Hidden Cave (Third Update)

A ring of pale purple blood mist spread out.

The seven rattlesnakes had only 1 point of constitution, and at most 10 points of Life Value. When the Butcher's Rot reached the second layer, they all collapsed and fell down with a clatter.

"Your summoned creature: Butcher's passive skill: Slaughterhouse triggers, increasing maximum Life Value by 2."

"Your summoned creature: Butcher's passive skill: Slaughterhouse triggers, increasing maximum Life Value by 1."

A series of notification sounds rang out, and Bai Xiaowen smiled.

There are over 200 mutated venomous snakes in this Guli... oh no, I mean Desert Rattlesnake. The Butcher should be able to stack up his extra 300 maximum Life Value by the end of this run...

There were only a few venomous snakes at the valley entrance, so Bai Xiaowen then controlled the Butcher to disable the Rot skill and headed into the valley.

When the number of venomous snakes was low, Bai Xiaowen instructed the swordsmen and shieldmen to use their swords and shields to smash them, killing them with single-target attacks. As long as they were within the Butcher's melee range, the Slaughterhouse passive would be triggered, increasing their maximum health.

Although the venomous snakes were fast, even with their movement speed doubled by 5 points of agility, they still couldn't match the 17 points of agility of the Skeleton Sword-and-Shield Soldier. After figuring out the patterns of their ricocheting angles, Bai Xiaowen could even control the Skeleton Sword-and-Shield Soldier to repeatedly slash the snakes in mid-air, much to the Old Demon's surprise.

If you encounter a swarm of venomous snakes, that's when the Butcher's Rot skill comes into play. Basically, after 3 seconds, once Rot stacks to the second level, no venomous snake can withstand it.

Perhaps due to the vast difference in strength, these venomous snakes didn't drop any treasure chests, only occasionally yielding one or two points of Psionic Points, which was negligible.

Suddenly, a hissing sound rang out, and a rattlesnake as thick as a wrist stealthily slithered close to the ground. It ignored Fatty and went straight for Bai Xiaowen!

With a single slingshot, Gray Shadow out. With Bai Xiaowen's dynamic vision, he could even see the rattlesnake open its mouth with fine, sharp teeth in mid-air, its tongue flicking in and out.

"Innocent!"

Bai Xiaowen slightly turned to dodge the pounce, then reached out and grabbed the snake's tail in mid-air, slamming it to the ground with a sudden burst of strength!

It's worth mentioning that Bai Xiaowen's throw was judged as a melee throw attack, triggering Ryuji Yamazaki's Fighting Gloves's 100% Critical Hit rate passive from his fighting gloves and the Blood Essence Stone passive...

Notification message: "You have killed Elite Desert Rattlesnake and gained 10 Psionic Points."

The Old Demon leaned closer. "This is an Elite Tier... judging from its actions, it actually possesses a certain degree of intelligence."

Bai Xiaowen looked at the corpse of the Elite Tier rattlesnake, shook his head and smiled, muttering to himself:

"What a surprise... I didn't even reveal the existence of the Blood Essence Stone when we played against the Wannan University Team, I never expected a level 1 snake to receive this kind of treatment..."

The Elite Tier rattlesnake's sneak attack was doomed to fail. Both Bai Xiaowen and Old Demon had already noticed its unusual movements; their naiveté stemmed from this. However, from the snake's perspective, having such tactical thinking was already quite remarkable.

During the advance, Bai Xiaowen encountered two more Elite Tier rattlesnakes, which he killed Yi-Yi.

"That's a bit strange, Uncle Old Demon Yao," Bai Xiaowen said.

"Hmm?" The Old Demon showed an attentive expression.

"Three Elite Tier rattlesnakes, all coming from that direction..." Bai Xiaowen pointed to the north side of the valley, "I don't think something's a bit off."

"Then let's head north into the valley and see if there's a cluster of Elite Tier there," the Old Demon pondered for a moment. "A cluster of Elite Tier is more likely to produce Boss Tier."

"Uh... even if it's Boss-Tier Rattlesnake, it's only level 1. The difference is too big; what good loot could it possibly have? Besides, the intelligence has confirmed that there are no Leader Tier creatures."

Despite saying that, Bai Xiaowen still controlled the three Fatty to turn sideways and advance towards the valley to the north.

Sure enough, the number of Elite Tier rattlesnakes encountered along the way increased significantly, while the ordinary rattlesnakes were also more densely packed. It was as if something was attracting these snakes.

The Butcher's maximum Life Value has already increased to nearly 100 points. At this rate, it will be full in a day at most... Of course, this is on the premise that Bai Xiaowen can keep killing this many monsters.

After passing through a thicket of bushes, we arrived at the foot of the mountain in the valley to the north.

"No more snakes?" The Old Demon looked around.

"No, it's just that the snakes are afraid of this area." Bai Xiaowen frowned slightly. He habitually glanced at the Doom Bracelet on his left wrist... The pattern on it had changed from a smiley face to a serious "earnest face."

A serious face indicates a moderate threat and requires careful consideration.

Bai Xiaowen didn't think that level 1 venomous snakes could pose a "moderate threat" to him—clearly, the official intelligence was wrong, and this Venomous Snake Valley had hidden secrets.

It's actually quite normal for official intelligence to be wrong. Official missions aren't as precise as missions generated by the Spirit Realm Rules; instead, they rely on a combination of technological means, such as bunker outposts, reconnaissance aircraft, and satellites, to gather intelligence data over a wide range of areas.

While technological methods can collect data quickly and over a wide range, their accuracy is often unsatisfactory.

If Leader Tier creature consciously Stealth, it's not difficult to evade rough detection by technological means.

Bai Xiaowen's Divine Might was highly concentrated, like an impenetrable net, consciously scanning the fan-shaped area in front of him. This required a very high level of Divine Might, which even some advanced Mental Specialty awakeners might not be able to do.

Every detail of the foot of the mountain ahead, whether it be rocks, soil, shrubs, weeds, or shrubs, was reflected in Bai Xiaowen's mind.

"Found it! There's a hidden cave at the two o'clock position."

Bai Xiaowen whispered to the Old Demon, "My Mental Scan can 'see' that the cave entrance is blocked by stones and concealed by bushes."

"Let's go back," the Old Demon said. "Since an unexpected situation has arisen, let's not take any risks. Photograph the new intelligence we've obtained, and have the guild submit it to the Awakened Association for further review and a reassessment of the mission's danger."

Entrusted by the guild leader, Old Demon and Bai Xiaowen explored the Wilderness Zone together, with safety being the top priority.

Bai Xiaowen asked, "Uncle, if we had cleared this Venomous Snake Valley before submitting the mission error, would the official reward only be based on a danger level assessment of 30?"

The Old Demon shook his head. "That's not it. As long as there is corresponding evidence provided by the Psionic Camera, the association will conduct a supplementary assessment..."

"That settles it then..." Bai Xiaowen said with a smile, "How powerful can a monster roaming among level 1 venomous snakes be? Just take it out and hand it over to the association for further evaluation, saving us an extra trip."