66: Chapter 66 Legion Tradition - Heavy Assault

Pushing open the stone door carved with runes, Hu Jinsi stepped into the tomb chamber where the Zombie King resided.

Unlike the gloomy terror he had imagined, the layout of this tomb chamber was quite crude. The space was about a hundred square meters, with walls built from rough blue bricks. Phosphorescent flames burned in lamps at the corners, illuminating the entire space with a flickering, dim light.

In the center of the tomb chamber sat a huge stone coffin. Its lid had been overturned onto the ground, shattered into several pieces. A figure was standing next to the stone coffin, with its back to the entrance.

The Zombie King.

Its physique was a size larger than an ordinary zombie, standing nearly two meters tall, with its body covered in a layer of dark green long hair. That was the characteristic of a "Green-Haired Zombie" that only appeared after a zombie had reached a certain age of cultivation.

It wore a suit of tattered bronze armor, with withered, blackened flesh visible through the gaps in the armor. Its fingernails were ten centimeters long, gleaming with a dark, metallic luster.

Hu Jinsi didn't waste any time; he activated [Chi Torpedo], his figure charging forward like lightning.

Since this dungeon had put all its difficulty into the maze, the final boss guarding the gate really didn't have much of a challenge to speak of.

The Zombie King only had three skills: the physical attack [Purgatory Claw], group spell [Miasma] (deals damage and applies corpse poison), and [Ghost Possession] (has a chance to make the target fall into a berserk state, attacking everyone around indiscriminately).

For Hu Jinsi, these three skills were almost no threat. When he ran the dungeon alone, falling into a berserk state would only make him attack enemies, having no effect on him at all. Moreover, his own mental resistance had been stacked to the point where he could arm-wrestle with a projection of the Sha of Doubt; this level of control spell was almost impossible to take effect.

As for the corpse poison effect of [Miasma], he had healing skills, detoxification skills, and detoxification medicine. Under this triple guarantee, the minor continuous damage from the corpse poison was not worth mentioning.

The battle reached its climax in an instant.

The air in the tomb chamber was colder and damper than in the passageway, carrying a pungent odor that was a mixture of old corpse stench and mold. The phosphorescent flames danced in the corners, projecting the Zombie King's shadow onto the ceiling of the tomb, forming a huge and distorted outline, like an evil ghost lurking in the darkness.

The ground around the stone coffin was covered with fine cracks, from which dark red liquid seeped out, as if dried blood had been awakened once again.

The Zombie King sensed the intruder, turned around, and let out a hoarse roar. Two points of ghostly green light flickered in its deep eye sockets, and its withered lips opened, revealing two rows of blackened fangs.

Its movements were much faster than an ordinary zombie. Its ten-centimeter-long nails swiped at Hu Jinsi's face with sharp, forceful wind — [Purgatory Claw]!

Hu Jinsi dodged to the side, sweeping his long staff horizontally.

[-13].

Although the Zombie King's armor could provide some protection, under the heavy strike of the ironwood staff, those tattered bronze armor plates were simply vulnerable.

The Zombie King lunged again, its claws swiping in a flurry. Hu Jinsi remained calm, activating [Parry] to deflect the most lethal claw to the side, then his long staff rained down like raindrops, activating [Flurry of Blows]!

[-10] [-12] [-11]

All three hits landed, and the Zombie King's health dropped rapidly. It roared angrily, opening its mouth to spray a ball of dark green gas, [Miasma]! The gas spread rapidly in the tomb chamber, enveloping Hu Jinsi.

[-6], corpse poison effect triggered.

Hu Jinsi didn't even frown. This bit of damage couldn't even keep up with his natural health regeneration speed, not to mention the Healing Mist he had left from previous battles on the ground that was still healing him. He continued to output damage, leaving one wound after another on the Zombie King's body.

The Zombie King became anxious, its eyes flashing with an eerie red light — [Ghost Possession]! A grayish-white beam of light shot towards Hu Jinsi, attempting to make him fall into a berserk state.

[Miss]

The system prompt popped up above his head. Relying on the mental resistance brought by 20 points of perception plus various equipment bonuses, this level of control was very difficult to take effect on him.

"Is that it?"

Hu Jinsi snorted coldly, pouring all his strength into the long staff, [Flurry of Blows] * 2.

[-13] [-11] [-12] [-12] [-11] [-11]

The Zombie King let out a final, unwilling roar, its massive body crashing to the ground, dissipating into points of light.

