Start With Contracting Sprites - Chapter 281

Chapter 281: Ghost City Core

Translator: Atlas Studios  Editor: Atlas Studios

The Nightmare Terrors’ true body was hidden in the black mist, which lingered over the whole square. As the rich shadow energy materialized, wisps of black smoke drifted through the cold wind, like a group of demons dancing.

“The five ghost-element sprites aren’t weak, but since thunder-element counters ghost-element sprites, he still has a chance.”

The Sprite Trainer from Dragon Nation analyzed. “That Thunder Roaring has mastered the fixed armament and some secret manual that can strengthen its unique skills… It’s already pretty good for an extraordinary-level sprite. As long as his other sprites aren’t too weak, he has a chance to pass.”

In the first eight rounds, Thunder Roaring had defeated enemies, broken doors, and defended against strong attacks. Witnessing such a performance, everyone couldn’t help but praise it.

However, someone also said weakly, “But, isn’t that student’s ace sprite Butterfly Fairy? Butterfly Fairy had insta-killed the extraordinary Tyrant Bear previously!”

“How can that be called insta-kill? Besides, that Tyrant Bear was weak to begin with… It was defeated in the first stage.”

“I also think that Thunder Bear is very strong. I’m just worried that it consumed a lot of energy in the previous stages. I don’t know if it can handle more.”

There was no time limit for the ninth stage. There was only a battle preparation countdown timer on the stone tablet, ticking away.

The few Nightmare Terrors didn’t attack, and the sprites in Su Hao’s team were also waiting for orders on the spot.

Big Fat Bear pricked up its ears and heard everyone’s evaluation of it outside. It revealed a silly smile and rubbed its head… cough, its helmet. It was a little embarrassed.

After all, this bear was very outstanding to begin with ~!

Of course, it goes without saying that Big Sister was still stronger. Big Fat Bear only became so outstanding thanks to Big Sister’s… and Sprite Trainer’s nurturing ~!

It made a few poses before it caught a glimpse of the Dazed Crow sharpening its blade as it happened to look over.

Dazed Crow’s burning gaze and the thunder arcs shooting out from underneath Big Fat Bear’s helmet seemed to have collided in the air, making the atmosphere very tense.

“Howl, howl, howl?”

“Squawk~!”

The two sprites turned their heads and stared at the five Nightmare Terrors.

Threads of thunder arcs burst out of the Big Fat Bear’s body, and it had already begun to accumulate power.

Rings of red light also started to circulate on the Dazed Crow’s body. It had entered the “Flaming Feather Form”.

Once the countdown reaches zero, the two battle generals would immediately rush out.

“Neighhh~!”

The Dumb Unicorn, breathing out breaths of cold air, shook its head in disdain as it looked at the bear and the crow competing for attention.

I don’t need to do this!

The status of the mount was the most stable ~!

1

Thud…

The countdown reached zero.

Three of the five extraordinary Nightmare Terrors flashed into the ground, while the other two suddenly stirred up wisps of black smoke around them, stirring up real cold wind.

Unique skill: Shadow Wind!

In an instant, black wind covered the whole square. The Bright Night Spirit, which was being blown by the cold wind, roared continuously. Its eyes became misty for a moment, and a few strands of black appeared in its blazing white hair as it gradually lost control of itself.

“The most terrifying thing about the Shadow Wind is that it has a spiritual influence.”

Bai Xiaoming, who came from a Sprite Trainer family and was also a student of a Heavenly King, had very rich experience and knowledge. He analyzed, “Extraordinary-level sprites won’t fall for it immediately, but over time, the influence of the cold wind will increase… This is the most unreasonable thing about ghost-element sprites!”

That Butterfly Fairy might have been able to easily spot the 100 ghost-element sprites, but those were only entry-level sprites. Elite-level ghost-element sprites were on a completely different level.

Bai Xiaoming’s eyes stared fixedly, but the cold wind blocked everything. Even with the vision of his sprite, he still couldn’t see anything.

