Combat Mode

"Lu Yao? Lu Yao?"

Sister Peng reminded him, "Send me this month's report; they're pushing for it over there."

"Ah, right away."

Lu Yao transmitted the report, then pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling a bit weary.

"You've been looking really tired lately," Sister Peng teased as she printed materials. "What's up? Working a side gig after hours? Or hitting the town at night?"

Lu Yao could only mumble something about not sleeping well.

Recently, it was a critical period for the Garlic Tribe's development, and Lu Yao kept his eyes glued to the screen, not daring to relax.

Having voluntarily destroyed the mountain path and cut off trade with the Salt Pool Tribe, the Garlic Tribe needed another route to connect with the outside world.

In theory, there were three paths.

Northward, straight through the forest, then into the northern world.

Eastward, crossing the East River, all the way to the East Sea.

Southward, advancing into the desert to reopen the Oasis.

Among the three routes, the forest path was the most perilous. That was also Isabelle's own assessment.

"My lord, deep in the forest, there are Forest Elemental Creatures. Their numbers are unknown, and some of them are highly aggressive. Even if we could carve out a path, elemental creatures might harass us at any time—it's a hidden danger."

Heading east to start water trade and navigation would require developing better shipbuilding skills. A Dugout Canoe could be used for fishing and moving on water, but it couldn't support long-distance voyages. Building larger, sturdier ships would take time.

Relatively speaking, the desert was the best choice.

The Bedou Tribe had lived in the desert for years and knew the environment well. The dangers in the desert lay in sandstorms and harsh weather, as well as desert monsters and bandits.

Among these dangers, desert monsters were the greatest threat.

The so-called desert monsters were a type of giant creature called a "Sand Worm."

It lived beneath the desert sand, massive in size like a giant earthworm, with a rough, tough, yellowish-brown hide that stone and wood couldn't harm at all. Sand Worms hunted Camels and also devoured and digested various hard rocks. They were the behemoths of the desert, an unstoppable natural disaster for the Bedou Tribe.

Most crucially, there was one thing Isabelle said to Lu Yao.

"When I was searching for the Bedou Tribe, I killed one of those bugs."

Lu Yao's guard went up immediately.

—Can you handle those bugs?

"My lord, should I kill them all?"

Lu Yao instantly sensed there was hope.

—Hunting Sand Worms is secondary; the primary goal is to retake the Oasis and open a passage through the desert to the outside world. Of course, reducing the number of Sand Worms as much as possible would be best.

"Yes, my lord."

—Do you need support?

"My lord, the treasures you bestowed upon me are more than enough. These bugs aren't hard to deal with."

—Good, then set off immediately.

After work, Lu Yao rushed home and sat down at his computer, locking the view onto the desert region.

The desert had already expanded into large new areas. Isabelle had found the occupied Oasis. Around her lay a pile of yellowish-brown long worm corpses, their upper halves exposed above the sand, looking like giant fingers reaching up from underground.

Above Isabelle's head, it displayed [In Battle].

Lu Yao clicked on the Apostle repeatedly, and a detailed battle screen popped up. The previously relaxed electronic music shifted to a fast-paced, intense style.

Black-clad Isabelle faced off against a group of brown Bug Monsters, but only two of the enemies were still alive now. Health bars appeared above both sides' heads.

[Isabelle LV15] VS [Sand Worm LV10] [Sand Worm LV11]

The battle played out in a real-time auto-chess format.

Isabelle wielded a green light sword, continuously stabbing and slashing at the two Sand Worms. One after another, faint green orbs flew from the light sword, homing in on the Sand Worms for bombardment.

Lu Yao recalled the description of the Sword of the Forest's ability.

Sword of the Forest Lv1: [Isabelle's Exclusive Ability] Isabelle summons the Holy Sword, fully amplifying her combat attributes. Duration and amplification depend on ability level and mana.

This green light sword must be the Holy Sword.

This was the first time Lu Yao had seen Isabelle enter full serious battle mode. Back when she dealt with the Barbarian Hero, Isabelle had only used a steel pipe to crush him, never needing to activate her ability.

Clearly, Sand Worms were much stronger than the Barbarian Hero.

