Traveling through the game world

As soon as they left the residential area of ​​the Huttonmar ruins, they noticed a thick, malevolent aura permeating the air. Lian Yang frowned and said, "This should be considered a heavily affected area of ​​the Black Nightmare, right? The air itself is filled with its aura."

Baron shrugged and said, "This is only the outer perimeter of the Huttonmar ruins. Apparently, this area is now the territory of the Mushroom People, something called Mushroom Manor."

"A mushroom man?" Alice chuckled. "Black Nightmare really isn't picky about food. He gets infected with rocks, he gets infected with plants. It seems like there's nothing he can't eat..."

"Hahaha..." The suppressed anger vanished, and Lian Yang laughed wildly, "Alice, what you said seems to be true. This Black Nightmare really is a well-behaved child who doesn't pick and choose its food."

"Die!" Just as Lian Yang and the others were laughing and joking, the mushroom that was originally behind Baron suddenly leaped up from the ground and transformed into a human shape, fiercely attacking Baron.

"Bang!" Alice fired a shot casually and said, "Sneaking is not a good habit! Baron, thank me quickly!" Although the mushroom man's sneak attack was sudden, the gunmen reacted quickly, especially Alice, who was standing opposite Baron.

He suddenly drew his sword from behind and easily killed a mushroom-man clown that pounced on him. Lian Yang chuckled and said, "Let's fight! It's been days since we've done anything!"

"Bang bang bang..." Alice, too lazy to even use her skills, casually attacked with a hand cannon while imitating the sound of cannons from time to time, as if the intense battle was just an act.

"Hmm, the monsters here are much stronger than those in Silver Village." Baron said, sensing the monsters' strength. "These mushroom people are probably similar to the fire squirrels in Silver Village, but their strength has reached the level of Lightning Blara." Baron was also fighting using only normal attacks.

It wasn't that the three were showing off; rather, having leveled up and upgraded their equipment, their strength had increased dramatically. They hadn't yet fought against opponents of comparable strength, relying solely on basic attacks. By assessing the intensity of their basic attacks, the three could roughly determine their current strength level.

Even with normal attacks, the Lianyang trio, equipped with gear 10 levels higher and skills 5 levels higher, quickly ended the battle as if cutting melons and vegetables.

"Phew...!" Alice let out a long breath and shrugged, "It was really an easy battle. The equipment upgrade is huge. I feel like I should be at the same level as that dog-man Hado before."

Nodding, Lian Yang said, "The only thing he has over us is his level, but you two can both wear level 40 +10 purple gear, so in terms of equipment, he can't possibly surpass you. As for skills, how many things can a thief know? Let's continue deeper in; the monsters on the outermost edge are so strong, it makes me a little uneasy."

Yes, although the battle ended very quickly, it wasn't because the monsters were weak, but rather because the trio, decked out in beginner gear, were too strong. However, in the real world, the strength difference between bosses and regular monsters is enormous. A monster might be only level 10, while a boss could be level 60—this is entirely possible.

Continuing onward, the gunner Alice, believing her innate observational skills would make her the fire support for the trio and also a scout, waved her hand and whispered, "Shh, those guys up ahead, those who look like mushroom people, the ones in black hats, did you notice them? I looked closely, they're adventurers."

Following Alice's pointing finger, sure enough, there was a group of about four or five people acting suspiciously. They were wearing black mushroom hats and at first glance, they looked just like the mushroom people nearby, but upon closer inspection, it was clear that they were a group of human adventurers.

After carefully recalling the monsters in the Mushroom Manor area of ​​the City of Misfortune in the game—the black mushroom hats and similar attire to mushroom people—Lian Yang confirmed that the adventurers before him were indeed members of the Black Hat Thieves. In the Arad continent, organizations labeled as thieves were all ruthless and bloodthirsty forces. They were certainly no strangers to burning, killing, and looting ordinary villages and towns.

Thinking of this, Lian Yang said, "This should be the Black Hat Thieves, an adventurer organization that has been roaming the ruins of Huttonmar. Judging from their furtive behavior, they've probably discovered something. Let's follow them."

It seemed they had scouted the area countless times; strangely, the path this group took rarely encountered any mushroom-men. When they did manage to spot one, it was quickly killed by the group working together. Their practiced movements seemed to avoid attracting the attention of enemies further away.

They quietly followed the Black Hat Thieves for several blocks, when the leader suddenly stopped, carefully surveyed his surroundings, and said, "We're just ahead. The other two groups should be here too. Let's keep the fight quiet. This is a rare boss! Let's go!"

They truly lived up to their reputation as a band of thieves. Not only did they proceed cautiously along the way, but they also made a final check to see if they were being followed when they finally reached their target.

Unfortunately, they ran into the Lian Yang trio, whose strength far surpassed their own. Hearing the words of the Black Hat Thieves leader, Alice's eyes lit up: "Phew... there's a boss! These damned thieves actually managed to find the boss. Too bad they ran into us." Seeing the other side advancing cautiously along the way, she knew they must have something big planned, but she never expected them to actually find the boss.

To be considered a boss-level monster, it must at least possess the status and strength of Lightning Blara. And it's almost certain that it will drop a lot of good items.

Continuing to follow discreetly, they soon discovered the boss battling the Black Hat Thieves. A massive purple body, with tall, mutated fungi on its head resembling antlers, Lian Yang whispered, "It really is the boss, it's the Super Mushroom Man, Bernanze."

