The squad's night watches were conducted in rotations: one person for the first half, one for the second half, and one resting. Usually, Leo took the initiative to watch the first half, letting the two women rest early. Now that the Cold Plains were so incredibly freezing, it was better for him to take the second half.
Leo was woken by Gerdie and sat by the campfire. His sister, Majesty, was still meditating; he wanted to tell her to rest, but he didn't know if one could suffer "qi deviation" in the Diablo world.
Seeing that both women's faces were pale from the cold, he silently activated Resist Cold, and a warm aura enveloped them. Seeing his sister's face turn rosy was the greatest reason for him to take the second watch.
In the Burial Grounds, all the undead had crawled back into their graves, and the overturned earth on the surface had been tidied up neatly.
Blood Raven removed her helmet; her long hair had turned a terrifying blood-red, and her heroic face bore a hint of malice, possessing a temperament that was both mesmerizing and forbidding. She stood at the mountain peak, staring blankly at the firelight below, her eyes flashing with a frantic crimson light from time to time. She slowly grasped the longbow in her hand, her right hand pinching an arrow, tightening and loosening the string repeatedly.
As the sky gradually brightened, the blood-red light in Blood Raven's eyes slowly faded, and she breathed a sigh of relief. She stowed her longbow, smoothed her frozen hair, put on that fierce helmet, and turned to walk into the Mausoleum.
A new day began, and the three returned to the Burial Grounds once more. With their prior experience, they again sent out a Shadow Warrior to lure the monsters, only for the shadow to be blown apart by two arrows just as it stepped into the cemetery.
Blood Raven walked slowly out of the Mausoleum, her sexy, raspy voice ringing out: "My army will destroy you!"
After speaking, Blood Raven did not act personally. Instead, a large number of Skeletons emerged from the crypts, and many Hungry Dead crawled out from the graves, slaughtering their way toward the three.
The three fled even more skillfully than yesterday, and the undead behind them were led into a scattered chase. Only about three hundred Skeletons followed them down, and these Skeletons soon turned into experience for the trio.
Blood Raven showed her face in the morning and then vanished to who-knows-where. This feeling of "clearing the map" was indeed comfortable; although the risk was high, leveling was truly fast—luring two waves in the morning and two in the afternoon. The Skeletons in the cemetery were nearly cleared out, and the group reached Level 24.
Sitting before the campfire, Leo pondered the day's events. Why did it feel like Blood Raven was "gifting" them experience? Was she doing this on purpose?
Forget it, as long as he could increase his strength, it didn't matter. He opened his skill panel; at Level 24, new skills were available. He added points to Holy Shield, which he had coveted for a long time; a stream of knowledge on how to use aura to reinforce a shield poured into him.
> Holy Shield: Use holy power to enhance your shield. Smite damage +3-6. Duration: 30 seconds. Defense bonus +40%. Chance to block +14%. Mana cost: 35. Prerequisites: Charge, Blessed Hammer. Every level of Defiance adds 15% defense.
>
After learning it, Leo immediately tried it out. Accompanied by the sound of clashing metal, the shield in his hand emitted a silvery-white light, becoming ethereal and transparent while growing a size larger. The most eye-catching part was the pattern in the center of the shield—it wasn't the cross from the game, but a "Chi," a hornless dragon.
One of the nine sons of the Dragon, the Chi is a dragon without horns, with a large mouth and a belly capable of holding much water. Looking at this Chi, a wave of homesickness surged in his heart. He popped the wine cork and took several deep gulps; the numbing sensation, illusory and ethereal, was exactly like his past life.
He then learned the Meditation aura, another god-tier skill.
> Meditation: When active, increases mana recovery speed for you and your teammates. Radius: 10.6 yards. +300% Mana Recovery. Heals life every 2 seconds according to the Prayer healing value. Prerequisite: Cleansing.
>
With this skill, he no longer had to worry about running out of mana.
The night passed without incident, and the next day they headed to the Burial Grounds again to lure monsters for leveling.
