Chapter 138 : The Mystery of the Corruption Source's Identity at Wo Niu Mountain
Chapter 138: The Mystery of the Corruption Source's Identity at Woniu Mountain’
Hang Yu continued to watch.
The battle was not yet over.
The outcome still remained uncertain.
Although this Calamity Army was more than capable of hunting down a level 13 Abyss Commander, the outcome of a battle did not solely depend on raw power comparison. Intelligence, on-the-spot performance, team coordination—all were critical factors.
“Damn it!”
“It’s too high!”
“Flying all over the place!”
“We can’t hit it!”
After clearing out the minor monsters, the Players launched a full assault on the Corrupted Twin Form, but the monster’s flight altitude was too high and it was extremely agile. The Players’ attacks either missed or were easily dodged.
Seeing the group getting increasingly agitated, Black-Eyed Rui Ge quickly reassured them, “Don’t rush, stay calm. Even though we can’t hit it, it also lacks effective long-range attacks. As long as we hold steady and don’t panic, we’ll definitely have a chance.”
Another mental attack erupted.
This wide-range attack swept across the entire battlefield.
The Players felt as if a screaming voice, like steel needles, stabbed deep into their brains and stirred violently, disrupting their senses and perception.
The Corrupted unleashed a shriek full of psychic corruption as it dove at extreme speed. Six tentacle-woven arms dragged bone blades, instantly taking out several Players and attempting to strike a few high-threat senior warlocks.
“Don’t even think about it!”
Ye Li Meng, relying on his extremely high resistance, quickly regained clarity. With a roar, he once again activated Armybreaker Charge, rushing in to block the path, raising the Thousand-Skull Demon Hammer and striking head-on.
Bang!
A giant boulder was smashed to pieces by the hammer.
The Corrupted dodged the strike at the last moment.
At the same time, it manipulated three bone blades to stab Ye Li Meng from different directions.
Fortunately, with the aid of a Protection Charm and the Iron Armor Technique granted by Armybreaker, he avoided taking serious damage.
Too fast!
The speed gap was overwhelming!
“Earthshock Wave!” Ye Li Meng roared and struck the ground with a second hammer blow, creating a shockwave that blasted the Corrupted Twin Form several meters away. While it didn’t inflict much damage, it prevented him from suffering a lethal blow.
This guy’s too strong!
Ye Li Meng believed that with his current strength, he could at least hold his own against a high-level tier-two elite monster.
But against a tier-two Commander like this, the gap was still significant. At the very least, one-on-one was impossible to win. However, even if he couldn’t win, he had already achieved the goal of suppression.
All that pre-battle preparation hadn’t been for nothing.
Everyone now had generally high resistance to mental attacks.
So they quickly regained their senses and ability to move.
Blade of Explosive Flames! Windflame Arrow! Explosive Flame Spell! Great Peace Lightning Talisman... the Calamity Army’s warlocks began preparing one powerful spell after another!
Though the Corrupted Twin Form had no intelligence—just a coincidence-born Abyssal Creature—it still had danger perception and instincts. It immediately flapped its wings, trying to fly skyward.
As long as it could gain distance!
The Calamity Army would have no way to deal with it.
It could just use mental attacks to control the battlefield again and launch a new wave of offense.
Once not enough? Then twice. Twice not enough? Then thrice. It could wear down the Calamity Army repeatedly until a one-sided slaughter was achieved.
“Trying to run?”
Black-Eyed Rui Ge’s eyes flashed sharply.
He realized the opportunity had arrived.
“Now! Release the eagles, tie it down!”
The Players had long prepared and set up an ambush. Just as the Corrupted Twin Form was about to ascend, Midnight Pig Slayer, Chenxi, Glorious Years, and other monks immediately controlled several Thunderhorn Eagles to dive in a suicidal assault.
No doubt about it.
That level of summoned spirits was far from enough to handle a level 13 Abyss Commander!
But it was enough to restrain it in a critical moment, stopping it from pulling away in time, creating an opening and opportunity for the Calamity Army.
“Great chance!”
“Go, attack now!”
Dozens of Rangers, Warriors, and even several Monks, each drew their prepared longbows, firing volleys of black-feathered arrows and fire-feathered arrows.
When the Corrupted Twin Form tore apart several Thunderhorn Eagles, it was already too late to dodge the incoming arrows. In an instant, it was hit by at least thirty to forty arrows, with its whole body and flesh wings riddled with shafts.
