Chapter 207
Captain Xu told the others to wait inside the train, while he turned off the live stream and used two privacy and soundproof barriers.
What they were about to discuss was a secret of the federation and could not be disclosed to the public.
"The Seventh Apostle's covenant deity is Dionysus, the Greek god of wine and one of the twelve Olympian gods. He protects agriculture and bestows joy and dance, and his symbol is the grapevine."
"When humans and gods form a pact, due to the vast difference in power between the two sides, the gods usually have absolute dominance over humans. Whatever power the gods possess, their followers can only use that power in order to maintain the purity of their faith."
"If you encounter a treacherous and ruthless deity, your own power will slowly degenerate during the suppression process until it disappears, leaving your followers to rely on the divine power He gives you until death."
Captain Xu stared at the vines on Yan Chuyi's ankle, his face more severe than ever since entering the dungeon: "However, according to the intelligence that Peak has collected in the past, the Seventh Apostle, in the middle of forming a pact with the God of Wine, whether it was his nature or his will that prevailed, actually overpowered the God of Wine's vines and extended his own characteristics, namely the blasphemous vine, dodder."
Humanity overriding divinity—even in the glorious era when god-level players were commonplace and eccentric geniuses emerged in great numbers, such a thing was quite shocking.
Brian said, "The attack power of the Blasphemous Vine is lower than that of an ant, and it will not trigger the body's super armor passive, but it has god-level toughness, so it can break your skin with a force weaker than a mosquito's touch."
"It looks like only a small section is stuck on it, but in reality, the roots, which are even finer than spider silk, have been broken into countless pieces and flow into your blood vessels and internal organs. With just a thought, he can quickly drain your flesh and blood, turning into thorns that pierce through your body."
Many people do not have a complete understanding of dodder, believing that it can only cling to a host to absorb nutrients and survive, and cannot survive independently without a host, and is very fragile.
However, in nature, dodder is a very dangerous consumer, a vampire in the plant kingdom.
Captain Xu noticed the unusual tone in his voice: "You've dealt with him before? How did you finally get rid of the Blasphemous Vine?"
When this was mentioned, Brian's face darkened: "No."
"What?"
Brian seemed ashamed to talk about his defeat, but looking at the young man who had been hit, he finally took a deep breath and told the whole truth: "I didn't get rid of him. He didn't kill me then either."
Before Captain Xu could even feel relieved that things had taken a turn for the better, he heard Brian say through gritted teeth, "He let the Blasphemous Vine roam through my body, controlling the speed at which it absorbed flesh and blood, and maintaining a certain balance with the speed at which my flesh and blood regenerated, until the dungeon ends in seven days."
It wasn't that the Seventh Apostle let him go when the dungeon ended; it was that as soon as he left the dungeon, the system would automatically refresh the player's physical status and remove the dodder vines buried in his body.
Captain Xu: "..."
To consciously feel oneself being eaten alive for seven days, with one's blood and flesh consumed, sounds more terrifying than death.
It has a strong reproductive capacity and spreads rapidly. It may seem weak and harmless, but it can also regenerate after breaking off branches.
The Seventh Apostle's Blasphemous Vine inherited all the thorny and vicious characteristics of the dodder. No host can get rid of it, and once parasitized, death is inevitable.
No wonder the blond mercenary had absolutely no hope that Yan Chuyi would survive.
Captain Xu looked up at Brian: "How likely do you think it is that we can get the Seventh Apostle to take back the parasite through negotiations?"
Brian shook his head: "That guy has a terrible personality. If it were the Apostle Guild before the internal strife, they might have let him go out of compliance with the rules."
"As for now, he can even disregard the orders of the guild leader, and his behavior is becoming more and more eccentric and crazy. He has even killed other apostles in dungeons. I don't know why he hasn't been expelled from the guild yet. Perhaps he doesn't want to leave, and the people above don't dare to expel him."
Brian's face darkened: "Knowing him as I do, if he knew that his vines had accidentally hurt someone, he wouldn't feel the slightest bit guilty; he would be very happy to have a plaything delivered to his door for him to enslave."
The young man, who hadn't spoken for a long time, finally spoke: "Actually, I..."
Don't even think about it.
Given Yan Chuyi's past record of abandoning them to their deaths alone, Captain Xu interrupted decisively, "Don't worry too much. Xie Xubai is your contracted deity. Since he can be active in this instance, he might have a way to save you."
What a joke! They barely managed to snatch the dying young man back from the clutches of death.
Today's youth are the spiritual support for most people in the team. If something happens to them, it will be disastrous!
Captain Xu stood up, racking his brains, pacing anxiously in place: "Isn't there anything that can counter the Seventh Apostle's abilities? No, there must be..."
“If it hurts a lot, I can help you numb your senses.” Brian looked at Yan Chuyi, tiny electric currents emanating from his fingertips.
"..." Yan Chuyi said, "Actually, what I wanted to say was that I'm fine."
Brian felt increasingly reluctant.
He's not usually that empathetic or considerate, but because he was recalling his past breakdowns and felt a deep connection to the situation, he spoke much more gently: "You don't need to be strong. I know how painful that was. Don't worry, brother, we'll find a way to save you. Trust me, I swear in the name of Thor."
Rumble—!
Before the words were finished, a deafening clap of thunder echoed through the dark sky.
Yan Chuyi: "..."
Brian and Captain Xu: "..."
Brian remained calm and said, "See, God has agreed with me."
Yan Chuyi hadn't expected that beneath the mercenary's arrogant exterior lay a witty and humorous heart. No wonder they say first impressions are the most convincing. She said, half-laughing and half-crying, "I'm really fine. Have you forgotten that Jinlong protected me?"
Xie Xubai wasn't lying; he was indeed fine.
