Blazes

After dealing with the Ghast blocking his way, he could only watch as its experience orbs and Ghast Tear fell into the sea of lava.

This was one reason Yang Bo disliked Ghasts. They were simply too big, and when they spawned in the Nether Wastes, they were almost always above the lava sea. Kill them, and their drops would fall straight into the lava.

Only in terrain like the Soul Sand Valley would the items dropped by a slain Ghast remain intact.

Hugging the Nether Bricks, Yang Bo built his way up to the Nether Fortress, hopping along like a rabbit. One glance at the lava sea beneath his feet made him dizzy.

"Th-this is way too intense. It feels like bungee jumping without a cord. Good thing there's no wind in the Nether. If a gust blew me off..."

Smacking his lips, Yang Bo cautiously poked his head out. Plenty of monsters roamed the long bridge built from Nether Bricks. Besides the numerous Zombie Piglins, there were also some monsters exclusive to the Nether Fortress.

A Blaze, whose detection range was the longest, had already spotted Yang Bo, the uninvited guest. Flames flared all over its body with a roaring whoosh.

The Blaze launched a fireball that hurtled toward Yang Bo. Compared with the Ghast's fireballs earlier, this one was much faster. Yang Bo hurriedly crouched, and the fireball skimmed right over his scalp.

"Is that thing cheating? Since when were Blaze fireballs this accurate?"

His quick glance had also revealed three or four pitch-black Wither Skeletons on the bridge. That gave him a headache. Charging straight across was out of the question, but the Blazes' ranged attacks were no joke either.

"This is going to be a pain!"

Yang Bo crouched on the Nether Rock and enclosed himself, keeping any sneaky bastard from ambushing him and knocking him off.

Suddenly, inspiration struck. Remembering the method he had used against the Vampire, Yang Bo smiled.

"Tunnel warfare really is the GOAT!"

He took out his Iron Pickaxe and quickly dug into the Nether Bricks in front of him. Listening to the sounds overhead, Yang Bo recalled what he had just seen and worked out where those Wither Skeletons had been standing.

Here!

Once he figured he was close enough, Yang Bo began mining the Nether Bricks overhead.

With a bang, he broke through the Nether Bricks. Yang Bo quickly darted backward, afraid some nasty surprise might drop down from above. He could clearly hear the clattering bones of the Wither Skeletons. He had obviously picked the right spot.

When no monsters came down, Yang Bo cautiously walked beneath the opening. Unable to see the Wither Skeletons outside, he hesitated briefly, then jumped straight up.

At last, he saw a Wither Skeleton-and the Wither Skeleton saw him too. Its Stone Sword slashed toward him, seemingly intent on performing brain surgery on Yang Bo without anesthesia.

"Holy shit!"

But the Wither Skeleton's sword failed to reach Yang Bo in time. Seeing its enemy disappear into the hole in the floor, it jumped straight down after him without hesitation.

That was where the problem arose. Wither Skeletons stood 2.5 meters tall, while Yang Bo's tunnel was only two meters high. Monsters in Minecraft couldn't bend over, so Master Pedicurist Yang was back in business.

Like the Calabash Brothers rushing to save their grandpa, four Wither Skeletons jumped down one after another. In the end, all of them fell beneath the Wizard Robe Yang Bo had acquired.

"A Wither Skeleton Skull dropped already?"

Picking up the coal and Wither Skeleton Skull from the ground, Yang Bo could hardly believe his luck. Just four kills had yielded a skull. At that rate, he would only need to kill twelve to collect three Wither Skeleton Skulls and take on the Wither.

But that was merely Yang Bo's wishful thinking. Wither Skeleton Skull drops had a strangely mystical quality: the first seemed incredibly easy to get, the second made it feel as though the drop rate had halved, and the third was completely up to fate. Besides, killing the Wither, a Nether boss, with only his Iron Armor and without exploiting any bugs would be extremely difficult.

Yang Bo looked out through the opening again. This time, the Wither Skeletons were finally gone, but two more Blazes had appeared in the distance.

"Whew! Time to get up there, charge over, and chop them down!"

Yang Bo leaped up through the opening and grabbed the platform above. Without needing to place any blocks, he climbed straight up from below. A mere two or three meters of height couldn't hold him back. That was another way he differed from Steve.

The moment he emerged, Blaze fireballs greeted him. Three fireballs flew toward him in a triangular formation. Yang Bo pulled out the shield he had prepared and blocked them perfectly.

Taking advantage of the gap between the Blazes' attacks, Yang Bo sprinted toward them and drew his Crossbow with his other hand. A crosshair appeared in his vision. He aimed at one of them and quickly pulled the trigger, sending a bolt into the Blaze.

-4

Seeing the bolt's damage, Yang Bo sighed.

"Ugh, Hunter-exclusive weapons are terrible against ordinary monsters. I really need a separate set of weapons for dealing with them!"

Another three fireballs came flying. Yang Bo raised his shield again, and a rapid series of bangs rang out. He also noticed how these Blazes differed from those in the game.

In the game, Blazes could release three fireballs with each attack, though their aim was pretty much left to chance. In reality, each Blaze fired only one fireball per attack, but its accuracy was like an aimbot locked onto his head.

Yang Bo had finished reloading his Crossbow. He kept charging forward, aiming and pulling the trigger as he ran. The damage might have been low, but it was better than nothing.

After two rounds of attacks, Yang Bo reached the Blaze with the least health. Switching to his Iron Axe, he leaped up and brought it down on the Blaze.

Super effective!

Critical-hit particles burst from the Blaze, and its already depleted health bar instantly emptied. As Yang Bo picked up the Blaze Rod it dropped, a fireball whistled toward him and struck his body.

Two and a half hearts vanished instantly, and the hit also triggered the burning effect, dealing one point of damage per second.

With only twenty health points to begin with, Yang Bo lost nine from that single hit.

Yang Bo raised his Crossbow and fired at a Blaze that had already taken flight. After hitting it, he switched to blocks and quickly walled himself in.

"Safe at last. These Blazes hit way too hard. I'm wearing a full set of Iron Armor, for crying out loud! Could this be Hard Mode?"

Taking some bread from his inventory, he began eating slowly. He was in no hurry. Once the Blazes lost their target, they would gradually descend. Trying to fight them in midair with Crossbow Bolts was too much trouble.

Listening to the assorted monster cries outside, Yang Bo sat on the ground and took his phone out of his inventory. It had no signal whatsoever, but it still worked perfectly well as a digital clock.

"It's already past one in the afternoon!"

"I still have to head back tonight. Looks like I need to hurry up and explore!"