In the next moment—
Chimera Wraith and Artist General simultaneously hurled Explosive Flames, like two missiles striking the target and detonating.
Boom! Boom!
Amid fire and shockwaves—
Countless shattered arrows and chunks of flesh rained down.
The Corrupted Twin Form suffered heavy damage. One wing was completely destroyed. Losing balance, it plummeted from mid-air.
“Nice one!”
“Let’s see you fly away now!”
“Killing this thing on the ground is easy!”
“……”
When the Corrupted Twin Form hit the ground, it once again unleashed a mental wave. Though it disrupted the surrounding Players, it only bought a few seconds—barely enough to kill a few more Players—far too little time to recover its wounds and break out.
“Kill it!”
“Calamity will prevail!”
There were still nearly a hundred Players on site, with a large portion being tier-two Players. Currently, only about twenty were dead, most of them level 10, which meant the Calamity Army had preserved its combat power well.
Don’t forget—this was a monster skilled in mental attacks, with relatively weak direct destructive power. Even if it were a level 13 Commander with immense physical strength, it still wouldn’t withstand the siege of so many high-level Players.
Arrow after arrow flew forth.
The Corrupted Twin Form's flesh kept squirming and regenerating, ejecting the arrows embedded in its body—only to be immediately pierced again by new ones. Continuous spell attacks steadily chipped away at its health.
Victory was within reach!
Push harder!
This run was in the bag!
At that moment, an invisible energy enveloped the BOSS from all directions. The Players suddenly saw a wall of unseen force appear before them, blocking arrows and spells, and even pushing nearby Players back.
“Cornered and struggling!” Black-Eyed Rui Ge sneered. “Everyone, keep attacking with everything you’ve got! Even a big BOSS has limited mana—I don’t believe this magic barrier can hold forever!”
It was indeed as he said.
Under relentless assault from the Players—
The range of the psychic air wall was steadily shrinking.
The Corrupted Twin Form’s mana was clearly running dry. It could last ten more seconds at most before being completely exhausted and collapsing under the Players’ siege.
But then—
Something unexpected happened.
The Corrupted Twin Form’s body suddenly underwent a grotesque transformation. Countless tendrils and flesh burst from its body, not only rooting into the nearby ground but also wrapping around itself, forming into a malformed fleshy bud.
“What’s it doing?”
“Is it entering a second phase?”
“Who cares! Just attack it with everything we’ve got!”
“……”
Black-Eyed Rui Ge felt a faint sense of dread. In this type of game, the unknown was the most dangerous—after all, no one knew what kind of bizarre tricks these monsters might have.
However—
After coming this far—
Ordering a retreat now was clearly unrealistic.
For that reason, the Players didn’t shrink back but instead intensified their assault.
Around ten seconds later, the barrier had shrunk to its limit, and the Corrupted Twin Form’s main body was about to be exposed to the storm of attacks.
And just then—
The fleshy bud that was the Twin Form had fully matured.
Just as the Players were about to launch their attack at this grotesque bud, it suddenly exploded and bloomed on its own.
The next moment!
A torrent of surging, filthy, maddening spiritual energy—
Exploded outward, covering hundreds of meters in the blink of an eye.
“Not good!”
Only then did Black-Eyed Rui Ge realize—the Corrupted monster wasn’t transforming into a second phase but unleashing some devastating ultimate move.
Too late!
The moment the fleshy bud bloomed—
It was far too late for the Players to retreat!
Black-Eyed Rui Ge instantly felt as though millions—no, tens of millions—of shrieks erupted beside his ears all at once. The world before him turned entirely crimson, light and shapes warped, and all perception was lost in that instant.
What kind of terrifying mental power was this?
He felt like he was seeing his great-grandmother again! -
225!
250!
240!
This was a massive indiscriminate area attack.
All Players present instantly lost two to three hundred health points.
At this stage, even considering equipment and various BUFFs, few Players had over 300 HP—and most weren’t even at full health after continuous combat.
Just this single wave—
Nearly every tier-one Player was wiped out!
【You are affected by “Despair Bloom”, you are now in Frenzied State. Duration: 25 seconds!】
Though about half the Players weren’t instantly killed, their vision was now blood-red. All sensory perception had been stripped away. With eyes blazing red, they began to attack nearby targets indiscriminately.
