They'll fight for as long as they want to fight

Lu Yao looked at the newly revealed map.

Behind the mountains stretched a vast forest and plain, and at the forest's edge lay an astonishingly large salt flat. In the center of the flat stood a black castle, surrounded by an unbroken gray mist.

The salt flat covered a large area, with many houses, watchtowers, and pits built nearby. Many little people were scooping brine into small pits, setting up furnaces around them to heat and extract the salt.

Beyond that, there were lumberjacks in the forest, stonecutters on the rocky ridges, and pastures on the plain, where a large bird called the [Pacing Bird] was raised.

The Pacing Bird, true to its name, liked to pace back and forth. It couldn't fly and wasn't aggressive, so it was raised as a meat bird.

Most of the laborers were bare-handed, barefoot Wandering Savages, organized into mechanical tasks like logging, quarrying, and salt refining... Each savage was tied with ropes linking them together, preventing escape.

But they weren't commanded by the Salt Pool Tribe's people. Instead, a blue-skinned humanoid monster called the [Corruptor] was in charge.

The Corruptors were the upper class here, overseeing and directing the humans' labor.

Despite the name "Corruptor," this group wasn't mindless zombies. On the contrary, they had very clear divisions of labor and personal missions.

The Corruptors supervised every human's work, occasionally issuing warnings and reminders.

"Don't slack off! Want to go without food? You! Filthy commoners, get up now!"

"Everything for the great Whistleblower!"

"Just work, and you too can become glorious Corruptors, never fearing death again!"

"Don't fear injury, don't fear exhaustion—after death, you'll gain eternal life!"

"Sir Knight will reward commoners with the chance to become Corruptors!"

This mix of threats and temptations made Lu Yao click his tongue in amazement.

He remembered that the [Evil Bone Whistle] he'd seized from Lisa was made by the Whistleblower, who seemed to be a not-weak deity.

The situation within the Salt Pool Tribe was more complicated than he'd expected.

Lu Yao continued observing.

He noticed that the little people of the Salt Pool Tribe, wearing linen clothes, were also very submissive toward the Corruptors. This group was merely the Corruptors' vassals and underlings, handling external trade and exchanging goods for them.

The true rulers of the Salt Pool Tribe were the Corruptors.

Lu Yao counted.

The Corruptors weren't numerous—twenty-five in total.

But their levels were high; the lowest was LV12, and the highest reached LV15. In terms of level alone, they were comparable to Isabelle.

No wonder even Lisa had to cooperate with them, and the Cave Dwellers had to bow their heads to the Corruptors.

However, since they weren't in combat mode, Lu Yao could only see their levels, not their detailed stats, making it impossible to assess their basic combat strength.

But Isabelle offered her evaluation: "Sir, they're not weak. I can gauge their strength from the Faith Spark."

"Do you want me to execute them all?"

Lu Yao was startled.

These two sentences had no connection at all.

She just said they were strong, then immediately asked if she could kill them all?

He typed to confirm.

--Can you handle these Corruptors?

"Yes, Sir."

Isabelle said steadily, "But this is just the outer perimeter. The real danger and controller are inside the castle. I haven't entered the castle yet, so I don't know the enemy's strength."

Lu Yao had great confidence in Isabelle.

Since awakening her, Isabelle had never met a true opponent—it was only a matter of time.

Still, caution never hurt.

He typed again.

--If you meet a strong enemy, can you escape?

"Sir, the enemy seems unable to leave that castle for some reason."

Isabelle analyzed calmly, "Otherwise, with strength surpassing ordinary Corruptors, they could easily dominate the entire surrounding area by leaving the castle and entering the outside world."

"As it stands, it's likely due to some restriction."

"Of course, this is just my inference."

"But I'm confident I can retreat successfully even if I can't defeat them."

Isabelle couldn't understand the mechanics, but Lu Yao knew.

Whether the castle was a dungeon or not, there had to be a boss inside.

In this newbie zone, the boss couldn't just wander around. Otherwise, Novice God players would have no chance—before they even gathered a few people, this group of high-level monsters would burn, kill, and plunder them...

If that were the case, the Garlic Tribe's graves would be overgrown by now.

Lu Yao thought for a moment.

"Then make your move. Dispose of this Corruptor quickly."

"Yes, my lord."

Isabelle charged from the Mountains toward the Salt pool. The nearest Corruptor spotted her immediately.

"Who are you! Stop! Peasant!"

A [In Battle] marker instantly appeared above Isabelle's head.

Lu Yao opened the battle interface.

Two Corruptors, both Lv12, engaged Isabelle.

[Corruptor LV12]

Health Points: 240/240

Mana Points: 37/37

Damage: 10

Defense: 8

Speed: 7

[Stubborn LV6]

Has a certain probability of being unaffected by spells.

[Rebirth LV6]

Upon death, if the corpse is not completely destroyed, has a certain probability of reviving.

These two abilities immediately put Lu Yao on alert.

Spell immunity + rebirth?

For ordinary mobs, wasn't this a bit too strong?

He muttered to himself—was this the Simulator's way of punishing him for refusing to leave the Safe Zone?

But facing Isabelle in her Holy Sword-summoning state, the Corruptors still had no chance. The massive gap in stats turned them into nothing more than punching bags with slightly thicker health bars.

Isabelle, Holy Sword in hand, cut down two Corruptors. The others joined the fray one after another, starting a grinding meat-grinder battle.

Lu Yao wasn't worried about these mobs; they couldn't pose any real obstacle to Isabelle.

What concerned him was that castle wrapped in gray mist.

Corruptors kept pouring out of Pixel Castle, joining the battle outside.

In this situation, some of the tied-up savages tried to escape, only to be executed on the spot by other Corruptors. Seeing this, the remaining savages dared not move an inch.

Thus, by the Salt pool, a dual-threaded scene unfolded: some labored, others fought, each side minding its own business.

As the battle dragged on, some of the Corruptor corpses on the ground began to piece themselves together, rebirthing into new Corruptors that continued the marathon struggle against Isabelle.

The castle kept spawning monsters endlessly. Isabelle cut down over a hundred Corruptors, yet these creatures still charged forward fearlessly, wave after wave.

In the process, Isabelle even leveled up, reaching LV16.

Lu Yao's heart surged with wild joy.

Was this the legendary grinding spot?

Keep it up, grind them hard!

Lu Yao ordered a Fried Potato and Grilled Gluten. With a Cola in hand, he watched with relish as Isabelle mowed down monsters like cutting grass—more satisfying than playing himself.

He now found the Corruptors utterly endearing.

Stubborn was great, Rebirth was great—all excellent skills! You're top-tier wild monsters! Keep respawning, keep rebirthing, keep fighting with all your might!

On Isabelle's end, a Dialogue Box appeared above her head as she fought.

"My lord, something is wrong here."

"The number of Corruptors isn't decreasing at all."

"If we keep fighting, more Corruptors will awaken from the castle. The numbers are far greater than anticipated."

"Perhaps the key lies inside the castle. Should I enter and investigate now?"

This is a leveling hotspot—don't bother with useless stuff like that.

Lu Yao, munching on his Grilled Gluten, quickly typed in the dialogue box.

--Let them fight as long as they want. Fight until total victory!