Ninetieth Chapter: Target, Tamoe Highland!
After a short rest at the Entrance to the fourth Level, we cautiously stepped into the fifth Level. As Druv had said, the fifth Level was truly an ocean of Monsters; almost every Room had a group of Monsters, making it difficult for us to advance even an inch.
Although the journey was difficult, we pressed on with expectant expressions, killing our way towards the few locations where the Countess was most active. What was exciting was that we encountered two Elite and four Chieftain Monsters during this time. Although they only dropped some Potions and Gold Coins, this was a sign, a sign that the Countess was still alive. This is because Elite Monsters and Mini-Bosses have a relatively long respawn time. If the Countess had been killed recently, they would not have been spared either, and it would be absolutely impossible for them to appear so frequently.
Soon, we were already approaching the end of the fifth Level. At this point, Druv stopped and said to us with a serious expression, "If the Countess is still alive, she should be in the last Room. So from now on, we must clear out all the Monsters ahead, leaving none behind, to avoid attracting them during a chaotic fight with the Countess."
We nodded in understanding. The journey ahead became even more arduous. Even several Parties of Ghosts led by Elite Monsters were annihilated under our careful planning and difficult Battle. Fortunately, this section of the path was not long. After fighting tooth and nail for several hours, we finally arrived at the last Room.
Calling it a Room is inaccurate; it should really be called a Great Hall, because it was much larger than all the other Rooms. We quietly approached this Great Hall and peered through the Entrance. A foul stench wafted out, and what met our eyes was a scene that made our eyes nearly pop out.
In the center of the Great Hall, there was a huge pool. However, the pool was not filled with water, but with viscous Blood. Like boiling water, it constantly bubbled, emitting a strong bloody stench. On the surface of the Blood Pool, there were even some severed limbs floating, making it immediately clear whose Blood filled the pool – how many people must have been killed to fill such a large pool of Blood?
What shocked me even more was that several Monsters I had never seen before were standing beside the Blood Pool with ferocious expressions. One hand held a Corpse, and the other held a Greatsword. They skillfully swung it a few times, cutting off the limbs and head of the Corpse as if slaughtering livestock, letting the bright red, still warm Blood gush out and splash onto the Blood Pool. Beside them, several other Corpses were piled up, including young children, emaciated old people, and young women with fair Skin. Their faces were filled with terror and ferocity, and their wide-open, pale eyes, unwilling to rest in peace, clearly spoke of their hatred for Destiny. Above the Great Hall, sitting at the highest point, coldly watching her subordinates prepare the Blood Pool for her, was our Target – the Countess, her eyes Enveloped in Dark Aura, lost in thought.
I had long heard that the Countess, in order to maintain her youth and Appearance, was so insane that she bathed in Blood. I originally thought others were exaggerating, but seeing this shocking scene and hearing the ferocious and triumphant laughter of those Monsters, we were all stunned.
"Damn it..."
I clenched my Fist tightly, my eyes filled with bloodshot lines, and my teeth grinding audibly. I wished I could rush forward immediately and tear those Monsters into a million pieces. Druv and Mardon were not much better. The kind-hearted Yihana shed tears, lowering her head, unable to bear watching this human tragedy any longer, her Fists also tightly clenched.
It was the steady and composed Druv who remained the most Rational. He quickly recovered from this infuriating scene. He gently patted our shoulders, signaling us to Calmness. At his reminder, we also sobered up. The frantic impulse in our eyes lessened, replaced by an even greater sense of righteous anger. Our Fists remained clenched, waiting only for an order to immediately charge forward and tear those damned Monsters into a million pieces. Even though those people were already dead, we would absolutely not stand by and watch this group of Junk continue to Blasphemy the Corpses In Front of us.
The plan had already been made. Those damned Monsters were called Dark Stalkers. Just hearing the Name told you they were no good. As Monsters evolved from the most excellent Foul Hunters, their Combat Power was considerable. Coupled with their Status as the Boss's Followers, their Strength/Power was further enhanced, no less than that of Elite Rank Monsters.
Seeing that those Dark Stalkers were about to grab the remaining Corpses, the four of us rushed in with a "whoosh". Amidst the Countess's angry roar, the Battle began.
