Your secret game is absolutely poisonous!

The casualties far exceeded expectations.

But they finally managed to break in.

Mengbai must cherish the opportunity and make good use of the remaining people.

If all the faded ones die or give up and run away, it will be impossible to gather another batch of cannon fodder in a short period of time.

Fortunately, despite knowing that continuing was extremely dangerous, the temptations of the national treasure of Kalia and the great runes on Meng Bai's body were too great, so not a single deserter chose to continue.

Meng Bai breathed a sigh of relief.

She is not afraid of anyone plotting against her.

I'm afraid these guys will back down and run away now.

Although the magic trap killed half of the Faded Ones, most of those who died were the weaker ones. Of the forty-odd second-tier Faded Ones, more than thirty survived, so the current combat strength of this force is still not weak!

With a shield in his left hand and the hound Longfang in his right, Mengbai led his men into the city of Kalia.

The first area we arrived at was a large garden, which was overgrown with weeds and shrubs and had very lush trees, probably because it had been neglected for a long time.

No suspicious targets!

There were no magical traps either.

"This place doesn't seem to be defended."

Meng Bai personally led the search but found no guards. Just as she breathed a sigh of relief and was preparing to quickly cross the area, she suddenly heard a shrill scream coming from the back of the group.

A stargazer dressed as a faded figure at the back of the line was ambushed.

He was being held in the palm of a giant hand that burst from the ground. The violent force crushed his bones and ruptured his internal organs, and he was bleeding from all seven orifices, looking quite miserable.

"What huge hands!"

"Could it be a giant? If it is a giant, it must be at least one or two times larger than a mountain troll!"

"No, it's not a giant. Look closely, this monster only has one hand; it doesn't seem to have any other body parts!"

"..."

At this moment, Mengbai received a notification:
[You've unlocked the monster encyclopedia entry: Finger Bug!]

Meng Bai immediately shouted, "Everyone be careful! These are the finger worms that the blacksmith Iggy warned about. They are magical creatures that the Kalia mages specially bred to deal with foreign invasions."

The other faded ones and adventurers then realized what was happening.

The attacker was a gigantic hand with seven fingers as thick as buckets, each covered in pustules, looking both bizarre and ugly.

Meng Bai couldn't help but complain, "What an abstract monster! It looks kind of disgusting!"

At this moment, the big-fingered bug abandoned the attacked Faded Stargazer, who had no vital signs. Then, it used its seven fingers to crawl at high speed on the ground and pounced on the nearest Faded Star with an extremely fierce momentum.

"Kill it quickly!"

Meng Bai dared not be careless at all.

According to the monster encyclopedia entry and description.

Although this monster looks bizarre, it is by no means weak. At its highest level, it can possess the strength of a second-tier five-star monster. However, the one encountered at this moment is not the strongest, but it still has the strength of a second-tier three-star monster.

The other faded ones have already realized what's happening.

Poison darts, magical swords, storm blades, and prayer flames rained down on the finger worm. Although the finger worm was quite powerful, it had no chance of survival under such a dense attack.

Is that all the strength you've got?

That's not enough to threaten the Faded Ones!
Meng Bai, however, was not so optimistic: "Hurry up! Finger worms are social monsters, and their reproductive ability is extremely strong. There must be more than one around here. We must leave immediately!"

The reason why the magicians of the Kingdom of Kalia created monsters like finger worms is mainly to use them as biological weapons and landmines. Finger worms reproduce rapidly in suitable environments and like to hide underground, making them difficult to detect.

She shouted, and only two seconds had passed.

One after another, hand-shaped monsters of varying sizes emerged from all directions.

The largest is comparable to a small truck, while the smallest is about the size of a washbasin.

The former is clearly an early-released finger bug, and its strength is very strong, generally no weaker than second-tier two- or three-star bugs.

The latter should have naturally multiplied over the past few years. Although their strength is generally only around three stars at the first tier, with only a few reaching four or five stars at the first tier, their numbers are enormous.

At a glance.

The entire garden was densely packed.

They were all walking hand monsters.

They crawl quickly using multiple fingers.

It was like thousands of giant spiders wreaking havoc.

The adventurers had never seen such a bizarre and grotesque scene.
Meng Bai was also horrified by these disgusting monsters.

Lord Qi is such a prankster! He always manages to come up with something unexpected!
When dozens or hundreds of large finger insects and thousands of small finger insects surged in from all directions like a tidal wave, the faded ones completely lost their fighting spirit and will to fight.