Salted Fish Thrust stabbed Midnight Pig Slayer right in the butt.
Street Slayer slashed and knocked down Black-Eyed Rui Ge.
Chimera Wraith launched a Blade of Explosive Flames that instantly killed both Little Bell and Artist General—only to be immediately killed by Lone Boat’s Dark Assault.
Hang Yu, watching through Lord’s Vision, was utterly stunned.
Every Player had descended into madness and chaos.
Surviving Players were slaughtering each other.
Essence skyrocketed!
【……】
【Player “Midnight Pig Slayer” has died. Essence +6400……】
【Player “Salted Fish Thrust” has died. Essence +6400……】
【Player “Black-Eyed Rui Ge” has died. Essence +6400……】
【Player “Chimera Wraith” has died. Essence +6400……】
【……】
“Well then, I was just thinking these leeks were getting too tough to harvest, and now look at this—less than a minute later and such a shocking reversal has occurred. The Abyss World really is more dangerous than I imagined!”
One by one, the Calamity Army fell.
And Hang Yu? He wasn’t the least bit displeased.
On the contrary—he felt this was fantastic!
If this entire Player force was wiped out, he could collect at least 460,000 Essence—not only recovering all the costs of the Enlightenment Tower, but striking it rich in the process.
But the battle still wasn’t over.
Hang Yu noticed that several Players like Ye Li Meng and Chenxi had quickly recovered.
Their vision was no longer blood-red, and their bodies were back under control, though still weakened.
Ye Li Meng had equipped several pieces of gear and accessories that boosted mental resistance, and had also consumed superfoods like Secret-Spiced Earth Dragon Meat, allowing him to recover so swiftly.
As for Chenxi and the others, their rapid recovery was mainly due to the naturally high Will stat of Monks, granting them strong innate resistance against mental control.
“What’s going on?”
Ye Li Meng and the others were stunned by the sight before them.
Just moments ago, things had looked promising, and now everything was reversed. Only Ye Li Meng, Mad Blade Old Wang, Chenxi, Lone Boat, and fewer than ten others had survived—and all of them were in critical condition. Lone Boat, Mad Blade Old Wang, and the others hadn’t even fully recovered from their Frenzied state.
“Damn it!”
“What the hell was that skill?!”
“That ability is disgusting!”
Although that “Despair Bloom” was terrifyingly powerful, the cost it demanded was also enormous. After unleashing it, the Corrupted Twin Form had completely shriveled into a skeleton, with its health bar emptied down to just 1 point. For the moment, it had virtually lost the ability to fight!
They had underestimated it!
It wasn’t transforming at all!
That was its trump card ultimate move!
Although “Despair Bloom” could cover a radius of 200 to 300 meters, making it a super weapon, the skill had a major drawback—and it was not without counterplay. The casting time alone lasted over ten seconds, more than enough for most Players to temporarily retreat.
The reason they had suffered such a huge setback this time—
Was definitely not due to a lack of strength!
In this battle, the Calamity Army had far surpassed the enemy in power, and the Players’ coordination and positioning had been on point.
The biggest problem was not knowing the skill’s mechanics!
When the BOSS turned into that fleshy bud, the Players thought it was about to enter a second phase, and instead of retreating, they charged forward—leading to them being caught in a point-blank blast, nearly wiped out in an instant!
The Corrupted Twin Form’s regeneration was terrifying. In just the short time it took for the Players to slaughter one another, its withered flesh had already partially regenerated, and its health was beginning to recover. It was climbing back from extreme weakness.
“We still have a chance!”
Chenxi cast a healing spell on Ye Li Meng.
Her meaning was clear—the BOSS had no health, no mana. Now was the best time to finish it off.
Before she could cast Rejuvenation Charm, she was suddenly slashed to death by Mad Blade Old Wang. Then, Mad Blade Old Wang and Lone Boat began fighting each other—neither of them had fully recovered from Frenzy, now trapped in a state of uncontrollable indiscriminate slaughter.
There was no time to worry!
Ye Li Meng roared and charged at the Corrupted Twin Form with Armybreaker Charge.
Though the enemy was regenerating fast, in just a few seconds it had only regained a few dozen points of HP. A direct hit from him—given his attack power—would be enough to kill it!
Despite being weakened, the Corrupted Twin Form did not back down. Tentacles once again sprouted from its sides, weaving into arms gripping bone blades, and it struck out with even greater speed, slashing at Ye Li Meng.
