Volume 5: Protracted War Chapter 21 Let's Give It a Try
The Hades Dragon King never mentioned what would happen if he was defeated. Instead, he described the huge benefits that could be gained after defeating him, as if he was encouraging me to challenge him. But I don't have the guts to do that. Even if I could gather all my subordinates, such as the Terror Knights and the Corpse Wizards, they would definitely not be a match for the Hades Dragon King. The fact that he could fly was enough to give me a headache, not to mention that he could control "magma rain" and "lava storm" to attack. Even if it was limited to a few times, it was enough to make my undead army run wild and afraid to gather together. If I want to challenge the Hades Dragon King, I'd better wait until I'm stronger. I have to take one step at a time. You can't get fat in one bite.
"Respected Lord Hades, please stop joking. How can I, with my weak strength, have the courage to offend you? That would be courting death. Do you have any other targets to choose from?"
"You can also challenge the next-level Hell Dragon. If you can win, you can enhance your perception and effectively avoid the attack of the flying lava. You should know that even the most powerful undead creatures cannot fight against the power of nature. If they are hit by lava that is too big, they will still be seriously injured, and their lives may even be in danger, especially when facing the "violent period" that occurs from time to time on the "Hell Volcano". During this period, the frequency and density of the "lava storm" will increase a lot, and it will be more difficult to dodge. One of the abilities of our Hell Dragon clan is to accurately judge the trajectory of the lava flight and predict its landing point. Compared with other undead creatures with the attribute of hellfire, our predictive ability has been strengthened a lot, and it will be safer to enter and exit the "Hell Volcano". In addition, they are allowed to soak in the "Hell Magma Pool" for twenty days every month, which can greatly accelerate their growth."
This is also impossible. The power of the Hell Dragon is higher than that of an ordinary Bone Dragon. I still don't have the confidence to cause trouble to a Bone Dragon, let alone a higher level Hell Dragon. Flying Undeads are not easy to deal with. "Respected Lord Hades, the Hell Dragon clan under your leadership is naturally extremely powerful. I am definitely not their opponent. Is there any weaker opponent?"
"Then you can only choose to challenge the lowest level Hellfire Undead creatures. There are only twelve places allocated to them, which means that at most twelve undead creatures who are not members of the Nether Dragon Clan can obtain the permission to enter the 'Hell Magma Pool'. If you win the challenge, you can occupy a place and soak in the 'Hell Magma Pool' for ten days every month."
It seems that this is the last choice. To win the challenge and enter the "Hell Magma Pool" to practice, one's own ability must be not bad. It's still dangerous for me and Taotao alone. It's not optimistic! "Respected Lord Hades, can you explain the specific rules of the challenge in detail?" In any case, ask about the rules first and see if there are any tricks that can be used.
"The low-level challenges are implemented by the 'last-place elimination system', and a maximum of twelve people can be maintained. Once a challenger wins and the loser is alive, the last-ranked undead will be immediately driven out of the 'Hell Magma Pool' and disqualified from soaking. Therefore, if you have enough ability, try to challenge the guys in the front rank as much as possible, so as not to be accidentally squeezed out of the system, and not to be harassed too much by other challengers, so that you can concentrate on training in the magma pool. At the same time, in order to prevent one side from relying on speed or flying advantages to dodge blindly, causing the challenge to continue endlessly, the maximum limit is three. The challenge is limited to three days. If the winner cannot be determined during this period, the challenger can choose his own opponent and has the initiative, so according to the rules, the challenger will be judged as a failure. Unless the challenger has always taken the initiative on the field during these three days and chased the opponent relentlessly, the challenger will be judged as the winner according to the actual situation, and the loser will not be able to challenge again within the next month. In addition, because of my duties, I cannot leave the territory of the "Hell Volcano", and the challenge must be carried out under my supervision, so the two sides of the battle cannot leave the "Hell Volcano", and the party that takes the initiative to leave will be immediately judged as the loser. "
The rules are somewhat unfavorable to the challenger. It seems that the key to the problem lies in the selection of opponents. Only by playing to one's strengths and avoiding weaknesses, and trying to choose opponents that are suitable for one's own advantages, can one win the battle. It took so much effort to climb the "Hell Volcano" and see the "Hell Magma Pool". So much time and money have been spent. If you back down easily and retreat without a fight, you will feel a little unwilling in your heart. You have to fight anyway. At most, you can take the initiative to escape from the territory of the "Hell Volcano" and consider it as admitting defeat. Anyway, even if you give up, you still need to go down the mountain. Just treat it as a part-time job, at least you can keep a glimmer of hope. And there is no problem with time. This is a special mission mode, which will not be restricted by resurrection and daily online time. It just so happens that in order to cope with the unknown test imagined after climbing to the top of the mountain, I have already rested enough spirit in advance and can persist for a long time.
