——'You have killed the Ogre August, you gained 2,000 EXP (Over-level Kill being adjusted).'
Ding!
The broken fragments of the cloak floated down to the ground like cotton buds.
'The fragments of the Shemendes Iron Cloak!' Lin Jie picked them up in anticipation and compared them against the fragments he had in his backpack. 'Aha! Finally a different piece!'
Up till now, Lin Jie had farmed August for consecutively 23 days and gathered four effective fragments. The rest were all repeating pieces.
While piecing together the Dark Gold cloak fragments, Lin Jie leaned against the Zhenwu Ores and opened the map, looking for his next hunting target. With powerful items like the EXP Gem with him, it would be a waste if he did not use it properly!
There were now three great targets for him to focus on!
1. Conquer a dungeon by himself. Lin Jie knew a lot of dungeons with high EXP points to be earned by conquering them alone. The drop-rate of the monsters was not high, but the EXP points to be earned were high. However, one would need to have many health potions, magic potions, and equipment to conquer a dungeon on their own.
2. Farm monsters. Lin Jie had the AreOf-Effect skills while he activated Flame Boost. Coupled with the combo attack strategies and the rare Blood Potions, his success rate of farming monsters would not lose out to any Mages. Moreover, there was a higher chance of rare items being spawned by monsters in the wild.
3. Kill a Boss. There was a multitude of bosses around in The New Age, and many bosses were suitable for this purpose.
'I have to level up and increase the attributes of my equipment as quickly as possible. If not, the War of Light will be launched soon.'
Lin Jie finally made a decision. He took out the returning scroll and teleported to the Town of Kedella.
This peculiar cursed town not only supplied Ogres with large amounts of food but also provided food and resting grounds free-of-charge to the hunting monsters.
There was a great valley off the northwest side of Kedella, but it was surrounded by black auras. If one looked down into the valley at night, they would be able to see numerous pairs of green eyes, as if they were the flickering ghostly lights given off by Jack-o'-lanterns at Halloween.
This was the spawning grounds of the Shadow Wolves!
Shadow Wolves were Level 14 Beasts. They did not have high health points, but their Movement Speed and Critical Strike chances were stronger than that of a Bandit. In fact, these beasts were the favorite attacking Contract Pets of Hunters and Contract Summoners at the beginning stages of the game.
Furthermore, the Shadow Wolf also spawned rare Skill Books which were costly.
However, getting down the valley was a challenge. The breeding grounds of the Shadow Wolves were alike to the terrain of a slot canyon—not only was it difficult to climb, but there were also no landing spots along the way.
After pondering for a few moments, Lin Jie fished out a piece of bloody fresh meat. This was a leftover item from exchanging for the Hermit Helmets. With the expansion of Brotherhood, Lin Jie had to exchange for large numbers of Hermit Helmets to supply Brotherhood members' needs.
Shoosh-
The fresh meat was thrown into the valley.
"Awo——"
"Awo——"
The ghost lights… No, the Shadow Wolves' eyes gleamed and rushed towards the direction where the fresh meat was dropped. From Lin Jie's perspective, it was as if the night was filled with numerous fireflies—one could just imagine how many monsters were present!
There must definitely be more than 300 Shadow Wolves present. Even if the legendary MT Inksnow was here, she would be torn to pieces the next second.
'Now!'
Lin Jie aimed for a spot, did a little run-up and jumped off the cliff!
As he did not activate the Feather Drop Gem, his dropping speed got faster and faster. The surrounding air pressed against his body, giving off loud noises…
Bang!
-1,700!
A sharp pain rose up from his backside. Lin Jie picked himself up immediately after flexing his body and realized his health bar had decreased by half.
An unlucky Shadow Wolf was being knocked into unconsciousness on the ground beneath him, and saliva was dripping out of its mouth.
Shadow Wolf: Level 14, Health Points: 1/900.
Monsters would not be killed instantly by abnormal attacks like these. If so, leveling up would be an easy task as one had just to roll down heavy rocks from the cliff to kill off those monsters.
Although this wolf was being hit by Lin Jie and suffered 1,700 damage points, the system had maintained at least one health point for it.
"Awo——"
The Shadow Wolves twitched their noses and started to advance towards this piece of food that fell down from heavens. The sound of dripping saliva made chills ran down one's spine, and their strangely ghost light-like eyes seemed to suck the souls out of all onlookers…
Not far away, a pair of bell-size eyes stared unblinkingly at its prey - it was the Wolf King Cree!
Lin Jie looked around for his original aimed spot. A crooked tree jutted out from the steep cliff walls as if stubbornly showing off its persistence to grow under such harsh conditions.
"It's this!"
With a flip of his wrists, the Broken Blade appeared in his hands! Lin Jie activated the Magus Berserker's Power, and his strength surged!
At the same time, several Shadow Wolves pounced on him. Their fangs gnashed against his armor, and brought up waves of 40 plus damage points! Players would rarely come to this place, and thus when the fully armed Lin Jie, whose Defense points were even stronger than that of a Shield Specialist, suffered such huge damage, one could just imagine the scariness of the Shadow Wolves!
While Lin Jie's health bar began to decrease, his strength increased under the effect of Blood Power.
-80! (Critical Hit)
When the sharp fangs of the Shadow Wolves slashed across his armor again, Lin Jie's health bar was almost emptied. Undefeated Anger and Death Rage were both activated! Lin Jie thrust Broken Blade's hilt in front of him, where a black Shadow Wolf opened its bloody mouth and was preparing to bite down on his head excitedly.
Bang!
