"Damn it! Damn it! You bunch of uncultured barbarians!"
Gyrus's scream stirred up piercing echoes in the cavern, filled with frantic, exasperated madness.
His mental power, a source of immense pride, was the paintbrush he used to wield his inspiration, the scepter with which he conquered vulgarity.
In his mental world, even mighty trolls, soul-specializing necromancers, and iron-willed elf knights were mere materials at his fingertips.
But when his mental assaults struck these three women, they vanished like stones dropped into the sea.
No, even calling it a sea was an overstatement.
It felt as if his masterpiece, a painting he had poured his heart and soul into, had been snatched away to prop up a wobbly table leg—and then they complained about the pungent smell of the paint.
The suffocating frustration of having no leverage nearly made his brain explode.
"Why! Why is my art ineffective against you!"
Gyrus—the Artist—shrieked hysterically as he clumsily dodged Lin Xiyue's utterly unaesthetic, brute-force slashes.
"Want to know?"
Lin Xiyue's sword missed, but she smoothly twisted her wrist. The massive shield, Immovable Mountain, sliced through the air with heavy pressure, smashing straight toward Gyrus's side.
An undisguised sneer hung on her lips.
"Beg me. If you beg me, I'll be merciful and tell you."
The shadow of the shield loomed over him. Gyrus let out a strange shriek, his body twisting like a pretzel as he scrambled backward in a clumsy roll, barely managing to dodge the blow.
Before he could even catch his breath, a bone-chilling cold shot up from the soles of his gleaming, pointed leather shoes.
"Frost Prison!"
Su Wan's cold voice rang out.
Thick frost spread wildly from Gyrus's feet, freezing his expensive leather shoes to the ground.
"Is that all you've got?!"
Gyrus roared, unleashing a torrential burst of mental power.
Though this force couldn't directly harm the three women, it was more than enough to shatter physical restraints.
Screech!
The ice layer shattered instantly, taking half of his expensive shoe soles with it.
However, that momentary pause—less than a second—was all Xia Lian needed.
Whoosh!
An arrow coated with paralyzing poison silently sliced through the air, precisely embedding itself in Gyrus's butt.
"Ugh-ah!"
Gyrus let out an inhuman shriek.
An unbearable, maddening itch exploded from his tailbone, instantly spreading through his entire body. Half of him convulsed uncontrollably, making him want to tear his own flesh apart.
"Damn sneak attackers!"
He roared in fury, but the maddening itch twisted his movements into a comical dance.
"Where are you looking?!"
Lin Xiyue's voice exploded from above him.
Gyrus looked up in horror, his vision filled by nothing but a massive, rapidly expanding shield.
"Shield! Facial!"
SPLAT—!
A crisp, resounding slap echoed through the cavern.
The Immovable Mountain shield smashed squarely into Gyrus's greasy green face.
The impact spun him around twice before he collapsed onto his crooked throne of gold coins and jewels.
Crash—!
The already unstable throne crumbled, sending countless gold coins and gems scattering across the floor.
Gyrus lay sprawled on his back amidst the glittering pile of wealth. His skin wasn't broken, but a perfectly centered, intricately detailed shield imprint was now stamped onto his face.
His nose was knocked askew, and a few strands of his meticulously styled hair stuck up comically, like a wilted scallion.
"Whoa!"
Lin Xiyue whistled, hoisting the shield onto her shoulder with a smug grin.
"The feel of that hit? Ten out of ten! A perfect stamp, perfectly symmetrical. That's what I call art!"
"Nice one, Xiyue!" A satisfied smile appeared on Su Wan's face. Even the cavern's foul, rotting air seemed to have freshened up.
Xia Lian's figure emerged from the shadows. Seeing Gyrus's pathetic state, her small face was a picture of pure satisfaction.
"I... I'll kill you!"
Gyrus struggled to his feet from the pile of money.
His once-tidy tuxedo was now filthy and torn. Paired with the shield imprint on his face, he looked like a clown with a smashed-up mug.
He had completely lost it.
"Since mental attacks are useless, try this!"
He pulled a short wand from his robes—polished from bone and studded with cheap, crude gems.
"Defiled Rain!"
He raised the wand high, chanting a short, wicked incantation.
On the cavern ceiling, a foul-smelling, dark green cloud rapidly coalesced. Corrosive acid immediately began to pour down.
