Scorpion and the Horror Clown stood side by side.
Facing the tide of enemies, they showed no fear. Instead, the two were chatting.
As the second and fourth on the Black List respectively, Horror Clown and Scorpion were old acquaintances.
Horror Clown was clad in a jester's costume, his face permanently painted white with black stars for eyes and a dark red mouth stretched to his ears.
His original nose was gone, replaced by a ghastly wound, from which dangled a fluffy red ball, making him indescribably eerie.
Scorpion's appearance was comparatively normal, a full-body armored robe adorned with numerous vials and jars.
Everywhere he passed, plants withered, and a pale green gas wafted out, causing even Horror Clown to deliberately keep his distance.
Addressing Horror Clown, Scorpion's voice held a hint of deference, "Sir, it has been a while since we fought side by side."
"Heh heh heh~ No need to be so polite. Your humble demeanor doesn't suit a City Butcher."
Scorpion replied, "You have always been my goal, my idol and senior."
"Not at all, not at all~ I'm just a clown. The future of the Black List lies with you young ones."
Both possessed the ability to contend with swarms of enemies.
Their mission was to intercept this group of Daotong here.
Scorpion said, "They are just some second-rate trash. Why don't you rest for a while, and leave them to me?"
"Don't say such disheartening things. I've brought the entire circus. We must let them have some fun."
"Please do."
The Clown let out a series of cackles and plunged his hand into his chest, yanking it out forcefully.
Red, yellow, green…
Fabrics in these three colors seemed to be endless, spewing out continuously!
They covered the ground and obscured the sky!
Ting ting dang…
Ting ting dang…
Jingle bells…
A cheerful and light melody drifted through the air.
On the land of the Cloud Kingdom, these fabrics instantly formed a giant playground.
A colossal tent made of colorful cloth!
It directly spanned the gap between the Daotong and the main battlefield!
The moment the playground appeared, it enveloped over a dozen Daotong, who then fell silent upon entering.
A Daotong shouted, "What the hell is this!"
"Everyone be careful, this tent is strange!"
"Merry-go-round, Ferris wheel, fire hoops... Is this a playground?"
"Whatever it is, follow me and tear it down!"
This Daotong brandished his weapon and charged forward, slashing down with his blade!
*Screeeech!*
Threads, countless threads, gushed out from a tear in the tent, entangling the Daotong completely.
The other Daotong were horrified!
What on earth was this thing!
"Flame Fire, Great Incineration!"
A Daotong formed a hand seal!
He inhaled deeply, then exhaled a scorching torrent of flame from his mouth…
Surprisingly, the flames were extremely effective!
The circus was full of flammable materials, not only cloth but also a large number of wooden beams and sheds.
"Hahaha, how do you like the taste of my flames?"
"Everyone, use fire!"
Once a weakness was found, it became easier. Those at the Daotong level could perform some elemental skills, and spitting fire or blowing air were the most common.
Their courage grew, and one by one, they stepped into the playground to set fires and cause destruction.
Ding!
Ding!
Clang!
Hiss!!!!!!!
The music sounded like a scratched record or a broken music box!
A team of Daotong ventured deep inside.
Daotong A inexplicably felt something was amiss.
Watching his teammates merrily destroying things, Daotong A asked, "Were there always this many ugly dolls around here?"
On the ground, doll figures had appeared at some point.
These dolls were incomplete and dirty.
But each doll's eyes were bright and clear, like those of living beings!
Daotong A instinctively felt disgusted and stomped on the doll's ceramic skull with a fierce kick…
"Phew~~ Just ordinary dolls."
"It's fine, there's a merry-go-round over there, let's burn it!"
Just then, Daotong A felt something beneath his feet.
He looked down. A doll's hand had grabbed his trouser leg at some point.
The broken doll's head tilted, its eyes blinked, and its mouth opened and closed.
"Uncle... I hurt so much..."
"My head hurts so much, I can't find my other eye."
Daotong A's blood ran cold, his hair standing on end!!
"Ahhhhhhh!!!"
"What the hell is this!!!"
"Ah!!"
Thump thump thump!
Daotong A went mad!
He stomped on the doll again and again until it was smashed into countless powder.
Breathing heavily, Daotong A grumbled, "What a lame trick, boring! Too boring!"
He stood up and returned to his teammates.
At that moment, his teammates were setting the merry-go-round on fire.
Daotong A said, "Everyone, don't be afraid, it's just some tricks by the underground folks, meant to scare us!"
Before he could finish, Daotong A rubbed his eyes.
On the seemingly empty merry-go-round, dolls were now seated!
Each doll had a broken face, a face missing an eyeball!
The moment they saw Daotong A, the dolls turned their heads in unison.
"Uncle... have you found our eyeballs?"
"Uncle... it's so hot, we seem to be burning..."
"Uncle... we hurt so much!"
"Uncle..."
In the midst of the raging fire, these dolls emitted black smoke, some lamenting, others crying incessantly!
But the only thing consistent was that each doll stared at Daotong A with its single remaining eye!
"Ahhhhhhh!"
"You're going too far! Too far!"
"I'm not afraid of you!"
Daotong A yanked out a clump of his hair and charged forward, brandishing his saber.
"Uncle... do you want to play too?"
"The merry-go-round is a lot of fun!"
"Uncle..."
…………
……
As the flames dissipated, Daotong A's figure vanished.
The merry-go-round, which had been burning, had also returned to its original state.
……
A group of Daotong stood back to back, defending against each other!
Since entering the circus and causing destruction, people had been disappearing from the team. Those remaining realized something was wrong and understood they had fallen into a trap.
They dared not split up anymore, lest they be picked off one by one!
Ting ting dang…
Ting ting dang…
Jingle bells…
The familiar music sounded again.
The group turned around and saw a merry-go-round!
Daotong B cursed, "Damn it, why are we back here again? I've seen this merry-go-round four times."
Daotong C exclaimed in shock, "What?"
"What what?"
"How many times have you seen the merry-go-round?"
"Four times, are you stupid? We came in together!"
Daotong C said disbelievingly, "But we've clearly passed this merry-go-round six times!"
"Bullshit! I..."
After saying this,
Both fell silent.
What… exactly had gone wrong?
Just then, Daotong A said, "We were briefly separated after entering here. We can't guarantee that you are all who you say you are!"