"Snort snort~~~"
Warning lights indicating aggro lit up above the three elite Mutated Camels' heads. Then they sprang forward on all fours, shaking their heads and tails as they charged straight at me.
I immediately lowered my center of gravity and assumed a standard firing stance. The Green Roarer in my hands fired repeated bursts with "bang bang bang," and damage numbers rose one after another above the Mutated Camels' heads—
"59!"
"62!"
"69!"
"61!"
As the Submachine Gun fired in bursts, the health bars of the Mutated Camels steadily dropped. I instinctively spread out the damage, reducing each camel's health to around one-quarter. Just as I finished, the camels were already right before my eyes and launched their attacks!
Their forelegs rose, then stomped down in fury!
Quick-eyed and quick-handed, I swiftly drew the Vanguard Bee Sting and slashed down onto the left camel's head, dealing 248 damage. At the same time, I decisively activated a skill—Step Slash!
"Buzz~~"
Strands of sword intent swirled around me as my body instantly shifted to the camel's right side. At the same time, a faint layer of silver energy covered my entire body—the automatic protective effect formed after activating Step Slash.
"Bang bang bang—"
The three Mutated Camels' stomping attacks erupted simultaneously. The energy shield created by Step Slash immediately began to thin, but it ultimately blocked all of their damage!
"Awesome!"
I was overjoyed. The defensive layer generated by Level 10 Step Slash was definitely much sturdier than one from a lower-level skill. It could actually take no damage at all—this made things much easier!
Sword light flared and fell. My second strike killed the low-health camel on the left. At the same time, I twisted my body, sending my blade straight at the second camel. A stream of light raced across the blade, swiftly forming an aura resembling a dragon before crashing viciously into the second camel's throat!
This attack was the universal skill of the Starry Sky Super Weapon—Dragon Blade!
"538!"
A huge damage number shot upward, filling me with delight!
As expected of Level 10 Dragon Blade. Its damage had fully reached the stated maximum of 200%. Its monster-killing efficiency was no joke!
"Snort~~"
The third Mutated Camel watched its two companions die one after another, fury blazing from its eyes as it lowered its head and rammed toward me.
I hurriedly retreated. Half a second later, my body turned into an afterimage again as I activated Step Slash and appeared behind it. Relying on the protection of the newly refreshed Step Slash energy shield, I cut it down with two consecutive strikes!
In the blink of an eye, all three Mutated Camels had become corpses. I had killed them without taking any damage!
The reason I let low-health monsters get close was simply to save some bullets. It also let me train my close-combat skills. As a melee-type player, adaptability in close-range combat was crucial. These were not things that could be changed by simple skill upgrades; I needed to slowly accumulate experience and temper myself.
With that, I continued rapidly killing monsters and accumulating Experience Points. As for the Vanguard Bee Sting's lost durability, that was not a problem. In Star Abyss, melee-type players had a huge advantage: their weapons wore down very slowly. Every weapon could be described with those three legendary words—extremely wear-resistant!
I continued onward, holding the Submachine Gun as I stepped deeper into the Instance map. There were still large numbers of camels ahead. According to the Instance rules, killing every monster inside would maximize the Instance's rewards, so I could not let any of them go.
"Rustle rustle..."
Stepping over the sand and gravel, I drew three to four Mutated Camels each time. That way, I could keep their numbers suppressed with my firepower and melee damage. Any more than that would be quite troublesome.
Thus, I continuously turned groups of Mutated Camels into Experience Points. Before I knew it, who knew how much time had passed? Batch after batch of camels fell, and while I consumed huge quantities of bullets, I also accumulated massive amounts of Experience Points.
Further ahead, enemies in combat uniforms appeared amid the ruins, guns cradled in their arms. As I approached, their attributes floated into view—
[Ravager Rebel] (Elite) Level: 15 Attack: 20-55 Defense: 15 Health: 1800 Skills: [Basic Shooting Lv.3] [Basic Combat Lv.3] Details: Soldiers who followed their sergeant major in defecting. They had completely fallen into becoming desperadoes and had long since lost their so-called honor
I frowned. They had guns, so I could not save bullets.
Thus, I widened the distance to around 150 meters, flipped up onto the roof of a war vehicle nearly half-buried in yellow sand, then switched my main-hand weapon to the Wind Whisperer. I aimed, worked the bolt, and began firing repeated shots at the distant rebels. Amid loud blasts, damage numbers continuously rose above several rebels in the distance!
"424!"
"402!"
"609!"
"663!"
"411!"
The Wind Whisperer's strength was that its damage was several times higher than a Submachine Gun's. It also had a blessing skill with a 25% chance of inflicting an additional 50% explosive damage. That was why it so often dealt more than 600 damage. Against NPCs with only 1,800 Health, it was terrifyingly effective!
In the blink of an eye, two rebels fell into pools of blood. The remaining three roared, murderous intent filling their eyes. "It's a sniper! Charge out there and kill that damned bastard!"
A burst of bullets exploded through the air, rattling against the war vehicle beneath me.
Two bullets even struck my body. It felt like mosquito bites, causing only a slight sting, while damage numbers rose above my head.
"51!"
"52!"
