Chapter 44
The mercenaries originally thought that Ye Bai was in great danger, but they didn't expect that he was actually able to handle it with ease.
Especially when everyone got closer and saw Ye Bai's fighting style, their expressions became amazed and confused, because they couldn't tell whether this employer was a swordsman or a mage.
Who has ever seen a wizard rushing towards a monster with a sword, fighting and casting spells at the same time?!
As mercenaries in Melo City, they have basically been hired to cooperate with mages in battle, and even if they have not been hired, they have heard that one of the basic conditions for casting magic is not only that the casting environment requires the mage to stay focused, but if other situations occur in the middle of the spell, will the spell be interrupted?
So basically all mages, when participating in battle, stand in the maximum casting range, with melee warriors blocking and protecting them in the front, while they can safely act as a ruthless spell turret in the back.
Normally, this is the case.
Because apart from Ice Ball, the lowest-damage 'magic missile' spell, all other spells that Ye Bai knows, even Fireball, have a fixed casting time of 0.3 seconds, which is commonly known as the 'casting reading bar'.
Before learning the [Moving Casting] technique, the mage player cannot even move during the spell casting time, let alone be attacked, otherwise the spell casting will be interrupted.
However, the unique feature of the snow-colored sword that Ye Bai found was that it could increase the casting speed by 100% when the weapon attacked, which solved this problem for her at once.
When other mage players get this sword, their casting speed will be increased based on the original casting speed of each skill. However, because of Ye Bai's hidden profession's "magic omnipotence", all her magic is essentially counted as "professional ability" rather than individually mastered skills. Therefore, when calculating the bonuses of various spells, the maximum value is taken.
Among all the magic that Ye Bai mastered, the three spells of Slow, Light Arrow, and Mind Ray had the longest casting times, which were 3 seconds, 2.5 seconds, and 5 seconds respectively.
The increased casting speed is calculated based on the 5-second casting time of the mind ray, so it is reduced by a full 2.5 seconds. Therefore, any spell with a casting speed of less than 2.5 seconds becomes instant magic in Ye Bai's hands.
Coupled with the Light Feather Set that increases movement speed, the foresight and grasp of information about the universe, and the flexible combination of skills, Ye Bai now has a unique melee mage combat system.
"Just shoot crossbows from a distance, don't get close!" Ye Bai shouted hurriedly when he saw the mercenaries joining in.
To be honest, Ye Bai could deal with the Striped Crocodile King by herself, the only difference was that it would take more time. On the contrary, she was reluctant to let the mercenaries get close and use melee attacks. If one of them was killed or injured by a skill of the BOSS, she would have no place to cry.
“Oh, oh… yes!”
After hearing Ye Bai's words, the mercenaries were stunned for a moment, and then they came to their senses. Following her instructions, they did not get close, but shot at the Crocodile King with crossbows from a safe distance.
“Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!”
The crocodile king was so huge that everyone didn't have to worry about accuracy when shooting arrows, let alone accidentally hurt Ye Bai.
'-210', '-231', '-217'...
A series of injuries emerged, but compared to other ordinary crocodiles, the crocodile king's scales had higher defense, and with the "wet" buff on his body, he had a unique advantage when facing physical attacks.
Compared with the huge BOSS, Ye Bai's figure is like a light butterfly, jumping and dancing around it.
However, the damage of this "butterfly" should not be underestimated. From time to time, you can see lightning flashing on the Crocodile King's body. It happens so often that you can even smell a faint smell similar to barbecue in the air.
Because Professor Ye's 'electrotherapy' firmly attracted his hatred, the Crocodile King completely ignored the crossbow on his body and paid no attention to the mercenaries who were shooting arrows from the side.
Although they had gained an extremely safe output environment, the mercenaries who were shooting arrows couldn't help but look strange, feeling quite uncomfortable.
As a warrior profession with physical attacks, during the battle, the mage fights the monsters in close combat in the front, while they shoot arrows with bows and crossbows in the back... Is there something wrong with this?
"Ah~~~"
As time went by, the Crocodile King's health reached the last 5%. It suddenly spun around and swung its tail, letting out a fierce howl.
