Chapter 541: The Witch Trials

At the same moment, the Papal Palace.

Bai Liu and Muke leapt backwards to avoid the punch, and the Pope, smashed under a piece of ceiling, escaped, looking dazed and stunned, his legs shaking as he watched the scene.

Bai Liu pulled his whip from his haunches, raised his eyebrows slightly and looked across at Qi Yifang and Titan, who had emerged from the centre of the storm with a smile: "It seems that we are not the only ones who want to get to the island."

"It's been a long time, Mr. Bai Liu." Qi Yifang nodded politely, his hand hovering over the spinning vane that was spinning more and more furiously, and raised his eyes to the sceptre in Bai Liu's hand, his eyes pausing for a moment as his expression became obscurely Buming, "As expected of you, Mr Bai Liu, to have entered the Papal Palace and obtained the key to the island while I was still hesitating. "

Muke stood unmoved behind Bai Liu, who stood up straight as he shook his whip, shaking the rain off it, and asked with a soft smile, "You are no match for me, and your tactician is cruel to you to force you to stand in my way and let me kill you like this."

"It is true that I am no match for you, and it is also true that my tactician is cruel." Qi Yifang's face slid down with rain, but his expression did not change as the wind vane in his hand spun to a sharp stop, "But a match is a match, and a tactic is a tactic."

"What we're going to do doesn't change whether we die because of it or not, that's what the King's Guild trained us for."

Qi Yifang looked straight at Bai Liu: "We were born to serve the Queen and to serve the victory to the death."

"What a devout faith." Bai Liu spread his hands appreciatively as he gave a smirking glance at the Pope who was climbing out of the ruins of the main hall with Titan's help, "But looking at the clothes, I suppose you're set to be the Pope now? Isn't that a bad thing to say in front of your other top boss?"

Muke came up to Bai Liu's ear, he covered his arm and his tone was a bit low: "Just now my dagger hit that Pope NPC but it bounced back, I unlocked his monster book, this guy is immune to all attacks from men and judged witches, he even has a fifty percent chance of triggering a bounce, he's a very hard NPC to kill. "

"But the weird thing is ......" Muke hesitated, "The monster book says it's only witches who have to be judged and males in the ruled area that are immune and bounce damage, we don't fall into that category, but we also get bounced damage."

Bai Liu glanced at the bleeding wound on Muke's arm: "That's the wound the Pope bounced back from? Show me the monster book your panel unlocked."

Muke showed Bai Liu the Pope's monster book and Bai Liu's eyes narrowed as he quickly tapped out and swiped his system panel to refresh it, his gaze pausing for a moment and his tone of voice becoming clear: "So that's it."

The status setting on his system panel changed from [Prepared Witch] to [Witch wanted by the Holy See pending trial].

Muke also reacted and his face sank in a flash: "So it's the identity setting?!"

"Although we are men, and logically not immune, we were set up as reserve witches to begin with." Bai Liu explained articulately, "And after that time when we were rescued by the witch team, we, as defecting reserve witches, had come under the witch team in the eyes of the Holy See, and so the Inquisition wanted us, so our status is now that of witches awaiting trial."

"But it's still not right, even if we're witches on trial now, we're not part of the damage exemption for attacking the Pope." Muke wondered.

Bai Liu continued in a calm tone, "But we have now come to the Papal Palace, the heart of this trial of witches, so as [witches to be tried] we are being tried by the Papacy at this moment."

"It just happened to fall within the immunity range that invalidates attacks on popes and bishops."

The Pope, staggering and being helped to his feet by the guards, shouted in hysterical rage, "Arrest and execute these two witches' accomplices!"

"Where's the priest! Where's the priest who just rushed in and saved me!"

Qi Yifang replied in a very soft voice to the Pope, "I am here, Your Holiness."

The Pope hid behind Qi Yifang as if he had seen a savior, shivering from the wind and rain, but still ordering in a commanding manner, "I just saw you order that giant, that giant you called to save me, didn't you? Quickly, tell that giant to kill these two thieves and take back my sceptre!"

