47: Chapter 47 The Little Monsters in the Burning Village are Called Soldiers

Walking through that invisible portal, a wave of heat mixed with a burnt smell instantly hit their faces, so choking it was almost impossible to keep their eyes open.

What met their eyes was not some magnificent hall, but a charred mountain road that looked as if it had been ravaged by a giant beast. The afterglow of the setting sun was obscured by thick smoke, leaving only a sickly dark red hanging in the sky.

The soil underfoot was soft and clammy, a sludge formed from undried blood and ash.

The wooden fence on the left, which should have been a fortification, had now turned into twisted black wreckage that was still smoldering and crackling. To the right was a bottomless cliff, where gale-force winds howled, carrying sparks with them.

The thatch huts in the distance were turning into seas of fire. In this deathly silent battlefield, only the crackling of flames licking wooden beams and the intermittent roars carried on the wind reminded one that this place had once been a slaughterhouse of misery, and ahead, in the shadows, something seemed to be stirring.

Hu Jinsi fanned away the smell of smoke right in front of him, and as soon as he entered, he started complaining: "The name of this dungeon is too straightforward. It's called Burning Village, and as soon as you enter, you see a Burning Village. It lacks depth."

"Cough, cough, cough—" Su Wan couldn't stop coughing as soon as she entered. Between coughs, she said, "This wretched dungeon is so unfriendly to a Bard. After all, my profession relies on my voice to make a living. How can I open my mouth with so much smoke? It feels choking just to breathe."

Lin Rui ignored their complaints and carefully observed their landing situation.

They had appeared outside the Burning Village. Looking into the distance, the village wasn't too far away, and there was a connecting suspension bridge in between.

Although it was called the Burning Village, judging by its size, it was more like a small town.

There were still some buildings in the outskirts of the village where they were currently located; it wasn't completely barren land.

"Let's deal with the smoke first." Su Wan took face masks out of her backpack, put one on, and handed one each to Hu Jinsi and Lin Rui.

Hu Jinsi regretfully put away his Defias-style cosplay mask and switched to Su Wan's face mask.

The three of them, now masked, began to adjust their formation and marched toward the suspension bridge connecting to the village.

They had barely gone a hundred meters when they spotted signs of enemies by the side of the road.

Those humanoid monsters were dressed in colorful, gaudy leather armor and held poisoned shortswords. They were still maintaining the actions they had in life, continuing to set fire to and destroy the surrounding thatch huts.

Judging by their physique, these enemies didn't carry heavy weapons, and the leather armor they wore didn't look like it had high defense, but holding poisoned shortswords suggested they likely followed an agility-based path.

Lin Rui had intended to lure one over first to test out its skills before continuing the attack, but as it turned out, the aggro of this group of enemies was linked. Six identical enemies came over at once, though, of course, their colorful leather armor was all different colors.

There were red and yellow ones, blue and green ones, and even a purple and yellow pair, looking exactly like six clowns that had just escaped from a circus.

The most obvious difference between these six enemies and the ones they had encountered before was that they didn't swarm mindlessly like the murlocs in Goldshire.

Those flanking them actually had tactical coordination—two feigned an attack from the front, while the remaining four flanked from both sides.

"Don't give them a chance to surround us!" Lin Rui growled. No one knew if they had combo skills if they got surrounded. "Charge to the left!"

He initiated a Charge toward the two enemies flanking on the left.

Unexpectedly, just as Lin Rui charged in front of the enemies and before he could attack, those two monsters in the multi-colored leather armor instantly performed a Roll, rolling directly behind Lin Rui, and raised their hands for a Backstab, aiming for his heart!

Lin Rui lost his target. The movements of these two monsters were ridiculously fast; that Roll had almost no wind-up, and their bodies rolled across the ground like balls of cotton, reaching behind him in the blink of an eye.

The green light on the poisoned shortswords shimmered with an eerie luster in the setting sun, the tips less than half a foot from his back.

Realizing the enemy's intent, Lin Rui had no choice but to immediately follow up with a [Tactical Roll], rolling his body along the ground again to end up behind these two, returning to a state of facing them head-on.

Lin Rui had never thought his [Tactical Roll] was such an annoying skill for enemies before, but today, he himself was ambushed by enemies rolling behind him.

"These things can Roll!" Lin Rui roared the moment he rolled to his feet. "Watch your backs!"

