Chapter 57 - 57 54 Breaking in

57: Chapter 54: Breaking in 57: Chapter 54: Breaking in After finishing the instant noodles and fully preparing, the two of them left the village again and headed to the Tian Family Mansion, taking advantage of the midday sunshine. Looking at the straw men in the surrounding wheat fields, I Want to Be Immortal curiously said, “Feng, how do we lure out this Tian Daniu?” Xiao Jie had already thought of a strategy. “Since Tian Daniu is fond of martial arts, there must be a place like a martial arts arena around the Tian Family Mansion. Let’s look for it first.” Such a place wasn’t hard to find, and soon they came upon a flat, open space. The land was square and very even, with no weeds or wild wheat. Next to the clearing, they could also see a few rotten spear shafts, broken wooden racks, and a copper gong covered in rust spots. Xiao Jie was still pondering how to draw out Tian Daniu, but when he saw the copper gong, his eyes lit up. Could it be to summon by striking the gong? Such a familiar routine indeed. Let’s give it a try. “Remember,” Xiao Jie instructed I Want to Be Immortal, “if Tian Daniu is summoned, do not fight him head-on. He’s fond of martial arts, which means he must be much stronger than the previous two, maybe even more ferocious than that giant rat. Tian Lishi and Mr. Tian, one a middle-aged lady and the other a dried-up old man, couldn’t have been much stronger after becoming demons. But Tian Daniu is different. He has a natural inclination for martial arts, and I reckon he’s at least as strong as the Lost Soul Mountain Bandit. After becoming a demon, he’s likely to be even stronger. We’ll follow the same strategy we used against the Lost Soul Mountain Bandit. If you get close to him, use your shield for defense; the other person will be responsible for dealing damage, just like when we fought the Lost Soul Mountain Bandit.” “Understood.” Preparations were set, and the two dogs also took their positions. Xiao Jie switched his weapon to a wooden stick and struck the copper gong hard. Dang…!!!! As the copper gong sounded, Xiao Jie shouted into the air. “I heard there’s a master here called Tian Daniu. I, Hidden Moon Following Wind, Sect Leader of Sky Blade Sect, am here to seek guidance.” He wasn’t sure about the exact summoning condition, so he simply combined striking the gong with calling out. Xiao Jie shouted a couple of times, hit the gong twice, and it wasn’t clear which worked, but they saw a burly figure shrouded in dark qi materializing in the air. A black giant more than two and a half meters tall appeared before them. Due to demonization, his entire appearance was exceptionally burly, his expression twisted beyond human likeness, carrying an exaggeratedly designed giant axe in his hand. Tian Daniu (Demon Warrior), Level 9, Life Value 380. Fortunately, he seemed a bit weaker than that giant rat. Tian Daniu (Demon Warrior): “Rascal, who dares to provoke the might of your Grandpa Tian!” Release the arrows! Without a word, they both shot their arrows simultaneously. Whoosh whoosh, two arrows hit Tian Daniu, immediately drawing an angry roar. “A petty sneak attacking with hidden arrows, you’re courting death!” Wielding the giant axe, he charged at them. Since I Want to Be Immortal was using the Snake Spine Longbow, which had a noticeably higher damage output, Tian Daniu went straight for him. Immediately, I Want to Be Immortal switched from double-handed ax to shield paired with a battle axe to fend off Tian Daniu’s chop. Crack, the axe smashed the shield to pieces, and with its unswerving momentum, it hit I Want to Be Immortal. -23! Thankfully he was wearing iron scale armor, so the damage wasn’t too severe. “Run fast!” Xiao Jie shouted while continuously firing arrows, but Tian Daniu wasn’t as mindless as the giant rat, and kept on fiercely chopping at I Want to Be Immortal! As the second axe came down, I Want to Be Immortal could only choose to deflect! Dang, his battle axe blocked the opponent’s attack. But Tian Daniu immediately swept horizontally; this time I Want to Be Immortal failed to deflect successfully and was struck by the axe at the waist. -28! Such high damage! Watching his health bar drop significantly, I Want to Be Immortal was shocked, grateful for the iron armor he wore, or else he might have been chopped to death in just a few blows. Meanwhile, Xiao Jie had closed in behind Tian Daniu. One Cut, Two Pieces! -57! This time Xiao Jie finally drew the aggro. Seeing Tian Daniu turn around and lunge at him, Xiao Jie didn’t dare to take the hit and started to run. On the other side, I Want to Be Immortal hurriedly took the opportunity to drink a potion. Xiao Jie ran in circles, and after being chased by Tian Daniu for two laps, the two dogs pounced on him from left and right, along with I Want to Be Immortal. Axe chopping and dogs biting, a series of attacks made Tian Daniu continuously grunt and lose blood, repeatedly stumbling backward. Roar! He let out a loud shout, and a metallic sheen emerged over his body. Iron Cloth Shirt! Now, facing the axe chops or the dog bites, he was entirely unmoved. He turned around and swept out with his axe. Sweeping Strike! With a single strike, he sent both the person and the dogs flying. Before he could follow up, Xiao Jie struck again from behind. One Cut, Two Pieces! -32! Since he learned this move, it was the first time the damage was below 40. It seemed that this Iron Cloth Shirt not only improved toughness but also greatly increased reduced damage effect. Seeing Tian Daniu turn