From seeing the Zombie King to its death, the whole process did not exceed 3 minutes. Hu Jinsi barely lost any health, and after finishing the boss, his health remained above 70%. This was the boss with the fewest abilities and the weakest he had seen in dungeons of the same level since reaching level 10.

"The dungeon difficulty was all given to the maze, so the boss has no difficulty." He evaluated silently in his heart, "This design is actually quite balanced."

After the Zombie King died, it left behind a piece of equipment — [Bronze Armor]. Just like the Zombie King's weak strength, the attributes of this equipment were also quite average.

[Bronze Armor]

[Type: Magic Item / Medium Armor]

[Defense Bonus: +6]

[Effect: Gain resistance to poison damage (+1) after equipping, and have an advantage when countering the fear aura of undead creatures.]

[Decay Curse: Due to the corpse poison attached to the armor, whenever you wear it for more than 1 hour, within the next 24 hours, your sense of smell will have a chance to smell the scent of rot. Wearing it, you can exert at most fifteen points of agility effects.]

Hu Jinsi picked up the Bronze Armor. The surface of the armor was covered with a layer of dark green patina, and dried blood and dirt could still be seen in the gaps. It felt sticky to the touch, as if it had just been fished out of a swamp.

Hu Jinsi was mentally prepared for this equipment's suckiness. He had seen reviews on the forum before; because the drops in the front of this dungeon were too good, the Zombie King would only drop two types of equipment: the armor on its body or the claws on its hands, both of which were very ordinary things.

The only highlight of this Bronze Armor might be the +6 defense, which was decent for medium armor. But the [Decay Curse] negative effect was really off-putting; smelling rot after wearing it for a long time, what was the difference between this and carrying a mobile trash can?

As for the removal method, according to people on the forum, soaking it in realgar wine for 24 hours would prevent the negative effect from triggering for the next 24 hours of wear. But Hu Jinsi didn't intend to wear this armor himself.

"I'll put it on the market; sell it for whatever I can get."

Actually, Hu Jinsi remembered that this dungeon should have another maze underneath — the Blood Pool. That was an even more gloomy and terrifying scene in the original game, filled with blood-red pool water and all kinds of powerful demons.

But since the current guides didn't mention this maze, and today's dungeon run had already made him feel a bit sick of walking, even if there might be hidden maps or achievements, Hu Jinsi at least didn't have the interest today.

Cleaning up the Zombie King's drops, he stuffed the Bronze Armor into his backpack and turned to leave the dungeon.

"Today I have to find a place where I can see the sunset and have a great meal."

---

When he left the dungeon, it was already 4:30 PM. It took an hour longer than yesterday, but fortunately, the sun hadn't set yet, and the horizon was already dyed with a faint orange-red.

Hu Jinsi found a seafood stall nearby. This stall was located on a small road by the sea, with open-air seats facing the western horizon, perfect for enjoying the panoramic view of the sunset.

He ordered a seafood platter, including steamed crab, scallops with garlic, salt and pepper mantis shrimp, boiled prawns, and a seafood porridge. He ate happily accompanied by the sunset.

The afterglow of the setting sun spilled onto the sea, dyeing the entire area golden-red. The sparkling water surface looked like it was paved with a layer of crushed gold, constantly flickering with the rise and fall of the waves.

Fishing boats in the distance were slowly returning, their sails silhouetted like paintings in the sunset glow, and seagulls circled under the orange-red sky, making loud cries. The sea breeze blew with a faint salty taste, dispelling the cold and decaying atmosphere accumulated in the dungeon during the day.

Hu Jinsi peeled crab shells, dipped the succulent crab meat into ginger vinegar sauce, and enjoyed this moment of tranquility.

The aroma of garlic scallops mixed with the freshness of the sea breeze, the mantis shrimp shells were crispy and the inside tender, and the freshness and sweetness of the boiled prawns melted on his tongue. This seafood feast made him feel that the maze torture of the past few days was worth it.

While eating, he didn't forget to share the news of today's dungeon with the pharmacist Li Xiuying. He described in detail the herb drops in the Mass Grave, Hemostasis Grass, Soul-Returning Pill, Meng Po Soup, etc., as well as the distribution and refreshing patterns of various medicinal materials.

At the same time, he reminded Li Xiuying that if they planned to farm this dungeon, it would be best to bring Zhao Guoqiang along. After all, the Generals Tomb under the Mass Grave was full of mechanisms and traps, and Zhao Guoqiang's Puppeteer profession should be able to play a special role. Even if they didn't bring Zhao Guoqiang, the team should have a profession good at navigating mazes or exploring underground tombs, for example, professions related to tomb raiders would also be very useful.

