing. Just then, the fat merchant suddenly shouted.

"Ah!!"

"What's wrong?"

Rod and Lige quickly turned around. They saw Mace, pale-faced, one hand tightly gripping his travel bag, and the other trembling, pointing behind them.

"Just now, there was a black shadow………"

"A black shadow?"

Lige followed Mace's finger but saw nothing in the mist except for dim sunlight.

"There's nothing………"

"Get down!!"

At that moment, Rod's mind flashed, and he finally understood where the danger came from. He shouted and pressed the girl's head down, forcing her to crouch.

"Whew!!"

Almost simultaneously, a black shadow darted past in the air. Rod could almost feel the cold claws grazing his scalp, even causing a slight pain.

Damn it!

At that moment, Rod's heart sank. He knew what the premonition of danger was about! It was a gargoyle!

According to legend, the Mist Ruins were once a bustling and prosperous town, but it was gradually abandoned as the trade routes declined. After that, a mage came here. To save his beloved, he chose to research forbidden death magic in this abandoned town. However, the research failed, and the mage died. But the death magic did not stop, creating the dense fog and numerous undead creatures.

In the entire dungeon, the most dangerous creature was the gargoyle left by the mage to guard his relics. It was a level 15 rare elite!

If this were a game team, Rod would be quite happy. Rare elites were very rare, and sometimes even after multiple runs, you might not encounter one. But now, he felt a chill. The gargoyle was a level 15 rare elite and a flying monster. Not only was it agile, but it was also very different from the wraiths, which were formed from negative energy. Lige's positive energy had little effect on it. Additionally, its obsidian body was extremely hard, and normal attacks could do very limited damage. This was definitely going to be a tough battle!

In the game, Rod had entered the Mist Ruins over thirty times without seeing a single gargoyle, so he had subconsciously forgotten about it. But he never expected to encounter one on his first visit here.

Was this good luck or bad luck?

But Rod didn't have time to dwell on such questions because the danger was right in front of him.

A frontal battle was hopeless. He was still not level 10, and challenging a level 15 monster was almost an impossible task, even with the bonuses from Star Scar, his attack power was limited.

"Quick, let's go!"

Without hesitation, Rod immediately gave the order. He grabbed Lige and shouted.

"Follow me, keep your head down, and don't look up!"

Retreating was not an option. The only way was to find and destroy the gargoyle's control center. Although escaping its attack range was an option, Rod's team lacked someone who could easily lure it away—like a ranger or a rogue.

But now wasn't the time to complain.

Under Rod's lead, Lige and Mace kept their heads down and stumbled forward. The mist around them began to surge again, clearly drawing the attention of the wraiths. Four or five wraiths emerged from the mist and started moving towards the three of them.

"Lige, attack! Don't stop!"

"Yes!"

Although it was difficult for the girl to cast spells while running, she gritted her teeth and extended her right hand. Soon, three or four beams of white light appeared in the air and struck the wraiths. Rod immediately swung his sword, and with a series of惨叫声，那些挡路的碍事者很快化为灰尘消失不见。就在这时，罗德的眼前也立刻闪过一道系统提示。

[经验点数1900/1800，可升级，等级8]

但罗德眼下并没有时间去关心这条系统提示，因为从四周出现的幽鬼越来越多，虽然在神圣之光的照耀下，它们的行动有些犹豫和迟缓，但数量的优势弥补了这个差距。

与这些行动并不灵活的幽鬼相比，石像鬼根本不在意这神圣的光辉。虽然同为负能量驱动的产物，但作为法师的守护者，石像鬼那黑曜石制造的坚硬外表足以抵抗大多数神圣力量的侵袭。在之前一击不中之后，它立刻认定了众人是它的目标，一直紧紧地跟随在三人的身后，等待着发动袭击的时刻到来——比起靠本能进攻的不死生物来说，具备一定战斗智慧的人造生命体的确棘手多了。

“哎呀！！”

就在这时，梅斯身形一晃，重重地跌倒在地。而早已经跟随在众人身后等待多时的石像鬼则立刻飞扑而下，身前两只尖锐的利爪闪电般袭向了倒在地上的胖商人。当梅斯转过面时，所看见的只有几乎要笼罩他身体的阴影。

“天呀……”

虽然石像鬼的速度的确很快，而且梅斯也已经相当配合地闭上眼睛准备等死，但它的攻击还是功亏一篑——一道淡淡的、闪耀着金光的屏障凭空出现，挡住了石像鬼尖锐的利爪，随后数道雪亮的光之利刃从空中飞射而过，重重地打在石像鬼的身上，伴随着响亮的“啪啪”声，收势不及的石像鬼就这样倒飞了出去，重重地砸在了幽鬼群中。而就在这时，莉洁已经半搀半拉地将原本已经打算去那个世界向自己亲人嘘寒问暖的胖商人拉了起来，继续向前跑去。

