Era of Magic and Martial Arts

Chapter 672: Chapter 617: That’s Not How a Brother Should Act...

The figure faced the tall elder directly, with a ghostly white mask and crimson Hook Jade, even the subtle folds of his clothing were identical.

The tall elder slightly raised the corner of his eyes, a smirk of understanding everything surfaced on his face:

"Fake, and you want to trick me? Kid, let me teach you a lesson, once a technique is exposed, don’t use it again; it won’t fool anyone."

The tall elder was well aware that [Mask] could manipulate shadows, and also create illusions with an uncanny Stepping Technique.

That was likely some kind of Enchanting God Skill derived from certain Martial Arts, but an illusion nonetheless is an illusion, as long as you don’t trust your own eyes, you won’t be deceived.

His gaze was like lightning, firmly locking onto [Mask]’s true form.

With his eyesight, as long as he kept a firm eye on the target, the opponent wouldn’t be able to hide within the illusions.

In the blink of an eye, [Mask] slid backwards, fingers suddenly spreading, revealing sinister slits in the finger pads, with bone joints piercing through the skin, extending over five inches.

The next instant, the bone claws tore through the air, emitting a sharp, shrill sound that was like the mournful cry of a dying crane cutting through the air.

Underneath the bone claws, a faintly visible, contour-blurred yet equally sinister "Void Claw" phantom appeared out of nowhere like a malignant growth attached to a bone.

Both claws, one solid, one void, one above, one below, one in front, one behind, engulfed the air with a fierce wind.

"The bone claw is real, the Void Claw is fake, yet another illusion, or is it another kind of Enchanting God Skill?!!"

Though surprised, the tall elder was not flustered, sneering inwardly, his judgment was clear, his left hand gathering strength, prepared to block or counter the bone claw’s real form, disregarding the Void Claw which lagged a step behind.

He even harbored a ruthless thought: ignore that phantom Void Claw, pass through it directly, and during the opponent’s bone claw’s aftermath, strike directly at the opponent’s vital!

His withered left arm’s muscles instantly swelled, veins squirmed under the skin like earthworms, as he emitted a disdainful snort:

"Zheng Hang, I’ve figured out all your ploys, if that’s all you’ve got, you might as well surrender and spare yourself some...."

Before he could finish, a "tearing" sound broke the silence!

The elder reversed his grip to seize the incoming bone claw, intending to break it with force, only to see the cuff tearing upon contact.

Underneath the sleeve, on the skeletal wrist’s unusually tough skin, five deep blood grooves appeared, deep enough to see the bone.

Where the flesh turned outwards, blood gushed like a fountain, instantly dyeing half of the sleeve scarlet.

Blood splatters burst into the air, scattering like rogue sleet over the eerie white mask, dotting it with spots of crimson, as if the mask was blooming into a visage increasingly bizarre and sinister.

A whisper of a sinister chuckle emanated from beneath the mask:

"What did you say? I didn’t quite catch that, mind repeating?"

Before the voice trailed off, [Mask]’s bone claw abruptly retracted, slipping through the elder’s fingers like a swimming fish.

The bloody bone fingers, as if guided by instinct, delved into the openings at the wrist, following the tendons upwards.

The tall elder’s meat tendons should have been exceptionally tough, like oxhide enclosing aged tree bark, ordinary blades wouldn’t have cut through, but at this moment.....

Several winding blood tracks appeared like deep furrows plowed from the wrist, along the forearm, the elbow, the upper arm, spiraling upwards, tearing madly.

The flesh flayed, the fascia snapped, one could even see the harsh white bone across which the path had been etched, narrowly grazing the heaviness of his neck, nearly slicing it open.

[Limit-Breaking Skill: Seeking Network:

Whenever you employ Finger Skill, your fingers can keenly explore the subtle network between muscles and bones, allowing you to break through obstacles with ease, manipulating as if a revered butcher carving an ox with perfect proficiency.]

[ps: Seeking Network can be applied to any Finger Skill, not limited to Senluo Finger!]

"Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!"

Four long, subtly twitching blood-red flesh strips were brutally torn off, landing heavily on the ground consecutively.

This scene carried an eerie, bloody sense of familiarity, similar to another act that unfolded on the shoulder of the special agent moments ago.