"The giants are indeed powerful, but so are those two, so in addition to that I need your help, my Lord Pope." Qi Yifang whispered softly, "Will you make it possible for me to marshal your team?"

The Pope hesitated for a brief moment, but he turned his head to look at the sceptre in Bai Liu's hand and, with a grit of his teeth, agreed: "...... you mobilise it."

Qi Yifang, standing at the front, raised his hand and dragged the weathervane in front of him, looking at Bai Liu and Muke, who were surrounded by the cardinals, and replied to the Pope with no expression on his face: "As you wish, Your Holiness. "

Looking at the Cardinal who kept approaching him, Muke and Bai Liu stood back to back, his face turning ugly: "The monster book says that the Cardinal is also immune to damage from attacks like ours [by the Witch on Trial]."

"That's a problem." Bai Liu's tone was even, his whip flicked to the side as he looked at Qi Yifang, who was looking across the Cardinal and him, with a little smirk actually on his face, "It seems that the other side's tactician, has been preparing against us for a long time."

"Purposely lured us, a group of [witches to be judged], to fall into the injury-free category."

In the midst of the grey and stormy weather, the giant's huge shadow loomed in the white light of the lightning, treading on the ruins of the papal palace, his body stepping heavily as he approached, his breathing deafening like the faint sound of thunder, giving a great sense of lingering oppression.

Titan clenched his fists, his expression fierce, his eyes white, and hissed as he hammered down on Bai Liu and Muke in the centre, while Qi Yifang dragged the wind vane high in his right hand and waved his left hand down in a harsh tone.

"Thunderburst, drop!"

Thunder flashes and crackles on the weathervane.

[System Alert: Player Qi Yifang uses the skill to override extreme weather (falling thunder) over a localized area with the overlay of (Storm) area weather, which can last up to one minute with reduced stamina and will enter a ten minute period of stasis, unable to move.]

A purple and white thunderbolt flickered down from the swirling clouds at the centre of the storm, condensing into the shape of a sword and plunging straight into the ruins of the papal palace where Bai Liu had fallen, the flash of lightning falling from in front of Bai Liu's emotionless black pupils, exploding fiercely and scattering sparks the moment it touched the ground.

Several laser-like flashes of lightning shone in the sky, blinding the eyes, and the top of the ruins of the papal palace was silent, the only sound to be heard was the cacophony of rain washing over the thunder and smoke.

Qi Yifang's heart pounded wildly as he stared at the smoke filled area, and he held his breath - he was about to enter a ten minute stasis period, and if he didn't chip away at Bai Liu's blood this time, it was going to be hard to do so later!

Bai Liu, Bai Liu, this monster of a guy, was not such a scary player to him even a month ago.

The growth is just horrible, and although he's also growing like crazy under Phoebe's pressure, it's not even on the same scale as a monster like Bai Liu who is crushing his own growth - it's horrible, growing to the same level as the Queen after only a few months.

Even a strong attacking tactician like Phoebe avoids its presence when formulating tactics.

"Eh--!?" Qi Yifang pointed incredulously at his nose as he looked at Phoebe, incredulously repeating himself to the team, "I'm going to stop Bai Liu ?!"

"I can't even stop him!"

"Of course I know you can't stop him, so I'm giving you Titan." Phoebe swept Qi Yifang with an afterimage.

Qi Yifang whispered, "But even if we give me Titan, I don't think we'll be able to stop Bai Liu ......"

Just when Qi Yifang thought he would be despised by Phoebe as the underdog, he saw Phoebe fall silent for a rare moment before agreeing with him with a slightly irritated squint and a tsk, "Yes, you and Titan can't stop Bai Liu either."

" Bai Liu is strong, he is the ace of their team, the kind of ace that can turn the tide."

"It's consistent with Spades' role in the killer sequence."

"For a team like ours that doesn't have a strong main attacker, Bai Liu is totally a card face that can wreak havoc, if I were the Little Witch I'd have him on the main quest too, he's got a good brain, flexible skills and will push through quickly despite being a little less cooperative, other than that, the one thing that's still troublesome for us is that Wandering Circus as a team has, in addition to Bai Liu, the ace, and a fairly high defence and high attacker as the main attacker."