But that damage was nothing. Against my immense 4,100 Health, it barely counted. There was no helping it—the SS-rank Essence Furnace was simply powerful. The Level 8 furnace gave me 24 Vitality, and Super Weapon Masters had excellent Vitality growth. One point of Vitality converted to 100 Health, meaning the Essence Furnace alone provided 2,400 Max Health!
In addition, Randel's Shield increased my Health by another 500 points, leaving my current Health far higher than that of ordinary players!
My body rolled rapidly. After tumbling off the war vehicle, I swiftly switched to the Roarer. With a "bang," I slammed Randel's Shield heavily into the yellow sand with my left hand. Then I suddenly leaned out from its right side and fired a burst, picking off one of the rebels!
"You bastard!"
The other two rebels fired wildly, but the damage dealt to Randel's Shield was almost negligible. With my Health regeneration speed, I would soon recover to full Health!
"Who taught you idiots to shoot? All you can do is trace the outline?"
I suddenly leaned out from the shield's left side and fired another burst, reducing both rebels' health bars to critical levels.
At last, the two rebels grew afraid. A "Fear" icon appeared above their heads as they raised their Submachine Guns and tried to flee, only to be shot dead by my Roarer.
"Whoosh whoosh whoosh~~"
Like the camels before them, the rebels' corpses rapidly refreshed and vanished after being killed within the Instance space. I could not loot their boxes or collect any equipment or supplies.
This was quite different from the earlier Death Mine Instance. It was probably because Death Mine was an objectively existing faction and map that had merely been designated as an Instance by the system. This place, on the other hand, was a map activated by an Instance Crystal, so the two were worlds apart.
Of course, this was reasonable. Otherwise, one could clear an Instance and return with piles of guns and ammunition. Wouldn't that quickly destroy the entire game's economic balance?
"Quick! Charge over there and kill the intruder!"
At that moment, several more rebels rushed over.
At the same time, a "crack crack" sound suddenly came from deep underground, as though something were burrowing beneath the sand.
Lines of azure text continuously appeared in the lower-right corner of the combat interface.
[Please note: the Giant Sandworm is about to enter the battlefield!] [Please note: a sandstorm is approaching. Seek shelter immediately!] [Hint: nearby abandoned vehicles can be used as hiding places!]
"Whoosh~~~"
Without any warning, a sandstorm arrived, instantly making it impossible for anyone to open their eyes.
I hurriedly retreated and struggled to pull open the door of an abandoned war vehicle. After getting inside, I swiftly locked the door. Before One's Eyes was a scene of sandstorm sweeping across everything. This was probably a sudden event within the Instance. Meanwhile, more than ten rebels ahead were blown down by the sandstorm and could only lie prone on the ground, completely unable to resist. In the blink of an eye, they were about to be buried beneath the sand.
"..."
I frowned and narrowed my eyes at everything outside, beginning to understand one principle.
The prompts in Star Abyss Instances had to be read, and read carefully. Sometimes, they could save your life. If I had not gotten into the vehicle in time, I might have been in serious trouble.
[The sandstorm is about to end! Countdown to the Giant Sandworm's attack begins!]
A countdown display appeared before me.
The sandstorm vanished in an instant. As the sand and gravel fell, the sky returned to its cloudless state. The dozen or so rebels lay prone on the ground, struggling to rise from beneath the yellow sand burying them.
"Bang~~~"
With a thunderous boom, a colossal creature burst from underground. Its head actually had a BOSS ring around it!
[Giant Sandworm] (Green BOSS) Level: 15 Attack: 125-150 Defense: 50 Health: 5000 Skills: [Burrow Lv.4] [Bite Lv.4] [Devour Lv.4] Details: A Giant Sandworm lurking underground, feeding on humans and camels. It is a creature full of evil
"It's that damned sandworm!"
A group of rebels was shocked pale.
At the same time, the Instance issued another prompt.
[In past battles, the Giant Sandworm seized STC Fragments from the rebels. Killing the Giant Sandworm will allow you to reclaim these important STC Fragments!]
Outside, the massive sandworm had already twisted its body and charged forward. Its bloody maw full of spiral teeth opened wide, and with a "splat," it devoured one of the rebels in a single bite!
I hurriedly rushed out of the war vehicle and set up the Wind Whisperer atop it once more. At the same time, I shouted, "Hurry up! Kill this Giant Sandworm together, or none of us will make it out alive! Move!"
As I spoke, I fired repeatedly with "bang bang bang," and damage numbers continuously jumped above the sandworm's head!
"He's right! Kill the sandworm together, quickly!"
The rebels scattered in all directions and began firing.
Unfortunately, the Giant Sandworm's outer layer was covered in thick, sturdy carapace. Much of the bullets' damage was blocked. Even my Wind Whisperer could only deal 200-plus damage per shot, with far too much of it negated.
However, as the Giant Sandworm's health bar steadily dropped while it rapidly pounced on and killed the rebels, I had already achieved my goal. With these rebels drawing the BOSS's firepower, why would I complain?
In the blink of an eye, all the rebels were dead, and the Giant Sandworm's health bar had fallen to around 20%. It probably had only about 1,000 Health left!
It turned toward me, an entire patch of pitch-black compound eyes on its forehead staring fixedly at me.
That feeling was a little creepy...