Dang dang dang!
Under the Armybreaker state, he was nearly in super armor.
Bone blades sparked as they clashed against his skin.
He countered with a hammer strike, but several bone blades blocked it. The resulting shockwave shattered the blades and tore apart the tentacles.
–
48!
Just a bit more!
Only around 10 HP remained.
Ye Li Meng raised his giant hammer, preparing to unleash the final decisive blow. But at that moment, a bone blade struck again—this time piercing through the Iron Armor Technique’s defense and stabbing into his neck.
–
174 (Critical)!
Ye Li Meng’s eyes widened.
He collapsed, unwilling and powerless.
Mad Blade Old Wang had already used Qi-Slash to cut down Lone Boat, and at that moment finally regained his senses. Seeing the battlefield, almost entirely wiped out, he was first stunned, then horrified, and finally furious.
The Corrupted Twin Form regrew its fleshy wings.
It flapped them, ready to ascend into the sky.
Only a handful of Players remained.
If this monster escaped, it would all have been for nothing.
Mad Blade Old Wang had barely any HP left. He didn’t have the speed or stamina to get close and stop it. He immediately calmed himself, took a deep breath, and gathered the last of his mana into his long blade. Flame-like Blade Qi surged and burned along its edge.
Frenzied Tiger Roar Slash!
A roaring, tiger-shaped flaming Blade Qi burst forth.
Just as the Corrupted Twin Form began to take flight, it was struck.
This powerful Abyss Commander let out a wail. Its body was instantly torn apart, exploding like a firework of flesh and blood—completely and utterly slain by the Calamity Army.
“So... so close!”
Mad Blade Old Wang let out a long sigh of relief.
While the other high-level Players were busy researching new skills in the Enlightenment Tower—
Old Wang didn’t follow the trend. He believed that instead of gambling on unpredictable new skills, it was far more worthwhile to invest his Essence into learning solid, established ones.
So he spent over 10,000 Essence to learn the green-tier skill “Frenzied Tiger Roar Slash” from Zhou Ji!
He was the only Player in the Calamity Army to possess this skill.
Thank goodness he had it.
At least they hadn’t failed in the end.
Mad Blade Old Wang picked up the loot dropped by the BOSS.
【You have looted rewards: Essence +60000, Abyssal Magic Crystal +240, Forging Crystal +20, Tier-Two Evil Corruption Gem +20, Wailing Short Blade +1, Despair Longsword +1, Psychic Shelter Necklace +1!】
Though the battle was grueling—
The loot did not disappoint!
Meanwhile, behind the scenes, Hang Yu—who had been spectating—also received the corresponding notifications.
【Ding, you have obtained “Lesser Abyssal Nightmare Source Fragment”. Would you like to devour it immediately? Yes/No!】
As expected.
This BOSS was a vessel of an Abyssal Nightmare Source.
Hang Yu didn’t hesitate in the slightest and made his choice immediately.
“Devour!”
【Devouring successful! Your Tier-Two Talent Points +3!】
Not bad.
This battle not only earned Hang Yu 440,000 Essence but also granted him 3 Tier-Two Talent Points at once. One Tier-Two Talent Point was equivalent to ten Tier-One Talent Points, so both in terms of rarity and difficulty to obtain, they were extremely valuable.
Soon after—
All the Players were resurrected.
They chose the resurrection point at Shansang City.
This was because reviving at Shansang City reduced travel distance, and in just over an hour, they returned to the depths of Woniu Mountain.
“That was close!”
“We still underestimated this wild BOSS’s strength!”
“A Tier-Two Commander is that terrifying... even though we’ve improved greatly, one careless moment and we’re sunk!”
Although the price paid for this battle was high—
From the perspective of the gains, it was worth it.
The Players lost only some experience, but gained a large number of precious materials. Moreover, this BOSS dropped three rare green-quality pieces of equipment.
【Wailing Short Blade】: Tier-Two Equipment, Green Low-Grade. Attack +28, Strength +6, Agility +16, Attack Speed +12. Comes with skill “Wailing Shock”. Durability 15/50.
【Despair Longsword】: Tier-Two Equipment, Green Low-Grade. Attack +38, Strength +9, Agility +9, Attack Speed +5. Comes with skill “Desperate Strike”. Durability 20/50.