According to the original plan, Druv went first. Stepping on his Resist Fire Aura, he faced the Countess. Level 1 Resist Fire Aura + % Fire Resistance (actually 52% in the Game), his Fire Resistance now reached a little over 60. The Countess's Flame Sea could no longer pose much of a threat to him.
The three of us, along with the Ghost Wolves, pounced on the four Dark Stalker Followers. Yihana even Summoned her Poison Creeper, and I also Shapeshifted into Werebear Form, determined to quickly eliminate these four pieces of Junk in the shortest time possible.
Mardon's Martial Skill, my Deadly Bear Paw, Yihana also Shapeshifted into Werewolf Transformation in the shortest time, plus the fierce Attack of five Ghost Wolves. After witnessing the scene just now, the three of us held nothing back. Anger had Enveloped them. Now, even if they had the Strength/Power of Elite Monsters, they were absolutely no match for us, let alone being merely on par with Mini-Bosses.
Before long, the four Followers fell under our surging Attack. We didn't have time to see what they dropped and immediately turned back. Druv and the Countess's Battle was raging fiercely.
Druv was indeed the most solid among the four of us. Although his Ability was not the strongest, his fighting style was absolutely the most steady and grounded, taking one step at a time, never being greedy, but also never missing any opportunity. His Task was to hold back the Countess, so he was not in a hurry to clash head-on with her. He inevitably stepped into the Countess's Flame Sea, but he calmly tried his best to block the Countess's Attack with his Shield, then slowly forced the Countess out of the range of the Flame Sea. That steady and Calmness style was the most outstanding among all of us.
However, although the Countess's Physical Damage was not high, she was still a Mini-Boss after all. Her Attack was still stronger than Elite Level Monsters. Moreover, her Flame Sea was not without any Damage to Druv, otherwise, Druv wouldn't need to force her out of the Flame Sea before fighting. The biggest Gap between them was the Countess's Life, which was much higher than Druv's. So if we didn't reinforce him in time, Druv wouldn't be able to hold on for long.
However, the time it took us to eliminate the Followers was faster than Druv had anticipated. Seeing us rush up, a look of joy appeared on his face, and he clearly breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed the Battle just now was not easy for him either.
The rest was simple. First, Druv forced the Countess out of the Flame Sea. Then, the three of us and five wolves swarmed forward. Druv took the opportunity to retreat, quickly switched to Prayer Aura, then drank a few Life Potions, taking a slight breath, waiting for Life Recovery.
When the Countess's Flame Sea Cooldown was almost finished, he would step back in. Once the Countess cast Flame Sea, the three of us would immediately scatter. Then Druv would force her out of the Flame Sea again. Repeating this cycle, we managed to beat the Countess until she had no temper left.
After this continued for a while, the Countess was already panting, and her Life was clearly not much left. Seeing her Appearance, our expressions also changed from relaxed to solemn. When Druv forced the Countess out of the Flame Sea again, this time we did not swarm forward. Instead, I Shapeshifted into Werebear Form and tightly blocked the Countess In Front, while the other three scattered. Their Weapons were all replaced with bows, and they nocked Arrows. Immediately, a continuous stream of Arrows shot onto the Countess's Body. Not a single Arrow missed; their accurate Archery made me incredibly envious.
Before long, the Countess was staggering. At this moment, Druv suddenly shouted, "Wu, retreat quickly!"
I immediately turned around as instructed. There was no time to run, so I could only make a Bear pounce, awkwardly leaping out.
The Countess seemed to know her end was near and let out a mournful wail.
"Lady Andariel..."
The voice was painful and desolate, causing my heart to tremble slightly. Then, three Arrows accurately shot into her chest. Time seemed to freeze at this instant.
"Boom..."
It felt like a long time had passed, yet also like only a moment. The Countess's Body, like Bishibosh in Cold Plains when he died, exploded. The strong Flame surge violently threw my Body, which had just leaped into Mid-air, outwards. A scorching heat like a wave immediately burned my Back. With my weight of over a ton after Shapeshifting into Werebear Form, I was still blown over ten meters away, tumbling several times before hitting the Wall hard, seeing stars.
This is the most disgusting thing about Monsters with the Enchant Stats. There is a 50% Chance of Self-Destruct upon death. Among everyone, I had the most Life and highest Defense after Shapeshifting into Werebear Form, and my Archery was the worst. Who else but me would be the shield? Even I felt like I was born for this Destiny, how pathetic.
