Chapter 277: Chapter 277: Bell

Though witchcraft and magic share a fundamental connection.

Their nature is utterly different.

Moreover, one needs specialized training and natural talent in this area to possibly wield witchcraft through the “carrier”.

Witch apprentices living in the marshes aren’t initially capable of casting witchcraft, they often need long-term basic study and carry the risk of witchcraft backlash at any time during their learning period.

However, Dumps, as an external student, could casually cast witchcraft – [Black Mud Shield].

Mia managed to remain composed outwardly, but inwardly, she was profoundly astounded.

If others had seen this, they might consider that Dumps was dual-majoring a second profession.

But… Han Dong could roughly guess the secret within.

It is most likely related to Dumps ‘the sixth finger’.

Hearing that the witch was not home today, Han Dong called Dumps over for an ‘unconventional’ sparring, this was his intention.

In a sense.

Han Dong, Mia, and Dumps… they all belong to a similar group.

“How shall we spar?”

Hearing Dumps’ question, he seemed somewhat anxious.

In the few months since coming back from intensive training, Dumps had made significant progress. Taking advantage of the current lack of distractions, he planned to undergo some proper ‘real-practice’ sparring.

Moreover, when facing Han Dong, who he was ‘familiar from the heart’, Dumps could use some techniques he doesn’t typically utilize.

“I will first duel with Mia in ‘close combat’, and then I will ‘ranged spar’ with you.”

“Oh… alright.”

Dumps formed a mud-made seat at the end of the arena, prepared to earnestly watch the first bout.

Mia also appeared somewhat impatient.

As Han Dong had mentioned this issue in advance, so long as she could satisfy him, he would accompany her to spend the night.

Mia didn’t bother with any extravagancies, she unleashed her actual power from the very start… hoping to end the duel quickly, freeing up more time for the two of them alone.

Swish!

Wrapped in a purple-black curse all over her body, four spider legs suddenly sprouted from her back.

Dumps, who was watching from the sidelines, had seen Mia’s spider form before and wasn’t surprised.

Upon observing closely now, Dumps quietly extended his sixth finger, drawing back a strand of cursed silk, and placed it on his tongue to taste carefully.

“Insect Attach?”

Mia’s transformation wasn’t over yet.

“Nicholas… you know what? The ‘bell’ we got from the Cursed Farm last time has revealed a secret after my decoding of the curse inside.

The bell itself seems to originate from a ‘high-level demon’ and he was proficient in curses!

He placed the bell in the underground area of the farm, his main aim was probably to breed cursed entities in secret, progressively invading Stuart Manor to seize ownership.

It’s just a pity the Knight Regiment took the initiative.”

“Oh!?”

Han Dong couldn’t help but recall the condition that day.

When he left the farm basement, Han Dong accidentally glanced at a mysterious entity in the corner of his eyes, but it disappeared immediately… this must have been the [High-level Demon] Mia mentioned.

“The quality of the bell itself is even better than I expected… these past few months, apart from studying the basics, I’ve been trying to infiltrate and control this bell.

Nicholas, do I need to use the ability of the bell?”

“Why not? I said before, only if I’m satisfied with the scrimmage will I consider the matter of ‘staying overnight’.”

“Then you should be careful…”

Mia took the bell from her waist, untangling layers of spider silk wrapped around it.

This time it wasn’t for swinging the bell, summoning the ‘Cursed House’s four members to assist from the side… Instead, she used the bell as an ‘earring’, dangling it on her earlobe.

In an instant.

Strands of cursed aura dissimilar to the spider curse seeped out from the bell.

Coating Mia’s body, it then condensed into ’18’ nails, piercing simultaneously into Mia’s flesh.

“This is!? The Nail Curse once used on the farm owner.”

Mia gritted her teeth to bear the pain, and slightly nodded, “Yes… The bell holds various unique ‘Possession Curses’, among which the Nail Curse is the best.

It can stimulate the body’s potential to the maximum, provide defense power, and…”

Her words were cut off.

Mia’s mouth showed slight signs of movement.

Phew!

A nail wrapped in curse flew out from her tongue tip, aiming directly at Han Dong.

This is also one of the abilities given by the bell.

Driven by the power of the curse, the nail flew at an incredibly fast speed… Once it pierced the target, the curse would corrode the whole body.

Whoosh!

The nail flew past his cheek.

Han Dong simply tilted his head slightly, completely unaffected by the ‘sneak attack’.

He saw the situation clearly, every single detail.

Mia covered her mask, looking helpless. “Oh… I forgot about your annoying eye ability for a moment! These little tricks are useless… Let’s fight straightforwardly.

These few days of actual combat practice with the little blacksmith girl have honed my combat skills a lot.”

‘Spider Realm’

A dim purple spider web radiates under Mia’s feet, about three and a half meters in radius.

Within the realm, small spiders will continuously emerge to bite anyone who enters, or bind the target by quickly spinning silk.

Just as Mia was about to rush forward, she suddenly asked, “By the way… I have a question for you! This is just between the two of us, right? Your ‘little friends’ won’t suddenly appear, will they?”

Mia was still very wary of Miss Chen Li and Togu.

“No, it’s just me.”

“Then… I’m coming! Come give me a hug!”

Mia’s spider legs moved quickly. Strengthened by the Nail Curse, she was faster than during that intensive training period.

She rushed forward and jumped.

The four long spider legs, constantly dripping poison from their sharp tips, fully opened, ready to give Han Dong a loving hug.

‘Insect Sense’

‘Compound Eye Observation’

‘Field Restriction’

As Mia locked onto Han Dong, she took all the factors into account, giving him no chance of escape.

Even if the plague breaks out, the ‘insect shell’ on Mia’s body could resist for a while, long enough to restrain Han Dong.

“Nicholas… I’m going to defeat you today. Without the help of a summoned creature, your individual strength is only slightly above average of your tier.

I have never taken a break in these few months.”

Staring at the motionless Han Dong, Mia thought she had the victory in her grasp.

But just as the two got close, and her long legs were about to wrap Han Dong…

The ‘Demon Eye’ on Han Dong’s forehead suddenly opened.

Mia naturally had made some considerations. As soon as she noticed the movement on Han Dong’s forehead, she immediately shut down her visual nervous system, but…

Buzz!

Even with the visual system shut down.

Mia still saw an eye in the darkness.

An eye with a strange pattern…

Boom!

A loud noise sounded.

Mia was grasped by a ‘deformed and twisted right arm with a large eye’ and her head was forcibly pressed against the ground.

Any struggle would cause the talons to gouge into Mia’s body and inject deadly plague.

The little spiders in the surrounding area seemed to be very afraid of Han Dong, they didn’t dare to climb onto his body and all hid away.

“Alright… It’s your turn now, Dumps.”