After Lin Rui engaged the two enemies flanking on the left, the two enemies who had previously feigned a frontal attack noticed Lin Rui's attention was elsewhere and immediately started running at full speed, charging straight at Lin Rui with shortswords in hand!

Hu Jinsi noticed the situation and used a [Chi Torpedo] to dash into their path, holding his long staff horizontally, forcefully blocking their attempt to thrust.

The long staff collided with the poisoned shortswords, emitting a crisp metallic clanging sound. Hu Jinsi began to circle with these two enemies on the spot, spinning the long staff in his hands. He didn't dare let the shortswords get close; the bright, oily green color on the blades clearly showed they were nothing good.

"Clang! Clang! Clang!"

The shortswords thrust three times in succession; Hu Jinsi parried left and blocked right with his long staff, his hands numbed by the impact.

The opponents were extremely fast, each thrust coming from a tricky angle, specifically targeting his soft spots and joints. Hu Jinsi fought while retreating, his footsteps leaving deep prints in the charred mud. Sweat seeped from his forehead, mixing with soot and flowing into his eyes, stinging painfully.

Over there, after being ambushed by the monsters' "three-axe" routine, Lin Rui didn't give them any more chances. He quickly launched a combo, [Shield Bash]! The edge of his riot shield slammed hard into the side of a Soldier's face [-8], sending it stumbling. He immediately followed up with a [Heavy Strike], driving his short spear into a gap in the leather armor and pinning it directly to the ground!

[-17]

The Soldier's health bar bottomed out instantly. Lin Rui was stunned for a moment; this HP was much lower than he had expected.

He used [Glory Counter] combined with a basic attack to finish off the remaining enemy, finally confirming his theory: the HP of these enemies was about three times that of a Fallen, completely lacking the strength of mobs in a level ten dungeon as he had imagined.

Having dealt with the two enemies on the left, Lin Rui didn't stay to analyze but quickly rushed toward the two enemies that had flanked from the right earlier. If he were any later, they would have circled around to Su Wan's side.

Lin Rui's actions were not too late, because before he rushed over, Su Wan had already used a [Thunderwave] to knock the two enemies back a bit, and she herself had quickly moved toward Lin Rui's direction.

Sound waves erupted from her fingertips, hitting the two Soldiers like an invisible wall, pushing them back stumbling. One of the Soldiers tried to Roll to offset the impact, but Su Wan's sound wave coverage was too large; even after rolling, it was still within the affected area, and it was left dizzy by the second wave of sound.

Just like with the previous two enemies, facing such low-defense opponents, Lin Rui finished both off with a few combos. The short spear stabbed in, pulled out, and stabbed in again; the movements were clean and efficient, with every strike hitting the seams of the leather armor precisely.

Conversely, Hu Jinsi was a bit timid with the enemies beside him. The shortswords held by the enemies had a bright, oily green color, and he didn't dare use his fists and feet to clash hard with their weapons. He could only use his long staff to Block attacks most of the time, dealing damage by triggering [Combat Reflexes] in the gaps between Blocks.

The clanging of the iron staff colliding with the poisoned shortswords was incessant. Hu Jinsi fought while retreating, always keeping an arm's length from the enemies.

"Lin Rui! There are still two alive here!" Hu Jinsi roared.

After dealing with the threat on Su Wan's side, Lin Rui rushed over with his short spear. The two of them pincered them from front and back. Hu Jinsi swept his long staff to force one Soldier back, and Lin Rui's short spear stabbed into the other's waist from an angle.

By the time Lin Rui turned back to finish it off with another spear strike, Hu Jinsi had finally pierced the throat of the last enemy with the tip of his shoe.

The six corpses turned into points of light and dissipated, leaving behind some money bags and a plate of salad on the ground.

"A plate of salad?" Su Wan asked suspiciously. "This is the first time we've had an item drop in a dungeon that we can eat directly, right?"

"Indeed." Hu Jinsi nodded.

The money bags were nothing to speak of; picking them up turned them into 13 Credit Points. As for the salad.

[Roasted Vegetable Platter]

[Type: Consumable]

[Effect: As a meal, it takes ten minutes to consume. After you finish this platter, you gain 10 temporary HP for the next 8 hours. Additionally, for the next 1 hour, you have advantage on Constitution saving throws against disease and poison.]