Super Mushroom Man Bernanze is the second boss of Mushroom Manor, ranking above Plague Rat Pando and second only to Mushroom Man's leader, Mushroom Monster Xia Tu. What's particularly troublesome is that he releases mushroom spores; some of these spores quickly grow into Mushroom Men, while others transform into blue mushrooms that spray poisonous mist. Fighting him only increases the number of enemies, and if not cleared in time, large swathes of poisonous mist-spraying mushrooms will appear. Therefore, he must be killed swiftly and decisively, otherwise the battle will seem endless.

Sure enough, the Black Hat Thieves gang fighting the Super Mushroom Man Bernanze numbered forty or fifty people and seemed to be planning to finish him off in one fell swoop.

"They've got a lot of fat!" Baron muttered, his eyes shining. "These people must be the elite of the Black Hat Thieves, all at least level 30 or higher."

"Alice, provide fire support! Baron, let's go!" What Baron could think of, Lian Yang naturally thought of as well. At this moment, in the trio's eyes, it wasn't just Bernanze who was tempting; the Black Hat Thieves' group was actually more alluring. After all, Bernanze at most dropped a holy relic, and the probability was incredibly low. Most likely, it would be purple gear. But these thieves could provide the trio with several levels of experience.

"Fire the MK2 howitzer!" The Gunner's level 35 skill, the FM-92MK2 howitzer, is perfect for providing fire support to Lianyang and Balon.

The cannonballs hurtling down from the sky were fatal to any Black Hat Thieves who hit them, while the surrounding enemies were blasted to pieces by the aftershocks. Alice's barrage of cannonballs only killed two enemies, but it completely disrupted the Black Hat Thieves' original tactics and formation.

Although their formation was disrupted, the Black Hat Thieves remained gathered together. Suddenly, a fierce whirlwind of blood energy condensed in Baron's left hand, roaring as it slowly drew the gathered thieves together. It was the Bloodthirsty Demon-Sealing Slash!

Bloodthirsty Demon-Sealing Slash, a level 35 skill for Berserkers, pulls enemies in front of the user to within range and continuously absorbs their blood energy. After the absorption ends, the user unleashes a blood-energy sword strike to attack the enemies in front. The more enemies absorbed, the higher the damage of the blood energy sword strike.

Of course, the Bloodthirsty Demon-Sealing Slash had an even better use: it was used by Baron to pull monsters towards him. Then, Lianyang Triple Slash swiftly moved to the center of the monsters, roaring, "Rage Burst!"

The thieves, firmly sucked in by the blood whirlwind of the Bloodthirsty Demon-Sealing Slash, had no time to react before being brutally killed by Lian Yang's burst of rage, bringing the trio a massive amount of experience.

A perfectly planned ambush halved the number of thieves, who originally numbered forty or fifty. But that was all. The remaining thieves huddled together, and their leader said in a deep voice, "Sir, you seem to have gone too far. We are all adventurers. To launch a sneak attack while we are fighting monsters seems to violate imperial law!"

"Haha..." Hearing the bandit leader actually mention the law to Lian Yang, Lian Yang couldn't help but laugh loudly: "Imperial law? Since when have bandit gangs ever abided by imperial law!" As he spoke, he took out his military rank insignia and said solemnly: "We are the Hope Independent Squad of the Steel Wolf Knights of the Delos Empire. Our mission now is to wipe out you! Black Hat Bandit Gang!"

The moment Lian Yang drew his military insignia, the leader of the Black Hat Thieves shouted, "Prepare to run! The enemy is too strong!" The thieves actually had the advantage in level and numbers, but their sharp-eyed leader, noticing the faint purple light emanating from Lian Yang's sword, immediately realized the enemy's weapon was enhanced to +13. Against such a being, only escape offered a sliver of hope.

Seeing the bandit gang trying to escape, Lian Yang said, "Kill them quickly! Every kill is a bonus! Flowing Heart Leap!" As he spoke, he grabbed the nearest bandit and used Flowing Heart Leap to cut him in half.

Because there was another boss, the Super Mushroom Man Bernanze, the trio didn't chase him for very long. After killing five or six more thieves, they decisively gave up the pursuit.

"Flamethrower!" Seeing that Super Mushroom Man Bernanze had already planted a whole field of mushroom spores, Alice decisively used a flamethrower to wipe out the area. The battlefield was easily cleared.

Lian Yang could see clearly that the Super Mushroom Man, Bernanze, was already on the verge of collapse due to the previous battle with the Black Hat Thieves. He immediately said, "What good luck! He's about to die! Let's take him down in one fell swoop!"

"Bloodthirsty Demon-Sealing Slash!" Baron decisively controlled the monster with Bloodthirsty Demon-Sealing Slash.

"FM31 grenade launcher!"; "Rage erupts!". Alice and Lian Yang are in charge of firepower!

"Pfft!" Baron, having finally absorbed enough blood energy, pierced Bernanze with a fierce sword strike.

After the battle ended and Lian Yang finished cleaning up the spoils, he said, "It really was just a purple-grade piece of equipment. These thieves really didn't deserve to die."

While purple equipment was still expensive in Lian Yang and the others' eyes, it wasn't considered anything particularly valuable. After all, they were already decked out in full purple gear.

"Humans!..." Just as Lian Yang and the others were preparing to return to the City of Misfortune, they suddenly heard a weak cry for help.

The three looked in the direction of the sound and saw an old goblin weakly calling out from a very secluded spot on the battlefield: "Save me, human!"

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