Chapter 11: Land of Desolation Coast

Looking at the mission description, the hunter hesitated for a long time before slowly saying, "I know about the altar and fire basin on that cliff. The so-called three-headed sea beast should be the Three-Headed Hydra Picadrac, the hidden boss of the instance. We can help you deal with that, but we haven’t gone down the cliff before, so you’ll have to go alone."

Leon paused for a moment before saying, "Can we defeat this boss last?"

"That’s not a problem, but it’ll take half a day. After all, this hidden boss is quite troublesome. To summon it, you need a lot of blood and corpses. You might lose something in the process."

Hearing the hunter say this, Leon nodded, but he still felt uneasy. The task "Cain’s Memory" didn’t mention any rewards, but it was definitely a high-level Lv2 (Blue) mission. Without the hunter's help, Leon wasn’t sure if he could succeed.

However, Leon didn’t have much time to consider this issue. He followed the hunter's team through the blue light gate and entered the instance, Land of Desolation Coast.

Since the large map had been available for three months, most of the plot of this instance had already been uncovered. Land of Desolation Coast was a coastline in the northeastern corner of the Land of Desolation, far from the center, so it attracted less attention.

Because of this, an organization calling themselves the Black Hand Church occupied the area. This organization was a bio-scientific group that extracted various elements from bones and enhanced certain creatures, causing them to mutate.

After discovering that the center of the Land of Desolation was the graveyard of the Behemoth, they began targeting this area. They started digging from the Land of Desolation Coast and modified the Behemoth bones they unearthed.

The scene Cain witnessed was of them offering the Three-Headed Hydra Picadrac in a ritual, attempting to mutate its body.

Most of the bosses in this instance were created through similar methods.

On the outermost edge were jackals infused with lizard elements, including a massive jackal boss, specially modified by the Black Hand Church. It was an enhanced creature designed to guard the outer perimeter of the Land of Desolation Coast.

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Further inside was a murloc village controlled by the Black Hand organization. The murloc chieftain, the second boss, had also been modified by the Black Hand Church. However, his enhancement was tailored for water combat. To enter the tunnel dug by the Black Hand Church, one had to pass through the murloc village, so fighting them was unavoidable.

The third boss was the Black Hand Church’s gatekeeper, a modified cyclops. This cyclops had been transformed into a Hundred-Eyed Giant, with eyes covering its entire body. No matter when you entered, there was always an eye watching the gate.

The final big boss was the archbishop of the Black Hand Church in this area, a mad scientist. Although he appeared weak and lacking combat power, he had three bodies to choose from: a modified Behemoth, a deep-sea octopus, and a two-headed dog stitched together from multiple creatures.

During the boss fight, the archbishop would choose one body to possess, while the other two provided buffs for that body.

Of course, this was just a Lv1 instance, so even the boss's power was only at Lv1. He could only possess one body once, so it wouldn’t get too overwhelming.

As they explained everything to Leon, the group had already reached the coastline of the Land of Desolation Coast. The hunter leading the way slowed his pace and released his pet, a black panther.

At the same time, the druid beside Leon began to shapeshift, but he didn’t turn into a bear. Instead, he transformed into a lion.

After communicating with the panther, the druid disappeared into the mountain path, along with the thief.

The hunter and shaman stood casually beside Leon, but Leon could tell they were on high alert for something.

Soon, the thief reappeared, signaling to the hunter. The hunter nodded and quickly led Leon and the shaman forward.

After passing through a few patches of grass, Leon found himself in a small open area. The space wasn’t large, but it was well-positioned, surrounded by mountains on three sides, with only one path in and out.

The druid, who had left earlier, had now transformed into a giant bear and was guarding the entrance.

The hunter who had led them explained, "This is where we’ll fight on the first day. The first boss, the Giant Lizard Jackal King Picadea, is quite troublesome. It commands a large pack of strange jackals, and they always move in groups. If we charge in directly, we probably won’t survive, and neither will you.

Only by setting up a battlefield here in advance can we have a chance of winning. I’ll lay traps at the entrance, and you stay by the shaman’s side and watch. The thief will lure the enemies, starting with fewer."

Without a word, the thief disappeared down the path. The hunter and shaman began setting traps and totems at the entrance.

Soon, the thief lured a strange jackal. This jackal was pale blue all over, as if covered in fine scales, and its eyes were not wolf-like but had vertical pupils like a reptile’s.

Upon seeing the druid, who had transformed into a giant bear, the jackal grew more excited and charged straight at him.

The druid guarding the entrance sneered and, just as the jackal charged up, raised his foreleg and knocked it out.

The jackal was pushed back two steps, and at that moment, the hunter's panther pounced, clawing at the jackal several times.

Before the jackal could react or counterattack, the hunter’s arrow struck, followed by the thief appearing behind the jackal, stabbing it in the lower body with a dagger.

The druid didn’t waste the opportunity either. He raised his paw high and struck down on the jackal, sending it to the ground.

Before the jackal could respond, a flurry of attacks followed. Leon watched as the shaman, with a helpless expression, dragged the corpse to the side while the thief went to lure more enemies.

As the shaman skinned the corpse, cut the meat, and removed the bones, he said, "Don’t worry. As long as no more than three are lured at once, the fight won’t be a problem. You have an affinity for dark attributes, right? Are you planning to become a necromancer or a death knight? Have you learned how to handle bones? Do you want these?"

With the shaman’s casual conversation, Leon’s attention shifted. He stepped forward to help the shaman process the corpse and smiled, "When you usually farm instances, does anyone want these corpses?"