Giant Sandworm (Thanks to Alliance Leader cklyt!)

"Hmph, hmph, hmph~~~"

Warning lights indicating aggro lit up above the heads of three elite Mutated Camels simultaneously. Then, they kicked up their hooves and charged straight at me, shaking their heads and wagging their tails.

I immediately lowered my center of gravity, assuming a standard shooting stance. My Roarer spat out a rapid series of shots – "bang, bang, bang." Instantly, damage numbers erupted above the heads of the Mutated Camels—

"59!"

"62!"

"69!"

"61!"

As the submachine gun fired, the health bars of the Mutated Camels steadily decreased. I subconsciously distributed the damage, bringing each camel's health down to about a quarter. Just as I finished, the camels were already upon me, launching their attacks!

Their front hooves rose, stomping down in fury!

My eyes were quick, and I swiftly drew my Vanguard Bee Sting, slashing at the head of the camel on my left. A damage number of 248 points appeared. At the same time, I decisively activated my skill—Step Slash!

"Buzz~~"

Wisps of sword intent swirled around me, and my body instantly shifted to the right of the camel. Simultaneously, a faint silver aura enveloped me, the protective effect automatically generated after activating Step Slash.

"Pang, pang, pang—"

The impact of the three Mutated Camels' stomping attacks resonated. The aura generated by Step Slash gradually thinned, but it ultimately blocked all of their damage!

"Awesome!"

I was overjoyed. The defensive layer derived from a level 10 Step Slash was definitely much thicker than lower-level ones. It could block damage without any loss, which made things much easier!

Sword light flashed down, and the second strike killed the weakened camel on the left. At the same time, I twisted my body, and my blade lunged towards the second camel. Flowing light streaked across the blade, quickly forming a dragon-like aura that fiercely struck the second camel's throat!

This attack was the universal skill of the Starry Sky Super Weapon—Dragon Blade!

"538!"

A large damage number soared, making me ecstatic!

As expected of a level 10 Dragon Blade, the damage had reached the absolute maximum of 200% of its listed stats. This monster-killing efficiency was exceptionally high!

"Hmph~~"

Seeing its two companions fall one after another, the third Mutated Camel's eyes blazed with fury as it lowered its head and charged.

I quickly retreated. Half a second later, my body turned into an afterimage once more, activating Step Slash and appearing behind the enemy. Relying on the protection of the newly generated Step Slash aura, I struck it down with two consecutive blows!

In the blink of an eye, all three Mutated Camels had turned into corpses. I had killed them all without taking any damage!

The reason I let the weakened monsters get close was simply to save some bullets. Additionally, it was also to train my close-combat skills. As a melee player, close-combat response ability is crucial. These are things that cannot be changed by simply improving skills; they require personal accumulation and honing.

Thus, I killed monsters rapidly, accumulating experience. As for the durability lost on the Vanguard Bee Sting, that was not a problem. In the setting of Star Abyss, melee players have a huge advantage: weapon wear is very slow. Every weapon can be described with those three legendary words—extremely durable!

Continuing on, I held my submachine gun and strode step by step deeper into this instance map. Ahead, there were still large numbers of camels. According to the instance's design, killing all monsters within the instance maximizes the instance's rewards, so I couldn't let any go.

"Rustle..."

Treading on the gravel, I attracted 3-4 Mutated Camels each time. This way, my firepower and melee damage could suppress them; otherwise, it would be quite troublesome.

In this manner, I continuously turned swathes of Mutated Camels into experience points. In the blink of an eye, an unknown amount of time passed. Wave after wave of camels fell. While a large amount of ammunition was consumed, a massive amount of experience was accumulated.

Moving further ahead, amidst the ruins, enemies wearing combat suits and holding firearms appeared. As I approached, their stats floated out—

[Ravager Rebel] (Elite)

Level: 15

Attack: 20-55

Defense: 15

Blood Essence: 1800

Skills: [Basic Shooting Lv3] [Basic Combat Lv3]

Details: Soldiers who defected with the Sergeant, they have completely fallen into desperadoes, long having lost any semblance of honor.

I frowned. The enemy had guns, so I couldn't save bullets.

Thus, I pulled back to a distance of about 150 meters, flipped onto the top of a half-buried war chariot covered in yellow sand, switched my main hand weapon to the Wind Whisperer, aimed, pulled the bolt, and began firing rapid shots at the distant rebels. Accompanied by bursts of loud noises, damage numbers continuously erupted above the heads of several rebels in the distance!

"424!"

"402!"

"609!"

"663!"

"411!"

The power of the Wind Whisperer lay in its damage being several times higher than the submachine gun. Furthermore, it had a blessing skill: a 25% chance to deal an additional 50% explosive damage. Therefore, it could easily deal over 600 damage, which was terrifying for NPCs with only 1800 health!

In the blink of an eye, two rebels fell to the ground. The remaining three roared, their eyes filled with killing intent: "It's a sniper, rush out quickly and take down that damn bastard!"

A burst of bullets exploded in the air, crackling against the war chariot beneath me.

Even two of the bullets hit me. They felt like mosquito bites, causing a slight sting, and damage numbers floated above my head.

"51!"

"52!"

