35: Chapter 35 Unyielding Holy Body (Orange Epic)

Lu Yang looked at the four of them, who were bored out of their minds and somewhat numb, remembering what Sister Shangguan had told him earlier.

If he could let the four of them experience combat coordination, it was best to let them do so.

After all, Lu Yang was leading them through the dungeon this time to get the first-clear rewards.

He couldn't possibly carry them through dungeons every single time.

Experience gained in a party was split equally.

To others, it might not matter much, but for Lu Yang, Rank was far too important.

After all, he gained a Soul Talent with every Rank he gained; his leveling speed directly affected his growth curve in power.

Therefore, it was best for him to solo dungeons, unless it was a special case like first-clear rewards, where he needed to bring a few Geniuses with outstanding Soul Talents to secure the first-clear rewards for them.

Thus, under these current circumstances, he still had to let the four of them experience actual dungeon combat for themselves.

At this thought, Lu Yang smiled softly and said, "I'll weaken the aura's damage a bit. That way, you guys can step up and fight too."

The aura was part of Lu Yang's own power, so he could naturally control its output. Reducing the aura's damage and range was as easy for him as turning down a faucet.

Hearing this, Shen Qingci, Rebecca, and the other two all had their eyes light up.

A cheerful smile immediately broke out on Lance's round face. Clutching his black wooden staff, he nodded repeatedly. "Awesome, Brother Lu! We really do need to build up our combat experience! Thanks a lot!"

Ever since witnessing Lu Yang's true strength, Lance was completely won over by him.

Even if Lu Yang really was two-timing Shen Qingci and Rebecca, Lance felt it was completely reasonable.

Although Shen Qingci and Rebecca's Soul Talents were also impressive and they were considered Geniuses in the Blue Star Alliance...

...it all depended on who they were being compared to!

How could anyone compare to Brother Lu?

High-tier class-holders held special privileges within the Alliance.

One of which was the right to have multiple partners.

The reason was that offspring born to high-tier class-holders had a higher probability of Awakening a Soul Talent than ordinary novice class-holders.

It was essentially the inheritance of talent.

Therefore, the Blue Star Alliance even encouraged high-tier class-holders to pass down their Bloodlines as much as possible.

With talent at Brother Lu's level, not having multiple children would be a complete waste of his talent!

Besides, Shen Qingci and Rebecca's Soul Talents were top-tier as well.

If both parents possessed strong Soul Talents, their offspring would have an extremely high chance of inheriting a Soul Talent, and the quality of that talent would likely be extraordinarily high!

Zhu Tongchen nodded repeatedly as well, his eyes full of admiration as he looked at Lu Yang. "Brother Lu, thanks for the trouble!"

Shen Qingci and Rebecca glanced at Zhu Tongchen and Lance.

As women, they were quite perceptive. Earlier, although those two had accepted Lu Yang as party leader due to his record of soloing the Nightmare-difficulty Withered Forest, they had still harbored a bit of reluctance in their hearts.

Now, those two were clearly thoroughly humbled and won over by Lu Yang.

An inexplicable trace of pride welled up inside both girls.

Rebecca impatiently twirled the golden longsword in her hand twice, its blade drawing two dazzling arcs amidst the red and blue halos. "Lu Yang, hurry and weaken the aura's effect! I'm dying to get into action!"

A sweet and pure smile graced Shen Qingci's pretty face, and she nodded in agreement.

Then, the two young women exchanged a glance.

Shen Qingci's pure, bright eyes met Rebecca's aggressive gaze, subtle sparks of electricity practically flying between them.

Hmph...

They had been close friends since childhood, yet here she was trying to steal a man from her!

Rebecca raised her heroic brows, shooting back a glance that refused to back down.

'You two aren't even together yet, so how is it stealing?'

Lu Yang didn't notice the silent rivalry playing out between the two girls.

Smiling slightly, Lu Yang willed the damage of both auras down to roughly one-twentieth of their original output.

Combined, they dealt around one hundred damage per second.

Lu Yang even casually reduced the aura's range to a mere fifty meters.

Otherwise, even at one hundred damage per second, an attack range of nearly a kilometer—combined with Frost Aura's slow effect—would make it impossible for elite and boss Goblins to even reach them.

With Lu Yang reducing the aura's damage and range, Shen Qingci and the others could finally see living Goblins!

As they rounded a bend, another small camp appeared ahead.

The campfire in the center of the camp was still crackling loudly. A few Goblins gathered around the fire, squabbling over a piece of charred meat.

Further off in a tent, several other Goblins reeled half-reclined, sharpening the edges of their bone knives with stones.

Seeing these lively, jumping Goblins, the four of them were so emotional they almost wanted to weep.

It hadn't been easy!

As Lu Yang's group stepped within fifty meters of the Goblin camp, the red and blue halos enveloped the area.

Instantly, damage numbers from the two auras popped up above the Goblins' heads.

Each tick was only a few dozen points of damage—a far cry from the eight hundred or over one thousand points from earlier.

The Goblin Lair was huge, and the area they were currently in was still the outer perimeter. These elite Goblins were Rank 6 and Rank 7, with health pools exceeding 400.

