"I can't stand it! I'm going to die of anger!" This last sentence was sent as a private message to Xiao Yu.
"Let me try..."
With a wave of his hand, Xiao Yu unleashed a Mad Gu, followed immediately by a Wind-Breaking Claw.
Hua Feihua: "Bro, are you for real?"
Mad Gu!
Hua Feihua: "Alright, stop hitting me. Let's chat?"
Wind-Breaking Claw!
Hua Feihua: "What's your zodiac sign? I'm a Gemini."
Mad Gu!
Hua Feihua: "What's your blood type? I'm type ABC."
Wind-Breaking Claw!
Hua Feihua: "How old are you? I'm seventy-three."
Mad Gu!
Hua Feihua: "Damn it, why am I constantly 'Bleeding'? What kind of lousy status is this? My HP is dropping so fast!"
Wind-Breaking Claw!
Hua Feihua: "Hey, it's down to half! Health potions can't even keep up. If you hit me again, I'm going to fight back, alright?"
That was precisely the point—to make him fight back! This Hua Feihua was only one level lower than him, yet he had around 2,000 HP. If he hadn't just learned the two status skills Venom Gu and Blood Gu, relying solely on Mad Gu and Wind-Breaking Claw wouldn't have been enough to deal with him.
"Azure Wolf Howls at the Moon!"
Hua Feihua finally couldn't hold his ground anymore. Before using his skill, he didn't forget to look back and shout, "Wife, heal me..."
Xiao Yueya had the urge to run headfirst into a wall and die.
0017 The Shameless Man Hua Feihua
[Azure Wolf Howls at the Moon]: A Great Spear Sect spear technique, must be used while mounted, granting a charge effect. Relies on the horse's charging momentum to unleash an all-out spear strike on targets in a frontal area, with a certain chance of triggering the move [Dive to the Heart], causing the target to lose 20 HP per second for five seconds.
This was a Level 10 skill of the Great Spear Sect, and also the Lance Cavalry's first area-of-effect (AoE) skill.
Faced with such an AoE skill, Xiao Yu simply couldn't dodge it—at least not in his current state.
"Critical Hit 132!"
True to the Great Spear Sect's reputation for high attack and high HP, Hua Feihua's [Azure Wolf Howls at the Moon] directly scored a critical hit, instantly wiping out well over a fifth of Ceng Jing Shu Guang's health.
The moment he landed the hit, the guy followed up with [Chasing Wind Spear]. The spear tip pierced the air with a sharp, explosive hiss, driving straight into Ceng Jing Shu Guang's body...
"MISS!"
Hua Feihua couldn't quite believe his eyes. He clearly saw the spear impale the target's body—how could it possibly be a MISS?
However, as a gaming expert, though surprised in his heart, his hands didn't pause for even a fraction of a second. His mount suddenly reared its front hooves, accompanied by a resounding neigh. As the horse's hooves struck the ground, three golden characters—[Facing Wind Spear]—instantly popped up above Hua Feihua's head!
"62!"
A bright red number appeared above Ceng Jing Shu Guang's head for the second time.
"I told you I counter you, why aren't you surrendering yet?" Having landed his blow and seeing Ceng Jing Shu Guang's health drop by almost half, Hua Feihua stopped once again.
"Stepping Horse Stance?" The moment Hua Feihua moved, the blocked path cleared immediately, and Xiao Yueya finally stepped out from the crevice. Xiao Yu had originally intended to just walk away; the guy had way too much HP, and he was only here to rescue someone—he didn't have the leisure time to fight a war of attrition with him. But seeing that the guy had actually used the "Stepping Horse Stance," he couldn't help but ask another question.
"What? You even recognize the 'Stepping Horse Stance'? Looks like you're an old hand at gaming too. What games did you play before? Did you play 《Wuji》?"
"Right, wife, don't go anywhere. I'll chat with this bro for a bit and then I'll be with you..."
Xiao Yueya: "Get lost, get lost, get lost!"
"This guy is harassing me, I want you to help me kill him!" In a private message, Xiao Yueya sent another message.
