novelraw Chapter 381 - 81: Skaven Ratman Legion, the Divine Gift Soldier Type Permanently Blessed by the Chaos Four Gods
Chapter 381 - 81: Skaven Ratman Legion, the Divine Gift Soldier Type Permanently Blessed by the Chaos Four Gods
Not far away, half of a broken bell tower jutted out from the ruins at an angle. Its bronze body was riddled with bullet holes and claw marks. The clapper was long gone, and only the empty chamber remained, letting out a mournful wail in the wind that sounded just like the sobbing of a lost soul.
The Bloodthirsty Clones silently flanked Qin Feng, their black eyes vigilantly scanning the surroundings.
The Beheading Sword Replicas in their hands dragged carelessly along the ground, striking fine sparks from the flagstones that briefly illuminated a pile of bones in a corner.
They were human remains. Some still wore shattered armor, their finger bones locked in a death grip around rusted longswords. They had clearly fought to their last breath.
Then, a foul-smelling gust of wind blew from deep within the alleyways, kicking up a few scraps of blackened cloth and slapping them against Qin Feng’s armor.
He instinctively held his breath, his gaze falling upon a broken wall at the crossroads ahead. Where a crest symbolizing the city guard should have been, there was now only the Skaven Ratmen’s signature green graffiti. Splatters of sticky, dark green fluid, still wet, surrounded the distorted rat-head symbol. The battle here had clearly just ended.
At the sight, the five Bloodthirsty Clones all tensed simultaneously, raising their swords to point toward a pitch-black alley to their left.
Qin Feng followed their line of sight and saw several pairs of ghostly green lights flash in the shadows at the alley’s entrance. Immediately after, he heard faint SQUEAKING and the sharp scrape of metal.
Clearly, these were Skaven Ratmen scouts, and they had spotted the unwelcome visitors.
"Here they come!"
"Let’s begin!"
The instant he spoke, Qin Feng wasted no time. He raised a hand toward the swarming Skaven Ratmen, a faint purple spiritual fluctuation emanating from his fingertips.
Then, his Spiritual Control skill activated. The Ratmen in the front rank, clutching short blades, froze mid-stride. The vicious light in their eyes faded, replaced by absolute obedience as they meekly fell under Qin Feng’s command.
Immediately after, the five Bloodthirsty Clones flanking him acted in sync.
They released the same Spiritual Energy almost simultaneously, and halos of faint purple light exploded one after another within the rat swarm.
The remaining Skaven Ratmen didn’t even have a chance to resist. One by one, their eyes went vacant, and they dropped their weapons. In an instant, the entire approaching squad had been turned, bolstering Qin Feng’s forces.
[Your Hidden Talent "Recruit Prisoners" has taken effect! These Skaven Ratmen affected by "Spiritual Control" have permanently become your Divine Chosen Soldiers! You can take them with you out of the Expedition Gate!]
[You have obtained the stat panel for "Skaven Ratmen - Slave Rat"!]
[Divine Chosen Soldier Unit: Slave Rat]
[Race: Skaven Ratmen Race]
[Profession: BOSS (Level 50/90)]
[Life Value: 84,520/84,520 (Enhanced by the "Heaven’s Chosen Ruler" title, the "Evolution: Void Realm Annihilator" title, and "Evolution: War Blessing," for a total of 1450% Extra Life Value, resulting in a 1550% boost)]
[Strength: 20,000, Agility: 20,000, Spirit: 20,000, Constitution: 20,000]
[Weapon: Slave Rat Machete]
[Equipment: Slave Rat Cloth Armor]
[Skills: Scream (Enhanced Attack), Cleave (Heavy Strike with Physical Damage), Push (Light Stumble Control)]
[Divine Gift Skill: Blessing of Khorne - Random Debuff (Level 1 Divine Gift ability. Each attack has a chance to apply a random debuff to the enemy. Effects and duration can be stacked and refreshed. Lasts ten seconds. Countered by Level 1 and higher "Divine Gift: Purification Skills" and "Divine Gift: Dispel Skills." Ignores all Level 0 purification and dispel effects.)]
