Chapter 543: Chapter 275: Church, Backstab, and Momentum (Part 2)
His appraisal abilities were ordinary, with only some experience related to those common melee weapons.
As for enchanted equipment or weapons related to spellcasters, he was completely clueless.
But honestly, given the situation now:
An ancient relic located in a remote valley, a magnificent church filled with mysterious vibes, ruined towering statues and fanatical cultists praying fervently.
In this exaggerated atmosphere, even if what lay on the altar were merely a commonplace fragment of stone, he’d suspect it might be a holy stone stained with divine blood.
Moreover, what’s before us isn’t a common item, but a staff with classic design, recognizable at a glance for its efficacy—a legitimate magic wand!
"We’re striking it rich now!"
Even Marcus, who had developed a calm mind through years of adventure, couldn’t help but cheer inwardly at this moment.
On the Aifala Continent, for ordinary civilians, anything associated with adventurers, prices would increase several folds.
As for adventurers, anything related to spellcasters seemed to follow a different currency system, often adding several zeros to the end of the price.
Gold coins, those extravagant mages throwing around cash, buying a whole street in a remote town with just a piece of equipment, wouldn’t mess around with you.
Instinctively stepping back, creating distance from the two teammates beside him, the scimitar in his hand flashed cold light in the dim glow.
Suddenly recalling something, rationality soared back in his mind.
Marcus deliberately cleared his throat loudly and ordered Ranger Qianli beside him:
"Deal with the dried corpse before the statue, don’t hold back."
A hint of hesitation flickered across Qianli’s face. Initially, at the instant she saw the staff, her left hand had stealthily reached for her waist dagger but she casually withdrew it.
She nodded lightly, unusually retracting her sharp tongue.
Meanwhile, naturally stepped back several steps, retreating even further behind Marcus, able to clearly observe the positions of the two so-called "teammates" ahead.
Bending the bow and nocking an arrow, her solemn eyes traced from the feather tip to the fingertips, from the bowstring to the arrowhead.
Aim, release.
Whoosh—
The slender arrow with black feather tail instantly vanished between the wooden bow, leaving only a sharp whiz in the air.
Having battled such dried corpses before, she was well aware of their physical defense abilities, aiming for a kill in one strike, Qianli did not hold back and employed her battle skill "Flowing Wind Feather Arrow".
This arrow, spinning rapidly, carried a swirling airflow, breaking through previous flying speeds.
The few on the field could barely see a shadow, as the arrow instantly pierced the dried corpse’s skull.
The arrowhead, stained with flesh and purplish-red coagulated blood, drilled out from the corpse’s forehead, flashing cold light.
The enormous force wrapped around the arrow shaft further pulled its skinny emaciated body forward, pinning it fiercely to the ground.
The ragged priest robe flapped violently, the mutterings from its mouth halted.
It truly was a fatal blow.
Having dealt with the only threat on the field, Blood Blade Squad fell into a bizarre silence in that instant.
No one dared to move.
Or rather, no one dared to make the first move.
Because that "early bird", upon flapping its wings for the first time, would be jointly attacked by two teammates with hidden agendas nearby.
Marcus slightly tilted his body, maintaining a posture that allowed him to simultaneously monitor the actions of his teammates on both sides, his gaze flickering.
His mind was racing not about how to handle the staff once obtained, but about whether to deal with the long-range adept Qianli first or to send the Dwarf to meet his half-orc buddy.
Under extreme pressure, even the air seemed to freeze at this moment.
One second, two seconds, three seconds...
Stone Belly breathed, his expression visibly tense, his hands clenching the axe handle, palms long soaked in sweat.
Of course, he wanted to snatch the staff for himself, standing in the front among the few being himself.
If it was pure explosive power within a short time, he was absolutely confident he’d be the first to tuck the staff into his embrace.
But Stone Belly knew very well that he couldn’t do that.
Marcus stood at his rear side, within the opponent’s attack range.
Any slight move, those two scimitars would ruthlessly slice his body into three parts.
And that damn woman, her mouth worse than a country tavern’s toilet, sneakily hid at the very back, aiming her longbow at him and Marcus.
He had no faith in resisting such arrow power.
Thus, the greediest Mountain Dwarf in the Blood Blade Squad, unwilling to abandon even a copper coin, made the wisest decision in his heart.
He intended to temporarily give up on the staff...
His thoughts suddenly stalled.
An inexplicable force, emerging out of nowhere, gently pushed Stone Belly’s back.
This force wasn’t significant, to his sturdy figure it was just like a tickle, no sensation of pain.
But at this moment, when he’s fully focused on the two behind him, muscles tensed ready to fight instantly.
It was enough to become the tipping point, the final straw on the balance.
"Plop."
Stumbling forward, Stone Belly was pushed and staggered a step forth.
Accompanied by the awkwardly clear sound of his heavy boots customized for Dwarves connecting with the ground, Stone Belly’s astonished wide eyes and dripping sweat captured the silence inside the chapel.
The sound echoed eerily in the air, but before it could resonate off the stone walls, two sharper urgent sounds drowned it out.
That was—
The tearing noise of blades slicing through air, and the tight sound of bowstrings.
His body moved inexplicably, in a daze even unable to think where the bizarre force came from, under the instinctive drive for survival, suddenly turning around, he blocked the Double-bladed Giant Axe horizontally in front.
"Ding!"
The scimitar, shining with sharp cold light, fell fiercely on the axe with relentless strength.
Sparks burst forth momentarily illuminating the dim space around.
It was a deadly attack with no reservation.
Grinding his teeth, aware of Marcus’s close combat skills, he feared he’d be defeated in a few rounds.
Stone Belly’s muscled arms suddenly exerted strength.
"Ah!!!"
With a roar, his tree-stump stout body swelled, explosive power passing from arms to axe.
Pushing up the scimitar fighting against it.
Meanwhile, exerting force with his legs, he retreated instantly, turning mid-air while escaping attack range, dashing towards the staff’s location.
Impossible for him to get away.
Even before taking several steps, a fierce tearing sound surged from behind.
With unprecedented concentration, predicting the arrow’s path through its sound.
Stone Belly didn’t look back nor dare decrease speed to turn and block.
He abruptly shifted his body, trying to dodge the arrow shot from behind.
But unexpectedly, the black feather arrow twisted mid-air like it had eyes, shifting its target from the original back to the Dwarf’s calf.
Unable to dodge.
The sharp arrowhead instantly penetrated his leg muscles, the ripped flesh and intense pain from his leg dramatically slowed Stone Belly’s charge.
"Ah!"
He cried out, his burly arm swung the axe in an arc in the air, seemingly attempting a counterattack.
But the scream halted sharply the next second.
Because the scimitar’s tip had already pierced the Dwarf’s skull, emerging from his throat.
Drawing it forward.
Half of the Dwarf’s face, along with the squirting blood, joined his twitching, stiff chubby body, tumbling and rolling onto the ground.
Behind him, Marcus barely managed to restrain his force, as he turned, his other scimitar in hand cleaved through the air, slashing down the second arrow aimed at him.