The mercenaries all shuddered and said to Ye Bai, who was rolling back, "Employer, be careful, it's going to fight to the death!"
The scene at this moment is similar to the one Ye Bai faced in the dungeon when he faced the low-health angry-horned beast. The NPC also knows the habits of monsters. This reminder actually means that the BOSS is about to be enlarged.
However, Ye Bai just waved to everyone, and at this moment he did not retreat but advanced. After dodging the tail swing just now, he rushed towards the Crocodile King.
"ah!"
"employer!"
The mercenaries were incredulous, unable to understand why. Even a rabbit bites when it's desperate. They couldn't imagine how terrifying the Crocodile King's desperate struggle must have been. And yet, their employer actually rushed forward at this moment! He didn't look like the kind of reckless person who wouldn't use his brains well!
Sure enough, the next moment, facing Ye Bai's active attack, the crocodile king opened his big mouth and pounced on him with his thick forelimbs waving.
【Bloody Kill】
When it was less than 5 meters away from the crocodile king's big mouth, its huge figure cast a shadow in front of Ye Bai.
Ye Bai's figure flashed, and he jumped into the shadow on his own initiative.
Shadow Step!
"Boom..." The Crocodile King's skill missed. The damage of this skill starts from thousands. If the person encountered it does not have heavy armor, it may directly trigger fatal damage and die.
However, Ye Bai once again nimbly dodged this skill, and then emerged safely from the shadow in the crocodile king's abdomen.
Although he was not extremely angry, Ye Bai also slid out from the gap in the giant crocodile's belly, and inadvertently scraped a delicate '-24' damage on its belly with his snow-white sword.
Then, Ye Bai used the weapon's special effects to trigger it, calculated the distance with his eyes, and released a spell towards the shallow shore.
“Wow!”
Sharp spikes emerged from the flat ground.
Just when everyone was confused about Ye Bai's move, the crocodile king, who had missed his target, suddenly rolled his eyes and swung his limbs rapidly, as if he had planned it beforehand. He "reversed on the spot" and retreated into the pool at lightning speed.
Then—
“Ouch!”
The Crocodile King's retreating leg happened to step on the ground spike technique that Ye Bai had released in advance, and his continuous retreat movement came to a halt.
'-778'
The Crocodile King was caught off guard and directly triggered a critical damage.
As the Crocodile King screamed, Ye Bai stepped forward and gave him a scraping motion, then took a step back and began casting the spell for the first time in this battle. 0.5 seconds later, a strange gray light enveloped the Crocodile King.
【Slowness】
Energy consumption: 42
Effect: Reduces the target's movement effect by 86% (80%), with a maximum casting distance of 21 meters and a duration of 5 seconds.
Originally, the standard reduction effect of this skill was 80%, but due to the professional characteristic of -30% spell strength, it became 56%. And because of the "concentration" and "charm" attributes added by the Snow Sword, Ye Bai's spell strength was restored, and finally it became the current effect.
As soon as the skill was released, the Crocodile King's originally agile retreat movement seemed to be rusted, and the retreat movement became heavy and slow.
"attack!"
Ye Bai gave an order, which brought the mercenaries back to their senses. They finally realized that the crocodile king was not trying to fight to the death, but to escape!
The employer is so amazing, she had actually calculated all of this!
For a moment, all the mercenaries were convinced and quickly followed Ye Bai's instructions to shoot their crossbows at the Crocodile King again.
[Mercenary 'Blaze''s favorability towards you +20]
[Mercenary 'Roland' has an impression of you +20]
【mercenary……】
Listening to the notifications of increased favorability from the system, Ye Bai couldn't help but smile. He didn't expect that in just one battle, he would unexpectedly gain a higher favorability than the first time he gave wine. It turned out that strength is the best stepping stone in any field.
Ye Bai had naturally anticipated the Crocodile King's actions.
It is inevitable that the BOSS will use a big move when its health reaches a high-risk level. However, different creatures in the universe have different characteristics. When the health of an aquatic BOSS is at the bottom, its big move is to feint, retreat quickly, and hide under the water to recover its health for a while.
