Traveling through the game world

The next morning, Albert found Lian Yang practicing swordsmanship in the courtyard and exclaimed in surprise, "You're actually practicing swordsmanship? To be honest, the experience gained from fighting monsters is countless times more efficient than practicing swordsmanship diligently. There aren't many people like you still practicing the most basic sword techniques."

Lian Yang, intently wielding his greatsword, replied, "Only what you gain through hard work is real; battles with monsters are ultimately just a catalyst!" Glancing at Albert's sword out of the corner of his eye, Lian Yang said, "You practice swordsmanship every day too!"

"Yes!" Albert sighed. "Although fighting monsters grants experience faster, it's ultimately just a mirage, a fallacy. I believe the experience I gain through hard work and cultivation is the most genuine."

Albert is a renowned prodigy on the continent of Arad—well, he should be considered a young man now. Around the same age as Lian Yang, he's proficient in all swordsmanship skills, and this guy has even clashed with an Apostle and returned alive. Lian Yang didn't even bother asking about his level; who knows how someone so young could level up so quickly? (Each training session and battle yields completely different experiences due to individual aptitude.)

After finishing his morning exercise, Albert stretched and said smugly, "I didn't expect that you, Lian Yang, would have the same habit as a genius like me. I'm starting to have high hopes for you!"

Lian Yang was speechless, his mind blank. "I know you're a genius, but don't go on and on like this! You have no friends!"

Albert waved his hand casually and said, "Phew... I know you're jealous of me, but it's okay, I don't mind. Besides, we're friends now!"

Lian Yang: "..."

As they chatted, Albert suddenly asked, "So, this place has really opened your eyes, hasn't it? It's become a paradise for monsters, talking ants, mushrooms that can move... I never could have imagined such things before. By the way, those damn ants even enslave mushroom people to do things for them, this world has gone completely mad."

Lian Yang knew, of course, that Albert was telling the truth, but for the moment it was best to play dumb. Lian Yang said, "This is really interesting. It's kind of funny that ants are enslaving mushroom people."

Albert, with a look that said, "You really didn't believe me," said, "Anyway, you're here for an adventure. Deeper into the area beyond Mushroom Manor, you'll see that those damned ants are actually enslaving some kind-hearted mushroom people, while some of the mushroom people are actually cooperating with the ants. In the ruins of Huttonmar, this kind of thing isn't surprising at all."

"Albert!" Paris called out as she saw Albert return at the hotel entrance. "Come help me take care of the wounded. Even Yang is here, so don't just sit around." Albert's hotel suddenly seemed to have become a field hospital.

Baron, who happened to be passing by, frowned as he looked at the wounded scattered on the ground and asked, "Paris, what happened? How come so many people are injured?"

Paris, who had just finished bandaging a wounded soldier, said, "It's nothing. These were all soldiers who went to rescue the Karu tribe, but they failed. Most of the capable people were killed in action, and the rest are just low-ranking kids. In the end, we were just short-handed."

Thinking that Baron, who had just arrived in the City of Doom, might not know, Paris explained, "The Karu are the mushroom people you fought before, but they are kind mushroom people."

Alice, who was also returning from her morning exercise, overheard Paris's explanation. Full of a sense of justice, she immediately exclaimed, "So there are kind mushroom people too? Then I'll go and help rescue the Karu tribe! I never thought ants would enslave mushroom people these days. How ridiculous!"

Paris continued bandaging the next wounded soldier without looking up, saying, "Actually, rescuing the Karu tribe is quite simple. If you just take down the Namlun warriors responsible for each area, the Karu will flee on their own. The key is that these giant ants swarm at an astonishing speed. Every time an area is liberated, a massive swarm of ants immediately rushes out. These people were lucky to escape because they didn't have time to retreat."

Albert, who was helping out, chimed in at the opportune moment: "It's all because of that damned Black Nightmare. Under its influence, these ordinary ants have turned into enormous giant ants, and they're even enslaving these mushroom people to build their kingdoms."

Suddenly, Lian Yang thought of something and asked, "Albert, can't you go out and help? I know Albert is very strong."

