Chapter 375: Chapter 246: Lie Down, or I’ll Take Your Life

BOOM!

Fang Zhen fired the first shot with the heavy sniper rifle.

The AWP’s recoil was considerable, but Fang Zhen was crouched on the ground and completely absorbed it. He was as steady as a coastal artillery battery.

Balenzuo, who was still casting Shadow Energy Balls mid-air, was struck as if by a sledgehammer to the abdomen. The sheer kinetic energy of the massive sniper round sent him flying and spinning through the air.

The number of Shadow Energy Balls Balenzuo was releasing had already been dwindling. After taking the sniper shot, his skill was interrupted completely.

A demon’s body was, after all, different from a human’s. A shot like that could have blasted a human in two, especially given the physical resilience of humans in the Nameless World.

However, Balenzuo’s body was far more durable than a human’s. The sniper bullet pierced his abdomen, leaving a fist-sized hole straight through him, yet he was somehow still alive.

Balenzuo’s anatomy seemed to have almost no fatal weaknesses, and his body was as tough as rubber.

From his vantage point, Fang Zhen couldn’t see the specifics of Balenzuo’s injuries.

Although no more Shadow Energy Balls were coming, the "Nightfall" effect was still active. The surrounding area was shrouded in darkness, and Fang Zhen could only make out Balenzuo’s general condition through his thermal scope.

His expression was as placid as a calm lake, as if firing the shot had been as mundane as eating or drinking. In a state of extreme calm, he aimed at Balenzuo once more.

A sensation like an electric current washed over him.

Fang Zhen sensed that he had triggered his Fatal Blow skill.

BOOM!

BOOM!

He pulled the trigger purely on instinct, firing twice in quick succession.

Balenzuo was hit twice in mid-air.

When the first of the two shots was about to hit, Balenzuo had shielded his head with his arms. As a result, the bullet pierced his forearms and tore his left arm clean off.

With the second shot, Balenzuo managed to tilt his head at the last moment. The sniper round missed his head, failing to kill him with a headshot, and hit his shoulder instead.

Balenzuo let out a bloodcurdling scream as his entire left arm was ripped from its socket at the shoulder.

At this point, Balenzuo seemed to have lost all power to fight back. He lost his ability to levitate and plummeted from the sky, crashing to the ground.

THUD!

As Balenzuo fell from the sky, the darkness that had enveloped the area began to dissipate.

Everyone whose vision had been restricted could finally see the moonlight and the light from the surrounding torches again.

Fang Zhen seized the opportunity to retract the AWP sniper rifle into his King’s Belt. At the same time, he drew an X-model assault rifle and held it ready.

He picked up his Dragon Gall Long Spear with his right hand, held the assault rifle in his left, and started walking toward the spot where Balenzuo had fallen.

As he walked, he glanced over at the Mage Corps out of the corner of his eye. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

The Shadow Energy Balls Balenzuo had released during the "Nightfall" had posed a considerable threat to the Mages as well.

However, these Mages seemed to be battlefield veterans who knew exactly how to save their own skins.

During the first wave of Shadow Energy Balls, some Mages had already activated their Extraordinary Items to defend themselves. Others reacted with lightning speed, rolling under their horses’ bellies and using the animals as shields against the attack.

A few of the more aggressive ones, realizing the Shadow Energy Balls could track living creatures, kicked their mounts’ rumps, causing the startled horses to bolt and draw the attacks away.

Four or five warhorses were blown to smithereens by the Shadow Energy Balls. The ground was covered in gore, their bodies so mangled they were unrecognizable—just a layer of sticky flesh and blood spread across the ground.

The Mages, however, had only suffered a few trivial scrapes.

Noticing Fang Zhen’s gaze sweeping over them, several Mages offered him a gesture of profound respect. They placed their right hands over their hearts and bowed deeply, their posture humble and reverent.

’Interesting,’ Fang Zhen thought.

Although he was nominally their employer, the reality was that an employer didn’t automatically command respect. There was a delicate balance of implicit power and status at play.

An employer isn’t guaranteed their subordinates’ respect. One only had to consider how badly employees curse their bosses behind their backs in the corporate world to understand that.

However, Fang Zhen’s accurate judgment and timely warning had allowed the Mages to react, and none had suffered a fatal blow.

Furthermore, the fact that he had sacrificed a warhorse and used a high-intensity flashlight to draw away most of the Shadow Energy Balls demonstrated a goodwill from their superior that many of the Mages had felt.

The Mages’ vision had been limited, but their perception and understanding of the battlefield and of Magic was extraordinary.

Even though they couldn’t see, most of them could still perceive the fluctuations of magical energy through their Spirit.

Even without sight, many Mages had still perceived the gist of what had happened with their Spirit.

The fact that Fang Zhen had still thought of them and acted to protect them in such a critical moment gave the Mages a sense of their new employer’s character.

Of course, what mattered more was strength.

The Mages were human, too. Few would reject or resent goodwill from a superior; on the contrary, they were deeply moved.

Now, the Mages repaid Fang Zhen with their genuine respect.

Fang Zhen smiled faintly.

Though he was their employer in name, he knew his true status was something he had to earn for himself.