Li Xiuying replied quickly, saying she would consider his advice and might organize a team to come over in a couple of days.

After finishing the information synchronization with Li Xiuying, Hu Jinsi made a video call to Lin Rui and Su Wan.

"Hey, Jinsi!" Lin Rui's big face occupied half of the screen, "Where are you? It looks so cool!"

"Bin City, at a seafood stall." Hu Jinsi turned the camera around to let the two on the other side see the table full of seafood and the sunset sea view behind him.

"..."

There was silence on the other side of the screen for a few seconds.

Su Wan's voice came through: "Are you doing this on purpose?"

"Doing what on purpose?"

"Showing off that you're eating seafood and watching the sunset while we're visiting relatives!"

Hu Jinsi looked innocent: "I just wanted to share some travel experiences."

"Get lost." Lin Rui and Su Wan said in unison.

Lin Rui and Su Wan looked at Hu Jinsi's table full of seafood, and the warm and lazy atmosphere of the sunset, feeling extremely envious. Hu Jinsi sitting alone by the sea, munching on a table of seafood against the sunset, was exactly the state they wanted most at this moment.

But for them, the time after the New Year was the peak of visiting relatives. Even in modern society as Awakened, these traditions could not be escaped.

In Hu Jinsi's previous life, people showed off their positions, official ranks, and income during the New Year; in this world, it had become showing off levels, professions, and abilities.

Anyway, that's the national condition. If you don't show off during this festival, you will be shown off by others. Smiles never disappear; they only transfer from one person's face to another.

Hu Jinsi also had deep feelings about this. But these feelings would not be shown in front of his friends. After all, at this age like a flower, chatting with companions about something beautiful and full of hope was a precious time for someone like him who had lived a second life.

His past life experience told him that such times would not last forever. As everyone gradually grew up, the topics would become more realistic and utilitarian. While they could still chat innocently, complain together, and look forward to the future together, that was enough.

"You guys have a good time visiting relatives." Hu Jinsi said with a smile, "When you come back, I'll take you to Bin City to eat seafood."

"It's a deal!" Lin Rui and Su Wan said in unison.

Hanging up the phone, Hu Jinsi continued to enjoy his seafood feast. The setting sun sank completely into the sea level, leaving only the last wisp of golden-red afterglow on the horizon, which was then quickly swallowed by the deep blue.

In the following days, Hu Jinsi maintained a steady rhythm of dungeon runs in Bin City.

Every morning, he would start by clearing Xianling Island; he was already familiar with the Lotus Pond Maze and could handle the six statues in under an hour.

He spent the rest of his time alternating between the Black Spider Forest and the Mass Grave, gathering herbs, materials, and equipment.

During this period, aside from the Black Spider Forest contributing another interesting drop to Hu Jinsi, the bosses yielded nothing of significance.

However, the drop rates for materials and herbs from the mobs remained quite good, and every dungeon run resulted in a bag full of herbs and items.

[Web Grappling Hook]

[Type: Magic Item / Miscellaneous]

[Swing Movement: You can fire the grappling hook at a stable object (such as a beam or tree trunk). Upon a successful hit, you can pull yourself toward the target location.]

[Sticky: This tendon is extremely sticky. Whenever you attempt to use it, there is a chance your hand will get stuck to the tool.]

[Item Description: This is not made of metal, but is an elastic tendon taken from the leg of a six-legged spider. One end is connected to a wrist strap, while the other end is a sharp barb. It twitches slightly as if it were a living thing.]

Looking at the strange-looking [Web Grappling Hook] in his hand, Hu Jinsi couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time.

This thing sat somewhere between Spider-Man's and Batman's grappling hooks, yet it completely absorbed the disadvantages of both: limited firing range, requiring high precision to hit, and the possibility of getting his own hand stuck.

It combined the flaws of both into one, making it a prime example of useless recycling.

For Hu Jinsi, this equipment was meaningless; he could jump to any place the grappling hook could reach on his own.

The combination of [Parkour] + [Crane Stance] could already handle the vast majority of vertical movement scenarios.

Perhaps for classes with low agility, this grappling hook could provide some assistance; for example, in the Temple of the Jade Serpent dungeon, other low-agility classes could use the grappling hook to quickly scale walls.

"I can't give it away, so I'll just list it on the marketplace."

Three days after receiving the message from Hu Jinsi, Li Xiuying arrived in Bin City with the Soldier Hu Jianguo and their companions.

