Chapter 305
"The beast tide is coming! Everyone, form a circular defensive formation!"
The forest was suddenly filled with footsteps, and in the distance, groups of Witch Beasts began to approach. One of them was enormous, somewhat resembling a six-legged tortoise with pale tusks on its neck, which smashed the trees blocking the way in half.
A level three Witch Beasts, that's almost at the Transcendental Grade level, right?
Hey, shouldn't your circular defensive formation have me in the center?
Yuki was speechless. He glanced at the tortoise and realized that not only was its size larger, but its strength was also several times greater. The dense barrage of 'firepower' was all blocked by the tortoise shell. Fortunately, the Witch Beasts were not smart; the other small Witch Beasts did not know to use cover and instead exposed themselves to the killing range.
Lacking intelligence, they possessed remarkably sharp intuition. Instead of charging head-on into the human formation, they circled around from the side, intending to devour Yuki and the others who were trailing behind.
"We have to give it a try." Yuki was about to dismount his warhorse, his shoulder was pressed down.
"I'll do it." Frieren, a man of few words, simply floated up gently, gripped his staff with both hands, and aimed ahead.
Exorcism magic.
Whoosh whoosh--
The girl was like someone holding a laser cannon, firing beams of light at lightning speed. Not only was the power immense, but the rate of fire was also extremely fast. Even if a single shot couldn't destroy a small Witch Beasts, the machine-gun-like continuous fire would quickly turn it into mangled flesh.
While suppressing the horde of beasts with her rate of fire, Frieren charged up and unleashed a more powerful beam of light to bombard the turtle.
Knock knock!
While its attack also used a magic beam, Frieren was incomparable to those mercenaries, and it specifically targeted the tortoise's exposed limbs.
Roar--
With its two legs almost broken, the Witch Beasts roared, raised its head, and spewed out a crimson beam of light. It did not move in a straight line, but left a wavy curve in the air, making it impossible to know where to defend.
Defensive magic.
Frieren remained expressionless as she unfurled the magic circle. The magic crystal enveloped Frieren completely, and its reflective properties deflected the beam of light into the sky.
Seeing that its attack was ineffective, the Witch Beasts showed no intention of retreating. It retracted its six legs into its shell and spun around like a tire. Its enormous tusks acted like gears, kicking up dust and instantly crushing a mercenary squad blocking its path into mincemeat.
A colossal creature, five or six meters in diameter, charged straight ahead. The terrifying force made Yuki instinctively grip his sword, but he quickly released it.
Gravity magic.
A vast expanse of azure light enveloped the Witch Beasts, drastically slowing its charge. As it drew nearer, it even floated up. Frieren tossed it into the distance, charging his staff.
Imagination Burst. Meltdown Ray.
Call out--
A crimson beam of light, only as thick as a fist, swept across the forest in an instant. This was extremely concentrated magic power; with just a light swipe, it pierced through the upside-down Witch Beasts, disemboweling it.
Blood mixed with fragments of internal organs gushed out, and the girl standing in mid-air pointed. "Go, harvest it."
"Lord Frieren has cleared away our formidable enemy, brothers, follow me!"
With a roar, Peggy rallied the stunned mercenaries, who swarmed forward, unleashing a barrage of spears, axes, and arrows upon the heavily wounded Witch Beasts.
Impressive! No wonder he's called a mage; he embodies effortless grace and elegance to the core.
Yuki clapped softly, then turned his head to see Frieren steadily return to his horse, panting as he took out a crystal-clear sapphire and began to meditate.
In terms of burst damage, no one at the same level can rival the mage, unless it's a special item-based player like Hayasaka Ai.
"How many times can you sustain this kind of consumption?" Yuki had a sharp eye and immediately saw through the mage's most critical issue: endurance.
"Five or six times, maybe two more if someone can cool down the Sapphire." Frieren answered honestly. The praise from the man beside her made her feel good, and the guilt of eating and drinking for free was finally relieved.
With solid fundamentals, rich combat experience, perfect magic combinations, and an effortless elegance, he possesses remarkable skill.
I've really struck gold!
Yuki noticed the girl's gaze and slowly grinned, "You want me to show off my skills too?"
"No, that's not true. You're definitely better than me." Frieren immediately turned his head, secretly glancing at Yuuki out of the corner of his Yuki. "Of course, if you want to help, I won't object."
"Next time, I won't bother drawing my sword when there are only a few weaklings left."
Hmph, bragging.
The girl pouted.
The first encounter in the forest was over. The mercenary group had slaughtered twenty or thirty Witch Beasts and was happily cleaning up the battlefield. As for the dozen or so casualties they had suffered, hunting is never peaceful.
The dead were placed in body bags and transported along with the wounded. Arima at the edge of the valley, and merchants had already opened clinics at the hunting front.
