Seized by the System

“If not, we’d better go back…” Fang Ning said meekly when he got wind of the truth.

“It doesn’t exist.” Sir System rejected him flatly and launched an assault at once.

At the camp’s exterior, Vigilante A transformed himself into the black sword, aimed at the weakest malevolent spirit commander and plunged forwards!

The malevolent spirit commander was hiding there and focusing his attention. He had the stockiest build, yet he had the highest number of death strokes on his body.

According to the explanation of “Death’s Eye”, the higher the number of death strokes, the weaker the living being. An individual who had achieved the state of a True God had nearly invisible death strokes. Also, the death strokes were unstable and partially hidden.

In the blink of an eye, the attack fell on the malevolent spirit commander.

However, the crimson stroke that linked the other malevolent spirit commanders lit up brightly.

The black armor of the malevolent spirit commander who was attacked turned green!

“Bang!” There was a loud noise and the black sword returned without killing its target!

Immediately, the black sword changed its target and focused on the second malevolent spirit commander!

“Death’s Touch” could break through the defenses of non-living beings below God level. Yet, nothing worked this time, which shocked Fang Ning.

The assault was launched on the second malevolent spirit commander. Nonetheless, the same thing happened. There was a loud bang and nothing worked.

Both attacks were completed in a matter of seconds.

At first, the malevolent spirit commanders did not react in time. At the second time, they had prepared themselves with a counter-attack.

All fifteen malevolent spirit commanders turned towards the spot where the black sword appeared.

A few cries of agony could be heard from within the camp. Obviously, a malevolent spirit had been sacrificed.

A poisonous cloud spread across the sky and covered the entire ground!

The area where the malevolent spirits were standing on was also covered. Not a single gap remained!

Apart from the fifteen commanders, everything that was touched by the poisonous cloud was corroded. A chasm more than three hundred meters deep appeared on the ground!

Apparently, a formidable tactic was hidden within the poisonous cloud which targeted metal in particular. In this situation, it was a fine strategy.

Nevertheless, the black sword had retreated after failing to kill the malevolent spirit commanders twice. Coincidentally, it flew away right before the poisonous cloud could envelop it!

“Dammit, Death cheated me and this doesn’t work!” Sir System screamed.

Fang Ning was frightened by what he witnessed. Sir System was the only one who could pull off this trick. If it were him or another so-called expert, both individuals would have succumbed to the boundless poisonous cloud.

Instead of unleashing another attack, Vigilante A left the camp.

“Eh, Sir, they looked like they have leveled up to be Saint Seiya…” Fang Ning mused. (TN: Saint Seiya is a Japanese manga series where the main characters are knights or “Saints” who wear sets of armor in battles.)

“Not only that, the poisonous cloud was fearsome too. Even if a mythical-grade flying sword gets hit by it, it has to be sent back to the foundry to be crafted again. Didn’t you notice how quiet that dumb sword is? It’s obviously shaken from that incident.” Sir System replied exasperatedly.

“No, I gotta get a refund from Death.” It was rare for Fang Ning to be so proactive.

“Fair enough.” Sir System calmed down when he saw Fang Ning’s reaction.

At the System Hotel’s entertainment room, Black Water spoke before Fang Ning could say anything.

“I’m sorry, I’ve miscalculated. I didn’t expect the Spirit Lords to be so willing to part with their own godly armors and lend them to those malevolent spirit commanders. All fifteen of those malevolent spirit commanders are connected by the crimson stroke and whoever gets assaulted will put on the godly armor instantly. Hence, Death’s Package failed to work.” Black Water explained.

“It’s no use of you explaining to us. The truth is, your products aren’t effective and you’ve wasted our magical energy!” Fang Ning would not think for the other party.

“Alright, I previously sold you a total of four packages. Aside from Death’s Touch with its immensely short lasting period, the other lasting periods are still in effect. I shall reluctantly cast Death’s Touch for you once again. Within an hour, which is before the effect of Bestowment Extrication wears off, you can look for other targets to attack at once.” Black Water grimaced as he said this.

“I knew it would be like this. A black bubble is enough for him to cast God-level skills for several times, but he only casts it for us once!” Sir System gritted its teeth.

“Hey, unscrupulous merchants are always like this. You should be familiar with it.” Fang Ning snorted.

“What are you getting at? Are you saying that I’m an unscrupulous merchant as well?” Sir System retorted angrily.

Fang Ning hastily switched the topic. “Let’s not waste time and look for other targets.”

“But I don’t know whether there are any other targets?” Sir System groaned.

“Hold on, I’ll get the green frog to ask someone else.”

…

Half an hour later, Vigilante A flew towards a canyon.

Yin Energy swirled around the canyon. However, the area was surrounded by a massive, barren piece of land and not an ounce of Yin Energy was present.

A mysterious evil creature lived in the depths of the canyon. It had hundreds of heads and thousands of legs. It showed itself and disappeared from time to time.

Each of its heads and legs turned and stretched about, absorbing large volumes of Yin Energy.

In the Lower Realm, this creature would have been worshipped by humans as a malevolent deity.

This was the evil monster discovered by the Bodhisattva Spirit King some time ago. It was a spirit general that served under the Spirit Lords known as the “Multi-headed Monster”.

Its name might sound cliche but it was a force to be reckoned with. It ranked within the top five among the fifty spirit generals.

