62: Chapter 62 The Thief

【secret realm scroll: Troll Tribe (20-man)】

【Grade: Diamond】

【Level: 30】

【Number of Bosses: 6】

【Dungeon Attributes: Monster Attack +18%, Monster Defense +35%. Equipment Drop Rate +27%, Magic Crystal Quantity +24%】

【Time Remaining: 21 days, 15 hours, 12 minutes, 04 seconds.】

Lin Muyang examined the information displayed by the newly opened secret realm entrance. The attributes of this 20-man team secret realm were indeed quite good, especially the bonuses to equipment and Magic Crystal drop rates, which were very significant.

But corresponding to that was its extremely high difficulty.

Diamond grade quality itself already represented a challenge, and the added 'Monster Defense +35%' attribute made the conquest difficulty jump up a major level. For many teams that could easily clear ordinary Level 30 Diamond Dungeons, this secret realm would prove to be very troublesome.

Not to mention, this was a standard 20-man team secret realm.

In a place like Zhongnan City, it was not easy to gather twenty Class Transferees in a short time who met the level requirements, were well-equipped, had tacit cooperation, and possessed the ability to challenge such a high-difficulty secret realm. It wasn't that such talents didn't exist, but they were often scattered across different guilds and teams. Coordinating and organizing them was a huge hassle, and the distribution of interests was also a major problem.

Because of this, the original owner of this precious secret realm scroll chose to put it up for auction to cash out rather than organizing a team to conquer it themselves.

However, none of these issues posed a problem for Lin Muyang.

Monster defense increased by 35%? No matter how high the defense, what did it matter in the face of the terrifying attack power of the young ladies under his command after being buffed by his Auras?

“Still, this is a 20-man scale team secret realm after all.” Lin Muyang sensed the Aura inside the secret realm. “The HP of the mobs inside is estimated to be around 250,000. For an ordinary Level 30 Class Transferee team, it would indeed be a tough battle.”

Generally speaking, a Class Transferee around Level 30 would have a damage per second (DPS) output fluctuating between three thousand to five thousand points, depending on their class, talent, and equipment. Some outstanding individuals with exceptional talent, top-tier equipment, and perfect skill combinations might be able to raise their DPS to around ten thousand points, which was already considered top-tier.

But Lin Muyang and the young ladies beside him could not be judged by common sense at all!

The Elf Princess Lilia went without saying; with a single cast of 【Light of Exorcism】, she could easily deal over a hundred thousand points of damage.

And the Succubus Elabess and the Dragon Girl Ao Qingyan now mastered powerful Origin Skills, pushing their output capabilities to an inconceivable level.

...

As the scene before him stabilized, Lin Muyang appeared on a vast, desolate plain with the three women. In the distance, over a dozen massive creatures were clearly visible.

These were the primary monsters of the secret realm—Trolls. They were over three meters tall, their bodies covered in rough, dark blue skin. Sharp tusks protruded from their mouths, and their faces were hideous. They held massive clubs comparable to small tree trunks, looking fierce, malevolent, and full of power.

“Ella, the first wave is yours,” Lin Muyang commanded calmly.

“As you wish, Master~” The Succubus Maiden Elabess heard him, and the corners of her lips curled into a charming smile. She held an exquisite and elegant Dark Mist Set staff. The black silk material of her “Dark Mist Set” perfectly outlined her graceful curves, and her long legs appeared even more seductive wrapped in black silk.

She elegantly raised her staff, and shadow energy rapidly converged.

The next moment, a 【Black Hole Vortex】 emitting a terrifying suction force suddenly formed in the sky over the plain ahead!

Those dozen or so trolls, who had been wandering aimlessly, were instantly enveloped by the powerful gravitational field, pulled towards the center of the black hole against their will!

They swung their huge clubs angrily, trying to break free and rush at the caster. Unfortunately, their movement speed was so sluggish and weak in the face of the Black Hole Vortex's powerful suction that they couldn't move an inch.

Like trapped beasts in a quagmire, these trolls were ruthlessly dragged toward the center of the vortex. Simultaneously, their bodies were torn by violent shadow energy, and critical damage numbers as high as 110,000 to 120,000 constantly floated above their heads!

Just two seconds later.

These dozen thick-skinned trolls fell one after another amidst unwilling roars, turning into pure experience points shared by Lin Muyang and the three women, and enjoying a ten-fold experience bonus!

“Next wave.” Lin Muyang turned his gaze toward a cluster of trolls further away.

“Understood!” The Dragon Girl Ao Qingyan was dressed in snow-white clothes, as cold and clear as a fairy from the Moon Palace. Holding a longsword, her figure was as light as a startled swan as she instantly cut into the battlefield.

【Peerless Sword Formation】!

She gave a soft shout, and a massive circular sword formation with a radius of 20 meters suddenly unfolded with her as the center, enveloping all the surrounding trolls!

