Ash of War: Knight's Charge

Ash of War: Knight's Charge

As time passed, the players' exploration of Nearshore Cave had reached its latter half.

After dealing with the initial Howling Sea Anemones and the Living Bone swarm, they continued onward and found three paths ahead, along with a narrow, well-hidden passage that was difficult to spot.

Of the three paths, one main route led to the largest cave, while the other two contained groups of Cave Living Bones and clusters of Howling Sea Anemones, making them rather dangerous.

Compared with the earlier monsters, these two groups were more difficult, but their drops also seemed more plentiful.

Li Miao obtained a rusted short knife and a tattered piece of clothing. Both were crude-quality items and utterly pathetic...

The final narrow path was hidden in the shadows and difficult to notice. After entering it, he found only one [Thieving Bone], whose appearance differed slightly from that of the Living Bones.

It moved incredibly fast, but it was still a piece of cake for Li Miao.

Having finally finished exploring all the branches, Li Miao let out a sigh of relief and looked toward the largest open cave.

He had a feeling that the open cave ahead was probably the end of this instance.

Before entering, he checked his character status.

[Title: Brother Miao Won't Fail]

[Rank: Cinder]

[Level: 10]

[Ability Score: ...]

[Talent: Robust]

[Skills: Dodge, Bone Fork Throw]

Some time ago, in order to complete a specific quest, he and Yuanfang had farmed the Fishman Chief for quite a while, so he had naturally obtained and learned this combat skill.

His Ability Scores were primarily allocated to Strength and Constitution, giving him ample HP and formidable attack power.

Once he was fully prepared, Li Miao took a deep breath and slowly stepped into the cave...

Not long after entering, an unusual sound came from the pool ahead. Piles of Flesh Algae mixed with blood and flesh intertwined, eventually forming a grotesque Humanoid Monster.

[Fire-Igniter: Leckmod]

[Rank: Cinder]

[Level: 10]

[Talent: Flesh Algae (It does not possess the obvious weaknesses of a flesh-and-blood body)]

[Skills: Corrosive Algae Liquid, Knight's Charge]

[Description: A young man who sought to restore his family's glory by igniting a fire explored this far, but he failed and was forced to become part of a strange algae lifeform.]

"This CG is really well made, but it's kind of disgusting..." Li Miao grimaced as he watched.

However, he had a high tolerance for such things and was not affected much. Instead, he stretched his body and tightened his grip on the Candlelight Saber.

"Come on..."

Li Miao murmured inwardly, staring intently at the monster before him.

"Restore... Leckmod..."

"Kill!"

The Fire-Igniter had no consciousness. Upon sensing an enemy, it had only one response: attack!

Corrosive Algae Liquid gushed from its palms.

Li Miao, who had been watching it closely, reacted at once. He moved away in advance and used the opportunity to close in.

He and Yuanfang had long discovered that the combat in this game was extremely true to reality.

Although monsters adjusted their actions in response to the players, the players were not limited to relying on the brief damage immunity from rolling to avoid attacks.

Running, jumping, or pulling back at the right time could all avoid damage.

Rolling was merely their last resort, a gamble when there was nowhere to evade—not a conventional tactic.

By now, Li Miao's combat skills had become fairly proficient.

Avoiding an attack of this level was effortless for him. He even found an opening to slash the monster once before pulling away again.

However, when he saw the wound inflicted by the Candlelight Saber rapidly heal, Li Miao frowned.

But soon, he noticed that fragments of algae were falling from Fire-Igniter Leckmod's body and turning to ash as they dispersed.

The attack was effective. It was simply that, due to its Flesh Algae talent, Fire-Igniter Leckmod would not be affected by its injuries.

"The difficulty isn't high."

After their brief exchange, Li Miao made an assessment of the Instance Boss's strength and then focused on the battle.

"Still, it has another skill it hasn't shown yet. Better stay cautious."

Li Miao did not get carried away. Instead, he became even more wary.