Xiao Yu: "Aren't you doing your quest? He has a lot of HP, killing him is a pain."
Xiao Yueya: "That won't do either! He's taking advantage of your woman—are you even a man? Your wife is getting harassed and you don't even dare to step up? Cowardly!"
Xiao Yu: "......"
Xiao Yueya: "What are those six dots supposed to mean?"
Xiao Yueya seized the opportunity.
Xiao Yueya: "Quickly avenge me! If you don't kill him, I won't do the quest. I'll give you five minutes, or else I'll cheat on you!"
Dark lines broke out all over Xiao Yu's forehead. Where did all this even come from? How did cheating on him get dragged into this? His villain index was currently 1; if he killed someone now, his name would turn red directly, and the consequences of a red name...
"The quest I accepted is the 'Junior Pharmacist Trial'. If you don't avenge me, once the quest time runs out, I'll do it myself!" Xiao Yueya sent another message.
Seeing this message, Xiao Yu's eyes lit up: "'Junior Pharmacist Trial'?"
Xiao Yueya: "Duh!"
Xiao Yu: "Invincible status?"
Xiao Yueya: "Duh!"
Xiao Yu: "Attacks against players are ineffective?"
Xiao Yueya: "Duh! Otherwise, could I have gotten stuck?"
Xiao Yueya: "The quest has to be done inside a wall crevice?"
Xiao Yueya: "...... Bullshit! He tricked me into coming in here! Damn you, are you going to kill him or not?"
Xiao Yu: "How much time is left on the quest?"
Xiao Yueya: "Four minutes!" Xiao Yueya was about to go crazy. Why did this guy talk so much nonsense? Before she could blow her top, another long string of messages arrived.
Xiao Yu: "I'll kill him! You've wasted enough of my time, I'll kill him! I'll kill him right now! From now on, when I'm killing people, stop asking so many boring questions, okay?"
Xiao Yueya: "......"
Xiao Yu: "What are those six dots supposed to mean?"
"GET LOST!!!"
Xiao Yueya really wanted to rush forward and bite a chunk of flesh right off Ceng Jing Shu Guang!
The "Stepping Horse Stance," much like the "C-Slide," was a manual footwork technique executed entirely through player control. Many manual control skills in 《God Tribulation》 were directly copied over from 《Wuji》. As the designer of both games, Xiao Yu was naturally more than familiar with them. The function of this "Stepping Horse Stance" was a heavy blow effect; whether using a skill or a basic attack, it increased damage by 20%.
In certain individual quests within the game, to protect players from being attacked by other players during the quest process, the system would apply special buffs (status effects) to the player who accepted the quest. For instance, when Xiao Yueya accepted the 'Junior Pharmacist Trial' quest, she received two buff statuses: one was 'Damage Immunity', and the other was 'Attacks Ineffective'.
'Damage Immunity' made her immune to all player attacks, while damage from monsters could not be immunized. The effect of 'Attacks Ineffective' was the exact opposite of 'Damage Immunity': when attacking players, the opponent would be immune to the damage, but attacks against monsters remained completely normal.
This was also the fundamental reason why Xiao Yueya had been trapped in the crevice and unable to run out. Once inside the mine cave, the collision-crossing feature for players and monsters was disabled, and coupled with the inability to use Qinggong, once a person was blocked, there was literally nothing to do besides shouting.
Xiao Yu was well aware of the 'Junior Pharmacist Trial' quest. Ordinary people couldn't even trigger it if they wanted to, and Xiao Yueya was lucky enough to receive it. Once completed, Xiao Yueya would become a Junior Pharmacist, enabling her to craft junior-tier pills. In 《God Tribulation》, high-tier health and mana recovery potions were all produced through life skills, especially instant-recovery ones, which were simply not sold in shops. Among all life skills, the most lucrative ones were medicine crafting and weapon forging, and as for who got lucky enough to receive such a quest, it all came down to character and luck.
