Cooperation Begins
Previously, at the first and second time points, Su Luo and Song Shige had already advanced the wave to the fourteenth wave.
Now that the fourth time point has arrived, we will face the seventeenth wave of attacks.
This attack force consists of six level 9 monsters and forty level 8 monsters.
The illusory image of [Blood City] behind Song Shige solidified into a tangible form, carrying an overwhelming killing intent and Martial Will to crush everything, and crashed down on the three level 9 monsters on his side.
That terrifying being, capable of annihilating an ordinary professional team, was momentarily slowed down under the Suppression of [Blood City]. A flash of sword light appeared, not a particularly dazzling technique, but simply an outpouring of power condensed to the extreme, and the three monsters were slashed to pieces.
"What is this? It's completely illogical!"
Song Shige flicked away non-existent bloodstains from his Zhanmadao, frowned slightly, and spoke in Su Luo's direction.
What's unreasonable?
Su Luo didn't even enter the Laboratory; she simply stood with her hands behind her back beside the [Tinder]. The deep Black Flames seemed to have a life of their own, automatically seeking out enemies and silently devouring and incinerating the monsters on the other side.
Upon hearing this, he shifted his gaze from the Burn remains of the monster to Song Shige.
"These are the level 9 monsters... Oh, by the way, you didn't know, you went out of the region for two days and then came right back. You must be the most introverted of all the top professionals in the world!"
"What are you talking about? A homebody? I've never been back to the Sanctuary, the system should give me Title for that." Su Luo objected.
While picking up the fragments, Song Shige said, "You only fought one round outside the area and didn't see many monsters at all. I've been running around outside for so long and have seen level 9 and level 10 monsters. That's why I think these monsters are unreasonable; they're so different from the monsters I've seen outside the area."
"Oh, you're a bit slow, aren't you? You're definitely not as smart as those monsters outside the area." Su Luo nodded.
Guizishi stood beside the altar, his eyes wide open.
"How did you figure that out? Weren't the previous waves of monsters instantly killed as soon as they appeared?"
"Because of... hatred? The waves of monsters here have an inexplicable hatred for [Tinder], and the monsters in the Land of Darkness area also have an inexplicable hatred for Survivors. They are all singular and persistent. The monsters outside the area, on the other hand, do not have any hatred," Su Luo said.
"That makes sense, but that's not the reason. It's about the monster's strength—the difference between Elite and regular monsters."
"Oh?"
Su Luo hadn't noticed at all.
"I've been doing quests outside the area for several days. All the level 9 and 10 monsters I've encountered are [Elite], or even [Boss], there aren't any normal monsters. Most level 8 monsters also have the [Elite] suffix, normal monsters are rare."
What's the difference between Elite monsters and regular monsters?
It may seem like just a difference in suffix, but in reality, it's a complete and utter crushing defeat—higher Attributes, more numerous and more unpredictable and powerful skills, and vastly different combat strategies. Invincible at the same level, it can often easily defeat ordinary monsters one level higher.
However, outside the designated area, monsters level 8 and above are all considered [Elite]...
You may be a prodigy, but only prodigies can reach high levels!
"Oh, no wonder." Su Luo glanced at the remains of a level 9 ordinary monster.
"I feel these are purely creations, very weak."
The seventeenth wave dropped approximately 140,000 Tinder Shards and two cards.
Currently, there are 390,000 Tinder Shards and 16 cards.
Su Luo seemed to remember something, and lowered her head in thought as she approached the altar and entered the Tinder space. Song Shige quickly followed her into the hall.
Not everyone had arrived in the hall yet. Su Luo browsed the forum for a moment, then turned to Song Shige:
Have you noticed that the Attribute panels of the monsters in this area are all quite strange?
"Their Attributes are mostly integers, while Attribute Attributes of the monsters we encounter outside the region are almost always rounded to one decimal place."
"You mean the monsters in the area are all man-made, and that they were lazy in creating them, too lazy to fill in the values?" Song Shige said expressionlessly, revealing Su Luo's next point.
That's a bit scary.
"Living life and power are merely numbers in his hands..."
Song Shige for a moment, then felt a strange chill creep down his spine.
Su Luo remained calm. "If you can't figure it out, try thinking about Talents, professions, systems, skill upgrade mechanisms, Free Attribute Points..."
"Stop, stop, stop, I understand... Sigh, the more you know, the less you know." Song Shige leaned back in his chair, somewhat melancholy.
"Perhaps the beings that create these things are terrifying, but the system itself is terrifying. There's no need to think about these things right now." Su Luo closed her eyes.
Guizishi stood to the side, seemingly wanting to say something but then stopping himself.
These two are being too dramatic. As long as they can become stronger and survive, what's the point of thinking about all this now?
But soon, Guizishi came to a realization.
No wonder he's a big shot; his insight into things is truly profound.
Soon, representatives from all parties involved in the cooperation arrived one after another.
"Let's begin," Su Luo said simply, taking out a card.
[Wave Advancement Card) ]
This is a Fine- quality card that only cost forty Tinder Shards.
One of the advantages of maintaining a low quality card is that at least the card won't consume too many Tinder Shards.
The others also took out their cards one after another, and Jiang Mengrui took out six!: [Monster Strength Amplification Card [All]], [Monster Quantity Amplification Card) ], [Tinder Fragments Amplification Card) ], [Path Monster Repetition Card) ]...
With this first set of cards, this combination will more than double the strength of the monsters and triple their numbers... The final reward of the Tinder Shards is expected to increase by a terrifying twenty-one times from the original base value!
At the same time, Su Luo drew another random amplification card—[Wave Mirror Card) ].
Each region received a random buff-type card.
What's this?
This is protection money; Jiang Mengrui has almost paid out half of the previous (full) cards.
Therefore, she proposed that each of the other regions should produce one random gain card.
She was confident that the chance would randomly fall on her.
The eight zones used cards almost simultaneously, then withdrew to begin defending against the waves.
This next wave is going to be crazy!
[Wave 18]
Or rather, it's a completely distorted "super eighteenth wave" after multiple amplifications.
Before the monster even appeared, the intertwined, terrifyingly Berserk energy fluctuations swept over, as if to Suppression the light of the [Tinder].
Su Luo's divine sense spread out like a tide, instantly grasping the overall situation.
More than thirty ferocious level 9 monsters, along with a dense swarm of over a hundred level 8 monsters, surged in from four directions simultaneously, like a flood bursting its banks.
"If it were twice as strong, it might not be able to hold up." Su Luo objectively assessed, then watched as the monster died under the Black Flames, turning into fuel for the sea of fire, making the flames Burn even more Berserk.
Faced with absolute power levels and area-of-effect damage, the sheer quantity of resources that fail to produce a qualitative change appears utterly pale and powerless.