Sure enough, under his continued evasions and opportunistic attacks, Fire-Igniter Leckmod seemed to enter a berserk state.

Its swollen white eyeballs rolled madly.

"Charge!"

After roaring and letting out an indistinct bellow, it raised its right arm high, tucked it beneath its armpit, and charged at Li Miao at top speed as though it were wielding a sharp knight's lance!

Its originally sluggish speed abruptly surged, and like an experienced knight who had practiced countless times, it was unstoppable even without a weapon!

Li Miao was startled.

The difference in the boss's speed before and after activating this skill was simply too great. His previous attack rhythm was thrown into disarray, leaving him no time to evade in advance.

Yet Li Miao still made the most correct choice at that moment—Dodge.

Boom—

Fire-Igniter Leckmod slammed headfirst into the stone wall. A dull boom echoed through the open cave, while the Flesh Algae composing its body splattered everywhere and collapsed into a heap.

Splash!

Li Miao's Candle Spirit Physique shifted from blurry back to solid. He hurriedly got to his feet and let out a breath.

He had seen a spear without a spearhead kill people before, but this was the first time he had seen something without even a spear nearly skewer someone to death!

Luckily, Dodge had triggered just now. Otherwise, that hit would have put him flat on his back!

Then he noticed the mass of Flesh Algae gathering together again!

"Did it... trigger a knockdown state?"

"An opening!"

The experienced Li Miao charged in with his saber and unleashed a frenzied barrage of slashes.

More than half of the Flesh Algae was cut into ash, even slowing its reassembly to some extent.

At the end, Li Miao retreated to a safe distance, took out the Bone Fork he had farmed earlier, assumed a throwing stance, charged up, and hurled it with all his might!

Combat Skill: Bone Fork Throw!

Squelch!

Perhaps thanks to Li Miao's earlier relentless efforts, the Flesh Algae, after being hacked apart and then struck by his combat skill, suddenly collapsed and vanished with a splash just before it could finish reforming!

[You have slain Fire-Igniter: Leckmod]

[Obtained: Candle Wax ×15]

[Obtained: Rusted Light Armor ×1]

[Obtained: Ash of War: Knight's Charge]

[Rusted Light Armor (Common)]

[Type: Chest Armor]

[Description: A finely crafted set of light armor that rusted after prolonged immersion in water, reducing its quality.]

[Ash of War: Knight's Charge]

[Type: Skill Book]

[Quality: Cinder]

[Effect: After charging up for a period of time, charge forward and ram into the target. If wielding a spear or lance-type weapon, damage will be maximized. (Note: This skill has certain attribute requirements for its user.)]

[Description: Though his flesh was shattered, his remaining soul still remembered the combat skill he had once tempered through countless trials.]

"Holy shit!"

"After extreme bad luck comes good fortune. My luck's finally turning around!"

Li Miao was instantly thrilled at the sight of these generous drops.

One only had to look at the previous drop rates to know how difficult Ashes of War were to farm, yet one had dropped on his very first clear.

The goddess of Luck was smiling upon him!

"Feels good."

Li Miao let out a long breath.

At present, the only Ashes of War that could be easily farmed on Candlewood Island were the Fishman's Bone Fork Throw and the Sandworm King's Conceal.

The latter had attribute restrictions, so Li Miao could not learn it...

Now he had finally obtained another Ash of War, and it was obvious at a glance that this one had been prepared for melee players like them!

"Mm, this instance is well designed. The monster strength is moderate, and the drops are clearly well thought out."

After touching the Milestone Spirit Candle, Li Miao beamed with delight.

Nearshore Cave was truly far too friendly for melee players like them!

After gathering his things and checking the surroundings to make sure he had not missed anything, Li Miao entered the Gray Fog and left the place.

He had agreed with Yuanfang that if either of them cleared the instance, they would come out immediately to exchange information about Nearshore Cave's interior.

Yuanfang should have cleared it by now at this point...

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