Too much!
There's simply no way to deal with it!

This is only because they were alerted!
Who knows how many finger worms still live in this forest!

If you can't escape in time, you'll be doomed. The finger worms are deployed here as a defense and are unlikely to enter the city. So you'll be safe as long as you escape to the castle in front!
With the help of the white-haired Vic Dragon Thunder, it charged forward, wielding its long fangs and slaying several small finger insects.

Just then, a giant finger worm blocked their way.

With a single claw, it knocked Mengbai back.

"Pray with fire!"

Meng Bai conjured a ball of blazing flame in her left hand and hurled it at the insect. When the menacing giant finger insect was hit by the flame, it immediately let out a painful hiss, rolled on the ground, and quickly became weak.

"They are afraid of fire!"

"Attack with fire!"

These monsters are incredibly resilient; ordinary slashing and radiant magic attacks are unlikely to kill them completely. However, after several experiments by the Faded One, it was discovered that only fire damage could produce remarkable results.

Among the monsters, a particularly large finger worm appeared.

This guy has nine fingers, and his middle finger is adorned with multiple rings engraved with magical runes.

The big-fingered insect extended its middle finger at the faded one.

One of the rings lit up, gathering purple energy at its tip before shooting it into the faded ones. The purple energy instantly erupted among them, causing them to feel their bodies being suppressed and controlled.

Purple is the color of gravitational energy at the boundary.

This magical finger worm had clearly activated some kind of gravity magic with a control effect. The several fading beings that were controlled by it completely lost their ability to escape. They were instantly covered and overwhelmed by more than a dozen small finger worms, and were eventually torn to pieces.

"This monster can use magic?!"

The adventurers were stunned by what they saw.

Many of the large finger insects wore magic rings, which they could activate to unleash magic attacks, causing significant casualties to the Faded Ones once again.

"It's over!"

"We're about to be surrounded!"

"Looks like we're all going to die here!"

Faced with the densely packed hand-shaped monsters, everyone felt despair.

Both the faded ones on site and the adventurers of Miracle City felt hopeless.

At this moment, Meng Bai changed his equipment. When he put this equipment on his left hand, it was a flying dragon head. When he punched, the dragon head would bite the finger worms that were hit.

"A limb-splitting flying dragon? This is a limb-splitting flying dragon!"

"This is the special equipment obtained by exchanging Grek's memories?"

"..."

Meng Bai raised her left hand.

She shouted, "Witness this!"

Meng Bai was not imitating Grik, but rather activating the unique combat technique of the limb-splitting dragon. The moment she shouted those words, the little dragon on her left hand was suddenly given life and let out a roar.

A massive amount of dragon flames was summoned.

It rained down from the sky, enveloping the surroundings like raindrops.

The primary coverage direction is directly in front.

Dozens of insects of various sizes were burned by the flames and cried out in agony.

"So handsome!"

"Good job!"

"Mengbai boss is awesome!"

"..."

Amidst the cheers and applause of the audience.

Mengbai, relying on the unique combat skills of the limb-splitting dragon, temporarily suppressed the nearby finger worms. The other faded beings also quickly took action, and those with fire magic or prayer spells used fire to clear a path, finally managing to carve out a way to survive at the critical moment.

……

A few minutes later.

The faded ones ascend the castle.

Looking down at the garden from the castle walls.

Everyone has that chilling feeling of surviving a disaster.

The garden of Kalia was teeming with finger worms, numbering at least several thousand, perhaps even tens of thousands, forming a grotesque and twisted jungle of fingers and palms of all sizes.

They scurried around below.

However, they did not attempt to climb the city wall.

As Meng Bai predicted, these strange finger insects, which were deployed outside the castle, would not enter the castle area, so as long as they escaped into this area, they would be basically safe.

Take inventory of the remaining faded items.

Twenty people were killed in the sudden insect swarm attack!

This is all thanks to Meng Bai's quick thinking and timely correct choice.

Otherwise, the loss wouldn't just be a few people, but a complete and utter annihilation without any doubt.

Meng Bai gave the Faded Ones a pep talk: "The more terrifying the traps Kalia left in the fortress, the more precious the treasures hidden in this city are. We've survived countless near-death experiences to get here, so we must persevere no matter what!"

"That's right! Magic traps couldn't possibly be densely deployed inside the castle!"