However, the situation of being infected right after the initial infection is indeed extremely dangerous.
Xu Ji and the other said that the Seventh Apostle's divine power was not outstanding among the Twelve Apostles, but he was difficult to deal with and could catch people off guard in close combat.
However, this situation can be avoided with a remote attack. The dodder cannot act independently of its host. Having learned his lesson, Brian is confident that he can turn the Seventh Apostle into charcoal from a distance of several thousand meters without being tricked.
Even god-level players have differences; if divided into three tiers, the Seventh Apostle would probably only rank in the middle.
Above that is the advanced level, demigod, and finally, godhood, which leads to becoming a true god.
Xie Xubai is now at the demigod level.
Logically speaking, he should be able to easily withstand attacks from god-level players, just as Brian couldn't harm Slender Man in the slightest.
Who would have thought that as the vines sprouted from his flesh, Xie Xubai's sea of consciousness also felt a sharp, stinging pain, as if something had broken through the spiritual link between him and the First Day of the Soul Division Banquet.
This was no ordinary attack; it defied the rules and directly harmed his physical body.
Xie Xubai instantly realized that the Seventh Apostle, who could break the power of rules, was at least a demigod!
In the blink of an eye, the golden dragon's S-level protective barrier suddenly erupted, and its angry dragon roar, like a mountain collapsing and a tsunami crashing, shattered the dodder's roots from a distance before they could penetrate Xie Xubai's sea of consciousness.
But the next second, lush green vines reappeared at Xie Xubai's ankle, instantly cutting off their tails to survive and move to another location!
Xie Xubai's reaction speed was also quite fast.
He seemed very familiar with these vines. While his mind was still figuring out how to proceed, his instincts had already driven him to unleash his mental power without reservation.
The intense mental energy surged through the body, sweeping across it in a radiating, impactful manner! In the blink of an eye, flesh and blood trembled, and even the smallest vines were uprooted, retreating one by one to the ankles, encircling an area no larger than an inch.
When he was about to force them out of his body completely, Xie Xubai paused slightly, as if deep in thought.
Since parasitic creatures, being part-type organisms, will self-destruct when they are cornered, it's hard to guarantee that the Blasphemous Vine won't resort to desperate measures and perish together with him.
Furthermore, this so-called Seventh Apostle is very likely to become their formidable enemy in the near future.
Perhaps he could leave a section of the vine intact, creating the illusion of complete parasitism, to mislead his opponent and lower their guard?
Although it was a risky gamble, it always worked.
But the thought had barely crossed my mind.
The cloaked figure opposite suddenly raised its head and opened its mouth, saying emotionlessly, "Wow."
For some reason, Xie Xubai's brow twitched violently, and he quickly looked back, only to find his face completely obscured by a thick black mist.
"Yan Shuo? What's wrong? Wait a minute..."
The evil god's body still did not reflect any consciousness.
But He seemed to possess clear logical thinking. The black mist transformed into a hand, covering Xie Xubai's eyes, and then extended a tentacle to pat him soothingly on the back of the head.
Before Xie Xubai could react, the dodder vine on his ankle was uprooted by the black mist, causing him to groan softly in pain.
Looking up again, a writhing yellow-green vine was swept up by the surging black mist.
The vines tried to escape, but were crushed by the black mist like lambs to the slaughter. In an instant, transparent and hideous bulges appeared on their surface, and the dense, spiderweb-like roots below were instantly shredded into dust!
So, Xu Ji and his companion, who were still half-believing and half-doubting in the instance, were pleasantly surprised to see that the dodder, which had been lively and energetic just a second ago, suddenly seemed to be stunned by the poison and was pulled out of the young man's ankle with a thud, falling to the ground. The lush green vines quickly withered and turned gray like withered grass.
They thought it was the golden dragon's protection that had worked, and were quite relieved: "It really worked!"
Yan Chuyi was speechless.
In the ink-wash space, a damp, cold, salty smell spreads through the air, like an impending storm or surging tides, and a heavy, oppressive sense of unease washes over you.
The black fog grew thicker and denser, covering the entire pavilion in the blink of an eye.
The evil god's body was rejected by the rules, so only a small part of it was originally separated and secretly infiltrated without disturbing the rules, so there would be no problem.
Forcibly breaking oneself down to this extent and squeezing in is like cutting off one's own arm to lower the enemy's guard, infiltrating the enemy camp with serious injuries, and it's unknown what negative consequences it will have.
Xie Xubai was extremely worried. He struggled to push aside the thick black mist that enveloped him and looked at the spatial rift: "Yan Shuo, stop, I'm not..."
The sound stopped abruptly.
At some point, the pupils of the evil god's body shrank into needle-like shapes, and when they met his gaze, they were so crimson they seemed to be dripping blood.
The ferocious, thick tentacles surged and churned, transforming into a continuous stream of mist that seeped into the ink-wash space. Along the way, pebbles flew everywhere, carving deep furrows, as they slowly crawled toward the chessboard.
Why are humans always getting hurt?
Why do humans always endure pain?
Why do those ants, so weak and lowly, dare to harm His humankind?
Is it because I did nothing but stand here and watch?
Why am I just watching?
Because of the rules that humans talk about...
joke.
When has He ever followed the rules?!
The evil god's body did not understand; He could not even clearly discern these thoughts.
All the thoughts mingled together in a chaotic mess, and the moment they saw the vines sprouting from the youth's ankles, they transformed into a powerful, uncontrollable raging fire, burning through his chest, piercing his heart, and repeating itself until he was riddled with holes.
He felt he was on the verge of the end of his patience.
He embraced His human, instinctively silencing the mouth that tried to dissuade Him, frantically dispersing Him, gradually dismantling and tearing apart the resistance of the rules, stepping onto the uninvited chessboard.
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