35: Five-star hidden mission

【Congratulations, you have triggered a hidden quest (Hero): Help Soldier King General Zheng find his granddaughter.】

【Quest Difficulty: ★★★★★】

【Five-star completion reward: Mysterious Fruit * 1, Hero's Badge * 1 (Quality unknown)】

【Quest Failure Penalty: Unable to leave the current Base City for 100 days, and must remain by General Zheng's side.】

【Reward 1: Mysterious Fruit, rumored to be formed from the essence blood of powerful mythical beasts. After consuming it, a Professional's four-dimensional attributes will receive a permanent boost, and there's a chance to gain a rare mana consumption reduction buff.】

【Reward 2: Hero's Badge, grants special abilities when worn.】

【Quest Time: 2 days】

【Do you accept the quest?】

Upon seeing the quest prompt, Lin Ling's face immediately showed excitement.

In his previous life, he had also encountered hidden quests, but he had never encountered a Hero series hidden quest.

Only Hero series hidden quests have a star rating. A higher star rating does not mean more danger, but rather indicates the difficulty of completing the quest.

If he accepted the quest and failed, Lin Ling would be confined to Xuanfu Base City for 100 days.

Lin Ling couldn't help but lick his somewhat dry lips. There was no quest that a Forbidden Spell couldn't solve.

If one Forbidden Spell wasn't enough, then two!

If offensive Forbidden Spells weren't effective, then defensive Forbidden Spells.

As long as there were enough Forbidden Spells, all quests were merely opportunities to collect rewards.

Moreover, the rewards for this quest happened to meet Lin Ling's needs. Both the attribute boost and skill cooldown reduction were too important to him.

“Accept quest.”

【Quest Accepted Successfully】

【Quest Details: General Zheng is the commander of the human race's seven Zhenmo Passes. He led a million Beichen Army soldiers against a hundred million Abyss Army for ten years.】

【However, the Abyss Demons bribed the civil official Qing Renhui, who then charged the Soldier King's son with treason.】

【General Zheng exchanged all his military merits for his granddaughter's life, while his son and daughter-in-law were all killed by the treacherous officials.】

【General Zheng was stripped of his military position and returned to his hometown, only to find that his granddaughter, Nannan, had been kidnapped by the Demon King and turned into a monster.】

【To eliminate future troubles, the civil minister Qing Renhui issued a bounty: those who find and kill the demon girl Nannan will gain +5 levels, and participants will gain +3 levels.】

【Quest 1: Find and kill the Demon King Black Mountain Bottom Old Demon.】

【Quest 2: Protect Nannan from harm by various 'brave ones'.】

【The higher the quest completion, the higher the star rating received, and the higher the quality of the rewards.】

Looking at the quest panel before him, Lin Ling's breathing gradually quickened.

For some reason, he vaguely felt that this Black Mountain Bottom Old Demon and the hidden BOSS Demon King he had triggered might be the same monster.

If that were the case, the rewards this BOSS would bring him would be too generous.

But now, two problems lay before Lin Ling.

First.

No one knew where the Black Mountain Bottom Old Demon would appear?

Although it was highly likely to be within the Xuanfu Base City's range, the total area of Xuanfu Base City exceeded 100,000 square kilometers.

If it was too far from him, once the Demon King appeared, it was very likely to be discovered by others first.

As far as he knew, Demon King-type BOSSes did not restrict Professional levels.

That meant that once discovered, it could attract powerful individuals. If a Five-star or Eight-turn powerhouse appeared, there would essentially be nothing left for Lin Ling to do.

Second.

The quest mentioned that Nannan had been turned into a monster.

Could he distinguish which monster was Nannan?

This was very important.

Without a clear target, let alone preventing others from harming Nannan, he himself might mistake Nannan for a monster and kill her.

Third.

Regarding the bounty mentioned in the plot, would there really be brave ones appearing? Were these brave ones NPCs or Professionals?

If they were NPCs, it would be fine; he could cast Forbidden Spells to kill the NPCs.

But if there were indeed a large number of Dragon Kingdom Professionals becoming brave ones, he absolutely could not use offensive Forbidden Spells to slaughter them. So, what skill could be turned into a Forbidden Spell to deal with the brave ones?

“Truly worthy of a Five-star difficulty Hero series hidden quest.”

Lin Ling muttered to himself, then turned to look at the NPC General Zheng.

