Volume 3: The Crypt Chapter 2: Minotaur Operations
After knowing that we were willing to help him complete the task of finding the hammer again, Ding Ding Xiaoge immediately became energetic and never mentioned anything like "being extremely sleepy" again.
According to the introduction of the elven druid girl "Fairy Descending to Earth with Face Down", we probably need to walk around the huge cave for more than ten times to reach the bottom. On this way, we will encounter many attacks from skeleton warriors. At the bottom of the cave, in addition to a large number of ordinary skeleton warriors, there is also a leader-level skeleton monster sitting in charge.
People's greatest fear does not come from those terrible things, but from the mysterious unknown. When we faced this huge bottomless hole just now, our hearts were filled with great confusion and anxiety; but now we can't wait to set off - even if we are about to face a group of undead killers we have never seen before.
Although the plank road was not wide, it was wide enough for two people to walk side by side. Niu Baiwan and I walked in the front. No matter what happened, our heavy armor and strong bodies could withstand it for a while. The dwarf bard Nocturne in B-flat Minor and the druid girl Fairy Descend followed closely behind us, ready to provide support at any time. As for the orc warlock Ding Ding Xiaoge, he followed far behind to avoid us having to be distracted to rescue him during the battle.
After the second turn on the plank road, three emaciated figures finally walked out of the darkness. They were covered in tattered cloth and held thick pickaxes and hammers in their hands. Every step they took made a "clattering" sound all over their bodies. Although they still maintained an upright walking posture, their movements were extremely stiff, as if they were a machine running on levers and bearings, without the flexibility and elasticity that a living creature should have.
We approached cautiously until they were about ten steps away from us, and the torches barely illuminated their bodies:
Just as the druid girl told us, it was a human figure made up of a pile of white bones. Two huge black holes were sunken in the skull where the eye sockets should have been, and there was only an empty black mass inside. When you were swept by this lifeless black mass, you would always have a creepy feeling, as if you were being stared at by some evil thing from a far distance.
"Ah!" Seeing them, the druid girl let out a soft cry, grabbed Niu Baiwan's arm tightly, closed her eyes tightly, and almost arched her whole body into the arms of the Tauren warrior.
"Seeing these things again, so scary..."
Women's fragility is always the source of men's courage. Although his lips had turned pale with fear at these rotten creatures that refused the call of death, Niu Baiwan still patted the fairy's shoulder and comforted her with a trembling voice:
"What's there to be afraid of? They're just a few level 12 skeletons. Don't worry, don't worry... Ouch, it hurts, it hurts, don't hold on so tightly, you're making me bleed..."
After being comforted by Niu Baiwan, the elven druid no longer looked as scared as before. I wonder if she would still feel at ease if she opened her eyes and saw the tauren warrior's legs shaking like sieves.
Despite having no eyeballs, the three skeletons still spotted us. They staggered forward with their heavy weapons, their upper and lower jaws violently colliding, making a "click-click" sound, as if they were shouting something. As they approached, you could see the bone fragments on their bodies flying away due to their violent running. The flesh on one of the arms had not yet completely rotted away, and the remaining skin was covered with yellow-brown corpse spots dripping with pus.
"Bang!" I used my shield to block the heavy hammer that was hitting my head, and with my backhand I stabbed him in the chest with a sword swiftly and smoothly.
This sword strikes fiercely, and it is a combat skill that I have gradually figured out after so many battles. Although it cannot cause huge damage like using skills, it is effective in both offense and defense, and can pierce the heart directly. Whether facing violent beasts or vicious robbers, this simple move of blocking left and stabbing right has achieved good results.
But this time, I miscalculated.
My hand suddenly felt lighter, and the pleasant feeling of the sword piercing the flesh did not happen as I imagined. The "Sabertooth Ripper" went straight through the ribs of the skeleton's chest and completely missed.
"Don't stab them..." B-flat minor Nocturne reminded me from behind, "...These are skeleton monsters. The chance of stabbing attacks is reduced by 30% and the damage is reduced by 70%. Cut them with swords!"
Nocturne's words immediately woke me up. I didn't even retract my sword, but swept it across. The sharp blade immediately cut off one of his ribs, and a line of clear words "-18" floated above his head.
Once you get the hang of it, these hideous-looking undead are not as difficult to deal with as they seem. On these humanoid monsters made of bones, the double-edged "saber-tooth tearers" bite the seemingly hard bones ferociously, making a friction sound like using a big saw to cut wood, grinding the hard bones into bone slag with a delicate and pleasant touch.
Although they were level 12 monsters, these skeletons could not really be described as "powerful". Compared to the flying bats, they were slow and clumsy, and although their attack power and resistance to blows were much stronger, it was only a matter of time to defeat them.
Compared to my long sword, Niu Baiwan's huge wooden stake is obviously more effective against these skeleton monsters. In front of his powerful crushing attack, the difference between flesh and blood and a pile of dry bones is not obvious - against skeleton monsters, the damage of sticks and hammers will increase by 20%. With his powerful swings again and again, the skeletons standing in front of him always suffer new losses. At least now, I see that the skeleton holding the pickaxe has lost his left arm, and the toe bones of his right foot have been smashed into pieces. Not long after, Niu Baiwan swung the last skeleton from the plank road into the cave, and then held the wall and gasped.
"Phew...it looks so fucking creepy. I was scared to death..." He let out a long sigh and patted his chest lightly to show his relief.
However, his eyes suddenly turned and he caught a glimpse of the elf girl standing behind him and looking at him.
The druid girl was staring at him with her big watery eyes and a look of slight admiration.
