"So this is the heaven of experience …"
I suddenly came to a realization and pointed my sword at the Purgatory Undead Mage's corpse. "Let's do this. When the undead mage's HP drops to 35%, he'll summon skeletons. Sister Mingyue and Moon Dew will heal me. Once the undead mage summons 12 skeletons, we'll use our ranged skills to kill him. Also, once he starts summoning skeletons, the undead mage's AI will increase to the level of a player and he'll keep dodging and retreating. So, Yiyi, Eve, pay attention to your positioning and block his path. Don't run too far and attract the attention of a second or third undead mage.
Lin Yixin and He Yi nodded in unison. "Okay, we understand. Just don't get killed by 12 skeletons …"
"Don't worry, I have Sister Mingyue with me!"
Murong Mingyue: "..."
… …
The third floor of Bloodthirsty Castle was divided into several large maps, and the passages were connected in all directions. That was why we chose the rightmost path. Judging by the time, the Dark Mercenaries and Blood Alliance players should be arriving soon, so it was best to avoid them as much as possible. After all, we were here to complete the quest Fetroy had given us, not to hunt down the Dark Mercenaries in the Outer Lands. Hunting down enemies was the most boring thing in the world, so it was better to grind levels and take revenge at the same time. But now that I had the Unfettered Ring, if Now and Hereafter and Amber Eyes really dared to come, I'd give them a taste of the Unfettered Lock.
Pu pu pu...
My sword pierced through the undead mage's cloth armor and left behind three fiery sword auras. When his HP dropped to around 40%, the bastard immediately retreated and a hexagram formation appeared on the ground. I wasn't in a hurry to chase after him, so I used my sword to attract the attention of the skeleton warriors. The two priests behind me locked onto me and healed me. By the time the 12 skeletons were summoned, Lin Yixin and He Yi had already surrounded the undead mage from the back. I raised my hand and threw an Ancient Seal at him!
"Bang!"
“*****！”
The power of a Divine General Skill was determined by the user's stratagem and their own attack power. Right now, I had 2160 Tactics, so the Ancient Seal's attack power was greatly increased. It was almost on par with Soaring Dragon Suppression's attack power, and it only cost 1 Divine Energy Point. In a group battle, there was no skill more powerful than this. After all, no matter how strong Xuanyuan Slash was, it only cost 20 Divine Energy Points, which was equivalent to 20 Ancient Seals. In total, Xuanyuan Slash's attack power was much higher. Xuanyuan Slash was just an ultimate skill that broke invincibility and killed all enemies. It couldn't be used in a true battle of attrition.
A large amount of experience appeared. The experience gained from killing 13 Level 305 Demonic Spirits was truly bountiful!
Lian Xin stood there and said happily, "Well, let's not rush to do the quest. Why don't we kill all the monsters here?
It'll take at most two hours to level up once. If we all clear this place, we might even be able to level up four or five times … "
I nodded. "Mn. As long as Blood Alliance and Dark Mercenaries don't show up, we'll kill all the mobs in the inner area. Beiming, remember to keep Fire Insight active the whole time. Don't save your MP, and don't let Blood Alliance ambush us."
"Got it, big bro. You be careful too!"
"Mn!"
I stood there with 37% HP and waited for Murong Mingyue and Moon Dew to heal me back to full. The 12 Level 305 skeletal warriors were simply too powerful. Not only did they shatter my Battle Energy Astral Wind, they also deleted more than 500 HP from my HP bar. If Murong Mingyue and Moon Dew hadn't healed me along the way, I would've died a long time ago.
Three hours later, Lian Xin, Beiming Xue, and the others had all leveled up. I was close to Level 234 and 97% EXP bar, and it wouldn't be long before I hit Level 235. My next target was Level 250, a new level promotion that the game company hadn't announced yet. The first player to reach Level 250 would be the first to trigger the new update.
I checked my bag and noted that there were almost 300 pieces of Level 210 to 230 high-grade Earth, Spirit, Purple Gold, and Heaven – grade equipment. Most of them had dropped from undead mages, poda-wielding undead, and Bloodthirsty Corpse Eaters. If possible, I would've grinded here for the rest of my life. This bag of equipment sold like hotcakes in Sky City at 80% market value, and I could earn at least 50 RMB per bag. After deducting the 15 RMB needed to repair the equipment, I would've made 35 RMB per day, and that was just a day's worth of income. Top players had way too many ways to earn money, and as long as they were strong enough, they could earn countless gold and women...
It was at this moment a blood-red dot suddenly appeared in my Dark Pupils. Feeling a little alarmed, I said, "Girls, stop fighting for a moment. There are people coming our way, and they're at most 300 yards away from us. There are at least 200 of them …"
"Are they Dark Mercenaries?" Lin Yixin asked with a wink.
