Secrets in the Pale Mire

Bai Xiaowen's Psychic Sensing also detected it, and he nodded, saying, "Yes, let's go take a look."

After passing through the thick fog, Bai Xiaowen saw two sides engaged in battle. One side consisted of swamp monsters, and the other side consisted of Awakened Academy students.

There were seven people on the Awakened side, Bai Xiaowen was surprised to see two alumni from Jinghai University, Han Xu and Chen Guowei, among them.

Han Xu had already donned the Golden Tier upper armor [Earthwalker Dragon Bone Plate Armor], looking quite imposing and powerful. He charged ahead, wielding his tower shield, and thanks to his high armor and skillful shield technique, he single-handedly withstood the attacks of several swamp monsters, making him the most crucial tank in this temporary Awakened team.

It seems Han Xu didn't wait for the upgrade; instead, he took a gamble and drank the Ruby's Might Enhancement Potion Bai Xiaowen gave him. This time, he succeeded, gaining 4 points of base strength, meeting the equipment requirements for the Earthwalker Dragon Bone Plate Armor, greatly increasing his survivability as a tank-type class.

Therefore, Han Xu was able to withstand several swamp monsters of higher level than him with the strength of a level 4 Elite Awakened.

Chen Guowei is only level 3, Standard Class with Standard Template. Normally, with his skill level, it would be difficult for him to find a team.

Bai Xiaowen speculated that Chen Guowei's ability to gain combat experience and Kill Contribution in this team was partly due to Han Xu's influence; to some extent, he was riding on Han Xu's coattails as the main tank.

As for the awakened individuals from other universities, Bai Xiaowen did not recognize them. Judging from the fluctuations in their Psychic Field, they were mostly Intermediate Awakened at levels four or five, with one level six Elite Awakened leading the group.

The swamp creatures that fought against the Awakened Ones were a group of giant lobsters, almost as tall as an adult male. Bai Xiaowen saw through his Insight that these giant lobsters were called "Mud Lobsterfolk," and that their race was actually Human Species rather than Beast Species.

Lobsterfolk are basically Standard Template with only two combat skills. One is "Mud Shell," a common skill among mud creatures. The other skill is "Sturdy Carapace," which provides a fixed reduction of 10 points of physical damage.

Both of these skills are defensive in nature. They may seem tough and resilient, but their lack of offensive capabilities means that the Lobsterfolk is unlikely to be able to compete with the awakened one, and his Life Value will be slowly whittled down.

"Haha, Lao Bai!" Chen Guowei, who was also taking a break while shooting arrows, spotted Bai Xiaowen emerging from the thick fog and waved excitedly, "Come on, lend a hand and take care of these Baron Nashor!"

Chen Guowei's words immediately drew several disgruntled glances. There were far more people than monsters; these Awakened Ones were already enough to defeat the Lobsterfolk. Adding another Awakened One meant a thinner share of the spoils, let alone two more.

However, out of respect for MT Han Xu, the awakened ones remained silent.

Bai Xiaowen smiled and said, "No need, I'll just watch you guys fight."

Just kidding. With Bai Xiaowen 'Hero Class strength, how could these Standard Template Lobsterfolk monsters Standard Class stand a chance against him? Moreover, Bai Xiaowen's Battle Rating is very low when killing low-level ordinary monsters, so he basically gets no benefit from it. It's like he's hurting others without getting anything in return.

The other awakened individuals breathed a sigh of relief.

The leader, Elite Class level 6 Awakened, said somewhat embarrassedly, "Since you're Han Xu's classmate, why don't we add the two of you? More hands make light work."

Bai Xiaowen politely declined. At this moment, Chen Guowei also realized what was going on and said, "That's right, we can't fight Lao Bai. He's Hero Template, and if he joins the battle, the treasure chest will definitely be smaller."

Hero Class? The way the Awakened looked at Bai Xiaowen was clearly different now.

Someone quickly realized Bai Xiaowen's identity. "Han Xu's alumnus, he should be from Jinghai University... My God, you wouldn't happen to be the captain of Jinghai University's University Team, would you?"

"Um."

"The one who defeated Qi Ruifeng?"

"Um."

After Bai Xiaowen nodded in agreement, the other awakened individuals let out low gasps of surprise.

Soon, a group of Lobsterfolk were knocked to the ground, and two ordinary treasure chests were dropped. The group quickly divided the loot according to their Kill Contribution and then enthusiastically gathered around.

The leading Level 6 Elite Awakened said, "Hello, Bai Xiaowen, my name is Shi Haiyan, and I'm a member of the Shandong University Team. The others here, except for Han Xu and Chen Guowei, are all alumni of Shandong University. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Nice to meet you," Bai Xiaowen shook hands with Shi Haiyan, then asked, "Did you come down the circular mountain road from the entrance? How long have you been in the Pale Mire?"

Upon seeing Chen Guowei and the others, Bai Xiaowen felt a sense of unease.

He and Li Shuyi were probably among the first to enter the Undead Sinkhole. They Gliding directly to the ground, which definitely took them much longer than other awakened individuals who walked the mountain path.

Bai Xiaowen consciously ventured deeper into the Pale Swamp. Logically, it would be difficult for him to encounter other Awakened Ones—he was the first to set off, and Bai Xiaowen pace was relatively fast, making it difficult for other Awakened Ones to catch up. It was even less likely for Shi Haiyan's team to do so, as their strength was insufficient.

But as it turned out, Bai Xiaowen still ran into it.

Shi Haiyan said, "Isn't there only one path into the Undead Sinkhole —the circular mountain road? We just came down, only advanced a few hundred meters, and then we encountered this group of Lobsterfolk."

Bai Xiaowen and Li Shuyi quickly exchanged a glance.

"What's wrong?" Chen Guowei asked.

Han Xu also cast a questioning look at him.

Bai Xiaowen said slowly, "It's been at least five hours since I entered the swamp."

Chen Guowei exclaimed in surprise, "Five hours? How did we end up running into each other?"

"That's exactly what puzzles me. It seems there's a great secret hidden in this swamp," Bai Xiaowen said with a smile. "Have you encountered Snakefolk?"

A group of people shook their heads in bewilderment.

"Snakefolk still live in this swamp?" Shi Haiyan was a little surprised. "The records left by our predecessors don't mention Snakefolk at all. Isn't the Pale Swamp only inhabited by Lobsterfolk, Many-Headed Snake, and some Giant Swamp Crocodile and Giant Crab?"

Bai Xiaowen said, "Based on my deduction, there are not only Snakefolk in the swamp, but also an entire Snakefolk Tribe. They're just hiding."

"Old Bai, have you encountered Snakefolk? How strong are they?" Chen Guowei asked.

Bai Xiaowen nodded. "We've encountered two; they were probably on patrol, and both were Elite Tier monsters. Judging from this, there should be quite a few Elite Tier monsters in the Snakefolk Tribe, perhaps even some Boss Tier."

The group of awakened individuals all revealed eager eyes. For them, challenging the Boss Tier was too dangerous, but besieging Elite Tier was much safer, and the rewards were much greater than those for ordinary monsters.