Volume 10 Bugs Chapter 17 Jungle Encounter
The dark swampy jungle was filled with a musty smell. Countless trees of strange shapes grew twistedly, like giant arms struggling desperately to lift their crowns to the top, competing with their own kind for the little sunlight left at the top of the dense forest. The vines, as strong as giant pythons, were deeply entangled in the trunks of the tall trees. The vines were so tight that people felt suffocated just by looking at them. Countless poisonous insects and beasts lurked in the depths of the dense forest, launching fatal attacks on every outsider who invaded their territory. On the surface of the mud with rotting bubbles, every step could be a deadly trap. The silted mud ponds were like greedy giant mouths, eagerly devouring every body that fell into them - not even a bone would be spit out.
In such a dangerous jungle, anyone who could walk out could proudly declare himself a "survivor", but we were still trudging forward, groping slowly and hard towards a valley between two mountain peaks.
This valley is the only way to the Gravel Fortress, and it is also the first goal of our adventure. The group of corrupted people who cut off the road mentioned by Major Gutierrez are entrenched here. We have no choice but to accept Chief Hondos' request and help him complete the task of "leveling the stronghold of the corrupted people" first.
There are two conditions for the mission: one, kill the beast skeleton leader "Corpse Eater" Focke in the valley; two, ensure that Chief Hondos is not killed by the Corrupted.
In my opinion, these two conditions are simply contradictory.
Yes, these animal skeletons in the valley are indeed not easy to deal with, but with the fighting ability of the five of us, it is not too difficult to clear them all. However, because of the existence of this green-skinned chief, I feel that the difficulty of this task has been doubled.
"Be careful, there are eight skeletons ahead..." Nocturne in B-flat minor waved his hand, suitable for us to stop. He pointed at the two closest to us and said to Ding Ding Xiaoge, "...Warlock, use shadow arrows to lure the two in front first. Be careful not to lure too many. I will add attacks to everyone. Warrior, get ready to go up and take on the Paladin..."
It's a good plan. If everything goes according to what the dwarf bard said, we can completely disperse and defeat these eight corrupted ones in less than three minutes. But...
"Woo, this place doesn't belong to you, go back to where you belong!"
A loud and rough shout completely shattered Nocturne's ingenious plan, and then we could only watch as the Orc chief, who was only wearing a barrel-shaped cloth skirt, howled and threw himself into the pile of skeletons, and then successfully trapped himself in the encirclement of eight animal skeletons at the fastest speed.
In this grim situation, the orcs' brave and warlike blood burst out in Chief Hondos' body. Under the siege of the animal skeletons, the chief showed no fear at all. He cursed the robbers who invaded his homeland and drove his tribe out of their homes, while launching a full counterattack, showing his heroism and bravery in a pure and wild way.
He used a...
...left straight punch?!
It seems that I have greatly underestimated the rough and wild traditional culture of the Orcs. Under the brutal attack of these skeleton bandits, Chief Hondos neither took out his reliable weapons nor used powerful magic . He just swung his fists as big as sand bowls and smashed them at the enemies in front of him with extraordinary bravery, creating a stunning and brilliant victory:
"-2-3-3-4-2-5-2..."
A long string of bright red single-digit numbers floated high up from the skull that had suffered so much from the Chief's "Iron Fist". The most he had lost at one time was seven points of health - and this was the result of a critical hit - it was truly an encouraging record.
Please, Lord Hondos, no matter what, you are also a high-level shaman of level 48. Can't you fight skillfully like an intelligent creature?
I wonder if this green-skinned chieftain felt the complaint in my heart. As soon as I thought of this, he used his magical skills in an unusual way - he used the "Soul Blessing" spell to add more than 200 life points to himself. This is probably his only understanding and application of magic - and then he immediately swung his fists at his enemy in vain.
"What is this bastard doing? Who does he think he is? Boxing champion Mike Tyson?" Seeing that his plan had failed, Nocturne in B-flat minor looked at Chief Hondos' back viciously and said with gritted teeth.
Mike Tyson? A high-ranking monk in some temple?
"Boxing champion Tyson is much better than him..." Ding Ding Xiaoge's face was full of contempt, "...He can't even bite his ear..."
"Now you know why I need your help for this mission, right?" Niu Baiwan said bitterly, "He has killed me three times here."
Complaints may be complaints, but in order to complete the mission, we can't just sit and watch Chief Hondos being hacked to pieces by a group of animal skeletons in front of us.
"Paladin and Druid, ignore everything else and focus on restoring the Chieftain's life!" Nocturne in B-flat minor directed loudly, "...Warlock, first use 'Fog of Weakness' to reduce the Skeletons' attack power, and then summon familiars; Warriors go up and lure out as many Skeletons as possible..."
After assigning their respective tasks, the dwarf bard drew his dagger and rushed forward, singing a desolate war song:
"Are you hungry? Huh? Hey, if you're hungry..."