Since everyone's time was limited during the holidays, it was the same group from the last dungeon run: Hu Jianguo, Zhao Guoqiang, Sun Tou, and a newly joined grave robber.

Hu Jinsi met them offline for a meal and briefed them on the situation in the Mass Grave dungeon and the precautions they needed to take.

Afterward, he did not participate further in their discussions.

After all, their team was already a full party of five; adding himself would increase the difficulty of the dungeon.

For a dungeon focused on gathering materials, increasing the difficulty would not improve the quality or drop rate of common materials, so it was pointless.

As for Xianling Island, he still hadn't discovered any hidden clues.

He was scheduled to return in about five days, and this matter would likely become a regret in his heart.

During Hu Jinsi's third entry into the Mass Grave, he had already discovered the entrance to the maze beneath the Generals Tomb; the mechanism was located under the Zombie King's coffin, and once triggered, it would reveal a staircase leading underground.

However, considering that the difficulty of the maze below was on par with the Generals Tomb above, and perhaps even more complex, Hu Jinsi hesitated before deciding to share this discovery with Hu Jianguo and Li Xiuying's team, choosing not to investigate further himself.

"I've always relied on Guide Bees to force my way through the Generals Tomb. Once those run out, given my sense of direction, I might have no chance in the maze below," he admitted to Hu Jianguo.

He also warned them in advance, informing them that the difficulty of the maze below might spike significantly compared to the Generals Tomb, and advised them to act according to their capabilities.

The outcome was just as Hu Jinsi had expected.

After Hu Jianguo's five-person team entered the Blood Pool, they lost their way amidst the complex terrain and mechanisms, and were eventually forcibly teleported out by the dungeon only after the 72-hour time limit had expired.

Fortunately, no one was injured, and no one had to trigger a forced teleportation talisman, which meant that although they got lost, they didn't encounter any fatal danger.

Hu Jinsi didn't say much about this.

After obtaining consent from Hu Jianguo and Li Xiuying, he posted his discovery about the Blood Pool maze beneath the Generals Tomb on the Bin City Professional Forum.

"I'll leave the opportunity to those who are capable and destined to find it."

---

Two days later, Hu Jinsi learned on his phone that Lin Rui and Su Wan had already returned early to Wei City.

Feeling that there wouldn't be any greater breakthroughs in Bin City, he ended his trip early and bought a bus ticket back to Wei City.

After finishing that day's run of the Black Spider Forest, Hu Jinsi boarded the bus.

The journey would take about ten hours, and he leaned back in his seat, closing his eyes to rest while replaying the experiences of his time in Bin City in his mind.

The Lotus Pond Maze of Xianling Island, the herb treasure trove of the Black Spider Forest, the maze of the Generals Tomb in the Mass Grave... the harvest was bountiful, but some regrets remained.

The next morning, the bus arrived in Wei City.

Upon returning home, Hu Jinsi first sent a message to Lin Rui and Su Wan to let them know he had arrived safely, then washed up briefly and collapsed on his bed for a nap.

Although with his current perks he could theoretically go without sleep, as a normal human, the satisfaction and relaxation brought by sleep were irreplaceable.

Therefore, whenever time permitted, he would still sleep a few times a week.

At noon, the doorbell rang.

Lin Rui and Su Wan appeared at the door right on time.

Lin Rui was carrying a large bag containing local specialties from his hometown—various cured meats and dried goods.

Su Wan was holding an exquisite gift box, saying it was snacks made by her mother.

"Come on in, put it here." Hu Jinsi took the items and let the two of them into the house.

The three of them didn't stay long at Hu Jinsi's place; after dropping off the gifts, they dragged the half-asleep Hu Jinsi out the door.

They went to the Silver Arch fast-food restaurant outside the residential complex, ordered a few combo meals, and chatted about their recent situations while eating lunch.

"Before we talk business," Hu Jinsi pulled a piece of equipment out of his backpack and pushed it toward Lin Rui, "This is for you, dropped in the Deadmines."

It was a [High-Energy Chainsaw] with a body forged from black iron, thick insulated cables, and a simple battery pack connected to the tail end.

Although its practicality was average, its design was extremely imposing.

"Holy crap!" Lin Rui's eyes lit up. "This is so cool!"

"Don't get too happy yet, it has a 15% chance to short-circuit every 3 minutes." Hu Jinsi poured cold water on him, then pulled out a few wide-sleeved robes dropped in the Temple of the Jade Serpent, handing them to Lin Rui and Su Wan respectively.

