Bai Lu felt that her brother was a little different than before.

Before, my brother was a very serious and earnest person.

He has high standards for himself and insists on exercising every day while undergoing high-intensity training.

He is very composed and doesn't joke around easily.

Moreover, my brother rarely speaks with absolute certainty.

Although his brother always keeps his word, he generally doesn't easily promise to do anything.

Moreover, even though he is very strong, my brother is still nervous and always gives people the feeling that he is on edge.

But the older brother now exudes a sense of composure, confidence, and a subtle sense of humor.

My brother actually cracked a joke.

If the older brother previously gave off a tense feeling, like a sword about to be drawn.

The older brother now gives people the impression of being more easygoing and approachable.

However, this approachability is not the kind that involves compromising or trying to please others.

Rather, it carries a subtle indifference, implicitly revealing an emotion akin to "arrogance."

Bai Lu knew that it was wrong to describe her brother like that.

But this word seems to be the most fitting.

It's a feeling of not taking anything seriously at all, being able to calmly deal with almost everything, as if everything is within his calculations.

Although he has a bit of an "arrogance", he gives people a sense of security.

Bai Lu explained her brother's change by saying that he had let go of the burden of the Hidden Origin Guild, no longer needed to hide, and could be himself again.

Lu Cang and the others arrived at the Blackwater Cave instance. Blackwater Creek was not actually a stream, but a vast expanse of black swamp.

The monsters here are all level 18 and above.

There are even some above level 20.

The monsters are much stronger than ordinary wild monsters.

After level 18, the monsters' strength also increases dramatically.

-------------------------------------

Blackwater Cave

[Dungeon Level: 18~25]

[Dungeon Difficulty: Easy, Normal, Hard, Nightmare]

-------------------------------------

There are still only four difficulty levels.

There is no Insane difficulty level above Nightmare.

Of the 11 dungeons near Maple City, only one has an insane difficulty level.

Even without A-level talents, other difficulty levels can generally be passed as long as there is good teamwork.

For those insanely difficult dungeons, A-rank talents have almost become a must-have.

Talents below rank A are virtually impossible to clear insane difficulty dungeons.

This is why gold-quality equipment is so rare.

Only one in ten thousand players can clear this difficulty level, which also means that the vast majority of players will find it difficult to obtain gold-quality equipment.

Lu Cang gave instructions to everyone in front of the instance.

"This instance is quite large."

"Moreover, it's inside a cave, where meteorites don't have much of an effect."

"White Deer, you should learn a level 1 Wind Blowing skill first."

Lu Cang was referring to the mage's basic spell – [Wind Spell (One Star)]

One-star skills can all be learned directly from the skill tree using skill points.

For skills of two stars or higher, you'll need to find skill books.

-------------------------------------

【Wind Spell: Creates a powerful gust of wind that disperses mist and poisonous miasma, dealing 1-30 damage and knocking all enemy targets within range into the air. Cooldown: 15 seconds. Mana Cost: 150】

-------------------------------------

This skill deals very low damage, but its powerful knockback effect makes it very popular among mages.

When encountering terrain such as cliffs, you can use the wind to blow monsters directly off the cliff, creating an environmental kill.

It's a very useful small spell in the early game.

Meteor is not very convenient to use in this instance, as it has certain limitations.

While meteorites are powerful, they can only be used in open terrain.

After all, meteorites fall from the sky.

However, if the summoned meteor is blocked by something else, it can still cause some impact damage.

However, the impact force will be greatly reduced.

In the dungeons within the fantasy world, the terrain is also affected by skills.

If Bai Lu uses the meteorite spell here, it's highly likely that the meteorite will hit the top of the cave, causing it to collapse.

They buried them all inside the cave.

This is tantamount to playing with fire and getting burned.

The most likely outcome for the player is to be buried alive.

"Replace the stored Meteor spell with Wind, Fireball, and Earthfire."

The white deer followed its brother's instructions.

Cancel the spells stored in the Holy Book and begin chanting new spells.

"A brave man is fearless. Don't run away when you see a monster. Your attributes can kill all monsters except for the boss."

"You can use this instance to practice and try out the techniques I just taught you."

Lu Cang planned to get Brave Warrior out of the novice stage as soon as possible.

"learn!"

Then, Lu Cang looked at Leng Qingying: "Xiao Leng, you... do as you please."

Leng Qingying hummed in agreement.

There was no further response.

But Leng Qingying felt a little frustrated. Why were others given such detailed instructions, but she was given so little when it came to herself?

In fact, Leng Qingying was somewhat looking forward to seeing what kind of arrangements Lu Cang would make for her.

After all, Leng Qingying was still somewhat curious about Lu Cang's masterful demeanor.

Select a instance and enter the instance.

