Chapter 105: Battlefield Shift

Although it was a bit rushed, after the brief skirmish just now, the two sisters had already discerned the shape of the mask.

“Sister… this isn’t what we saw before…”

“Yes, it seems everything is as that esteemed one predicted.”

Leila glanced sideways at the remaining Lingyin Merchant Association cultists behind them, only to find that they did not launch a joint attack upon the appearance of the Black and White Mask; instead, they seemed to have seen a ghost and began to retreat at the fastest speed, flying downward as if they had completely lost their will to fight.

“Not the same path; it’s more like driving a tiger to swallow a wolf… Hmm, this is noteworthy intel. I should report this to that esteemed one…”

Muttering in a voice only she could hear, Leila did not stop those cultists from fleeing.

The other side was a disciplined, goal-oriented large organization; their earlier fierce resistance and now unabashed retreat indicated that some higher command was orchestrating their movements. Since they dared to do this, it meant they were confident that the sisters would be too occupied to intervene.

In fact, that was certainly the case. Even just weighing the pros and cons after that brief engagement, Leila could easily deduce that continuing to fight these guys would expose their backs to the truly threatening enemies in the passage, incurring an unbearable cost.

Taking a deep breath, the girl tightened her grip on her weapon, looking at the increasingly grotesque figures pouring out from the passage behind them.

“Renée… we need to get serious now; this is going to be a tough battle.”

Faced with a true formidable opponent, the usually somewhat frivolous other girl also began to adopt a serious expression.

“I understand, sister.”

Soon.

“Hehehe…”

Controlled by the Black and White Mask, the grotesques—one, two…—completely revealed their forms.

On their faces, expressions of madness and chaos swirled, as if the myriad of human emotions coalesced into a storm of severe danger, forming an eerie atmosphere.

It wasn’t the figures themselves, but rather what connected them from behind the mask, something that faintly exuded a hint of fangs… “The One.”

They focused their grotesque gazes on the two girls.

“Light… the taste of light! So intense! Seek the light! Follow the master’s will!!”

“Find Him! Find Him! For the reward!”

“Charge!!!”

The grotesques moved with chaotic steps, like a ridiculous dance party.

“Renée!”

“Got it! High-tier magic enhancement… huh?”

Her high-pitched instant-cast spell abruptly halted halfway, as if suddenly interrupted, and the girl let out a puzzled murmur.

It wasn’t that the enemies unleashed some inexplicable psychic assault, but rather their follow-up actions were too irrational, the enormous contrast stunning Renée into momentary confusion.

Just as those grotesque figures were about to reach them, they all seemed to simultaneously hit the pause button, freezing in bizarre poses, and then strangely turning their heads to look at a certain angle above.

He said.

【Found it】

They said.

“Light! Found it! It’s the light!!!!”

“For the Master!!!”

“Offer Him up to the Master!!!”

Thus, the grotesques took off running, all in unison, without looking back as they fled down the passage, nothing could block their steps, nor did any of the grotesques hesitate.

Oh… there was indeed one exception.

It was a seemingly human-looking girl with plain brown hair, dressed in the same sort of prison garb as most of the grotesques.

She had seemingly been positioned at the side and back of the group before, somewhat disconnected from it, and she wore a similar black and white mask that obscured her face.

Just from her slightly stiff, half-turned posture, one could tell she was inexplicably trying to slip away from the group through a side passage.

However, because of this sudden, unexpected incident, she was directly exposed in front of the two white-feathered girls.

Thus, both sides, feeling inexplicably baffled, locked eyes in the air, leading to a voice of confusion distinct from the grotesques.

“…Huh?”

…

Grotesque figures surged from all directions.

This was Vilyric’s first time witnessing their peculiarity firsthand.

But the girl quickly realized that these beings were known as “Faceless Ones,” said to only exist in myths, yet for some unknown reason had made a sudden appearance in the capital.

It’s strange; it seemed like they were targeting the Lingyin Merchant Association, boldly showing up en masse during the day, ignoring the vast majority of passersby, and crazily charging at the guard lines formed by the merchant association, seemingly seeking something within.

Having jumped on a rooftop earlier, Miss White Fox had been observing for a while.

Though this attack came suddenly and without reason, from a certain perspective, it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing for Mingguang City or the Saint of Bright Light. The real terror of the Faceless Ones was not their combat power but their nearly limitless assimilation ability. If they continued to lurk in the shadows, spreading their influence unchecked, the threat would only grow far worse than it was now.

Removing a tumor might cause temporary bleeding and weakness, but it’s much better than slow death.

However, for the Lingyin Merchant Association, which had inexplicably become the target of attack, it wasn’t so pleasant.

While they demonstrated strength and depth far beyond what Vilyric had anticipated amid the crisis, facing these mythical enemies still resulted in casualties.

A grand barrier enveloped nearly half a block around the merchant association’s building, and the streets were empty. Aside from most having fled or huddled in their homes, the few remaining people who lacked skill or sense had already become companions of the Faceless Ones after the very first wave of attack.

The assimilation process of the Faceless Ones was simple. The black and white masks they wore were not mere objects; given a chance, they would peel away like a snake shedding its skin, launching another slightly thinner mask that was nearly indistinguishable from the original towards their target.

These masks have substance, possessing the intelligence necessary for agile action. Though they can be shattered or evaded, typically, if one doesn’t have a speed and reflex of at least lv30, it becomes nearly impossible for an ordinary person to dodge them consecutively.

Once masked, one would quickly assimilate into a Faceless One in a short time, joining their ranks with little to no chance of resistance.

This was the strongest and only killing move of the Faceless Ones; they themselves didn’t seem very powerful, likely only inheriting the abilities of their original forms, their bodies being merely vessels for the masks. As long as they prepared for the sudden lethal strikes, true powerhouses could completely contend with them.

But… in a group battle scenario, or rather, the more Faceless Ones that gathered, the threat of this assimilation ability would rapidly escalate.

After all, while you can dodge one or two masks, what happens when the numbers multiply tenfold or even a hundredfold?

Moreover, once a Faceless One’s original form is killed, it seems the masks don’t immediately deactivate, launching a final surprise attack as if to retaliate in its dying moments, making it quite hard to guard against.

If I had to guess, it might be precisely because of something like this that the legendary strong soul was ambushed successfully.

   

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