[+10]
[+10]
One reply after another appeared above Liu Muxue's head.
When she realized this Molemen couldn't hurt her, she relaxed a little.
Then she remembered the scene of Cao Xing teaching her how to fight.
Though she felt a little shy, she gradually found her rhythm in battle.
So Liu Muxue thrust her sword and struck the Molemen in the chest.
[-32]
Blood flowed from the Molemen's chest as it kept squeaking, "Squeak, squeak, squeak."
It swung its iron pickaxe and struck again with Chop.
Liu Muxue was knocked back two steps.
Then she raised her sword and thrust again.
"Thud!"
And so it went.
The Molemen hit her with its pickaxe, and Liu Muxue returned the favor with her sword.
The two sides began a turn-based battle.
Cao Xing couldn't help finding the scene a little funny.
Still, Liu Muxue had done quite well to get this far.
After a minute or two, the number of Molemen in the mine had dwindled.
Watching his recruited creatures fight up ahead, Cao Xing raised his staff as well.
A large amount of Frost Power gathered around his staff.
Then three ice spikes, each forty centimeters long, appeared before him, their surfaces sparkling as they radiated cold.
Cao Xing swept his staff. "Go!"
The next moment, the three ice spikes shot out.
All of them struck one of the Molemen Miners.
[-68]
[-71]
[-103!]
The three ice spikes took over two hundred health points from the Molemen Miner.
Cao Xing was fairly satisfied with this damage, since he was only a level 4 Frost Mage.
However, compared with Sarah's casual strikes that dealt damage of 700 or 800, the gap was still enormous.
Before long, they had killed all the Molemen Miners here.
By now, fear had appeared in the eyes of the Molemen Foreman holding the long whip.
It turned and ran deeper into the mine.
Just then,
Sarah emerged from the shadows.
She raised her right hand and threw a black dagger, striking the Molemen Foreman in the back.
"Squeak!!"
The Molemen Foreman let out a scream, and a damage number appeared above its head.
[-843]
One strike was enough to drain its health completely.
Sarah, at level 20, was simply too strong!
"Nice work, Sarah," Cao Xing praised from behind.
Sarah responded as coolly as ever, but this time she added a line.
"The Shadow Sanctuary is guiding me forward."
Cao Xing nodded and thought, Sarah has already reached the requirements for advancement. If I can get a Tier 2 Heart of Strength now, I can advance Sarah into a Tier 3 creature.
By then, her strength will double again.
But Tier 2 Hearts of Strength aren't easy to come by. I'll look into it if I get the chance.
After the battle, it was naturally time to clean up the battlefield.
Cao Xing prepared to search the Molemen corpses for loot.
Just then, a system notification appeared again.
[Humanoid creature. Cannot be dismantled.]
Cao Xing's mouth twitched.
Why did this system always think he'd do something like that?
After feeling around beneath the Molemen's body, Cao Xing managed to find quite a few things.
[Obtained Rations*5, Weak Book of Chaos*1, Viscous Liquid*1, Iron Ingot*1, Iron Pickaxe*1]
Cao Xing began checking the descriptions of the items.
[Rations (White): Unpalatable food. 1 ration = 1 food.]
[Weak Book of Chaos: Randomly increases one of an allied unit's four attributes by 1.]
(Note: Cannot be used on a Lord.)
[Viscous Liquid (White): A black, viscous liquid. Its purpose is unknown.]
(It seems to be some kind of alchemical material. If you encounter a merchant in the wild, you can try selling it.)
[Iron Ingot (White): Can be dismantled to obtain Iron*5.]
[Iron Pickaxe (White): Attack power 4-5. Can be used to mine ore.]
Cao Xing thought, This Book of Chaos seems pretty good. If I get enough of them, I might even be able to raise one of my recruited creatures' attributes to a terrifying level.
Too bad I can't use it on myself.
Then Cao Xing spent about five minutes quickly clearing the battlefield.
Total obtained: [Rations]*130, [Weak Book of Chaos]*3
Besides those, there were some materials and one piece of equipment.
[Viscous Liquid (White)]*31.
[Iron Pickaxe (White)]*27
[Iron Ingot (White)]*4
[Molemen Overseer's Whip (Green)*1]
The last piece of equipment was the interesting one.
[Molemen Overseer's Whip (Green): Special Equipment]
[Quality: Fine]
[Attack power: 13-15]
[Attached Effect ①: Whip (Strike a target with the whip to increase work speed, raising its movement speed by 10% for the next 5 minutes.)]
[Attached Effect ②: Pain Intensification (A whip coated in olive oil. Increases the pain of each strike by 50%.)]
After reading the description, Cao Xing's expression turned strange.
"This thing... could it also be a kind of buff?"
"If I combine it with my hidden talent, could it become permanent?"
Cao Xing decided to test it first. After all, a 10% increase in movement speed was pretty good.
So, under the astonished gazes of Liu Muxue, Andrew, and the others, Cao Xing gave himself a hard lash.
"Crack!"
[-7]
After a sharp crack, Cao Xing sucked in a breath of cold air.
"Hiss!! That hurts!"
The damage from the thing wasn't high, but with the second effect, [Pain Intensification], getting whipped really hurt!
Before Cao Xing could recover from the pain,
a system notification appeared before him.
[You have been affected by Whip Effect. Movement speed increased by 10%. Effect lasts 5 minutes.]
[Talent [Eternal Power] activated. [Whip] has become a permanent buff.]
Cao Xing: "..."
Damn, it really works?
Cao Xing was completely dumbfounded.
Then, as if he'd thought of something, delight appeared on his face.
Because this meant that, combined with the [Snakefolk Frenzy] skill, he could permanently increase his own and his allies' movement speed by 30%!
That was a huge boost!
Liu Muxue and the others were baffled.
They'd seen Cao Xing whip himself and grimace in pain.
Then his gaze suddenly turned excited.
It was as if he'd awakened some strange attribute.
And now, he was looking at them with that same excited gaze.
The upright Asam had no idea what was going on. He asked, "Lord, what's wrong?"
Cao Xing raised his head and looked at him. "Asam, can I whip you once?"
Asam: "..."
Liu Muxue: "..."
Sarah: "..."
Although the request was very strange, Asam's Loyalty was as high as 95, so he wouldn't disobey Cao Xing's orders.
As if he'd made a difficult decision, he nodded. "If that's what you want, Lord..."
Cao Xing didn't hold back. He swung the whip and lashed Asam.
"Crack!"
Before you continue