In a blink of an eye, the Minotaur warrior immediately changed his posture. He supported the wall with his right hand, and lazily hooked his left thumb around his waist. He supported the ground with his left hoof, crossed his right hoof in front of his left hoof, and tapped the ground with the tip of his hoof, posing a relaxed, carefree and unrestrained look:
“…But…” He paused for a moment, and even his voice became much more mellow and rich. He spoke in poetic language and with a magnetic timbre like an aria: “…No matter how high their level is, no matter how terrifying their appearance is, under my ruthless blow, they will all be reduced to ashes…”
As he spoke, he turned his head and looked down at the elf girl with concern, like an elder: "...Are you scared? Are you hurt?"
The elf girl looked at him blankly and shook her head as if unconsciously.
The sturdy minotaur warrior smiled slightly, lifted the big wooden stake beside him easily with his left hand, and placed it on his thick shoulder - this action showed the strong and strong muscle lines of his whole arm - and touched the sharp horn on his head with his right hand. A turbid air flow gushed out from the underground cave, gently caressing his temples and mane, instantly adding a wild and uninhibited temperament to this foreign man full of masculine beauty:
"...The battle ahead will be even more dangerous. Remember to hide behind me. You don't have to be afraid of anything!"
He said , then raised his right hand, made a meaningless yet heroic gesture, and said to us enthusiastically like a leader: "Let's keep moving forward!"
After saying that, he didn't wait for us, but strode towards the dark plank road, leaving us with a majestic and tall back. The elf girl didn't even look at us, but followed him stupidly.
"A ruthless blow? Reduced to ashes? I didn't know this guy was actually a poet..." I turned my head and teased Nocturne beside me.
"What an old-fashioned way to pick up girls. It became outdated in the middle of the last century. There is no market for muscular men these days!" Nocturne looked at Niu Baiwan's back with disdain and spat fiercely with contempt - or more like jealousy in my opinion.
"...You...say...that...because...you...have...no...muscles...right?" After a long while, Ding Ding Xiaoge's incisive evaluation of Nocturne slowly floated over from behind us.
I think this is a very objective statement.
As we were walking and talking slowly...
"Hey, are you just going to watch me die alone? Come and save me, I can't take it anymore..."
In front of us, Niu Baiwan's cry for help came again...
…
I don't know how many times we circled the plank road. After killing more than thirty skeleton warriors along the way, the plank road was only two floors away from the ground, and we were finally able to see the scene at the bottom of the cave.
It was a man-made flat land with several caves carved out on the walls. Many ugly skeletons wandered aimlessly inside. A quick check showed that there were at least thirty of them. A short but strong skeleton stood at the entrance of a cave on one side of the cave, holding a huge long-handled battle axe in his hand. He was wearing a worn-out metal armor that was very different from the other skeletons, and on his head was a bright name: "Robert Willanster, the Undead".
"The hammer is right there..." the elven druid girl fairy said to us, face down on the ground, pointing to an area on the side of the cave where there were fewer skeletons.
Following her finger, I saw a huge hammer lying on the ground, half of the hammer head buried deep in the soil. The hammer was very large, almost the same size as an ordinary anvil, and there was a layer of intricate and beautiful patterns engraved on the hammer head. The scorching red luster was faintly revealed from the gaps in the pattern, reflecting a strange magical power, showing that this hammer was extraordinary.
"Ah, there are so many skeletons down there, can we get through? It's safer to go back as soon as possible." Niu Baiwan stuck his head out and looked down. Seeing the number of enemies, his usual pessimism was revealed, and he couldn't help but complain.
“That’s not necessarily true…” Nocturne in B-flat minor carefully observed the positions of the skeletons, and then said, “…Although there are a lot of them, they are not positioned very closely together. As long as we lure them over and attack them slowly, we will have a chance to defeat them one by one.”
Niu Baiwan shrank his neck disapprovingly, and hummed softly, "My hunch tells me that this is very risky. I hope we don't get wiped out..."
In response to Niu Baiwan's suggestion, the fairy immediately expressed her support with her face on the ground: "There are too many people down there, it's too dangerous, otherwise... let's withdraw first..."
Unexpectedly, the druid girl's words seemed to give Niu Baiwan a great stimulus. His depressed and cowardly look was immediately swept away, and he said with confidence: "In fact, there is no need. As long as we advance steadily and step by step, it won't be a big problem even if we kill all these skeletons!"
"Tsk, isn't this exactly what I said?" The dwarf bard was quite indignant about the tauren warrior's hypocritical bravery and whispered to us.
"But... the last time we came here, those people were of higher rank than you. In this case... aren't you too dangerous?" The fairy descended to earth and looked at Niu Baiwan hesitantly and said.
Undoubtedly, the fairy's advice had an immediate effect. However, this effect was completely opposite to her original intention...
"Isn't it just a few levels higher than me? What's so great about that? Level is not the only criterion for winning or losing. Good operation can completely make up for the difference in level. I don't believe that there is anything in this small cave that can stop me. Haha...haha...hahaha..." Niu Baiwan's attitude immediately became more courageous and resolute than before. It seemed as if he couldn't wait to swing his big tree stump and bravely charge into the enemy group. However, his laughter was dry and weak, and it was still trembling slightly, as if it was deliberately squeezed out of his throat, which was completely different from his bold words.
"Operation? I just can't see what's so good about this guy's operation..." Witnessing Niu Baiwan shamelessly bragging in front of the elf girl, Nocturne in B flat minor stood beside us and couldn't help but sneer in a low voice with his sarcastic words.
After a while, the classic answer of the half-orc warlock Ding Ding Xiaoge appeared in our ears again:
"His...blood-drinking technique...is very smooth. None of us...can compare to him..."
