By the ti the team left the ancient tomb and stepped back into the Stone Forest, the sky was already nearing dusk.
Dark red light leaked through the gaps between the stone pillars, casting long, distorted shadows on the ground; the faint cries of unknown creatures drifted from the distance.
"Pick up the pace," Zhao Hu said in a low voice as he led the way. "We must cross the outskirts of the Stone Forest before dark and set up camp for the night at the edge of the wasteland."
Everyone nodded silently, quickening their steps.
Lin Feng walked in the middle of the group, his Wildfire Spear carefully wrapped in pre-prepared grayish-brown beast skin and strapped to his back, making it look like an ordinary, crudely made long spear.
As he walked, he repeatedly simulated the upcoming plan in his mind.
After walking for about an hour, Jian Yan suddenly returned from scouting ahead and whispered, "Two Thorn-Spine Pigs are drinking three hundred ters ahead. Should we bypass them or clear them out?"
"Bypass them," Zhao Hu said without hesitation. "Conserve your strength and avoid unnecessary combat."
The team quietly changed direction, passing through a narrow crevice in the rocks. The grunting of the Thorn-Spine Pigs gradually faded into the distance.
Taking advantage of this relatively safe stretch of travel, Zhao Hu slowed down to walk side-by-side with Lin Feng.
"Lin Feng," he whispered, his voice low enough that only the two of them could hear, "there's sothing I need to make clear to you beforehand."
Lin Feng turned his head. "Please speak, Brother Zhao."
"About the strength of the Boss's group." A hint of solemnity flashed in Zhao Hu's eyes. "I've been dealing with them for nearly a year, and I have a good handle on their details.
The Boss himself is Level 10. His attribute points are likely distributed as Strength 5, Agility 3, and Constitution 1."
He paused and continued, "More importantly, his equipnt.
He has three pieces of Green-quality equipnt:
A 'bone-crushing greatsword' with at least 25 Attack Power and a 'Armor Piercing' effect—a 10% chance to ignore 10 points of the target's Defense when attacking;
A 'Hard Leather Breastplate' with an estimated Defense of around 15;
And a pair of 'Swift Boots' that add a point of Agility."
Lin Feng quickly calculated in his head.
The Boss's base attributes: as a Level 10 Awakened, his three main attributes should be Strength 10, Constitution 6, and Agility 9.
Adding the equipnt bonuses:
Attack Power = Base 50 bone-crushing greatsword 25 = 75, plus the potential Armor Piercing effect...
Defense = Base 6 Hard Leather Breastplate 15 = 21.
As for himself:
Strength 10.5, Base Attack Power 52.5, plus the Wildfire Spear's 25, total Attack Power 77.5—slightly higher than the Boss.
Constitution 7.5, Base Defense 7.5, plus the hard leather armor's 8, total Defense 15.5—5.5 points lower than the Boss, but his health bar was larger!
Agility 10.5 gave him the advantage in movent and evasion.
"Tricky indeed," Lin Feng said solemnly.
"That's not all," Zhao Hu added. "Hei Zhua is Level 8, likely an assassin type focusing on Agility. Paired with those Green-quality claw blades, he's extrely fast and targets vitals.
Xi She is Level 8 with balanced attributes, but she uses poison, which is very troubleso.
The other four are Level 7: three shield warriors and one Archer."
Lin Feng noted this information and asked, "Do you know their specific attributes?"
"They won't be fully public," Zhao Hu shook his head. "In the Nightmare World, exposing your attributes is equivalent to exposing your trump cards. But after fighting together for a long ti, you can guess the general range. The Boss's green gear is public knowledge; everyone has seen its power."
Lin Feng nodded, making his own deductions.
Purely from the stats, his Attack Power was slightly higher and his Defense was lower, but he had more health and was faster.
Combined with a General's combat instincts and the fire splash effect of the Wildfire Spear, he wasn't without a chance in a one-on-one fight.
