Flame Embrace

"Caw caw! It's them, the damn scarecrows, bad, bad, humans kill, kill!"

These Demonic Scarecrows were level three or four monsters, looking weak and wobbly.

Furthermore, the open terrain of the Wheat Field made the area feel relatively safe, unlike the poor visibility in the forest where heaven knows what monsters might be hiding.

Xiao Jie scanned his surroundings and felt reassured. "Ready to start. Same old rules: use bows to lure them out and kill them one by one! By the way, what's the deal with Flame Embrace?"

I Want to Become Immortal explained, "I'm not sure either. It was mentioned in the Strategy Guide my brother gave me."

As he spoke, he read the contents of the Strategy Guide to Xiao Jie.

[Demonic Scarecrow: Attack power is very weak, even a level one player can easily kill them, but before dying, they will use a skill called "Flame Embrace." After grabbing a player, they self-combust together with the player. The damage is massive and it's easy to get one-shot, so try not to provoke them. I was once at full health when I got grabbed, and it burned me down to a sliver of health.]

Xiao Jie frowned slightly upon hearing this. Burned from full health to a sliver? That was a bit intense.

His brother couldn't have been a high level when he was killing scarecrows, but even with only 100 health, being burned down to a sliver meant Flame Embrace dealt at least 70-90 damage.

His own 100 health could barely withstand it, but what if his brother had added points to Constitution at the time? That would mean the Flame Embrace skill was enough to one-shot someone.

However, since it only triggered before death, it shouldn't be a problem if they were careful.

"Here's the plan: once the scarecrow's health hits bottom, we run away and finish it off with bows. These scarecrows look like they have slow movement speed, so we should be able to kite them."

I Want to Become Immortal's eyes lit up when he heard this. That's right, they had bows! "Understood."

The two aimed at a scarecrow and fired a volley.

Swish! Swish!

This scarecrow was made of wood and straw, truly looking like a target dummy. Both arrows hit simultaneously.

-3!

-2!

What the hell? Xiao Jie was taken aback. This damage wasn't right, was it?

Watching the scarecrow stumble toward them, Xiao Jie didn't continue shooting. It seemed this thing had resistance to piercing damage.

That made sense; it was just a pile of bundled straw, so poking a hole through it wouldn't mean much.

He would have to use a blade to hack at it.

Xiao Jie swung his blade and slashed.

Fortunately, the slashing damage was full.

One strike landed on the scarecrow, dealing -22!

It was exactly as the guide said: the scarecrow had no attack power and no speed. Its arms, made of straw, had no intimidation factor when swung, and hitting a shield felt like nothing more than a tickle.

They didn't even need to use kiting tactics. The scarecrow only had 120 health in total, and it was nearly dead after a few slashes.

Just as its health hit bottom, the scarecrow suddenly burst into flames, instantly turning into a human torch, and lunged fiercely at Xiao Jie.

Xiao Jie had been prepared for this and used Kite Flip without hesitation!

With a backflip, the lunge missed completely. Boom! The scarecrow turned into ashes amidst the flames, dropping a dozen or so copper coins.

System: Gained 8 Experience Points.

Pretty simple, actually, Xiao Jie thought to himself.

"Let's continue."

Although the final Flame Embrace move was scary, it wasn't hard to dodge if they were prepared in advance.

The two lured the scarecrows out of the Wheat Field one by one, using both blades and swords to hack them down in a couple of hits.

Some scarecrows didn't even have time to combust before being hacked to the ground.

Another scarecrow was lured out.

The two slashed at it with blade and sword, expecting to need another round, but the scarecrow suddenly burst into flames.

This time, its target was I Want to Become Immortal. He hurriedly rolled backward, but the scarecrow lunged fiercely, landing right on top of him.

The roll function in Old Earth looked very similar to the rolls in the Souls-like games Xiao Jie had played in the past, but there was one major difference: there were no invincibility frames.

A roll with invincibility frames was a true god-tier skill; as long as you rolled well, you could dodge any attack. But without invincibility frames, it was just a mediocre movement skill.

He was only halfway through his roll when he was caught firmly by the scarecrow.

Boom! The burning flames instantly engulfed I Want to Become Immortal.

Oh no! Xiao Jie was shocked, nearly freezing in place.

Was he going to watch another teammate die before his eyes?