“这里！”

在幽鬼们的“围追堵截”下，罗德好不容易才甩开大部分不死生物，随后他便抬起头，很快就找到了自己的目标——那是一座废弃的教堂，也是之前那个法师用来做试验的地方，而根据罗德的记忆，控制石像鬼的中枢也应该就在那里。

不过这种地方自然不是那么好进的。

就在罗德走到教堂门口的时候，只感觉眼前一黑，他急忙下意识地启动影闪向后退去，随后才看见一只漆黑的石像鬼正半蹲在刚才自己所站的地方，一只坚硬的爪子已经重重地砸在了地面上，将原本坚硬的青石砖打了个粉碎。

“真要命。”

罗德内心低声叫骂，同时飞快扫了一眼，果然发现了教堂大门两侧原本底座上用来装饰的石像已经不翼而飞。至于它们究竟去了哪里也可想而知。

一次居然碰到两只，看来今天去买彩票应该有的赚了。

如果有命的话。

“你们快进去，找中枢控制装置！”

罗德一面和眼前的石像鬼对视，一面对莉洁和梅斯下达了命令。

“那些幽鬼应该不会进去找你们的麻烦，我会缠住这两个家伙，你们趁这个机会立刻进去，找到中枢控制装置，然后摧毁它，小心陷阱。”

“可是………罗德先生你…………”

“这是命令。”

罗德冷冷地打断了莉洁的话，接着他手握星痕，向前一甩，雪白的光刃瞬间爆发，而石像鬼也在罗德攻击的同时尖叫着飞了起来，躲开了他的袭击，也让开了通向教堂的道路。

“快去！”

---

As the wraiths' cries filled the air, the obstacles in their path quickly turned to dust and disappeared. At that moment, a system message flashed before Rod's eyes.

[Experience Points 1900/1800, Level Up, Level 8]

But Rod didn't have time to focus on the system message, as more wraiths continued to appear from all around. Although the wraiths moved hesitantly and slowly under the light of the Holy Light, their numbers made up for this disadvantage.

Compared to these slow-moving wraiths, the gargoyle was completely unaffected by the Holy Light. Although it was also a product of negative energy, as the mage's guardian, its obsidian body was hard enough to resist most holy powers. After its initial attack missed, it immediately identified the group as its target and followed them closely, waiting for the right moment to strike—making it a much more formidable opponent than the instinct-driven undead.

"Ah!!"

At that moment, Mace stumbled and fell heavily to the ground. The gargoyle, which had been waiting behind them, immediately pounced, its two sharp claws darting towards the fallen merchant. When Mace turned his head, all he saw was a shadow that seemed to envelop his body.

"Heavens……"

Although the gargoyle's speed was indeed fast, and Mace had already closed his eyes, prepared to die, the attack was thwarted at the last moment. A faint, golden barrier appeared out of nowhere, blocking the gargoyle's sharp claws. Then, several bright blades of light shot through the air, striking the gargoyle with a loud "clap." The gargoyle, unable to stop its momentum, was thrown back and crashed into the group of wraiths. Lige quickly helped the fat merchant, who had been ready to join his ancestors, to his feet and continued running forward.

"Here!"

Amid the wraiths' pursuit, Rod finally managed to shake off most of the undead creatures. He looked up and quickly found his target—the abandoned church, where the mage had conducted his experiments. According to Rod's memory, the control center for the gargoyles should also be there.

But such a place wasn't easy to enter.

As Rod approached the church door, he felt a sudden darkness. He instinctively activated his Shadow Flash and retreated, only to see a black gargoyle crouching where he had just stood, its hard claw smashing into the ground, shattering the tough stone tiles.

"Damn it."

Rod cursed under his breath and quickly noticed that the stone statues that had decorated the bases on both sides of the church door were missing. It was clear where they had gone.

Encountering two gargoyles at once, it seemed his luck was either very good or very bad.

If he had the chance to live, that is.

"Go inside quickly and find the control center!"

Rod kept his eyes on the gargoyle in front of him and gave Lige and Mace their orders.

"The wraiths shouldn't come in to bother you. I'll keep these two occupied. Take this opportunity to go inside, find the control center, and destroy it. Be careful of traps."

"But…… Mr. Rod, you……"

"This is an order."

Rod coldly cut off Lige's words, then gripped Star Scar and swung it forward. A white blade of light instantly burst forth, and the gargoyle, screaming, flew up to avoid the attack, clearing the path to the church.

"Go quickly!"