BXBX NOVEL Chapter 90: The Plague Strikes
Although the over two hundred soldiers before him didn't all surpass level fifty like Connor and her team, they were no less formidable.
These were the elite troops chosen for the night's assault on the Lord's Manor, and their levels were not to be underestimated.
Among these two hundred soldiers, more than half were around level forty-eight or forty-nine. The rest, akin to Black Tiger David, had reached level fifty but had barely missed the mark of passing the trial, thus could only be considered quasi-awakened professionals.
Of course, these levels referred to the ordinary soldiers. Their commanders, without exception, were already profession-awakened experts.
Not to mention Hank, a true powerhouse at level sixty-nine, standing on the brink of Transcendental Awakening.
Even Bonnie, who had always viewed Jeremy as a miraculous figure, felt that there was no hope for him in this dire moment.
Bonnie, her face tense, clutched a gem the size of her entire palm, transparent throughout.
She thrust the gem into Jeremy's hand. "Jeremy, you must use this item immediately."
Instinctively, Jeremy activated his All-Knowing Eye.
[Chaotic Teleportation Gem]
[Type: Consumable]
[Grade: Orange (Rare)]
[Description: A precious item crafted using gem magic. Upon use, it teleports the user one kilometer in a random direction.]
Jeremy's eyes lit up instantly—this was a life-saving divine artifact!
Clearly, this was the trump card Heber had given to Bonnie for emergencies.
And without hesitation, Bonnie handed over this invaluable item to Jeremy.
For a moment, Bonnie's cheeks flushed under Jeremy's gaze.
Bonnie, fearing that Jeremy might push the precious item back to her, hastily pulled out a ring with a visible crack from her storage bag.
"Jeremy, don't worry about me. I have something too." Bonnie said urgently.
To her surprise, Jeremy did not crush the Chaotic Teleportation Gem as she had anticipated. Instead, with a flick of his wrist, he swiftly stowed the gem into his own storage space.
"You go first. I'll handle these people."
Staying put and being surrounded by the army was sheer folly, and Jeremy was far from foolish.
Raising his skeletal staff slowly, a malevolent aura of disaster began to emanate around him. Although both of Jeremy's area-of-effect attack skills were on cooldown, he still had one skill suitable for the current situation.
[Skill]: Plague Curse
[Level]: lv10
[Tier]: Advanced
[Type]: Attack (Active)
[Description]: Upon activation, the player casts a plague curse on the target, reducing their damage, attributes, and defense by 30%. Additionally, it inflicts random negative statuses such as plague, smallpox, cholera, and the Black Death on the target, lasting 45 minutes. The plague effect can spread and carries a curse effect. Cooldown: 2 hours.
The most significant difference between the Plague Curse and lower-level skills lies in the last few lines of its description.
It is precisely these lines that transform the Plague Curse from a decent skill into a formidable one for mass combat.
A ghastly green glow enveloped the skeletal staff, with the pestilent aura descending like the scythe of the Grim Reaper.
With a single-arm wave, Jeremy pointed the skeletal staff directly at the advancing army of over two hundred soldiers.
"Plague Curse!"
Almost at the very moment Jeremy was about to unleash the skill, Hank sensed something amiss.
Having witnessed the two skills Jeremy had just unleashed, Hank's vigilance towards Jeremy had reached its peak.
However, the sheer size of the two hundred-strong army made it impossible to evade completely.
Gritting his teeth, Hank pulled out a gleaming golden scroll from his storage item.
With a tearing sound, the scroll was ripped open by Hank.
"Stone Fortress Blessing!"
The moment the scroll was torn, a faint grey light instantly enveloped the entire squad.
The light cascaded down like rain, and as it touched the thick armor of the soldiers below, a faint imprint of stone appeared on their bodies.
This stone imprint alone gave off an aura of unyielding solidity.
Hank's face twisted in pain. "Damn it! Forcing me to waste a legion spell scroll, Jeremy, I swear I'll see you dead!"
Despite his pain, Hank was no longer as panicked as before.
The Stone Fortress Blessing was an advanced legion spell that not only provided a 30% boost to both physical and magical defenses but also granted everyone a 20% increase in temporary health.
With both bonuses combined, Hank was confident that Jeremy would be unable to inflict fatal damage on them.
As expected, the menacing green miasma that spread through the crowd initially caused a moderate panic.
