Having dealt with the accomplices, Leo raised his foot again and stomped down hard. It felt as if he had stepped on a layer of tough cowhide; it seemed Stoneskin was as overbearing as ever, doubling defense and reducing physical damage by 50%.
Unfortunately, Leo possessed his charm space, which added a massive amount of elemental damage to his attributes. As long as he attacked, every movement and gesture could inflict heavy elemental damage.
This type of small monster had very weak strength and simply could not break free. Leo went as far as switching his aura back to Meditation, casually stomping on it for fun. Just like that, the Unique Foul Crow died a憋屈 (humiliating/stifled) death, bursting into a floor full of loot.
After the Unique monster died, the Foul Crows became even more disorganized and were quickly cleared out. All that remained were the nests that still wanted to spit out monsters but were so thin they were just skin and bones—they simply lacked the strength to continue.
Leo had the girls clean up the battlefield below while he took Buckle and Max to climb up through the crevice on the back of the mountain. After struggling to reach the summit, the scene was exceptionally disgusting. A vast number of skeletons from beasts, demons, and humans were piled around the nests like white crackers, covered with a layer of dark red jam.
Leo really didn't want to go up there, so he sent Max's undead summons to hack down those five pillars. The exhausted nests didn't even twitch before being chopped into fragments.
Looking at the nests that dropped absolutely nothing, Leo tore open a special scroll. The familiar red portal opened, and a small squad of Rogues who had been staying behind walked out. Seeing that the leader was not Kyoko, Leo felt a small sense of loss in his heart.
The leader, Debbie, stepped out of the teleportation array, bowed to Leo, and greeted him respectfully: "Lord Leo, you've worked hard. I didn't expect you to move so fast. We several have come ahead to scout the terrain; the construction team will arrive shortly."
"It's nothing! Who is our Boss? The number one Hero of the Encampment, my Boss Max! He's not someone who has earned his reputation for nothing. Quick, bring out the prettiest girls to rub our Boss's legs." Max had already become very familiar with being a sycophant; words of flattery came out of his mouth effortlessly.
Life is always full of regrets. There were dogs and lapdogs; all that was missing was a beauty to flirt with.
Seeing that Max was about to say more, Leo coughed to interrupt him: "Well, Debbie, you guys get busy here. We need to continue exploring the Stony Field."
"Lord Leo, Lady Kyoko specifically instructed me to ask you to wait a moment; she will be bringing the construction mage team over very soon," Debbie said with a serious face but a mischievous heart.
"No need. Time is pressing; we have to get moving." Leo calmly declined Debbie's invitation and left as if he had wind beneath his feet.
The other two also quickly kept pace with Leo, leaving only Debbie, the "cool beauty," snickering behind them.
"Boss, that little beauty just said a big beauty would be coming to find you soon. Why are we leaving?" Max indicated that he had many question marks in his head.
Leo currently just wanted to turn all those question marks into periods. He forced a smile and said: "Max, you're still young and don't understand. There's an old saying—women are like wolves and tigers; when you meet them, you must avoid them at all costs."
Max felt he had even more question marks, but he didn't dare pester Leo further. He turned to pull at the big "warm man": "Buckle, why is it that I understand every word the Boss says, but when combined, I completely don't understand it?"
Buckle's expression was a bit conflicted; where should he even begin? "Haha, Captain Leo's words are very profound. Max, you're still young, so it's normal not to understand. Later, when it's time for you to understand, you naturally will."
The group reached the bottom of the mountain, and sure enough, the follow-up construction units arrived quickly. He could vaguely see them forming a magic circle, which then emitted a strong yellow light that enveloped the entire mountaintop. Under the influence of the light, the mountain became as soft as playdough. It was constantly kneaded and reshaped; then the entire mountain was hollowed out, and its height increased slightly out of nowhere. A hidden and sturdy fortress was cobbled together in just a few dozen minutes.
Seeing Leo looking back, a curvaceous figure on the mountaintop waved. What a joke, an old cow wanting to eat tender grass? Leo pretended not to see and turned away.
Rejoining the girls, it was once again that happiest of moments: tallying the spoils. Everyone looked down on the Blue and White gear and threw it directly into the backpack. However, the Unique monster had dropped a Unique scimitar. Leo's heart pounded; it had been a long time since he'd seen a Unique drop that he could actually use.
Piously tearing open a scroll, a faint blood-colored Unique light flared up.
> Blood Crescent
> Scimitar
> * One-Hand Damage: 3-10
> * Required Level: 7
> * Required Dexterity: 21
> * Durability: 22
> * Range: 1
> * Attack Speed: Very Fast
> * +80% Enhanced Damage
> * 33% Chance of Open Wounds
> * +15% Increased Attack Speed
> * +15% Life Stolen per Hit
> * All Resistances +15
> * +15 to Life
> * +4 to Light Radius
>
The scimitar was blood-red throughout; one look told you it was a precious blade that had drunk its fill of blood. The curve was very elegant, and the upper half of the blade's back had a small edge, making it easy to tear open an opponent's body and create open wounds. Paying 50,000 gold, he happily swapped to the new weapon and threw the green short mace into his space for analysis.
Although the damage was a bit lower, the attack speed was a massive step up; his output increased rather than decreased. Furthermore, the added attributes were very practical; the chance of causing wounds reached a terrifying 83%, not to mention the added resistances and life steal.
Taking advantage of the Ravens, they could scout a large area. Continuing to explore along the mountain range, the Ravens soon sent a signal—they had found a strange place.
The group followed the Ravens and found a set of ancient ruins. The stone bricks remaining on the ground and the broken walls standing atop them illustrated how glorious this place once was.
Leo led the way into the ruins and noticed that the architectural style of these broken walls was similar to that in the crypts of the Burial Grounds. It seemed that a powerful nation once existed in this mountain range; unfortunately, only these ruins remained for people to reminisce about.
The group walked for over ten kilometers and arrived at what was presumably the center of the ruins. A massive pile of rubble lay on the ground—it was the tallest pile they had encountered on their journey, standing a full 50 meters high.
He sent his summons up to investigate. In the middle of the rubble pile was a small hole; moving the covering stones revealed a doorway large enough for one person to enter. "When in doubt, Shadow Warrior"—Majesty configured her Shadow Warrior with Burst of Speed and Cloak of Shadows, ordering her to enter and scout.
Soon, the Shadow Warrior sent a "safe" signal. The group climbed up the rubble and crawled in one by one.
The interior was very clean, aside from the dust; there were no signs of animal life. It appeared to be a temple. The area they had reached seemed to be the main hall; the surrounding walls were covered with carvings of human sacrifices and worship toward deities.
Some people in ceremonial dress were transporting animals onto an altar, then cutting their throats to drain the blood, followed by singing and dancing around the pool of blood. In a later section of the mural, the style shifted abruptly; the object of sacrifice became a woman. A large number of young girls were sent to the altar, and then a woman bathed in the pool of blood.
In the final section of the mural, the images began to warp, filled with unknown eerie stains and grime. The woman was burned to death in the temple by the crowd, and the temple subsequently collapsed. People fled in all directions; finally, a portion of the surviving humans established a new city here, though it ultimately fell to demonic attacks.
Leo wanted to see what was painted further along, but he wondered if these people had been completely wiped out by the demons; at the end of the hall, there was only a blank stone wall.