27: Chapter 27 I Want Them All

A massive shadow swayed violently over the ruins; the Iron-Eating Demon Ape clutched its back, letting out a heart-wrenching, desperate roar.

Its scarlet eyes were fixed intently on Su Chen, and its voice was filled with unwillingness and violence: "Damn human! How dare you strip away my talent! I will tear you to pieces!"

With its talent forcibly stolen and the bonuses from Golden Iron Body completely gone, the Iron-Eating Demon Ape fell into a state of impotent rage. Its massive body twisted frantically, and its huge iron claws slammed fiercely into the ground.

Each strike sent debris from the ruins flying and filled the air with dust as it attempted to vent its anger with wide-area ground slams.

However, Su Chen's footsteps were light. With the boost of 8770 Agility, his figure turned into a blur, easily dodging every impact, and he could even sneak in a few strikes during the gaps in the Iron-Eating Demon Ape's ground slams.

"Without Golden Iron Body, you're nothing but a giant punching bag with nothing but HP." A mocking smile curled at the corners of Su Chen's mouth as he coldly evaluated the BOSS before him. "Your attack power might still be there, but without the 20% damage reduction, you can't even withstand a single hit from me now."

As soon as he finished speaking, Su Chen activated Flash Stab, instantly closing the distance to the Iron-Eating Demon Ape's neck. He gathered power into his cross greatsword, stacked the damage from Shadow Consecutive Slashes, and stabbed down fiercely.

[Ding! Attacked Lv40 Iron-Eating Demon Ape, deducted 18600 HP!]

[Ding! Attacked Lv40 Iron-Eating Demon Ape, deducted 19200 HP!]

Having lost its talent, the Iron-Eating Demon Ape's defense was greatly reduced, and it could not withstand Su Chen's high-frequency, high-damage attacks. Its massive body swayed continuously, its roars grew weaker and weaker, and its HP plummeted at a rate visible to the naked eye.

Su Chen showed no mercy, alternating between basic attacks and skills, with every strike landing precisely on the Iron-Eating Demon Ape's vital points.

In just 15 seconds, the Iron-Eating Demon Ape let out one last shrill wail, its massive body collapsed to the ground with a boom, and it breathed its last.

[Ding! Successfully killed Lv40 Dark Gold BOSS Iron-Eating Demon Ape!]

[Ding! Obtained 10,000,000 Experience Points!]

As the system notification sounded, Su Chen raised an eyebrow. Looking at the rapidly rising experience bar on his panel, the smile on his lips deepened: "After the second class advancement, the level jump—I won't have to worry about resources now."

He stepped forward and activated loot mode as system notifications sounded one after another:

[Ding! Obtained item: Refined Mithril x 12!]

[Ding! Obtained item: Demon Ape Fur x 8!]

[Ding! Obtained item: Demon Ape Essence Blood x 3!]

[Ding! Obtained Lv40 Dark Gold equipment: Refined Metal Bracers!]

[Ding! Obtained Lv40 Dark Gold equipment: Refined Metal Boots!]

Su Chen opened his equipment panel to check the attributes of the two Dark Gold pieces of equipment:

[Refined Metal Bracers] (Dark Gold)

Level: 40

Attributes: Strength +500, Constitution +600, Agility +450

Special Effect: When attacked, there is a 10% chance to trigger a Metal Shield, reducing damage by 30%.

Remarks: Heavy armor type, requires Level 40 to equip.

[Refined Metal Boots] (Dark Gold)

Level: 40

Attributes: Strength +480, Constitution +550, Agility +600

Special Effect: Movement speed +20%, jump height +50%.

Remarks: Heavy armor type, requires Level 40 to equip.

Looking at the attributes on the panel, Su Chen's mouth twitched, and he mocked himself: "Heavy armor again? I'm an assassin, I'm being forced into being a warrior by all this heavy armor equipment; the style is completely off."

He shook his head helplessly and put all the equipment and materials into his backpack. "I haven't reached level 40 yet, so I'll just have to store them and use them after I level up."

After tidying up the loot, Su Chen didn't linger; he turned and walked toward the depths of the secret realm.

After two hours of exploration, he finally arrived at the end of the secret realm—an ancient royal city shrouded in darkness.

The scene before him was desolate. The once magnificent walls were already dilapidated, covered in cracks, and stained with dried black residues; the ground beneath his feet was pitch black, devoid of any vegetation, and the air was filled with a dense, suffocating aura of darkness.

This place had long since been completely swallowed by the dark desolation, becoming the core of the Fallen Kingdom's wasteland.

Su Chen looked up and saw that the gate of the royal city was heavily guarded, with squads of soldiers lined up in neat rows.

Each squad was led by a Bronze BOSS-level soldier captain, commanding 20 Lv40 elite Fallen Soldiers. Their eyes were vacant, and they exuded a cold killing intent, staring fixedly at the direction of the entrance.

"All elite monsters, and they're led by a Bronze BOSS. This is a bit troublesome." Su Chen pulled up the mission panel and frowned as he looked at the remaining time of less than 20 hours. "According to the mission's intent, an assassin is supposed to use stealth to sneak in and assassinate targets, avoiding these massive amounts of small mobs. But that takes too much time, the efficiency is too low, and I won't be able to make the deadline."

He pondered for a moment, his eyes suddenly turning sharp, and an arrogant smile curled at the corners of his mouth. "Since stealth is inefficient, then I'll just change the way I play."

As soon as he finished speaking, Su Chen formed seals with his hands, his internal mana surged wildly, and he whispered, "Summon Thunder Elementals!"

Two bolts of purple lightning exploded out of thin air and landed on the ground, transforming into two six-to-seven-meter-tall Silver-grade Thunder Elementals. Their bodies were wrapped in violent lightning, emitting a sizzling electrical sound and radiating a powerful aura.

[Ding! Successfully summoned Silver-grade Thunder Elementals x 2!]

[Ding! Thunder Elementals inherited the host's [heart of thunder and lightning] talent, damage bonus +100%!]

[Ding! Thunder Elementals unlocked skills: Chain Lightning, Lightning Storm!]

Su Chen looked at the two Thunder Elementals and nodded with satisfaction. "With you two, I won't have to sneak around anymore."

He gripped his cross greatsword tightly, his eyes arrogant as he commanded the Thunder Elementals, effectively declaring his own determination. "From today on, forget stealth assassinations. I want you to be the vanguard and clear the entire royal city! Experience, resources, BOSSes—I want it all!"

After saying this, Su Chen waved his hand, and the two Thunder Elementals immediately let out a thunderous roar and charged toward the guard army at the royal city gate.