Scourge Messenger

Chapter 55 The Power of Natural Disaster
Unlike the Tears Alliance, the Companions Bond doesn't unlock the second token for statues like Blademaster; it simply increases their stats. So how effective is it in actual combat?
Outside the city walls, three warriors charged towards Lei Kuangshi. The leader, a warrior clad in massive armor, was a dragon-breaking warrior. With his armor on, he stood 2.3 meters tall and his shoulders were nearly a meter wide, making his head appear small. Suddenly, he looked like a dragonfly warrior.

He wielded a greatsword as long as himself, charging forward like a dump truck. Thunder Lion, seemingly threatened, somersaulted to gather his strength, then slammed a lightning-streaked palm at the Dragonbreaker Warrior!
clang!
With a loud bang, the Dragon Breaker's arm was broken in the back. The Thunder Lion tried to take advantage of the situation and continued to attack with its claws, but at this moment, the Blade Warrior wielding a long sword and the Chaos Warrior holding a sword and shield had arrived. The three of them circled around the Thunder Lion and actually managed to withstand this Foundation Establishment beast!
这就是+100气血+100灵巧的威力——即便是主修气血灵巧的玩家，在39级时也大概也就100气血和100灵巧。

Even if the Demon King's stats are slightly higher, they won't be much higher. +100 HP and +100 Dexterity are at least double their strength. Moreover, this effect will stack for each additional member of the Comrades Guild, meaning their HP and Dexterity are already over 300!
Although Yan Qing didn't know the exact stats of the Thunder Lion, he vaguely remembered that for skilled players who chose the Qi and Blood Foundation Building path, the highest starting point upon entering the fourth job advancement was around 1000—while for ordinary players it should be a couple hundred lower. Based on this calculation, the Thunder Lion, as a beginner monster for the fourth job advancement, should have between 500 and 800 health. While it would still be stronger than the three warriors of the War Companions, it wouldn't be able to kill them with a single blow.

In just a short while, Chaos Warrior and Blade Warrior were injured again, but Dragon Slayer's arm, which had been bent backward, had already recovered completely. The powerful recovery ability brought by 300 health points was enough to allow them to quickly recover from injuries in battle.

But the same applies to Lei Kuangshi.

Even though it was badly wounded by the three of them, Lei Kuangshi's wounds were healing at a visible speed, stopping the bleeding almost instantly after being slashed. If it hadn't been forced to attack the shelter by the Mansu Forest, Yan Qing and the others would have had no chance of killing it—it would just run away to heal when injured, and come back to fight when it was healed. Who could defeat it?
But at this moment, Narcissus Mermaid, Funeral Mermaid, and Condor Archer were already in position to focus their attacks. With their interference and control of the field, Thunder Lion's situation became even more difficult, and his angry roar shook the heavens and the earth.

Seeing that the situation was relatively stable, Yan Qing decisively controlled 'Jiang Shi' to jump off the city wall and join the battle. Although there were defensive tokens, participating in such a high-level melee was still extremely risky. Given Lei Kuangshi's speed of six claws per second, 'Jiang Shi' could be instantly killed.

But Yan Qing has more faith in his own skills—he feels that his dynamic vision and operational precision have surpassed his seventeen-year-old self, and after becoming a Martial Arts Messenger, he is able to fully utilize all the performance capabilities of his game character.

Seeing this, Qian Gongyu instinctively wanted to rush out as well, but Shang Xinlei immediately grabbed her: "She's pushing her limits, you're just courting death!"

"It's too dangerous," Jie Yuanshao said. "Why is she in such a hurry? With her talent, she could easily reach the peak through slow and steady cultivation."

"It's not so much that she was anxious, but rather that she was clear-headed," Shang Xinlei said. "She's different from us... She's very clear about her path, and she takes every step without hesitation, never regretting her choices for a single second."

Qian Gongyu was somewhat surprised: "Would you hesitate and regret it?"

"Of course." Jie Yuanshao's voice was deep. "The family sees me as the most promising candidate of this generation to break through to the fourth level, but have I really chosen the right path? I have talent in swordsmanship, saber techniques, and spear techniques, but I chose swordsmanship... Can I really master swordsmanship to the point of reaching the pinnacle and approaching the Immortal Foundation?"

"I don't have the same family responsibilities as Miss Jie, but I'm usually quite... opinionated and often do things that my family doesn't allow," Shang Xinlei said. "Although I'm very happy about it, I sometimes wonder if I've done something wrong."

Qian Gongyu said, "I thought that people of your noble bloodline would have planned their lives long ago..."

True nobility does not come from the inheritance of bloodline, but from the determination forged through countless trials.

Jie Yuanshao gazed at the distant battlefield where life and death clashed, a look of admiration appearing on his usually stern face: "Although I still don't agree with her risky approach, I have to admit..."

"I really want to witness her future, everything about her."

After a full half-hour of grueling, blood-soaked battle, Thunder Lion finally succumbed to the torture and collapsed with a final roar. Yan Qing's side fared no better; all three of his comrades were critically wounded, the Funeral Mermaid was accidentally killed, and only the Narcissus Mermaid and the Eagle Shooter remained unharmed.

However, as the system popped up a message, all the hard work turned into joy:

"The 'Bronze Hunter' milestone has been achieved."

"The Iron-Blooded Longsword (Jiang Shi's exclusive blood weapon) has been unlocked from its seal, and you can take it out of the Mansu Forest."