[Power Assessment: Two-Star (Purple) Mid-Tier]
[Description: Skaven Ratmen recruited from the Expedition Gate. They permanently gain a Divine Gift blessing from the Chaos Death God and will share it equally with all Skaven Ratmen of the same faction—when you acquire other Skaven Ratmen blessed by the Chaos Four Gods, they will synchronize all the Blessings of Chaos they possess.]
Qin Feng: "???"
’What the hell!?’
’A Divine Gift Soldier Type!?’
’A special Divine Gift Soldier Type that can infinitely stack Divine Gift skills, no less!?’
’This is so heaven-defying!?’
As a series of astonished exclamations exploded in Qin Feng’s mind, the pieces instantly fell into place.
’No wonder the Recruit Prisoners Talent had no effect on these Skaven Ratmen before. It turns out that just like those Evil God Soldiers whose faith was twisted by the Void Evil God, they’re a Divine Chosen Soldier Type under the Shelter and blessing of Deities!’
But he suppressed his amazement in an instant, his expression shifting to one of intense desire for control. A cold smile touched the corner of Qin Feng’s lips.
"What a pity!"
"In the face of the invincible combo of Spiritual Control and Recruit Prisoners, even Divine Chosen Soldiers hand-picked by Deities will have no choice but to obediently become loyal members of my Holy Empire today!"
Qin Feng’s eyes lit up, and his words came faster.
"According to the system panel’s description."
"If I can recruit other Skaven Ratmen later on—especially the ones blessed by the Chaos Four Gods in the next four Expedition Gates—then the Divine Gift abilities they have will synchronize with this current batch of Ratmen."
He paused, his tone growing heavier.
"And it works the other way around, too."
"The Blessing of Khorne on these Ratmen now will also synchronize with other Skaven Ratmen I recruit in the future."
"In that case..."
"...the situation is completely different."
"Even if these Skaven Slave Rats have mediocre stats and no powerful skills right now, just by relying on the stacking effect of these synchronized Divine Gifts, they can still possess combat power far beyond that of conventional soldier types."
What excited him even more were the future possibilities:
’And it’s not just the Skaven Slave Rats; the elite soldier types among the Skaven can also benefit from this.’
’Whether it’s Plague Monks, Shielded Stormvermin, Gutter Runner Rats, Beast Hunters, Poison Wind Grenadiers, Dimensional Flame Soldiers, or even Ratling Machine Gunners, Rat Giants, and Storm Rat Demons... all the Skaven elites will be able to enjoy the stacking effects of these Divine Gift abilities!’
Qin Feng’s thoughts continued to race as his gaze swept over the depths of the ruins:
’Besides that...’
’...the Chaos Soldier Types and Beastman Soldier Types I haven’t encountered yet probably follow the same pattern. They can enjoy all the blessings of the Chaos Four Gods while also retaining the insane strength from the original game that could one-shot players.’
He sorted through his thoughts and quickly came to a conclusion:
’There probably aren’t any other special soldier types for now. After all, this Expedition Gate is essentially just a copy of the content from "Plague 2"...’
With his thoughts settled, Qin Feng didn’t dwell on it further. He immediately raised his hand and ordered all the newly-turned Skaven Ratmen to follow close behind him.
Then, he and his five Bloodthirsty Clones strode forward, treading over rubble and debris. They continued through the dilapidated human city, advancing toward the depths of the Expedition Gate.
Any Skaven Ratmen they encountered along the way, elite soldier types or not, couldn’t withstand the assault of six simultaneous Spiritual Controls. One after another, they were turned into loyal members of the Holy Empire. Not a single one escaped.
And so, throughout the entire run, Qin Feng didn’t have to fight even once.
Relying solely on the combination of Spiritual Control and Recruit Prisoners, he subjugated every single Skaven Ratman in the first level of the Expedition Gate, clearing the stage effortlessly. The entire process was remarkably smooth.
The subsequent second, third, fourth, and fifth levels were all the same.
After all, the Skaven Ratmen in the levels synchronized to match Qin Feng’s power, and the Elite Monsters among them even had control abilities similar to Divine Gift Skills. Once you were caught, there was no breaking free.
If the total number of Skaven Ratmen was too high, it would be impossible for a normal person to clear the level.
On the other hand, if the total number of Skaven Ratmen was small, it meant his failsafe Spiritual Control could convert them all, ensuring that none escaped...