You Really Shouldn't Set Flags Carelessly

The difference between a Nephalem and an ordinary person became obvious in an instant. The Undead that Captain Rumford needed several sword strikes to wound did not even last a single exchange beneath the Crusader girl's Meteor Hammer. Fang Zheng watched as she raised the weapon and swung it forward, sending the Undead flying like fallen leaves swept away by an autumn wind. It was absurdly easy!

Before this, seeing a scene just like one from the game would only have made Fang Zheng curl his lip, and he would not have taken it too seriously. But after personally experiencing how troublesome these Undead were, he finally gained a direct sense of just how monstrous Nephalem were.

Even when Fang Zheng defeated these Undead, he had relied entirely on the power of Holy Light from Crusader Strike. But this Nephalem was using nothing but her own strength. With one hammer blow, the unlucky Undead were smashed so thoroughly that not even their bones remained, while the lucky ones were sent flying. Fang Zheng clicked his tongue in amazement. At last, he had a direct understanding of the Nephalem's power.

Wait... why am I standing here watching the show? I still have a mission!

After watching the Crusader sweep away another group of Undead, Fang Zheng froze. Only then did he remember that he had not come here to watch the excitement!

Frostmourne was still hungry!

With that thought, Fang Zheng gripped his weapon and charged forward without hesitation.

Compared to the "tutorial stage" in the game, there were clearly far more Undead attacking Fang Zheng and the others. Aside from the first wave that crawled out of the ground, several more waves appeared afterward. Their numbers kept growing, until even Fang Zheng and the Crusader girl could barely hold them back together. The Militia suffered even worse casualties. Apart from Captain Rumford, who was still struggling to hold on, the other Militia members were either dead or injured. It did not look like they would last much longer.

Something was wrong!

After cutting down another Undead, Fang Zheng took a breath and looked around. Other than the firelight at the gates of Tristram, everything around them was shrouded in darkness. All he could hear were the Undead's low growls and occasional flashes of light.

"Haah... haah... There are way too many of these damn things."

Clutching Frostmourne and staring at the Undead shambling out of the darkness, Fang Zheng kept panting. He could no longer remember how many Undead he had killed. He only knew that every time he cut one down, two more emerged beside it. When he cut down two, four more appeared. They came without end, as if they could never be killed off.

Was this the real Dark World...?

Only now did Fang Zheng feel a trace of fear. When he played games, all he felt was annoyance at endlessly grinding through enemies. At most, he had wondered why humanity in Diablo's world had it so miserable. But now, Fang Zheng finally understood that games and reality were not the same.

There was a reason humanity in the Dark World had been driven to the brink of extinction.

"Haah—!"

Watching an Undead stagger toward him, Fang Zheng gripped Frostmourne and roared as he swung forward. With a flash of Holy Light, the Undead was split in two at the waist and collapsed to the ground. But to Fang Zheng's surprise, the instant it fell, its upper body suddenly sprang up. Its two hands rapidly crawled across the ground as it lunged for him!

"Damn!!"

Fang Zheng jumped in fright at the sudden sight. Almost instinctively, he raised Frostmourne and thrust downward with all his strength. The sharp blade pierced straight through the Undead's body with a swish. Then wisps of Soul Power rose from the Undead and were drawn into Frostmourne's blade. Only then did the twitching half-corpse finally go still, as if it had lost its energy supply.

"235..."

Fang Zheng glanced at the Soul Power value displayed by the system and let out a breath. This endless grinding was not what he had wanted, but at least Frostmourne's soul-draining mission now seemed possible to complete. The Dark World lacked many things, but it certainly did not lack monsters. Fang Zheng was sure Frostmourne liked these evil souls very much as well.

"Uuurgh—!!"

At that moment, a strange sound suddenly came from the distant forest. It sounded like a woman crying out, yet also like a drunk person vomiting. The moment they heard it, Rumford and the Crusader girl's expressions changed.

Carrion Mother!

"So that's why these damn things just keep coming no matter how many we kill!"

Fang Zheng finally realized it. Carrion Mothers were monsters transformed from the Queen's servants, and their greatest trait was their ability to create more Undead. Fang Zheng had no idea how it worked, but he knew that Carrion Mothers created Undead by vomiting, after which the Undead crawled out of the mess... Ugh, just thinking about it made him sick.

"We have to kill the Carrion Mother!"

"I know!"

Hearing Captain Rumford's voice, Fang Zheng answered without looking back, then gripped Frostmourne and rushed into the forest.

Fang Zheng was working so hard not merely because he wanted to eliminate the threat. The instant Captain Rumford spoke, Fang Zheng received a prompt from the system.

Scene Mission Triggered: Guardian II

You have sensed the source of evil and found its trail. All that remains is to use the sharp blade in your hand to end this all. (Eliminate the Carrion Mother. Dimension Points +1)

But while Fang Zheng was fast, the Crusader was no slower. The instant Fang Zheng entered the forest, he saw golden light flash around the Crusader beside him. Then, to his astonishment, she shot toward the depths of the forest like a cannonball leaving its barrel.

