Camp Melee

"Humans?"

Mo Ling's spirits lifted as he carefully observed everything within his sight.

As the small cart continued forward, Mo Ling also caught glimpses of terrifying scenes along the way.

He had been transported into the camp of the black little people.

Everywhere were totem poles covered in drawings, adorned with thorny vines and eerie white bones.

Those were human bones!

Mo Ling couldn't be mistaken.

Not only on the totem poles, but white bones were also faintly protruding from the gravel of the little people's camp, some even still wearing human clothing.

His gaze dropped.

Beneath this camp were layers upon layers of stacked skeletons, an unknown number of humans having met their demise here.

"No wonder they said humans were coming to attack," Mo Ling thought.

He had to find a way to contact the humans here and get himself rescued.

The further the cart went, the more little people there were, and the stronger the smell of blood became.

The two little people pulling the cart casually threw the metal block against the wall, then picked up their weapons and climbed onto the wooden city wall.

The city wall was densely packed with little people holding various ranged weapons.

A little person who looked like a Wizard held a broom, constantly smearing mud and ash onto the handle.

The mud and ash seeped into the handle, and then the broom bristles stood on end, shooting outwards towards the area outside the city wall, quickly disappearing from Mo Ling's sight.

"What kind of weapon is this?"

Before he could look closely, a large shield outside the city wall rushed into Mo Ling's view.

All the broom needles fired by the Wizard were blocked by the large shield.

The burly man behind the shield advanced steadily, bent at the waist, covering his companions behind him.

This group of people wore thick combat suits, carried tool bags, and had wide leather belts around their waists, from which hung various tactical gear.

The little people on the city wall tried every means to make their attacks go around, but they were all blocked by the large shield.

The burly man reached the city wall, and with a forceful push of the large shield, he actually shattered the sturdy wooden gate.

Everyone entered in a line with their weapons, engaging in a fierce battle with the little people.

The burly man held the shield in his left hand and reached into his tool bag with his right, pulling out a blood bag and smashing it onto the shield.

As the blood bag burst open, the large shield melted like a candle, then transformed into a long spear.

He grasped it smoothly, swept the long spear horizontally, knocking down a group of little people who had surrounded him.

His movements were incredibly fluid, making Mo Ling click his tongue in wonder.

"This is another strange weapon."

At this moment, a young girl led a group of little people towards the metal block, using it to maneuver and fight.

Just then, Mo Ling, his heart surging with excitement, was eager to show off his skills.

Targeting the little people surrounding the girl, he had a thought.

The dozen or so little people around instantly had their heads separated from their bodies, collapsing with a crash.

Looking at their heads, Mo Ling had casually thrown them elsewhere.

The remaining few little people quickly retreated, stumbling and running out of Mo Ling's sight.

The girl's eyes widened, looking at the metal block with both shock and fear.

Suddenly, as if she had thought of something, she quickly took out everything she had with her and placed it on the metal block.

Seeing this scene, Mo Ling suddenly remembered the little people from before. Connecting the two, he had an idea.

"Are they sacrificing to me?"

With a testing mindset, Mo Ling selected a can of food the girl had taken out and sent it into the space.

Seeing the can disappear, the girl visibly relaxed, her fearful expression completely gone.

I guessed right? Mo Ling was inwardly pleased.

The girl came to the handlebars and, with a push, her seemingly petite body actually pushed the cart incredibly fast, charging into the battle scene.

"What strength the girl has!"

Mo Ling praised inwardly and turned his gaze back to the little people engaged in battle.

Wherever the small cart went, the black little people who were in the midst of fighting fell like weeds.

Their heads disappeared out of thin air, leaving only mirror-like cuts on their necks, blood spraying out.

On the ground not far away, heads with bewildered expressions suddenly reappeared one by one.

This bizarre scene caused the black little people's morale to collapse, and they lost all will to fight.

In the end, the little people even avoided the girl, throwing away their armor and weapons and scattering in disarray upon seeing the cart approach.

The crowd pursued the victory and quickly occupied the camp.

Seeing that the situation was settled, the girl sat down, leaning against the metal block, panting.

Crystal clear sweat beads flowed down her hair, sliding onto her slender neck.

A brand new silver-white metal tag necklace clung to her wheat-colored skin, glistening under the moisture of sweat.

"Level One Hunter, Li Luo."

It was strange writing again, but Mo Ling still understood it.

As he was observing, the burly man walked over, and Mo Ling noticed that the burly man also wore a necklace of the same style around his neck, but it was more ornate.

"Level Two Hunter, Shield of Change Du Kang."

The content on the tag was completely different, and it even had a title.

The burly man stopped in front of the young girl and sternly admonished, "You were too reckless."

The girl didn't answer, just lowered her head.

The burly man patted the metal block again and carefully asked the girl, "What is the cost of this thing?"

The girl named Li Luo took out a can of food. Mo Ling understood and accepted the can.

"Food?" The burly man was clearly surprised.

Li Luo nodded.

The burly man's tone softened considerably. "Good luck. I'll arrange for someone to register it. Don't leave the team on your own next time."

With that, the burly man walked towards the crowd.

Listening to their conversation, Mo Ling had a guess in his heart.

"Cost, is that what they need to pay to use these things?"

The broom that needed mud smeared on it, the shield that needed blood, and the previous sacrifices made by the little person and the girl.

"They're treating the metal block as that strange weapon?" Mo Ling suddenly realized.

Fortunately, by a fluke, they happened to believe that "food" was the cost of using the metal block, not some other strange thing.

"At least I won't be hungry for a while."

After a moment, a recorder carrying various high-tech instruments walked over. After asking Li Luo the routine questions, he rummaged through his bag.

He took out an instrument that looked like a hairdryer and began scanning the metal block. Then he took out an electronic screen.

Mo Ling watched the scanner expectantly, hoping the instrument could detect him trapped inside the metal block.

However, the recorder didn't notice anything unusual and began operating on the electronic screen.

After searching for a while, the recorder asked, "Li Luo, this Relic is a first discovery. Do you need to name it?"

Li Luo shook her head. "I'm not good at naming things."

"This is a rare opportunity. You worked hard to get it, so give it a name," the team member encouraged with a smile.

After thinking for a moment, Li Luo looked at the metal block and answered seriously, "Iron Block."

The recorder's smile froze.

"Can't you come up with something cooler? Like, Fatal Cube, Deadly Cube, Cube of Dimension, or..."

Li Luo stared at the recorder, watching him spout all sorts of flashy names.

Feeling a chill run down his spine under her gaze, the recorder compromised. "Alright, Iron Block it is."

With that, he continued operating, and text began to appear on the electronic screen:

[Relic: Iron Block]
[Cost: Food]
[Ability: Peels off the flesh of enemies within range in a cubic shape]
[Discovery Location: Abyss Level One]
[Discoverer: Li Luo]