The aura's damage wasn't enough to instantly kill them; instead, it provoked their ferocity.

Under the dual agony of burning and freezing, the Goblins turned their heads one after another. Their triangular eyes gleamed with a sickly green light in the dim cavern, locking onto Lu Yang and his party at the edge of the camp.

Low growls reverberated across the camp one after another.

Five Hobgoblins led the charge. Their bulky bodies, nearly two meters tall, were like mini tanks, shaking the gravel on the ground as they ran.

They brandished crude spiked bone clubs and rusty axes. Their dark olive skin bore grayish-white marks left by frost and burns. Though the frost slowed their charge slightly, they were still moving quickly.

Behind the Hobgoblins, a Goblin Shaman standing about 1.5 meters tall raised its bone staff.

Its face, smeared with beast blood and dried mud, was emotionless, but its triangular eyes betrayed a veteran malice.

It slammed its bone staff onto the ground. A crooked Healing Totem sprouted from the rubble, its tip emitting a pulse of light green waves that swept over all the Goblins in the camp. The health they had lost to the aura began to slowly regenerate.

Several Goblin Rock-Throwers had already pulled fist-sized stones from the leather baskets on their backs.

The arms of these rock-throwers were nearly twice as long as ordinary Goblins', their muscles disproportionately bulky, as if two legs had been mounted onto their shoulders.

Winding up their arms, they hurled the rocks, sending them hurtling forward with heavy swooshes.

Nearby were a few Goblin Hunters, even smaller and skinnier than ordinary Goblins. Crouching beside the tents with shortbows, they let fly several lightning-fast arrows.

In an instant, a volley of stones and arrows rained down toward them in a barrage of over a dozen attacks.

Just then, Rebecca gave a clear shout.

The white heavy armor she wore suddenly glowed with a warm golden light. The light spread outward like sunlight scattered by the wind, condensing into a translucent barrier in front of her.

The barrier was just the right size, perfectly sheltering all five of them behind it. Pale golden patterns flowed across its surface, looking like a transparent shield wall woven from golden thread.

As stones and arrows struck the barrier, they only produced faint, rippling waves.

Damage numbers floated up one after another above the barrier.

-2!

-3!

-1!

...

None of the attacks dealt more than 5 points of damage; even after a full volley, the barrier didn't break.

Lu Yang didn't make a move. He simply maintained his dual auras, crossed his arms over his chest, and leaned against a large rock behind them, adopting a pure spectator stance.

Seeing these damage numbers, Lu Yang raised an eyebrow in slight surprise and glanced at Rebecca.

'This girl's defense is really strong.'

As Rebecca blocked the attacks, golden light flashed across her body once more. The light seeped out from the gaps in her plate armor like fluid, wrapping around her legs.

Her speed surged dramatically in an instant, turning her into a white-gold blur that charged straight into the Hobgoblins ahead.

Sweeping her golden longsword horizontally, the sun pattern on the blade hummed to life. The released Sword Qi turned into an arc of golden sword-light that burst forth in the dim cavern, spanning a five-meter radius and engulfing all five Hobgoblins.

-40!

-42!

...

The Hobgoblins, who had originally intended to bypass her and charge toward Shen Qingci and Lance behind her, let out cries of pain one after another.

Their eyes instantly turned blood-red as intense pain and rage consumed their sanity. Their bloodshot triangular eyes locked dead onto Rebecca.

They frantically swung their spiked bone clubs and rusty axes, smashing down toward Rebecca's head and shoulders from multiple directions.

The weapons cut through the air with heavy swooshes, making eardrums throb even before impact.

Beneath her visor, Rebecca's lips curved into a wild, confident smile.

Her deep blue eyes held not a trace of fear; instead, they gleamed bright as cold stars with excited provocation.

Standing firmly in place, she laughed. "Listen up, big dummies! If you can force Young Miss back even one step, I'll count it as your win!"

The five Hobgoblins seemed to understand her words and roared furiously.

She had clearly undergone extremely professional defensive training.

With her legs split front and back and knees slightly bent, her center of gravity sank extremely low.

Facing five weapons swinging at her from different angles, she effortlessly adjusted her wrists. The heavy golden heater shield danced in her hands as light as a sheet of paper, parrying left and blocking right, solidly fending off every single strike.

Clubs and axes slammed into the shield face with deafening booms that echoed through the cavern.

Yet after taking these seemingly heavy, powerful blows, Rebecca remained rooted to the spot, without so much as a tremor.

The damage numbers floating above her head were uniformly zeroes.

-0 (Blocked)

-0 (Blocked)

...

All blocked damage was reduced to 0 points.

Rebecca wasn't surprised in the slightest by this.

Her Soul Talent, like Shen Qingci's, was Orange Epic Rank.

[Unyielding Holy Body (Orange Epic)]: Max Health increased by 100%, all damage taken reduced by 15%. When Health falls below 30%, damage reduction doubles to 30%, and recovers 3% of Max Health per second until Health restores to above 50%.

With this Soul Talent backing her up, as long as an attack wasn't powerful enough to completely drain her health instantly, she could stand firm and handle anything with ease!