"Boom—!!"

The golden Crusader streaked through the darkness like a meteor. Everything in her path was crushed and shattered by the overwhelming impact. Then Fang Zheng saw a figure appear before her. Without hesitation, the Crusader raised her shield and smashed it hard into the figure's face.

"Thud!!"

The unfortunate Carrion Mother was sent spinning backward through the air. But the Crusader could not press her advantage, because several Undead had already appeared before her, staggering into her path and blocking the way.

A perfect chance!

Seeing the Crusader held back, Fang Zheng breathed a sigh of relief. If the Crusader smashed the Carrion Mother's head apart with her Meteor Hammer, his Scene Mission would naturally fail. But now that the Crusader had been stopped, even if only briefly, it was enough for Fang Zheng!

Nicely done!

Silently giving the Carrion Mother a thumbs-up in his heart, Fang Zheng gripped Frostmourne and ran down the path the Crusader had opened toward the depths of the forest. Soon, he saw the unfortunate Carrion Mother. She was crawling on the ground and seemed unable even to stand.

A perfect chance!

Fang Zheng's eyes lit up at the sight. He glanced to the side and saw that the Crusader was currently entangled with the Undead and could not free herself for the moment. As long as he got there in time, Fang Zheng would definitely claim this kill!

With that thought, Fang Zheng charged forward without hesitation. He did not have the Crusader's powerful charging skill, but fortunately, the Carrion Mother had been sent flying into an open patch of forest. Thus, Fang Zheng did not spend much time rushing out of the bushes. He raised Frostmourne high and swung it down at the Carrion Mother with all his strength!

Crusader Strike!

At the instant Fang Zheng swung down his sword, the Carrion Mother, who had been lying prone on the ground, suddenly raised her head. She looked at Fang Zheng and opened her mouth. Then, with a retching sound, a huge mass of foul filth and stench came hurtling toward him!

What the hell!

Fang Zheng was stunned by the sight. He immediately canceled his skill and rolled to the side. With a soft splat, the mass of filth struck the ground not far from him. In the dim light, Fang Zheng could even see dark green bubbles continuously swelling across its surface. The surrounding ground began to smoke and slowly cave inward. He could easily imagine that getting hit by that stuff would lead to nothing good.

Trying to ambush me?

Fang Zheng's anger flared. A Carrion Mother beaten half to death by the Crusader was actually trying to ambush him? Did she think he was easier to bully?

He raised Frostmourne and looked at the Carrion Mother again. The Carrion Mother glared viciously back at him. Seeing Fang Zheng look over, she opened her mouth as if preparing to scream.

"—!"

But this time, before she could make a sound, Fang Zheng drove his sword into her mouth.

Crusader Strike!

Holy Light erupted instantly. Fang Zheng watched as the Carrion Mother's entire head began to crack apart. Lines of fractures spread over her skin, and brilliant holy radiance shone out from the gaps, growing brighter and brighter. Then, with a bang, the Carrion Mother's body exploded and turned to ashes within white Holy Fire.

At the same time, the system notification sounded in Fang Zheng's ear once more, and lines of information appeared before his eyes.

Scene Mission "Guardian" Progress II Complete

User received Dimension Points +1

Obtained 70 Soul Power

Crusader Strike skill proficiency increased to C-rank

Crusader Strike upgraded into an area-of-effect skill

"Just as I thought..."

Seeing the information, Fang Zheng rolled his eyes and opened his skill menu again. Sure enough, one-fifth of the progress bar beneath Crusader Strike had turned orange-red. Fang Zheng was speechless. He had already seen in the system that skills gradually became stronger as proficiency increased. Naturally, that was designed to lure both newbies and big spenders into spending money. After all, Dimension Points either had to be saved up or bought. While skill proficiency increased a skill's power, ordinary people would definitely never have enough Dimension Points. As for the big spenders... it was simply a matter of buy, buy, buy.

This was the shameless face of mobile games. Fang Zheng had not expected that he would become one of the victims. Was this what they meant by walking too many mountain paths and eventually meeting a ghost?

Still, this mission had been fairly simple. He had only killed a Carrion Mother and already earned one Dimension Point. If future missions were all this easy, then...

"Ding."

Before Fang Zheng could finish sighing, another system notification sounded by his ear. Immediately afterward, another line of information appeared before him.

Scene Mission Triggered: Guardian III

Looking at the corpse before you, you deeply realize that the darkness ahead is not as easy to overcome as you imagined. You sense the irreversible wheel of fate rumbling closer, and all you can do is use every ounce of your strength to change it. (Change the predetermined fate. Completing the mission grants a random reward and Dimension Points +3. Failure will forcibly lock the Quest World. Countdown: 48:00)

"..."

Seeing the mission prompt, Fang Zheng was completely speechless. There was only one sentence in his mind.

Sure enough, you really shouldn't set flags carelessly!