5: Chapter 5 Undead Catastrophe? Thanks to nature's bounty!

The sunset's afterglow was filtered layer by layer through the dense canopy, leaving only a few strands of bleak, dark red light scattered across the ground covered in wood chips.

Futou Shield Mountain was mechanically picking up the copper coins on the ground while secretly opening the guild's internal encrypted communication channel.

He had immediately sent the video of Qin Ji "dancing on the blade's edge" to the guild's chief Archer—Divine Wolf.

In less than three seconds, a burst of rapid breathing came from the other side of the communicator.

"Is this video sped up?" Divine Wolf's voice carried an incredulous dryness.

"Original speed, one hundred percent original speed." Futou Shield Mountain lowered his voice, taking a glance at the back walking in front of him, who looked as if he were strolling in a leisurely courtyard. "Brother Wolf, can you not do this?"

"I cannot."

Divine Wolf answered with ironclad certainty. "This is not a matter of hand speed. Look at his sidestep at the 3rd second; that was predicting the trajectory of the Twisted Treant's vines. And that backhand sword at the 5th second—that was utilizing the monster's hit-stun to cancel his own attack backswing... This is called a 'perfect stutter-step'."

"At this stage, how could anyone play melee better than I play an Archer?"

The communicator fell silent for a moment, then erupted with a near-manic tone: "Which guild is he from? Shield Mountain, no matter who he is, poach him! Annual salary... no, I can apply to the Guild Master for a signing fee, start him at ten million directly! If this person is an opponent, it's too terrifying."

"Ten million..." Futou Shield Mountain gave a bitter smile. "Brother Wolf, he just told me that taking me to level up is just a side job to earn some pocket money. Someone like this is likely not someone you can buy with money."

Just as the two were whispering, a piercing System notification suddenly resounded across the entire server.

【Server-wide Announcement: Congratulations to player "Frenzied Blade" for being the first to reach Rank 10 and leave the Newbie Village! Reward: Gold Coins +500, class-specific Black Iron-grade set +1, Free Attribute Points +50! This is hereby announced, hoping the vast majority of players will continue to work hard!】

【Server-wide Announcement: Congratulations to player "Frenzied Blade"...】

The consecutive three announcements were like a basin of cold water poured over Futou Shield Mountain's head.

"Holy crap!" Futou Shield Mountain glanced at the time, his expression instantly collapsing. "So fast? That lunatic Frenzied Blade is already Rank 10? It's over, it's over. The reward for being the first to leave the village is a full 50 free attribute points!"

In the Early Stage of "God's Domain", 50 attribute points were equivalent to being 5 Ranks higher than others for free; this was absolutely a Divine-Grade advantage of snowballing.

"What are you rushing for?"

A cold voice interrupted Futou Shield Mountain's wailing.

Qin Ji casually slashed through the thorns blocking the way, not even turning his head: "Just because an ant slightly larger than the others crawled out of the anthill first, you think the sky has fallen?"

"Big... Big God, that's 50 attribute points!" Futou Shield Mountain stomped his feet in anxiety.

Qin Ji stopped his footsteps, looked back at him, a trace of playfulness flashing in his purple-gold pupils: "50 points? Is that a lot?"

In those ten minutes just now, he had killed about two hundred Frenzied Tree Demons.

Strength +200.

For him, who possessed [Greedy Grasp], the so-called "Server-wide First Reward" was not even as substantial as swinging his sword two hundred more times.

"Follow." Qin Ji's iron sword hung slightly, the tip carving a spark on the ground. "There's something good ahead."

Futou Shield Mountain was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly followed.

As the two went deeper into the forest, the surrounding light grew dimmer, and a foul stench of decay began to permeate the air. The originally dense vegetation gradually disappeared, replaced by withered black tree trunks and white bones everywhere.

"Snap."

A monster, one size larger than the ordinary tree demon, slowly walked out from behind a dead tree. The bark on its body presented a metallic, iron-blue color, and the branches on its head still hung with several mummified player corpses.

【Twisted Treant (Elite)】

【Rank: LV.10】

【HP: 5700/5700】

【Skills: Recovery, Death Coil, Poison Thorn Spray】

"Elite monster!" Futou Shield Mountain subconsciously raised his shield. "Big God, this thing has crowd control skills, watch out for its vin..."

Before he could finish, Qin Ji had already moved.

There was no flashy opening move, just pure speed.

The moment the elite Treant raised its vines, Qin Ji's figure cut into its inner circle like a ghost. The iron sword, carrying a shrill whistling sound, slashed fiercely at the Treant's knee joint.

"Bang!"

A dull thud, wood chips exploded.

-4890!

A huge damage number floated up, the elite Treant's massive body tilted violently, and the [Death Coil] it was preparing to release was directly interrupted.

"Roar—"

The Treant let out a painful roar, green light appearing on its body—that was the precursor to the [Recovery] skill.