"Leave it to me!"
Su Wan slammed her staff on the ground, her voice steady.
"Ice Canopy!"
A massive, translucent dome of ice instantly formed, blocking the stinking acid rain completely.
Sizzle—!
The acid splattered against the ice canopy, erupting in clouds of white smoke and emitting a grating, corrosive hiss. Yet, it couldn't penetrate the barrier in the slightest.
"I'm not done yet!"
Gyrus, now completely frenzied, waved his wand again.
"Resurrection of the Dead!"
The beast skeletons scattered at his feet staggered upright, green soul fires flaring in their eye sockets. They formed a small skeleton army and charged toward the trio with guttural roars.
"Bring it on!"
Lin Xiyue's fighting spirit surged. Instead of retreating, she advanced.
"These flimsy bone racks? They're not even enough to get stuck in my teeth!"
She transformed into a human tank, crashing into the skeleton horde. With sweeping shield bashes and sword slashes, the fragile skeletons crumbled before her in droves.
Gyrus trembled with rage as he watched his spells neutralized one by one.
His mental attacks were useless.
The offensive magic he'd painstakingly learned was completely countered.
And his undead servants were no better than toys against that female knight.
All his immense power had no outlet. The fight was utterly suffocating.
He felt like he wasn't fighting three dowry maids, but a professional demolition squad that had coordinated for centuries.
Every weakness was ruthlessly exploited.
Every attack was nullified with maximum efficiency.
They were running circles around him.
"Damn it! Damn it all!"
Another of Xia Lian's cold arrows struck Gyrus's other buttock, creating perfect symmetry.
The intense pain made him grimace.
He glanced into the distance. His three most capable lieutenants were pinned down by the enemy, completely unable to assist him.
And that pink-haired priest was even more ridiculous. She was single-handedly suppressing the mighty Plaguebringer Noth, yet still had enough energy to periodically unleash a barrage of attacks on his monster army.
Each barrage turned dozens, even hundreds, of undead to ash.
Amidst the chaos, Lin Xiyue and Su Wan flashed with golden light—they had leveled up.
The situation was rapidly spiraling out of his control.
No! I can't let this continue!
Gyrus's eyes darted around wildly as a sinister idea formed in his mind.
If I can't mentally control these three pests, I'll control the elves instead!
If I can control enough elves and make them slaughter each other, I can instantly turn the tide of this battle!
With this thought, he feigned an attack and spun around, charging toward the flank of the elf army.
"Trying to run? Too late!"
Su Wan sneered, having already anticipated his move.
"Absolute Zero!"
An aura of extreme cold, far more terrifying than any before, erupted from Su Wan's staff.
The moisture in the air instantly condensed.
On the ground, a mirror-smooth sheet of ice materialized out of thin air, transforming Gyrus's path into a skating rink!
Gyrus charged onto the ice, only to feel the ground vanish beneath his feet.
He instantly lost his balance!
"Waaaaah—!"
He screamed in terror, his arms flailing wildly like windmills, but he couldn't control his body at all. He skidded, spun, and drifted uncontrollably across the ice.
"Now!"
Lin Xiyue's and Xia Lian's voices rang out simultaneously.
Lin Xiyue leaped high, gripping her sword with both hands, but using the flat of the blade!
Holy Light flared from the sword as she brought it down hard, aiming squarely for Gyrus's ass as he spun wildly on the ice!
Meanwhile, Xia Lian drew her shortbow, nocking four arrows steadily on the string.
She pulled the bowstring taut, forming a perfect crescent moon.
The arrows were coated with no poison; their only targets were the cuffs of Gyrus's tattered trousers and sleeves!
Smack!!!
A loud smack echoed!
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
Four dull impacts followed in quick succession!
Gyrus was smacked flat onto the ice by the sword, the immense force sending him sliding forward several meters.
Meanwhile, the cuffs of his trousers and sleeves were pinned tightly to the ice by the four arrows.
A perfect spread-eagle was thus formed.
[Ding! The combo skill "Performance Art: Gymnastics on Ice" executed by teammates Lin Xiyue, Su Wan, and Xia Lian has inflicted 1% Physical Damage and 10,000% Mental Humiliation on Key Story Character Gyrus. Elation Value +5555!]