Camp Melee

"Humans?"

Mo Ling perked up and carefully observed everything within his field of vision.

As the cart continued forward, Mo Ling caught glimpses of chilling sights along the way.

He had been transported into the Black Imps' camp.

The ground was covered in totem poles painted with patterns, draped in thorny vines and ghastly white bones.

Those were human bones!

Mo Ling could not have been mistaken.

The bones were not only on the totem poles. They jutted faintly out from the sand and gravel throughout the imps' camp, some still wearing human clothing.

His view lowered.

Beneath the camp lay heaps of piled-up skeletons. Who knew how many humans had died here.

No wonder they said the humans were coming.

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

The farther the cart went, the more imps there were, and the heavier the stench of blood became.

The two imps pulling the cart casually tossed the metal block beside the wall, then grabbed their weapons and climbed onto the wooden City Wall.

The City Wall was packed with imps wielding all kinds of ranged weapons.

One imp, who looked like a wizard, held a broom and continuously smeared mud ash over its handle.

The mud ash seeped into the handle, and the broom bristles immediately stood upright, shooting toward the outside of the City Wall before quickly vanishing from Mo Ling's sight.

"What kind of weapon is that?"

Before he could get a good look, a massive shield rushed into Mo Ling's view from outside the City Wall.

All the broom needles fired by the wizard were deflected by the shield.

The burly man behind the shield advanced steadily with his back bent, covering his companions behind him.

This group wore thick Combat Suits, carried tool bags on their backs, and had wide belts around their waists hung with all sorts of tactical equipment.

The imps atop the City Wall tried every possible way to curve their attacks around the shield, but every strike was blocked.

When the burly man reached the City Wall, he thrust forward with all his strength, smashing the sturdy wooden gate to pieces.

The group rushed in with their weapons and began slaughtering the imps.

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

As the blood bag burst, the massive shield melted like wax and transformed into a spear.

He grabbed it in one smooth motion and swept the spear sideways, knocking down a crowd of approaching imps.

His movements were incredibly fluid, leaving Mo Ling clicking his tongue in amazement.

"That's another strange weapon."

Just then, a girl led a group of imps over to the metal block and used it to maneuver around them in battle.

As it happened, Mo Ling was watching with his blood racing, eager to show off his abilities.

He targeted the imps surrounding the girl and willed it.

More than a dozen nearby imps were instantly separated from their heads and collapsed with a crash.

When he looked again, their heads had already been casually tossed elsewhere by Mo Ling.

The remaining imps hurriedly backed away, stumbling out of Mo Ling's field of vision.

The girl widened her eyes, looking at the metal block in shock and fear.

Then, as if she had suddenly remembered something, she hurriedly took out everything she was carrying and piled it onto the metal block.

Seeing this, Mo Ling suddenly recalled the earlier imps. Connecting the two incidents, he had an idea.

"Are they making sacrifices to me?"

With a try-it-and-see attitude, Mo Ling selected a can of food the girl had brought out and sent it into his space.

When the can vanished, the girl visibly breathed a sigh of relief, and the fear vanished from her face.

I guessed right? Mo Ling was delighted.

The girl came to the cart's handle and shoved hard. Her seemingly petite body pushed the cart forward at astonishing speed, charging straight into the battlefield.

"What incredible strength!"

Mo Ling praised her inwardly before turning his view toward the battling imps again.

Wherever the cart went, the Black Imps fighting there fell like grass.

Their heads vanished into thin air, leaving only mirror-smooth cuts at their necks as blood sprayed out.

Not far away, one confused-looking head after another suddenly appeared on the ground.

Such a bizarre scene threw the Black Imps into complete disarray, and they lost all will to fight.

By the end, the imps were even avoiding the girl. Whenever they saw the cart approaching, they threw down their weapons and armor and fled in utter collapse.

The group pressed their advantage and quickly took over the camp.

Seeing that the situation had been decided, the girl panted and sat down against the metal block.

Glistening beads of sweat slid down from her hair and onto her slender neck.

A brand-new silver metal tag necklace rested against her wheat-colored skin, glittering under the moisture of her sweat.

"Level One Hunter, Li Luo."

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

As he watched, the burly man walked over. Only then did Mo Ling notice that the man also wore a necklace of the same style around his neck, though his was more ornate.

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

The content on the tag was completely different, and it also had an additional title.

The burly man stopped before the girl and reprimanded her sternly. "You were too reckless."

The girl did not answer, only lowering her head.

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

Li Luo took out a can of food. Understanding, Mo Ling collected it.

"Food?" The burly man was clearly surprised.

Li Luo nodded.

The burly man's tone softened considerably. "You got lucky. I'll arrange for someone to register it. Don't leave the team without permission again."

With that, the burly man walked toward the others.

Listening to their conversation, Mo Ling formed a guess as well.

"Is the cost what they need to pay to use these things?"

The broom that required mud ash, the shield that required fresh blood, and the earlier sacrificial behavior of the imps and the girl.

"They took the metal block for one of those strange weapons?" Mo Ling suddenly understood.

Fortunately, through a fortunate misunderstanding, they happened to believe that "food" was the cost of using the metal block, rather than something else strange.

"At least I won't go hungry anytime soon."

Before long, a recorder carrying various high-tech instruments came over. After routinely questioning Li Luo, he rummaged through his bag.

He took out a device resembling a hair dryer and began scanning the metal block, then pulled out an electronic screen.

Mo Ling watched the scanner expectantly, hoping it would discover him trapped inside the metal block.

However, the recorder did not notice anything unusual and began operating the electronic screen.

After searching for a while, the recorder asked, "Li Luo, this Relic has been discovered for the first time. Do you want to name it?"

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

"This is a rare opportunity. You worked hard to earn it, so give it a name." A teammate smiled encouragingly.

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 pick something cooler? Like Deadly Cube, Fatal Cube, Dimensional Death Array, or something? And there's also..."

Li Luo stared at the recorder as all sorts of flashy names spilled from his mouth.

Her gaze made his skin crawl, and the recorder compromised. "Iron Block it is, then."

He continued operating the device, and text began appearing on the electronic screen:

Relic: Iron Block

Cost: Food

Ability: Remove enemies' flesh in the area in cube-shaped sections

Discovery Location: Abyss First Layer

Discoverer: Li Luo

...