Chapter 545 - 511: Tunnel Warfare in a Sea of People
Blood Eagle searched the entire sea area, resting twice to fully recover Stamina. As the hazy sunset descended, Da Fei’s Reconnaissance Skill mapping feature had fully explored the island distribution in the Mist Sea Area. Beyond the Mist Sea Area, the normal layout of myriad islands still prevailed. This Mist Sea Area was indeed a special existence here.
Now, everyone was gathered around the map drawn by Da Fei, marveling in astonishment.
There were a total of twenty-three islands in the Mist Sea Area, with the largest island located in the center. Each island had a stairway entrance leading underground. No buildings suitable for a Hermit’s dwelling were discovered on any island. There were only six lighthouses present, and the layout of these lighthouses formed a very regular hexagon.
Seeing this, Elena immediately understood, "These six lighthouses are not ordinary lighthouses. They form a huge Hexagram Formation, possibly with some summoning or control function, or perhaps a defensive function. Considering that this powerful being might have escaped from the Dwarf Prison, this place might be intended to fend off pursuers or defend against the Naga, however—"
At this point, Elena frowned and said, "As a Mage, I can sense the fluctuations of Magic Power in space. Nearby, I should feel the presence of a particularly powerful force, but here, I don’t sense that a strong being resides in this area, which makes it questionable. To unveil the mysteries of these islands, we have to start by visiting these six lighthouses underground."
Hangeval nodded, "It’s even better with no powerful beings around. Regardless of who this Array is meant to defend against, the underground passage will definitely be very dangerous. We just need to send a few people down, and the rest can stand by here."
Vali immediately volunteered, "Count me in!"
Hangeval laughed, "Let’s each contribute 10 particularly capable fighters, and counting the friend’s Earth Element, over twenty people should be enough."
Da Fei was taken aback, "Twenty? Isn’t that too few?"
Hangeval shook his head, "The underground terrain is narrow and not suitable for large troop combat. More troops would be useless, and various collapses and traps can easily cause unnecessary casualties." He paused, then added, "Let’s just go down and see first. If the situation isn’t right, we’ll come back and reinforce!"
Da Fei nodded, "That sounds good. By the way, can I bring my Crossbow Cannons?"
Damn it, I assembled two Crossbow Cannons out of sheer boredom in the forest and have yet to find a chance to use them, how pitiful this Master-level situation is!
Alina chuckled, "Since the team can’t move fast in the unknown underground anyway, it’s good to bring them along to compensate for the team’s lack of long-range Attack capabilities."
Everyone nodded, "Alright! Let’s do it this way!"
Haha! My Crossbow Cannons are starving for action! Since the corridors are narrow and unsuitable for large troop combat, it’s the perfect place for Crossbow Cannons to shine. One shot might kill who knows how many weaklings.
Now, the selected elite team was assembled, and to handle the cart and load ammunition, Da Fei also brought a few Flower Demons.
"Depart!"
At the entrance staircase, a flash of light, and the Earth Element vanguard entered first. The scene switched, and the team appeared in a dim underground passage. But before they could take in the surroundings, Da Fei’s screen exploded with red light!
—System Prompt: Warning! You have entered the alert range of the Underground Guardian, battle begins!
Damn! Really a blockade!
The Earth Element Boss who entered first was already blocked in front and battling the opponent.
Boom! A bolt of lightning tore through the darkness, and immediately following Elena’s move, amidst the electric light, a dozen dusky tall figures in the dark passage simultaneously surged up showing a barrage of "-200!" damage!
This damage sharing is unbearable to witness! With such high Magic Resistance, what about physical resistance?
Without a second word, Da Fei waved his hand to fire, and the two Crossbow Cannons that had been loaded blasted six consecutive sounds of "Bang!" — "-453!" "-440!" "-450!"...
With a crisp bang, the frontmost large figure collapsed thunderously!
"So, it’s also an Earth Element!" Without another word, Elena conjured a ball of flame in her hand, and boom! A Fire Wall erupted in the passage ahead, turning the entire passage into a sea of fire!
Indeed, within the sea of flames emerged the tall figures of a dozen Earth Elements. Though they weren’t as large as Da Fei’s, they were at least Elite-level fighters. At this moment, these fighters in the fiery wall continuously emitted various "-300!" "Elemental Chain Damage -150" "Defense Reduced"!
—Fire Wall Skill: Creates a wall of flames on the battlefield, and any unit passing through or near the wall will take_damage. Prerequisite for learning: Advanced Destruction Magic. Grandmaster-level Fire Wall Magic damage = 20 + 20 × Magic Power, consumes 100 Mana.
For Alina, who possesses two sets of Divine Equipment and has a Magic Power of up to 170 points, the power of the Fire Wall Skill was non-trivial to behold. Elemental Chain Damage represents the additional damage caused by fire countering earth, a unique feature of Dark Elves. Reduced Defense is a special effect from the Flame Master. The fighting style of Dark Elves involves using the right magic against the right enemy.
