Chapter 25- Resplendent Treasure Chest
The five of them stopped exploring the cave temporarily to rest and take care of their injuries. They found some firewood to make a bonfire and each of them ate 2 roasted eggs, restoring their health points. Their pain gradually decreased to an endurable extent.
Zhang Mu distributed the remaining biscuits, chocolates, and hams from his backpack so that everyone could eat their fill. The small group was already extremely exhausted after fighting with the skeleton mage, so Zhang Mu decided to let them rest for a few hours before advancing to the depths of the cave.
The cave was so remote that it was almost impossible for anyone to discover them. It was also unlikely for the skeletal monsters within the cave to find them, unless they suddenly grew wings. For now, they needed to restore their body and mind to their peak state so that they could fight effectively.
The cave grew colder and more uncomfortable as time pa.s.sed, but they were too exhausted to care.
Yeng Lun was lying on the ground as she used a hard piece of wood as a pillow. She began to fall asleep as she stared at the flickering bonfire. This was the first time that she had fallen asleep since entering the b.l.o.o.d.y jungle.
Deep asleep, she had several disjointed dreams. Leng Yun dreamt about her past, when all the papers and schoolwork exhausted her and her problems just kept increasing, Countless number of people pursued her like flies, and what disgusted her the most were the heirs from wealthy families. Annoyances that were simply like plastic. She had always been showered by flowery words even as a child because of her attractive appearance, but she grew to loathe those men.
Leng Yun dreamt about her long lost mother, about the father she hates, about her late grandmother…… it was as if she had returned to her ordinary life before the disaster.
She had lost herself in the comfort of her dream.
However, a dream was just a dream.
After she awoke from her dream, pain, coldness, and exhaustion, engulfed her.
Leng Yun’s long eyelashes trembled slightly and she opened her eyes, her vision blurred as the light from the bonfire entered her eyes. The bonfire emitted little warmth as there were only a few charcoals left from the bonfire. Her body was covered with mud and blood. She had always liked being clean so she was very uncomfortable.
Because she had slept on the b.u.mpy ground and used a hard piece of wood as a pillow, her entire body was aching.
“A dream, it was just a dream……” Leng Yun stared at the dying bonfire as she sighed softly, thinking, ‘if only it was real.’
At this time, she heard a hoa.r.s.e but attractive voice from beside her: “You woke up?”
Zhang Mu quietly sat against the wall; he was wearing leather armor and jeans so his clothes looked completely uncoordinated. His pants already torn and worn out, his leather armor full of holes, he looked worse than a beggar when combined with his burn scarred body and his disheveled hair. His face was hidden behind layers of mud and bloodstains. Only his limpid eyes could be seen.
Leng Yun felt a bit better as she gently nodded, she asked in surprise, “You didn’t sleep?”
Zhang Mu dismissively said, “With these circ.u.mstances, someone needs to stand guard.”
Leng Yun didn’t expect Zhang Mu to quietly guard them while they all slept so she couldn’t help feeling a bit touched, just when she was about to say something, Zhang Mu stood up and said, “I’ll wake up the others, we need to move.”
“Yes”
Leng Yun stood up and changed into her magic robe, the dark blue robe made her relax a little bit, but it couldn’t fully cover her well-developed figure.
Zhang Mu walked towards Fatty, who was snoring loudly as he slept flat on his back, and kicked his fat stomach, “d.a.m.ned Fatty, wake up!”
Fatty’s drool flowed all over the floor as he sat up in a daze, “What’s wrong, it’s still dawn?” His hair and eyebrows had been burnt off, so Fatty looked a bit funny now with his bald look.
Sun Bing and Chen Ling also woke up.
Sun Bing wore the soldier’s armor; the hard and thick metal, coupled with his tall and stalwart figure, gave others a sense of security. The soldier’s armor was a set of plate armor forged from large metal plates It lacked flexibility when compared to the scale mail or chain mail, but in return, its defense points were higher. Only a few melee cla.s.ses were capable of using heavy armor, and a knight was one of them.
After resting, Chen Ling also felt a lot better. Her clothes were tattered in many places, exposing her delicate skin. She emitted the charm of a beautiful young woman. Even though her beauty couldn’t be compared to Leng Yun, she was still very exceptional. But in their situation, no one even noticed her and even Chen Ling herself didn’t care.
Zhang Mu said: “Pack up and be prepared to fight.”
Fatty took out his blade enthusiastically and stabbed it into the ground: “I’m ready, I’m fully recovered!”
Satisfied, Zhang Mu nodded and they began to head towards the depths of the cave. It wasn’t long before they encountered skeleton soldiers and began fighting. After an hour, they had killed more than ten skeleton soldiers, allowing Zhang Mu’s experience points to rise to 65%. With this kind of speed, it wouldn’t be long before he could level up again.
During the way, a few white bone accessories had also dropped.
After Zhang Mu and Sun Bing, Fatty had also completed his set, while Leng Yun and Chen Ling had two accessories each.
Fatty suddenly exclaimed: “Why is it bright ahead?”
