Chapter 381 - 355: The Mysterious Lake in the Black Forest
Da Fei activated the Blood Eagle Flute, and a magical eagle soared into the sky. The horizon widened, revealing an endless expanse of the withered Black Forest. The radar showed a red cloud—that was the countless noisy crows circling above the forest.
The forest had no path, at least not one wide enough for an elite Tree Spirit to pass through entirely. The key question was, even if they could pass, where exactly was their destination?
Da Fei continued to control the Blood Eagle, pushing forward. One minute, two minutes—the forest appeared endless, and Da Fei felt immensely frustrated. Even the Flying Eagle had to fly so long, so how long would it take his convoy to walk there? Is this just one space of the World Tree, meaning it’s just a game instance? Is it really that vast? Well, considering it took half a day to switch scenes, it probably is. A map this large just for me, what a privilege!
Finally, a glimmer of water flashed on the very edge of the horizon—it’s a lake! There was a discovery!
Da Fei’s spirits lifted as he pursued further. He saw, deep within the forest, a vast red sandy area with a shimmering blue-black lake, like a mirror embedded in a red frame.
Such an unusual wonder must be the key to breaking the current dilemma—everyone knows this when playing games!
Da Fei excitedly said, "My reconnaissance eagle found a large lake deep in the forest. Mr. Tai Da, what do you think?"
Tai Da promptly said, "Such an unusual wonder must be the key to breaking the current dilemma!"
—Ah, pfft! Da Fei wiped the spit he sprayed and asked, "The forest is dense, how do we get over there?"
Tai Da sighed, "We have to unload our cargo first, then have our woodcutters chop out a path, and then turn around to transport again."
Da Fei was instantly dumbfounded! This whole thing is several times more frustrating than just having the convoy walk through! In that instant, Da Fei remembered that high school book, "How Steel Was Tempered," which featured a scene of chopping trees to build railways in Siberia’s frigid forests. How frustrating could it get?
Alright, now I’m playing "How to Become a Master." There must be treasures in that lake, making this trip worthwhile!
Da Fei nodded, "Alright, let’s unload the cargo first and rest to regain stamina." They had just fought a battle while carrying heavy loads, and the troop, especially the Tree Spirits, had depleted much of their stamina and needed a good rest.
"Yes, Lord City Lord!" Tai Da waved his hand, and all the woodcutter Tree Spirits put down their lumber, forming a small hill of rare wood.
Now, the target was set, and the method to create a path was also determined, leaving only the safety issue. According to the reconnaissance, the only enemies in this forest were the crows, and they were particularly tricky because, like mice, cockroaches, and soldier ants, they were annoyingly beyond level 0 creatures!
Da Fei had 39 elite Tree Spirits and a grandmaster-level crossbow cannon in hand and was confident against any regular troops, including level 7 soldiers, but was powerless against these tiny creatures! Cannons could hardly eliminate mosquitos! If only Selvia were here, she could clear the field with a Storm Attack. The problem is—well, never mind. Rats fear cats; the best way to deal with small creatures is using slightly larger small creatures. Should I follow through with the initial plan to use the Blood Eagle to train against the crows? The problem is that the Flying Eagle is only a level 1 troop, can it handle so many?
Da Fei asked, "What strategies do you have against these crows?"
Tai Da laughed, "Lord City Lord, I previously cast Thorns Skill, right? I believe the weak crows are surely courting death against it—" His face then grew somber: "However, the Thorns Skill doesn’t last long, and this space is quite strange. These crows seem unusual; you must be cautious, my Lord."
Damn it! I want to be cautious, but without any cards to play, what can I do?
Test the crow’s abilities! Better to risk the Flying Eagle than risking hundreds of team members. There seems to be no other choice. However, Da Fei immediately remembered Ranger Guild Master Jilrien’s warning—if the Flying Eagle dies once, it could lead to lost morale, affecting its future growth.
Damn it, now they deliberately left me tangled here!?
Da Fei began checking the Flying Eagle’s attributes:
—Growing Reconnaissance Spirit Eagle (Little Fei): Tiny Elite Spiritual Creature, Attack 4, Defense 0, Damage 1-2, Life Value 3, Command Value: 0, Attack Speed: 15, Stamina: 16/30. Special Skill: Flying Creature, God-level Reconnaissance Technique, Plane Surveillance.
Uh, its stamina was already down to half; it couldn’t fly for much longer, let alone fight. In the end, it was too fragile to be of substantial use, similar to the match, but such little potential needed cultivation and experimentation. I couldn’t believe it that every crow in the entire Black Forest would gang up against me once the battle started. How would players continue to play if that were the case?
Da Fei formulated a plan, began controlling the Flying Eagle to return, and then left the resting troops to move stealthily alone towards the forest, hiding under a withered tree. About two minutes later, the Flying Eagle reached the forest’s edge and reunited with Da Fei, now with less than 3 stamina points remaining and on the verge of disappearing.
However, the Flying Eagle’s attributes received Da Fei’s hero enhancements! Yes, that’s the desired effect!