My Back was probably blown to a bloody mess. I managed to stand up slightly, but it was excruciatingly painful. Looking at my Life, sweat dripped down. I had lost over 100 points, which was one-fifth of my current Life! If it were the Assassin Mardon, this blow would have taken his old Life.
Druv walked over and, seeing my grimacing Appearance, couldn't help but laugh and pat my Bear waist, teasing, "Young man, you're quite sturdy, still bouncing around."
"Uncle Druv, you seem pretty good too. How about you try it next time?" I rolled my eyes, forgetting that I was still in Werebear Form. That expression was indescribably comical, causing the other three to laugh. Seeing their happy faces, I couldn't help but chuckle as well. The previously oppressive Atmosphere in the Great Hall suddenly lightened.
I canceled my Shapeshifting and rested with everyone for a while. Then Yihana began to tally the Loot from this time. After just a moment, she suddenly shouted excitedly.
"Ah, the Follower actually dropped a Saber! Oh my god!"
Everyone gathered around to look and indeed found a Normal Saber from the Follower. Although it wasn't anything valuable to us anymore, it was quite rare to drop from a Normal Monster.
What depressed me the most was that this Follower wasn't killed by me, but by Mardon. Seeing his smug, Lowly Person Appearance, his Gaze towards me clearly said: See, you can only drop Potions and Gold Coins. Although this further concealed my Drop Rate issue, why did my heart still feel so unhappy? Argh!
Next, the Countess gave us another surprise. Although she wasn't killed by me in the end, she still generously dropped two Magic Equipment, one Rune, and a chipped Sapphire. Several Potions and some Gold Coins.
Among the two Magic Equipment, one was an Assassin-specific Wrist Blade! Seeing Mardon's beaming Appearance, the three of us were speechless – was today really his lucky day?
"Right, why don't we fill this Blood Pool? It looks quite disgusting."
After cleaning up the Battlefield, I said, looking at the disgusting Blood Pool. This suggestion immediately received the approval of Mardon and Yihana.
"No. We cannot fill this Blood Pool." Druv suddenly stopped us.
"Even if we fill it, when the Countess respawns next time, she will only kill more Life to replenish this Blood Pool. Doing this is meaningless. If you truly have this Kindness, it's better to work hard on your Trial, enter the Third Act early, and truly kill the Countess."
Uh... we hadn't thought of that. Druv's Principle made sense. Even doing that would only lead to more innocent Lives being killed. Understanding this, we no longer insisted. We all looked at the Blood Pool with disgust one last time. Mardon and I even spat into it before quickly leaving this cursed place.
As I left, I suddenly remembered the Countess's cry before she died. She must have been calling Andariel's Name at that time. The voice sounded quite chilling. Could it be that they had something going on? My Otaku Soul immediately started running at high speed.
At the Entrance to the fifth Level, we unexpectedly met another Party. This Party consisted of five Class Changers: one Amazon, one Wizard, two Barbarians, and one Paladin. Their Equipment was very fine, not much worse than ours. It was clear at a glance that they were a High-Level Adventurer Squad.
When they saw us returning from inside, their expressions changed. However, the expected dramatic cliché did not happen. The leading Paladin's Gaze flashed with a hint of disappointment, but then he laughed heartily and patted Druv's shoulder, "Druv, it seems we lost this time."
"Haha, Sak, long time no see. We just happened to be one step ahead of you."
The two of them knew each other. But thinking about it, there were only one or two thousand Class Changers in the Rogue Encampment. It wasn't strange for High-Level Adventurers to be familiar with each other. Looking at them, they might even have been classmates in the Training Camp.
The Paladin named Sak looked at us, finally fixing his Gaze on me.
"Druv, I didn't expect it. When did your Party recruit another Expert? Aren't you going to introduce us?"
Sak said with slight surprise. Generally speaking, established Parties rarely let others join because they already have a Tacit Understanding with each other, especially an Elite Squad like Druv's.
"He is an excellent Druid, his Name is Wu Fan. I believe you've heard of him," Druv said, patting my shoulder and smiling as he introduced me to Sak.
"Could it be the Lone Druid Wu Fan, who, like Lady Sharna, has been undergoing Trial alone until now? It's a pleasure to meet you..." Sak was clearly taken aback, then said with a look of Praise.
