Poison Fang kept his body low, moving like an invisible shadow pressed tight against the jagged rock face.

Not far behind him, Rex and the six other Middle Level Apprentices held their breath, their movements as light and quiet as possible.

It had been four days since they left the "Furnace" camp, and they were cautiously scouting the area designated by the Sterling Wizard.

The smell of sulfur hung in the air, mixed with an indescribable tension. Every gust of wind, every slight movement, set their nerves on edge.

Poison Fang could clearly feel the changes in his body. Ever since consuming the Bloodline Potion, his strength had not only skyrocketed, but it had also left a stable, profound foundation of Power within him.

His Power, Endurance, and especially his durability, had been enhanced to a level he would never have dared to imagine before.

It felt as though an invisible, resilient lining had formed beneath his skin. His muscle fibers were denser, and his bones even seemed a few pounds heavier, taking on a Rock-like quality.

This newfound Power didn’t conflict with his Curse Witchcraft. On the contrary, it allowed him to withstand more violent Magic Power backlash and toxic Erosion when he used his more insidious techniques.

"There’s something ahead!"

Poison Fang stopped abruptly. His grayish-black eyes narrowed, staring at a Rift obscured by dark red lava.

As a specialist in Curse Witchcraft, his Perception of life auras, malice, and Death Energy far surpassed that of an ordinary person.

Rex immediately waved for the team to halt, cautiously approaching him. "What is it?"

"Two of them... their auras are faint, as if they’ve melted into the Shadows."

Poison Fang’s voice was extremely low, laced with his characteristic chill. "They’re from ’Shadow Stab’."

Rex’s expression changed. In their small squad, only he and Poison Fang were High Level Apprentices. If they were to lose a fight, the others would likely not even be able to escape.

"Can we go around them?" Rex asked in a low voice.

Poison Fang slowly shook his head, his finger making an almost imperceptible gesture toward two different directions.

"They’ve already spotted us. They’re closing in for an encirclement. The one on the left is closer, only about seventy meters away. The one on the right is flanking us, trying to cut off our retreat."

’We’ve been discovered!’ Rex’s heart sank, but he made his decision in an instant.

"Prepare for battle! Middle Level Apprentices, defensive formation! Poison Fang, we..."

Before he could finish, the situation changed in a flash!

From the shadows on the rock face to their left, a figure that was almost one with the darkness suddenly lunged out.

It was so fast it left nothing but an afterimage on their retinas.

The figure wielded a pitch-black Short Blade, its surface reflecting no light, as it stabbed straight toward a Middle Level Apprentice who was a fraction too slow to react.

"Watch out!" Rex roared, rapidly conjuring a searing Fireball in his hand.

But he hesitated, afraid of hitting his teammate.

In that fleeting moment of hesitation, Poison Fang moved.

He didn’t bother with a lengthy Spell, his hands rapidly forming several bizarre Hand Seals.

He uttered a few short, sharp syllables: "Touch of Decay!"

A wave of grayish-black, nearly invisible Energy shot out instantly.

Though cast second, it struck first, precisely hitting the ’Shadow Stab’ member.

The figure faltered, as if a portion of its vitality had been siphoned away, its movements slowing by a fraction of a second.

That was all the opportunity he needed!

Poison Fang kicked off the ground, the Rock beneath his feet cracking faintly.

He shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bow, charging toward the black Short Blade. His speed was hardly any slower than that of the ’Shadow Stab’ member, who was renowned for agility.

"You’re courting death!" A hint of cruelty and surprise flashed in the ’Shadow Stab’ member’s eyes.

The Short Blade in his hand didn’t change its trajectory, aimed straight for Poison Fang’s chest.

He was confident his blade could pierce through any Apprentice’s Shield and flesh.

Poison Fang neither dodged nor retreated. He simply turned his body slightly, moving his heart out of the blade’s path.

At the same time, he splayed the fingers of his left hand. His dark purple nails suddenly elongated, exuding a nauseating aura as he clawed at his opponent’s wrist.

SQUELCH!

The Short Blade plunged into Poison Fang’s left shoulder and blood spurted out, but the blade hadn’t gone deep. It felt as if it had been caught by tough leather and dense muscle.

The ’Shadow Stab’ member’s eyes filled with astonishment. The sensation wasn’t like stabbing a human body at all; it was more like plunging a blade into a block of oil-soaked hardwood!

Meanwhile, Poison Fang’s left hand had already seized his wrist.

"Corrosive Grip!"

A dark purple light spread out, instantly engulfing the assassin’s wrist.

The flesh made a sizzling sound as it rapidly turned black and festered, even revealing the bone underneath.

"AARGH!" The ’Shadow Stab’ member let out a pained scream, instinctively trying to pull his Short Blade back.

But Poison Fang’s right hand was already raised, unleashing another Low Tier Curse. "Painful Wail!"

