Bai Qingxue watched
She knew every top-tier player in the virtual world, yet she had never heard of a peak expert called Black Flame.
Her equipment was already at the cutting edge among current players, and they were both level five — yet their damage output was worlds apart. Just how good was Shi Feng's gear? Could it be a full five-piece Iron Rank set at level five?
Bai Qingxue had no idea that the
Along the way, more and more birdmen appeared in the woods. Even when facing a dozen or so at once, with Shi Feng's devastating damage and the Shield Warrior's steady aggro management, Bai Qingxue and the others grew more adept at handling them, and the birdmen fell quickly.
Their leveling speed was far faster than what Bai Qingxue's original party could have managed.
Half an hour later, Shi Feng's group finally arrived at the Land of the Fallen.
Despite its name, it was really just an enormous crater, riddled with stone caves and grottos. Step inside one of those caves and you'd likely lose your way in no time.
"Brother Black Flame, is this the place where you need to do your quest?"
Having the seductress Zhao Yueru press so close, and catching sight of the deep ravine framed by her crimson robes, it was impossible for Shi Feng to feel nothing at all — even if he harbored no improper thoughts. Playing the stoic gentleman just got a few degrees harder.
"Mm. As long as we follow this path, we'll reach it. But there are huge numbers of birdmen circling overhead — it won't be easy to get through." Shi Feng deliberately averted his gaze and pointed toward a narrow cliffside trail that led down into the crater.
This time, after Shi Feng's warning, the Shield Warrior and the Ranger didn't take things lightly. They treated him with a new measure of respect, keeping a wary eye on the skies. If it weren't for Shi Feng, they'd probably have died somewhere along the road.
Watching Shi Feng step onto the narrow path first, Zhao Yueru smiled faintly. She couldn't shake the feeling that there was something strangely familiar about him — a sensation she had never encountered before. Then she followed close behind.
Bai Qingxue smiled at the scene, well aware of what Zhao Yueru was thinking. It was rare for Zhao Yueru to take such interest in a man. Of course, if she could charm Shi Feng and bring him into Snake of the Body, that would work out nicely too.
Despite the swarms of birdmen in the narrow passage, Bai Qingxue's party handled them with growing proficiency.
Bai Qingxue in particular was a natural. After watching Shi Feng fight just a few times, she had already picked up his techniques — leaping off the rock walls to reposition, and bringing her blade down hard enough to knock birdmen out of midair. She could even dodge their claw swipes and diving strikes while airborne. Before long, the party could clear the birdmen even without Shi Feng's help.
After slaughtering several hundred birdmen in succession, a golden flash erupted from Shi Feng's body. He had finally reached level six, catching up with the most obsessive grinders out there.
In order to equip the Cloak of Darkness as early as possible, Shi Feng had dumped all his free stat points into Agility. If he could raise the Abyssal to level five, he might be able to wear the Cloak by level eight.
"Level six already?" Bai Qingxue glanced over, genuinely surprised at his leveling speed. She had been killing monsters nonstop and was still twenty-three percent away from six. And Shi Feng had been doing all sorts of other things on top of that — yet he'd still hit six...
Then again, when you could freely kill monsters several levels above your own, fast leveling came with the territory.
"So that's where you need to go? There are way too many of them — and quite a few level-nine Elites and level-ten special Elites mixed in. Are you sure you want to go in there?" Bai Qingxue reached the deepest part of the crater and immediately spotted mechanical constructs patrolling everywhere. She had no idea what kind of quest Shi Feng had taken on that could be this difficult. Even if he was powerful, getting through here seemed flat-out impossible.
The mechanical puppets stood about as tall as a person. They were common monsters, level nine, with 1,500 HP.
The mechanical warriors were twice the size, brandishing blades and shields. They were Elite monsters, level nine, with 3,000 HP.
The mechanical knights were the most terrifying of all. Mounted on mechanical horses and wielding long lances, they towered over six meters high — like a two-story building. They were special Elites, level ten, with 7,000 HP.
At the very back of this mechanical horde stood a massive sealed steel gate. But the sheer number of mechanical puppets and warriors was staggering — a rough glance put the count at over eight hundred. And guarding the gate itself were more than a hundred mechanical knights. Clearing out those knights without at least a thousand-man elite raid team was a pipe dream.
The scale of this mechanical army was nothing short of soul-crushing. Even from over a hundred yards away, the sight alone was enough to freeze Zhao Yueru and the others in their tracks.
If this mechanical legion charged, there would be nothing to stop them. They could wipe the party out in the blink of an eye.
"Brother Black Flame, you really intend to go in there? You'll die for sure." Even with full confidence in her party's abilities, Zhao Yueru knew that at their level five, clearing even the outer ring of mechanical puppets and warriors would be a serious challenge, let alone the knights. A single mechanical knight could probably destroy their entire team — and there were a hundred of them.
"I do. But first I need to clear out the mechanical puppets and warriors that are in the way." Shi Feng nodded.
"Then let's pull them slowly, one group at a time, and whittle them down," Bai Qingxue said. She had already agreed to help Shi Feng to the best of her ability, so she wasn't about to back out now. Besides, the leveling here wasn't bad — they had already harvested a good amount of common equipment and materials from the birdmen. Clearing these mechanical warriors would likely yield even more. She just wasn't sure how tough they really were.
"I'll go pull them over one by one then," Zhao Yueru volunteered. Ranged pulling was the easiest, and with her skill, even if the monsters were clustered together, she could lure two or three at most — easy enough for the party to handle.
"Wait." Shi Feng suddenly caught Zhao Yueru's arm.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
The others looked at Shi Feng in confusion. Did he not trust Zhao Yueru's abilities?
Shi Feng understood exactly how dangerous this place was, but Zhao Yueru and the rest had no idea. These mechanical constructs were instruments of war forged by dwarven civilization. Pulling monsters here without knowing what you were dealing with meant a guaranteed party wipe.
"The mechanical constructs are extremely dangerous. Their detection range is enormous, and their defense and attack power go without saying. Pulling just one will draw at least a dozen. With the level suppression, we can't handle that many head-on. I have another plan. Who here has movement speed above fourteen?"
"Mine is seventeen, and Xiao Song has hit fourteen," Bai Qingxue answered, not sure why Shi Feng was asking but responding nonetheless.
"You and Xiao Song each use a Speed Scroll. When I give the signal, I want you to lure all the outer mechanical constructs to one spot. Leave the rest to me." Shi Feng produced two Speed
After spending some time together, Bai Qingxue had come to trust that Shi Feng didn't talk nonsense — there was always a reason behind his words. So she used the Speed Scroll, and the two of them split up to begin pulling.