One could only vaguely see blue-purple lightning sparks, and the bursting incandescent red flames.

Many foreign Sprite Trainers had complicated expressions.

On the one hand, they hoped that the Dragon Nation citizen could pass the stage so that it could bring them detailed information. On the other hand, they also didn’t want to see the Sprite Trainers of their own country being left far behind.

It was as if two thoughts were fighting in their mind.

One said, “Go, go, go, go!”

The other said, “I’m sure he’ll lose this stage!”

Enveloped by the cold wind, Su Hao couldn’t see or hear the discussions of the audience outside.

He was like a battlefield general as he sat on the water qilin. It appeared mighty and domineering so long as it remained quiet. Su Hao had a calm gaze as he glanced at his surroundings.

The Bright Night Spirit also floated beside him. On its forehead was a white pearl the size of a table tennis ball. The power it exuded made it immune to the mental influence of the Yin wind.

It was Butterfly’s spiritual pearl.

With just one pearl, one would have no worries.

Apart from the Bright Night Spirit, the cold wind also had little influence on Dumb Unicorn due to its “high-level bloodline”.

Of course, the cold wind wasn’t able to affect Butterfly.

The Dazed Crow had long mastered its tenacious willpower after practicing slashing thousands of times a day. The cold wind barely influenced it.

As for Big Fat Bear, It might have moderate strength but it had poor mental resistance and extremely weak willpower.

However, it was wearing the full set of Thunder God Battle Armor. The battle armor produced by the interface was a comprehensive defense that had no blind spots. The moment the cold wind blew, it was annihilated by the energy of the battle armor. The threads of mental power couldn’t penetrate it either.

A stream of dazzling blue-purple light broke through the endless black smoke and hit a Nightmare Terror, destroying the black mist completely, but leaving nothing behind.

It was a fake body.

On the other side, the Dazed Crow wasn’t going to back down either. It transformed two wings into blades and instantly made more than ten slashes. The Shadow Energy Balls that had come from all directions were completely destroyed by it.

The huge ghost claw formed by the shadow energy was also easily slashed apart by it.

After blocking the attack, the Dazed Crow quickly threw out another Super Flaming Blade without any hesitation. A blazing red blade light instantly appeared in front of a certain Nightmare Terror that had just revealed itself and swallowed it whole.

“It slipped away again!”

Su Hao finally understood how others felt when they faced Butterfly, spending so much effort just to defeat an illusion.

Ghost-element sprites… especially sprites like Nightmare Terrors, were born to be experts in illusions!

He looked at Butterfly. “Did you find it?”

“Gurgle~!”

Butterfly could capture the location of the Nightmare Terrors but Nightmare Terrors also had a really high resistance to illusions.

Butterfly signaled the location to Dazed Crow and Big Fat Bear. Dazed Crow might have a faster reaction time, but Big Fat Bear still had an advantage against the Nightmare Terrors. However, it could be said that Dazed Crow was not at all dazed during battles.

Su Hao frowned and started to think. He could only come up with three different plans.

“The first is to plant illusions on them one by one, but it will take a long time and will consume a lot of Butterfly’s energy.

“The second is for the Dazed Crow to use” Sun Stance “. The whole square is only so big. With its battle literacy, as long as it spots the right position, it can kill a Nightmare Terror with a set of explosive attacks, but the consumption will also be substantial and will cause a big commotion.”

“The third is to let the Dumb Unicorn spit out water. As long as it is able to turn the surroundings into a vast ocean and taking advantage of the characteristics of water and electricity, it can give them a fatal blow the moment the Nightmare Terror appears. But it’s not a flawless plan either…”

Su Hao thought for a while and chose… the fourth plan.

He started to give orders.

Instantly, Dazed Crow let out a cry and flew up high.

Dumb Unicorn gathered a large amount of water elements and turned into a blue stream of water, spinning continuously like a vortex. The big fat bear also retreated to the center of the vortex step by step and stood right in front of the Dumb Unicorn.