The Sand Worms were a bit like moles, able to burrow into the sand and emerge from unexpected directions. Their attack method was spitting a black venom, capable of long-range spraying.

But Isabelle's movement and attack speed were too fast. In front of her, the Sand Worms' attacks landed on her, showing a long string of "Miss." Meanwhile, Isabelle's Holy Sword stabs and green orb bombardments were impossible for the Sand Worms to dodge.

The health bars above the Sand Worms dropped rapidly. The lower-level one had already emptied its health bar, with a [Dead] marker appearing above its head.

Lu Yao moved his mouse over the surviving Sand Worm.

[Sand Worm LV11]

Health Points: 101/220

Mana Points: 16/44

Damage: 8

Defense: 8

Speed: 5

[Evasion Lv5]

Can evade damage from some attacks. Against weaker lifeforms, this probability is higher.

[Poison LV5]

Attacks cause enemies to become poisoned, dealing continuous damage.

So there were detailed combat stats after all.

Lu Yao moved his mouse back to hover over Isabel's head.

[Apostle Lv15] Forest Sword

Health Points: 220/224

Mana Points: 271/385

Damage: 27

Defense: 25

Speed: 15

[Wisdom Lv15]

Wisdom is the key for an Apostle to heed the Deity's will. The higher the level of Wisdom, the easier it is to improve and comprehend various abilities.

[Lingering Prayer Lv5] (15 Mana)

Pray to the Sea of Lingering Souls, temporarily awakening sleeping dead to gain their aid. The type of dead depends on ability level and Mana.

[Forest Sword Lv1] (100 Mana)

[Isabel's Exclusive Ability] Isabel summons the Holy Sword, fully amplifying combat attributes. Duration and amplification depend on ability level and Mana. After battle, Isabel creates some Forest Elemental Creatures, whose number and type depend on ability level and the strength of the combat target.

Lu Yao observed for a while and roughly understood the simulator's combat mechanics.

The simulator simplified combat, turning it into a visualized form of stats and abilities.

Isabel's speed was three times that of the Sand Worm, which was why the Sand Worm's attacks kept failing to land. But under Isabel's attacks, numbers like -19 kept popping up from the Sand Worm's body.

Lu Yao did the math: Isabel's damage was 27, the Sand Worm's defense was 8, and the difference was exactly 19 points. Without special abilities or equipment, as long as an attack hit, the direct damage dealt was the difference between damage and defense.

In actual combat, if the gap in basic stats between two sides was too large and there were no countering abilities, the battle would be one-sided.

Just like the Sand Worm facing Isabel.

Even if the Sand Worm's attack landed, it couldn't break through the defense. The outcome was already decided.

As the last Sand Worm's health bar emptied, a prompt reading [Battle Ended] appeared on the screen.

At that moment, Isabel thrust the Holy Sword into the ground.

From the corpses of the many Sand Worms, wisps of green light emerged. All these green lights burrowed into the Holy Sword, gradually twisting and forming two fluffy, reddish-brown creatures. Their levels and types were identical.

[Striped Lynx LV10] [Created by Isabel]

Health Points: 182/182

Mana Points: 55/55

Damage: 9

Defense: 4

Speed: 9

[Rapid Strike]

Can attack more frequently.

[Stealth]

If not discovered while in Stealth, the first attack against a creature will definitely inflict a [Bleed] effect. [Bleed] will continuously reduce the target's Health Points.

[Forest Element Lv1]

Forest Elemental Creatures benefit the rapid growth of forests, with all attributes amplified within the forest. The effect depends on ability level and Health Points.

Lu Yao watched with a surge of excitement.

The Sword of the Forest had finally succeeded in activating once!

From its abilities and attributes, the Striped Lynx was clearly an assassin, skilled in ambushes and sneak attacks, with high damage and speed. Its level was also decent.

"Milord, I have a request."

Isabelle said, "They are too weak to be of much use following me, but they can protect the humans of the Garlic Tribe within the forest."

"Could you first send the weaker elemental creatures we've created back to the forest, letting them continue to grow. Once their numbers accumulate and they mature, they'll be able to serve a purpose."

Lu Yao found this feasible.

Stockpiling troops for a single wave was also a classic tactic.