"Healing? You're not worthy."

Qin Ji sneered, the iron sword in his hand suddenly accelerating.

Since one sword strike couldn't kill it, then two would.

Basic attack! Cancel backswing! Basic attack again!

At this moment, Futou Shield Mountain finally witnessed with his own eyes the "perfect stutter-step" that Divine Wolf had spoken of. Qin Ji was like a precise killing machine, every swing of his sword cutting in at the 0.1 seconds before the Treant's healing judgment.

That was pure damage suppression!

"Boom—"

In less than three seconds, this elite monster, enough to wipe out a normal ten-man squad, collapsed like a pile of rotten wood.

【Killed Twisted Treant (Elite), gained EXP +3200.】

【Triggered "Greedy Grasp"! Gained Attribute: Physique +20.】

【Triggered "Greedy Grasp"! Gained Passive Fragment: Photosynthesis (1/50).】

"Ding..."

A crisp dropping sound rang out.

A shoulder guard emitting a faint green light rolled to Futou Shield Mountain's feet.

【Treant Shoulder Guard (Black Iron-grade)】

【Equip Requirement: LV.10, All Classes】

【Effect: HP +200, Physical Defense +15】

"Want this gear?" Qin Ji lifted the shoulder guard with the tip of his sword and tossed it casually toward Futou Shield Mountain.

Futou Shield Mountain caught it in a panic, his eyes instantly widening: "Yes, yes, yes! Big God, this is top-tier defensive gear right now! How much?"

"Three thousand."

Qin Ji stated a number and continued walking forward. To him, except for things that could increase attributes, everything else was trash. Since there was a walking wallet following him, he might as well cash in.

"Deal!" Futou Shield Mountain happily transferred the money immediately. Although this price wasn't cheap, at this stage, you couldn't buy such top-tier gear even with money.

However, Qin Ji did not stop his steps. His gaze pierced through the withered forest, locking onto a low-lying area shrouded in fog.

From there, a series of teeth-grinding sounds of bones rubbing against each other vaguely drifted over.

"Big God, it doesn't seem right ahead..." Futou Shield Mountain felt the hair on his back stand up. "The map shows that is the 'Burial Ground', a Level 15 hidden area. It's said to be full of undead monsters with extremely high physical resistance; nobody dares to go there at this stage."

"Undead?"

The corners of Qin Ji's mouth curled up slightly, revealing a meaningful smile. "Then that's perfect."

Just as the two stepped into the low-lying area, the surrounding mud suddenly began to churn violently.

Pale bone hands broke through the soil one by one, followed by skulls, ribs, leg bones... In just a few seconds, hundreds of skeleton soldiers holding rusted iron swords and tattered shields surrounded the two.

And in the center of the skeleton sea, a figure wearing a tattered black robe and holding a bone staff was hovering in mid-air.

【Decaying Soul Summoner (Lord-grade BOSS)】

【Rank: LV.15】

【HP: 15000/15000】

【Skills: Undead Scourge, Corpse Explosion, Soul Drain】

"Hehehe... fresh flesh and blood..."

The BOSS let out a sinister, weird laugh, waving the bone staff in its hand. The eye sockets of the surrounding skeleton soldiers instantly ignited with ghostly blue Soul fire, surging toward the two like a tide.

"It's over, it's over! It's a BOSS! And a summoning-type BOSS at that!" Futou Shield Mountain's face turned pale, his hand holding the shield trembling. "Big God, let's retreat! With so many monsters, even if they just wear us down, they can kill us!"

Current players feared this kind of summoning-style BOSS the most; the minions were endless, and you couldn't even touch the BOSS itself.

However, Qin Ji did something that Futou Shield Mountain would never forget for the rest of his life.

He put away his sword.

"Retreat?"

Qin Ji looked at the dense sea of skeletons, the greed in his eyes almost overflowing. "Why retreat? This is... a gift from Mother Nature."

In the next second, he drew his sword again, but this time, the sword did not carry that sharp Killing Intent; instead, it exuded a strange excitement.

"Fatty, listen up."

Qin Ji's voice was clearly audible amidst the noisy clatter of bones. "Don't touch that BOSS. If it stops summoning, you go taunt it, curse at it, spit on it—whatever method you use, you must make it keep summoning."

"Huh??" Futou Shield Mountain was dumbfounded. "Big God, are you crazy? Tired of living?"

"Less nonsense, do as I say."

The moment the words fell, Qin Ji had already charged into the sea of skeletons.

【Undead Skeleton (Summoned Creature)】

【Rank: LV.10】

【HP: 800】

【Defense: 5】

These summoned skeleton soldiers had extremely low HP, but their advantage was their terrifying numbers. To ordinary players, they were a nightmare, but to Qin Ji, who possessed the [Splash] effect...

This was a carefully prepared buffet!

"Boom!"

The first sword strike landed.