Niu Baiwan was about to release a healing wave magic on Chief Hondos, but he had just uttered a few syllables when he heard this war song and immediately choked and started coughing:
"Uh... ahem, Xiao Qu'er, can't you play a more normal war song?"
Ding Ding Xiaoge just released a "weak mist" and heard Niu Baiwan's sigh. He immediately rolled his eyes at him with disdain:
"Don't you think this is his most normal battle song..."
This is a "song of vitality" that can significantly increase the recovery speed of various attributes such as life, magic power, fighting spirit, etc. of nearby comrades.
I don't know why this war song, which sounds quite appetizing at first glance, has such a wonderful effect, but I soon figured out the reason:
If a person has a strong appetite, the body's metabolism will probably speed up.
For us, using such a battle song at this time is actually not a good choice - our battle has just begun, and there is no loss of vitality, magic points or fighting . Using this kind of restorative battle song now is actually of no help to us.
However, the target of this war song is not us, but Chief Hondos who was beaten up. His foolish and reckless behavior soon made him pay the price - the joint attack of eight beast skeletons is not so easy to resist. In just a short moment, Chief Hondos's health value was less than one-third, and it was still decreasing at an alarming rate. At this time, it would be a great success for us to restore a little more life to this reckless orc.
The effect of the spell "Weak Mist" is the same: this spell will greatly weaken the attack power of enemies within the mist range, which effectively slows down the speed at which Chief Hondos's life is reduced, buying us time for rescue.
Niu Baiwan and the fairy did not waste this precious time. They rushed to cast various recovery spells on the boxing half-orc shaman. Holy magic and natural magic came one after another, making Chief Hondos's old face half pale and half green. In the interplay of these two sad and beautiful lights, Chief Hondos's health finally began to rebound and turn losses into profits.
A tall animal skeleton swung the battle axe in his hand, trying to sneak attack the Orc chieftain from behind. But he failed. A long sword flashing with green poisonous light blocked his attack in time. Then, the long sword jumped flexibly and swept across his ribs before he could react. More than eighty-four points of vitality flew out of his body, which was only bones left. He opened his mouth in anger, making a "click, click" sound, and turned all his attention to the warrior on the other side of his body who was holding a shield in his left hand and a sword in his right hand - me!
I had no interest in getting entangled with him, so I turned around and slashed each of the three skeletons on the back, then retreated far away. I was not worried at all that I would not be able to attract these four skeleton monsters - according to the principle of attacking the most damaging enemy first, my slashing would obviously cause greater damage. If Chief Hondos wanted to keep these skeletons by his side with his two fists, he would probably have to work hard for a while.
The four animal skeletons I attacked immediately abandoned their original targets and chased after me, brandishing their battle axes. It was only then that I had the first opportunity to observe my opponents up close.
Compared to the skeleton-like monsters we had seen before, the "beast skeletons" here looked very different. They were all undead warriors around level 50, with thick and hard bones, slightly hunched backs, slightly flat foreheads, and very prominent jaws, with two particularly thick teeth exposed outside the jawbone. They all used heavy battle axes without blades as weapons, and their fighting style was very rough and fierce.
I knew that fighting four monsters of the same level at the same time would be a difficult task, but the danger of this battle was beyond my expectation. I held the shield against my chest and barely deflected a battle axe that was attacking my left chest. I swung the long sword in my right hand and chopped it on the thigh of a skeleton. His exposed leg bones were hard and slippery, and the long sword could hardly bear the force when it chopped on them. I felt a very reluctant touch from the hilt of the sword, and then I saw that the skeleton monster's vitality had only suffered a weak loss of more than sixty points.
My weapons are really at a disadvantage in the battle against these skeleton monsters. There are many piercing-based attack methods in the long sword skills, but skeletons are almost completely immune to piercing attacks; and the main additional attribute of my "Rattlesnake's Wind Blade" is poison damage, but these corrupted ones are very resistant to toxins.
At this moment, I even miss the sword "Red Mountain Ripper" that I used to have a long time ago. Although its level is not high and its attributes are also low, the serrated blade that can cause tearing damage is simply the world of these skeletons. Whenever the attack is successful, the force feeling like cutting wood with a big saw always brings me a refreshing touch, which is a combat pleasure that this sword can never bring me.
Just as I was silently complaining about the weakness of my weapon, a tearing pain came from my back. I felt as if my skin and flesh were being torn apart by a pair of hard hands, and even the intense pain was surging out from every pore.
"Ah..." I couldn't help but scream in pain, and rolled to the side. When I turned around, I saw a skeleton stretching its neck and opening its big mouth wildly at me, laughing smugly. The battle axe in his hand had long been rusted, but it was dripping with blood.
The pain did not cloud my mind, but made me more sober. My mission was not to kill these four skeletons alone, but to try to contain them and let my comrades kill the other four as soon as possible to ensure the safety of Chief Hondos. The longer I hold on, the smoother their battle will be, and the faster they will come to help me.
