The twelfth level of the World Tree Secret Realm, the Dark Swamp.

"No, this isn't right. I only made a tiny change, about the size of my little finger, how could it turn out like this..."

Phyllis gripped her staff in panic, slowing her chanting of healing spells by more than half.

"What did you say?"

Kaine wearily drew her bow, and the green aura arrow in her hand pierced the head of a half-snake man. She glanced suspiciously at Phyllis, who seemed somewhat abnormal.

"Ha, it's nothing, we'll win!"

Phyllis said guiltily.

The truth is, in order to prevent people from realizing that this guide was written by Linda, Phyllis made a small 'improvement' to it.

He comes from a prestigious university, and this guide was criticized by Linda as 'rough'. With a few improvements and the addition of his personal style, it should be fine as his own guide, right?

Now, Phyllis is filled with remorse.

Phyllis's "improvement" led to a very different outcome in the battle.

The number of half-snake minions was twice as many as the strategy guide had predicted, and the snake-man leader, who should have died in the last attack, still had some life force left.

Perhaps Leah could kill the snake-man leader with a single Flame Slash, but the difficulty in defeating this monster lies precisely in how to get close to it.

The half-snake soldiers formed an impenetrable wall of flesh, risking their lives to block the adventurers.

The three-meter-tall blue snake-man leader repeatedly waved his trident staff, summoning new half-snake men...

The number of monsters in the swamp increased, and they surrounded Xueyan and her companions.

Each of them was tense, and a hint of unease appeared on their faces.

Ai Ke was utterly puzzled: How could Linda's strategy be wrong?

Others might not notice, but the incredibly intelligent Ai Ke immediately recognized who the real author of Phyllis's strategy guide was when she consulted it.

Every strategy guide creator has a different style.

Some are more offensive, while others are more defensive.

What Linda's travel guide is most impressive is its precision!

If the strategy is followed perfectly, Linda's strategy can even predict which skill the monster will use at 11 minutes and 37 seconds.

Therefore, Aiko came with peace of mind.

But this is the result?

She glanced at Phyllis's pale face out of the corner of her eye, and a strange thought crossed her mind: Could it be that this graduate of a prestigious university 'optimized' Linda's strategy...?

It's like a beautifully crafted tower of blocks, where each block is meticulously constructed. If you move even one block, the whole thing will collapse.

'If Linda were here, even in this situation, there would be many ways to handle it, wouldn't there?'

Aiko sighed wearily.

Phyllis was completely out of sorts and unable to give orders. The other team members were either not good at thinking or were just clueless.

The heavy burden fell on Xueyan's shoulders.

“Listen carefully, I will use a torrential rain of light to cleanse those half-snake minions and open a path to the leader. Leah... are you alright? This is your only chance.”

"Ike said seriously."

The girl with short red hair gripped a heavy sword and stared solemnly ahead at the three-meter-tall blue snake-man leader, whose neck and wrists were adorned with gold and silver, making him look like a king.

She nodded slightly and said firmly, "I can do it."

"That's good."

Eko swung her staff forward, causing her white magic robes to flutter.

As the incantation was chanted, the magic of light rapidly gathered above the swamp, forming a huge circular magic circle with a radius of twenty meters.

A terrifying force changed the color of the sky, as if night had turned into day in the blink of an eye.

The half-snake people stared blankly at the sky, their bodies trembling instinctively under the unknown, terrifying threat.

What was contained within that enormous circular magic circle seemed to be a law called death.

"Transform into a sword of punishment and cleanse everything!"

Level 20 Ultimate Skill: Light Rain!

With her flowing blonde hair and beautiful voice, Aiko, bathed in light, was as pure and holy as a goddess.

As the last syllable of the chant faded, the magic circle unleashed a barrage of destructive light arrows, so numerous they were like a torrential rain, cleansing every 'filth' in the swamp!

Amidst the desperate screams of the half-snake people, the road had been opened.

The countless corpses of the demons turned into black mist and dissipated. Within a circular area with a radius of twenty meters, not a single half-snake man survived.

Seeing this, the audience outside the screen couldn't help but gasp. This high-damage spell with its huge range alone was enough to make Ai Ke one of the top adventurers in White Dove City.

A mage of the same level as Eiko, but whose ultimate skill is not as powerful or has a smaller range, and whose casting speed is even slower.

Under the torrential rain of light from Eiko, the path to the snake-man leader opened.

With a whoosh, a streak of red flame shot out.

From the ladybug's high-altitude field of vision, it saw a flash of red light.

Sensing the impending danger, the snake-man leader frantically brandished his trident scepter, summoning numerous half-snake-man soldiers in the path the girl was taking.

One after another, three-pronged spears, gleaming with a chilling light, pierced towards the girl.

But her speed did not slow down at all; like a swimming fish, she narrowly avoided every attack.

The closer you get to the snake-man leader, the more half-snake men will protect this monster.

Leah coldly watched the three-pronged fork hurtling towards her, letting these cold weapons slice across her arms and thighs as long as her life wasn't in danger.

Even though she was covered in blood and the pain felt like a sharp knife ripping at her nerves, she gritted her teeth and endured it—she could no longer be underestimated.

Leah needs to grow up and break free from her dependence on Linda.

Everyone thought she was fighting to clear the level, but only she knew that she wanted someone to see that even without him, she, as the captain, could still lead Xueyan forward with her head held high.

Leaving such a powerful team led by her was definitely a mistake!

Even though she asked Linda the night before last, Linda said he didn't have time to watch Xueyan's strategy video.

But just like her, even though she said she wouldn't watch, on the day the walkthrough started, she was still incredibly interested, and her legs wouldn't obey her, so she rushed over.

"Damn Linda, just you wait and see, this young lady's battle begins!"

Lia rushed to the snake-man leader, staring at the tall, blue monster. Her fire-elemental fighting spirit surged from her longsword as she shouted at the top of her lungs:

"Explode! Flame! Slash!"

"Ughhhhh!"

The snake-man leader fearfully drew a curved sword from his waist and slashed at Leah's head. This cunning monster actually wanted to force Leah to retreat by trading her life for his own!

"careful--"

Aiko screamed in horror, and Krona and Kaine also looked terrified.

Everyone, including those watching from outside the screen, was thinking: abandon this attack and look for another opportunity.

Alternatively, you can simply use a town portal scroll to exit the instance.

The Dark Swamp is the most difficult secret realm to conquer among the twelve levels.

It's normal to fail on the first try.

However, Xueyan's captain is Liya.

A swordsman eager to prove himself.

Running away was not among her options.