There wasn't the dull thud of a blade entering flesh as imagined, but rather a loud explosion similar to a heavy hammer smashing glass.

The skeleton soldier hit head-on by Qin Ji, along with the rusted iron shield in its hand, disintegrated into sky-filling bone powder the moment it touched the sword edge.

Immediately after, [Splash] triggered!

An invisible shockwave spread madly in all directions with Qin Ji as the center.

-4520!

-4520!

-4520!

...

One strike.

Just one strike.

The originally crowded encirclement instantly developed a five-meter-diameter vacuum zone. A dozen skeleton soldiers didn't even have time to scream before they all turned into points of EXP light.

【Killed Undead Skeleton, triggered "Greedy Grasp"! Gained Attribute: Spirit +1.】

【Killed Undead Skeleton, triggered "Greedy Grasp"! Gained Attribute: Spirit +1.】

【Killed Undead Skeleton, triggered "Greedy Grasp"! Gained Attribute: Spirit +1.】

A string of golden notifications flashed crazily before Qin Ji's eyes.

"Spirit attribute?"

Qin Ji's eyes grew brighter. The tree demons he killed earlier added Strength; he didn't expect these undead summoned creatures to add Spirit!

In this game, the Spirit attribute not only determined the maximum mana, but more importantly—it determined Spell resistance and resistance to abnormal status effects!

"Again!"

Qin Ji laughed loudly and actively charged toward another group of skeleton soldiers.

The BOSS in mid-air was clearly stunned. Its meager AI logic clearly couldn't understand why someone would not only not run when seeing an Undead Scourge, but instead pounce on it like they had seen their own father.

It waved its bone staff angrily, summoning another batch of skeleton Archers.

"Swish, swish, swish—"

Bone arrows fell like raindrops.

Futou Shield Mountain hid behind his tower shield, shivering, but was surprised to find that Qin Ji didn't dodge at all.

Those bone arrows shot at him, only producing a string of ridiculous numbers:

-1

-1

-1

Forced damage deduction!

As his Spirit attribute skyrocketed, Qin Ji's Spell resistance had stacked to a terrifying value; the attacks of these low-level skeletons couldn't even count as an itch to him.

"Don't stop!"

Qin Ji swept his sword horizontally, smashing the dozens of newly summoned skeleton Archers into powder, then looked up at the BOSS in the air, his tone actually carrying a trace of dissatisfaction. "Out of mana already? Is your kidney just for show? Keep summoning!"

BOSS: "..."

Futou Shield Mountain watched this scene, his worldview completely collapsed.

He had seen people paying for power-leveling, but he had never seen anyone treating a BOSS like a sow, forcing it to give birth!

Where was this an Undead Scourge? This was clearly an individual scourge called Qin Ji!

Ten minutes later.

The originally eerie and terrifying Burial Ground was now covered with a thick layer of bone powder; stepping on it was like stepping on snow, making a "creaking" sound.

The BOSS in the air had become illusory and transparent; that was a sign that its mana was completely exhausted. The light of the bone staff in its hand was dim, and no matter how it waved, not a single skeleton could crawl out of the ground anymore.

"No more?"

Qin Ji stopped his movements, looking at his panel with some lingering desire.

【Spirit: 3200】

In just ten minutes, the Spirit attribute had skyrocketed by three thousand points! Now, even if he stood still and let mages of the same Rank bombard him for a day, he probably wouldn't lose any HP.

"Since it's useless, then go die."

Qin Ji's voice instantly turned cold.

He stomped on the ground, and his whole body shot into the sky like a black cannonball. The bone powder under his feet exploded into a circle of white dust due to the huge reaction force.

The BOSS wanted to retreat in horror, but it was too late.

Qin Ji's figure left an afterimage in the air, his iron sword held high, carrying the brutality and Killing Intent accumulated over these ten minutes, and slashed down overhead.

"Crack—"

Without any suspense.

That bone staff symbolizing the authority of death was split in two, followed by the BOSS's head and torso.

-12580! (Critical Hit)

A suffocating damage number jumped out.

The BOSS's body exploded in mid-air, turning into countless black fragments that dissipated.

【Killed Decaying Soul Summoner (Lord-grade), gained EXP +15000.】

【Triggered "Greedy Grasp"! Plundered core talent: Undead Dominator (Incomplete) → Converted into passive skill: Soul Echo.】

【Soul Echo (S-grade passive)】

【Effect: All your skills (including basic attacks) have a 50% chance to trigger a double judgment, causing damage twice.】

Qin Ji landed, casually flicking the non-existent filth off his blade.

The sunset had completely sunk below the horizon, and darkness shrouded the forest.

He stood in the center of the mountain of bone powder, with a skill book emitting purple light left behind by the dissipated BOSS at his feet. Those purple-gold pupils shone brightly in the darkness, just like an ancient Vicious Beast that had just had a full meal, coldly watching this land of death he had completely conquered.