Immortal Dao Fruits, Cards to Help Me

Chapter 28 Beat them to death!
It's often said that humans are visual creatures, and many are even seasoned members of the "appearance association."

As for the good-looking monster, there was a bit of pity and regret, so they decided to avoid killing it if possible.

But the players really went all out against the mice!
This is not only because the rat-man is really not good-looking, but more importantly, the rat is really wicked!
There are many more evil and brutal alien races, and even more disgusting and bloodthirsty monsters. There are even many monsters like skeletons and zombies that are naturally opposed to living things and that you feel no guilt about killing.

But it's so true that everyone hates rats.

These monsters, they really steal from you!

While we were fighting, something silently disappeared from your body.

If we lose the fight and the mouse gets away, then this whole thing will be a loss.

Just keep looking, something's definitely missing.

Furthermore, the mice often hide in the shadows and ambush players, or attack players who are camping outside at night.

As a result, players have reached a consensus: experience is acceptable, but the mouse must die!

The same applies to this world; it's in a mouse's nature to steal.

It's just that it's quite far from the human settlements near Wadang Fort, otherwise they'd be busy every night.
In short: If you encounter a mouse, beat it to death!
……

By the time they reached the foot of the dark mountain, the sun was already setting.

Chen Xiuxian and Lao Niu sat down to rest, and had something to eat and some water.

Chen Xiuxian took out the bone dice and released the gambling addict Ma Si'er.

"Ma Si'er, go take a look at that mine halfway up the mountain and check out the terrain and the enemies inside. Be careful, those ratmen can see ghosts too, don't alert them," Chen Xiuxian instructed.

"Yes, sir!" Ma Si'er replied in a drawn-out tone, and then drifted away like the wind.

After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Chen Xiuxian and Lao Niu had everything ready, including all sorts of props and powders.

Normally, nighttime is the domain of spirits and demons; one should play to their strengths and avoid their weaknesses.

Chen Xiuxian: "Since we have to go into the mine anyway, what difference does it make whether it's day or night with torches?"

Upon hearing this, the old ox nodded vigorously: "That's right."

Ma Si'er emerged from the woods like a puff of smoke. "My lord, Old Ma is back."

"How to say?"

"My lord, that cave extends deep underground into the mountain, and it's very deep and has many interconnected paths. I've carefully explored it by going through the walls for over a thousand steps, but I still haven't seen the end. Instead, I've already seen four or five branching paths..."

"Besides the complex terrain, there are also many monsters inside. I've seen over a hundred ratmen alone. Some of them wear strange headdresses and have some stone and bone fragments on their bodies, looking like shamans. I felt a chill run down my spine just from getting a little closer..."

The ratman miners here are level 8 to 10, with the occasional elite monster.

That person who looked like a shaman performing rituals, and who terrified Ma Si'er, was probably a ratman shaman who knew some magic.

This hematite mine is quite deep, with many forks and dead ends. The terrain is complex, and there are many ratmen; it's their territory.

Going too deep into it would be inappropriate.

After discussing with Lao Niu, the two decided to "lure the enemy to attack their reinforcements"!
……

The mine entrance was actually guarded by four ratmen.

Although Ma Si'er's combat ability is average, it is not difficult for him to ambush and kill one or two ratmen.

Chen Xiuxian secretly threw hidden stones, and the four ratmen were killed without making a sound.

Two cards were even overdrawn:

[Pine Resin Lighting Torch (White)]...

[Rat (White)]

Level 1 vocabulary cards
According to the Shuowen Jiezi (a Chinese dictionary), "rat" is the general name for all burrowing insects.

Evaluation: A card with the "rat" attribute.

The torch was nothing special; it was just a tool, dispensable.

But what does this rat mean?
Forget it, I can't worry about that right now.

The mine shafts of that hematite vein are only 1.9 to 2 meters high, which is because the ore layer is relatively high. Otherwise, given the height of the ratmen, they probably would have only excavated a vein a little over a meter high, and then there would have been no way to excavate it.

Even now, the old ox has to bend its legs and bend its back slightly, otherwise its horns might get caught on its head!
Chen Xiuxian sent Ma Si'er out as a scout, and then he and Lao Niu sneaked into the mine.

These rat-men have dim vision and only need a tiny light source to see in the dark. So they all have a twig soaked in pine resin on their heads, which, when lit, produces a fist-sized ball of light that allows them to move freely in the dark.

