Subterranean humanoids.
The most common creatures in the Ember Zone.
They have similar body proportions to humans but are hairless and blind.
They eat mushrooms as their staple food and domesticate subterranean lizard dogs as their meat source and hunting partners.
They live in groups, are intelligent but far inferior to humans, and are naturally bloodthirsty, aggressive, and xenophobic.
“The entrance to this Ember Zone seems to be within the territory of an underground human settlement.”
“But that’s not a big problem, because these things are generally not very strong.”
Xie Xiaotian said as he took out two curved swords from the void.
The double swords in his hands rubbed against each other, spitting out sparks that grew fiercer until they ignited the blades.
Level A Skill: Flaming Blade.
Xie Xiaotian then accelerated and charged into the darkness, the burning double blades acting as a beacon. The blades cut through the air in a stunning arc, drawing out a large amount of dark blood.
The attributes of the subterranean humanoids are similar to those of humans, with a limit of 10 and a common value of around 6.
As a Level 4 Ashen Zone Walker, Xie Xiaotian’s attribute limit is as high as 40 points.
The excess attributes allow Xie Xiaotian to kill humanoids as easily as slaughtering chickens. He moved so fast he almost left afterimages, weaving through waves of humanoids and lizard dogs!
The sound of tearing flesh was unceasing, the smell of blood grew stronger, and the screams of the subterranean humanoids continued to echo.
In the midst of the slaughter, Li Peipei suddenly spoke, her voice like thunder.
“Retreat!”
Xie Xiaotian’s figure blurred, and he instantly appeared next to Li Peipei. Where he had originally stood, a strange glimmer of dark light appeared, carving a deep, knife-like scar into the ground.
In the cave ahead, the group of humanoids automatically parted.
A tall figure walked out from the front and approached the small team.
It was nearly two meters tall, with a well-proportioned body and extraordinarily thick hands. Its ten fingernails were sharp, like long knives.
When Li Peipei looked at this figure, the white light in her eyes grew even brighter.
After a quick assessment, she said, “A native professional in the Ashen Zone, Level 5. But the attributes are not yet full.”
Upon hearing the words “Level 5,” Xie Xiaotian and the others felt a cold chill run down their spines. However, Li Peipei remained calm. After all, she was also Level 5.
After a brief weighing of the situation, Li Peipei formulated a plan.
Grabbing the nearest cannon fodder, she threw it at the humanoid professional with a single arm swing.
At the same time, Rou Yun activated the ambush that had been preset in advance.
B-class Skill: Flesh Bomb!
...
Rou Yun is a Level 4 Ashen Zone Walker, and her mental attribute has reached the Level 4 limit of 40 points.
The power of the Flesh Bomb is linked to the mental attribute, and with a preparation time of up to an hour, its power had increased several times!
The poor cannon fodder, like a weapon, flew toward the humanoid professional under the influence of great force.
And because of the effect of the Taunting Aura, the humanoid professional’s attention was also drawn to the cannon fodder.
It bared its teeth and swung its arm, sending ten sword-like energy waves from its fingertips to slash at the cannon fodder.
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However, it did not notice that Zhang Wen, on the opposite side, had already pulled a shield out of thin air. The shield bloomed with a light wall, protecting everyone in the squad behind it.
Before the energy waves could reach the cannon fodder, a red light began to shine from its heart, reaching its peak within a breath.
The cannon fodder’s numb face was expressionless, but its eyes contained unspeakable despair and pain.
And then, with a loud bang, everything was blown to smithereens.
The Flesh Bomb activated.
The bones, blood, and flesh of the cannon fodder turned into a substance harder than steel, scattering in all directions with the force of the shockwave.
The intense explosion shook the nearby walls and floor, and the confined environment amplified the power of the blast.
The light wall in front of Zhang Wen trembled violently, and his feet sank deep into the ground, but it barely withstood the force of the Flesh Bomb.
However, the humanoids and the humanoid professional were not prepared and were blown away!
Screams of agony filled the air.
The humanoid professional covered its face in agony, weeping in pain as dark blood dripped from its fingers.
But its pain was quickly ended.
In the howling wind, Li Peipei, like a valkyrie, charged through the aftermath of the Flesh Bomb and decapitated the humanoid professional with a single sword stroke.
...
“Easy!”
Xie Xiaotian gave a frivolous snap of his fingers.
Zhang Wen gasped for breath, put away his shield, and shot Xie Xiaotian a glare.
An Yue and Rou Yun, on the other hand, looked at Li Peipei with undisguised admiration.
Sequence 43, Level 5 Ashen Zone Walker.
Killing someone of the same level was as easy as slaughtering a chicken.
Although teamwork played a role, it was only to conserve energy. Everyone was convinced that even in a head-on fight, the humanoid professional would not have been a match for Li Peipei.
After the leader of the underground humanoids died, the rest scattered and fled. Li Peipei didn’t bother to chase them, simply waving her hand to signal the team to continue forward.
The team crossed the messy explosion site, but Xia Lin suddenly stopped in his tracks.
He looked down at his feet.
There, half a face came into view.
It was the face of the cannon fodder...
The eyes had long since disappeared, leaving only dark, bloody holes silently telling a tragic story.
Half of the mouth on the face was wide open, as if asking the heavens, “Why?
Why me?
You clearly had the ability to defeat the enemy, so why did you have to sacrifice me?
I gave my life to help you, but why won’t you even look at me or say thank you?
Why has such a miserable fate befallen me?
Why, why, why!”
Xia Lin looked at the backs of Li Peipei’s squad, who were about to disappear into the darkness.
The corner of his mouth lifted slightly, as if he were smiling, and at the same time, Xia Lin’s heart provided the answer.
‘Because they don’t care.
Because they are not good people.
But fortunately, I am not a good person either.
I can even stop being a person.’
He bent over weakly and lay on the corpse of the humanoid professional.
Then he opened his mouth, revealing his alienated, serrated fangs.
...
Li Peipei’s team worked well together.
The difficulty of the C-level Ashen Zone was not high.
A Level 4 Ashen Zone Walker would typically struggle in a C-level zone, but with a Level 5 Sequence powerhouse like Li Peipei leading them, they were well-prepared.
The rest of the journey was uneventful.
Any minor problems were handled by Li Peipei and Xie Xiaotian, and any major threats were cleared by the Flesh Bombs, which Li Peipei then finished off.
They killed two Level 5s and nearly ten Level 4s along the way. By the time they were two hours into their journey and nearing their target location, they still had two spare cannon fodder left.
“Strange, I clearly remember recruiting six people. If I used three, there should still be three left, so why are there only two now?”
It was only at this point that An Yue vaguely realized one cannon fodder was missing.
On the one hand, this was due to the effects of Slow Puppet, Clay Sculpture, and I Am Pathetic, especially the S-class I Am Pathetic, which was particularly effective.
Now that An Yue had finally noticed Xia Lin’s absence, it also meant that the effect of I Am Pathetic was beginning to wane.
But no one knew what it meant.
Even less did they know that Xia Lin had been following behind the group, quietly cleaning up the mess they had left in their wake.
Li Peipei closed her eyes, her senses fully open as her ears twitched slightly. Soon, she took a deep breath.
“Two cannon fodder is enough.”
“The key is that our goal is right in front of us.”
“And there are two big guys.”
She drew her heavy sword, its imposing aura shifting as it became cold, sharp, and as heavy as a mountain.
“Prepare for the decisive battle.”