Of course, in order to carry out the challenge, there is another crucial issue involved. "Dear Lord Hades, if I initiate the challenge, although it is the Hell Skeleton Horse that is going to enter the 'Hell Magma Pool', as its master, we have always been two in one. Can I fight with it?" If it is a two-on-one fight, there may be a glimmer of hope. If Taotao is allowed to challenge alone, with its current strength and combat awareness, it will have no chance of winning against an opponent that is too powerful. It is better to give up so as not to waste time and bear the risk of losing 3% of its mental strength limit due to death.
"This..." I should be the first undead wizard to come to challenge, and there is no precedent for fighting with pets. The Nether Dragon King was also a little hesitant for a while. After pondering for a long time, he said: "There is no specific provision on this aspect in the challenge rules. This issue should be between two options. However, since it is not explicitly prohibited, I will make the decision and decide that you can fight with your pet Hell Skeleton Horse."
Well, I called him "Respected Lord Hades" so affectionately, and gave him enough face. Finally, I got something in return. He still gave me convenience within his authority. Otherwise, he would have made any decision on such a question of what is possible and what is not. Even if I appealed to the authorities and got permission, this opportunity would have been wasted.
"However, the challenge will focus on the Hell Skeleton Horse that actually benefits. You are only auxiliary in nature and have no influence on the outcome. If the Hell Skeleton Horse dies, no matter what your condition is, you will be judged as having failed the challenge." Before I could express my gratitude, the Nether Dragon King immediately added.
I was reduced to the role of helping the younger brother. Success or failure all depended on Taotao. This was a clause that was not in my favor. Really, this old Dragon King was too bad at being a human being. How could he give me a piece of honey first and then hit me with a club? He should just be a good person to the end, and everyone would be happy. Why did he have to make me feel uncomfortable? He had to put on a respectful expression on his face and replied casually, "Thank you, Lord Hades!" This person is really getting more and more hypocritical. In the past, if I was in a similar situation with the company's leaders, I would have to be awkward for a long time before I could say this. How could it be so natural like now?
"Have you decided to challenge for the qualification to enter the 'Hell Magma Pool'?"
"Could you tell me the basic information of the opponents I can choose so that I can think about it?" I tried my best to get more information to help myself make the most suitable decision.
"No, these are all confidential. According to the rules, you have the right to make a choice only after you decide to challenge." The Nether Dragon King rejected my request outright. It seemed that all the anthropomorphic intelligent NPCs in "Tianxia" were the same. No matter how much flattery one gave, they would never compromise on matters of principle.
I gritted my teeth and encouraged myself in my heart, and finally made up my mind, "Okay, Taotao and I will challenge!" I'll first assess the opponent 's strength. If he is really no match, I'll just choose one who is slower, make a feint and escape down the mountain.
"Next, according to the procedure, you should choose your opponent. The twelve selected candidates are divided into three groups according to their rankings and take turns to enter the 'Hell Magma Pool'. They are not usually in the same place, so it is impossible to gather them together for you to choose. You can only meet one group of four at a time. I wonder which group you want to start choosing from?"