"And these, consider them New Year's gifts for you. There are also shares for your parents, as well as Su Qing and Su Yu."

As for the other equipment he had obtained, since Lin Rui and Su Wan both indicated they didn't need them for the time being, Hu Jinsi had listed them on the Professional Forum marketplace while he was in Bin City to get rid of them.

"Alright, let's talk business." Lin Rui carefully put away the chainsaw and robes, then cleared his throat.

While stuffing a burger into his mouth, Hu Jinsi guessed, "For the Soldier's Legion Tradition, which direction did you choose? Heavy Assault? Precision Shooting? Guerrilla Scout? Frontline Command? Mechanical Engineering?"

He paused, then continued, "I bet you chose either Heavy Assault or Frontline Command. It couldn't be Mechanical Engineering, right? Although digging holes is fun for a while, digging holes for a lifetime is a bit miserable. Civil engineering dogs have no future!"

Lin Rui laughed and scolded, "Get lost, you're the one who's going to be digging holes for a lifetime. Your initial guess was spot on; I chose the Heavy Assault tradition."

He continued to explain, "It's mainly because the [Load Expert] perk I got earlier fits so perfectly with this Heavy Assault tradition. After my father saw this perk, he specifically sought out his old commander from when he was in service to help me look up a new school of thought under their Heavy Assault tradition."

"It's called a new school, but it's actually just some fine-tuning under the paradigm of the Heavy Assault tradition. They now call this fine-tuned version the—Whirlwind Assault School."

"It is said that if you continue to level up this way, you might get a brand-new Transcendental Class option when you advance to the Transcendental stage."

"Currently, this Transcendental Class is mainly being advanced into by Soldiers serving in the military. I guess I'm lucky; the information related to this advancement has been gradually unlocked for the public after testing, and I should be one of the lucky few in the first few batches to receive this information."

After finishing, Lin Rui showed Hu Jinsi and Su Wan the three new perks he had acquired—

[Impact Maneuver: Your Tactical Roll is no longer restricted by difficult terrain, and the first attack received along the rolling path has its damage reduced by 95%.]

[Multiple Carrying: You can carry a second shield in a 'back-mounted/side-hanging' manner. You do not enjoy any buffs or negative effects from this shield's own attributes.]

[Formation Breaking Intuition: When you are next to cover/fortifications, your defense is increased by an additional (+1), and you have resistance to 'collision/knockback' type attacks.]

Hu Jinsi carefully examined these three perks.

To be honest, he couldn't quite see where the core logic of this school lay.

[Impact Maneuver] did indeed strengthen the [Tactical Roll] skill, and it had high compatibility with [Load Expert].

But the last two perks looked a bit... abstract?

[Multiple Carrying] allowed him to carry a second shield, but without enjoying any attribute effects, what was the point?

[Formation Breaking Intuition] needed him to be next to cover to trigger, but how could there be cover available at all times during a battle?

Seeing the confusion on Hu Jinsi's face, Lin Rui smiled: "Actually, the last two perks are the starting point of this school's core."

"Think about it, when we were in Goldshire, didn't we use tower shields as half-cover before?"

Hu Jinsi recalled.

Although a few months had passed, the battle scenes from that stage were still vivid in his mind; the three of them often stuck those second-hand tower shields of Lin Rui's into the ground and used them directly as half-body cover.

"So now, look at these two perks together," Lin Rui continued to explain, "[Multiple Carrying] is equivalent to me being able to carry an extra tower shield on my back. With this tower shield, I am always under some degree of cover protection, thereby gaining the defense boost and resistance bonus from [Formation Breaking Intuition]."

"It's not just that. Although it says on paper that I can't enjoy the shield's own buffs or negative effects, in actual combat, carrying a tower shield on my back is equivalent to my entire back being immune to sneak attacks. The tower shield is an objectively existing entity; even if I don't get its attribute bonuses, it is still a tangible protection."

"Once an enemy wants to attack me from behind, they have to break through this shield first before they can deal backstab damage to me. And that's just a regular tower shield. If it's some larger, oddly-shaped shield, I could even cover my entire neck and the back of my head."

Hu Jinsi understood a part of it, but was more confused than before.

He continued to ask, "But when we used tower shields as half-cover before, it was by using your skill to fix them on the ground. Besides, cover is always fixed; how can it count as cover if you're carrying it on your back?"

Lin Rui smiled: "This is where I have to talk about the skill I got at level 11."