“Elder, the Demon King is not easy to deal with. Do you know where your granddaughter was taken?” Lin Ling asked.

After learning that Lin Ling would help him, the old man's face was already filled with ecstasy.

He nodded vigorously and said, “I know, I know. She was taken by the Black Mountain Bottom Old Demon into his BOSS lair. You must save her.”

Listening to his words, Lin Ling immediately frowned.

Taken by the BOSS to the BOSS lair? Is he spouting nonsense literature here?

If there was even a shred of meaning in your words, it wouldn't be completely meaningless.

“Elder, where is the Black Mountain Bottom Old Demon's lair? Also, your granddaughter has been turned into a monster, how can I recognize her?” Lin Ling asked.

“Black Mountain Bottom Old Demon? Did I say Black Mountain Bottom Old Demon? If I did, it might be because I'm too hungry. As for the Black Mountain Bottom Old Demon, he is naturally near the Abyss Well.”

The old man looked at Lin Ling with an anxious expression.

Lin Ling raised his hand and rubbed his temples, feeling as if his head was splitting.

Suddenly.

The corner of his eye caught sight of the words 'Soldier King Steamed Bun Shop' on a storefront by the street. So, this is what he was waiting for.

“Elder, wait a moment.”

He said, then flashed and rushed towards the steamed bun shop.

Soon, Lin Ling returned with three steamed buns.

The old man's face immediately lit up with surprise when he saw the steamed buns.

“Good, good, good. Thank you, young man, you are a good person. Let me tell you, the bigger the bun, the bigger the bun skin.

I know the Demon King is not easy to deal with. How about this, I'll give you three treasures.”

He took the steamed buns and suddenly said to Lin Ling.

Lin Ling was puzzled, but the next second, three black lines appeared on his forehead.

The old man smiled mysteriously, and a strangely shaped hammer appeared out of thin air in his hand.

The hammer was entirely black and shiny, and its massive size exuded a heart-pounding aura.

The handle was as thick as an adult's arm and over two meters long, with mysterious patterns faintly visible on it.

And the hammerhead was even more chilling, a basin-sized hammerhead covered with dense, sharp spikes.

“Young man, take this King of Soldiers Hammer. If this hammer weren't ugly, it wouldn't be good-looking either. The most important thing is that it can grant you the power to defeat the Demon King.”

The old man said, single-handedly handing over this behemoth.

Lin Ling's eyelids twitched wildly.

This thing looked like it weighed at least five hundred jin.

Use it to defeat the Demon King?

Joking aside, you still take freebies.

Lin Ling grabbed the hammer handle with both hands. As the great hammer landed in his grip, he immediately realized he had underestimated its weight.

Boom…

The hammerhead hit the ground, and the earth trembled slightly.

“This thing weighs at least a thousand jin. If I didn't have the Radiance Set, I probably wouldn't even be able to pick it up… Hmm?”

Lin Ling's words in his mind were not yet finished when a glint of surprise flashed in his eyes.

The incredibly heavy giant hammer suddenly felt like a plastic toy.

He immediately looked at the giant hammer.

【Item: Cursed King of Soldiers Hammer】

【Special Tool, not restricted by profession】

【Strength + 3000】

【Durability: 10000 / 10000】

【The King of Soldiers Hammer is cursed by the Demon King. Before killing the Demon King Black Mountain Bottom Old Demon, this hammer cannot be stored in inventory.】

【Legend has it that the Black Mountain Bottom Old Demon hid all his treasures in an indestructible treasure chest. This treasure chest cannot be opened or picked up; only the King of Soldiers Hammer can smash it open.】

Lin Ling slowly withdrew his gaze, his heart rate involuntarily quickening.

What was the concept of a hammer with +3000 Strength attribute?

If an Archer fully allocated points, they would gain 14 Strength attribute points per level.

A Three-turn Level 60 full-Strength Archer would only have 840 base Strength, and even with equipment, a Strength attribute exceeding 2000 would be considered elite.

Now, a single hammer adds 3000 Strength, which is equivalent to an additional 15000 physical damage.

Is this a hammer? This is practically a divine artifact!

PS: Don't worry about power creep, it doesn't exist. In fact, it's more enjoyable if it does. Later, when our Forbidden Spells upgrade to divine level, even the gods from the divine realm will be instantly killed by the Five-turn Lin Ling. The main theme is an unstoppable sweep. If that Eight-turn Gandalf blocks the way, New York will be flattened by your Forbidden Spell.