"Our next operation should be much safer!"

"..."

"what!"

Suddenly, a scream rang out.

One of the faded figures had a sword piercing his chest. The sword was not a physical object but a spirit. The attacker appeared silently, giving him no time to prepare or react.

Pull it out immediately.

One sword kills the head!
Another faded one has died!
[You have unlocked the monster encyclopedia entry: Rayalucaria Soldier (Spirit)!!]

When the unfortunate faded one falls.

Only then did everyone get a clear look at the attacker.

This is a soldier wearing a cylindrical cloak with azalea patterns. Although his equipment is complete and excellent, everything from his body to his armor and weapons is made of blue spiritual energy.

Meng Bai immediately shouted, "These are soldiers from Realucaria! They've been transformed into spirit forms!"

The soldiers of Reyalucaria belong to the Magic Academy, but the Reyalucaria Academy does not have a well-organized, direct armed force. Their armed forces are mainly the Cuckoo Knights, which they hire and train.

The soldiers' armor was decorated with azalea patterns.

The description indicates that they were squires of the Cuckoo Knights.

The Cuckoo Soldiers originally came with the Cuckoo Knights to attack Kalia. They were probably captured after dying in battle, and their souls were eventually transformed into spirit forms by Kalia's mages using unknown means, thus becoming the local guards.

"No!"

"Damn it!"

"There are so many of them, they're everywhere!"

"..."

When the first spirit soldier appeared and successfully assassinated a faded one, the second, the third, the fourth... soon more than a dozen spirit soldiers appeared around.

Some soldiers carried greatswords, some carried spears and shields, and others used hammers and blunt weapons.

These spirit soldiers are utterly devoid of reason; they are pure killing machines, indiscriminately attacking all intruders. Not only do they retain all their battle memories from their previous lives, but most terrifyingly, when they are in a dormant state, they cannot be locked onto by the naked eye or detection spells, and they only reveal themselves when they enter combat mode.

in other words.

Only when approaching and launching an attack.

These are the ones that can be seen with the naked eye, making it difficult for people not to fall into an unexpected and passive situation.

"Hold them off!"

"Clean it up as soon as possible!"

"Otherwise, this will never end!"

Meng Bai discovered that in just a short while, more than a dozen spirit soldiers had gathered around him, and one after another they were appearing out of thin air. Who knew how many spirit soldiers were nearby? If he didn't break out quickly, he might be surrounded!

The elusive spirit soldiers caused the Faded Ones great suffering.

One after another, those whose skin had faded were pierced by a gun or sword that suddenly appeared from behind.

These spirit soldiers are not only swift in their attacks, but they also carry Azalea Glowstones, magical artifacts used by the Azalea Soldiers. These grenade-like objects are thrown and form magical orbs upon impact, causing magical damage.

But fortunately.

Although these soldiers are in spirit form.

However, it is not immune to physical attacks, and the spiritual body is relatively fragile.

After Mengbai led the adventurers to quickly eliminate the twenty or thirty spirit soldiers who had gathered there.

She immediately realized that she could not linger in one place, or she would be surrounded by more spirit soldiers, so she quickly led the Faded One toward the center of the castle.

Sure enough, a large number of spirit soldiers were lurking along this route.

Meng Bai didn't know exactly how many soldiers were in Kalia Fortress. It might be a few hundred or a thousand. Among them were not only ordinary spirit soldiers, but also spirit knights transformed from cuckoo knights, whose combat power was definitely not weak!

The most troublesome thing is...

They are not like Stoneville.

Stoneville is also heavily guarded, with not only a large number of exiled soldiers and the regular army of Grik, but also troublesome units such as the Knights of Grik, the Knights of Lost Home, and the limb-splitting nobles.

However, Grek's troop distribution was regular and observable.

Kalia's spirit soldiers lacked intelligence and logical distribution, and were unable to anticipate events. As a result, they awakened many spirit soldiers along the way, and more spirit soldiers from even further away continued to arrive.

Those who have faded are falling one by one!

When Meng Bai arrived deep within the castle and finally escaped the area guarded by the spirit soldiers, her expression turned grim, because only twenty-six Faded Ones remained by her side!

These cuckoo soldiers, whose souls are enslaved everywhere, caused more casualties than the finger worms!
"This is absolutely terrifying!"

"Kalia Fortress must be the headquarters of the underworld!"