【Psychic Shelter Necklace】: Tier-Two Equipment, Green Mid-Grade. Spirit +10, Will +10, Mental Resistance +20. Comes with skill “Psychic Barrier”. Durability 30/50.
All three pieces were top-tier!
Upon seeing the attributes of the Wailing Short Blade and Despair Longsword, Black-Eyed Rui Ge’s eyes were practically glued to them—these two weapons seemed tailor-made for him.
Twisted Three Kingdoms wasn’t a rigid numbers game.
Players could carry multiple weapons and wear multiple armor pieces at the same time.
However, no matter how many layers of armor were worn, only the attributes and damage mitigation of one extraordinary armor would take effect. So in most cases, layering two or even three armors was unnecessary.
While high-level armor did have decent defense, lacking attribute and immunity bonuses rendered them meaningless. Worse, they hindered movement and made it easier for enemies to strike vital areas.
As for weapons—
One-handed weapons could be dual-wielded.
And the attribute bonuses from off-hand weapons had a 30% effect.
However, weapon damage scaling was independent, and one-handed weapons usually had lower attack values, so dual-wielding had pros and cons.
Among the Players, Black-Eyed Rui Ge and Street Slayer were dual-wielders. Ye Li Meng and Niu Shisan used two-handed weapons. Mad Blade Old Wang and Salted Fish Thrust liked equipping shields and one-handed weapons alongside two-handers.
It mostly came down to personal preference—
Or the equipment they had on hand.
Now, these two weapons—one long and one short—were both high-quality. The Wailing Short Blade had great stats and a mental interference skill, while the Despair Longsword offered high attack with a burst-damage skill. Equipping both would noticeably boost combat power.
After some discussion—
Black-Eyed Rui Ge gave up the right to all other loot and sacrificed a share of Essence in exchange for obtaining both of these Tier-Two green weapons.
Truthfully, among the Players—
There were quite a few who had their eyes on the weapons.
But Black-Eyed Rui Ge held high standing and prestige among the group.
He wasn’t just well-liked and respected; he was also the initiator, commander, and MVP of this operation.
Under such circumstances, unless one of the top-tier elites stepped in to compete, no one could hope to contend with Rui Ge. And those top-tier elites all had good relationships with him, so they gave him face and didn’t snatch the rewards.
As for the Psychic Shelter Necklace—
It was given to the other hero of this battle, Mad Blade Old Wang.
This item was even more valuable individually and could greatly enhance defense.
Aside from the generous materials and loot, the most important reward of this battle—
Was advancing the storyline.
Half an hour later—
Over a hundred Players arrived at the Sealed Cavern.
Guan Yu once again awoke from slumber: “I have sensed the fading of my two sisters-in-law’s auras. They have finally escaped the endless nightmare cycle, died properly, and found peace. Guan thanks all of you on their behalf.”
“This was our duty!”
Little Bell couldn’t wait to ask, “Now that we’ve completed your request, will you also fulfill your promise and open the seal to the Core Corruption Zone?”
Guan Yu said calmly: “Naturally. You have proven your strength and earned the right to challenge the Core Corruption Source!”
Hearing this—
Everyone lit up with joy.
But regarding the Core Corruption Zone of Woniu Mountain—
The Players still had many unanswered questions.
For example, who exactly was the Core Corruption Source of Woniu Mountain? Was Zhou Cang inside the core zone? What state was he in?
These were critical pieces of intel.
Only by understanding the situation in the Core Corruption Zone—
Could the Players formulate a proper purification strategy.
Guan Yu, being the sealer of the Woniu Mountain Core Corruption Source, should know more than anyone else. It would be a waste not to utilize this intelligence source.
Black-Eyed Rui Ge didn’t beat around the bush and asked directly, “Lord Guan, can you tell us—who is the host of the Core Corruption Source at Woniu Mountain?”
Everyone on-site perked up their ears.
In fact, this mystery had already caused major debate on the forums.
When the Woniu Mountain map was first unlocked, people suspected the Corruption Source could be Pei Yuanshao, Zhou Cang, maybe even Zhao Yun or Guan Yu himself.
But as those suspects were gradually ruled out—
Players grew more confused. Aside from those people, who else at Woniu Mountain was worthy of becoming a Corruption Source?
After all, in theory, anyone chosen by the Will of the Abyss to bear a Nightmare Fragment must possess great Fate—it would never be some nameless nobody or random small fry.