"Holy crap, holy crap!" I Want to Become Immortal screamed in terror as his health was instantly burned down by over 90 points.

Fortunately, when he leveled up earlier, he had followed his brother's advice and put all his points into health, giving him a 150-point Health Bar. This hit only took away two-thirds of it, so he wasn't one-shot.

But he was still scared out of his wits. He was completely numb.

Standing up from the campfire, he immediately pulled out a Blood Potion and began chugging it.

He didn't stop until he had downed three Blood Potions in one go.

"Brother Feng, damn, that scared the hell out of me," I Want to Become Immortal said, his voice thick with tears.

Xiao Jie felt a chill run down his spine as well. It was a good thing he hadn't been the one grabbed; that thing could truly one-shot a player.

"How are you? Are you alright?"

"I can't... I need a moment to recover."

Xiao Jie was also feeling a bit helpless. He had originally thought the damage wouldn't be that high, but it seemed it really was possible for it to one-shot him.

The damage from monster skills definitely fluctuated. If their luck was bad and it dealt over a hundred damage in one burn, wouldn't they be dead?

If only he had a dog, he could let the dog land the final blow.

"How about we stop fighting this thing? It's too terrifying. Let's go fight Mountain Bandits instead," I Want to Become Immortal suggested, still shaken.

"No, let me think."

Xiao Jie looked at the remaining scarecrows. It had been hard enough to find a map where they could grind monsters to their heart's content; he couldn't just give up now.

Besides, the other monsters weren't easy to handle either. With the Mountain Bandits, pulling one extra could lead to a wipe, and the Soulless Walking Corpse area had Elite Monsters patrolling. The visibility in the woods was too poor, making it easy for monsters to ambush them.

After thinking for a while, he found a solution.

"Here's the plan. Based on our experience from the fight just now, the scarecrow's ignition point seems to be below 50% health. The lower the health, the higher the chance of self-combustion. Below 10%, it's guaranteed. So, as long as we can instantly kill it when it hits 50% health, it shouldn't catch fire."

50% health meant 60 HP.

Xiao Jie's One Cut Two Segments could deal over 50 damage. As long as I Want to Become Immortal could synchronize and land a strike, they could secure the kill.

"Here's the plan: when the scarecrow's health hits half, I'll use my combat skill to finish it off. You need to synchronize your attack with mine to ensure an instant kill, leaving the scarecrow no chance to ignite. Can you do it?"

One Cut Two Segments had a charge time and couldn't be used as freely as a basic Slash, so I Want to Become Immortal would have to coordinate with Xiao Jie, not the other way around. This placed certain demands on I Want to Become Immortal's execution.

"I think I can."

" 'Think' isn't enough. It has to be 100% successful. If you fail to synchronize and the scarecrow is left with a sliver of health, it will definitely ignite, and we'll be in danger. Let's practice first."

One Cut Two Segments!

Slash!

One Cut Two Segments!

Slash!

One Cut Two Segments!

Slash!

The two practiced against the air for quite a while. Their attack synchronization gradually improved until, by the end, they were as coordinated as if they were moving their own limbs.

"Alright, that should work. But just in case, I'll pull the monster from the front. The roll distance of the Kite Flip is longer, and it has a higher vertical clearance, making it harder to get pounced on."

I Want to Become Immortal shook his head. "No, how can I let you face the danger alone? Besides, my health bar is thicker, so the chance of being one-shot if I get pounced on is lower. Since I started playing this game, I've been prepared to risk it all. Brother Feng, I know you're a good guy, but this isn't something we can avoid."

Xiao Jie sighed. In truth, he was just as afraid as anyone else. "Fine, then we go in together. Good brothers share life and death."

"And wealth is determined by heaven!" I Want to Become Immortal added.

The two gripped their weapons and charged toward the next scarecrow.

This Synchronized Side-by-Side Slash technique was indeed effective. As long as they struck at the same time, they could one-shot the scarecrow at half health.

Xiao Jie felt like a dancer on a tightrope, or perhaps a hunter in a sniper duel on the battlefield. It looked effortless, yet every moment was razor-thin.

One Cut Two Segments! -54!

Slash! -17!

With another coordinated attack, the moment the scarecrow vanished into ashes, a white light flashed over Xiao Jie. He had finally reached level 3.