"Yes, whether it's the finger insects or the spirit soldiers, these monsters are too eerie. I didn't expect that the two hundred people that Boss Mengbai gathered would be almost all killed or injured so quickly!"

"I'll show you what the malice of that old scoundrel Qi really is!"

"..."

Faced with such a dark and gloomy area.

The onlookers also complained repeatedly.

The spirit soldiers of Kalia Fortress were only active in the outer areas. After Meng Bai broke through the densely populated area of ​​spirit soldiers, although the threat of the spirit soldiers gradually dissipated, he encountered an even more troublesome challenge.

Troll Knight!

Completely different from the trolls in the wild or the trolls and laborers in Stoneville.

These trolls wear helmets and cloaks of the Knights of Caria, and wield a greatsword imbued with magic. They not only possess greater combat power but also the ability to use magic.

They were responsible for guarding the upper core area of ​​the Kalia fortress.

Although their numbers are not large, each one possesses the strength of a third-tier, second-star being, enough to pose a significant threat to the Faded Ones!
Meng Bai's only consolation was that these mountain demons were not as smart or intelligent as the blacksmith Yiji outside, which made it possible to lure them in batches and gradually eliminate them.

After a fierce battle.

There are nine faded ones left around Meng Bai.

From over two hundred people at the beginning to only nine left, the entire process took less than two hours. One can imagine how difficult this adventure and exploration was and how tragic the casualties were.

As casualties mount.

The survivors who had faded became increasingly restless.

Meng Bai sensed the murderous intent and malice directed at her.

The Faded Ones were clearly getting impatient; they were gradually losing interest in Kalia's national treasure, because, given the current situation, the chances of seizing the Great Rune of Grik were obviously much greater.

The weakest of the nine surviving Faded Ones is at least Tier 2, Star 1.

If you find yourself in a nine-against-one situation, you're doomed.

Of course, we can't just sit and wait to die.

"We suffered heavy casualties to get here, and we were about to enter the core area of ​​Kalia Fortress. We absolutely cannot give up, otherwise all our sacrifices will have been in vain. I don't think we'll have another chance to break in anytime soon!"

"I only want Rune."

"All the other treasures are yours!"

Meng Bai continued, "There are still several troll knights nearby. They could discover our movements at any time, and we no longer have the ability to deal with another one of Kalia's troll knights. We can only move forward!"

These words reveal two points.

First, he emphasizes sunk costs and opportunities, while simultaneously announcing his abandonment of the treasure to inspire the fighting spirit of several faded individuals.

Secondly, Meng Bai emphasized the threat posed by the other mountain troll knights in the vicinity. The meaning he conveyed was that he was not capable of fighting nine against one, but he had a way to lure the mountain troll knights to their deaths, at which point no one would survive!

The nine survivors who had faded were already hesitant.

They do indeed have ambitious plans to seize the Great Rune.

However, the nine people were not allies. The current situation was extremely complicated. If they were to fight to the death, none of them were confident that they could have the last laugh. In the end, they could only agree to continue moving forward and searching for the Kalia treasure.

Even if it means taking action to steal the Great Rune.

That means you need to find a safe place.

The ten then headed towards the core area of ​​the royal city of Kalia.

At this moment, Mengbai saw a fog door, and nearby there was an adventurer's exclusive blessing of miracles. When she got close, the blessing was automatically activated, which meant that Mengbai had set up a resurrection point here.

Immediately overjoyed.

After all, this wasn't her first time fighting a boss in the border region.

With this fog gate and this blessing, it's almost certain that the ultimate test of Kalia Fortress lies ahead!

Meng Bai was initially worried that the operation might go wrong because the city of Kalia was too dangerous, and they wouldn't have had time to find blessing points along the way. Now, she could finally put her worries to rest.

With this blessing.

This gives you room for trial and error.

She decisively led the faded ones into the square.

This place is an enclosed circular plaza with only one passageway to enter. The center features a huge circular pool, resembling a lake, surrounded by dozens of luxurious seats.

"here it is……"

"Kalia's Royal Palace!"

All nine of them, whose skin had faded, showed expressions of joy.

Rumor has it that Kalia's treasure is hidden nearby!

Before anyone could take any further action, a powerful aura suddenly descended.

[You have unlocked the monster encyclopedia entry: Royal Guard Knight Loretta (Magical Spirit)!]