Xiao Yueya didn't understand these things, but Xiao Yu did. The exact same trial quest could only be accepted once per person; once failed, it could never be taken again. Therefore, while urging Xiao Yueya to finish her quest quickly, he launched his attack on Hua Feihua.
"Damn it, you're still attacking? Then I won't stand on ceremony..."
Seeing the opponent launch an attack once again without a single word, Hua Feihua realized the cooldown for his [Azure Wolf Howls at the Moon] had also reset. He thrust his spear forward, and a huge, silver-white wolf head materialized out of thin air. Accompanied by a shrill howl, the wolf head's wide-open jaws bit directly onto Ceng Jing Shu Guang.
"55!"
In front of AoE attacks, even the best maneuvering seemed pale and powerless. After taking the hit head-on, Xiao Yu reapplied Blood Gu and Venom Gu onto Hua Feihua, and then charged straight toward a few nearby zombies without even looking back.
"Trying to run? No way! Eat my spear..."
A beam of light chased like lightning from behind Ceng Jing Shu Guang.
"Chasing Wind Spear!"
"MISS!"
Another MISS? Hua Feihua's eyes widened in disbelief. How could this guy's luck be this good? Both Chasing Wind Spears completely missed!
"Facing Wind Spear!"
"MISS!"
What the hell! Is there a bug? Hua Feihua simply couldn't believe it. How could this one-percent dodge chance trigger multiple times within just a few short seconds? Luck? Was there really such good luck in the world?
Xiao Yu had already adjusted his headphone volume to an appropriate level. For the sake of operational precision, he switched his game perspective to first-person view. While running forward, he didn't even turn his head back once, relying solely on his ears to identify the skills Hua Feihua was using.
A Level 13 Lance Cavalry only had three offensive skills. The Level 10 skill [Azure Wolf Howls at the Moon] was an AoE attack with a charge effect, which was utterly impossible to dodge with Ceng Jing Shu Guang's current gear. However, the remaining two skills, [Facing Wind Spear] and [Chasing Wind Spear], were both single-target attacks. As long as his reaction was fast enough and his operation precise, he could completely dodge them through sheer footwork. The method of dodging was very simple: one only needed to lightly tap the A or D key during forward movement, causing the character to execute a slight sidestep. It was that easy. Of course, when the exact right moment to tap was, and how far the sidestep needed to be—those were things only Xiao Yu himself knew.
As a true gaming expert, listening was sometimes more important than watching. The Great Spear Sect had high attack power, and to match the fierce and domineering nature of the spear, the sound effects assigned to each of this class's skills were exceptionally powerful and punchy. During PK, regardless of whether one could secure a kill, they would win over opponents purely in terms of momentum; a large portion of players chose the Great Spear Sect precisely because of these fierce, explosive sound effects.
Yet for Xiao Yu, this grandiose sound effect became the key to dodging Hua Feihua's attacks. This wasn't showing off; it was practicing.
The cooldowns for Level 5 skills were generally very short. As Hua Feihua charged forward, alternating between the two skills, he thrust his spear eight times over a distance of just a little over one screen. When the ninth spear thrust came, Ceng Jing Shu Guang had already ducked into the crowd of zombies.
The miner zombies were a head shorter than ordinary people, wearing clothes pieced together from tattered, ruined rags, and holding half a pickaxe handle. Some limped, some lacked an arm, and others had blood still dripping from their foreheads. Dragging their stiff and rigid bodies, they instantly blocked Hua Feihua, who was mounted on a tall steed.
At that exact moment, Ceng Jing Shu Guang stopped abruptly ahead. With three rapid flashes of blood-red light, Hua Feihua took another solid hit from the opponent's Wind-Breaking Claw. Before the bright red numbers had even faded from his head, a swarm of fist-sized, pitch-black flying bugs buzzed into his body: Mad Gu.
Separated by the zombies, Hua Feihua—lacking ranged attacks—had no choice but to circle around the side. By this time, his [Azure Wolf Howls at the Moon] had finished its cooldown, and with its indiscriminate damage, he charged directly toward Ceng Jing Shu Guang.
"Critical Hit 164!"
