Chapter 499 314: Lin Qi Joins the Battle, Monster? Monster

No. 5?

Just as King Arthur had thought, Master Ma had never seen Lin Qi display such an Ability before.

Upon first hearing the "woman's" voice, Master Ma thought someone from the Holy Relic Legion had actually arrived and was about to use the name he had just invoked to set a trap for him.

But with the appearance of the number and King Arthur's change in attitude, Master Ma instantly understood. The person before them was the Wizard!

'This is the first time I've seen the Wizard reveal his true form... No, this doesn't look like a Wizard's true body. It gives me more of a... Martial Artist feel,' Master Ma thought to himself.

His gaze shifted to the malformed entity as Master Ma spoke up, "Since No. 5 has spoken, I'm willing to play along."

After Master Ma stated his position, King Arthur, who had been in a standoff with Baili Xueyuan, also made her stance clear. "Fine. We of the Holy Relic Legion are willing to accept this commission. We hope you will honor your promise and not cause trouble for us afterward."

Although she had lost contact with Guang Ling, King Arthur inexplicably felt a surge of confidence upon learning the Wizard was present.

In King Arthur's mind, the Wizard was the most mysterious member of the entire Mercenary Corps, second only to Guang Ling.

With the Wizard's methods, she was sure he could help them turn the tables.

Seeing the change in King Arthur and hearing Master Ma's tone, Baili Xueyuan immediately shifted most of her attention to this newly appeared, mysterious entity.

"No. 5?"

Repeating the designation aloud, Baili Xueyuan sorted through the information in her mind.

'This person must be from the same Mercenary Corps as that dead ghost. Of course, it's definitely not the Holy Relic Legion that dead ghost mentioned. That was just a cover.'

'Based on previous intelligence, the members of that Mercenary Corps have mysterious identities, and most of them have extraordinary origins.'

'Judging by the attitudes of that dead ghost and this Tier Four Initial Stage, this person's power and status might be even greater than theirs—a cut above.'

Baili Xueyuan quickly made her decision. "Three Tier Four experts on the scene. Your Holy Relic Legion has quite the lineup! But since you're willing to accept my commission, I naturally won't go back on my word. As long as you can deal with the Bearer, I guarantee I'll let bygones be bygones."

Baili Xueyuan's stance made Lin Qi, hidden in a sewer nearly a kilometer away, let out a huge sigh of relief.

His mind was at ease. 'Baili Xueyuan can't detect the connection between me and the malformed entity. I can act freely.'

The malformed entity immediately responded, its voice raspy, creating an unpleasant sensation like nails scraping across plastic. "To deal with this kind of monster, you want just us to act while you two sit safely in the rear. That doesn't exactly inspire confidence. If you were to go back on your word afterward, it would be detrimental to us."

Baili Xueyuan's eyes narrowed slightly, her attitude turning subtly hostile. Though anxious, she showed no trace of it on her face.

"What are you proposing?" Baili Xueyuan knew the other party wanted to haggle, so she could only respond this way.

Lin Qi, controlling the malformed entity, held nothing back and stated his demand. "Since you two don't plan on contributing any effort, how about contributing some Spiritual Power? And I do hope you won't resist."

As he said this, Lin Qi immediately used his power.

The first Ability of a Tier Three: Spiritual Power Absorption!

Although this Ability couldn't help Lin Qi fight opponents of a higher tier, its effect ignored one's Extraordinary Level.

Ever since reaching Tier Three, Lin Qi's powers had shown a trait of ignoring levels, but it was unclear if this was a coincidence or an inherent characteristic.

Two special connections suddenly appeared in the Seas of Consciousness of Baili Xueyuan and Wu Yong, beginning to slowly draw out their Spiritual Power.

"What is this power? What Extraordinary Profession are you?"

Although Baili Xueyuan was surprised, she didn't show any panic.

Lin Qi had the malformed entity speak again in that grating voice. "That's none of your concern. My power requires a vast amount of Spiritual Power to sustain it. I hope you will both cooperate."

As he spoke, Lin Qi increased the intensity of the "Spiritual Power Absorption."

When used on someone with a higher Extraordinary Level, the speed of "Spiritual Power Absorption" was limited. Even when he had used it on King Arthur, the absorption rate was roughly equal to her recovery rate. It could only reduce her sustained combat ability, but it couldn't actually weaken her combat strength.

But if the target were to willingly open themselves up, the absorption speed of this Ability could increase tenfold.

Beside Baili Xueyuan, Wu Yong's mind was taut with tension, not daring to drop his defenses and allow the absorption.

He truly had no idea what this power was; he couldn't even feel how it was affecting him.

And no matter how he tried to stabilize his Sea of Consciousness, he couldn't stop his Spiritual Power from draining away at a fixed rate.

It was slow, but it was relentless!

'Just what kind of technique is this?'

The grating voice sounded again. "If you two don't cooperate, I have no confidence in fighting that monster. However, holding the two of you back to protect my teammates while they retreat wouldn't be difficult for me at all."

Lin Qi began to talk big.

'Anyway, my methods are bizarre. They can't tell if I'm bluffing. They can't even tell if I'm Tier Three or Tier Four.'

'Besides, bluffing isn't illegal in Red Fruit City!'

'Let's see if you buy it!'

For the two from the Assassin Alliance, even Baili Xueyuan, a Tier Four Peak, didn't dare to disbelieve after feeling her Spiritual Power drain away uncontrollably.

'A technique that can affect a Tier Four Peak like me without me even noticing... How could the user possibly be weak?'

'Most likely, he's an existence on par with myself!'

"Lower your mental defenses. Provide the Spiritual Power," Baili Xueyuan ordered Wu Yong.