[Item Description: This dish originates from the home-style cooking of frontier villages. Golden bell peppers, zucchini, and mushrooms are skewered on wooden sticks, drizzled with a little olive oil and herbs, and grilled sizzlingly by a campfire. Although simple, this warm food can quickly dispel the chill of the battlefield and inject the motivation for warriors to continue moving forward.]

"Oh, the stats are not bad," Hu Jinsi picked up the [Roasted Vegetable Platter], "If we can collect 3 of these today, we'll eat them tomorrow morning."

The three gathered together again, reviewing the combat logs while summarizing the characteristics of this monster.

"This mob is actually called a Soldier." Hu Jinsi looked at the kill record on the panel, then looked at Lin Rui, looking like he wanted to laugh but couldn't.

Su Wan was also pursing her lips on the side, her shoulders trembling slightly.

Lin Rui ignored their expressions and analyzed seriously: "Based on the current summary, this monster called a Soldier has at least four skills. One is the poisoned sword it holds, with attacks causing poison effects. One is a linear thrust. Also, when I Charge, it will Roll to dodge behind me. The last one should be a Backstab similar to a Rogue's, because when it rolled behind me, it was attempting to activate that skill."

Hu Jinsi listened and suddenly realized: "I was wondering why this mob looked so weak yet had such a big presence—a single mob having four skills! We didn't even have that many skills when we first awakened. What right does a monster named Soldier have? Is it just because its name is Soldier that it gets such special treatment?"

Su Wan listened to Hu Jinsi's teasing about the monster's name and Lin Rui's profession name, laughing secretly.

Lin Rui still ignored Hu Jinsi's crazy remarks and said directly to him: "Maybe you can try [Spinning Crane Kick]. Based on my estimation, it shouldn't be a problem for you to kick them to death in three spins. Regarding the problem of them poisoning you when they attack, well, you got [Emergency Medical Treatment] in Raccoon City last week, right? Doesn't that skill say it has a chance to detoxify? It's the perfect time for you to test how high the detoxification success rate is."

He paused. "Because the mobs in this dungeon are already at this level, it's unlikely we'll make it through without getting poisoned. Even if your skill activation fails, we still have plenty of green herbs that dropped from Raccoon City that we haven't used; they can detoxify just the same. As a backup, we also have Su Wan's [Healing Word], so don't worry."

Hu Jinsi felt that the other party was taking a petty jab at him, but since what they said made sense, he had no choice but to agree.

"Fine, I'll give it a try." He slung his long staff onto his back and flexed his ankles. "Besides, I can generate Healing Mist to restore my own health while kicking, so I can handle it."

The trio continued toward the village. They realized that the number of monsters called Soldiers was quite significant; after advancing another two hundred meters toward the suspension bridge, they encountered four more waves of Soldier attacks.

Fortunately, the squad had already probed their skills, and their current strategy had changed: Hu Jinsi would rush directly in front of the enemies, tank their damage, and then simply use [Spinning Crane Kick]. After all, he could generate Healing Mist to heal himself while kicking, and as for the poison effect, he could just deal with it after the battle.

The second wave of enemies jumped out from behind a charred thatched cottage, five Soldiers flanking them in a fan formation. Without a word, Hu Jinsi activated [Chi Torpedo]! His figure turned into an afterimage as he charged into the enemy group, [Spinning Crane Kick]!

His body spun like a top, his right leg carving a sharp arc and striking the chest of the lead Soldier. That Soldier was sent flying backward as if hit by a truck, crashing into his companions behind him. Immediately following that, on the second and third rotations, Hu Jinsi's figure spun through the enemy group, each kick stirring up a wave of air, the bones of the Soldiers he struck emitting crisp snapping sounds.

[-17] [-19] [-20] [-17]...

After the three kicks were finished, three Soldiers were already lying on the ground unable to get up, and the remaining two were dazed and confused. Any Soldier that tried to Roll away from Hu Jinsi was hit by a [Thunderwave] from Su Wan, knocking them back to Hu Jinsi's side to continue their fate of being kicked to death.

"Nice!" Lin Rui blocked a Soldier attempting a sneak attack with his riot shield and finished it off with his short spear.

