Lu Yao looked at the newly opened map.
Beyond the mountains lay a vast forest and plain. At the edge of the forest was an astonishingly large salt flat. A Black Castle stood in the middle of the flats, surrounded by ever-present Gray Mist.
The salt pool covered a vast area, with many houses, watchtowers, and Pits built nearby. Many little people ladled brine into small pits, then set up Furnaces around them to heat it and extract the salt.
There were Lumberjacks in the forest, Stonecutters on the rocky hills, and a Pasture on the plain. It raised a kind of large bird called [Pacing Bird].
Just like its name suggested, Pacing Birds liked to wander back and forth. They could not fly and were not particularly aggressive, so they were raised as poultry for meat.
Most of the laborers were barefoot Wandering Savages. They had been organized into this repetitive labor, logging, quarrying stone, refining salt... Every Wildman had ropes wrapped around him, linking them together so they could not escape.
Yet the ones directing them were not members of the Salt Pool Tribe, but blue-skinned humanoid monsters known as [Corruptors].
The Corruptors were the ruling class here, overseeing and directing the humans' work.
Despite being called Corruptors, this group was not made up of mindless zombies. On the contrary, they had a very clear division of duties and individual missions.
The Corruptors watched over every human worker, occasionally barking out warnings and reminders.
"No slacking! Do you want to go hungry?! You! Get up, you lowborn!"
"Everything is for the great Whistleblower!"
"As long as you work, you too can become glorious Corruptors and never fear death again!"
"Do not fear injury. Do not fear exhaustion. Only after death will you gain immortality!"
"Sir Knight will reward the lowborn by allowing them to become Corruptors!"
This mixture of threats and temptation left Lu Yao clicking his tongue in amazement.
He remembered that the [Evil Bone Whistle] he had seized from Lisa had been made by the Whistleblower. It seemed this was no weak God.
The situation within the Salt Pool Tribe was even more complicated than he had expected.
Lu Yao continued observing.
He noticed that the little people of the Salt Pool Tribe, dressed in Flax clothing, were also extremely submissive before the Corruptors. These people were merely the Corruptors' dependents and subordinates, conducting outside trade for them in exchange for all kinds of goods.
The true rulers of the Salt Pool Tribe were the Corruptors.
Lu Yao counted them.
There were not many Corruptors, only twenty-five in total.
However, their levels were high. The weakest were Level 12, while the strongest had even reached level 15. Judging by levels alone, they were not far below Isabelle.
No wonder Lisa had been forced to cooperate with them before. Even the Cave Dwellers had to bow their heads before the Corruptors.
However, since they had not entered combat mode, aside from their levels, Lu Yao could not see the Corruptors' detailed stats and could not make a basic assessment of their combat strength.
But Isabelle gave her own assessment. "My lord, they are not weak. I can tell their strength from their Faith Sparks."
"Do you require me to execute them all?"
Lu Yao was startled.
Those two sentences had absolutely nothing to do with each other.
She had just said they were quite strong, then immediately said she could kill them all?
He typed to confirm.
--Can you handle these Corruptors?
"Yes, my lord."
Isabelle replied steadily, "But this is only the outer area. The true danger and the one in control are inside the castle. I have not entered the castle before, so I do not know the enemy's strength."
Lu Yao had great confidence in Isabelle.
Ever since awakening her, Isabelle had never encountered an opponent in the truest sense. It had only ever been a matter of how long it took.
Still, caution was the better part of valor.
Lu Yao typed again.
--If you encounter a powerful enemy, can you escape?
"My lord, the enemy is likely unable to leave that castle for some reason."
Isabelle analyzed calmly, "Otherwise, with strength surpassing ordinary Corruptors, he could have completely controlled the surrounding area simply by leaving the castle and entering the outside world."
"From the current situation, it is likely that he is restricted in some way."
"Of course, these are only my deductions."
"However, I am very confident that even if I cannot defeat him, I can still retreat successfully."
Isabelle could not understand the mechanism behind it, but Lu Yao did.
Whether the castle was a dungeon or not, there had to be a boss inside.
In this beginner zone, the boss definitely could not move around freely. Otherwise, Novice God players would have no way to play. Before they even had much of a population, they would be slaughtered and ravaged by this group of high-level monsters...
If that were the case, the Garlic Tribe's grave grass would already be several feet tall.
Lu Yao thought for a moment.
--Then attack. Deal with these Corruptors as quickly as possible.
"Yes, my lord."
Isabelle charged from the mountains toward the salt pool, and the nearest Corruptors immediately spotted her.
"Who are you?! Stop! Lowborn!"
The [In Combat] marker immediately appeared above Isabelle's head.
Lu Yao opened the battle interface.
Two Level 12 Corruptors faced off against Isabelle.
[Corruptor Level 12] Health Points: 240/240 Mana Points: 37/37 Damage: 10 Defense: 8 Speed: 7 [Stubborn level 6] Has a certain chance of being unaffected by spells. [Rebirth level 6] After death, if the corpse is not completely destroyed, has a certain chance of reviving.
These two abilities immediately put Lu Yao on guard.
Spell immunity plus Rebirth?
Was that not a little too powerful for ordinary mobs?
He muttered inwardly, Could this be the Simulator punishing me for refusing to leave the Safe Zone?
However, against Isabelle while she had summoned the Holy Sword, the Corruptors still stood no chance. The enormous difference in stats made them nothing more than slightly tougher punching bags.
Holding the Holy Sword, Isabelle cut down two Corruptors. The other Corruptors rushed into the battle one after another, turning it into a relentless meat grinder.
Lu Yao was not worried about these minor monsters. They could not truly hinder Isabelle.
What concerned him was the castle shrouded in Gray Mist.
Corruptors continuously ran out of the Pixel Castle and joined the battle outside.
Under such circumstances, some of the rope-bound Wildmen tried to flee, only to be executed on the spot by other Corruptors. The remaining Wildmen immediately froze in fear.
Thus, the salt pool became a strange two-track scene: those working kept working, and those fighting kept fighting, without interfering with one another.
As the battle dragged on, some Corruptor corpses on the ground stitched themselves together and underwent Rebirth, becoming new Corruptors that resumed their marathon battle against Isabelle.
The castle kept spawning monsters endlessly. Isabelle had cut down more than a hundred Corruptors, yet these monsters still charged forward without regard for their lives.
During the process, Isabelle even leveled up, becoming Level 16.
Ecstasy surged through Lu Yao.
Could this be the legendary farming spot?
Farm them well. Farm them hard!
Lu Yao ordered Fried Potato and Grilled Gluten. Sipping Cola, he watched Isabelle mow down monsters with great enjoyment. It felt even better than controlling the game himself.
The more he looked at the Corruptors now, the more pleasing they seemed.
Stubborn was great. Rebirth was great. They were all great skills. You were all top-tier wild monsters! Keep spawning, keep reviving, and fight hard!
As Isabelle fought, Dialogue Boxes appeared above her head.
"My lord, something is wrong here."
"The number of Corruptors has not decreased at all."
"If this continues, other Corruptors will also awaken from the castle. Their numbers are far greater than expected."
"Perhaps the key lies within the castle. Should I enter and investigate now?"
This was a crucial leveling spot. There was no need to worry about useless matters like that.
Lu Yao chewed on his Grilled Gluten as he rapidly typed into the Dialogue Box.
--They can fight for as long as they want. Keep fighting until total victory!
Before you continue