Triggered Move: Dive ~ To ~ The ~ Heart ~!
Hua Feihua's [Azure Wolf Howls at the Moon] not only landed a critical hit but also triggered the hidden move. Ceng Jing Shu Guang's HP plummeted rapidly, instantly losing half of its total.
Regrettably, the cooldown of [Azure Wolf Howls at the Moon] was far too long. Ceng Jing Shu Guang popped a health potion, retreated a few steps, and happened to hide right behind two zombies. Raising his hand, that annoying swarm of flies flew over once more.
And that wasn't all. Although the AoE effect of [Azure Wolf Howls at the Moon] hit Ceng Jing Shu Guang, it also clipped the several zombies surrounding him. Consequently, the zombies that had originally been charging at Ceng Jing Shu Guang immediately shifted their focus and surrounded Hua Feihua instead.
"You brat are too cunning." Hua Feihua finally understood why this kid had run into the middle of the monsters; it turned out he wasn't trying to escape at all.
"This is called wisdom." Unflustered, Xiao Yu lashed out with another claw.
Hua Feihua: "Don't tell me you think you can kill me with these zombies?"
"Can't kill you, but I can disgust you to death!" Xiao Yu charged toward an even larger group of zombies not far away...
0018 The Guy Who Refuses to Admit Defeat
Hua Feihua sneered inwardly. He could tell that this Ceng Jing Shu Guang was also an old hand at gaming. Ranged internal-energy classes like the Witchcraft Poison Master suffered from low HP and low defense, and their greatest weakness was that once closed in on, the battle was essentially over.
Yet this guy actually knew how to use the zombies in the cave as cover, running and stopping, zig-zagging left and right while pulling monsters. Not only did he dodge attack after attack from him, but he also gathered dozens of nearby zombies together, finally pulling them into a neat formation and leading them in circles behind him.
The cooldown of [Azure Wolf Howls at the Moon] was ready again. Hua Feihua circled around to Ceng Jing Shu Guang's side, and the giant silver-white wolf head howled, sweeping Ceng Jing Shu Guang and the zombies around him into its radius.
A striking patch of red numbers popped up simultaneously, and Ceng Jing Shu Guang's health was battered down to less than half!
"What's going on?" Hua Feihua's eyes lit up. Didn't this guy just heal himself earlier? Why wasn't he back at full health? Were his potions running low? For a gaming veteran, especially one playing such a fragile low-HP class, maintaining full health at all times was basic common sense.
Ceng Jing Shu Guang's next move made Hua Feihua nearly burst out laughing: he bolted straight ahead for a dozen paces, leaving the trailing zombies far behind, and sat flat down on the ground to meditate!
"Meditating to recover health?"
Hua Feihua was utterly delighted. Ignoring the few zombies attacking him, he urged his mount to charge directly at Ceng Jing Shu Guang, flicking his spear out to open with [Facing Wind Spear].
"Thud!"
"51!"
It actually hit!
Ceng Jing Shu Guang's health bar chipped down another chunk. Just as he scrambled up from the ground, Hua Feihua's [Chasing Wind Spear] arrived right on his heels.
"Critical Hit 99!"
Another critical hit! Ceng Jing Shu Guang had less than 100 HP left. Just one more hit, and this battle could be declared over!
With three consecutive sizzling sounds, Hua Feihua was squarely struck by Ceng Jing Shu Guang's Wind-Breaking Claw. Too lazy to even bother healing himself, he chased relentlessly behind Ceng Jing Shu Guang, waiting solely for the cooldown of [Azure Wolf Howls at the Moon] to finish so he could end the fight with a single blow.
By this time, the formation of zombies had also caught up. Ceng Jing Shu Guang veered left and paused momentarily in place; just as Hua Feihua thrust his spear, he swerved right, causing the Facing Wind Spear to miss yet again.
"MISS!"
Damn it, missed again! He was only one hit away! Hua Feihua couldn't help shouting out loud.
When victory was in sight, people often lost their patience and reason. Anyone seeing their opponent at slivered health without any recovery potions left would be unable to suppress the deep-seated desire to instantly obliterate them.