around and slash horizontally with the axe, Xiao Jie quickly performed a Hawk Roll! He flipped through the air, and the axe swept under him. The moment he landed, Tian Daniu delivered another front-facing chop! Horizontal Slash! Damn, this thing knows combos? Xiao Jie hadn’t expected a mere Level 9 monster to have so many moves; he could only roll to evade. Little did he know that just as the axe swing missed its mark and before it even touched the ground, Tian Daniu immediately stepped forward, lunged, and—upthrust! He sent Xiao Jie, who had just stood up, flying again. -47! The poor mix of leather and cloth he wore immediately showed its downfalls as his health bar dropped by more than a third instantly. Xiao Jie got up and without a word turned and ran. “Run! Kite him!” He couldn’t help sighing as he ran, feeling that his level was still too low, and he hadn’t expected this humanoid monster to be so fierce, chaining combat skills together like a competitive expert, nothing like the brainless NPCs from other games. Good thing it was a 4 versus 1, no need to trade blows with it! The fight had already cost him nearly half his blood volume, a few more rounds and he’d have it down. Running and shooting arrows, I Want to Be Immortal also began to shoot arrows, and with two dogs occasionally rushing up to bite, Tian Daniu’s health bar was gradually ground down. Tian Daniu (Demon Warrior): “Despicable cowards… Ah!” As his health bar hit bottom, he fell with a thunderous crash. Xiao Jie took out a blood bottle and filled his health bar, turning a dangerous fight into a safe one; indeed, there is strength in numbers. The two of them went to check the corpse, and seeing what dropped, Xiao Jie’s eyes lit up. Tian Daniu had dropped two items. The first was a bracelet. [Martial Artist Bracelet (Protective Bracelet) Body Defense +2. Hand-to-Hand Combat +3. Item Introduction: A leather bracelet studded with rivets, a symbol of the martial artist, the studs on the bracelet enhance the power of moves in hand-to-hand combat…] Useless stuff, who fights with bare hands anyway? But the second item was the axe in his hand. [Giant Axe (Heavy Weapon/Fine) Equip Requirement: 30 Strength. Attack: 25 Slashing. Armor-Piercing +5. Weapon Effect: Shattering Strike. When initiating a powerful attack, causes a shattering effect on shields or wooden structures. Weapon Introduction: A giant battle axe that resembles a block of iron, swinging it requires tremendous strength, it is often used to destroy fortifications on the battlefield.] That’s right, this was the thing! Shattering Strike, clearly designed for breaking doors. The only issue was, it needed 30 Strength to be wielded. But he wasn’t planning on following the path of strength… His gaze turned immediately to I Want to Be Immortal. I Want to Be Immortal said, “I just leveled up. If I add another 5 points to my strength, I should be able to handle it.” This touches on a setting in the game: when a player wields a weapon in both hands, they receive a 50% strength bonus. That means 20 Strength could be treated as 30 Strength, but of course, then you can’t use a shield. Similarly, the Yanling Saber could also be used with both hands, but since Xiao Jie’s strength is low to begin with, wielding weapons with both hands only grants limited increase to damage, and he couldn’t use a shield, which isn’t cost-effective. “Then take it.” I Want to Be Immortal had just leveled up after defeating Tian Daniu and allocated all his attributes to strength. Wielding the Giant Axe with both hands, he indeed managed to lift it. The Giant Axe weighed 30, so now, I Want to Be Immortal’s carried weight directly hit heavy; he couldn’t roll anymore, just stand and fight. Looking at I Want to Be Immortal, clad in iron armor and wielding the Giant Axe, he still looked imposing. Only, he was getting further and further from the image of an Immortal. At this point, I Want to Be Immortal seemed to have forgotten his original goal of seeking the Immortal Path, his eyes filled only with desires for the riches inside the Tian Family Mansion. The two arrived at the entrance of the Tian Family Mansion, I Want to Be Immortal targeting the door and starting to charge up. Charging Heavy Strike! Boom! With one strike of the axe, the door was cleaved with a crack. -48! It’s working! Xiao Jie thought. Next, they would likely face the final enemy of the quest, Tian Youcai. Though only a quest monster, being the final step of the quest line, he was not to be underestimated. The safest method would be to level up a few times before coming back, but the game was an online game after all, who knew when other players might pop up, and if someone else snagged the quest, all previous efforts would be wasted. Fortunately, now that they had bows and hunting dogs, there was a lot more room for maneuver. Xiao Jie, though worried, wasn’t too concerned. “Chengxian, as soon as the door opens, you need to back off immediately. If there’s any big monster inside, we’ll pull it out and fight it. Try to use bows to wear it down as much as possible, don’t engage in close combat lightly.” “Understood.” “Continue.” Xiao Jie said, also commanding the two dogs to lie down on either side of the door; he bent his bow and readied an arrow, directly aiming at the door. In case there was any monster inside when it opened, he’d be ready to attract its aggro immediately. I Want to Be Immortal’s axe strikes brought the door’s durability to an end, and finally, it broke with a loud crash, revealing the interior of the Tian Family Mansion.