However, people soon realized that the skill was not as devastating as it appeared.
Even those directly hit by the skill lost only about 30% of their health.
Relieved, Hank burst into hearty laughter.
Conversely, Bonnie, who had been hoping for a miracle, now wore an expression of disappointment.
Seeing Jeremy "standing still," Bonnie grew anxious. Just as she was about to drag him away regardless, she noticed the slight smirk on Jeremy's lips.
Jeremy waved at Bonnie and said, "Don't rush. Let the bullets fly a little longer."
At that moment, a cough echoed from within Hank's army.
This cough acted like the first falling domino.
In no time, the over two hundred Sinners, with an average level nearing fifty, erupted into a chorus of continuous coughs.
Even Hank, the highest-level among them, felt an itch in his throat and coughed uncontrollably.
But the plague's effects didn't stop there. A hoarse voice suddenly exclaimed from within the ranks, "It's so itchy, so itchy! Strange, why am I getting pimples on my face?"
Someone next to the speaker saw it clearly—those weren't pimples at all, but smallpox!
A chill ran up the spine of the observing Sinner, from his tailbone to the top of his head.
"Smallpox! Stay away from me!"
The piercing scream immediately drew Hank's attention to the Sinner who had just spoken.
What he saw was alarming: several Sinners, centered around the initial speaker, were suddenly breaking out in smallpox.
A horrifying thought flashed through Hank's mind: "Plague?"
As if to confirm Hank's suspicion, within moments, various plagues began to manifest among the troops.
Only those who had undergone profession awakening, whose bodies were fundamentally different from the others, managed to resist the onslaught of the plagues.
The rest were not so fortunate. Plague, smallpox, cholera, the Black Death—every plague Hank had ever known now erupted among them.
Moreover, the plagues didn't just stop at one infection. Many soldiers, after showing symptoms of one plague, soon exhibited signs of another.
Quickly, the over two hundred soldiers turned into living, breathing sources of infection.
Their tenacious vitality, far from being a blessing, only exacerbated the spread of the plagues.
The plague was even beginning to spread toward Golden Lion Weber and his men.
A few Sinners, still barely able to move, staggered toward Golden Lion Weber's direction, crying out, "Chief... save me!"
At this moment, Golden Lion Weber and his men could no longer focus on attacking the protective magic array of the lord's mansion.
They had seen the horrific state of their comrades.
If those plague-ridden individuals got close, they were doomed!
Golden Lion Weber, looking at his afflicted clansmen with pained eyes, commanded, "Shield Wall!"
With a series of swift movements, a thick iron-grey shield wall was erected, blocking the two hundred soldiers ordered to assault Jeremy.
Golden Lion Weber, glaring at Jeremy from a distance, was filled with intense hatred.
He clenched his teeth so hard that he wished he could tear Jeremy limb from limb.
Suddenly, a "crack" sounded from Golden Lion Weber's mouth.
His expression changed as he spat out a broken tooth, then fiercely drew a line across his throat towards Jeremy.
For a moment, it seemed to Jeremy as if he was gazing into the abyss of hell itself.
Bonnie, witnessing the horrific scene, felt a pang of sympathy rise in her heart, and her eyes darkened as she looked at Jeremy.
It wasn't that Bonnie felt pity for her enemies.
No matter what, she knew that showing kindness to the enemy was cruelty to oneself.
But this was a plague!
A single misstep could turn the entire Dawn City into a living hell.
While Bonnie had no qualms about dealing with enemies, she didn't want to harm innocent people.
Jeremy, however, seemed unfazed, completely indifferent to the carnage before him.
Just as Bonnie was about to speak, Jeremy raised his skeletal staff high: "Flames of Sin!"
A massive ball of dark red fire, almost alive, materialized instantly.
Under Jeremy's control, the Flames of Sin did not attack the enemies but instead began to burn furiously around the fallen Sinners, using them as the core.
The dark red flames burned with an intense heat, incinerating any airborne pathogens long before they could approach the Flames of Sin, leaving nothing behind.
At this moment, the raging wall of fire effectively divided Dawn City into two separate areas, completely containing the plague within its fiery barrier.
The flames continued to burn fiercely for over ten minutes!
Even Jeremy, with his spirit attribute exceeding ten thousand points, found himself nearly drained of energy.