[Azure Wolf Howls at the Moon] was finally usable again. Although the aggro of over a dozen zombies was now locked onto him, Hua Feihua didn't care in the least. These zombies moved too slowly and could never surround him; his eyes were fixed solely on Ceng Jing Shu Guang not far away.
"Die!"
As Hua Feihua unleashed [Azure Wolf Howls at the Moon], he couldn't help shouting aloud. There were no surprises—an AoE was an AoE, and [Azure Wolf Howls at the Moon] landed squarely on Ceng Jing Shu Guang for the third time.
"Splat!"
"Critical Hit 144!"
Another critical hit! Hua Feihua was about to go crazy with joy. Critical hits kept popping off at the critical moment—this luck, this face, this Ceng Jing Shu Guang...
What? He... didn't die?
Beneath the bright red number 144, Hua Feihua watched in astonishment as the slender health bar above Ceng Jing Shu Guang's head still had a large chunk remaining! Moreover, that health bar was slowly creeping back up...
"Damn it, you have potions?" Hua Feihua was somewhat disappointed.
Ceng Jing Shu Guang: "Yeah, a lot."
Hua Feihua: "Then why didn't you drink them sooner?"
Ceng Jing Shu Guang: "Save money."
Hua Feihua: "Damn, flexing?"
Ceng Jing Shu Guang: "Yeah."
Hua Feihua was left speechless and exasperated by this fellow. The surrounding zombies were already closing in slowly. He reined in his horse, intending to charge out through a crevice on the side. Ever since reaching Level 10 up to Level 13, he had never left the mine cave. Relying solely on the [Azure Wolf Howls at the Moon] AoE and guerrilla tactics to grind zombies for leveling, coupled with the mount's mobility against the slow-moving zombies, Hua Feihua felt that the monsters here were custom-made for Lance Cavalries to level up.
Hua Feihua had executed charges through gaps in zombie crowds a hundred times if he'd done it eighty. Even when surrounded by zombies, relying on his high-health and high-attack traits, he could always carve out a bloody path. Trying to trap him with zombies? What a joke...
Yet, things seemed a bit wrong. Why did his normally swift mount slow down the moment it ran a single step?
Ding!
System Prompt: You have been snared by [Silken Thread Net], reducing movement speed by forty percent and preventing the use of Qinggong for five seconds!
Silken Thread Net? Hua Feihua knew things were bad. Based on experience, he knew that being swarmed by the zombies was now unavoidable. If not for those previous casts of [Azure Wolf Howls at the Moon] hitting a few of the zombies, perhaps...
There were no ifs. So what if he was surrounded? Even charging out wouldn't let him instantly kill the opponent. A war of attrition it was, then—he had plenty of potions on him, plus a junior health-recovery ring. Could a mere Witchcraft Poison Master outlast him?
Hua Feihua had already prepared himself for a protracted battle. He thrust his spear into a miner-zombie in front of him and popped a health potion out of habit.
"You're a dead man!"
At that moment, he saw the message sent by Ceng Jing Shu Guang. I'm a dead man? What a joke! Hua Feihua smiled, wanting to retort with a few choice words, but another pleasant system prompt froze the smile instantly on his face.
Ding!
System Prompt: You have been struck by the skill [As Maggots to Bone]. You cannot recover health for 10 seconds, cannot move for 5 seconds, and cannot use skills for 5 seconds.
Cannot recover health? Oh crap!
Hua Feihua's eyes went wide. Ten seconds of zero health recovery! He looked at his remaining health—less than 800 HP—and then looked at the flurry of bright red numbers popping up above his head under the assault of eight zombies...
"What goes around comes around!" The moment Hua Feihua collapsed to the ground, he saw those exact words pop up above the head of a zombie to his left.
"I'll be back!" Leaving behind a classic catchphrase that had swept the globe a thousand years ago, Hua Feihua's corpse vanished among the zombie horde in a flash of white light.
"Hurry up and do your quest!" Xiao Yu sent a message to Xiao Yueya.