Everything flowed smoothly, as if it had been rehearsed, and in just half an hour, the team was refreshed and ready to go.
That's interesting.
Yuki remained seated on his warhorse, glancing sideways as he watched Peggy negotiate with a merchant wearing a round hat. If he wasn't mistaken, this merchant wasn't a wizard, yet he had stepped into the thick miasma.
Switching to the Devil's Vision, his eyebrows were slightly raised.
That was a living person, a living person with an incredibly pure soul, which is why he Taiyi from those wizards, no, from everyone he had ever met.
He seemed indifferent to everything except exploring the tower, but in reality, he had been silently observing, memorizing every detail, including how the merchant had secretly taken out his binoculars to observe Frieren during their battle.
"Sir, I apologize for keeping you waiting." Peggy hurried back, clutching a blood-stained bag tightly in her hand, and waved it slightly. "These are the Soul Crystal we just hunted. According to the agreement, you are entitled to 30%."
"Only 30% is given for dealing with the most troublesome level-three Witch Beasts?"
"Well, the contract states that profits will be distributed according to contribution. If you're not satisfied, we can discuss it further."
"No need, just give me that level-three Witch Beasts Soul Crystal, the rest are yours." Yuki didn't bother with any nonsense; this character wasn't one to haggle.
"Alright!" Peggy beamed and quickly offered the Soul Crystal. Just as she was about to leave, Yuki called her back.
"That merchant is quite something, managing to walk into the valley to haggle. Is he a wizard?" Yuki asked deliberately, his fingers tracing the hilt of his sword.
The man paused slightly, turned around, and gave him an expression that said, "I forgot to tell you," and said, "He's not a wizard, but Soulless Ones."
He was indeed Soulless Ones, but he did possess a soul, only it hadn't been corrupted.
Other players would probably be completely baffled, but Hiyori had already informed him of the existence of these people and explained in the records that they were related to the Rebels.
Peggy was unaware that Yuki knew the details about the Soulless Ones, because this man had stayed in the town and hadn't searched for clues elsewhere.
Unable to use anything related to Soul Crystal, yet also immune to the magic unleashed by Soul Crystal —isn't this the Silent Nun?
"If I remember correctly, contact with Soulless Ones is a serious crime."
"Haha, we mercenaries are always walking the line between crime and profit. Who cares who it is?" Peggy's eyes widened in surprise, as if she was astonished that Yuki knew about the existence of the Soulless Ones. She laughed heartily, patted her chest in a salute, and strode away, deliberately calling out to those around her.
"Brothers, keep going in ten minutes. Let's try to get the Tower Explorer into the tower before nightfall."
"This person is suspicious, hiding many secrets." Frieren leaned closer and whispered, "I have torture magic, want to try it?"
"Can you guarantee that you'll be asked the truth?"
"Given his abilities, there's a 60% chance he'll fail without proper training."
"Never mind, besides, did you notice that none of the other teams came to Reconnaissance while we were fighting? But just now, several lightly wounded mercenaries voluntarily withdrew, and without exception, they were all Peggy's cronies." Yuki had been observing, revealed a mocking smile.
"This journey has been quite complicated. On the human side alone, there are Alliance, nobles, and Rebels. On the other hand, things are simpler on the Tower side."
"And then there are the players. Each group of players will choose to join a faction, and usually, these factions have irreconcilable conflicts..."
Frieren fell silent mid-sentence, suddenly realizing that Yuki possessed an immeasurable advantage.
He is a squad with three factions, theoretically having three choices. Currently, Mai Sakurajima is on the side of the nobles and is frantically gathering all kinds of information, while Yuki can choose the opposite faction.
"Now you finally understand our team's biggest advantage. Even the closest factions can't be as Muken as we are." Yuki smiled with satisfaction, clapped his hands, and looked down at them with disdain.
"Actually, the principle for resolving such complex issues is quite simple--"
"Kill anyone who blocks my way."
Chapter 5 The Tower of Asura (6K)
The adventure continues.
Ten minutes later, the group set off again. The Witch Beasts in the forest were strong and numerous, but they couldn't withstand the large number of humans who had invaded. In addition, they lacked intelligence and mindlessly charged towards wherever there were enemies.
Humans, on the other hand, gradually adapted and began to use dirty tactics such as ambushes and traps, and their teamwork became more and more skillful with experience.
As it turns out, even the sharpest claws of a beast are still a beast, no match for a professional hunter. Moreover, the beast tide wasn't that large; it was more like a piecemeal tactic. Except for teams that were truly too weak, almost everyone was approaching the tower.
The magical light streaking across the sky drew ever closer, and the stench of blood in the forest grew stronger. Yuki reached out and grabbed a handful of air, leaving some dark red liquid in his palm.