Phoebe looks to Qi Yifang: "It's the hunter with the mysterious identity."

"Their team doesn't have a shield position and the roaming position is two rookies, not strong, but their main attack and Bai Liu, their ace, can completely fill the gap, and with the little witch taking on part of the return and [shield] role, this is a tough team to beat."

"...... Indeed." Qi Yifang smiled bitterly, "Especially since our side's ace is still trapped on the island."

"The mechanics of the league are relatively fair." Phoebe raised her eyes as she pinpointed, "Since the game traps our aces and gives us such big identity setting limits, they must and will somewhere from eating big limits."

"If they're in the witch camp, for example, then they'll more than likely be immune to injury when they attack members of the Order, then we just have to be flexible and use that."

Qi Yifang was stunned: "How can ...... be used flexibly?"

"I don't recommend a head on confrontation with this Bai Liu guy, this guy's tactical style is messy and unscrupulous and could easily wear us out." Phoebe lifted her eyes to Qi Yifang, "So for him, I decided to use attrition tactics, that is, to use the relatively weak fighting force in our team to stall him, what did your king say, the tactics of Tian Ji horse race?"

"That is, use your control skills to stall Bai Liu, Qi Yifang."

Qi Yifang: "......QWQ Okay, Miss Phoebe, what do I have to do?"

Although expected, it still felt like I'd taken an arrow to the knee.

"Hold Bai Liu off the island until we get back." Phoebe lowered her eyes, "I'll do everything I can with the rest of the team to clear out their main attacker Hunter, until then, just do what you can to stall Bai Liu from getting to the island before you die."

"It's best if you survive, and if you don't-"

Phoebe looked at Qi Yifang: "Then use your best, make your death worth more to us, cause more damage to Bai Liu and pave the way for the team that will be on the island."

Qi Yifang was quiet for a moment, then took a breath and looked up with a firm gaze, "I know."

As the lightning cleared, Qi Yifang's body went rigid. He looked at the fallen figure in the middle of the ruined main hall, took two deep breaths and was just about to breathe a sigh of relief when a soft laugh suddenly came from behind him.

"Obviously an acquaintance, but so hard on me the moment we meet."

Qi Yifang's breath caught in his throat and he couldn't turn his head fast enough to see a gloved hand on his shoulder, and further up, a Bai Liu slowly falling from mid-air, his ponytail knocked to one side at the back of his shoulder, the bone whip drawn from behind him tingling with lightning, the pupils of his dark eyes curving slightly, looking at Qi Yifang with a smirk, a teasing smile The black pupils of his eyes curved up slightly, looking at Qi Yifang with a smirk and a teasing tone.

"How sad, to meet and strike me with lightning, am I so unappealing?"

[System Alert: Player Bai Liu loads player Muke's panel and uses his personal skill (Flash Strike)]

"That can't be helped." Bai Liu withdrew his hand and vibrated his whip, smiling as he waved it over, "I'm a man who holds a grudge; if you slash me, I'll be sure to return the favour."

The flashing thunderbolt was instantly in front of Qi Yifang's eyes, and his pupils almost gritted their teeth as they reflected the flashing thunderbolt.

-- Bai Liu, who didn't hesitate to abandon his teammate Muke at the moment the lightning descended, and used Muke's skill to steal away!

He used Muke as a shield to protect himself from the lightning bolt! The man who fell on the rubble was Muke!

How can you call Phoebe's tactics brutal when you're taking a teammate's crumbs!

Bai Liu's whip threw itself on Qi Yifang's face, knocking him ten metres away.

Qi Yifang is on the ground, breathing heavily, barely holding himself up to look at Bai Liu.

Bai Liu approached him nonchalantly, smiling as he straightened the whip in his hand, "You have this look on your face as if you're accusing me of using a teammate to defend myself from a knife, but isn't that a normal thing to do?"

