Arson, Prison for Life

Gong Qiying's mysterious shop had just opened, but now the perspective shifts to another side.

The Strategy Group, a symbol of strength.

Usually composed of elite Adventurers, they represent the cutting edge of combat power. If a dungeon forces Adventurers to form a Strategy Group, it means the dungeon is terrifyingly strong.

The Zane Dungeon Strategy Group is led by "Lion" Leon, with members including "Silver Cat" Malu, "Black Fist" Beidang, "Fierce" Te Er, "Rock" Delu, and others.

The Adventurers of Bede City all held expectations for the Strategy Group, hoping they could charge in and out of the dungeon seven times, thoroughly avenging everyone.

The handsome and charming Leon was quite popular among Adventurers, even being the dream lover of many.

Whenever someone asked him when the Strategy Group would officially attack the Zane Dungeon, he would always smile confidently and say there was no rush. Once they made their move, they would definitely clear the Zane Dungeon in one day, giving everyone a good outlet for their frustration!

People were always won over by his enthusiastic and sunny smile, firmly believing that this handsome man was invincible.

However...

"Boss, we can't find the way back, meow. What should we do?"

Malu, covered in dirt, lay on the treetop, her face full of exhaustion.

Leon, who was considered a dream lover by many women, sat cross-legged under the tree, his face dark, not saying a word.

Several pieces were missing from his shiny silver armor, lost during their escape. The Teleportation Crystal wouldn't bring back the things he had dropped, which meant the expensive armor was truly lost.

Te Er lay on the ground, panting, covered in sweat. Delu was in a similar state.

"Where exactly is this..." Malu said frantically, "Why is it all forest!"

Zooming out, they were in a lush green forest. No matter which way they looked, it was a vibrant green. Looking at it for a long time, it felt like their eyesight was improving.

"Although I've heard that treasure chests can have teleportation traps," Te Er said in a muffled voice, "I never expected it to be that one..."

"Mixing a trap chest with two normal chests, what kind of bastard came up with that design..." Delu hammered the ground angrily. "The first two chests were normal, who would be wary of the last one, bastard, bastard, bastard!"

Although the members of the Strategy Group publicly claimed they were conserving energy and had not yet entered the Zane Dungeon.

In reality, this was their second time entering.

There was no such thing as a one-shot clear; they were just practicing hard behind the scenes, just like top students always say they didn't study at all!

Having collected a lot of information brought by Adventurers, the members of the Strategy Group were familiar with the Swamp Area, but they struggled in Blighttown, having to explore slowly, step by step.

This was also the progress of most Adventurers currently. Everyone had not been able to finish exploring the Blighttown area, and naturally, they hadn't found a Bonfire.

As the Strategy Group, they had already pushed halfway through Blighttown on their first visit. This achievement far surpassed ordinary Adventurers, living up to the name of the Strategy Group.

The first time, there was a small accident. They were walking on the Suspension Bridge. They had managed to kill the monsters shooting arrows from both sides of the bridge with Delu's magic, but then, a monster that wasn't completely dead cut the bridge's ropes...

Strategy Group: Robert!!!

The second time, they learned their lesson and didn't take the Suspension Bridge again. Instead, they took a detour, passing through a pile of broken houses.

Every house could be entered. Pushing the door open wouldn't result in a black screen loading, satisfying their desire to explore.

Although pushing the door open would lead to encountering monsters including but not limited to: small monsters hiding by the door, small monsters hiding behind the door, small monsters hiding on the ceiling, small monsters hiding underground, small monsters hiding in broken cabinets...

But there were also a lot of items inside the houses, making people want to explore.

Imagine seeing a bright White Light Spot from outside a house. Could you resist picking it up to see what it is?

Even if you knew it was a trap, you would definitely go, absolutely go!

They had already picked up weapons with combat skills, as well as a pile of miscellaneous items like throwing knives, arrows, and Flame Pots, plus some jewelry.

But why did the jewelry feel like the popular styles in Bede City recently?

Upon closer inspection, most of the things they picked up were useless, but occasionally, some interesting items would appear.

For example, a glowing skull that could attract nearby monsters when thrown, more effective than magic. It was a shame it could only be used once, otherwise, they would have really wanted to keep it with them.

However, the vicinity of a light spot often meant hidden monsters. Along the way, everyone in the strategy group had gotten used to it. As soon as they saw a light spot, they would immediately start searching for hidden monsters nearby. The result was often that there were monsters, and after clearing them, they could safely pick up the items.

However, this habit was what harmed them.

After defeating an elite monster with several dogs and a sheep's head, they found three treasure chests.

There must be rewards after a big battle. Besides, the nearby monsters had been cleared by them, so there was absolutely no danger.

Then they happily opened all the treasure chests and ended up here – the Middle Rank area, Undead Town Forest.

"No matter which way we go, it's the same scenery," Te Er said gloomily. "Are we under an illusion?"

"I'm more inclined to think there's something wrong with this forest," Delu propped himself up and said, "Beidang has been out alone for a while and hasn't come back. He's probably dead somewhere. That guy is always so reckless."

To avoid attracting attention, everyone in the strategy group set the destination of the Teleportation Crystal to the home of a priest they knew. If they died, they would have the priest resurrect them, avoiding being seen in the Resurrection Room.

"At least he dared to go out," Malu swung her arms boredly. "I don't dare to walk anymore. Generally, a teleportation trap like this will send people to a dangerous place, right? I'm just a weak woman, I wouldn't dare to act alone."

"Alright,"

Leon, who had been silent, stood up, and everyone immediately stopped talking.

"Everyone get up, I'm going to set a fire," he pulled out a magic scroll, it was Middle Rank Flame Storm!

"Whoa, Boss, be careful,"

The few of them quickly ran to the side. It seemed like the Boss was cornered, he was even planning to use his trump card scroll!

Setting fire to the mountain, sitting at the bottom of the prison.

He silently chanted the spell, and a large number of sparks emerged. A vortex of flames was slowly forming. If this magic truly took shape, this entire area of the forest would probably be burned to ashes!

Just then, the things lurking nearby could no longer hold back.

"Rustle, rustle, rustle,"

The surrounding trees suddenly grew taller. No, not taller, they stood up!

It turned out these big trees were disguised Tree People. No wonder they couldn't get out!

"Finally showing your true colors,"

Leon smiled, and the flames suddenly extinguished, revealing his right hand gripping his sword. A layer of wind pressure had already wrapped around the sword body!

Magic scrolls were so expensive, he couldn't bear to waste them on this. Using it as bait to lure out the nearby monsters was perfect.

His sword could also shatter the bodies of monsters!

"Squat down!" he roared, spinning his body, intending to cut down the treants surrounding them simultaneously!

This was a purely physical attack, driven by immense power, capable of smashing through any obstacle!

"SONASI!"

Was that a strange cry?

Leon suddenly noticed that hidden among the treants was a blue, Slime-like creature. It looked incredibly fragile, as if a single sword strike would kill it.

But a bad feeling arose in his heart.

It was too late, his sword had already struck the Wobbuffet.

[Wild Wobbuffet used Double Return!]