Time trickled by, moment by moment.
Shi Feng and Hei Zi weren't idle either. Not far from the Red Star Mine, they set about killing Level 4 Wandering Goblins.
Wandering Goblin. Normal Level 4. HP 400.
Compared to Kobolds, Wandering Goblins were far more agile and quite adept at dodging, but their attack and defense left much to be desired.
Moreover, Dark Moon Valley hadn't been developed yet. There were plenty of monsters roaming the area, and no one was competing for kills, so they didn't even need to go looking for targets.
Shi Feng was already a Level 3 Swordsman, and Hei Zi a Level 2 Warlock. With Shi Feng up front drawing aggro, the Wandering Goblins' little daggers couldn't even touch him when he had Agility and Swiftness active. Meanwhile, Hei Zi chugged Black Iron Beer and poured on the damage from the back line. They cut down Wandering Goblins with ease, farming even faster than they had ground Kobolds.
In front of the Red Star Mine, batches of Kobold corpses lay strewn across the entrance, with all manner of ores and copper coins scattered across the ground.
"Brother Hu, this place is insane! In just over half an hour, everyone's hit Level 2, and we've looted a ton of money."
"Haha, keep it up, everyone! You three, pull some more mobs. As long as we keep farming like this, we'll hit Level 3 in three or four hours, tops."
Yan Hu excitedly directed the three Assassins who had just arrived, sending them to pull more Kobolds. All the magic-based Classes were already Level 2, and their speed in killing Kobolds had increased dramatically—pulling over thirty Kobolds at once was nothing.
"Brother Hu, something dropped here!" a Berserker shouted, holding up a book.
"Bring it here, let me see." Seeing that something had dropped, Yan Hu licked his dry lips and said with a grin.
Yan Hu took the book and burst into hearty laughter.
"This is great, truly great! That kid worked so hard to find this spot, only for me to take it over. If he knew that even a Swordsman's rare Skill Book was in my hands, this lord would love to see the look of regret on his face."
"Brother Hu, I saw that kid when I came here. They're still killing Wander Goblins in the area, probably still thinking about this place, really unwilling. Why don't we go over and kill them, just to avoid any accidents?" Cold light flashed in You Lang's eyes, his killing intent palpable. He harbored immense hatred toward Shi Feng for killing him twice.
Yan Hu waved his hand dismissively and laughed scornfully. "Just let them watch, then. Watch how we quickly level up and make money, becoming the rulers of Red Leaf Town. They can only stand by and watch, filled with nothing but unwillingness and regret. Haha, just thinking about it feels great!"
Although You Lang was somewhat dissatisfied, the thought of Shi Feng's unwilling expression, forced to diligently kill Wander Goblins outside, filled him with a sense of satisfaction.
"Just wait. Once I reach Level 6, that's your end." You Lang had no intention of giving up on killing Shi Feng. Instead, the thought of the thrill of killing him at Level 6 only filled him with anticipation.
Meanwhile, in the woods sixty meters south of the Red Star Mine shaft, Shi Feng used the trees for cover, continuously observing Yan Hu and his group.
"Brother Feng, can the two of us really pull this off?" Hei Zi asked with some worry.
These eleven weren't ordinary players — they were experts who had passed Shadow's trials, and they even had two healers among them. For just the two of them, taking down this group was simply impossible.
"Don't worry. Time's almost up. We'll just sit back and watch the show," Shi Feng glanced at the time and said calmly. "Stand in the back once it starts. Whoever's low on health, take them out. Don't let a single one escape."
"Time's almost up?" Hei Zi didn't understand.
Shi Feng pointed at the smoke near the entrance of the Red Star Mine and smiled. "Yan Hu took farming high-level mobs way too lightly. The smoke bombs we planted before we left have a time limit. Right now, they're two minutes away from the one-hour mark. Did they really think they could just steal our spot and keep enjoying it? Time to teach them a lesson in how the world works."
Hei Zi suddenly realized what was going on, and his admiration for Shi Feng grew even deeper.
"You're something else, Brother Feng. Those Shadow brats are done for," Hei Zi said with a wide grin.
The only reason they had been able to kill Kobolds two levels above them without taking any damage was the smoke bombs. Without them, it would have been completely impossible. And without those smoke bombs, the consequences would have been terrifying to even think about.
Two minutes later, the smoke in front of the Red Star Mine entrance began to slowly dissipate.
"Brother Hu, the smoke is fading," an Elementalist noticed the vanishing haze and called out to Yan Hu.
The smoke's cleared? No way. Yan Hu, who had been lying down napping, shot up and looked over. Sure enough, the smoke at the cave entrance had dissipated. "Well, if it's gone, it's gone. The smoke might be cyclical, so ignore it. Let's just keep farming mobs," he said.
Just as Yan Hu finished speaking, the dull Kobolds, who had not been attacking, all turned their gazes toward every member of the Shadow Workshop.