"President, the road on the right is not feasible; there is a group of very powerful monsters... Yes, the left path is passable; we tested it and all attribute data are normal. If you're careful, there won't be any problems."
Over an hour later, the two groups reconvened, and the two forked paths merged back into one. The team led by Shihen had no issues taking the left path, with no casualties. However, the team on the right encountered unexpected trouble during testing. They faced a variant monster with abnormal attributes, resulting in the entire testing team being wiped out, losing five people. Now, the scouting team was down to only 38 members.
"The road ahead is a rare stretch without any monsters. We should speed up and reach the front as soon as possible; the main force is catching up quickly." After reporting the situation of both paths to the president, Shihen instructed everyone.
Everyone nodded and moved forward at high speed, entering stealth mode. Xiao Hua stayed in the middle of the crowd, neither at the front nor the rear, maintaining a moderate distance from other players. However, the group wasn’t spread out too far; thirty or so people formed a line less than ten meters long.
"There really aren't any monsters on this stretch of the road. It’s quite rare!" Surrounded by towering oak trees, the group advanced over a hundred meters without encountering any monsters, prompting some players to comment on the unusual tranquility.
"There are no monsters for about four hundred meters ahead. It’s just a ten-minute journey, which could be considered a brief rest. But after that, the road will not be so easy. The monsters come in waves, making every hundred meters extremely difficult to traverse!" Shihen sighed and continued.
"How far is it to the mission site after this stretch?" Xiao Hua, who had been listening quietly, suddenly asked.
"Not too far, but if we want to clear the way for the main force to pass through the monsters ahead smoothly, it will take a considerable amount of time. Of course, if we can gather more data on the monsters ahead, we could save a lot of time," Shihen replied after a slight hesitation.
"Then let's move faster!" someone responded immediately, genuinely hoping that Oak Forest Guild would complete the mission. Only if the guild succeeded would they receive more rewards; otherwise, they would only get death compensation upon dying.
Although everyone was an agile class, their movement speeds varied. Shihen coordinated their pace, so even though they wanted to go faster, they couldn’t. However, running on a monster-free road made their progress seem swift as the oak trees rushed past them.
In the blink of an eye, the group advanced another hundred meters. When they crossed a line on the ground, faint translucent figures appeared. These figures were similar to what players saw in the 'Guild Visible' mode, and Xiao Hua, using this mode for the first time, didn’t notice anything unusual.
"Prepare area spells, mages. With 38 people, none can escape, and we must eliminate them all instantly, preventing any messages from being sent! Archers, prepare to attack any survivors immediately!"
A man in black hiding in the shadows looked at the emerging figures and issued harsh orders. His words indicated that there were also archers hidden in the Oak Forest.
"Attack!"
At his command, a storm of spells descended: whirlwinds, meteors, hailstones, rain of fire, and thunderbolts. Sixty to seventy area spells immediately covered a section of the road only ten meters long!
The Oak Forest Guild members were stealthily running through the monster-free forest when this sudden change occurred, causing their faces to turn pale.
Xiao Hua was no exception. Previously, he had been amazed watching the Ice Seal Guild and the Legend of Hungry Wolves engage in a PvP battle from afar. Now, looking up at the colorful spells blotting out the sky, he felt an overwhelming sense of terror.
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"Anti-magic Shell!"
Despite the shock, Xiao Hua’s mind remained unusually clear. He quickly activated the skill on his adventurer armor!
Just as a faint red shield enveloped him, ten area spells engulfed him.
"President, there’s…" Shihen, realizing that an assassin’s pitifully low magic defense meant certain death, tried to send a warning message before dying. However, before he could utter two words, six or seven spells swallowed him, turning him into a white light and sending him into soul form!
Under the barrage of sixty spells, all thirty-seven other players died almost simultaneously, leaving only Xiao Hua alive.
