Chapter 644.5: Capture the Evil Entity
A wild wind blew from above.
Yaya's massive form landed on the barrier, passed the scan effortlessly, and nimbly slipped inside.
Seeing the adventurers surrounded by Wraith monsters, Yaya emanated a subtle power of time. With her connection to Matthew, she casually flicked her claws and "carried" all the adventurers and supplies out.
Once they exited the time-stopped zone, the adventurers suddenly resumed motion.
"Huh? Lord Matthew and Lady Yaya acted?"
"What just happened?"
"Phew, must've been time magic—that's terrifying."
"Haha, that's a good thing! The ones who should be scared are the enemies."
"Our mission's done. We'll get at least 5,000 merit points this time!"
"Heh, that was scary as hell just now\..."
"Too terrifying. Why the hell is there a legendary-tier monster in the Desert of Death?"
"Legendary-tier? That thing's way stronger than any legendary monster!"
"Yeah, even a legendary creature shouldn't be able to kill us like chickens, but that thing did it easily..."
"..."
The now-recovered adventurers kept chattering. Many glanced back at the legendary purification barrier.
Alice, catching her breath, quickly shouted:
"Everyone, get your gear and prep for battle again."
"The fight's not over—help clear out the surrounding Wraith monsters."
"We need to hold out until the reinforcements arrive, and protect the battlefield for Lord Matthew and Lady Yaya..."
Snapping out of it, the adventurers threw away their hesitation and dived back into combat.
The nearby Wraith monsters were still focused on attacking the purification barrier, totally ignoring them—prime targets!
Each kill meant rewards and loot.
This was prime looting time!
Matthew wasn't concerned with the outside fight.
All his focus was on the Wraith slowly resisting the power of time.
That it could resist divine-augmented time power to any degree proved its worth as an evil entity.
But Matthew, with his further developed Candle Dragon bloodline, had an abundance of time power and could afford the grind.
After sending the adventurers out, Yaya didn't immediately act.
She checked the legendary purification array, repaired its damaged sections with practiced ease, stabilized it, and refilled it with high-quality energy crystals.
Bay Territory had sunk millions of gold coins into this trap—this was no time to be stingy.
Confirming the Wraith couldn't escape, Yaya focused on clearing the surrounding gray mist.
She opened her jaws, relaxed her body, and took a deep breath.
Fwoosh!
A surge of flames exploded out, burning away everything around.
On the glowing red crystals, seven or eight soul crystals dropped.
The searing heat radiated wildly, creating ripples in the surrounding air.
Inside the purification barrier, only Matthew, Yaya, and the Wraith remained.
Matthew slowly stepped back and landed opposite the Wraith. His gleaming thunder magic armor crackled with arcs.
He ended the "Time Stop," releasing the Wraith.
"Raaaagh...!"
The silent roar spread, a bizarre soul shock rippling around Matthew.
"Ding, you've been attacked by the legendary spell 'Banshee's Wail.' Spell resistance check in progress..."
"Intelligence check, 18 vs 40..."
"Intelligence check failed!"
"Soul check: Legendary Mid-Tier vs Demigod Mid-Tier..."
"Soul check failed!"
"Spell resistance failed..."
"You are unaffected by Banshee's Wail's negative effects..."
"You lost a total of 12 HP..."
The Wraith that cast "Banshee's Wail" instantly appeared behind Matthew.
Ding!
With a crisp sound, the ambushing Wraith was blown backward, floating into the air.
Matthew turned his head mid-swing, spotting the Wraith lunging.
Two dark-red Demonken Swords flew at the Wraith under Matthew's control.
Unable to teleport, the Wraith slashed at the incoming blades.
As they clashed, one of the Demonken Swords exploded on contact.
Boom!
A powerful elemental storm engulfed the Wraith before it could dodge.
The other Demonken Sword plunged into it.
Before Matthew could detonate it, a faint spatial ripple appeared behind him.
The seemingly unchanged Wraith emerged and stabbed at Matthew's lower back.
"Why is this bastard so obsessed with stabbing kidneys?"
Matthew reacted quickly—not stiff like Alice—calmly parrying the attack.
The powerful counter-force even forced the Wraith to retreat.
In the strength and agility clash, Matthew's legendary 35-point cap gave him the clear edge.
His eyes shone sharply, analyzing the Wraith's many "secrets."
The mist-wrapped Wraith kept attacking, but Matthew blocked them all with ease.
He could clearly "see" all of the Wraith's stats being revealed.
Ten minutes later—
Matthew had obtained all the Wraith's information and unlocked part of its secrets.
Mercuri
Race: Evil Entity – Wraith (Chaotic State)
Class: Level 22 Shadow Assassin
Challenge Rating: 24+ (Commander)
Talents:
Legendary Talent – Undead LV1: While maintaining Evil Entity form, gains immortality via soul consumption, extremely long lifespan, 3x HP, capable of hosting divine power.
Legendary Talent – Shadow Bloodline LV3: Agility +6, Constitution +4, mastery over shadow power, able to comprehend spatial teleportation.
Evil Entity – Soul Form LV1: ???
Feats:
Legendary Feat – Soul Devour LV2: Consume souls to gain memory and sanity, with a chance to acquire part of the soul's "power."