Da Fei’s current attributes read 61 strategic attack; with the newly acquired Spider Demon shoes and two-piece defensive bonus, the strategic defense reached 78. The Reconnaissance Spirit Eagle’s attributes were:
—Attack 65 (+60)
—Defense 78 (+78)
—Damage 3-4 (Captain’s Sword’s land damage +1, War Maniac’s demigod achievement +1)
—Life Value 14.9 (Lonely Brave Warrior’s hundred-win-all-army life +2, Spider Demon two-piece set all-army life +4, Defense Skill Sub-skill Unlimited Vitality all-army life +2, "God Slayer" achievement +1, "Dancing with Gods" achievement +1, totally 13 points, plus three Plague Antibody achievements +15% total life)
—Attack Speed 18.4 (Captain’s Sword land +1, Speed Cloak +10%, Corpse Poison Antibody achievement +5%)
—Stamina 7.5/34.5 (three Plague Antibody achievements boosted stamina by 15%)
...
Incredible attack and defense! Approaching the Damage Value and Life Value of a level 3 soldier! This is the power of the hero—how strong the hero is determines how strong the troops are; the only limitation for Little Flying Eagle is stamina! Upgrading and growing might be the only way to enhance it.
Generally, the attack and damage of such small creatures like crows and mice, even more special than level 0 creatures, were not high, about 0-1 attack and 0-1 damage or so. An enormous attack-defense difference with nearly 80 points reduces the opposing damage value to just 20% through the damage formula. Then Da Fei’s master-level Defense Skill cuts it by another 50%, leaving just 10%, that is, 0-0.1 damage.
Of course, even small damage could fill your body with ants nibbling like elephants, and the physical damage was secondary; the main threat was the disorderly mutate special skill they might have. That’s where the "Extreme Survival" skill became essential. Yesterday’s match server displayed its mighty effect, and having just leveled up, Da Fei obtained a skill point—damn, I got so carried away during the battle against the Spider Demon Army that I forgot I hadn’t actually learned it yet! What we learned in the match server isn’t applicable here!
No hassle—time for Extreme Survival to make its formal debut!
—System prompt: You spent 1 Skill Point learning the sailor "Extreme Survival" sub-skill.
—Extreme Survival: Greatly enhance your troop’s survival under hunger, disease, and fatigue.
Now everything was ready. Let’s fight!
—System prompt: You canceled Little Fei’s Plane Surveillance state, and Little Fei appeared in the current plane!
With Little Fei’s entire bloodied figure suddenly appearing, the crows in the trees screeched and flapped into the air!
—System prompt: The dark crow flock discovered your Reconnaissance Spirit Eagle troops, and you entered battle mode! Your Stealth State disappeared!
Damn! It really dragged me into battle too? Come on, just charge at me; help share Little Fei’s pressure. If it really couldn’t hold on, I would immediately run back to the main force and have Tai Da cast a large Thorns Skill to save the day.
At this moment, a dark cloud of crows swarmed toward Da Fei and Little Fei, engulfing them in an instant!
—System prompt: You fall into "Corpse Crow Mercury Poison" state; your Life Value, stamina, Move Speed, and Attack Speed start decreasing!
—System prompt: Little Fei’s Spiritual Body is immune to toxin damage!
Da Fei was taken aback, indeed a nasty special skill! Then burst into joy, Little Fei was immune to their special skill! Great! Let them peck and poison all they want. It didn’t matter as long as Little Fei remained unaffected! Moreover, it seemed only the crow-flock from the surrounding woods was coming, which meant he had the capacity to defeat them one by one!
At this point, Little Fei engaged in aerial melee with the crow flock, killing one, two, three, ten; with every attack, it surely annihilated a crow. Meanwhile, streams of "dodge" appeared on its body!
Yes, Little Fei was a high-speed flying creature. Creatures moving at high speeds have inherent evasive bonuses, combined with my match-obtained Evasion Talisman dodging 10%, plus God-level Luck Skill’s "Luck Body" increasing skill chances by 15%, making Little Fei’s dodge rate at least 25%. Theoretically, it completely handled hundreds on its own! Just a few more rounds of growth, and it certainly would become an airborne overlord, clearing the field without a sweat!
Haha! Good, I’ll take this opportunity to train you up! While counting the crow corpses below, suddenly an idea hit Da Fei!
Right, why were these crows’ skills named "Corpse Crow Mercury Poison"? Mercury? No way, could that lake really be the legendary Mercury Lake? Is that why the surroundings were barren and all the trees withered? Yes, it must be—the red sandy area by the lake was, in fact, cinnabar specifically used to refine mercury. Generally, mercury mines were just red sandy mines! And here, it had directly produced liquid mercury, poisoning the whole forest to death! This Mercury Lake should be grand and rare—could it be a rare resource of "Concentrated Mercury"?
Possible! Highly likely; the World Tree Space had many rare woods I’d never heard of, so finding a rich mercury mine isn’t impossible!
(Thank Fellow Mortal Fan for correcting the data error, noting that Da Fei’s character didn’t learn Extreme Survival after the match. Corrected here. The +1 damage from War Maniac didn’t seem impactful, hence removed. Regarding the God-level Luck’s sub-skill "Luck Body," I initially intended for Da Fei, after returning from sailing climbing to level 38, to learn it. Possibly overlooked, will correct soon.) (To be continued. If you like this work, please go to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations, monthly tickets; your support gives me the greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)