The surging waves hit, making rumbling sounds. It gradually became stronger and soon hit the enchantment at the edge of the square.

“What is he doing?”

The waves had also swallowed up some of the cold wind.

Everyone looked as the unfamiliar sprite rose wave after wave. But the waves had little effect on the Nightmare Terror. From time to time, black light beams, shadow energy balls, or ghost claws would be sent flying.

Thunder Roaring dodged left and right, but it was still blasted back.

Dazzling, blinding white light erupted, piercing through the dark environment. In front of them was a vast expanse of white, as if a strong flashlight shone on their faces in the darkness. Many Sprite Trainers instinctively closed their eyes, tears flowing uncontrollably.

Unique skill: Extreme Day!

Even when the surrounding sprites kept their eyes open, they could only see a vast expanse of white.

In the dazzling white light, Butterfly made a soft cry. Its emerald green antennae stood up, and its mental power completely erupted on the few Nightmare Terrors that it had already captured.

The dispersion of the energy began to leave many marks of illusion on the bodies of the Nightmare Terrors.

Butterfly’s explosion couldn’t deal much damage to the Nightmare Terrors, but it was able to force them out of the ground and expose them to the dazzling white light.

There was no black shadow where the light of day enveloped!

For a moment, there was nowhere left for the Nightmare Terrors to hide. And at this exact moment…

Pitter-patter!

“Howl howl howl howl!”

The eruption of lightning wasn’t very eye-catching under the extreme daytime, but the thunder arcs borrowed the power of water and spread rapidly, blasting out countless water pillars and intensified the destructive lightning surrounding the water pillars.

Unique skill: Thunder Prison!

The power of the Thunder Prison after being transmitted weakened a little, but it still managed to instantly blast onto the three Nightmare Terrors before they had a chance to escape.

The blue-purple thunderbolt’s impact even scattered most of the black mist on their bodies.

It was their real bodies!

With the enhancement of the powerful lightning and the markings on their bodies, one hit was enough to heavily injure the three Nightmare Terrors, which were all strong even for extraordinary-levels. The most miserable one only had a few wisps of black smoke left around its body… It was almost naked!

The remaining two Nightmare Terrors escaped quickly after. They flew into the air and were only hit by a few more little thunder arcs.

They were just about to escape when suddenly a blazing red light erupted. Some of it even showed through despite all of the blinding white light.

What brilliant power.

Blazing Sun Descent!

Fire Crow Saber Slash!

Extreme flames fused into a line, piercing through the first Nightmare Terror.

Without even turning its head, the Dazed Crow pulled out its wings and slashed again, slashing towards another Nightmare Terror that was slightly further away.

However, it quickly reacted and split into three, escaping into three directions. The scarlet saber light only cut into one of them. The other two gradually faded as they tried to escape again.

Thud!

The illusionary figure solidified again, and two white pearls smashed onto their bodies.

One of the three bodies immediately disappeared.

The black mist around the main body exploded, and the figure froze. In the next moment, it was enveloped by the blazing sun.

At this point, only the sound of blade light slicing through the air and Nightmare Terror’s tragic cries could be heard.

After an unknown amount of time, when the white light dissipated, everyone outside the arena could only see…

A certain someone was still sitting on the back of his mount. There were only a few water stains left in the wave vortex—it had already turned into pure water elements and dissipated.

The other sprites were still the same. They weren’t injured, and they didn’t seem to move either.

However, they also saw wisps of black smoke dissipating. The only Nightmare Terror in their vision gradually shrunk and eventually disappeared. Only a piece of cloth remained as it floated down and was grabbed by the person inside the square.

…

[Ding! Intelligence Points +1]

Su Hao lowered his head and looked at his hand. It was clearly an illusion, but when he held it in his hand, it felt like a real cloth. He was stunned.

Was it really possible for monsters to drop loot?

He gave one of the cloth pieces to Butterfly for research, and put the remaining four pieces into his backpack. With some anticipation, he looked towards the center of the square.

