Did I Just Walk Into a Trap?

This sudden, unexpected encounter left both sides stunned.

Fang Zheng had never expected these Cultists to teleport directly into this cellar through the teleportation circle. After all, in the game, by the time players reached Wortham, it was already a town consumed by flames and crawling with Cultists. Naturally, he had assumed the Cultists had invaded Wortham. But now that he thought about it, if the priest in Wortham truly was a Cultist, then it was perfectly normal for the teleportation circle here to be connected to Maghda's lair.

The Cultists clearly had not expected to encounter Fang Zheng in this secret cellar either. Judging by his clothes, he looked like a Militia member, but how could an ordinary Militia member enter this place? Could he be one of their companions?

"You..."

The lead Cultist looked at Fang Zheng and was about to say something when Fang Zheng charged forward in a single stride. He gripped Frostmourne tightly in both hands and swung it forward with all his strength!

Strike first, or suffer later!

There were more than a dozen Cultists who had teleported over this time, and Fang Zheng had no idea whether they were just the advance party. If he wanted to run now, it was definitely too late. He might as well seize the initiative and catch them off guard first!

Crusader Strike!

As Fang Zheng swung his sword, Frostmourne trembled once more in his hand. Dazzling Holy Light erupted, illuminating the dim cellar like a flashbang. The Cultists, who had only just teleported in and had yet to grasp the situation, instinctively raised their arms to shield themselves.

This time, however, Crusader Strike, having risen by one proficiency level, unleashed power beyond anything Fang Zheng had imagined.

As Fang Zheng brought his sword down, several cross-shaped holy symbols suddenly appeared around the blade. Like heavy hammers, they shot outward in every direction and slammed into the Cultists. Then, in a flash of light, they exploded. The Cultists were blasted away at once, crashing heavily into the wall behind them and collapsing in a heap.

That powerful?

Fang Zheng was taken aback by the sight. He had never imagined that Crusader Strike would become this outrageous after upgrading into an area-of-effect skill. It was practically on par with the skills of those Nephalem in the Dark World... But then again, they came from the same source and were made by the same company, so perhaps it was not all that strange.

Could it be that Crusader Strike had changed like this because he was in the Dark World?

No matter what, this was clearly welcome news for Fang Zheng. The thought merely flashed through his mind before vanishing. He tightened his grip on the longsword and drew it back. As he moved, the golden particles left behind by the exploding cross symbols seemed to be drawn in, clinging to Frostmourne. Then Fang Zheng aimed at the Cultists before him and thrust down hard.

"Aah—!!"

The blade, transformed into light, instantly pierced the lead Cultist's chest. Before he could react, he let out a scream and collapsed motionlessly to the floor. Fang Zheng smoothly withdrew his sword and slashed hard to the side, claiming two more heads. But just as he was preparing to press his attack, a black shadow suddenly appeared before him.

"Roar—!!"

A pitch-black, grotesque Hell Hound suddenly appeared. It roared, opened its jaws, and lunged to bite Fang Zheng. Faced with the Hell Hound's attack, Fang Zheng had no choice but to give ground. He drove back the beast that had nearly pounced on him with a sword strike, then looked ahead again.

By then, the other Cultists had climbed to their feet and begun raising their hands to summon their evil servants. Soon, black holes appeared before them one after another, and grotesque evil servants emerged from within, blocking Fang Zheng's path.

These Cultists really knew what they were doing.

Seeing how quickly they had regained their composure, Fang Zheng silently raised his estimate of the threat posed by Cultists in this world. During his battle with the Undead before, he had already realized that combat strength in the real Dark World was nothing like it was in the game.

Put simply, the gameplay experience of a whale and an unlucky free player was worlds apart!

The Undead that were soft and helpless in the game, never fighting back no matter how much you hit them, possessed strength and defense comparable to Tyrant-level monsters in reality. And these Cultists, who should have been easy prey, possessed combat ability no less impressive than that of first-rate warriors.

Or was he playing on Nightmare Difficulty?

The facts soon proved that these Cultists were no pushovers. After using their summoned monsters to form a wall of flesh, they immediately raised their hands and began chanting loudly. The next moment, fireballs shot from their palms toward Fang Zheng.

