Chapter 222: Frenzied Counterattack

Chapter 222: Chapter 222: Frenzied Counterattack

Having entered the deep-sea instance multiple times, Xu Qingsui was no stranger to the underwater world.

However, this was her first time seeing a castle erected in the depths of the ocean.

As the group ventured deeper into the instance and gazed into the distance, a grand castle came into everyone’s view. Evidently, this was also the first time the others had encountered such a situation, and they couldn’t help but whisper among themselves.

Seeing the scene getting a bit chaotic, Lu Jingyu’s face darkened. "Everyone, enter a state of high alert immediately. Danger is everywhere in the instance, so be on your guard."

The team members instantly fell silent and raised their vigilance.

After making some brief arrangements, Lu Jingyu led the team toward the castle. Xu Qingsui remained half a step behind him, while Shen Yan, under Lu Jingyu’s strict orders, was sandwiched in the very middle of the formation, several meters away from Xu Qingsui.

According to Lu Jingyu, Shen Yan’s situation was special, making it inconvenient for him to fight. To be safe, keeping him in the middle of the team would ensure he was well protected if anything happened. But Shen Yan knew perfectly well that the man was simply abusing his authority to settle a personal grudge and keep him away from Xu Qingsui.

He felt thoroughly frustrated, but since Lu Jingyu was the boss here, he had no choice but to swallow his anger and stay where he was.

However, from this position, he had a clear view of Lu Jingyu and Xu Qingsui walking side by side. Whether intentional or not, Lu Jingyu would occasionally lean in and whisper into Xu Qingsui’s ear. The intimate sight of them nearly rubbing cheeks provoked Shen Yan so much that he wanted to charge forward and send Lu Jingyu flying.

Perhaps his gaze was too burning, or perhaps a certain someone did it on purpose, but Lu Jingyu suddenly shot a glance his way, driving Shen Yan even crazier with anger. Yet, no matter how displeased he was, he understood their current situation and refrained from acting recklessly.

Meanwhile, the castle that appeared so close at hand still stood ahead of them, looking just as distant even after they had been walking for over half an hour. If the static objects around them hadn’t constantly been changing, they would have thought they were under some sort of illusion and walking in place.

If things continued like this, they probably wouldn’t be able to enter the castle even when the countdown ended.

Lu Jingyu waved his hand, and the team halted their advance.

"There’s something strange going on here. It’s highly likely that the enemy is right in front of us. Everyone, stay alert.

"If anyone notices anything off, you must report it immediately," Lu Jingyu instructed. After a few more words, he called out two team members. "Did you bring the safety ropes? You two take them out, maintain a distance of five meters between yourselves, and keep walking toward the castle to see if there’s any problem!"

The two chosen members obeyed their orders. They hurriedly took ropes from their packs, tied them around their respective waists, and connected the two ends, leaving only one lead end. Without needing Lu Jingyu’s command, another member stepped forward and took the lead end of the rope.

With everything ready, the two roped scouts walked toward the castle one after the other, maintaining a five-meter gap between them.

Now that the scouts had set off, everyone else focused their attention entirely on the two of them. Watching them slowly walk further away, it looked to the group as though the two were almost at the foot of the castle. Yet, as if they couldn’t see it, the scouts continued to walk forward.

Seeing this, everyone was certain there was something bizarre going on.

Lu Jingyu immediately shot a look to the team member holding the rope, who quickly tugged at it. His movements carried a distinct rhythm, evidently a communication signal established within the Alliance.

But just as the member finished sending the signal, the scout at the very front grabbed the rope himself and, under everyone’s watchful eyes, untied the knot.

Lu Jingyu’s pupils shrank. He was just about to shout when he saw the man suddenly turn around and lunge at the scout behind him.

The man’s eyes were bloodshot. Like a maddened leopard, he reached his teammate in the blink of an eye, grabbed him by the throat with both hands, and opened his mouth wide, aiming for the jugular to take a lethal bite.

Just as the tragedy was about to occur, Lu Jingyu dashed to the side of the member holding the rope. He snatched the line, wrapped it around his arm several times, and pulled with all his might to yank them back.

Due to the forceful pull, both scouts were dragged flying backward. Because of this, the scout who was about to have his blood vessels bitten through narrowly escaped death.

Despite being two grown men, under Lu Jingyu’s sheer strength, they flew back rapidly like paper kites.

"Pin Wang Qiang down!" Lu Jingyu shouted as the two men flew right before their eyes.

The moment they landed, the bystanders swarmed over, pulling the maddened Wang Qiang away and pinning him to the ground. But even with four people pressing him down, Wang Qiang struggled violently, nearly throwing the men off him a few times.

Lu Jingyu tossed the rope aside and dashed over in a flash. Pushing away two of the men, he personally pinned Wang Qiang’s arm and drove his knee into the center of the man’s back.

Under Lu Jingyu’s restraint, Wang Qiang’s struggles lessened significantly, though he still thrashed about from time to time.

At this time, the other scout had recovered. Clutching his throat, which was still sore from being choked, he walked over to his captain.

"Captain, I don’t know who Wang Qiang was talking to just now. I heard him muttering something and yelled at him a few times, but he ignored me.

"Before long, I saw him untie the rope and lunge straight at me."

Hearing his teammate’s words, Lu Jingyu furrowed his brows deeply. He then looked at Xu Qingsui, who had also come over.

"It doesn’t seem like he’s going berserk, but if we can save him, we must. Try to see if you can soothe his emotions."

Xu Qingsui nodded, walked right up to Lu Jingyu’s side, and placed her hand on Wang Qiang’s forehead.

She tried to inject her spiritual power into his body, but after probing around, she could only sense a chaotic Spiritual World. According to her past experience, soothing these low-level Sentinels was normally the easiest thing in the world for her.

But right now, it had no effect at all. Left with no other choice, she could only attempt to enter his Spiritual World.

Yet, after roaming around inside, she found Wang Qiang’s spirit body. Let alone showing signs of going berserk, his spirit body had actually fallen into a comatose state.

"System, what is going on here? What do I have to do to wake him up?"

Encountering such a situation for the first time, Xu Qingsui truly didn’t know where to start and could only summon the Golden Octopus.

[His spirit body has been affected by external influences and has entered a dormant state. At this moment, his physical body is completely out of control, which is why he has entered a frenzied state.]

Xu Qingsui furrowed her brows tightly. No wonder Wang Qiang had attacked his own teammate just now.

"Then how can I wake him up?"

[With the host’s current abilities, you cannot wake him. You can only wake him up by dealing with the main entity that turned him this way.]