But the stone platform didn’t rise, only light beams shot out from the huge stone tablet, shining at every sprite.

On the interface, Su Hao could see that the spiritual force of Butterfly and the others kept jumping up by digits of tens and hundreds.

The one with the highest increase was… Bright Night Spirit. Although it was mostly there for emotional support, it had also managed to contribute.

It was directly raised to elite-level, almost reaching the ceiling limit of its current form.

But seeing that there weren’t any special rewards, Su Hao was ultimately a little disappointed.

“I wonder what’s in the tenth stage?”

He raised his head and looked at the stone tablet in the middle. The symbols on it appeared one by one.

[After passing the initial screening, you are eligible to enter the Ghost Gate Hall.]

At the same time the symbol appeared, an invisible force enveloped his body.

It felt a little familiar.

Wait… Wait!

The world spun around him. Su Hao’s legs felt a little weak as he stepped on a stone slab. Butterfly, Dumb Unicorn, and the others also appeared around him, but…

They weren’t in the square anymore!

“Gurgle~!”

Butterfly’s mental perception immediately spread out to scan if there was any danger around.

Su Hao opened the interface at once to take a look.

“It’s only a few hundred meters away from the square, but… it’s underground.”

What he saw was a vast underground space with four huge black stone pillars supporting the surroundings. This place was empty and quiet, but what was magical was that there was still some light here, and he could see an environment dozens of meters around him.

“This is Ghost Gate Hall? It doesn’t look like it.”

“On the other hand, the city itself looked like a place that specialized in nurturing ghost-element sprites.”

He maintained his vigilance and circled the entire space. He didn’t discover anything, only a passage right ahead.

“Let’s see if we can pass through the wall.”

Ghost-element sprites could pass through walls, but in his team, Butterfly and Bright Night Spirit could also do the same.

Immediately, the Butterfly created a few illusionary butterflies. They flapped their wings and flew towards the wall.

Buzz–

A halo appeared, and the few illusionary butterflies bounced back.

“There’s a barrier.” The result wasn’t out of Su Hao’s expectations. “This place should be the core area of Ghost City. The defense mechanism still functions, and the place I’m currently at can be seen as… a one-way entrance?”

He thought about it. If the Ghost Gate Hall was a place to nurture talents, the danger shouldn’t be too great.

Besides, he had no choice.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

It was quiet in the underground passage.

Fortunately, he had a few sprites around, bringing him a little warmth.

In front of the team was the professional meat shield Big Fat Bear. It moved forward quickly, its three-meter tall body was contrasted with its “weak and pitiful” temperament.

Before long, another wide space appeared in front of him, extending three different passageways.

He had already passed similar forks three times and had seen some dilapidated rooms. There were almost no valuable items inside.

The treasure vault with precious materials and rewards was nowhere to be found.

“Sculptures?”

In front, at the position against the wall, sculptures were arranged in a triangular formation.

Although it was very dilapidated, one could still tell that it looked like a sprite.

“The one on the left should be a Nightmare Terror, a relatively common type of ghost-element sprite.”

“The second, bird head, human body… is a Gu Huo bird?”

Both were ghost-element sprites in their final form.

He then identified which sprites the other sculptures belonged to. There was a Hundred-Eyed Demon with a set of eyeballs, a talisman-drawing ghost covered in yellow talismans, and a Cabinet University scholar wearing a long robe… But unlike the one he had seen before.

He saw a portion of the ghost-element sprites recorded in the Union here.

“Maybe these are the ones that Ghost City is best at cultivating? Maybe it’s meant for Sprite Trainers with those sprites?”

“What’s that in the middle?”

The head of the statue was wearing a crown, and its robes fluttered in the wind… He didn’t find the corresponding sprite in his mind.

It might be a form that the Union had yet to discover, which was also normal.

Now, he was considering which direction to go.

“Tap, tap, tap!”

Footsteps suddenly came from the right passage.