The adventurers outside saw through the secret realm crystal a burly knight riding a giant horse in the center of the round lake. Her body, armor, weapons, and warhorse were all made of spirit, but she was different from ordinary souls.

"A rare Tier 3, 4-star unit!"

When Mengbai saw the description on the illustration, her expression changed slightly.

Although this was not the true form of the knight named Loretta, but merely a special spirit created by magic, it still possessed such formidable power. And what was even worse was—

After the appearance of the Royal Guard Knight Loretta.

Three more mountain troll knight spirits have appeared near the round lake.

Troll Knights possess the strength of a Tier 3, 2-star ordinary unit.

If this Faded Ones squad were only facing three Mountain Knights, they might find it a little difficult, but they could probably handle it. However, when they had to deal with them while fighting the BOSS, the difficulty level was completely hellish!
One of the faded figures looked horrified: "This is Loretta, the Royal Guard Commander of Kalia! She's someone we can't possibly handle!"

The other faded being, though his face was grim, scoffed, "Loretta is strong, but what's appearing now is nothing more than an illusion. In my opinion, there's nothing to worry about..."

however.

Before the faded one could finish speaking.

Loretta suddenly leaped ten or twenty meters into the air on her horse, then activated her combat technique in mid-air, transforming her right-hand scythe into a large bow and instantly firing a magical arrow over three meters long.

too fast!
The faded one had no chance to react or dodge; he was instantly pierced and killed by the giant magic arrow. Meanwhile, Loretta swung her battle scythe in mid-air and summoned three enormous magic swords, charging menacingly towards him.

"Oops!"

"Hold her off!"

The Faded Ones realized that even if they couldn't unleash their full power, this hero-level being who had participated in many famous battles was not someone they, as nobodys, could mess with.

"So strong!"

"But how can we fight like this? There's absolutely no chance!"

"To be honest, this girl named Loretta, her skills are so cool, especially that magic bow move, it's blinding!"

"..."

The adventurers of Miracle City were all excited and thrilled.

"Royal Knight" Loretta led the Troll Knights in a mighty rampage, sweeping away the Faded Ones.

The outcome of this battle was not much of a surprise, as the BOSS's side was incredibly strong. Although Meng Bai brought nine skilled Faded Ones, they were unable to form an effective fighting force due to their complete lack of coordination.

Mengbai observes Loretta's battles and moves and discovers...

This guy is basically an enhanced version, plus a magical version of the "Tree Guardian"!
Loretta's fighting and charging style is very similar to that of the Tree Guardians. Perhaps the top heavy knights of the borderlands are all similar in this respect. However, compared to the Tree Guardians, the Tree Guardians are too cumbersome, while Loretta is very agile and swift.

Not only that.

The biggest difference between the two is that...

Loretta is not only a formidable knight, but also possesses powerful magical abilities, especially her magic greatbow, which has an extremely long range and immense power. The Faded Ones have absolutely no way to resist it; being hit by an arrow means certain death!
She can also use various royal magics of the Kalia family and the radiant stone magic of the magic academy.

Less than five minutes.

Those who faded were wiped out.

Mengbai failed the challenge and exited the secret realm.

"Meng Bai is awesome! Even in front of such a monster, he was able to last for so many rounds!"

"Loretta is too strong, and with several mountain knights helping her, such a being is simply not something we can deal with at this stage."

"The expert should level up as soon as possible before going back to challenge it!"

"..."

Meng Bai, however, thought differently.

After a short rest, they launched another challenge.

When she entered the Caria Round Lake Square again to trigger the BOSS battle, surprisingly, only Loretta spawned on the scene this time, and the three Troll Knights did not appear.

"Huh? What's going on?"

"Why didn't the Mountain Knight spawn?!"

"I see... This Mountain Knight isn't a guaranteed encounter, but rather a power balancing mechanism."

"In the last game, Mengbai brought nine surviving Faded Ones, which triggered this mechanism and generated three Troll Knights. But this time, he was playing alone, so no Troll Knights spawned."

"..."

Baihe Jushi stated, "While it would be quite difficult in a one-on-one duel, I am fully capable of fighting this battle!"

Higanbana: "It might not be the case for others, but if it's Meng Bai, then it shouldn't be a big problem!"

Wanshan Guhong nodded in agreement: "Yes, after all, this is a formidable character who defeated the Great Tree Knight in the initial stage with an unenhanced body. With her abilities, defeating this Royal Guard Knight Loretta should not be a problem!"

-

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