"Damn! This guy’s equipment has something wrong with it! The magic attacks were reflected!" Among the group of mages casting spells, several exclaimed in surprise. Although Anti-magic Shell only reflected 20% of the magic damage, it was terrifying for the frail mages unprepared for such an event!
With only Xiao Hua surviving among the dead, although the spells continued to rain down, they couldn’t stop his conspicuous figure glowing with a pale red light!
"Archers, attack!" Seeing Xiao Hua’s unexpected survival, the man in black ordered sternly. He didn’t believe that anyone could be immune to physical attacks!
Following the order, ten arrows whistled through the air alongside the spells, speeding towards Xiao Hua!
As the spell attacks just ended, Xiao Hua looked at the ten arrows and his face changed again! These arrows weren’t ordinary shots; each was fired with the strongest skills by the archers. Despite his decent defense and HP, Xiao Hua could not withstand such a concentrated attack!
Without hesitation, he retreated, relying on his quick reflexes and unpredictable movements to evade the ambush. As he retreated, he prepared an instant-recovery potion that could restore 2000 HP!
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
Xiao Hua twisted his body while retreating, and several arrows flew past him, embedding themselves in the ground.
-440! -390! -580! -1200!
Although he dodged most of the arrows, this was still a game, and with ten people targeting him, he was hit four times, including a critical strike!
With over 3100 HP under the level 10 village guild state bonus, Xiao Hua still had only half his HP left after these four hits!
He gulped down the instant-recovery potion and followed it with a large life recovery potion. In this split second, Xiao Hua successfully turned around and retreated seven meters!
But as he turned, his expression darkened again! Just in this instant, ten black-clothed warriors appeared behind him! One of them used a skill similar to a charge, instantly reaching the middle of the road, staring coldly at him and blocking his retreat!
"Damn! Don’t think I’m easy to bully! Limit Break!"
Caught off guard by a group ambush, Xiao Hua decided not to hold back his strength anymore. With enemies ahead and behind, these people clearly intended to leave no survivors. Xiao Hua activated his ultimate skill, Limit Break, when he was still eight or nine meters away from the warriors!
Xiao Hua’s already impressive speed increased further with the 100% speed boost from Limit Break, transforming him into a blur of gray light that streaked toward the nearest black-clothed warrior like lightning!
"So fast!" The black-clothed man’s pupils contracted; this speed exceeded anything he had ever seen. Was he hallucinating? How could anyone with 700 agility be this fast?
Tense, the man focused intently on the rapidly approaching blur, planning to use an anger attack to stop Xiao Hua. Suddenly, he sensed a spinning white light flying at him!
It was an attack!
Surprised by Xiao Hua’s ranged attack, the man tried to dodge but was too late!
Whirling Throw!
A built-in skill of Queen’s Blade!
-290! -287! -322! -1105! -1233!
The rapidly spinning Queen’s Blade struck the black-clothed man, dealing five hits with two critical strikes. The man’s nearly 6000 HP was halved, which might have instantly killed a weaker opponent!
Appraisal!
Appraisal successful!
While everyone stared in shock at the astonishing turn of events, Xiao Hua approached the man, retrieved the returned Queen’s Blade, and used Appraisal on him!
"Roar!" Recovering from his shock, the man roared and released an anger slash at Xiao Hua!
The bright white anger slash flew towards Xiao Hua. Narrowing his eyes, he identified the red critical spot on the man and sidestepped the attack as if using an instant teleportation, continuing to rush forward without slowing down. The man was now within reach!
"Shocking Strike!" The man, regaining his composure, slammed his sword into the ground, causing the nearby earth to tremble slightly. This was a status control skill that slowed movement and attack speed by 40% for five seconds!
Realizing he couldn’t avoid the skill, the man decided to use Shocking Strike to immobilize Xiao Hua!
Seeing the skill, Xiao Hua’s expression changed. Normally, he could dodge the attack and escape, but to prevent the man from using any control skills from behind, he chose to confront him head-on using Limit Break. This decision proved to be correct.