Chapter Forty-Four: A Massive Breakout

Although the stats of the small mantis were slightly inferior to those of a true mantis leader, its enhanced slash remained the greatest bane of the Spider Lord!

Once Ember had nurtured the small mantis to its juvenile stage, it meant that this massive insectoid hive no longer posed any significant challenge. This was originally a backdoor left by the quest designers for players to clear the level; otherwise, the difficulty of the assessment would have been raised by more than a notch—let alone competing for the title of Guardian Knight, it would have been uncertain if even ten people would have remained.

Caught off guard by the heavy blow, the Spider Lord hurriedly stabilized its stance. Furious, it locked onto the small mantis with its four pairs of spider eyes and thrust out two spider spears instantly. Just as it was about to assassinate its target, Ember, having rushed over just in time, deflected the strike with his weapon. Although Ember’s strength level had not yet fully recovered, it was enough to alter the trajectory of the Spider Lord’s attack. The spears missed their mark, piercing through the floor and leaving two perfectly round, deep holes in the ground!

Hiss!

Seeing its greatest threat successfully escape, the Spider Lord’s fur stood on end. It first launched a mental intimidation attack at Ember with all eight eyes. Upon realizing it had no effect, it suddenly bared its two chelicerae to spray venom. However, Ember, who had already spent his final free attribute points to raise his life level to seven, was likewise unaffected by the toxin.

With its three main hunting methods thwarted in succession, the Spider Lord was enraged, locking its hatred entirely onto Ember.

But taking advantage of this opportunity, the three teammates moved into position. Not-a-Pro dashed forward, and with Ember’s cover, joined the small mantis in flanking left and right to launch another surprise attack. Although Not-a-Pro’s enhanced slash did not land, the small mantis struck true, crippling two of the Spider Lord’s right legs. This rendered the creature almost immobile, trapping it in the area where the webs had been burned away, preventing it from escaping into the sections of the floor that had not been ravaged by the rain of fire.

Weakness!

A skeleton cross stood before Lu Renjia. After a short channeling time, he successfully cast the Weakness sorcery, reducing the Spider Lord’s attack and defense by ten percent. This made it easier for Cup-of-Wine-Grows-Thick to leverage his offensive advantage. Parasitic bolts whistled through the air, each one aimed at a pitch-black spider eye. After three shots, he detonated the parasitic seeds, not only dealing massive damage but also successfully destroying one of the eyeballs, causing the Spider Lord to suffer injury upon injury, to the point that even its spider spear attacks lost their edge.

Over the next minute, Ember drew fire in the front, resisting the spear thrusts and enduring the toxic damage, repeatedly creating opportunities for Not-a-Pro and the small mantis to launch sneak attacks from the flanks. Lu Renjia, aside from periodically casting Weakness and Blindness sorceries, occasionally launched attacks to boost the total damage. Coupled with Cup-of-Wine-Grows-Thick, a true damage-output machine, the Spider Lord could not withstand the lopsided onslaught despite its high defense and thick health pool. Less than a minute later, the four-man squad successfully slew the Spider Lord!

[Broadcast: Foundation reserve staff "D037", "D1106", and University reserve cadets "U102", "U998" have successfully destroyed the first large-scale insectoid hive!]

[Tip: You participated in killing the Lord-level boss "Enhanced Juvenile Shadow-Eater Insect," gaining massive contribution points and three kill points.]

[Tip: Your contribution points have reached the current cap. Before breaking through your rank, excess points will enter a temporary contribution pool and will be returned in full after you advance.]

[Tip: You have completed the fourth part of the main quest "Reconstruction," gaining eight kill points and the future ownership of a luxury duplex apartment. Please search the Water Company as soon as possible to trigger the next part of the main quest.]

"It’s actually a first clear!"

"Beautiful!"

"Another first clear?"

Hearing his teammates' exuberant shouts, Ember found it slightly strange. They had wasted so much time, yet they still managed to get the first clear? However, upon closer reflection, he felt there was nothing strange about it. Although their numbers were few, each one was powerful. If nothing else, Ember and Cup-of-Wine-Grows-Thick were the only two players to have cleared nightmare-tier life-restricted zones, and both were holders of six seals. Not-a-Pro and Lu Renjia had also achieved five seals, proving their strength was not to be underestimated.

At the same time, the Spider Lord’s skill suppression, terrain advantages, and combat capabilities were all countered by the players. With several favorable conditions stacked together, it was like having heaven's grace, favorable terrain, and human harmony; getting the first clear was only natural.

Of course, while other squads suffered in dire straits, some still managed to break through. Death Song led his four teammates to successfully clear a large hive just fifteen seconds later, leaving only the final objective remaining.

But good news did not continue to arrive. Several seconds later, death notifications appeared repeatedly. The group recalled that these players were all from Fish-Scale-Arm and Thunder Duke’s squads. Clearly, their clearing process had not gone smoothly.