"Finally, it's starting to feel like the Tower of Asura."
Yuki muttered to himself. He had already received Hiyori's report, which meant that he had conquered two towers in the same amount of time.
The Taiyi at the War Tower. The Witch Beasts there are not ferocious, and their individual combat strength is weaker than that of the Tower of Asura. They are highly homogeneous, like copy and paste.
But they are smarter and know how to apply tactics; the 'tower feature' mentioned in the hint should refer to this.
Then this 'Soul Crystal' is of no use to me.
The crystal-clear stones were tossed up and down, handled by Frieren. This team had already harvested four level-three Witch Beasts, which, according to Peggy, were of very high purity and would be worth several thousand gold coins after a little polishing.
The game only provides one hint:
[Special Item: Soul Crystal (Not Activated)]
Players cannot use it, and the information does not mention that this thing needs to be activated. It can be used simply by removing the impurities left by the Witch Beasts and infusing it with the magic power purified by the wizard's body.
Are these currently exclusive mana potions for dungeon characters?
"Whatever, let's keep it for now."
Yuki put everything back into his storage space, turned around and looked back. Several merchants had been following him, some skillfully transporting the wounded, others buying the freshly harvested Soul Crystal with gold coins on the spot.
There were five brief skirmishes in total, and eight more people were involved.
Yuki had been keeping an eye on these people. The former could be said to have come to help, but how do you explain the skirmishes? Their opponents were probably those invisible wizards, and each encounter was very brief, more like dealing with scouts.
Judging from the direction from which the battle broke out, it was on the right, where the noble army was located, while Peggy and the other mercenaries seemed to have seen nothing.
Without ever drawing his sword, Yuki had a thorough understanding of the entire battlefield; or rather, once he calmed down, his efficiency in gathering intelligence was no less than Hiyori's.
"Your Excellency, the tower is just ahead."
This was Peggy reporting in person. Yuki and saw that the vast dense forest had finally come to an end, and the Witch Beasts that had spawned in the forest had been almost all killed.
Everyone was stained with blood. The Witch Beasts in the Tower of Asura were too ferocious to be found intentionally. The entire mercenary group suffered heavy losses, with only about thirty members remaining.
After glancing at it, Yuki gave him a strange look. "Captain Peggy, your mercenary group has a pretty high survival rate."
Back at the bar, this team was a coalition of several mercenary groups. Peggy looked quite surprised; how could this taciturn, important figure remember the affiliation of such lowly mercenaries?
"Uh, well, our group is supposed to be more elite." The man was quite uneasy, but to his surprise, Yuuki didn't press the Yuki.
"Aren't they coming?" Yuki pointed to the group of merchants and their guards, who were already trailing behind the procession by a hundred meters, and now the distance had increased even further.
"Since you know they are Soulless Ones, you should be aware of Soulless Ones predicament. It will cause misunderstandings when they meet with other teams later."
What misunderstanding? These people have slaughtered countless noble scouts. They ran away, and I'm supposed to take the blame?
Yuki moved his lips, but considering the need for conflict in investigating the secrets, and the fact that his senior had already joined the nobles, there was no point in repeatedly attacking this faction.
"We Chosen Tower Explorers aren't fools, and we hate being forced onto a pirate ship. If you have something to say, come see me in person." Yuki smiled meaningfully, tapped the dazed man with his riding whip, and rode off.
Strength is the foundation for conquering dungeons. If he were still at the Transcendental Grade level, Yuki would use tactics like playing the fool or Muken, but these tactics are too troublesome for him now.
The characters in the story range from weak to strong, and as things stand, whichever side he joins becomes stronger.
"I haven't seen those players yet." Frieren approached; the current threat lay with the players and the Alliance.
"They're trying to play the victim, but don't worry, I know how to deal with them."
Where does your confidence come from?
Confidence is like the head of an Upper Moon demon; someone like the Flame Pillar couldn't possibly betray you.
Yuki offered no explanation, spurring his horse out of the forest. A massive tower lay before him, and several groups emerged one after another from the woods a kilometer away.
The large noble army suffered heavy losses, with most of its members killed. As the largest force, they naturally attracted the most Witch Beasts. The three groups of tower explorers and their guards, however, were well protected and suffered almost no damage.
Then, Alliance Tower Explorers, shrouded in black robes, appeared. They ignored everyone else and headed straight for the tower.
The Tower of Asura has no main gate, and the way to enter is quite ingenious: first, kneel down and pray, then place your hands on the tower wall.
The metallic-looking walls instantly turned into a mushy mess, sucking people in within seconds.
"Is prayer necessary?" Yuki asked, frowning.
"Uh, that's to show respect to the Witch God and pray for blessings. Actually, you can get in just by touching the wall," Peggy quickly replied, her face showing obvious fear.