Within the sword formation, sword qi crisscrossed! Every second, ten sharp and matchless white sword qis were generated from the edge of the formation, automatically shooting toward all enemies within the array as if they had a life of their own!

Every single strand of sword qi could deal nearly a hundred thousand points of terrifying damage!

This was the damage dealt while Ao Qingyan’s equipment was far inferior to Elabess's top-tier “Dark Mist Set.” If their equipment levels were equal, the 【Peerless Sword Formation】, as a pure offensive Origin Skill, would theoretically have a higher base damage capability than the control-and-support-oriented 【Black Hole Vortex】.

The two women took turns, each clearing a wave of monsters with extreme efficiency.

And every time an Origin Skill was used to kill monsters, they gained a large amount of Origin Skill experience. Under the boost of Lin Muyang's 【Super Speed Comprehension】 Aura, the experience bars for 【Peerless Sword Formation】 and 【Black Hole Vortex】 grew rapidly at a rate visible to the naked eye!

After clearing only two or three waves of monsters, both of these powerful Origin Skills leveled up to Level 2! Both skill damage and effects received a slight boost.

At the same time, Lin Muyang quickly switched his equipped Auras.

Increase Luck, increase the drop probability of rare items!

Increase the quantity of Magic Crystal drops!

Slightly increase the quality of dropped equipment!

Under the blessing of the three “Looting” God-Tier Auras, the items dropped by these Diamond-grade secret realm mobs were nothing short of luxurious!

Items that might have only been Gold or Platinum quality were now starting to appear as King-grade equipment and skill books! Although they were only Level 30 King-grade items, their value already far exceeded ordinary drops.

“Good harvest.” Lin Muyang satisfiedly put the spoils into his storage space.

He took a glance at his experience bar while he was at it.

“Estimating at this current speed, after killing all the monsters and Bosses in this secret realm, the experience gained might still be a bit short of reaching Level 30?”

Lin Muyang rubbed his chin and came up with a plan after a moment's thought: “It seems I'll have to find another Dungeon to clear on the way back.”

He wasn't too worried. As his level increased, the massive amount of experience required for leveling up indeed slowed down the pace significantly. Even with a ten-fold experience bonus, wanting to jump three levels with just one secret realm was indeed a bit difficult.

...

What Lin Muyang didn't know was that while they were fighting fiercely in the secret realm, a group of uninvited guests was quietly passing by the wasteland canyon where the secret realm entrance was located.

At this time, the moon was bright and the stars were sparse, and all was silent. This was originally a remote wilderness where few people ventured.

However, it just so happened that a team of 12 Class Transferees had sneaked over from the neighboring Qinghe City and happened to pass through this area.

These 12 people were all just over Level 30. The equipment on their bodies flashed with impressive light, and their class composition was quite reasonable, with tanks, DPS, and healers. They were clearly an experienced and mature team.

In the team channel, several people were communicating in low voices:

“I hope Zhongnan City can be a bit more productive tonight and spawn a few high-quality Dungeons.”

“Yeah, last night was a wasted trip. We only hit a Platinum Dungeon, and the harvest was average.”

“The requirements aren't high; I'd be satisfied if we could run into a Diamond-grade Dungeon!”

“By the way... is it really okay for us to sneak into other people's cities to steal their Dungeons like this?”

“Same old rule: if you're here, don't be afraid; if you're afraid, don't come! Even if we get caught by the locals, it's at most a fine and some Magic Crystals. What's there to fear?”

Good grief, it turned out this was a group of veterans who specialized in sneaking into neighboring cities during the late-night hours to “steal Dungeons”!

The Level 30 Dungeons in their own Qinghe City had already been cleared by them or others during the day. When the night grew deep and the Dungeons refreshed, they took advantage of the darkness to travel long distances to the neighboring Zhongnan City to snatch the Dungeon resources here.

According to the unwritten rules between major cities, this kind of cross-regional “Dungeon stealing” behavior was strictly prohibited. Once discovered, they would often face penalties such as fines.

Fortunately, the place where Lin Muyang opened the “Troll Tribe” secret realm was not within the conventional Level 30 Dungeon refresh area of Zhongnan City.

Therefore, this group of “Dungeon thieves” did not discover the fluctuations of the secret realm entrance deep in the canyon. They passed quickly more than ten kilometers away from the canyon entrance, heading straight for the known Level 30 Dungeon refresh points in Zhongnan City...

Their marching speed wasn't particularly fast.

Estimating based on the speeds of both parties, by the time they reached the nearest Level 30 Dungeon area in Zhongnan City, Lin Muyang's squad would likely have just finished clearing the “Troll Tribe” secret realm.

At that time, there was a high probability that the two sides would... collide head-on in the Dungeon area!