Chapter 438: Blood Shadow Totem

This open area was approximately 300 by 300 yards. The ground was uneven, with white tents lining both sides. Every one or two minutes, two or three squads of Blood Phantom Warriors would pass by, each squad consisting of about thirty to forty warriors. To cross this open area, Nie Yan had to evade these patrolling Blood Phantom Warriors. Additionally, he couldn’t trigger any of the Blood Phantom Totems placed on the ground.

Looking toward the tents near the open area, Nie Yan saw distant shadows of Blood Phantom Warriors everywhere. In some places, one or two campfires had been lit, around which the warriors gathered, seemingly celebrating something.

Nie Yan lingered nearby for a moment. Only by crossing this open area could he enter the central part of the Blood Phantom Legion’s encampment. He had no other choice.

There were six Blood Phantom Totems set up on the ground. He had to detonate them all before he could pass.

Thinking for a moment, he considered the possibility of dismantling one or two of the Blood Phantom Totems. These totems could be disassembled, and once dismantled, they would become special items, like scrolls, usable only once. However, dismantling these totems was tricky; one slight mistake could trigger them. In the past, the official website had once revealed the method for dismantling Blood Phantom Totems, and many people had been amazed. Attempts were made, but very few succeeded in dismantling them. Over 95% of people ended up being killed by the Blood Phantom Totems.

That method was indeed effective.

Nie Yan wasn’t sure if he could successfully dismantle these Blood Phantom Totems. If he failed, the totems would explode. The Blood Phantom Totems were still very useful. If he could add a few to his backpack, they could come in handy in special situations.

No matter what, he decided to try the method first. Nie Yan slowly approached one of the Blood Phantom Totems.

He stopped about fifteen to sixteen yards away from the totem. If he got any closer, the Blood Phantom Totem would be triggered.

Nie Yan took out the Rider’s Crossbow of the Headless Rider, Doro, and loaded an bolt. At this distance, he didn’t need to fire multiple bolts; one would suffice.

He aimed the crossbow at the distant Blood Phantom Totem, carefully examining it. The totem pole was about a yard high, as thick as an arm, with a crossbar on the upper half forming a cross shape. A bright red flag hung from the crossbar, and some mechanisms were set on the wooden pole, with a deep hole in the middle.

Nie Yan held the crossbow steady, aiming at the hole in the Blood Phantom Totem. Hitting a finger-sized hole from fifteen to sixteen yards away was extremely difficult, a challenge for Nie Yan, but he decided to give it a try. At this distance, he could easily dodge the explosion if it occurred.

Nie Yan aimed at the hole in the Blood Phantom Totem and pulled the trigger. With a swoosh, the bolt flew in a straight line and struck the hole with a dull thud, jamming the mechanism of the Blood Phantom Totem, rendering it inoperable.

Success!

Nie Yan approached and picked up the Blood Phantom Totem. Checking its properties, he read:

Blood Phantom Totem: Special item, Totem item.

Item Description: Place this item on the ground and set the mechanism. Once any creature enters the detonation range, the item will automatically explode, causing corrosive and shadow damage.

Properties: Attack damage 15000, attack range 30 yards centered on the totem pole, ineffective against metal armor, can be dismantled, detonation range 15 yards centered on the totem pole. This item can only be used once and is ineffective against the Blood Phantom Legion.

This Blood Phantom Totem was a high-level totem, after all, obtained from a level 90 area, with high quality and considerable damage. Generally, trigger-based items had very high damage because they could only be passively activated, not used for active attacks.

The Blood Phantom Totem, if used well, was a powerful offensive weapon, similar to the Thunder Totem used in the battle of Krips Fortress previously.

After successfully dismantling one Blood Phantom Totem, Nie Yan slowly approached the second one, continuing to aim his crossbow at the hole on the distant Blood Phantom Totem. The target was quite small, and Nie Yan’s eyesight couldn’t reach such a distance clearly. He pulled the trigger, and the bolt flew toward the Blood Phantom Totem, striking the pole with a dull thud but missing the hole.

Suddenly, the air became turbulent. Almost instantly after the bolt hit the Blood Phantom Totem, it exploded with a thunderous boom, a wave of crimson light rushing toward Nie Yan.

Realizing his mistake, Nie Yan swiftly dashed out of the totem’s blast range. Just as the crimson light was about to engulf him, he activated his Haste Step, utilizing the first three seconds of invulnerability to evade the explosion.

Nie Yan’s figure flashed by, quickly escaping.

Failure!