If it is not stopped in time, the blood bar will be directly restored from 5% to 40% when it comes out again. It is another hero who can fight and resist. Moreover, the BOSS will use this trick repeatedly every time the blood bar is reduced to 5%. If you are not prepared to deal with it, it will definitely make the player feel what torture is.
However, Ye Bai, who had been prepared, successfully stopped the other party from entering the water for the first time.
The rest is easy.
'-201', '-214', '-247'...
The mercenaries' crossbows fired at a certain stage. Ye Bai shouted "Stop", and the sound of the standard crossbow mechanism immediately quieted down. At this time, everyone had already obeyed her orders.
Of course Ye Bai had to do the final blow himself. It would be too tragic if he worked so hard only to have the NPCs snatch the monster away.
Lightning
Following the last fatal lightning strike, the Striped Crocodile King, who had been entrenched in this pool for who knows how long, turned into a streak of white light and disappeared on the shore.
"Very good!"
"Long live the employer!"
The mercenaries nearby cheered excitedly upon seeing this.
Originally, when the Crocodile King appeared, everyone thought that this journey would be dangerous and there was no telling how many casualties would occur during the retreat. Unexpectedly, the employer who had never taken any action was such a powerful mage... a melee mage who not only turned the tide but also killed the Crocodile King.
This story was so legendary that they could brag about it in the pub for the rest of their lives.
"Bang!"
At the same time, a pile of blue, purple and gold objects also exploded.
Ye Bai's eyes lit up, and he stared at the golden mass among all the items, muttering to himself: It's a skill book, a skill book, a skill book...
Obtain [Crocodile King Blood] x1
Ye Bai: “…”
Has the aura of good fortune already faded away from her?
There is a 5% chance of obtaining a skill book by killing BOSS-level creatures. Although the delivery rate is indeed extremely low, but thinking of the glorious record of obtaining a legendary blueprint in the dungeon that year, Ye Bai thought that it would be easy to get a skill book this time?
As expected, people should not be too arrogant...
Ye Bai shook his head and picked up the other fallen objects with a little helplessness.
Obtain [Crocodile King's Teeth] x4
Obtain [Crocodile King Skin] X8
Obtain [Blood of Transformation] x1
Obtain [High-grade Beast Meat] x16
Get [Gold Coins] x10
Apart from not getting the skill book I wanted most, the gains were actually not bad at all.
The first golden legendary item Ye Bai got was [Crocodile King Blood], which was a biological item similar to [Angry Horn].
【Crocodile King Blood】
Attributes: Food/Potion Material
Level: Legend
Effect: Increases health limit by 400 after consumption.
Description: The essence of the Striped Crocodile King. Can be taken directly or made into potions with other effects. Requires the profession [Potion Master].
There aren't many items that can directly increase your health limit. The effect of the same item will be halved the second time you eat it, and halved again the third time, until it becomes negligible.
Ye Bai now has 600 HP at level 20. After changing his job, the upper limit of HP increased with each upgrade has been increased from 25 to 50. By the time he changes to level 40 for the second job, if he does not get other bonuses, his maximum HP is only 1600. One portion of Crocodile King's blood provides a HP upper limit of level 8, and after being made into a potion, the effect can be further improved, which is worthy of the legendary level.
As for the other two purple materials [Crocodile King's Teeth] and [Crocodile King's Skin], needless to say, they can be made into equipment.
[Blood of Transformation] was also dropped when killing the Wrathhorn Beast before. It is one of the materials that BOSS-level creatures easily drop.
It is used to help NPCs break through their personal limits. If used on NPCs without special talents, there is a chance of generating special talents. However, it is more suitable for NPCs who already have special talents, and there is a high chance of breaking through their original talent level. For example, Lucy's Healing Light II may be upgraded to the more effective Healing Light III after using the Blood of Transformation.
Of course, there is also a certain chance of other new talents emerging. In short, the material [Blood of Transformation] is used to train professionals.
Needless to say, high-quality animal meat is a kind of food.
The final gold coins are also dropped by every BOSS, but biological BOSS only has the standard 10 gold coins, which is already considered an extra killing reward given by the system to the player. After all, monsters have no place to spend gold coins. Relatively speaking, the number of gold coins on humanoid BOSS is much more, and the dropped items are also finished equipment rather than materials.