Looking around, Albert said softly, "I'm with the City of Doom's guard, but the guard has many restrictions, making it inconvenient for me to handle these matters. But the damned Imperial army doesn't care about these things at all." Albert's face was filled with resentment as he spoke. If he didn't have so many restrictions, the casualties wouldn't be so high.

"It's alright!" Paris said casually. "Ever since that big guy, the vice-commander of that knight order you're in, Lian Yang, arrived, these Imperial Knights have at least started patrolling and keeping watch. They've done something practical, at least."

After finally treating all the wounded, the exhausted group lay on the ground. Lian Yang said, "This isn't working. That giant ant's Namlun tribe has a lot of people. This isn't a permanent solution. Besides, we don't have a numerical advantage compared to the ants that can endlessly spawn."

After thinking carefully, Paris said, "It's their breeding season now. Because these ants are so big, all their eggs hatch on the ground. Maybe we could destroy their eggs, which would limit their reproductive capacity to some extent." This was a radical solution, and Paris couldn't think of a better way for the moment.

Albert chimed in, "There are many ants on the surface, but compared to the ants underground, they are just the tip of the iceberg. Every time we enter the ants' territory, a huge swarm of ants pours out from those enormous ant nests. Just like these people, it's really lucky that they managed to escape from the overwhelming ant colony."

Lian Yang nodded and said, "In that case, we can send people to destroy the ant eggs and the ant nests at the same time, and at the same time, we can also rescue some of the enslaved Karu people."

Paris said helplessly, "We know that's true, but our biggest problem is the lack of manpower!" Both plans are highly feasible, but similarly, they require at least one person of comparable skill to lead the team in order to complete these tasks. However, there are very few such experts left in the City of Misfortune.

Just then, Silent Alice said, "My attacks are all wide-area strikes; I can destroy the ant eggs. And you know, we have Remy's Kiss and Magic Juice, so we're not afraid of a war of attrition." Paris's flamethrowers and grenade launchers have considerable coverage areas; sending her alone would quickly clear out an area of ​​ant eggs.

Baron added, "In that case, I'll take care of destroying the ant nest. I'm fast enough that I won't be surrounded by the ant army after destroying the nest." Baron was quite confident in his ability to quickly destroy the ant nest using a brutal attack, followed by a swift escape with a triple slash or something similar.

Paris's eyes lit up, and she exclaimed excitedly, "That's true! I know your strength. If it's just the two of you, the problem should be easily solved." As the saying goes, when you think you've reached the end of the road, a new path opens up. Having fought alongside Lian Yang and the others in the Arnofa Forest, Paris certainly knew how strong they were. After all this adventure, there was no reason for them to be weaker, was there?

Lost in thought, Lian Yang couldn't help but ask, "Even if we succeed this time, you know we can't stay here forever. The fundamental problem of lacking skilled ants is unsolvable. Is there any way to completely or significantly limit the ants' reproduction?" What Lian Yang really wanted to ask was whether the Fallen Ant Queen, Melena, had come to the surface to lay her eggs. All ants are laid by the queen; eliminating the queen would provide a degree of permanent relief. By the time the ants produce a second queen, the City of Misfortune would have recovered.

Sure enough, Paris's eyes lit up, as if she had thought of something, and she said, "Yes, as long as we kill the ant leader, the Fallen Ant Queen Melena, we can limit the ants' reproduction. I just received intelligence that the Fallen Ant Queen Melena is laying eggs deep in the ant territory on the surface these days because she needs to lay eggs."

Before Paris could say anything, Lian Yang said directly, "Alright then, I'll take care of taking down the Fallen Ant Queen Melena. Don't worry, I have Little Dot and the potion, there won't be any danger."

Thinking of Lian Yang's miraculous potion, Paris nodded and said, "Then it's decided. Lian Yang, you're in charge of taking down the queen ant. Baron, you're in charge of destroying the ant nest. Alice, you're in charge of destroying the ant eggs! I still want to say, you guys came just in time!!"

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