With a starting talent that's practically top-tier, even an old man can go against the heavens!

[Ding! You have entered the new map [Wanderer's Gathering Place]!]

"Wanderer" is a general term for homeless people such as vagrants, robbers, and wanted criminals.

The wanderer's gathering place is where they meet, trade, and communicate.

This is equivalent to their own main city.

However, it is not protected by either the Light or Dark factions and belongs to the neutral faction.

Before us stood a dilapidated fortified village.

The wall was simply made of stacked stones and wooden planks, and was completely for show.

The makeshift houses and tents inside were haphazardly placed, making the place look very crowded and dirty.

The stench of life could be smelled even when the two of them were standing outside.

Are you sure your friend is still alive?

Seeing this environment, Chen Beixuan couldn't help but frown.

"Alive. I came here a few days ago to confirm. He's in the prison in the northeast corner," Dean said with certainty.

"What's the strength of the people inside? Do you know anything about them?"

"I always come at night, so I don't know the specifics," Dean shook his head.

Chen Beixuan nodded and began his initial analysis.

"The mission hints are limited; players will need to discover the information themselves..."

Seeing the drowsy one-eyed guard at the door, he stepped forward and threw out a reconnaissance token.

------

Bandit Guard: Level 14

Blood volume: 3400

Attack: 200

Defense: 55

Magic resistance: 45

Skills: Slash, Iaijutsu, Piercing Arrow

------

The level 14 monster has average stats, but its health is significantly higher than that of a level 10 elite skeleton spearman.

For him, it was just a matter of casting a lightning spell; it posed no threat.

Furthermore, once the protective flame is upgraded to 2 stars, the dual resistances it provides are increased by 20 points.

With a maximum of 218 points in both resistances, even if the defense is broken, the damage is pitifully low.

"Disguise yourself and go in to check things out."

Chen Beixuan casually smeared some black ash on his face, instantly transforming into a homeless old man and a sorcerer.

Dean followed suit and disguised himself as a little beggar.

The two stepped inside and blended into the crowd.

Chen Beixuan kept sending out reconnaissance items to check the attributes of the people inside and memorize the information.

Except for a few level 15 characters with higher attributes, most of them are around level 13 or 14.

They continued on to the northeast corner and finally saw the cage Dean had described.

To their surprise, the cage was completely empty, without a single person in sight!

Dean's face changed drastically, and he exclaimed in panic, "Kaiya is gone! They took Kaiya away!"

He knelt down in front of Chen Beixuan with a thud, clutching his clothes and pleading, "Please save Kaiya, I beg you!"

Do you know where he was taken?

Chen Beixuan remained calm and asked without showing any emotion.

At this moment, some NPCs around had already begun to notice the situation and were casting strange glances at them.

Dean said, his voice trembling with tears, "I don't know either..."

At this moment, Chen Beixuan received a notification of a mission change.

The mission requirement has changed to finding Kaeya's whereabouts.

The clues will most likely only be obtained by defeating the boss here.

He already had a grasp of the situation of the people in the gathering place, so there was no need for him to hide his identity anymore.

Looking at the bandit guards surrounding the cage, his gaze sharpened, and he raised the staff in his hand.

"Protective Flame!"

"Thunder and lightning!"

Boom boom boom——

True damage -1597, -798, -1597, ...

Lucky Combo +1!

True damage -1597, -798, -1597, ...

[Ding! You have defeated a [Bandit Guard Lv.14], gaining 450 (+500%) experience points and 12 copper coins!]

[Ding! Your experience points have reached the level cap of 10. You can continue to level up after changing jobs!]

[......]

The lightning spell instantly killed three bandit guards!

Two beams of green light burst from the spot where the charred corpse had fallen!

Upon seeing this, the other bandit guards immediately sounded the alarm and fired cloud-piercing arrows into the sky!

"Enemy attack—Enemy attack—"

Bystanders scattered in panic, and the guards at the gathering place arrived one after another!

Despite the damage from the protective flames, he charged forward and launched an attack on Chen Beixuan.

Ding ding ding ding——

-0, -0, -0, ...

A string of -0s floated up above his head, while the blood streaks remained motionless!

Chen Beixuan's gaze sharpened slightly, and he raised his staff once more!

"Thunder and lightning!"

Boom boom boom——

After taking away three more bandits, his skill proficiency steadily increased.

Lightning Bolt is his main damage-dealing skill at the moment; the damage of his other skills is somewhat weak.

Leveling up is limited; the only way to increase damage is by upgrading skills.

Therefore, he will cast Lightning Bolt as soon as its cooldown ends.

Dean had already hidden behind a pillar in the distance, trembling, occasionally peeking out to watch the battle.

He hadn't expected the old man to be so fierce; the terrifying lightning struck the robber to death in an instant.

There's a formidable bandit leader here, though; I wonder if the old man can handle him...

After Chen Beixuan spent some time clearing out the bandits, the BOSS appeared!

"How dare you run wild on my turf! You're courting death!"

A burly, bearded man, standing 2 meters tall, cleaved open the tent with a single stroke and slowly emerged from inside.

His body was covered in bulging muscles and centipede-like scars, his eyes gleamed with ferocity, and he had a fierce appearance.

Throw out a reconnaissance item, and the BOSS's attributes appear before you.

------

Bandit Leader Water: Level 15 Black Iron BOSS

Blood volume: 25000

Attack: 300

Defense: 110

Magic resistance: 120

Skills: Slash, Musketeer Shot, Ground Slash, Berserk.

BOSS Specialty:

[Basic Resilient Life]: Health +50%.

------

"A bit weak..."

This attribute was much lower than Chen Beixuan had imagined.

With high HP and defense, and moderate attack, it's more like a welfare boss.

A level 15 player can be slowly worn down; it's not difficult at all.

The boss's specialization is even inferior to that of the level 10 necromancer, Bartholomew Sainz.

He guessed that these bosses also varied in strength, had different classes, and had different potential.

"Defeating the boss should give you quest clues..."

With this in mind, Chen Beixuan made a decisive move.

"Thunder and lightning!"

boom--

-1597, -798.

Lucky Combo +1!

-1597, -798.

Over 4700 points of true damage floated up above the BOSS's head, and its health bar instantly dropped by one-fifth.

The bandit leader, Walter, drew his broadsword from his waist and slashed down without saying a word.

puff!

-82.

+10.

Chen Beixuan crushed a bottle of basic life potion to ensure his health remained intact during the cooldown of his lightning spell, and to be wary of gunfire.

After being hit again, the lightning spell took away another fifth of the BOSS's health.

+958!

Life Steal takes effect; overflowing healing numbers float up from above, and health is fully restored.

His terrifying damage meant that the BOSS didn't even have time to launch a few attacks before its health was reduced to 50%.

"You've actually managed to push me to this point, you're quite something!"

BOSS leader Walter looked surprised and said in a deep, fierce voice.

He then lifted his shirt, pulled out the flintlock pistol from his waist, and aimed it at Chen Beixuan!

He laughed maniacally, shouting, "Go to hell!"

......