After figuring this out, I braved another heavy axe blow to the chest, gulped down a large bottle of "Concentrated Life Essence", burped with a mouth full of garlic, and cheered myself up again.
I became more cautious and conservative when I joined the battle again. I focused more on defense, used my shield to protect my vital parts, and was not eager to take the initiative to attack. Although the four skeletons were not fatally injured, it was difficult for them to find an opportunity to inflict heavy damage on me. As a result, our battle fell into a stalemate, and no one could knock down the enemy in a short period of time.
If things continue like this, the situation will become more and more favorable to me. Moreover, I carry a lot of advanced life potions with me. With their help, even if I am alone, I am fully capable of slowly killing these four fierce monsters in front of me.
However, the danger of battle lurks in those seemingly safe moments. In a fight between life and death, any slight negligence can lead to a fatal mistake.
At this time, I made a mistake!
A fatal mistake!
Just when the battle reached a stalemate, the magic mist that enveloped us gradually became thinner. As the magic mist dissipated, the battle axes of these "beast skeletons" became heavier and heavier. Every time my shield blocked the oncoming battle axes, it was like catching a meteorite falling from the sky. The huge impact made my arms numb and I retreated repeatedly. My defense against these battle axe blows became weaker and weaker. Even when using defensive skills, my health points would always decrease by dozens or even hundreds. Unconsciously, the strong offensive of these skeleton monsters broke the original balance, and I could no longer make up for the speed of life loss by relying solely on potions.
"Mist of Weakness" is Tintin Xiaoge's "Mist of Weakness". The time limit of this spell has exceeded and it can no longer reduce the enemy's destructive power.
The balance of victory has gradually tilted towards the four hideous-looking white-bone monsters in front of me. The only thing I can do is to hold on.
Just when I was about to give up, a naked, muscular green figure suddenly rushed in front of me from the side, and landed a wild combination of punches on the head of a skeleton, hitting his jaw "clattering" and making it seem like it was about to fall off. Finally, the green figure was obviously overwhelmed by the enthusiasm of the battle, and he actually thrust his forehead forward and hit the smooth skull of the skeleton heavily, and then...
A red number "-15" floated up from his hairy green head, and he immediately fell into a short coma...
This was the first time I saw someone knock himself out while attacking someone with a "headbutt". It turned out that even the solid head of the orc chieftain Hondos was no harder than a bare skull with only bones left.
My heart suddenly felt relieved—I was saved!
I certainly didn't feel safe because of Chief Hondos's appearance. With this guy's average lethality of three points of life per punch, by the time he kills all four skeletons, I'm afraid I would have already become the fifth skeleton monster.
However, his appearance was a signal: the other four animal skeletons had been dealt with, otherwise he would definitely not have gone to such great lengths to challenge the enemies around me.
Since he is here, how far can my comrades be?
Sure enough, a warm healing wave shone on my tired body, injecting new life energy into me.
An ancient and majestic war song sounded, stirring my heart and greatly increasing my attack power: "Little cabbage...yellow leaves..."
A green magic light attacked a skeleton on my left, and several thick vines suddenly jumped out of the ground and tightly wrapped around the skeleton's ankle, making it unable to move forward. Then, a wild beast's roar shook the jungle, and a huge black bear ran out from behind me, waving a pair of huge bear paws and slapping the skeleton hard.
A frightening black shadow attacked from the right rear, knocking more than 120 points of life off another animal skeleton. Immediately afterwards, a demon from another world, wearing heavy black armor on the upper body, with green face and fangs, holding a thick mace, and with the lower body shrouded in black mist and without legs, came out and fought with the skeleton.
The remaining two skeleton monsters could no longer pose a threat to me. I immediately turned from defense to offense, wielding the long sword in my hand to slash at them. Slashing, slashing, storm attack... I no longer spared my fighting spirit, and mercilessly used powerful attack skills one after another on these two monsters. The long sword rubbed against the bones, making a harsh friction sound, just like the terrified groans of these two skeleton monsters...
"Go to hell!" I retracted my sword and kicked out, turning the last animal skeleton into a pile of broken bones. Our first encounter with these corrupted ones ended just like that.
I lowered my head to pick up the loot dropped by the monster, and looked back at my comrades. Although we didn't suffer any casualties in this battle, their health was either halved or their magic points were at the bottom, so it was clear that the battle they had just fought was not easy.
"Those who need to take medicine should take medicine, those who need to drink water should drink water, let's take a rest before we go." Nocturne in B flat minor sat on a stone, took out a piece of "honey corn bread" that can increase vitality from the quilt, and reminded us. He put the bread in his mouth and just took a bite...
"Woo, this place doesn't belong to you, go back to where you belong..."
A rough and heroic shout came from not far ahead .
"Fuck..." The dwarf bard stared blankly ahead, and uttered a vague curse from his mouth full of bread, with bread crumbs sprayed all over the floor...
