They Call This a Fortress...

With all four of them tending to it at once, the Kobold being suppressed by Li Xunsheng didn't fare any better than its tree-dwelling kin...

And during the process of losing its thousand points of Life, Li Xunsheng and Zhao Jun had contributed the least...

Yi Qing still dealt the most damage. Although Zhao Min possessed powerful and consistent spells, they required casting motions, so her damage frequency was far lower than that of the high-Agility assassin. Yi Qing, who occasionally dealt Critical Hits, had contributed enormously and earned five points of War Merit.

To conserve mana, Zhao Min threw two fireballs. Realizing that her damage output couldn't match Yi Qing's, she stopped and earned two points of War Merit.

With the damage bonuses from his weapon and [Omnipotence][Throat Cut], Xuan Sheng's damage was at least passable, though it couldn't compare with the two above him.

As for Zhao Jun, he had nothing worthwhile to offer... An utterly ordinary stat panel and utterly ordinary damage made him look rather pathetic among the four.

"Hmph. If you need help next time, remember to say so earlier. This really could have gotten us killed."

After discovering that Li Xunsheng's damage output was lacking, Zhao Min didn't spare him verbally, but she still took the initiative to extend her fair hand and help Xuan Sheng up from the ground.

The tsundere girl has already fallen out of the meta~ Still, since this little guy's heart is in the right place, I'll help her this once... Of course, only once.

If I help her again, people will call me a saint... I'll help her change her personality, and after that, whether she lives or dies is up to her... With that thought, Xuan Sheng spoke again:

"Let's deal with the few outermost sentries first. At the very least, we should clear out our retreat route..."

If the pressure ahead became too great, retreating would be unavoidable.

If they didn't clear out the enemies behind them, they could be surrounded and have nowhere to run.

In any case, the experience from the Kobolds was pretty good. Although War Merit was distributed according to damage dealt, experience was completely divided and shared equally when in a party.

"There are sentries in groups of two in all four directions of the valley. There are three groups left. Let's take care of them first."

Following the same method, they dealt with the other sentries. At last, the four-person party could reach the entrance to the valley...

Seeing the results of the Kobolds' several days of labor, everyone fell silent...

"Why... is there only one door?"

The wooden door was surrounded by a wall built from stakes, mud, and other strange mixtures.

But the problem was... no matter how they looked at it, with its crude gate, open ceiling, and unbelievably rough fencing...

Shouldn't this thing be called a pigpen with a door...?

"What's going on?"

Had they come to the wrong place? Was this little enclosure actually the Kobolds' latrine? Was the fortress somewhere else?

Zhao Jun looked at the young man who had led the way, puzzled, seeking instructions from the party leader.

"No... this is the place..."

Li Xunsheng's eyelid twitched. Covering his face, he almost burst out laughing.

He hadn't expected that the Kobolds' so-called "fortress" had actually been built underground!

Although the thing above was bizarre and as ugly as a pigpen, the cavern behind the door was a different world entirely.

Still... the Kobolds' habits seemed rather similar to those of enlarged ants...

In any case, the tunnels they had dug were intricate and interconnected, so they still needed to proceed carefully.

"Their main forces are underground. This enclosure and door are only meant to seal off the entrances to the tunnels."

After posting the Kobolds' habits in the party chat panel, the other three finally understood.

"But... Brother Li really does know a lot..."

After sighing softly, Zhao Jun went to the door, then suddenly stopped.

"Does anyone know how to pick locks? They actually put something like this on the door..."

Having grown accustomed to the way the Kobolds and his teammates fought, Zhao Jun had calmed down. He crouched before the door and carefully examined it.

"None of the squads we killed earlier had a key?"

"No."

Zhao Jun shook his head and looked at Yi Qing.

"What about picking the lock..."

Of everyone present, only she had taken the assassin path... So she should at least have learned the Thief's lockpicking skill...

"I didn't."

Yi Qing coldly uttered those two words, then folded her arms, helpless.

Time was pressing. She had spent most of it grinding monsters and improving herself. How could she have had time to learn something like that?

"Lockpicking... I think I know a little..."

Related knowledge suddenly flashed through his mind, and Xuan Sheng absentmindedly rubbed his forehead.

What's going on... Before entering the game, was I actually a staunch anti-office-worker?

Why does this kind of knowledge suddenly start flooding into my head whenever I need it...?

"Then what are you waiting for?"

"Big Sister, I still need lockpicks to pick a lock... What else am I supposed to use?"

"You're the Big Sister!"

Zhao Min's cheeks flushed red as she protested unhappily.

"Then what do we do?"

Zhao Jun was dumbfounded too. They had finally found the Kobolds' base, only to discover that they couldn't open the door... What kind of situation was this?

[Crude Wooden Door: If your lockpicking proficiency is Lv.5 or above, you can easily open this door with a lockpick (an iron wire or something similar)]

[Actually, if your Strength is above forty points, you can try using brute force]

Hmm...

Xuan Sheng focused his gaze on this [Fortress], and soon obtained the relevant information.

[Kobold Fortress: A tunnel system hastily excavated by these semi-barbaric, low-intelligence creatures. It is extremely deep and complex, and minor disturbances above will not alarm the troops stationed within. You may open the door at will]

"So what do we do now? Go back and look for clues somewhere else?"

Looking at the silent young man, Zhao Min didn't make any more random remarks. Instead, she offered her own suggestion.

"No need."

Since ordinary combat noises wouldn't affect the Kobolds in other areas, they could simply force their way in.

Under everyone's puzzled gazes, Xuan Sheng came to the door and slightly raised his leg...

"Boom!"

Wood chips flew everywhere. In an instant, a huge hole had been smashed through the wooden door. The tremendous impact even kicked up dust from the ground, shrouding the surroundings in a haze...

"Cough, cough, cough..."

Waving her hand to disperse the swirling dust, Zhao Min gathered up her long hair anxiously and took two steps back.

Seeing Zhao Min's expression, Xuan Sheng shook his head slightly. "This is an outdoor mission, Young Lady. I suggest you stay in the city."

Casually breaking off the remaining pieces of the wooden door, the young man's calm and composed expression secretly shocked Zhao Jun.

How did Big Boss Golden Shovel do that?

He had already paid attention to the door when he examined it earlier.

According to the basic Appraisal skill provided by the game system, the door could indeed be smashed open with sufficient Strength.

But! Although the system hadn't given an exact value, it had said that roughly Lv.10-level Strength was needed to accomplish it.

In other words, one needed at least forty points of Strength to force the door open!

Yet the Big Boss Golden Shovel before him was only level five, just like him!

Could it be that, despite only being level five, he already possessed more than forty points of Strength???

How did he do it!!!