There were a total of six Blood Phantom Totems, which only respawned every two days. Nie Yan wouldn’t come here often to collect them, so each failure meant losing one.

The explosion of the Blood Phantom Totem attracted three squads of Blood Phantom Warriors, who began searching outward from the totem’s location.

Nie Yan remained hidden, carefully avoiding these Blood Phantom Warriors. With his concealment ability, evading their pursuit should not be a problem.

With so many skills at his disposal, Nie Yan was confident enough to face these level 90 Blood Phantom Warriors.

Six Blood Phantom Warriors passed by, only five or six yards away from Nie Yan. Suddenly, two of them stopped, looking around. Finding nothing, they continued their search. Their eyes suddenly changed, their pupils turning a fiery red, emitting bright red light.

Blood Phantom Vision!

Under their gaze, Nie Yan’s figure slowly became visible.

Damn, they had the Vision skill!

Not all Blood Phantom Warriors had the Blood Phantom Vision skill; only a small portion possessed it. Nie Yan’s luck seemed to be bad this time.

The moment he was discovered, Nie Yan dashed toward the distance, with the Blood Phantom Warriors quickly giving chase. He used a high-grade Flash Powder produced by the Starlight General Store. With a bang, a blinding light erupted, and Nie Yan vanished, escaping the warriors’ sight and hiding in a corner of the tent.

The Blood Phantom Warriors took a while to recover their vision, searching the area briefly but finding no trace of Nie Yan, so they eventually dispersed.

After the Blood Phantom Warriors moved away, Nie Yan cautiously emerged from the corner to continue collecting the remaining Blood Phantom Totems on the ground. Out of six Blood Phantom Totems, he failed three times but successfully collected three. He placed them in his backpack for future use.

With the Blood Phantom Totems gone from the open area, the path suddenly became much clearer. He stealthily moved forward. Due to the commotion he had caused, the patrolling Blood Phantom Warriors in the area had increased, with squads passing by frequently.

The Blood Phantom Warriors were too dense, making it much more difficult for Nie Yan to evade them than before.

Gradually, he was about to leave the open area when eight Blood Phantom Warriors approached head-on, carefully searching and blocking Nie Yan’s path.

Seeing the Blood Phantom Warriors coming directly toward him, Nie Yan frowned. This time, he might not be able to avoid them.

There were at least a hundred Blood Phantom Warriors nearby. Once they discovered Nie Yan, they would unhesitatingly surround him and cut him into pieces. Even fighting a level 90 monster alone was somewhat difficult for Nie Yan, let alone so many monsters gathered together!

They slowly approached within seven yards of Nie Yan when the group suddenly became alert. One Blood Phantom Warrior activated Blood Phantom Vision, focusing his gaze on Nie Yan’s location.

The Blood Phantom Warrior spotted Nie Yan and immediately let out a sharp, piercing scream. Upon hearing the scream, the surrounding hundred Blood Phantom Warriors rushed toward Nie Yan’s location, surrounding him completely and completely blocking his escape route.

Charge!

One Blood Phantom Warrior swung his greatsword and charged at Nie Yan, followed closely by a swarm of other Blood Phantom Warriors.

Now completely surrounded, there was no escape. Since he had come this far, Nie Yan wouldn’t use a random teleportation scroll to flee unless absolutely necessary.

The nearest Blood Phantom Warrior had already lunged forward, swinging his greatsword down at Nie Yan. Nie Yan glanced at his skill list and quickly retreated as the Blood Phantom Warrior’s sword slashed past him.

-2203!

The damage was shockingly high. Nie Yan was startled. Facing such a group of Blood Phantom Warriors, he dared not confront them head-on.

These Blood Phantom Warriors were level 90 monsters, significantly higher in level than Nie Yan, and their attacks dealt massive damage against his armor.

All the Blood Phantom Warriors’ hatred was focused on Nie Yan. As they were about to swarm him, Nie Yan quickly activated the skill from his Feign Death Chain, collapsing backward with a thud and perfectly mimicking a corpse by suppressing all vital signs.

Nie Yan’s sudden “death” stunned the Blood Phantom Warriors. They lingered around him briefly, but at the moment Nie Yan activated the feign death skill, the Blood Phantom Warriors’ hatred toward him dissipated.

After activating the feign death state, Nie Yan was also very tense. With Blood Phantom Warriors all around, if they attacked him, it would be dangerous. He was ready to use a random teleportation scroll to escape at any moment.

A few Blood Phantom Warriors sniffed around Nie Yan, chattering something incomprehensible. The hundred Blood Phantom Warriors gathered around Nie Yan gradually dispersed.