Nonsense, do I have the ability to challenge the top-ranked undead? I will definitely lose faster. Maybe I can still have a chance if I choose from the guys at the bottom. "We are not capable enough to take on tough challenges. Let's first look at the group ranked ninth to twelfth."
The Hades Dragon King is worthy of being the ruler of the "Hell Volcano". Soon, four undead with different appearances appeared in front of me. It seemed that they all knew the purpose of being summoned. As soon as they appeared, they looked at Taotao and me as the challengers. After the initial surprise, the attitude they showed made me very unhappy. It might be because they judged that Taotao and I were weaker, so they seemed to look down on me and stared straight at the Hades Dragon King. They were too lazy to even look at me, and seemed to be a little disdainful.
However, in the "Dead Soul Space", strength is respected and the weak have no status. It is not surprising that they have such an attitude. It was the old dragon king who was knowledgeable and took the initiative to introduce these four arrogant guys to me, so that I had a preliminary understanding of their strength and made it easier to make a choice. You know, it is not necessarily the last or weakest one that is the most suitable opponent. Everything can only be determined based on the characteristics of both parties.
The four undead belong to four different populations, and there are related records in the "Undead Creatures Encyclopedia". However, the four guys in front of me are all mutants who live on the "Hell Volcano" and have experienced the baptism of hellfire. Their appearance is different from ordinary individuals. If it weren't for the introduction of the Hades Dragon King, I really wouldn't dare to identify them. They all have names. From this point of view, their strength will not be too weak, at least they are the best in their population. In the "Dead Space", except for the royal families in various groups, only the real strong ones are qualified to have the names granted by the system. Even the blood bat couple were just two nameless people before they were conquered by me, and their strength was still far behind.
The twelfth one is a flying guy. It looks like a skeleton warrior with a pair of wings on its back. It is a flying demon named Guben. It is characterized by fast movement speed and agility. It has a long spear in its hand and attacks very frequently and in many ways, making it difficult for the opponent to defend against it. Although its defense and attack power are not very high and its overall strength is relatively weak, it is estimated that it is not something that Taotao and I can withstand. We still can't stand it after a few more hits. In fact, after seeing its pair of small wings, I didn't think about it anymore. Their attacks are usually difficult to parry and dodge. Generally, they can only attack instead of defend, which requires strong strength. I don't have the ability to fight a head-on battle with it.
The eleventh one is a skeleton wizard named Hader, a necromancer of a higher level than a corpse wizard. Although there are few of them, they are all quite powerful. In terms of magic attainments alone, their power is probably even higher than that of undead wizards of the same strength. When he rushed over, he was walking very fast, and his speed was not much slower than when I used "One Ride Away from the Dust". Combined with long-range magic attacks, the risk is too great. Even if I want to escape, it won't be easy, so I can't choose him.
The tenth one is a giant skeleton named Ludi, who is a mutant of a skeleton general. He is nearly four meters tall, with solid and dense bones, broad shoulders and a round waist, and strong limbs. He looks like he is about the same thickness as my waist. He has no weapons in his hands, but his fists are clenched. It seems that he practices hand-to-hand combat. Although he moves slowly and his movements are slow, his defense and physical attack power are quite high. With Taotao and I's strength, it would be very dangerous if we were hit by him. Moreover, our attacks may not be able to break the defense and cause damage to him. Under normal circumstances, there is basically no difference between choosing him and automatically giving up.
The ninth one is a guy who looks like a black warrior. His name is Dot. He is indeed a variant of the black warrior. He holds a big sword in both hands and looks murderous. Although his original form is a relatively weak black warrior, since he ranks ninth, his strength should be better than the three guys in front of him. He probably won't be able to take advantage of them. And judging from his steady pace when he rushed over, he was quite calm. He should have the most combat experience among the four undead. His movement speed is also faster than the necromancer. If he can't defeat the necromancer, it will be difficult for him to escape.
The Nether Dragon King introduced the four undead spirits one by one. I only have one chance. If I let this group go, I won't be able to choose them again. The last four are already strong enough, not to mention the ones in front. There will be no chance. It seems that I can only choose one of them and give it a try.
