Chapter 157 - 30 Merfolk Cancer Knight

Chapter 157: Chapter 30 Merfolk Cancer KnightNo words were exchanged that night. The next morning, the trio had assembled in the square very early. All three were fully armed, even Mr. Ramen had sold his cauldron for scrap and managed to get a few talismans for emergencies. They were determined to complete the mission. The city gates hadn’t opened yet when a piece of good news arrived first. Jin Fugui lived up to his reputation for efficiency, having sold the Skill Book overnight. "Brother, I could have gotten a higher price, but you were in a hurry, so I had to lower it a bit. It’s 47 taels, minus my cut, that leaves you 46.5 taels; make sure you keep it safe." Thanks a lot! Xiao Jie was quite satisfied with the price, as it was definitely more advantageous than putting it up for auction. As for whether Jin Fugui made an extra profit, that was not something he needed to worry about. "Come on, brothers, let’s split the money." Xiao Jie didn’t beat around the bush and gave each of them fifteen taels to start. "Ah, why be so polite, there’s really no need to give me so much." Mr. Ramen’s words were polite, but his hands were quick to take the money. He was overjoyed at the sight of the fifteen silver taels. It was usually so difficult to earn a few silver taels, and he hadn’t expected to hit the jackpot just by taking down an Elite Monster. After all, fifteen taels meant 150,000! Ordinary people might not earn that much in a year. He became even more committed to today’s operation. "Wait for me, I’m going to learn a Skill." He said, rushing off, and moments later he returned with high spirits. "Just watch my performance today, Feng, I’ve just learned a Big Move that I’ve been longing for. I promise it’ll pack a punch when the time comes." Before he was ’Little Brother Sui Feng’, now with money in hand Feng was even called ’Brother’. Xiao Jie wasn’t surprised by this. As the city gates opened, he gave the command—"Let’s move out!" Three riders and a bear sped towards the fishing village. The book kept it brief, and by nine o’clock, they had arrived at the fishing village, where Granny Li had already been waiting outside her thatched cottage, advising Li Bao on something. "Bao’er, when the battle starts, you mustn’t come out. Just hide inside the house. I’ll take care of everything outside for you," she said. "Granny, I can fight too. Let me help. I’ve been practicing my Saber Skill diligently these past few years." "No way. Our Li family only has you as a single seedling. If something happens to you, how could I explain it to your father, your grandfather, your great-grandfather, and your great-great-grandfather? No matter what, you must hide." "But a man should —" "No buts. You haven’t even celebrated your fifteenth birthday yet. What man? More like a little kid. Listen, we’ll talk about it after your birthday." By now, the trio had dismounted and come over. Li Bao gave Xiao Jie and the others a helpless look and went back into the house. Xiao Jie, meanwhile, was quite astonished by Granny Li. The old woman was clad in a black martial outfit, holding Dual Blades, her hair tightly bound with a red silk scarf and fixed with a copper hairpin; she even had a touch of a valiant female warrior’s charm. Granny Li (Salted Fish Merchant): "Thank you for coming to help today, sirs. I must say, today’s matter is no small affair. Those Fish Spirits will not back down easily. They will attack with their full might. Please be prepared. Nonetheless, I am not stingy. In truth, I once roamed the worldly society for a while, known as Flying Yaksa Li Cuilan. After years of adventure, I’ve collected quite a few Divine weapons, gold and silver treasures, and secret martial arts manuals. If you can help me get through this ordeal, you are free to pick any treasure you like afterward." Xiao Jie listened but wasn’t moved by her words. He was well-acquainted with the nature of these NPCs. Their words should not be taken too seriously, just like people in the real world. Promising the moon and spinning yarns were not new to him. After a brief wait and seeing no system prompt, he inwardly scoffed—trying to fool someone with empty words. Mr. Ramen, however, was experiencing this for the first time and was excited: "Don’t worry, Granny Li, I, Mr. Ramen, am all in today. I won’t take a single step back." "I Want to Be Immortal" also wholeheartedly agreed: "Right, we shall fight to the last drop of our blood today!" "Well said! You three valiant men are truly heroic. I’ll leave it to you then. Once the merfolk invade, you’ll take the lead. I’m old and weak, and though I still have some fighting power, I can’t endure a prolonged battle. I’ll stand by and cover you. If things really go south, I will surely step in. Please, sirs, the merfolk will be arriving soon." The group positioned themselves by the lakeshore, and sure enough, in just a few minutes, the water began to churn. The three men and the bear were all set for battle. They each started applying their buffs. Xiao Jie first applied a Vajra Talisman to himself (Armor +50, lasts 30 minutes). He followed up with a fine Sharpening Stone, giving his slashing weapon an added sharpness value of +10. And he nibbled on a piece of Roasted Meat (increasing his Energy regeneration rate by 10% for 30 minutes). "Remember the plan. Do not approach the lake—draw the enemy to the shore before engaging. If we’re truly outmatched, retreat is permitted, but only on my command. Understood?" "Don’t worry, Feng." "Just watch me, Feng." "Roar." Just as Xiao Jie had finished instructing them, a large group of merfolk emerged from the water. It seemed they meant business. In the past three days, the number of merfolk appearing had been increasing