Chapter 33: Shadow of the Evil God

The Dark Elf raised her arm, eyes gleaming with madness and excitement. She let go of her fingers, and a pitch-black arrow shot down from the sky, piercing directly through the heart of the deformed beast.

Splurt!

The deformed beast attempted to escape, but it was futile. Its eyes widened in pain as it felt the searing agony in its heart. A shrill, agonized scream erupted from its throat, powerful enough to scatter stones within a five-meter radius. But this was merely a death throe. In the end, its body collapsed, falling weakly to the ground as its eyelids slowly closed.

"In... ou..."

After the deformed beast fell, the dark elf bowed her head, as if in prayer, muttering the arcane language of the abyss in a voice that seemed to echo from miles away. Moments later, a shadowy figure materialized behind her.

It was a hideous creature.

Its upper body resembled that of a slender, beautiful dark elf, but its lower body was that of a spider. Evil and chaotic, this phantasmal figure exuded an aura that made even Chen Feng feel a pressure greater than when he faced the Hunter Demon Spider.

A sacrifice?

A flicker of surprise crossed Chen Feng's eyes. The Abyss was a perilous realm, where every creature sought to attach itself to the powerful.

In truth, every species had its own patron Evil God or Abyssal Lord. For the dark elves, it was Lolth. The gnoll clan worshiped the Wolf King Yeenoghu, and even the grotesque tentacle monsters had their own deity, an eldritch god named Cthulhu.

Ancient evil gods, with endless tentacles and dripping with vile ichor, even female deities who ventured into their domains might be enslaved and turned into lowly thralls.

For creatures of the Abyss, the fastest way to gain power was through sacrifice. They pleased their gods with blood and slaughter in exchange for strength.

Chen Feng did not stop the dark elf. She had proven her worth with her strength—a pet worth nurturing.

Balance of grace and power.

The phantom of the spider-bodied woman absorbed the deformed beast's energy, and the beast's corpse began to decay visibly. Within seconds, its body shrank to half its original size, its skin turning a ghastly gray.

Meanwhile, a white mist began to rise from the dark elf's body. Her hair grew longer, and an aura of vitality radiated from her. She stretched her legs, droplets of moisture falling to the ground, echoing with a soft drip, drip, drip.

"What's this..."

Chen Feng, usually unflappable, found himself wide-eyed with surprise at the transformation before him. He could sense the surge of power within the dark elf, along with a strange, intoxicating warmth that seemed to stir complex emotions in his mind.

The dark elf's power had increased, placing her just a step away from the Silver level. All she needed was the right opportunity to make the leap.

"In..."

At that moment, the dark elf's eyes grew deep and inscrutable, like a cold abyss. The fire of conviction burned within her, coiling around her like a spear.

She raised her bow and fired.

Several ordinary deformed beasts, stragglers that had been left behind, were launched into the air like kites with broken strings. They tried to flee, but there was nowhere to hide. Against the newly empowered dark elf, they had no choice but to die.

Their deaths were gruesome—limbs scattered, flesh and blood spraying everywhere. In the blink of an eye, the last five deformed beasts were shot dead, with no chance of survival.

The Dark Elf licked her lips, a satisfied murmur escaping her throat.

As for the soldiers standing nearby, their gazes shifted entirely as they looked at the dark elf, whose very presence radiated a deadly allure.

Admiration, reverence, shock, obsession, and... a mix of complicated desires...

Even Feng Zhiyong, who was known for his stern demeanor, looked at the dark elf with a mix of solemn respect and admiration.

He was eager to know... who exactly was this woman with white hair, purple skin, and a deadly, almost otherworldly, grace?

Feng Zhiyong steadied his emotions, intending to greet her. Professionals were undeniably powerful, especially one like this archer, whose skill with a bow was sharper than any gun. If he could persuade her to join the military, she would undoubtedly be a formidable deterrent against any threats.

A mind that treasures talent.

Feng Zhiyong was not one to adhere to outdated notions. At a time like this, distinctions between male and female were irrelevant. If it was beneficial to J City and its people, he would not hesitate to humble himself and extend an invitation.

However, just as Feng Zhiyong hesitated over how to approach her, the dark elf made a move that left him frozen in place.

Everyone present gasped in shock, their eyes wide, pupils shrinking to pinpricks in utter disbelief.

What did they just witness that made them react this way?

The dark elf.

The very same dark elf who had just single-handedly turned the tide of battle, wielding a longbow with deadly precision, bringing down the silver-ranked deformed beast in mere minutes. This dark elf bent her knees and slowly knelt on the ground.

Impossible!

Some of the soldiers who had just begun to revere the dark elf as a divine figure stood agape, unable to believe their eyes.

Who was this man, and what power did he wield to command such respect?

It was as if a radiant, goddess-like figure had suddenly been revealed to be nothing more than a lowly slave, secretly subjected to humiliation and torment. The stark contrast shattered the worldview of some onlookers.

The man.

The soldiers, brimming with youthful vigor, turned their gaze to Chen Feng. Doubt and intense curiosity filled their eyes.

They wanted to know who this person was, the one capable of commanding the respect and obedience of a formidable archer who had, mere moments ago, inspired both awe and terror.

A slender figure, with an aura as cold as frost, stood apart from the rest—his presence alone seemed to create an unbridgeable gap between him and the chaotic, desperate state of the others.

Although they were reluctant to admit it, the truth was undeniable: This man... was indeed different from ordinary people.