"What?"

The tall elder’s face underwent drastic changes, staring in disbelief at his blood-worn left arm.

In the air, the translucent claw projection slowly dispersed like drifting smoke.

The tall elder’s throat bobbed, an astonished look in his cloudy eyes:

"No, it’s not an afterimage, so is it an Enchanting God Skill?

But if it’s an Enchanting God Skill, with my mind as solid as iron and my lack of belief, why did this claw manage to hurt me?! How could it cause such genuine harm?!"

The tall elder had immersed himself in Martial Arts for decades and had experience in fights against Martial Artists who mastered Enchanting God Skills.

His mind was already hardened like iron, free of distractions, rendering ordinary Enchanting God Skills incapable of shaking his composure even the slightest.

In his eyes, most Enchanting God Skills were mere empty threats, like flowers in a mirror, appearing enchanting but in essence, just optical illusions.

But as it stands... the searing pain in his arm couldn’t possibly be faked!

Is this illusion?

Or an Enchanting God Skill?

Or perhaps, neither?

While the tall elder was shocked and unfocused, [Mask] took advantage of the situation, and his five fingers immediately, five bone fingers shot out.

When he is sick, take his life, has always been a critical lesson for villains, [Mask] knows nothing of showing mercy.

Yet his mouth treacherously uttered:

"Old man, is this all you got? Why not make an early exit, don’t embarrass your master."

You see, he clearly had already made up his mind to take the old man’s life, yet his words seemed to bear a merciful intent of sparing a life.

Unfortunately, these venomous psychological attacks proved ineffective against the tall elder, who was not like the cowardly special agent who feared death.

The intense pain and humiliation instead fully ignited the sense of ferocity within his bones, the tall elder’s eyes flashed with a violent light, reacting with peak efficiency.

His figure swayed, the four bone fingers grazed past the corner of his clothing and his sideburns, deeply embedding into the rear wall with a dull, "thud, thud" sound!

However, the last bone finger, with its treacherous angle, had already blocked any escape routes.

No way to evade!

He neither retreated nor advanced, with a sudden thrust of his waist and abdomen, meeting it head-on with his body.

The finger bone penetrated his abdomen at once, bringing forth a spray of blood mist.

But the tall elder gritted his teeth, not even groaning, his form burst forth, his toes stepping onto [Mask]’s instep.

His waist and horse drastically sunk, like an old tree taking root, steadying his lower stance, his palms morphing into lethal phantom shadows, attacking unpredictably left and right, up and down.

The palms whistled, the fingers clawing like hooks, Black Nails charting black air, cold winds gusting, overwhelmingly terrifying.

Whether it was twin peaks reaching ears, or straight into the eyes, or clutching the throat, or seizing the brain, each move was ferocious, each form lethal, like a torrential downpour enveloping [Mask]’s vital spots all over the body.

[Mask]’s pupils rotated rapidly, realizing that this tall elder was significantly stronger than the enemies he had encountered before.

Simultaneously, a tinge of regret crossed his mind:

"If only this old man was also as worthless as the special agent, it would be much less trouble?

This world, alas, has too few ’heroes’ who know when to give in, as the special agent does, and too many obstinate ’hard bones’, thus adding such considerable hazardous conflicts and killings....."

As a distinctive villain, [Mask]’s core is, in truth, a profound and misunderstood love for this world riddled with conflict.

"Alas—"

A barely perceptible sigh floated out past the mask, seemingly lamenting the ignorance of the world:

"I gave you a chance, you didn’t cherish it, now I can only send you to your death."

As the words fell, [Mask]’s hands moved abruptly, the movements seemingly slow, yet in reality, reaching the pinnacle of speed.

His hands traced myriad unfathomable trajectories, entwining thousands of resilient and sticky, yet to the naked eye invisible, strands of Thousand Entwining Force.

In a flash!

The surrounding air twisted violently, a perfectly round, seamless black air barrier rapidly formed, like a bubble or a shield, protecting him thoroughly.

It looked remarkably like the barrier activated earlier by the special agent’s Magnetic Repulsive Field Generator.

But this time, the barrier wasn’t something any Magnetic Insect could meddle with, and bore an excessively loud name.

[Mask] softly uttered two words: "Heavenly Return!"

....