After leaving the Silent Forest, Shi Feng's team hurried along without pause toward Dark Moon Valley.
At this stage, most players had already reached level 2. Those who weren't running the dungeon in Silent Forest were hunting two-leveled leopard cubs in the Brook Hills. Only a small handful of top-tier players ventured into the level-four Dark Moon Valley to grind. But as everyone's levels continued to climb, it wouldn't be long before Dark Moon Valley was completely taken over.
After spending more than half an hour returning to Dark Moon Valley, things turned out exactly as Shi Feng had predicted.
A number of elite teams uninterested in dungeons were grinding wandering level-four Kobolds along the valley's outer rim. These elite teams were quite skilled — they'd pull two or three at a time, with the Shield Warrior holding the line firmly at the front, never letting the Kobolds reach the magic-using healer. The healer stayed in the back, continuously topping off health, barely keeping the Shield Warrior alive while everyone else poured on damage. After one pull, the Shield Warrior was left with a sliver of health, and the healer had burned through over a third of their mana, forcing them to sit down and eat and drink to recover.
Although this farming method consumed a lot of resources, the returns were decent. Three Kobolds dropped two copper coins and some stone materials.
In the Divine Realm, only monsters level three and above would drop Skill Books and Bronze Equipment. Though the odds were one in ten thousand, players still flocked to them like moths to a flame. Bronze Equipment was extremely valuable as it was, not to mention Skill Books. With that kind of temptation, no matter the danger, top players kept showing up.
After a quick glance, Shi Feng turned and headed deeper into Dark Moon Valley.
The rest of the team tensed at the sight of the unfamiliar valley. Seeing level-four monsters blanketing every hillside, their breathing grew shallow. But Hei Zi remained completely calm — he'd already killed hundreds of these Kobolds before, so unlike his teammates who were experiencing this for the first time, there was no anxiety at all. He followed Shi Feng into the valley's depths without hesitation.
As for the elite teams farming Kobolds, they watched Shi Feng's group walk straight into the heart of the valley and couldn't hide their surprise. They hadn't expected the newcomers to be so reckless.
Dark Moon Valley had very few players at this point and hadn't been fully explored yet. The valley was swarming with Kobolds, and the deeper you went, the more there were. You could find clusters of ten or more Kobolds gathered together — farming there was far too dangerous. At minimum, you'd be facing four or five Kobolds at once, and dying just once would mean a devastating loss.
What these people didn't know was that Shi Feng was even more insane than they imagined.
Shi Feng wasn't just going deeper into the valley — he was heading for the core of Dark Moon Valley, where there was an excellent farming spot. Not only were the numbers enormous and the respawn times fast, but most importantly, the ore drop rate was remarkably high.
When it came to knowledge of Dark Moon Valley, Shi Feng was practically its patron deity. Which areas had what monsters, how many there were, how quickly they respawned — in his previous life, he had spent considerable time researching all of this, all to ensure his team's farming efficiency and to raise his standing within the Shadow Guild.
Life was truly full of irony. What Shi Feng had done in his previous life for the Shadow Guild was now benefiting his present self, allowing his newly formed team to level up quickly while also guaranteeing a steady supply of ore.
Following the rocky trail forward, four or five level-four Kobolds would pop up every now and then. But with the gear Shi Feng's team had, it was child's play.
Guardian Knight Ke Le could now tank four Kobolds with ease, whether it came to health or defense. Healer Shuimian Shulan barely broke a sweat keeping Ke Le's health above eighty percent. If a stray monster slipped through, Jimo Ruxue would pull it back, and the rest of the team just poured on damage. A casual swing from Shi Feng's sword dealt over a hundred damage, and Hei Zi's Shadow Arrow hit for eighty-eight. It was almost too easy.
In no time at all, all five Kobolds were taken care of — outperforming the elite teams outside by a massive margin.
Shi Feng casually picked up the dropped stone materials and ore, then pressed deeper into Dark Moon Valley.
They traveled for over an hour before finally arriving at a massive mountain that rose over a hundred meters tall. The area around the mountain was swarming with Wandering Goblins — no more Kobolds. These Wandering Goblins held small shovels, ceaselessly digging away at the mountain's rock face. A number of Goblin Overseers patrolled the mountain's perimeter, whips in hand.
"Brother Feng, there are way too many of these things. Are we really going to grind here?"
Hei Zi looked around, his heart trembling. He could see that the vast mountain slope had at least several hundred Wandering Goblins, along with a few level-five Goblin Overseers. Compared to the clusters of a dozen or so Kobolds outside, this place was practically a warzone.
Ke Le swallowed hard and said worriedly, "Captain, I don't mean to brag, but six or seven is about my limit. With this many, I really can't hold them."
It wasn't just Hei Zi and Ke Le who were anxious — the others felt the same. The entire mountain was crawling with Wandering Goblins, and they were packed close together. One wrong pull and they could end up facing hundreds of level-four monsters. That was far more terrifying than a Leader like Felot.
"I know you can't hold them, but who said I was asking you to tank hundreds?" Shi Feng rolled his eyes at the group. He knew his team's capabilities inside and out — ten monsters at a time was about their limit. Taking on hundreds at once? That was absurd.
Hundreds of level-four monsters rushing in at once would wipe out even a level-ten player.
But as the saying goes: if you can't beat them, can't you at least run?