But Chen Xiuxian and his group couldn't manage that; they could only carry a pine branch torch each—pine trees were very common in Liaodong. Fortunately, Ma Si'er was scouting ahead, which allowed Chen Xiuxian and his group to take the initiative.

The mine shaft was located on the mountainside, deep inside the mountains, but it soon began to twist and turn, then descend.

According to Ma Si'er's exploration, the mine will eventually lead underground.

Chen Xiuxian and Lao Niu didn't dare to go too deep. They only walked about three or five hundred steps inside and quietly killed twenty or thirty rats.

Chen Xiuxian received seven or eight blank cards.

However, in the darkness beneath this mine, even the slightest movement is amplified.

The rat-man's perception was also high, making it increasingly difficult for him to hide the further he went.

Sure enough, before dying, a ratman struck a piece of hematite with its pickaxe, and the clang echoed far and wide.

There have been a few times before, but none of them have caused such a stir.

It's normal for rats to make some knocking noises when they're mining in their burrows.

However, Chen Xiuxian had seen in a forum post that rat people are timid, suspicious, and cunning by nature, and they have a method of transmitting signals by tapping.

Many players have noticed that this seemingly ordinary tapping always alerts other ratmen.

Chen Xiuxian whispered, "Let's step back and proceed to the second step of the plan in that spacious stone hall camp we just visited..."

At first, they would secretly kill as many as possible. Once exposed, they would attract more ratmen and begin to besiege and attack reinforcements!
……

With a "thud," the old ox slammed the iron rod in its hand into the chest of a rat-man, slinging him to the cave wall.

The iron rod, as thick as a duck egg, sank into the rat-man's chest. The sound of his sternum shattering was clearly audible. Blood mixed with fragments of his internal organs gushed from the rat-man's mouth, and the iron pickaxe in his hand fell to the ground.

Five more ratmen came to investigate, but Chen Xiuxian and Lao Niu dealt with them.

Chen Xiuxian was wiping the blood off his Flying Rainbow Sword on the head of a rat-man when he suddenly felt something was wrong.

It wasn't that I heard or perceived anything, but rather a special feeling, or a sudden inspiration.

He quietly took something out of his inventory, pretending to be nonchalant, then suddenly turned around and flicked it. The handful of powder he was holding burst into flames under the influence of his internal energy, turning into a tongue of fire more than two meters long!

In the shadows that were only about half a meter high at the bottom of the cave wall, a rat wearing a thin leather armor suddenly jumped out!

This rat looked more formidable than the ratmen wielding pickaxes. It was extremely agile and suddenly darted out of the shadows, its forearm outstretched, a dark, long dagger pointing at Chen Xiuxian's back, and its tail swaying in the air to control its movements.

The entire raid was carried out without a trace!

However, he ran right into the flame in Chen Xiuxian's hand!
With a scream, the raging fire singed off the rat-man's beard and fur.

With a flash of his sword, Chen Xiuxian pierced the right chest of the rat-man assassin, who was extremely agile and managed to dodge the attack. Chen Xiuxian then flipped his wrist, channeling his inner force to send the rat-man spinning and flying, turning the piercing wound into a large gash...

"Ding~ You have killed a level 11 Ratman Tunnel Maker and gained 317 experience points."

Skaven Tunnelers are among the more common Skaven elites, particularly adept at assassinations in dark and narrow terrains; many players have been ambushed and killed by them.

Chen Xiuxian had been on guard against this move all along!

As for the powder that could "spit fire," it was a special gunpowder bought from Brother Ma Yuan of Jing County.
This gunpowder can be used to make what players call "incendiary bombs."
The Ratman Tunnel Keeper even dropped two cards: [Cold Iron (Green)] and [Dark Creeper (Green)].

The first card is a material card, 【Cold Iron (Green)】, which sells very well in the game's auction house. It's the kind that has a large output and high demand.

The second one is another entry card?

What's going on? What's wrong with this thing?

Besides, I wouldn't dare use the name of this entry!

"That's enough for today, let's go back and rest." Chen Xiuxian and Lao Niu quickly retreated.

The appearance of elite monsters indicates that they have attracted significant attention.

That's all for today.

……

When we came out of the mine, we realized it was already midnight.

The two cooked a pot of hot soup in a sheltered mountain hollow far from the mine, ate a bite with some dried meat and dry rations, and then quickly wrapped themselves in a blanket and went to sleep.

The gambler Ma Si'er stood guard all night, keeping watch for the two of them.

　I haven't been feeling well these past couple of days and need to adjust my sleep schedule.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)