"You have comprehended the 'Advanced Steps', and your current level is 3."

"You have mastered the Advanced Sword Technique, currently at level 1."

"Since this is the player's first breakthrough of level 5, the next wave of monsters will attack after 59:59."

Yan Qing was a little confused. In order to enable his teammates to have combat power as soon as possible, he deliberately let go of a lot of monsters in the third and fourth waves to allow them to unseal their blood weapons. Therefore, his kill count was only over two hundred, which was still a long way from three hundred. How could it suddenly be unsealed?
Upon closer inspection, he realized that because his damage output against Lei Kuangshi accounted for 10%, the game rewarded him with 50 kills.

In other words, if you can kill the Thunder Lion in one go, it's equivalent to killing five hundred monsters directly.

But who can solo a fourth-tier monster using a first-tier token? A seventh-tier player?
Yan Qing felt that there was still a lot of content to explore in this dungeon, but unfortunately his level was too low, so he could only come back next year.

"We'll have half an hour to search tomorrow, and we need to try to break through the tenth level."

"If a fourth-tier demon has appeared in the fifth level, what kind of monster will appear in the tenth level?" Qian Gongyu exclaimed.

"Is it really that important to advance to the tenth level?" Shang Xinlei asked with great insight.

"Very important."

"Then go back and get some rest, and try your best tomorrow," Jie Yuanshao said. "Let's discuss the architectural plan again over dinner tonight." The four stepped into the mist, and Qian Gongyu exclaimed, "My iron claws are gone!"

"My flying ring is gone too. I didn't kill enough enemies to bring it out." Shang Xinlei glanced at "Jiang Shi": "You can bring out your blood weapon now?"

"Um."

"Can we hide it?" Jie Yuanshao looked at Jiang Shi, his tone devoid of command or request, merely a simple inquiry.

Seeing that Jiang Shi readily accepted the advice and put away his iron-blooded longsword, everyone relaxed a bit and stepped out of the thick fog with light steps.

"Yuan Shao!"

"Welcome back, everyone."

"Did the Thunder Lion just appear inside?"

"You defeated the fourth-tier demon?"

As soon as they stepped out of the Mansu Forest, the group that had been waiting outside for half an hour immediately surrounded them. Apart from Jie Zilong, who was concerned about whether Jie Yuanshao was alright, Qun Yushu, Chen Linchuan, and the others were more interested in what had happened inside. They blocked the way in front of the four-person team, their expressions full of curiosity and excitement.

When Shang Xinlei gave an affirmative answer, Chen Linchuan's pupils contracted sharply, and his mouth opened and closed as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he said nothing. Qun Yushu, on the other hand, was very straightforward, giving them a thumbs up with his face full of admiration: "Awesome!"

"Are you capable of defeating Thunder Lion?"

A pale-faced middle-aged man behind them suddenly asked, "You don't even have a single third-tier messenger. How can you possibly withstand the attack of Thunder Lion?"

Qian Gongyu blurted out, "Of course it's by relying on—"

"You're hungry." Shang Xinlei covered Qian Gongyu's mouth directly. "Sorry, we're tired and hungry. Let's talk about it later."

The middle-aged man nodded, and just when everyone thought the topic was temporarily over, his right hand suddenly stretched out strangely, like a venomous snake attacking 'Jiang Shi'!
Snapped!
The first to react was neither 'Jiang Shi' nor any of the other three messengers, but Qian Gongyu, who was closest to and most concerned about 'Jiang Shi'!
She reached out to meet the middle-aged man's snake-like hand, and they exchanged blows three times in a flash!

"stop!"

"Lu Xiaoqi!"

Those around immediately separated the middle-aged man from Qian Gongyu and the others. Jie Zilong's face was extremely ugly: "Lu Xiaoqi, you've traveled all this way to Mansu Forest just to control the situation by force? Is this your intention, or the imperial court's?"

"Lu Wangji," Qun Yushu said with a forced smile, "If there's something to discuss, let's talk it out calmly. Why resort to violence? Your Xiaojiwei really needs to change your habit of testing people."

However, the middle-aged man just stared at his right hand, his expression as if he had seen a ghost. He glanced at Qian Gongyu at the back of the crowd, then slowly raised his right hand, letting everyone see that there were three bloody scratches on his right palm.

"Lu Wangji, has your strength declined to the point that even a maid can hurt you?" Chen Linchuan sneered.

The middle-aged man shook his head.

"My protective mirror has been working continuously. Although her silk hand charm is good, it's impossible for it to break through the seven layers of the protective mirror," he said. "Her attack didn't even break the first layer, but I was still injured."

"Moreover, several breaths have passed now, and my wound is still bleeding."

Upon hearing this, Jie Zilong and the others' expressions changed slightly, and they all turned to look at Qian Gongyu. Qian Gongyu, who had never been so valued before, immediately became nervous and shrank behind Jiang Shi with small steps.

"Ignoring the power of tokens and preventing the self-healing of qi and blood, as far as I know, only one power can do this."

The middle-aged man, Lu Wangji, slowly uttered a name that sounded somewhat familiar to Yan Qing:
"The power of natural disasters."

　Thanks to the village chief of the newbie village, Taipal, for joining the alliance.

　　Only when I see your name do I remember that I wrote this book before...

　　
　
(End of this chapter)