Zhang Mu looked ahead and saw that the corner really was bright: “It’s probably the exit.”
“We’re already at the exit?” Fatty dejectedly said. “We still haven’t killed enough.”
The elite monsters had given a lot of experience points, so hunting them had given their party a huge boost. If they could’ve continued to do so, they could have leveled up quicker, gotten more equipment, and made the team stronger. But now that it had ended so quickly, they felt a bit dejected.
Zhang Mu said: “This is just a small elite area, there will be more opportunities in the future.”
They turned around the corner, and as expected, the exit was in front of them.
However, there was several hundred square meters of empty s.p.a.ce in front of the exit. An unusually large skeleton also stood guard there, and behind it was a beautiful black iron treasure chest. It was a 【Resplendent Black Iron Treasure Chest】and It was many grades higher than the【Excellent Black Iron Treasure Chest】that Zhang Mu had opened in the river.
When the others saw the treasure chest, they all showed a happy expression. But when they saw the skeleton standing in front of it, they couldn’t help being stunned.
【Steel Skeleton】 (Silver Elite), Level 7, 700 health points, 400 mana, Attributes: ??? Skills: ???
Sun Bing said with shock: “It’s a silver elite!”
Zhang Mu nodded: “I know.”
Leng Yun anxiously said, “The Death Mantis that we encountered was just a level 6 silver elite, if we weren’t lucky we might have been wiped out. This is a level 7 silver elite, it’s probably stronger and more difficult to deal with than the Death Mantis. Can we really win?”
Fatty exclaimed, “I’m not afraid of fart, just as I always say, just do it!”
Chen Ling showed a trace of fear, the powerful Death Mantis had left a shadow on her heart, and now there was another monster that was probably even stronger than the Death Mantis. A few people looked at Zhang Mu, waiting for their leader to speak.
“Our strength and equipment has dramatically improved since our brush with that elite monster from that night, we’re already incomparable from yesterday.” Zhang Mu paused before continuing to speak, “Elite monsters are only the lowest ranked monsters after common monsters, if we keep running away from just a silver elite, how would we establish ourselves in the future? Kill it!”
Zhang Mu had this att.i.tude.
Fatty raised his great sword and laughed: “Boss has spoken, so what are we waiting for! It’s a silver elite so it will definitely drop good items.”
Zhang Mu examined the steel skeleton. Its entire body shone with metallic l.u.s.ter, as if the steel were wet with water, giving others the impression of invulnerability. Furthermore, the skeleton was wearing scale mail and sported a metal helmet on its head. It held a sword in its left hand and an axe in the other. There were two eye-like b.a.l.l.s of fire within the helmet, staring fixedly at the few people. Its entire body exuded an air of cruelty.
From Zhang Mu’s experience, this monster wouldn’t be easy to beat.
It had a high defense and its health points were also relatively high. It dual wielded weapons with a blood red axe like a berserker in one hand, and a sharp long sword like a knight in the other. Its attack damage was probably high and it probably wasn’t slow. This type of monster was extremely well balanced and had a very high battle strength.
“Boss, how do we fight it?”
“There’s only one enemy yet you’re still asking me how?” Zhang Mu shrugged. “Of course we will attack together, but just to be safe, Sun Bing will test it first. Leng Yun, stand at the back and don’t get too close, so you won’t be targeted.”
Leng Yun nodded and said: “Don’t worry, I know how to keep a distance.”
Zhang Mu said to the others: “Let’s go.”
Four people advanced towards the steel skeleton while Leng Yun stood behind them as she held her Fish Bone Staff. They stopped at about a hundred meters before moving on, fearing that they’ll alarm it. Sun Bing took a deep breath, and took out his shield and battle hammer from his backpack. His new armor gave him an additional ten defense points, combined with his shield and hardened skin, Sun Bing’s defense had become extremely high. Even if he was facing a silver elite, he was confident that he could still block a few attacks.
Sun Bing took a few step forward, but the steel skeleton was instantly alarmed as it suddenly turned around, a green light covering its sword.
Zhang Mu immediately shouted: “Be careful, it’s an attack skill!”
“Wind Cut!”
The steel skeleton wrapped itself in green, it suddenly disappeared from their view, and charged with a speed almost invisible to the naked eye Its sword struck Sun Bing’s shield and, with a ‘kacha’ sound, Sun Bing’s shield split from the middle and broke in half. The green covered sword then slashed at Sun Bing’s chest, leaving a deep mark on his plate armor.
Sun Bing was sent flying like a sandbag.
A blood red light appeared on the steel skeleton’s axe before it split the ground open with a heavy strike—— Earth Splitting Strike.
A wave of power tore the ground open and hit Sun Bing, the power pa.s.sing through his armor and inflicting serious injuries. Sun Bing rolled for more than a dozen meters before slamming against a wall and stopping, his health points less than 35%.
Fatty was dumbfounded: “This is too sick! This guy even has moves!”
The steel skeleton was far more powerful than they expected.
Zhang Mu shouted: “Go!”