But the problem was—the opponent wasn't one person, but a gang.
While his own team was united, the enemy's overall strength was higher than theirs, creating imnse pressure.
"So we must stick to the plan," Lin Feng whispered. "Let the Skeleton Centurion wear them down first. We'll strike when they and the Centurion have fought to the point where both sides are crippled."
"The key is how to make them believe us without raising suspicion," Zhao Hu frowned. "The Boss is a very suspicious man."
"That's why our report must be 'real'," Lin Feng had already prepared his rhetoric. "We'll say we found an entrance to an ancient tomb containing twenty to thirty Skeleton Soldiers, with a Skeleton Centurion in the deepest part.
We tried to attack, but the Centurion was too strong and even summoned small skeletons. we almost got trapped and barely managed to escape."
Zhao Hu thought for a mont and nodded. "Feasible. The Boss is greedy; if he sees an elite monster, he'll definitely want to snatch it.
Besides, he cares about his reputation. If we say we tried and failed, he'll want to prove his strength by doing it himself."
As they spoke, the team had already passed through the densest part of the Stone Forest, and the view ahead suddenly opened up.
The wasteland reappeared before them, though it was now shrouded in twilight.
The silhouettes of distant mountains looked like crouching behemoths under the dim sky, desolate and oppressive.
"We'll camp here." Zhao Hu chose a spot behind a low, leeward slope. "We'll take turns keeping watch. Jian Yan and I will take the first shift, Lin Feng and Shadow Snake the second, and Tie Dun and Old Wu the third."
Everyone acted quickly. Tie Dun cleared the campsite, Shadow Snake set up early-warning traps, and Uncle Wu lit a small campfire to start preparing food.
Lin Feng took off his pack and carefully placed the tightly wrapped Wildfire Spear within ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) easy reach.
He sat cross-legged and closed his eyes to regulate his breathing, feeling the power filling his body from the level up.
Level 5.
It had only been a few days since his awakening. From nearly dying in the mouth of a Rotten Wolf to now plotting to take down an entire Bandit Camp in one fell swoop... this change felt sowhat surreal even to him.
"Lin Feng." Tie Dun leaned over, holding a toasted coarse grain cake. "Eat sothing."
"Thanks, Brother Tie Dun."
Tie Dun sat down beside him, looking like he wanted to say sothing but hesitated.
"If you have sothing to say, say it." Lin Feng took a bite of the cake; the taste was coarse, but it filled the stomach.
"I... I'm just a bit nervous." Tie Dun lowered his voice. "Can we really handle the Boss's group? What if sothing goes wrong with the plan?"
"That's why we have to think through every detail," Lin Feng said calmly. "Brother Tie Dun, do you trust ?"
Tie Dun didn't hesitate. "I do! If it weren't for you, I'd be dead already!"
"Then that's enough." Lin Feng patted his shoulder.
At that mont, Shadow Snake also walked over and handed him a bowl of hot soup. A few pieces of dried at and wild vegetables floated in the steaming liquid.
"Thanks, Sister Shadow Snake."
Shadow Snake didn't speak; she just sat opposite him, wiping her two short blades.
The firelight reflected on her face, giving a touch of warmth to those eyes that were always cold.
"Sister Shadow Snake," Lin Feng suddenly asked, "how did you end up at Black Wind Camp?"
The hand wiping the short blades paused.
After a long silence, Shadow Snake finally spoke, her voice very soft. "My village was three hundred miles to the north.
Half a year ago, it was ransacked by a group of bandits. I hid in a well, listening to the screams outside, hiding for a day and a night."
She looked up, her eyes devoid of tears, containing only a bottomless chill:
"By the ti I crawled out, of the one hundred and twenty-seven people in the village, only thirty or so were left alive. The elderly and the children... all gone." (Note: The Nightmare World still has Refugee similar to NPCs; their intelligence is no different from normal people, and they can be understood as natives.)
Lin Feng fell silent.
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