An invisible Spiritual Shock bored into the assassin’s mind. At the same time, ignoring the searing pain in his shoulder, Poison Fang clenched his right hand into a fist.

He gathered all of his newfound Power and slammed it viciously into his opponent’s torso.

THUD!

A muffled impact rang out, followed by the faint sound of cracking bones.

The ’Shadow Stab’ member’s eyes bulged, and his body doubled over like a shrimp.

The punch sent him flying into the Rock wall behind him. He slowly slid to the ground, black blood and bits of his internal organs spilling from his mouth. It was clear he wasn’t going to make it.

All of this had happened in the span of two or three seconds.

Only then did the other ’Shadow Stab’ member—the one who had been flanking them—emerge from the Shadows, clearly not expecting his partner to be eliminated so quickly.

"You..." The ’Shadow Stab’ member was both shocked and enraged.

His figure flickered, splitting into several afterimages that were impossible to tell apart. They rushed at Poison Fang from different directions, each wielding a poisoned Short Blade.

"Shadow Magic?" Poison Fang snorted. The wound on his shoulder was bleeding profusely, but he seemed to feel nothing.

"Earth-Bound Poisonous Miasma!"

With him at the center, a cloud of dark purple Poisonous Fog erupted from the ground, rapidly expanding to envelop a radius of over ten meters.

The afterimages slowed drastically within the Poisonous Fog, becoming clear and distinct.

Poison Fang’s grayish-black eyes swiftly locked onto the figure with the most substantial aura, and his hands once again formed a Hand Seal.

"Weakness!" "Pain!" "Slow!"

Three Curses in a row struck the real body almost simultaneously. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

The ’Shadow Stab’ member instantly felt his body grow as heavy as a mountain as his Life Force rapidly drained away. A faint black Shield materialized around him.

Poison Fang charged forward, his lean frame carrying a heavy, oppressive presence as he slammed into the assassin’s Shield.

POP! The Shield shattered on impact, and the assassin hastily raised his blade to strike.

Poison Fang raised a fist wreathed in dark purple Energy and smashed it against the flat of the Short Blade.

With a clang of metal, the Short Blade was knocked aside.

Poison Fang crashed into the man’s guard. His shoulders, elbows, knees... every part of his body became a weapon.

He combined simple but vicious close-quarters combat techniques with the Power that far surpassed an ordinary Curse Wizard’s, unleashing a torrential storm of blows.

CRACK! CRACK!

A series of bone-cracking sounds rang out as the ’Shadow Stab’ member was beaten to the ground like a ragdoll.

With one final, vicious stomp, Poison Fang ended his life.

The battle was over.

From the start of the ambush to the death of the two ’Shadow Stab’ members, less than thirty seconds had passed.

The six Middle Level Apprentices had yet to fully form their defensive line, and Rex hadn’t even had a chance to throw the Fireball in his hand.

The area fell into a dead silence.

The only sounds were Poison Fang’s slightly labored breathing and the soft drip of blood from the wound on his shoulder.

Everyone stared, dumbfounded, at Poison Fang and the two ’Shadow Stab’ corpses at his feet.

These were members of the notorious ’Shadow Stab’!

Rex’s mouth hung slightly agape, wide enough to fit an egg.

’Is this really the same Curse Wizard who used to hide in the shadows to cast spells, the one with the relatively frail body?’

’This is practically a humanoid Magic Beast in human skin, one that’s an expert in Curses!’

"Poison Fang... you..." Rex’s voice was a little hoarse.

Poison Fang took a deep breath. He quickly pulled a hemostatic Potion and an Antidote Elixir from his robes and began treating the wound on his shoulder.

His face was a little pale; the successive bursts of power had taken a toll on his mind and his Magic Power reserves.

"Search the bodies for intelligence. Be quick! The commotion might have attracted others."

"Oh... right!" Rex snapped out of his stupor and quickly ordered the other dazed squad members to get moving.

Soon, they had searched the two ’Shadow Stab’ members and found several items:

A few Deep Red Royal Court Signal Rune Stones, some poisons and hidden weapons, and a small number of Magic Stones.

They also found a crude, hand-drawn map marked with various symbols and routes, as well as an encrypted Bone Fragment.

Poison Fang and Rex studied the map and the Bone Fragment. After they attempted to decipher it with a Secret Technique, the Bone Fragment crumbled to dust, but not before they extracted some key information.

"They have a gathering point in the ’Black Rock Cave’ area, about thirty li to the west. There are at least fifty of them, with a minimum of ten High Level Apprentices!"

"Furthermore, it looks like they’re planning an attack on the flank of ’Furnace’ soon, on a much larger scale than the last one."

"We have to report back immediately!" Rex said decisively. This intelligence was too important.

Poison Fang nodded. He glanced at his wound, felt the surging Power within his body, and his gratitude toward Ian deepened.

"Let’s go. Full speed back!"

...