At this moment, the livestream perspective shifted to these two squads. Due to inadequate preparation and poor personnel, the high-tension combat was prone to collapse due to various accidents. Unfortunately, the source of this accident was precisely the first-clear broadcast of Ember’s group. Some players became distracted by the announcement, and the Lord boss seized the opportunity to unleash a powerful offensive. Even though Fish-Scale-Arm and Thunder Duke tried their best to stabilize the situation, they could not prevent the battle from collapsing entirely.

Ultimately, at the cost of several fallen teammates, both captains were forced to issue a retreat order. The defeated players all knew that unless they spent kill points to exchange for items, this retreat meant giving up on clearing a large-scale insectoid hive.

The problem was, very few of them had reached ten points, let alone having extra points to purchase items. Furthermore, the point rewards from clearing a hive were split among many teammates, leaving each person with a pittance—a reward that was not proportional to the effort expended.

The closer it got to the end, the more calculating the players became.

Initially, with no one having cleared a large hive, they could maintain a firm belief in fighting to the end. But the appearance of two consecutive broadcasts immediately sowed discord in many people's hearts.

"Since earning ten points is already hopeless, why not look at the bigger picture?"

At this moment, there were only about twenty players left, meaning those who had persisted until now had a high chance of becoming Guardian Knights.

Fish-Scale-Arm, who had recruited a group of stragglers, sensed that this failure had planted ulterior motives in most of his teammates, though no one had yet voiced their true thoughts. Conversely, Thunder Duke, whose squad consisted entirely of guild members, was goaded by Clear Sky to grit his teeth and change tactics. They abandoned the hive entirely and led his people straight toward the true core area of the isolated island—a hill at the very center—intending to seize the advantageous position first.

Ember and his team did not know that their performance and that of Death Song’s squad had altered the mentality of many players.

But they had no intention of worrying about others' choices, because the death of the Spider Lord had brought them an unprecedented jackpot!

Clatter, clatter, clatter...

A large pile of loot lay on the ground, leaving Ember and his teammates staring at each other in disbelief. They couldn't believe this stingy, broken game had suddenly become so generous! But that didn't stop them from scrambling to pick up the boss's drops. After tallying them up, there were six different materials and inlays, all of them high-quality goods that could enhance abnormal gear. There were also three spider fangs that could be exchanged for 4,000 credit points, one spider eye that could trigger "Mental Intimidation," and a throwing weapon called [Eight Spider Spears].

"A jackpot! A total jackpot! I've been playing for so many days, and this is the first time I've seen a haul like this!"

"Wow, look at this, guys! This weapon isn't a basic weapon!"

"What?"

...

[Eight Spider Spears] (Light/Tier 2)

Weapon Quality: Excellent (Remaining enhancements: 4)

Attack Range: Very Far

Damage Level: Strong (37)

Equipment Effect 1: Piercing (Active effect: Consumes 20% stamina to deal double damage to the target. Cooldown: 4 seconds.)

Equipment Effect 2: Poisonous (Passive effect: Deals "General" level "Poison" damage to targets hit, reducing their maximum health by 3% per second for 3 seconds. Can only be immunized if the life level is above 8.)

Enhancement Effect: None

Inlay: None

Quantity: 8/8 (One restores every 10 seconds)

Requirements: Strength Level 9, Agility Level 4

Description: This set of throwing weapons gathers the life essence of the Enhanced Juvenile Shadow-Eater Insect. It not only possesses extremely powerful piercing capabilities but also carries terrifying toxic damage. Only those who have transcended basic life can wield it with ease.

...

"It really is a Tier 2 weapon!"

Looking at the dark-green, formidable-looking throwing spears, the four teammates were deeply surprised. They hadn't expected that at the tail end of the closed beta, they would obtain a weapon that could only be used in the next stage. The strength and agility requirements combined exceeded the basic cap, meaning a character needed to be at least level 11 to use it; otherwise, they would have to be like Ember, using potions, scrolls, or other external aids to temporarily meet the requirements.

"How do we split it?" Cup-of-Wine-Grows-Thick asked excitedly.

"Ember should choose first. You contributed the most, so you should take it first!"

"Right!"

Not-a-Pro’s suggestion was affirmed by Lu Renjia.

"Hehe, then I won't be modest!"

As the main tank of the squad, Ember already had priority, not to mention he had used his sorcery scrolls. It was only right that he choose first. Having long planned to equip a long-range weapon, Ember didn't hesitate and took the throwing spears. The Piercing and Poisonous effects were exactly what he wanted; they perfectly replaced his Wolf-Claw Gauntlets, diversified his combat style, and saved him from having to hunt for firearms.

Afterward, the four split the remaining loot, and Ember took one of the spider fangs for an inlay. Since the weapon and the item shared the same origin, they fused perfectly. Ember estimated that completing the inlay would further enhance the poison effect of the Eight Spider Spears. The spider eye that could trigger "Mental Intimidation" was kept as a group asset, temporarily stored with Ember to handle combat situations at any time.

Satisfied with the loot, Ember and his team began searching the Water Company. Soon, Lu Renjia, with his advantage in perception, made a discovery. In a well-preserved office, they found a landscape painting depicting a blood-red castle. Through it, the three of them triggered the final part of the main quest...