"In this game, everyone prioritises preserving the more valuable player, like Phoebe giving up you for my main attacker."

"I would also give up my teammates to preserve the more valuable myself."

Qi Yifang's face froze as Titan behind him snarled and brought his fist down on Bai Liu, who swung his whip back to avoid it, raising his eyebrows to look over as Titan stared at him and dropped his fist again.

[System Alert: Player Titan uses the skill (Dimensional Shield) on the area in front of player Bai Liu]

[After using this skill, different spaces will be cut into different dimensions of time and space, neither living nor non-living beings will be able to enter another space, light and sound will no longer be able to propagate, and the spaces where the skill is implemented will no longer be merged under the same multidimensional space]

[The skill lasts for one hour and has a cooldown of one hour.].

A black hole the size of a man suddenly appeared and swallowed Bai Liu, with star-like fragments swirling inside.

The moment he sees Bai Liu wrapped in the black hole, Qi Yifang finally lies on his back, his eyes slack, looking up at the sky where the rain continues to fall.

...... just now almost thought he would die.

Finally, Bai Liu was able to trick Titan into using his skills.

He took great pains to use up his big skill, playing Bai Liu, in order to trick Muke, the assassin in Bai Liu's panel, into an instant escape [Flash Strike], so that Bai Liu, a man with too much freedom, would not be able to make a gimmicky escape, and then be able to use Titan's skill to load Bai Liu in.

Next -

Qi Yifang looks over at Muke, who is being set up by the guards, and his chest heaves violently - by letting these guards kill Muke, he has replaced one of his team members and succeeded in his mission ......

Wait! Mission!

Qi Yifang, his body in a state of rigor mortis, sat up straight in extreme shock, having just suddenly realised that something was wrong - his mission was to get the sceptre and delay Bai Liu's arrival on the island.

But the scepter is in Bai Liu's hand!

Bai Liu got the scepter straight into Titan's space! His mission is ruined!

[I would also give up my teammates to save the more valuable myself.

Bai Liu's chuckling voice suddenly rang in Qi Yifang's ears and he winced violently, looking over at the racked Muke who wore a smile as if he had seen this coming, even as he raised an eyebrow at him in a slightly haughty grin.

Shit! It's a trap! The person being played was himself!

Qi Yifang's face was incomparably sunken - Bai Liu's aim from the beginning was to trick Titan's great skill and wrap him in a dimensional shield, so that although he could not move, he had the key prop, the scepter, and in Titan's dimensional shield space, even in the Pope's Palace There is no one who can harm him in such a place.

In this field, the witch is free to move, Bai Liu has no way to use the witch's panel to heal herself or her teammates at will. In a head-to-head duel, when she finds that the environment is not favourable to her team and she cannot attack the NPCs in the Pope's palace, in order to prevent her ace from being seriously injured and depleted, putting her team at a disadvantage, she simply abandons her teammates and enters Titan with her scepter instead of fighting them. The scepter went into Titan's dimensional shield!

And it stayed for an hour!

Even if Qi Yifang kills Muke now, it won't matter, he's stalemated, Titan's skills are on cooldown, Bai Liu has one of his big skills in his hand, and he still has his scepter, so he'll have to wait for it to come out before he can get to the ladder, but by then, the Little Witch's army will have already hit and matched him!

With the little witch around, this guy will get his blood back and won't die again no matter what!

They miscalculated!

Qi Yifang's face almost twisted when he realized this - he and Phoebe both thought Bai Liu was a rampaging, extreme tactical type who could fight to the death in key events like the Challenge, not caring about his own blood levels and playing like that. I didn't expect this guy to be able to play like this!

No, if that's the case, they'll be totally passive when Bai Liu comes out!

Qi Yifang looked up and yelled sternly, " Titan, go to the courtroom and help Phoebe kill the hunters!"

--Make sure you change the hunter before Bai Liu comes out, or you're screwed!

By the time the hunters converge back on the defensive and Bai Liu comes out of his shield, the double attack formation of the witch as a healer plus Bai Liu and the hunters is too much for them to handle!