Blood Raven still only talked and didn't act, letting the three perform. However, the movement speed of the Hungry Dead had slowed down considerably. The group worked hard all morning but only managed to lure down one wave of a disappointing size—only about a hundred.
Since everyone had learned new skills, their killing efficiency was much higher. Leo's Meditation aura ensured the party's mana, and Majesty's newly learned trap, Lightning Sentry (Note 1), fired bolts of brilliant white lightning. The powerful electricity damaged all targets in its path.
Majesty could place five traps at once, as if five mages specializing in lightning were casting together; a large number of Hungry Dead fell along the way. Leo only needed to kill the low-health monsters that managed to reach him.
Soon, these Hungry Dead were all converted into experience and gold. Perhaps because they were all green-tinted monsters, a pair of Green gloves actually dropped.
After killing such a vast number of monsters, only this one Set item had dropped. Leo hungrily tore open an Identify Scroll, and a dazzling green light lit up.
> Cleglaw's Pincers (Chain Gloves)
> * Defense: 9
> * Durability: 16
> * Required Strength: 25
> * Required Level: 4
> * Knockback
> * Slows Target by 25%
>
It was a pity he didn't have the full set for explosive early-game damage, but the slow and knockback effects weren't bad either. He tossed them directly into his space for analysis.
Seeing that Blood Raven wouldn't attack those outside the cemetery and that luring efficiency was too poor while their killing speed was too fast, they finally decided to resolve the Hungry Dead directly on the stairs.
Although they decided to risk "blocking the door" to grind, they weren't completely reckless. They found a spot invisible from the cemetery and sent the Shadow Warrior to lure the monsters.
Soon, a large number of Hungry Dead shuffled over, chasing the shadow. The stairs were much wider than the gate, so the group didn't dare to be careless.
Leo activated Meditation early to boost the team's mana recovery. The shield in his right hand turned into a light shield, and he stood ready with his axe.
Majesty kept a sufficient distance from Leo to ensure the Hungry Dead would swarm him first, while simultaneously placing Lightning Sentries at Leo's feet.
Gerdie had already applied the Shout and Battle Orders (Note 2) buffs and began firing her bow.
Seeing the distance was right, Majesty had the Shadow Warrior release Mind Blast (Note 3) among the monsters. Over a dozen Hungry Dead were stunned in place, and three even turned traitor and began attacking their allies, directly disrupting the Hungry Dead's formation.
Continuous lightning dragons surged into the monster pack. Before even making physical contact, the Hungry Dead began falling in swaths. A few lucky ones reached Leo but were hacked down before they could even attack.
They had a "Healer/Mana-battery," a Frontline, a Support, a DPS, Crowd Control, and a Lurer. Grinding efficiency was much faster this way; they nearly wiped out the Hungry Dead in one afternoon. The group leveled up twice more, reaching Level 26.
Seeing that the hour was late, Leo decided to wait for dawn tomorrow to complete the mission to kill Blood Raven.
Throughout the night, the war songs of the Rogues drifted through the air. What should have been high-spirited war songs only sounded like they contained deep-seated unwillingness and a faint sense of release.
That night, none of the three rested well. Having finally endured until dawn, both of them—aside from Majesty who did her daily meditation—had dark circles under their eyes.
(Note 1: Lightning Sentry (Level 1). Sets a trap that fires lightning to sear passing enemies. Fires 10 times. Lightning damage: 2-46. Mana cost: 20. Damage receives bonuses from Shock Web, Charged Bolt Sentry, and Death Sentry.)
(Note 2: Battle Orders (Level 1). Increases the Life, Mana, and Stamina of teammates. Duration: 35 seconds. All three stats +35%. Mana cost: 7. Receives duration bonuses from Shout and Battle Command.)
(Note 3: Mind Blast (Level 1). Uses mental power to stun a group of enemies and convert those with weak wills. Damage: 10-20. Stun duration: 2 seconds. Conversion rate: 18%. Duration: 6-10 seconds. Mana cost: 15.)