Broken Blade's hilt hit this Shadow Wolf's head, and under the great force, it was strewn out towards the direction of the crooked tree!
Feather Drop! Hunter's Forward Charge!
Lin Jie jumped up into the air. His body transformed into a black whirlwind as he rushed towards the Shadow Wolf in the air.
Stun Damage! Critical Hit!
Broken Blade sliced across the Shadow Wolf's body, and the counterforce of this strike lifted Lin Jie even higher up in the air. His fingers reached out and grabbed onto the crooked tree in the nick of time.
'Success!'
Lin Jie looked around his position, and with his left hand holding on to the crooked tree trunk, he took out his fire gun with his right hand. The next moment, he fired a shot at the most obvious pair of eyes.
Bang!
Wisps of smoke arose from the fire gun's muzzle as the bullet shot into the eyes of Wolf King Cree, bringing about 17 points damage.
Wolf King Cree: Level 14 Boss, Health Points: 6,000.
The Wolf King had the attributes of a typical Shadow Wolf, though it did not have a lot of health points, it had strong attacking powers. Even a Level 20 Berserker with a full Golden Armor Set would not be able to take it down successfully on their own.
However now, Cree could only howl loudly within the midst of all the wolves as its path was blocked by them.
The box out spot of the Shadow Wolves' spawning grounds was well-known among players In Lin Jie's previous life. That was because as long as one could reach this spot safely, they would be able to kill Wolf King Cree without any injuries! If he was lucky, he could even kill the Wolf Queen.
However, it was an extremely difficult task to ensure that one could land exactly on the box out spot! The first problem would be how to land safely in the valley. The method Lin Jie used previously was only suitable for Warriors, Paladins, and Druids who specialized in the Giant Bear skills, as these three jobs had thicker skins and more flesh. Should the players of other jobs attempt this stunt, they would definitely fall to their deaths.
Other than that, there was also the problem of hanging onto the crooked tree. Within the above mentioned three jobs, only Paladins who had the Divine Protection skill could succeed in this stunt, as this skill effect could last for a whopping eight seconds.
Lastly, it was the problem of damage output. Druids and Paladins could not equip themselves with Long-ranged weapons, but Warriors had the Long-ranged Weapon Column.
Lin Jie hung from the tree and tried to fire every shot into the Wolf King Cree's eyes. No matter what circumstances, he must always be strict with himself! The habit of attacking critical weakness points was etched on his heart.
Though Wolf King Cree's health bar decreased very slowly, Lin Jie was confident that he could kill it as he had the patience to do it.
At that moment, there was a sudden turn of circumstances—the pack of wolves gathered beneath him howled loudly and began to retreat quickly towards the other end of the valley! Only Wolf King Cree was left. It stood beneath the tree, jumped up and tried to bite Lin Jie's dangling legs.
Bang!
A loud clanging sound came from Cree's mouth!
Lin Jie had fired a shot down Cree's throat. He quickly changed his weapons, and with several blade auras, Broken Blade cleaved down onto Wolf King Cree's widely opened mouth!
-184!
Wolf King Cree's health bar decreased visibly, and it fell down back to the ground.
As the sharp wolf's claws bumped against the heavy Wolf's Teeth Shield, the purplish-red armor covered his skin and gave off bright sparks. Mixed Breathless parried the Wolf Queen's attack, stopped in his tracks and the word 'Defend' rose up, floating above his head.
"Leader, I have run out of Mana!" The Priest in the team shouted out in shock.
"Go restore your Mana," replied Mixed Breathless. He was a man of about 30 or so. With his mature appearance and robust body, which was clad in a heavy armor suit, he gave his teammates a great sense of security.
Mixed Breathless stood in front of his teammates. Downing a few bottles of Health Potions, he tried his best to fend off the Wolf Queen's attacks.
Alone, Mixed Breathless had stumbled upon the valley where the Shadow Wolves dwelt. With his superb skills, he had killed off some lone Shadow Wolves and received the Silver Wolf's Teeth Shield, which had better attributes than the shields gotten from dungeons. However, this time round when he led his team to this place to get more equipment to sustain his guild's development, he met the Boss—Wolf Queen Gulu.
With Mixed Breathless withstanding the damage, his team immediately started on the process of attacking the Wolf Queen. The Wolf Queen's health points were not high, and against Mixed Breathless's brilliant skills, its attacks appeared feeble.
"We are quite lucky, the Shadow Wolves were all respawned at the other end," said the team's leader, Dejected Night, staring far away into the valley. Suddenly, his pupils constricted and he commented, "There's someone up on that tree there?"
Mixed Breathless observed carefully and couldn't help but smile. "Yes, and that person's an expert. He actually managed to think of such an idea to kill the monsters. While we are battling the Wolf Queen here, my guess is he's battling the Wolf King over there."
Dejected Night's eyelids drooped, and he sighed. "Breathless, why stay in my small guild? I have mentioned to you many times before, you should join those big guilds. Only then will you be able to progress further…"
Mixed Breathless let out a shout. He smashed his heavy shield down on one side of the Wolf Queen's face, while the silver curved blade he held in his right hand slashed down on the monster, making it back off. He turned back and chuckled. "Elder Brother, please don't say that. Don't you know me? Since we belong to the same guild, we shall make the guild become famous together, or die with the guild together!"
Dejected Night's eyes were full of gratitude. He commented loudly, "Good Brother!"
"Awo——"
The Wolf Queen let out a great howl as it suffered several attacks by Mixed Breathless.
Dong! Dong! Dong!
The ground vibrated—the Shadow Wolves pack were coming!