It was strong and aloof and its personality was inscrutable. Normally, it only obeyed the Spirit Lords’ orders and did not work with other spirit generals.

It was easier to tackle this aloof monster.

“Death’s Touch” blessing is in effect!

“Death’s Secret” is activated!

“Death’s Eye” is utilized!

“Bestowment Extrication” is in effect!

Death’s Package was finally effective this time.

The black sword took aim at the Multi-headed Monster’s abdomen and stabbed its target!

At the next moment, the Multi-headed Monster let out a deafening roar of agony and its body split into half right in the middle. Half of its body escaped!

The remaining half of its body stayed put and braced itself for the fight. This was the advantage of having multiple heads and legs. Although half of its body fled, the other half could still continue the fight.

System Notification: [The Soaring Dragon Sword has attacked the spirit general “Multi-headed Monster”!

…

Half of the spirit general, Multi-headed Monster’s body has escaped!

The System has received 120 billion experience points.]

“Ocean-level experts are really different. We’re at an advantage, yet it can escape. Looks like we can’t continue fighting, it’s too dangerous.” Fang Ning could not believe his eyes.

He could sense that Sir System had reached its limit. It was still feasible to slay Sea-level monsters, but it was still risky to confront Ocean-level monsters despite the presence of God-level buffs.

If they were defeated, he would be the unluckiest one.

Sir System felt indifferent. “Isn’t there half of it still left? Ocean-level experts only have slightly longer health bars. It’s nothing.”

Fang Ning considered this and advised the System. “Sir, I think we ought to leave. My intuition tells me that this is a trap.”

“What kind of trap, didn’t I do a fine job at killing enemies? There won’t be any problems if we single out a spirit general.” Sir System was assured of its own abilities.

“Something tells me that someone is spying on me.” Fang Ning felt a chill down his spine.

“Eh, it’s normal, I’m always spying on you…” Sir System remarked dismissively.

“You dumb System, you don’t listen to my advice. Sooner or later, you’ll be dead.” Fang Ning scolded the System.

“You’re the one who’s going to die. Death already said so, even saints can’t harm me.” Sir System chuckled smugly.

“Damn you, do you really want to go against me?” Fang Ning was exasperated and cried angrily.

“Oh, you keep telling me about danger, yet you don’t provide any sort of evidence. This troubles me, you know? You’ve always been cowardly anyway, and right now, you can’t end my seizing you on your own, so who cares about you?” Sir System replied haughtily.

Fang Ning felt helpless. It was that inconvenient to be seized by a System. It might seem cool usually, but in desperate times, the System would not listen to him.

Nothing was perfect in this world.

After pondering for a while, Fang Ning said coldly, “You useless System, you’re being arrogant again. Is that mutiny I’m sensing? Do you really think I have no way of dealing with you?”

“Listen to yourself, can’t you negotiate properly? Why do you want to abandon such a great opportunity all of a sudden?” Sir System was confused.

“I tell you, in a bizarre world like this, we can only rely on our instincts instead of evidence. Take a look at those horror movies, those who don’t believe in ghosts and devils are the first ones to die. You’re only at the Sea- level, and now, you’ve encountered an Ocean-level expert. Tons of blessings won’t help you to kill it and you’ll get waylaid instead.” Fang Ning justified patiently.

“Oh, is that so? Do we come back again next time?” Sir System asked.

“That’s more like it. As a System, you should not be greedy. This isn’t a game, but a frightening world. You must make sure you have enough potential before tackling an opponent. Don’t think you can unleash all sorts of counter-kills just because you’re the main character. Who knows? Luck might run out one day and the main character will die, too.” Fang Ning was pleased at last.

Soon, he ordered the green frog to pass a message to the other two individuals. He said that he had already enlightened enough benevolent spirits and it was time to leave.

The other two individuals seemed to have other matters to handle, so they bode farewell to Vigilante A.

Finally, a bright light flashed across Vigilante A and he vanished from the World of Spirits and Souls.

…

The Three Wise Men, Gold, Silver and Bronze, were inside the deep mountain cave.

“What, Fang Ning has fled? Judging from his past modus operandi, he would have enjoyed the thrill of farming even more evil monsters. Why did he leave so suddenly?” The Silver-masked Man gasped.

“Dammit, we went through so much to let those spirit generals set a trap. We were already waiting for him to take the bait. Why is this fellow so timid? That so-called Tethering of the Dragon Spirit is a joke! He’s as sly as a fox!” The Bronze-masked Man grumbled.

The Gold-masked Man shook his head. “Too bad, I’m trying to find out the reason for the loss of Vitality in this world whenever he kills a malevolent spirit or a spirit general in the World of Spirits and Souls. Logically, if someone dies in the World of Spirits and Souls, there shouldn’t be a loss of Vitality. The individual who died is not an outsider, so the main world couldn’t have taken a big chunk of the Vitality.”

“Once we make sense of the reason, we might have an easier way to absorb Vitality from the world.” The Silver-masked Man quipped.

“What’s there to fear? The passage to the Lower Realm has already been opened. If he wants to flee, we shall pursue him!” The Bronze-masked man remarked viciously.

“You have a point. Soon, we need to absorb Vitality from the Lower Realm to mend Heaven. There are two things to be done here, it’s just that we need to select the right spirit general to head this task and make the necessary preparations. This Fang Ning has lots of tricks up his sleeve and is no ordinary powerhouse.” The Gold-masked Man nodded and spoke.