"I don't know …"
I pointed at an abandoned smithy in front of us. It was completely dark without any light to illuminate the area.
"Let's enter that smithy and wait for an opportunity."
I licked my lips and said with a serious expression, "As long as they aren't friendly players, we'll just kill them. The smithy is dark, we're in the dark and they're in the light. Our vision won't be affected, but the enemy's archers will be greatly affected."
"Mn!"
The group of people entered the smithy in a single file. Even He Yi had canceled her mount. The Snow Crystal Dragon's body was too big for the smithy to contain.
The seven of us squeezed into the smithy and looked outside through the broken window.
A few minutes later, a group of players with blood-red IDs appeared in front of us. Their leaders were none other than Amber Eyes and Now and Forever. Those two bastards really did come looking for us.
Amber Eyes looked around and clenched his fists. "Fuck, all the mobs here have been killed, and there are only corpses left. Lu Chen, Lin Yixin, and the others must've passed through here. Let's chase after them and kill them from the back!"
Now and Forever nodded in agreement.
However, a golden-haired young American player said, "Guild leader, we've only killed mobs on the first floor before running all the way here. Are we here to see the scenery or to grind?
Everyone is dissatisfied, and there's no path ahead. We have to kill those undead mages before we can pass. Why don't we just kill the mobs? There's no need to take a detour … "
Amber Eye gritted his teeth, but he couldn't afford to offend the Northern Alliance's boss. In the end, he had no choice but to nod and say, "Alright. All mounted players, move to the front. Priests, heal, bards, heal. Split into parties of 20 and lure one Purgatory Undead Mage each. Archers, keep your eyes peeled. Lu Chen can go invisible, so be careful. Everyone, hurry!"
"Got it!"
… …
The Dark Mercenaries players spread out one after another. I couldn't help but laugh when I saw this. I said in the party channel, "Split into parties of 20 and kill the Purgatory Undead Mages? What a joke! Get ready to watch a good show! Amber Eyes didn't even know how powerful the undead mages here are! He's courting death!"
"They don't have your Dark Pupils, so they can't detect a necromancer's skills. It's only natural that they would overlook it. Plus, the elite players of Dark Mercenaries are the best of the best in the Northern Alliance. Amber Eyes is just trusting them …" Lin Yixin smiled, dimples appearing on her face.
I smiled. "Let's watch a good show …"
"Mn …"
… …
The players of the Dark Mercenaries were split into nine teams, each aggroing a Necromancer, while the long-range Archers used Shock Arrows to aggro the monsters. They quickly retreated. The rhythm of their battle tactics was clear, and it was enough to show the strength of this group of people. A few mounted players went forward, waving their weapons as they attacked, while the Priests cast group healing spells. Even though the mounted players were in great pain from the Flame Impact, it was only pain and not death. The Priests could still heal them.
Amber Eyes raised his sword and laughed. "Yes, that's it. We'll clear this path in ten minutes at most."
Unfortunately, before the laughter died down, the first Necromancer, whose HP had dropped to 35%, was already retreating. His bare feet left a hexagram magic circle on the ground. One by one, the Skeleton Warriors wielding Broken Blades stood up, waving their sharp blades and slashing at the crowd!
"Fuck, what is this?!!"
The seven mounted players fell into chaos. No one had expected the mobs to do something like this, and they couldn't hold on any longer. Three of them even died to the skeleton warriors.
"Undead mages can summon skeletons of the same level! Watch out!" Now and Forever shouted angrily.
Unfortunately, it was already too late. There was chaos everywhere. The Dark Mercenaries were ambushed by the Necromancers and suffered heavy losses. In an instant, more than 50 people knelt in the dimly lit tunnel. All of this was seen by the players hiding in the smithy.
"Retreat! We need to regroup!"
Amber Eyes turned his horse around and disappeared from our sight with a group of Dark Mercenary players who only had a sliver of health left, leaving behind a few dozen corpses.
… …
"That was fun …" Lian Xin said with a smile.
Lin Yixin said, "I recorded it. I'm going to post it on the forums after we're done with this map. I want everyone to see just how powerful Amber Eyes's elite players are …"
I pursed my lips. "That's ridiculous …"
He Yi stared into the distance and said, "Amber Eyes will definitely come back in less than ten minutes, and he'll bring more Blood Alliance players and more guild members with him. When the undead mage only has 35% HP left, Blood Alliance's assassins will stun him until he dies. The mobs here won't be able to stop them then …"
I nodded. "That's why we need to act the next time they come."
I stared at the Carefree Chant between my fingers and smiled from the bottom of my heart. "My Carefree Shackles are about to come in handy …"
Moon Dew looked at me and shuddered. "Thank goodness I'm not an enemy of vice leader big bro, or it would be terrifying to have an enemy like him …"