But the damage was negligible. For me, with a massive 4100 Blood Essence, it was nothing. SS-grade Essence Furnace is just that strong. The level 8 furnace added 24 points of Stamina, and a Super Weapon Master's Stamina growth is quite impressive. One point of Stamina translates to 100 points of HP, so the Essence Furnace alone provided a 2400 HP cap!

Furthermore, Randel's Shield increased my HP by 500, making my current HP far higher than that of ordinary players!

I rolled rapidly, tumbling off the war vehicle and quickly switching to the Roarer. With a "thump," I planted Randel's Shield heavily in the yellow sand with my left hand, then lunged out from the right side, unleashing a burst of bullets that peppered one of the rebels!

"You bastard!"

The remaining two rebels fired wildly, but the damage dealt to Randel's Shield was almost negligible. With my HP regeneration rate, I could quickly recover all my Blood Essence!

"Who taught you to shoot? Can you only paint the edges?"

I suddenly leaned out from the left side of the shield and fired another burst, leaving the two rebels with critically low health.

Finally, the two rebels felt fear, and a "fear" icon appeared above their heads. They raised their submachine guns and tried to leave, only to be shot down by my Roarer.

"Swish swish swish~~"

Like the camels before them, the corpses of several rebels quickly vanished within the instance space after being killed. I couldn't loot their bodies or collect any equipment or supplies.

This was quite different from the Death Mine instance before. Perhaps it was because Death Mine was an objectively existing location, a map that was merely designated as an instance by the system. As for this place, it was a map activated by an Instance Crystal, so there was a world of difference between the two.

Of course, this was also reasonable. Otherwise, if one could loot a large number of firearms and bullets from clearing an instance, the entire game's economic balance would quickly be shattered.

"Quick, charge forward and eliminate the invaders!"

At this moment, several more rebels rushed over.

Meanwhile, a "crunch crunch" sound echoed from deep underground, as if something was burrowing beneath the earth.

In the lower right corner of the combat interface, streaks of azure text continuously appeared.

[Notice: The 〖Giant Sandworm〗 is about to enter the battlefield!]

[Notice: Sandstorm approaching, please seek shelter immediately!]

[Tip: The abandoned vehicles scattered nearby can serve as hiding places!]

"Whoosh~~~"

Without any warning, a sandstorm descended, instantly blinding everyone.

I quickly retreated and forcefully pulled open the door of an abandoned war vehicle. After getting inside, I quickly locked the door. Instantly, my vision turned into a scene of a sandstorm sweeping across the land. This was likely an unexpected event within the instance. At this moment, the more than ten rebels in front were being blown by the sandstorm, forced to lie on the ground with no ability to resist, and were about to be buried by the sandstorm in an instant.

"..."

I frowned, squinting at everything outside, and began to understand a principle.

The prompt text in the Star Abyss instance must be read, and read carefully. Sometimes, it can save your life. If I hadn't gotten into the vehicle in time, it could have been quite troublesome.

[Sandstorm about to end! 〖Giant Sandworm〗 attack countdown initiated!]

A countdown screen appeared before my eyes.

The sandstorm vanished in an instant. As the grit settled, the sky returned to its clear, cloudless state. The dozen or so rebels were still prostrate on the ground, struggling to rise from beneath the yellow sand.

"Thump~~~"

With a loud bang, a colossal creature emerged from the ground. Its head even had a BOSS ring!

[Giant Sandworm] (Green BOSS)

Level: 15

Attack: 125-150

Defense: 50

Blood Essence: 5000

Skills: [Burrow Lv4] [Bite Lv4] [Devour Lv4]

Description: A giant sandworm that lurks underground, feeding on humans and camels. It is an evil creature.

"It's that damned sandworm!"

A group of rebels cried out in alarm.

At the same time, the instance prompted again.

[In past battles, the 〖Giant Sandworm〗 snatched STC Fragments from the rebels. Defeating the 〖Giant Sandworm〗 will allow you to reclaim these important STC Fragments!]

Outside, the massive sandworm twisted its body and charged forward. Its gaping maw, filled with swirling teeth, opened and "slurp" swallowed one of the rebels whole!

I quickly rushed out of the war vehicle, set up the Wind Whisperer on the vehicle's roof again, and shouted loudly, "Quick, let's take down this Giant Sandworm together! Otherwise, none of us will leave alive. Hurry!"

As I spoke, I fired continuously, "bang bang bang," and damage numbers repeatedly popped up above the sandworm's head!

"He's right, let's take down the sandworm together, and quickly!"

The group of rebels scattered, firing their weapons.

Unfortunately, the Giant Sandworm's surface had thick armor, blocking much of the bullet damage. Even my Wind Whisperer could only deal 200+ damage per shot, with too much being negated.

However, as the Giant Sandworm's health bar continuously dropped and it rapidly attacked the rebels, my objective had been achieved. With these rebels drawing the BOSS's fire, why wouldn't I take advantage of it?

In the blink of an eye, the group of rebels was wiped out, and the Giant Sandworm's health bar dropped to around 20%, with roughly 1000 HP remaining!

It turned around, its entire forehead a black expanse of compound eyes fixed intently on me.

This feeling was a bit creepy