-------------------------------------

Upon entering the instance, Lu Cang and the others felt their steps sink.

The interior of the Blackwater Cave is a swamp covered with black mud.

[Current Status: Swamp Walking - Movement Speed ​​Reduced by 30%]

[You are currently within the poisonous miasma zone - you have been poisoned.]

Upon entering the instance, everyone was immediately affected by the [Poison] status effect.

Green miasma permeated the surroundings.

[Poison (1 stack) - Deals 1 point of poison damage per second. The poison damage increases with the number of stacks.]

"White deer blowing in the wind".

Upon hearing Lu Cang's command, Bai Lu immediately used the spells stored in the Holy Record.

Bai Lu unleashed a powerful, wide-range wind attack!

call!

A sudden gust of wind arose!

In an instant, the green mist throughout the entire instance was blown away.

The poisonous miasma was directly neutralized by the white deer.

And almost at the same time.

One by one, the black slimes in the black swamp were blown into the air by the wind.

-------------------------------------

Black Liquid Slime

[Level: 18]

Health Points: 5600

[Skills: Acid Spray, Spike Transformation, Tentacle Strike]

[Characteristic: Acid Corrosion - Covered in acid, causing significant damage to weapon durability.]

[Description: The slime located in the Blackwater Cave possesses strong acid properties.]

-------------------------------------

If they hadn't been blown up, the existence of these black slimes would have been completely undetectable.

The black slime is hidden in the black swamp, making it very difficult to find.

Bai Lu, Leng Qingying, and Lu Cang were well-equipped.

But these equipment items mostly increase agility, strength, and spirit.

It didn't increase health by much; if you get hit twice by monsters in the level 18 Nightmare dungeon, you still have a chance to die instantly.

Whew!

It must be said that the brave and fearless have finally risen to prominence.

These slimes were blown up.

Even the most clueless newbie knows this is an opportunity!

The brave warrior got into position and charged out in an instant!

As he unleashed his skill, he also recalled the incantation Lu Cang had taught him.

"Lift first, then chop, and strike with the momentum."

A single, powerful strike!

After slaying a slime, the fearless warrior immediately turned around, dragged his heavy greatsword, and swung it at the slime!

Combining a five-stage slash with a basic attack was more difficult than he had imagined.

The displacement is too extreme; you need to turn around!

Turning around and then using a basic attack takes more than a second.

When performing this operation, the fearless warrior couldn't help but recall Lu Cang's actions back then.

How did the guild leader manage to do that? He unleashed all five hits in a second and then followed it up with a normal attack.

Are you kidding me?

call!

The greatsword spun and swung!

However, before his sword could even land on the black slime...

The slime exploded, turning into fragments of light and disappearing without a trace.

-25,872

The damage from the fearless warrior is too high.

A single powerful strike is enough to instantly kill a small monster.

There's absolutely no need to add a basic attack.

Puff puff puff puff—

And when the fearless warrior paused, one after another black phantom flickered around him.

[Piercing Strike] [Back Attack] [Swift Light Slash] [Combo Thrusts]...

The slime, still floating in mid-air, exploded like raindrops.

"The brave are fearless, but that won't do. We'll be outdone by the newcomers." Seeing this, Lu Cang couldn't help but tease.

Leng Qingying said unhappily, "President, can you please stop gossiping while standing here?"

Lu Cang and Bai Lu stood together.

"How can you say I'm just standing around gossiping? Didn't you see I was protecting the monk?"

Bai Lu was at the very back of the group.

The closest monsters to the white deer are at least 20 meters away, a distance from which it is impossible for the slime to hit them.

In Leng Qingying's view, Lu Cang was just standing by and watching the show, putting in the work but not putting in any effort.

The previous instance where the leader just ate and did nothing made Leng Qingying feel uncomfortable, but now that she was putting in the effort while the leader did nothing, it made her even more uncomfortable.

It seems like I was tricked into coming here to work.

But Lu Cang seemed completely unconcerned about Leng Qingying's thoughts, and instead reminded her, "The brave are fearless, you forgot to use your Dragon Slayer."

Lu Cang reminded him of this.

Only the fearless warrior remembered that he should have used Dragon Draw Sword before using any other skills.

He really wanted to try the five-stage slash followed by a normal attack.

Instead, he forgot the most basic operation. After being reminded by Lu Cang, the brave warrior immediately sheathed the greatsword at his waist and swept it out in the next instant!

call!

A fierce sword slash was unleashed, instantly wiping out all the slimes within a 50-meter radius.

The entire dungeon became much cleaner immediately. The fully charged Dragon Draw Sword had a huge range, making it perfect for clearing out monsters.

And almost the next second.

The swamp is surging!

Behind the white deer, a giant mouth suddenly opened from the mud!

