Thanks everyone for the Powerstones, here's the bonus chapter for reaching 300 Powerstones.
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The Aeldari Harlequins, one of the surviving Aeldari factions, are devotees of Cegorach, the Laughing God.
They are a group of absolute riddlers with bizarre and unpredictable logic. They are known to do things as drastic as storming the Imperial Palace on Terra and slaughtering Custodes right to their faces, just to deliver a warning to humanity.
If you meet a Harlequin, the best course of action is to shoot first.
Zeke didn't stop the Harlequin in front of him from reaching for the Totem of Undying.
MC loot drops could only be picked up by him personally before being used or given to others.
There was no way this Harlequin could grab the Totem.
Zeke took a step back, pulled out an Enchanted Golden Apple, and started crunching away. Crunch, crunch.
Regardless of this Harlequin's individual strength, the troupe's record of killing Custodes meant they couldn't be underestimated.
Besides, he had so many Enchanted Golden Apples now that eating one directly didn't hurt at all.
As he consumed the apple, a boundless, majestic vitality flowed through his body.
Zeke instantly gained 8 Absorption Hearts (Golden Hearts). Externally, his entire body was shrouded in an incredibly conspicuous golden aura, making him shine brilliantly.
This special effect is flashy enough, Zeke thought, looking down at his glowing golden arms.
If I didn't say anything, people might think the Emperor himself actually sent down a blessing.
Taking advantage of the Enchanted Golden Apple's effects, Zeke raised his Genestealer Sword and thrust at the Harlequin.
On the Harlequin's side, her slender fingers closed around the Totem, only to pass right through it without any resistance, grabbing empty air.
The Harlequin didn't seem surprised. Her masked face turned toward the Totem, then toward Zeke.
"Is it truly as the Shadowseer predicted?" an ethereal female voice spoke.
The hand that missed the Totem pressed against the ground, using her fingertips as a pivot to execute a mid-air flip, transitioning her body from face-down to face-up.
Watching the Genestealer Sword thrusting toward her, she raised a slender blade in her other hand—a Harlequin's Kiss—horizontally across her chest, parrying the blow.
After the block, she didn't counterattack. She simply maintained her defensive stance, her eyes behind the mask fixed on Zeke.
"Human, I do not seek to be your enemy. I come here following the Shadowseer's decree. According to her prophecy, the swaying threads of my people's fate... a crucial turn may manifest through you. Therefore, the purpose of my visit is to seek... cooperation."
"People who want to cooperate don't use that tone, and they don't try to snatch things," Zeke didn't stop his attacks.
Zeke knew perfectly well that the Aeldari might say "cooperation" on the surface, but in reality, they just wanted a meat shield against Chaos to carry out their own little schemes.
Besides, the line of people wanting to cooperate with him could stretch all the way to the Imperial Palace. Do I really lack one more like you?
With a flick of his left wrist, Zeke downed another Potion of Strength II.
He pressed his wrist down. Boosted by the potion, the Genestealer Sword forced the Shadowseer's Harlequin's Kiss down inch by inch.
Faced with this sudden burst of strength, the Harlequin's expression was hidden behind her mask.
"A fight isn't a bad idea either," her voice now held a hint of interest. "Since the Shadowseer holds you in such high regard, let me verify it with my own eyes."
As she spoke, her free left hand pressed against her belt.
Gravity seemed to lose its hold on her. Without exerting any visible force, the Harlequin's body slid sideways.
Zeke's sword hit nothing but air.
High-tech Aeldari gadgets? Zeke looked at her ornate belt.
As a race with technology second only to the Necrons, even in their decline, they still possessed many novel trinkets.
The Flip Belt was one of them—an accessory that mocked gravity, allowing the wearer to maneuver flexibly against enemies.
Possessing such equipment meant this Harlequin was no ordinary member of the troupe.
Better eat another Enchanted Golden Apple to calm my nerves. Seeing the Regeneration II effect fade, Zeke grabbed another apple and started crunching..
Without stopping his movements, he pulled out a Crafting Table on the spot. Using the String he had picked up while clearing the Chaos forces, he crafted a few Cobwebs.
Against high-mobility units, restricting movement was always the top priority.
Having completed her dodge, the Harlequin traced a bizarre and unpredictable trajectory, attacking once more.
Zeke didn't even bother pulling out a shield. With the Absorption Hearts provided by the Enchanted Golden Apple, he wanted to see just how high this Harlequin's damage output was.
Faced with this provocative stance of neither dodging nor blocking, the rapidly approaching Harlequin concluded that her opponent was either absolutely confident in his defense or simply insane.
The arrow was nocked; her short sword thrust toward the obvious opening: the exposed skin of Zeke's neck.
Her Harlequin's Kiss was designed to precisely penetrate any gap in armor, churning the enemy inside into a bloody pulp.
The Harlequin noted the strange style of her enemy's armor.
The helmet wasn't fully enclosed; it only covered half his head, leaving plenty of space exposed.
Truly a failed armor design.
As the Harlequin's Kiss entered Zeke's vicinity, it was visibly hindered by an unknown force—the Resistance effect kicking in.
When the tip of the blade finally touched the skin of Zeke's neck, the feedback from the weapon didn't feel like piercing flesh at all.
How? The Harlequin was confused. I clearly aimed for his neck.
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The armor is just for show; the defense value is what's real.
Zeke had seen the Harlequin aiming for his neck long ago. That move was useless against a block-man; his entire body was one solid unit with no weak points.
He checked his health bar. Only 7 hearts of damage.
Passable. As long as it doesn't take half my health in one hit, this damage can't one-shot me.
As long as he timed his Enchanted Golden Apple consumption right, he couldn't lose no matter how recklessly he played.
Zeke took a casual swipe with his Genestealer Sword, but the Harlequin, relying on her supernatural flexibility and the Flip Belt, evaded the strike and opened the distance again.
So annoying. Like a mosquito—impossible to hit.
He decided to change tactics. Instead of actively chasing, he would wait for the enemy to come to him.
He pulled out a Brewing Stand. Using some Sugar he had swiped from Bela, along with Mushrooms from the Ork cave and the Spider Eye that had just dropped, he crafted a Fermented Spider Eye.
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Next Bonus at 450 Powerstones.
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