Extraordinary Feat – Power of Shadows LV3: Mastery of shadow power, +5 to shadow teleport checks, able to enter the Shadow Realm.
Extraordinary Feat – Kidney Strike Specialization LV3: Successful kidney hits deal 150% extra damage!
Advanced Feats...
Attributes:
Strength: 18
Agility: 32
Constitution: 25
Intelligence: 8
Perception: 17
Charisma: 15
Luck: +3 (Continuously Lucky)
Evaluation: A lonely soul burdened with countless hopes, unwilling to fade away!
This unique stat panel gave Matthew a pleasant surprise.
Evil Entities were very special existences.
Their creation involved all sorts of bizarre and twisted forces.
Even in the past life's game, players had to gather tons of data from fights.
Only through complex calculations could they slowly uncover the attributes of an Evil Entity.
And against monsters this strange and terrifying, data and intel were everything.
Players usually paid a huge price during exploration.
Losing lives was just basic procedure!
But this wasn't a game. In this deadly real world, Bay Territory couldn't afford such reckless costs.
Thanks to Matthew's intel on the Wraith Mercuri—
He was able to build the most efficient, highly-targeted trap with minimal cost!
Otherwise, Bay Territory could never have captured it this easily.
Matthew remembered well—before the link between the Wraith and the mist was severed—
It could replenish power and HP anytime, and perform large-scale transfers and stealth.
Just locating its true body had been a huge challenge.
Resources were one thing—the potential loss of elite personnel was a cost Bay Territory couldn't bear.
The effects of datafication were massive.
If it worked on Wraiths, it would work on most Evil Entities too.
With accurate intel, Bay Territory's preparations would be far easier.
All these thoughts flashed through Matthew's mind as he refocused on the fight.
Even with overwhelming life energy and shadow power, the Wraith couldn't threaten Matthew in any meaningful way due to its inferior stats.
Its shadow attacks might chip away at his HP—
But it couldn't land sustained, critical damage on him.
Thanks to his self-healing and legendary 35 Constitution—
Matthew could recover in the blink of an eye.
He absorbed the Wraith's pressure, adapting to his body and power.
Growth wasn't just about numbers—it also relied on experience and performance.
With such a tough and pressuring opponent, Matthew treated it as a perfect sharpening stone!
Realizing its normal attacks were ineffective, the Wraith quickly changed tactics.
Its crimson glow flared even brighter, and its aura grew fiercer.
Matthew clearly "saw" its stats rising.
But he welcomed the change.
The transformation resembled the mutated monsters he'd seen before.
Absorbing life force to temporarily enhance physical power.
The Wraith wasn't flesh-based—it could use soul force to do it.
But Matthew had cut off its connection to the mist and most Wraith monsters.
So it could only draw on internal reserves for this forced enhancement.
According to Matthew's research—
Forced upgrades during combat consumed 100 to 1000 times more resources than standard training!
The Wraith wouldn't last long, nor reach an overwhelming boost.
On the contrary, Matthew grew more excited—finally, some real pressure!
The strengthening lasted two minutes.
Matthew, observing the whole time, didn't strike. He let it fully complete the +3 boost to all stats.
Bathed in red light, the Wraith launched another attack.
It instantly appeared behind Matthew, glowing crimson.
Boom!
The deadly blade struck his armguard, only scraping sparks.
The strong impact pushed the Wraith away.
It twisted in mid-air and lunged at Matthew's side—again, aiming for the kidney!
Crack!
Lightning smashed into the Wraith.
Its fast movement paused, armor cracking.
That small delay was enough—Matthew's glowing blade slashed at its chest.
But the Wraith's seemingly solid body turned illusionary, dodging the blow oddly.
Instead of retreating, it closed in, swinging its deadly blade at Matthew's head.
Just before impact, the phantom blade turned solid!
With his left hand, Matthew precisely blocked the strike using his armguard.
Lightning leapt out, slamming into the Wraith's chest.
Crackling with electricity, the Wraith showed no fear and kept attacking.
Bang!
Its body was sent flying.
A counterpunch right after the block not only disrupted the Wraith's offense but created distance.
The enraged Wraith charged like a mad dog.
Matthew didn't rely solely on weapons—he kept trying different methods to fight this twisted creature.
Of course, he could hold out easily because he had activated the Thunder Magic Armor's battle boost.
Its protection was incredible—blocking most of the Wraith's shadow power, allowing Matthew to brute-force its attacks.
Hardness can't last forever. Softness can't endure alone!
The Wraith's mindless offense always got interrupted by Matthew's fierce counterattacks.
His agile offense-defense swaps suppressed its assault and outlasted its "Rage Mode."
Fifteen minutes later—
The dimmed Wraith instinctively blinked behind Matthew again.
A wide, damaged hand lashed out like lightning and grabbed its neck.
Surging thunder poured in.
The smoking Wraith twisted and thrashed madly.
Before it could break free, a clear, thunderous voice echoed in the air—
"Seal!"
Five golden chains shot from behind the Wraith, binding it before it could react.
Only then did an old man in a swordsman's outfit slowly appear.
The once-struggling Wraith was already "captured" in his hand.
A dark-purple tattoo and ghostly shadow spread along the back of his hand and up his arm.
Wraith Mercuri—captured!