gradually. The first day, they came out in pairs; the second day, in threes; and on the third, they appeared in groups of four. But today, a whole group of eight Merfolk Pearl Seekers burst forth all at once. The three men and the bear backed up a few steps, waiting until all the Merfolk Pearl Seekers were onshore. "Cheng Xian, Xiong Da—attack!" Cheng Xian and Xiong Da both pounced. Cheng Xian performed a Sweeping Strike, his long axe hitting three, while Xiong Da executed a horizontal sweep, pulling in three as well. The remaining two were left for Xiao Jie and Mr. Ramen to handle. Xiao Jie glanced at Mr. Ramen, "One each, let’s see who kills faster." "Hahaha, bring it on!" The two charged towards their respective targets simultaneously. Gale Saber Technique— one strike, two, three, Helical Slash! And again one, two, three strikes. Shock Strike— Gale Continuous Attack! "Wood big, wood big, wood big!" Xiao Jie’s blade cut flesh every time, chopping the Merfolk Pearl Seeker into a bloody mess. Mr. Ramen’s fists were like a raging storm on the Merfolk’s body, with a dense sequence of damage numbers popping out, -7-8-6-8-5-9! Although each punch was low in damage, the speed was overwhelming. Spurtch! Strike! The two almost simultaneously ended the battle. At first glance, they seemed equally matched, but considering Xiao Jie was only level 13, four levels behind the other, and had not yet allocated 20 free attribute points, the gap in their combat strength was obvious. At this moment, Cheng Xian and Xiong Da were still fending off monsters. Cheng Xian was doing fine, clad in Netherworld Soul Iron Armor with astounding defensive power; the Merfolk Pearl Seekers’ bites and scratches were nothing but a tickle. Xiong Da was having a harder time, having pulled three monsters of the same level, but fortunately, his Blood Volume was high enough to cope with the assault. Xiao Jie and Mr. Ramen simultaneously charged at a Merfolk that was low on health, quickly ending the fight. By the time both had taken down their third little monster, Cheng Xian and Xiong Da had also taken care of their adversaries. "Quick, recover!" While Xiao Jie fed Xiong Da some meat, he also recovered his Energy. Indeed, not even two minutes passed before the lake surface churned again, heralding the arrival of the second wave of Merfolk. This time, it was six Merfolk Pearl Seekers and two Merfolk Piercers. "Target the Piercers first! Go!" The difficulty of resolving this wave wasn’t too great, although Mr. Ramen lost a bit of Blood Volume to the first volley of javelins from the Merfolk Piercers. The third wave consisted of four Merfolk Pearl Seekers, two Merfolk Piercers, and two Merfolk Barbarians, which proved quite challenging. By the fourth wave, there were six Elite monsters, making the battle significantly harder. The three of them had to retreat a distance to spread out the monsters’ formation, then defeat them one by one, banking on their speed advantage to eliminate the Merfolk Piercers first before dealing with the Barbarians. When the fifth wave came, there were outright eight Elite monsters, a mix of four Merfolk Piercers and four Merfolk Barbarians. The lineup was fierce. The four Merfolk Piercers launched their javelins together, dealing incredibly high damage; even with slow speed, their ranged attack was unaffected. The four Merfolk Barbarians were even tougher. Xiao Jie decisively told Mr. Ramen to draw away the four Merfolk Barbarians while he, along with Cheng Xian and Xiong Da, quickly moved to the backline. After dealing with the four Merfolk Piercers, one Merfolk Barbarian broke away from Mr. Ramen’s aggro and charged towards the thatched cottage. As the Merfolk Barbarian approached the cottage, Granny Li finally moved. "Monster, if you wish to harm my grandson, you’ll have to get past me first—perish now!" Ghost Cry Blade Technique! Dual Blades crossing, creating trailing afterimages, her figure ghost-like, swift and invisible. Whoosh whoosh whoosh—spurtsch! spurtsch! spurtsch! The Merfolk Barbarian’s attacks were like slow motion, unable to touch Granny Li’s clothes in the slightest. In contrast, Granny Li, despite her age, was slashing ruthlessly, her blade drawing blood with every strike, circling the Merfolk Barbarian while unleashing a frenzy of attacks. Before the sequence of the Ghost Cry Blade Technique even finished, the Merfolk Barbarian’s Blood Volume was already draining, and with a final Double Blade Backstab, she easily made the kill. The reputation of the Flying Yaksa was indeed well-deserved. Xiao Jie felt greatly assured. With such a level 24 NPC to assist them, what was there to fear? The three of them took care of the remaining three Barbarians one by one. Just as they sat down to meditate and restore their Inner Strength, Granny Li spoke with a grave expression. "Be cautious, everyone. I have a feeling the enemy is about to get serious." Upon hearing this, Xiao Jie’s heart suddenly grew cold; Granny Li was essentially the mouthpiece of the system—her saying there would be a spawn meant there would be, and her saying there wouldn’t meant there wouldn’t. If she said things were about to get serious, then a BOSS was definitely coming. Sure enough, seconds later, the lake roiled again, and a wave of eight Merfolk surged onto the shore. This wasn’t all; an enormous creature appeared with a boom. It was a giant crab, at least two meters tall and three meters wide, with several strands of seaweed and sea vines serving as reins. Atop it stood an exceedingly strong Merfolk Knight wearing armor crafted from crustacean shells, holding the reins in one hand and brandishing a three-pronged fork in the other, exuding an aura of awe. Merfolk Crab Knight (Merfolk Noble): Level 19 Elite, Life Value: 1300.