In addition, Ye Bai's dry experience pool became full again, and he gained enough experience points to be promoted to level 21, and about 80% more after the upgrade.
In the eyes of other NPCs, perhaps Ye Bai was "dealing with" the Crocodile King at this time.
After cheering, the other mercenaries reacted and began to skin and cut up the other crocodiles with swift movements.
Ye Bai was happy to see this happen. If he touched the corpses of these crocodiles himself, he would sell them according to the monster's drop rate. But if he let these mercenaries who often fought in the wild do the skinning, the harvest would undoubtedly be greater.
"You really surprised me. Now I have some faith that you can do what I asked you to do."
Suddenly, a familiar female voice was heard.
[Senior Tailor Dilina's Favorability towards you +15]
Hearing the system prompt, Ye Bai looked up and saw that it was Dilina who had come to her from behind at some point.
It seems that this battle won the favor of the mercenaries and also refreshed the client's impression of Ye Bai.
Before she showed her strength, Dilina, like other mercenaries, only saw Ye Bai's identity as a lord and a divine-blooded person. Now she discovered that she was also a powerful professional.
"That's natural. I never make promises I can't keep. This is about my personal reputation." Ye Bai has gradually adapted to the Myriad Worlds over time. After all, from a certain perspective, this is the background she created. Now, when she talked about this meaningless promise, she didn't blush or feel embarrassed at all. She looked serious and even spoke in a translator's voice:
"So, beautiful lady, look at this crocodile king skin and teeth... don't you think they would be suitable for making some equipment?"
Dilina was stunned. For a moment, she seemed to be speechless because of Ye Bai's shamelessness. Then she shook her head and said:
"I think the leather armor you're wearing is quite good."
"That's right, but I'm still short of a wrist guard for the battle." Ye Bai didn't give up. He lowered his voice a little and said seriously, "Your commission requires you to go to the God Realm. You know how dangerous it is there. I need to make all the necessary preparations before setting off."
"...Is that so?" Dilina looked at Ye Bai in confusion.
Ye Bai also stared at her and blinked 'sincerely'.
After a moment, perhaps because the 15 points of favorability she had just added took effect, Dilina slowly glanced at the [Crocodile King Skin] and [Crocodile King Sharp Teeth] in Ye Bai's hands. She was also a little excited about finding good materials, and finally nodded. "Okay, when I get to your territory, I'll make you a wristband, which can also be considered as completing my work as an apprentice."
Yay!
I was just trying it out, but I didn't expect it to be successful. [Crocodile King Skin] and [Crocodile King Teeth] are two purple materials, which means I have at least one more purple equipment. If I'm lucky, the gold legendary level is not a dream!
Ye Bai immediately patted his chest and promised: "I will definitely bring you some fabrics from the Luozhi tribe!"
Look, her fraud skill proficiency didn't increase this time, which fully proved her sincerity.
Dilina then smiled: "Okay, I'll leave it to you."
"employer!"
At this time, the mercenary representative Blaze also came over with a bunch of processed crocodile skins, teeth and other items.
"This is our harvest this time." He took the initiative to give these items to Ye Bai.
According to the rules, the spoils obtained during the escort process belong to the employer. However, from the perspective of human relations, there is no such strict requirement. The spoils obtained from fighting on the road are a source of extra income for the mercenaries. For example, the mercenaries collected the skins of the wild beasts killed on the road and made the meat into food to share on the same day.
Because the items were not valuable, everyone was in a harmonious atmosphere and no one cared about this small profit.
Now, a lot of crocodile skins were harvested in this battle, and the exploration order was given by Ye Bai. The subsequent battles also relied on her command, not to mention the final battle against the Crocodile King. Everyone tacitly assumed that the harvest from that powerful creature was the employer's spoils alone.
Ye Bai not only made the greatest contribution in the entire battle, but without her, the mercenary group would have sacrificed countless people. In other words, she indirectly saved everyone's lives.
Ye Bai's strength and kindness have brought his prestige in the team to an unprecedented level.
