104: Chapter 104 Dude, how did you manage to withstand this kind of strain?

The whistle of a flying axe tearing through the air reached his ears, and Gu Changming stepped aside.

"Whoosh!"

The shadow of the axe flew past his shoulder, eventually disappearing into the chaotic beast tide far behind.

After dodging the attack, Gu Changming looked up in the direction the axe had come from.

His gaze swept across the roaring sea of beasts below and met the glaring eyes of a crimson orc atop a Flame Feather Vulture high in the sky.

Gu Changming didn't know why the other party was so angry at him.

But at this moment, he could read it in the other's eyes: they wanted to hack him to death.

Mental perception, like invisible tentacles, swept over the opponent the moment their eyes met.

Gu Changming's eyes flickered almost imperceptibly.

"B-rank..."

Truly lucky indeed.

To randomly find a Secret Realm to test the Mimic Beast's abilities and run into a beast tide was one thing, but now he'd encountered a B-rank esper as well.

Meanwhile.

Below, Jiang Chen, Tang Ningfei, and the others, who had just escaped danger and were observing the battle, also noticed the two orc figures that had suddenly appeared in the sky.

"Orcs?" Jiang Chen reacted immediately. "They're the ones behind this beast tide."

The curse spell from before was clearly cast by someone behind the scenes, and now that they've shown up, who else could it be?

"Which tribe are they from?" Jiang Chen immediately turned and asked.

Tang Ningfei stared for a moment, then shook her head. "I'm not sure."

Information on these orc tribes was incomplete to begin with, and they weren't within their initial scouting range. Plus, at such a distance, she couldn't identify them.

...

High in the sky.

"It's definitely him! He's the one controlling these extra beast groups!" Karuge glared at Gu Changming, fire practically spewing from his eyes.

He must be killed! He must be killed at all costs.

As long as he's dead, these blocking beast groups will collapse, and they can move forward to that New World!

Once the thought arose, there was no more hesitation.

With a flick of his hand, Karuge detached himself from the vulture's talons and, like a boulder launched from a catapult, dived straight down toward Gu Changming's position from nearly a hundred meters up!

"Chief!" Karun exclaimed subconsciously.

But watching the falling Karuge, he said no more.

...

Seeing the opponent dive down so decisively, Gu Changming's expression remained unchanged as he immediately turned to look at Jiang Chen nearby.

He pointed at Jiang Chen and spoke clearly:

"You!"

"Me?" Jiang Chen was a bit dazed, not understanding why Gu Changming was suddenly pointing at him.

"Yes." Gu Changming nodded and said as if it were a matter of course, "Come up, we'll kill it together!"

The opponent was a B-rank esper after all, with qualities far exceeding his own. He would definitely be at a disadvantage facing it alone.

To kill it, he needed Jiang Chen's help.

Hearing Gu Changming's words, Jiang Chen understood. His gaze sharpened, and without hesitation, he pushed off with his feet, making several light and swift leaps over the magical beasts, quickly approaching Gu Changming.

At the same time, Gu Changming turned his gaze toward Tang Ningfei.

Seeing Gu Changming look over, Tang Ningfei immediately pulled out her staff and straightened her back, preparing to charge forward as well.

However, in the next second, Gu Changming raised his hand in a "stop" gesture.

"You don't need to participate in the battle."

Tang Ningfei: "...?"

A subtle sense of grievance welled up in her heart.

What? You look down on my combat power?

Before she could question or argue, Gu Changming had already taken out the whistle of contract from his robes and shouted to her:

"Take this!" Gu Changming said quickly. "Continuously channel Mental Power into it. Maintain the existence of the beast tide. If the Mental Power is cut off, these beast groups will disappear..."

He would have to fight a life-and-death battle with that B-rank orc later and had to go all out; he couldn't afford to be distracted by maintaining the Mental Power supply for the Mimic Beast tide.

If he tried to multitask, it would be far too disrespectful to a B-rank esper, and he could be hacked to death at any moment.

Tang Ningfei's gaze flickered between the whistle and Gu Changming's face, and countless complaints flashed through her mind:

I just asked you where this beast tide came from, and you said with an innocent face, "I don't know, never seen them."

And now, you're making me maintain the consumption of the beast tide.

Despite her inner complaints, she knew now wasn't the time to bicker and immediately shouted, "Leave it to me!"

Hearing this, Gu Changming prepared to throw the whistle of contract.

But the moment his hand rose, it paused in mid-air.

He looked at Tang Ningfei again, frowning slightly as he confirmed once more:

"The consumption isn't small. Can you handle it?"

Tang Ningfei rolled her eyes, annoyed by his clearly skeptical question.

She was a C-rank mage, after all, and Mental Power was one of her specialties. Was it really necessary to doubt her so much?

"I can! Stop talking nonsense!"

Seeing her respond so bluntly, Gu Changming stopped overthinking. With a thought, he had the Mimic Beast use its own Mental Power to hold on for a moment, keeping the beast tide from dispersing.

Then, with a flick of his wrist, he threw the whistle of contract toward Tang Ningfei.

Tang Ningfei ran forward a few steps, pushed off the ground, and leaped lightly several meters into the air to meet the flying whistle, catching it firmly in her palm.

Her fingertips touched the body of the whistle; it was slightly cool.

However, the moment she grasped it in her palm.

"Buzz!"

An indescribably massive suction, like an invisible black hole, suddenly erupted from inside the whistle!

The suction directly and arrogantly locked onto her Spiritual Sea!

She felt as if she had instantly become a pool with its bottom gouged out. The Mental Power accumulated within was completely out of control, pouring frantically toward that tiny whistle like floodwaters through an open gate!

Almost the instant she touched the whistle, she felt her Mental Power was about to be drained dry.

Sudden dizziness hit her brain like a sledgehammer; her vision went black, and stars danced before her eyes.

"Ugh..."

Her face turned as white as paper, and her leaping form instantly lost all support, falling straight down from mid-air.

"Captain?!"

The four team members noticed her abnormality and rushed forward as they saw her falling straight down.

At the very last second before she hit the ground, they managed to catch her body.

The sensation of being caught steadily allowed Tang Ningfei to regain a bit of consciousness.

Then, she quickly reached for the tactical belt fixed at her waist, took out a bottle of cyan-blue mental replenishment potion, and poured it into her mouth.

After the potion went down her throat and provided external replenishment, she finally regained some strength.

Immediately after, she spoke urgently to her team members, "Exchange... quick! From the Mall... help me exchange for Mental Power replenishment potions, buy the expensive ones."

Seeing her like this, how could the team members dare to hesitate even for a second?

Their fingers swiped and clicked at top speed, entering the points Mall and finding the category for Mental Power replenishment potions.

Several glimmers of light flashed in their hands, and soon, several bottles of high-grade Mental Power replenishment potions were obtained and quickly poured into Tang Ningfei's mouth.

After two more bottles of potion were poured in, Tang Ningfei finally felt the double vision and black spots fade away, and her ragged breathing gradually stabilized.

She had come back to life.

The moment she recovered, Tang Ningfei's first reaction wasn't relief, but to suddenly look up in Gu Changming's direction.

Besides the paleness from having her Mental Power drained, her face held a complex expression mixed with confusion and shock.

Wait... bro?

You've been enduring this level of Mental Power consumption the whole time?

With this kind of consumption, I almost fainted in less than a second, yet you actually dare to stand in the middle of those two beast tides?

...

Meanwhile, on the other side.

After feeling the beast groups beneath his feet tremble for less than half a second before stabilizing again, Gu Changming felt relieved.

Then, he slowly turned his gaze back, his eyes landing on the crimson figure less than twenty meters away from him.