At this moment, in the narrow passage, Da Fei’s high Defense Earth Element blocked all opponents, forcing them to continuously bear massive_damage in the flames until defeated.
And these Earth Elements aren’t just clumped together in useless melee; those at the rear of the team will throw stones, and the narrow terrain does not affect their combat capabilities—that’s the advantage of Earth Elements. Fortunately, Da Fei’s Earth Element, being tall, blocked the passageway, single-handedly taking all the stone attacks, perfectly fulfilling the role of a meat shield.
Finally, the last Earth Element fell thunderously under the barrage of fiery lightning crossbow cannons. At this moment, Da Fei’s Earth Element’s health was less than one-third. But no worries, with its heaven-defying 1% per second recovery rate, it would be fully healed in a minute.
—System Prompt: The battle is over! You have gained 170,000 Experience.
"Victory!" The dwarfs burst into excited cheers.
Hangeval, however, gave a wry smile: "Friend, do you still think 20 people are too few?"
Vali sighed: "It was all this lord’s team fighting; we were squeezed in the back without a chance to intervene."
Da Fei chuckled: "It’s not that people are few, I just feel the experience gained after the battle is too little."
Elena solemnly said: "Master, these Earth Elements aren’t actually dead; they are the same as the creatures from the Divine Domain Space."
Da Fei’s eyebrows twitched, and he immediately took out a shard of the Earth Attribute Divine Artifact and placed it on a fragment of an Earth Element. Sure enough, a wisp of pale yellow smoke was sucked into the shard.
Hangeval laughed: "Sneaky enough! When we think they’re eliminated and move forward, they would resurrect and ambush us."
Vali shook his head: "If that’s the case, then those Water Elements in the sea must also be immortal, right?"
Da Fei suddenly gasped, then bitterly smiled: "Do I have to use the Divine Artifact shard to eliminate all those thousands of Water Elements?"
Vali suddenly realized: "Sir! That’s not possible! The reason these islands exist in Naga territory is because of those Water Elements. Once they’re completely eliminated, the Naga will take over, and we’ll have no place here!"
Hanwagner was also stunned: "So, you mean we can’t completely eliminate the Earth Elements here? Their existence is meant to fend off the Kingdom’s pursuers?"
Da Fei suddenly enlightened, immediately withdrawing the Divine Artifact shard and stopped absorbing: "Right! We are planning to settle and develop here; we can’t eliminate them, that would be like cutting off our own escape route!"
Elena said gravely: "Master makes sense. If the island’s Lighthouse Array is used to control these Elemental Armies, as long as we take control of the Array, these Elemental Armies could potentially be used by us."
Da Fei excitedly said: "So many troops can be recruited by us?"
Elena shook her head and smiled: "If that powerful being is still on the island, then it’s completely uncertain. If that powerful being is not on the island, then to maintain such a large force, control of the Array is a must; otherwise, these Elemental Armies will disperse before long."
Da Fei thought, right! If a player leaves troops stationed in wild locations without proper facilities and neglects them, the number of troops would decrease until none are left. And there are no buildings here; it’s the wild!
Hangeval frowned: "However, if we do not completely kill these Earth Elements, our troops are very likely to be attacked from both front and rear, which would inevitably cause casualties."
Vali immediately declared righteously: "If sacrifices are unavoidable, then let me take on this arduous task, I’ll call some more brothers down!"
Oh my gosh! I know you want to show off, but don’t treat the sacrifices of your subordinates so lightly, okay? That’s typical officialdom, you never change, do you? I care even if you don’t! It’s a problem, needs fixing!
Da Fei immediately waved his hand: "I have a plan. We have many people! I’ve seen Elemental Lives resurrect; it needs a slow process, and they are extremely weak during resurrection, very easily killed again. So, if we station several brothers at each fallen Elemental, they won’t be able to rise again!"
The three joyfully exclaimed: "Truly a brother!" "Truly a lord!" "Truly a master!"
Hahaha! Da Fei let out a hearty laugh, feeling too clever and awesome! That’s right, we have one thousand four hundred people; not just 20 should do all the work! We need to mobilize everyone in critical moments!
Saying no more, everyone immediately returned to the island to organize and mobilize everyone.
And since Vali’s foolish idea was not adopted, he seemed very discontent, thus after a moment of contemplation, he suggested again: "Sir, considering possible sudden changes in the underground environment, it’s not just about stationing a few brothers at each section; we also need to maintain communication, perhaps even form several mobile patrol teams to work front and back to ensure any anomalies can be reported via loudspeakers, and our patrol team can arrive to reinforce immediately. My men can undertake this task."
Oh my gosh, worthy of being a long-term Prison Director! You’re capable! Da Fei gladly said: "Makes sense, leave it to you!"
Vali was overjoyed: "I will not let you down, Sir!"
Oh my gosh! I’m really not the envoy of the Second Prince, your enthusiasm is too much to handle! (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it with recommendation tickets and monthly tickets at qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)