"Mr. Sak, you flatter me. Compared to you, I'm still far behind." I shook his hand and smiled back. It's always easier to communicate when your Strength/Power is similar (or appears to be).
Since we had already swept through the fifth Level, Sak and his Party had no interest in picking up the Leftovers. After chatting for a while, we split into two groups and headed back. As for why we walked separately, generally speaking, Adventurers shouldn't form Parties with too many people. Firstly, it defeats the purpose of Trial, and secondly, the Experience gained is much less.
By the time the four of us returned to the Waypoint, almost ten days had passed. The Rich Experience inside almost allowed me to Level up to 16. Fortunately, in the last few days, I deliberately killed fewer Monsters to avoid exposing my 4x Experience Stats.
At the Black Moor Waypoint, in that exquisite and luxurious Room, the four of us sat on the ground. After filling our stomachs, Yihana began to take out the gains from this trip one by one. Yes, it was time to divide the Loot.
The harvest from this trip to the Tower was quite Rich, but most of it was Potions and Gold Coins. These were easy to divide, just one share for each person. But next, there were a few Normal Equipment, two Magic Equipment – one was Magic Leather Armor, and the other was the Assassin's Wrist Blade. There was also the Rune dropped by the Countess, which turned out to be Rune Ral, number eight (ral).
Ral (ral)
Weapon: Adds 5-30 Fire Damage
Equipment: Fire Resistance +30%
Shield: Fire Resistance +35%
Required Level 19
Finally, there were a few chipped Gems.
These items were more valuable, especially the number eight Rune and the Assassin's Wrist Blade.
Mardon undoubtedly chose the Wrist Blade. For this, he had to pay a few chipped Gems as Price/Cost.
As for me, I didn't even think about it and chose the Rune, also taking out 4 chipped Gems as compensation. As for how they distributed the remaining items, it had nothing to do with me. We were not a permanent Party, just temporarily formed to kill the Countess.
After everyone had distributed the Loot, there was a moment of silence. The Atmosphere seemed a bit off. I muttered to myself. Finally, Druv was the first to stand up and extend his hand to me, "Wu, although I know it's unlikely, I still want to represent our Party and invite you to join us, to fight together, share Life and death, and overcome difficulties together."
Looking at their sincere and fervent eyes, I was deeply moved. I sighed slightly in my heart. Such an excellent Party was truly rare, and I also greatly admired the personalities of these three people. But unfortunately, it was impossible.
However, at this moment, seeing their eager Gaze, I didn't know what to say. I really couldn't Refuse, but I absolutely couldn't agree either. Seeing me open my mouth for a long time without saying a word, Druv suddenly laughed heartily, patting my shoulder, "It's alright, Wu, no need to explain anything. We already anticipated this Result. After all, if you were interested in joining a Party, you would have been recruited by someone else long ago; it wouldn't have been our turn. I think you must have your own difficulties."
Although they were disappointed, they didn't hold any grudges because of it. That night, the kind Yihana had already treated me like a Younger Brother, constantly explaining some basic matters to pay attention to during Trial – they found that although my Strength/Power was very strong, my foundation was a bit weak. Whether it was close-quarters combat experience or some minor details of Trial, I wasn't very clear. Actually, I couldn't be blamed for this. After all, I wasn't like them, who had undergone over ten years of training in the Training Camp. Being able to reach this point was already quite good.
As for Mardon, he was holding the newly acquired Wrist Blade and gesturing with it, muttering that he would soon surpass me, and even someday reach the Realm of the legendary God of Assassins, Natalya. Well, having that kind of determination is good, but by the time you reach that Realm, perhaps I will have already surpassed the Strongest Expert Tal Rasha, hoho...
That night, we talked all night until late before falling asleep. Early the next morning, Druv and the others bid me farewell and entered the Waypoint leading to the first Level of the Jail. Looking at the empty Teleportation Array, I couldn't help but feel a sense of Realization. It seems I still don't like the Feeling of being alone...
It wasn't until I walked out of the Castle and re-Summoned Light Snow and Lazy Crow that I emerged from my low mood – I still had them by my side, so how could I be lonely? I flipped onto Light Snow 's Back. With our Intent connected, Light Snow let out an excited neigh and broke into a run, galloping quickly across the Black Moor. Lazy Crow hovered in Mid-air, preening his feathers on my shoulder when he got tired of flying, never staying still for a moment.