However, the combat reactions of these Soldiers had clearly improved. They were not like the monsters in previous dungeons that would just Charge mindlessly. Every time five or six Soldiers ambushed them, one or two would always split off to circle behind and attack the teammate at the very back. This meant that Lin Rui didn't dare leave Su Wan alone; he always had to stay near her to deal with the Soldier that came flanking around.

The third wave burst out from behind a wooden fence that was still smoldering. The six Soldiers had clearly learned their lesson this time: three engaged Hu Jinsi from the front, two circled from the flanks, and one quietly crept toward Su Wan at the back. The flanking Soldier moved extremely lightly, his leather armor almost invisible against the backdrop of thick black smoke, his footsteps making a faint cracking sound as he stepped on the fire-brittled wooden planks.

"Behind you!" Su Wan's ears twitched, and her fingers plucked the strings rapidly, [Thunderwave]! A cone-shaped sound wave erupted forward, blasting the Soldier attempting the sneak attack back five or six steps. Lin Rui was already waiting where the Soldier landed; a stab and a flick of his short spear turned it into motes of light.

The three Soldiers in front tangled with Hu Jinsi. Poisoned daggers stabbed from different angles. Hu Jinsi blocked the first two with his long staff, but he couldn't Block the third, so he dodged to the side. The dagger grazed his school uniform, leaving a green streak of poison. Seizing the opportunity, he activated [Spinning Crane Kick]!

The first rotation kicked the two in front away, the second rotation swept the one on the flank down, and the third rotation kicked the Soldier who had rolled behind him to attempt a backstab, sending it flying through a hole in the wooden fence and into a pile of still-burning thatch.

"One left!" Lin Rui charged up with his riot shield, and together with Hu Jinsi, they sandwiched the last Soldier trying to escape. A short spear and a long staff struck simultaneously, and motes of light rose up.

The fourth wave's offensive was the most ferocious. Six Soldiers poured out from behind a collapsed stone wall, this time divided into three distinct groups: two feinted from the front to draw attention, two charged to thrust from the left, and two circled to sneak attack Su Wan from the right. A three-sided pincer attack, with a coordination that was chilling.

Hu Jinsi was entangled by the two in front, his long staff blocking the continuous stabs of the poisoned daggers, but he still received a cut on his leg.

[-6] [Poisoned State: -1 HP per second, lasts 30 seconds]

The moment the toxin entered his body, Hu Jinsi felt a burning, stinging pain from the wound, as if scalding ants were crawling under his skin. The edges of his vision became slightly blurred, and his movements slowed for a split second.

"Poisoned!" He gritted his teeth but didn't stop. He took a deep breath and activated [Spinning Crane Kick] again! Three rotations of kicks, and the two Soldiers in front were killed on the spot. But one of the Soldiers charging from the left seized the opportunity to Roll behind him and thrust its short dagger.

[Backstab: Critical Hit!] [-25]

Intense pain came from his back. Hu Jinsi groaned, his body pitching forward. The moment he landed, he performed a [Roll] to stand back up, his long staff stabbing backward to impale the Soldier who had performed the sneak attack.

Meanwhile, the two Soldiers flanking from the right had already closed in on Su Wan. Lin Rui used [Charge] to knock one of them away and stabbed his short spear into the shoulder of the other. Su Wan took the opportunity to retreat a few steps, her fingers plucking the strings, [Thunderwave] knocking both Soldiers back simultaneously. Lin Rui followed up to finish them off, finally clearing the field.

Hu Jinsi leaned against the stone wall, panting. The wound on his back burned with a fiery pain, and the toxin on his leg continued to scorch. He sat cross-legged on the ground and unfurled a bandage. The bandage glowed with a pale green light in his hands—[Emergency Medical Treatment]!

[+10 (False Life)] [Detoxification Check: Success] [Poisoned State Removed]

"It worked!" Hu Jinsi grinned, the cold sweat on his forehead not yet dry. "This skill is actually quite reliable!"

"How's your back?" Lin Rui walked over and asked.

"Just a flesh wound." Hu Jinsi flexed his shoulders. "If that backstab had been half an inch deeper, I'd be in trouble."

The three rested for a moment, leaning behind the stone wall to eat something and recover their stamina. Hu Jinsi performed a round of meditation, restoring his Qi pool to near full capacity. Lin Rui checked the status of his riot shield; there were several shallow scratches on the shield face from the poisoned daggers. Su Wan drank a few sips of water to soothe her throat; although she was wearing a mask, chanting in an environment filled with smoke still made her vocal cords feel a bit tight.

