Chapter 98: Chaotic Dance

"He is coming," the attendant remarked.

Cheng Ling made no reply, merely tightening his grip on the cloth-wrapped spear. As the attendant’s voice faded, the bandit leader suddenly held his two-meter staff horizontally in his right hand, thrust his left hand into his robes, and sprinted with powerful strides toward the chaotic fray.

Simultaneously, Cheng Ling swung his spear over his shoulder and charged toward the bandit leader without a moment's hesitation. By the time Ruo Yan and the other players realized what was happening, the "scholar" they had been "protecting" had already surged a hundred meters ahead.

When the bandit leader reached a point about fifty meters from the melee, he withdrew his left hand from his robes, revealing a dozen willow-leaf-shaped throwing darts clutched between his fingers.

Throwing Darts:
Shapes: Willow-leaf, needle, or star (willow-leaf is easiest to use with lowest damage; star is most difficult with highest damage).
Material: Iron-steel. Can be coated in poison.
Attack: Low base attack, directly dependent on the user's strength and agility.
Durability: [Data missing]

Although Cheng Ling usually held prejudices against players, their shared enemy was the red-haired bandit. Seeing the darts, he shouted, "Watch out for the darts!" However, the players were too caught up in the bloodlust of battle to hear him; only Zhang Feng and his five foot archers, positioned on the periphery, caught the warning.

As Zhang Feng and his men looked up, they saw the bandit leader flick his left hand. A dozen willow-leaf darts, glinting coldly in the sunlight, fanned out into the crowd. Cries of pain erupted instantly. Where the darts struck, deep lacerations appeared on the players' bodies and faces. Each dart dealt between 20 to 50 damage, and within a single exchange, four or five already weakened players dissolved into white light and collapsed.

Without waiting for the players to recover from their shock, the bandit leader gripped his staff with both hands and leaped two meters into the air. With a thunderous roar, he absorbed the arrows fired by Zhang Feng’s archers and slammed his staff into the ground. A dull "thud" echoed out. Within a five-meter radius of the impact, players and red-haired bandits alike were sent flying.

Special Skill: Chaotic Dance [Staff Technique], 4th Form—Earthquake (Intermediate).
Description: The "Chaotic Dance" series of skills includes sword, saber, spear, and staff techniques, among others. These are special NPC skills, second only to unique hero skills. They range from the 1st to the 13th form, varying by weapon.
Consumption: Internal Energy (MP). The 1st form consumes the least and has the lowest power; the 13th consumes the most and has the highest power.
Effect: Non-discriminatory area-of-effect shock (current skill).

Between the initial dart damage and this strike, another two hundred health points were lost, and over a dozen more players were killed instantly.

Terrified, the players scrambled back, creating a clearing around the bandit leader. Cheng Ling seized the moment and lunged forward. As he whipped the cloth-wrapped spear, the burlap shroud lashed out like a frenzied snake. The bandit leader parried with his staff, only to lock eyes with a young man who looked like a refined scholar, standing firmly before him with a bright silver steel spear held in his right hand.

The quality of the spear alone signaled that this opponent was no simpleton. Given the current state of metallurgy, even in major metropolises like Luoyang, Chang'an, Chengdu, or Xiangyang, it would take over a month of collaborative work to refine such a weapon. The bandit leader’s shock was as great as that of the surrounding players.

Before the bandit leader could strike, Cheng Ling inverted his spear and spun his body rapidly, the tip dragging across the ground and sending grass and dead leaves swirling into the air. The bandit leader, unnerved by this display, turned to flee, but a sharp cry halted him. Cheng Ling launched himself into the air amidst the debris, his steel spear descending with crushing force.

The bandit leader desperately raised his staff with both hands to block—he knew he couldn't dodge, or the shockwave would send him flying. A booming "crash" echoed out, and the wild grass within seven meters of the impact was flattened by the sheer pressure. Four sword-wielding guards nearby were blown away by the blast.

Chaotic Dance [Spear Technique], 7th Form—Ten Thousand Tons (Intermediate)!

The bandit leader stood with his staff raised, his feet sunk ten centimeters into the earth. Though he had withstood the blow, he had lost over five hundred health points, and his internal energy was nearly depleted.

Summoning all his remaining strength, the bandit leader roared, veins bulging on his forehead. He burned his remaining internal energy—and even sacrificed health points to compensate for the deficit—to unleash his ultimate technique: the 5th form of the Chaotic Dance [Staff Technique], a desperate bid for a mutual destruction.

Cheng Ling offered a faint smile. While in the air during his previous strike, he had already channeled triple the necessary internal energy, preparing for a lethal follow-up. He would not wait for the bandit leader to retaliate.

Before the bandit could execute his skill, Cheng Ling flipped his hands. The steel spear was enveloped in a layer of silvery-white energy, and he slammed it into the ground beside the bandit. With a deafening "boom," the impact launched the bandit two meters into the air. Before the man could recover from his terror, Cheng Ling pivoted on the spot, switched the spear to his left hand, and struck. His spear blurred, leaving behind multiple afterimages. In less than a second, the bandit leader was struck nine times. Before the damage numbers could even fully display above his head, Cheng Ling shifted his stance, faced the airborne bandit, and swung his spear with all his might. The bandit leader was smashed into the ground like a crushed fruit.

Only a string of crimson damage numbers remained in the air.

Chaotic Dance [Spear Technique], 9th Form—Bloodlust (Primary)!