Although the mercenaries were tempted, none of them were greedy and took the initiative to hand over these valuable crocodile skins, teeth and other items to Ye Bai.
Seeing this, Ye Bai pondered for a moment and did not refuse, but chose to accept the materials.
"I accept it." Then, she looked at the slightly disappointed mercenaries and smiled, "But I hope that when we arrive in my territory, you can stay for a few days and accept my hospitality..."
"This battle is thanks to everyone. I have a tailor shop in my territory. I will have the tailor make these materials into equipment overnight and send them to everyone. It won't be too late for everyone to leave then."
The expressions on the mercenaries' faces changed from disappointment to confusion to surprise, undergoing three changes in just a few words.
Finally it broke out into a familiar cheer:
"Long live the employer!"
Even Ye Bai heard someone change the word "employer" to "lord" among the mixed voices.
At the same time, the familiar reminder of increasing favorability sounded again.
At this point, Ye Bai could already tell without even looking at her that the mercenaries' favorability towards her had almost reached around 70 to 80, while 60 was already the threshold for lord recruitment...
The dangerous Striped Crocodile Pond has been completely cleaned up and turned into a safe and harmless pool of water. This also means that everyone does not need to continue to take a longer detour through the mountain road, and can travel through this natural canyon and cross the high mountain that blocks the way.
The wildebeest transport team also came forward from the rear to join the caravan, and the caravan continued to move forward.
We didn’t encounter any other large creatures in the canyon afterwards, so the crocodile pool must be the overlord of the canyon.
Not long after, after passing through the canyon, everyone's eyes brightened and became enlightened.
In the sunlight, what comes into view is a vast plain.
"Huh? That's..."
The plain was in full view. Ye Bai caught a glimpse of a moving black shadow in the distance, and his expression changed.
“Law, law, law…”
The wildebeest, which had been quiet and hardworking throughout the journey, became slightly agitated and began to call at this moment.
The wildebeest team hurried to appease the horses. Seeing this, their leader, Dennis, told Ye Bai, "Sir, judging from the horses' reaction, those in the distance might be wild wildebeest. We need to pass quickly, otherwise the transport team will be easily affected."
"I understand." Ye Bai nodded and agreed with Dennis's suggestion: "Let's speed up and cross this grassland."
Wild wildebeests are neutral creatures. As long as you don't provoke them, they will not attack the caravan.
But if you take the initiative to provoke them, the situation will definitely be worse than facing a group of crocodiles.
Wildebeests are much stronger and faster than ordinary horses. Another difference in appearance is that they have a sharp single horn on their heads. Even though Ye Bai knows the strategy, he would not want to provoke them in the wild.
They are group-hating creatures with fast speed and good endurance. If you want to attack one of them, you will immediately be stabbed in the back by the entire wildebeest herd. You can't avoid it. The scene is exciting just thinking about it.
The group quickly accelerated and passed the wildebeest herd. During the process, Ye Bai saw Dennis take out a map and record the location of the wildebeest herd.
Dennis was originally the leader of the wildebeest transport team. When he encountered a group of wild wildebeests, he would naturally turn around and report to the merchant guild. If he could tame these wild wildebeests, a new large wildebeest transport team would be born immediately.
Ye Bai was not anxious about this but laughed instead. Dennis was not the only one who wanted to tame the wildebeest.
As soon as he saw it for the first time, Ye Bai decided to return to the territory and upgrade it as soon as possible.
This place is not far from Baiye Village. When the Tree of Creation blooms, these wildebeests will be immediately attracted to the territory. This two-way rush will be faster than you going back to find someone to tame them in Melo City, right?
…
After crossing the grassland, we entered the forest terrain.
After another night, on the morning of the fourth day after the caravan set out, they crossed a hill and saw a small village with smoke rising from chimneys not far away.
At this moment, Ye Bai felt a long-lost sense of satisfaction and peace in his heart.
"Everyone, we have arrived at our destination."
Yay! It’s thicker today too!
(The nutrient solution has reached 10,000, but I don’t care. I’ve added more chapters for 7 days. This wave is a reverse debt~
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com