Leng Qingying turned around and looked back, her pupils shrinking.

What's going on?

I've never heard of such a monster in the Blackwater Cave.

Is this another new dungeon mechanic?

The mage is about to be killed!

But the next moment, Leng Qingying saw that Lu Cang had pulled out a spear at some point.

A mage unleashed a powerful melee attack—[Sky Strike]—aiming straight at the upper jaw of the giant maw.

After the attack was launched, another Lu Cang appeared behind him.

Before Lu Cang, Bai Lu's exclusive weapon, the [Saint Record], floated.

He was muttering incantations.

"Fireball."

boom!

A fireball shot straight into the depths of the giant mouth!

The fireball exploded!

-121,481

A massive burst of damage!

One fireball dealt 120,000 damage.

The magic recorded in the Holy Records includes [Wind Blast], [Fireball], and [Earthfire Impact].

Because Meteor Spell cannot be used in this instance, White Deer did not record Meteor Spell.

-------------------------------------

Black Swamp Crocodile

[Level: 20]

[Health Points: 1,135,000]

[Skills: Bite, Tail Whip, Roar, Death Bite, Pounce, Flesh Slam]

[Special Feature: Swamp Dive - The giant crocodile can sink into the black swamp, becoming immune to most attacks and undetectable within the swamp.]

[Description: A giant crocodile skilled in assassination and sneak attacks; a moment's inattention and it can bite and kill you, making it extremely dangerous.]

-------------------------------------

This is one of the three major bosses in the Blackwater Cave, which has been lurking beneath the swamp.

It will only appear after the player's party has cleared the slimes at the entrance.

And the moment it appears, it will immediately use [Bite] on the unit with the lowest health in the team.

If you get hit by this skill, squishy characters will almost certainly be killed instantly.

This mechanism has a strong tendency to kill on first meeting.

The first time you encounter this, you're almost guaranteed to get infected.

Unfortunately, this wasn't the first time Lu Cang had encountered this situation.

After the fireball exploded, the boss's attack was completely interrupted.

At the same time, a Lu Cang wielding the God-Slaying Greatsword was also summoned in front of Lu Cang.

Leng Qingying's pupils constricted slightly upon seeing this scene.

This familiar ability—isn't it her [Shadow Assassination] talent?

This is also why Lu Cang so wanted Leng Qingying to join the guild; their personal relationship in their previous life was one aspect.

On the other hand, it's because he obtained Leng Qingying's Shadow Kill, which is equivalent to having five versions of himself at the same time.

The improvement in combat power is far more than just a little bit.

The giant crocodile's attack was interrupted, and thick smoke was still billowing from its mouth, but its body swung violently, and its huge tail lashed out at Lu Cang and Bai Lu!

Lu Cang jumped up while holding the white deer, and Phantom immediately swung his greatsword, unleashing a powerful dragon strike!

-295,299

With the Brave Warrior at level 18 and a full set of silver equipment, his strength has exceeded 4000.

One pull from the dragon and it's 200,000 damage.

All that could be seen was that one of the giant crocodile's four health bars instantly emptied.

Health bar style

The level 18 dungeon is indeed much more difficult than before.

With 200,000 damage now, it's no longer enough to kill the boss instantly.

Nightmare difficulty dungeons are not dungeons that can be easily tackled.

Those qualified to challenge Nightmare difficulty must at least be a team that has completed the class change, and each member must have at least one silver weapon.

Even for a team like this, it would take about half an hour of dedicated damage to defeat the first boss, provided they had good teamwork.

After Lu Cang pulled out the boss's sword, the boss's health bar turned a stone-gray color.

This is a state of locked health.

"White Deer retreats."

The giant crocodile roared, and small crocodiles appeared in the swamp.

However, that sword strike just now created another phantom clone for Lu Cang.

The clone immediately switches to the [Fearless Warrior] ability.

It's that time again – the [Dragon Sword Draw Slash]!

It instantly wiped out the boss's second health bar.

After that health bar, the giant crocodile boss no longer has any health-locking mechanism.

Knowing this, Lu Cang did not give up any opportunity to attack.

Immediately following this, the two clones alternately use [Five-Stage Might Slash] followed by a normal attack.

Immediately after the fifth step, draw your sword.

-49,281

-38,145

-20,459

-51,239

-240,291

-240,299

...

A series of rapid slashes.

In just three seconds, the giant crocodile boss with 1.1 million HP was instantly killed in the swamp.

After the boss fell to the ground, Lu Cang turned to look at Leng Qingying and said, "I told you I was protecting the mage."

Defeating the boss in one hit should normally be something to celebrate.

Upon hearing this, Leng Qingying felt a lump in her throat.

I don't know where to begin complaining.

So, the protection means that as long as the boss is killed quickly, the mage will be safe, right?