"How are you feeling?" Lin Rui asked Hu Jinsi.

"Not bad." Hu Jinsi stood up and stretched his muscles. "Spinning Crane Kick is really useful; three rotations can basically take out the Soldiers. It's just that the backstab hurts; those bastards really know how to deliver a vicious blow when they Roll behind you."

"These enemies have gotten smarter," Lin Rui said. "We need to study some new tactics."

"Yeah, our coordination is still there." Hu Jinsi picked up his long staff. "Let's take a lunch break first. As it happens, a [Spiced Meat Leg] dropped earlier; let's eat it for lunch."

[Spiced Meat Leg] [Type: Consumable] [Effect: As a meal, it takes 10 minutes to consume. After you finish gnawing on this meat leg, you recover 20 HP.] [Item Description: This is a thick, sturdy meat leg that has been marinated using a secret recipe. Its skin is charred brown, and it gives off a mouth-watering spicy and smoky aroma. It is said to be the traditional reward for the local garrison before setting out on an expedition. Every solid bite of meat contains amazing calories and vitality, enough to sustain one through a fierce battle.]

"Eat first." Lin Rui took off his backpack. "We'll enter the village after we've rested enough."

The three found a relatively safe corner, with their backs against a rock wall, a wide field of view, and only one entrance. Besides the [Spiced Meat Leg], Lin Rui took out some beef jerky and biscuits from his backpack, and Su Wan brought out a flask of fresh water.

Hu Jinsi suddenly stopped moving his mouth.

"We've all been tricked by Teacher Fan," he said.

"Huh?" Lin Rui and Su Wan looked at him simultaneously.

Hu Jinsi said, "Teacher Fan told us he didn't have detailed information about this dungeon. But this dungeon has already been cleared by so many people, and with so many people at the entrance, it's impossible that no intelligence has leaked out, right?"

Su Wan said, "I thought it was something important; isn't this normal? Intelligence gathering is one of our own jobs in the first place. Even if you had gotten the intelligence beforehand, the response strategies for different class combinations facing these enemies would naturally differ. Rather than giving you secondhand intelligence from others, it's better for you to experience it firsthand."

Lin Rui added, "Jinsi, you didn't do any preparation at all, did you?"

Hu Jinsi said, "What preparation?"

Lin Rui patted his forehead and said helplessly, "The name of the dungeon was given to you. Even if you just idly searched the internet, you could have obtained basic intelligence on this dungeon! Since you said there are walkthroughs, there must be team requirements online too!"

Hu Jinsi said, "Huh? You can do that?" But then he thought about it and said, "No, that's not right. If it were that simple, why didn't you just check on your phone the day we got the dungeon information? Why were you there analyzing it with us?"

Su Wan couldn't hold it back anymore and said with a smile, "He didn't think of it or find it either; his father must have helped him look it up. I also went home and told my family about the situation, and my father looked it up for me. As for why everyone didn't think of it before—it's because our permissions aren't high enough. A group of people under level ten can't see the discussions and team-up information for level ten dungeons. The country and the Education Bureau are afraid that we'll be overambitious; this kind of information is unlocked slowly as our levels increase."

Hu Jinsi said dejectedly, "Fine, so I'm the only orphan, with no father or mother, so I couldn't look it up. But you two have the information on the enemies ahead, right?"

Lin Rui said, "Yeah. On the most basic difficulty, there is another type of common enemy: Swordsman. They wear heavy armor, with a sword in one hand and a shield in the other. Their defensive ability is good, but they are slow. There are three boss monsters in total: the first is a Shadow Mage, the second is a Berserker, and the third is a Royal Guard, the one right in the center of the picture. As for their skills, we'll talk about them on the way."

He paused. "The reason we chose this one and didn't change it later is also because the first boss is completely countered by Su Wan. The Shadow Mage, according to the data, is the type that plays with undead. Su Wan's Requiem Chant can take out the undead in at most 18 seconds, and the remaining mage is destined to be beaten up by our righteous gang. At the very least, we have a guaranteed reward."

Su Wan nodded and capped her water flask, putting it back into her backpack.

"Let's go now that we're full," she said. "After we cross the suspension bridge, that's when the real battle begins."

The three stood up, brushed the dust off themselves, and continued walking toward the suspension bridge.