Not good!

Seeing those scorching crimson fireballs, Fang Zheng cursed inwardly. He hurriedly rolled across the ground and took cover on the other side of the platform. Then, amid a series of booming explosions, the platform began to shake violently. Blazing currents of air howled past him, and he watched countless sparks scatter through the air, falling onto the tables, chairs, and cabinets around the cellar. Before long, the entire cellar had begun to burn. Thick smoke billowed everywhere, waves of heat struck his face, and all he could see was a swaying sea of crimson.

"Damn it, why do Cultists all love setting fires?"

Enduring the choking smoke, Fang Zheng could not help muttering under his breath. The entire underground chamber had become an inferno, and the exit had been completely blocked. He was trapped with no way up or down—Cultists before him and raging flames behind him. Other than Frostmourne, he had no useful gear or items on hand. He had not picked up anything worthwhile when killing those Undead before, and he was still wearing the Militia Set! If this continued, he would be burned to death!

He could only go all out!

With that thought, Fang Zheng stopped hesitating. The Cultists might have had a way to survive in such an environment, but he certainly did not. He decisively grabbed a chunk of broken stone from beside him and hurled it toward the Cultists!

"Clang!!"

He had no idea what the stone struck, but it made a loud noise. The Cultists and the monsters they had summoned all turned toward the source of the sound. Seeing that, Fang Zheng's heart stirred.

Now!!

The instant the Cultists' attention shifted, Fang Zheng planted a hand on the platform and vaulted over it. Then he raised Frostmourne and charged straight at the enemies before him, man and sword becoming a storm!

Holy Light soon flared once more. With a thunderous boom, the Hellish Monster blocking Fang Zheng's path was sent flying backward. Fang Zheng seized the chance to step forward and drive Frostmourne into the heart of the Cultist behind it. He did not possess the Crusader's terrifying ability to turn into a human cannonball and blast his way in, so this was the only clumsy method he could use.

"Kill him!!"

At that moment, Fang Zheng heard the Cultists roar again. He hurriedly rolled across the ground, feeling a scorching burn graze his back. With a bang, the Cultist Fang Zheng had stabbed through was struck by a passing fireball and blown apart completely. Fang Zheng himself was sent tumbling backward by the blast.

This was just rotten luck!!

Every inch of Fang Zheng's body burned with pain. He could even feel that one of his shoulders had gone numb, as though a piece of it were missing, and he no longer had any strength in his hands. He felt utterly miserable. His life really was hard—he had died in an accident in his previous life, and after finally transmigrating and being reborn, he was either being hunted or surrounded and attacked... Who had he offended? Why did he keep ending up in situations like this? Hadn't he helped plenty of old ladies cross the street in his day?

When luck was bad, blame society!

But Fang Zheng had no time to take revenge on society now. He rolled over, intending to rise from the ground, but quickly discovered that his right hand was not pressing against dirt. It was pressed against a hard stone slab covered in carved patterns!

Found it!!

Delight flashed across Fang Zheng's face. He hurriedly looked beside his hand and saw a teleportation circle carved from stone slabs at his side, radiating dazzling light!

This was it!

Seeing the teleportation circle before him, Fang Zheng rolled over without hesitation and threw himself directly into it. He had attacked the Cultists not because he wanted them both to suffer losses. His sole goal had been the teleportation circle! As long as he could enter it, he could leave this place and return to...

Whoosh.

What was going on?

Fang Zheng stared blankly around him. He remembered entering the teleportation circle, but before he could activate the passage leading to Tristram, the scenery before his eyes abruptly changed. The blazing cellar vanished, replaced by a dim, gloomy, eerie hall.

Then a woman's voice rang out beside him.

"Who are you?"

Fang Zheng turned toward the source of the voice. A scantily clad woman floated in the air, with two butterfly-like insects clinging to either side of her body, staring coldly at him. In front of her stood dozens of robed Cultists.

"I..."

Seeing this woman, Fang Zheng was speechless—wasn't this Maghda, the leader of the Cultists and the culprit responsible for Deckard Cain's death?

Did I just walk into a trap?